Border Cook

Chapter 554 Opportunity
"Your Majesty is right." Xiao Luoan cupped his hands. "The whole world belongs to the king. Whether the mountains can be moved or the trees can be planted, in my opinion, it all depends on your Majesty's will."

"Well, that's right." The emperor nodded slightly. "You have been so cautious for several years, and you suddenly say such words. I am really surprised."

"I heard that when bamboo grows, it spends several years growing its roots in the soil. When it sprouts, it can grow several feet a day, and soon it will be towering."

Xiao Luoan said, "But for bamboo to be like this, it needs a spring rain to fully nourish it. I hope I can be lucky enough to have such a rain."

“The rain from heaven is mostly because of the people’s needs, kindness, and diligence. Otherwise, the rain is useless.”

The emperor paused and spoke again, "Recently, someone reported that someone in the Meiling area had illegally occupied the hilltops and mined privately. You should go check it out and see what the problem is."

"If there is anything wrong, report it to me directly." The emperor added.

This is to see his ability and whether it is worth using him.

Xiao Luoan immediately kowtowed to express his gratitude, "Thank you, Father. I will do my best and will not let you down."

"Although Meiling is not far from the capital, the mountains are high and the forests are dense, making the roads difficult to travel. You should be careful." The emperor said, "I will send someone to you. The rest is up to you."

"Yes, I will remember it." Xiao Luoan replied again.

Now that the matter was settled, the rest of the meal naturally went faster.

After lunch, the emperor took a nap as usual. Xiao Luoan did not stay long and stood up to say goodbye.

The emperor had just finished his meal and sat for a while, reading a book and drinking a cup of tea.

Ding Dahai carefully made the bed and chatted with the emperor, "The third prince has grown up a lot."

"Yes, he is already sixteen this year, which is indeed not young anymore." The emperor put down the scroll in his hand and sighed, "I usually don't pay much attention to him. I always think that he is still a little child. He only knows how to pester his mother all day long..."

When it came to the word "mother", the emperor suddenly stopped talking.

He does not have many concubines in his harem. Apart from the queen, there are two concubines now. There are a few other imperial concubines and talented women, but all of their children were princesses, not worthy of being named concubines.

Xiao Luoan's mother was originally just a palace maid. Because of her outstanding appearance and gentleness and virtue, she attracted his attention. After she gave birth to Xiao Luoan and the princess, he made her his consort.

It’s a pity that beauty was short-lived and that gentle and considerate person left him early.

He had wanted to take better care of Xiao Luoan because of her, but at that time, he was more concerned about the expansion of the entire Great Zhou.

All matters concerning the harem were handed over to the Queen and Consort Shu.

The queen is virtuous, but this concubine...

Xiao Luoan suffered a lot in the palace.

"I am not a good father..." The emperor suddenly sighed.

"Your Majesty, please don't say that." Ding Dahai consoled him, "There are many things to worry about in life. Your Majesty is the emperor of the world. You are worried about the world every day. You can't even take care of yourself, so how can you take care of other things?"

"People always say that jade cannot be made into a useful object without being polished. What the Third Prince has gone through is God's tempering for him. He will probably become a talented person who can serve the country loyally in the future."

The emperor knew that these were words of comfort, but he did have many frustrations, and many times, he had to give up some things.

He was born in a poor family, and now he can sit in this position. The hardships he has experienced during this period are not something that ordinary people can understand, let alone tell others. If Xiao Luoan is useless, it would be fine for him to become a rich prince in the future.

If Xiao Luoan could be of great use, he would have to replan many things.

The emperor thought for a while and asked, "Has Honghui's new memorial not arrived yet?"

"Just one was delivered ten days ago. I guess we'll have to wait a few more days for the new one." Ding Dahai replied.

"Oh, if that's the way it should be." The emperor smiled, "Honghui is a very reassuring child."

"It's all thanks to the emperor's good teaching." Ding Dahai flattered him calmly.

The emperor smiled even more broadly, his face full of pride, "It's also because this child has a promising future."

He also taught the eldest prince and the second prince, but regardless of their abilities, the two of them had their own ideas taught by their respective mothers.

Many times, he wanted to get close to others, but he also had many concerns.

It is actually more relaxed than getting along with Hongxin and Honghui.

This is the royal family...

The emperor sighed, stood up and went to the bed.
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Xia Yunji has been well fed by Xia Mingyue in the past two days.

Crispy roast chicken at noon, spicy skewers at night, fragrant pan-fried buns and tofu pudding early the next morning, and stewed pork elbow with ham at noon...

Xia Yunji enjoyed the meal very much and he burped almost every day.

But even though he ate, he did not forget to set aside some of his daily food and leave it specially for Wu Jin.

Wu Jin was disdainful at first, but in the end, he felt obliged to do so, and slowly he began to show some good face to Xia Yunji.

Not only was he willing to play sandbags and take a walk with Xia Yunji, but he would also wag his tail and rub his head when he saw Xia Yunji.

After all, if you have to pick a general from among the lame, this small conspicuous bag that knows to reserve food for it is still better than the big conspicuous bag that tries to eat up all the food.

It doesn't mind expressing its affection a little.

Xia Yunji was delighted with Wu Jin's change of attitude, and couldn't help but smile. Apart from talking and chatting with his elder sister Xia Mingyue, he spent the whole day playing and frolicking with Wu Jin.

Xia Yunji started fighting on the battlefield at a young age and worked hard every day. Now he can finally relax and be happy. By the way, he can also spend more time with Wu Jin, who is usually busy. Xia Mingyue is also happy to see this situation. She just calls Xia Yunji to take Wu Jin for a walk on the street to see if there is anything she can buy for Wu Jin to play with.

Xia Yunji was in a hurry when he came back this time and did not bring anything for Xia Mingyue. He also wanted to take this opportunity to go to the street to see if there was anything suitable to buy for her, so he took his purse and asked Wu Jin to go out.

Wu Jin was happy to go out for a walk to burn off some energy, and followed along with his tail wagging.

After going out and walking along the alley, Xia Yunji stopped when he reached the main street. He took a rough look at the terrain and the direction of the street in front of him and simply set a walking route for himself.

Start walking west from your feet, and when you are done walking along the alley to the north, you will reach another street, and then walk east again...

Just as Xia Yunji was thinking excitedly, he saw a figure in the distance.

Fan Jinglan.