Abandoned Woman Busy Farming-Chapter 2485 - 2486: Let Her Become the Next Mistress

"What are you suspecting? Can’t you just ask directly?" Xinye suddenly interrupted what Bai Ruozhu was about to say.

Bai Ruozhu was a bit embarrassed and was pondering what to say when Jiang Yichun’s voice rang out, "Are you here to help? If you don’t want to answer, we can ask someone else. General Chisong didn’t send you here to stir up trouble, did he?"

Seeing the two of them about to have a conflict again, Sa Tian quickly said, "We are all friends, let’s not spoil the harmony over such small matters. Let’s continue our discussion."

He thought for a moment and said, "If both princes cannot become Emperor, then the choice will fall among the three internal princes: Wen De, Yu De, and Liu De, with a preference for Prince Wen De, who is considered the firstborn."

"Is that the one engaged to Princess Ya’an?" Bai Ruozhu raised an eyebrow. It seems like there’s more than one suspect.

Xinye suddenly snorted coldly, "Before them, Princess Ya’an also had a chance to become the Empress, and then there’s the young Princess Xizi, but she’s only six years old and is barely considered among the heirs."

"Can a princess inherit the Emperor’s position?" Jiang Yichun was a bit surprised.

Xinye looked disdainful, "How ignorant. Before this, there have been six female Emperors in Fusang’s history."

Bai Ruozhu realized, "No wonder Princess Ya’an made up her mind to marry Prince Wen De."

"If she marries outside the imperial family, she will not only lose her inheritance rights but will also be cut off from the royal family, seldom seeing Empress Yazi and the Second Prince afterward. However, traditionally, the eldest princess often marries the next Emperor, but the Second Prince and Princess Ya’an are from the same mother and cannot marry," Xinye further explained.

Bai Ruozhu thought deeply, which means that, according to tradition, Princess Ya’an could marry the Crown Prince, but she couldn’t possibly marry her brother’s rival, could she?

She couldn’t help but criticize the absurd intermarriage rules of the Fusang royal family.

After Sa Tian and Xinye took their leave, Bai Ruozhu was still pondering who among them might be the most likely. According to the line of succession, it seems the Crown Prince is more suspicious, but if he had such strong hidden power, he wouldn’t have lost to the Second Prince in the first place, would he? The Anzhen Family supporting him even prepared to sacrifice themselves.

"It’s really annoying. Who becomes the Emperor of Fusang Country is none of our business, but the other side refuses to let us go, and we can’t just let it end like this. Do they really think we traveled all this way to be mistreated?" Bai Ruozhu said irritably, rubbing her temples.

Jiang Yichun pulled down her hand, "Don’t be upset. Go out for a walk recently and listen to the gossip about the She Family’s shop; it will lift your spirits."

Bai Ruozhu’s eyes lit up, "What are they saying?"

"In three days, when you go out, you’ll hear people talking about it on the street," Jiang Yichun teased her deliberately.

Bai Ruozhu wrinkled her nose, "Alright.

...

"Master, someone is deliberately targeting us. A shop has had problems too, and during daylight, the largest jewelry shop in the capital reported a demon appearance. Although it didn’t harm anyone, outside there’s a rumor that the She Family got wealthy by nurturing demons, claiming you couldn’t have become Fusang’s top rich merchant so quickly otherwise."

Upon hearing the steward’s report, She Zongyi frowned slightly, "Have you found out who it is?"

"Our competitors were beaten down years ago and should not have the capacity to counterattack. Unless someone plans to use the Second Prince’s accident as an opportunity to harm you and bring the Second Prince down?" the steward replied.

She Zongyi snorted coldly, "Let’s see if they have the capability for that! Keep an eye on those people from Zhongyuan. Is Jiang Yichun behind this?"

"They are unfamiliar with the place, so how could they manage that? Jiang Yichun goes out every day looking for people, but someone discovered something odd," the steward said, pausing.

"What is it?"

"Someone saw the portrait of the woman he’s looking for and said it resembles a daughter of the Anzhen Family. However, their daughter rarely goes out and died of illness six months ago, so it’s not certain yet if it’s the same person."

She Zongyi became interested, "Oh? Then keep a close watch. Anben, that old fox, is no easy character."

"Yes," the steward responded, and seeing that She Zongyi had no further orders, he bowed and left.

After a while, a beautiful woman entered the room, her eyes red as she said, "Master, Dalang is just being filial; please don’t punish him."

She Zongyi snorted coldly, "I’m not dead yet, and he’s already making decisions. Is this his filial piety?"

"He heard you were poisoned and, in his anger, deployed his shadow ninja. He cares for you," the woman said, wiping her eyes. "He is your painstakingly nurtured firstborn son; don’t you understand his character?"

"Does he think shadow ninjas are as common as cabbages on the street? If we keep losing them, do we have time to train more?" She Zongyi said with displeasure. "Stop pleading for him. I punished him to make him think things through because he won’t manage such a large family well if he keeps acting impulsively."

"But..." the beautiful woman wanted to speak but was waved away by She Zongyi impatiently.

In truth, She Zongyi highly valued his eldest son. He knew that no matter how capable he was, he would eventually grow old and die. His great achievements and wealth needed to be passed on to a qualified successor.

Moreover, his system could be passed down to his son. But he hadn’t revealed this secret to anyone and planned to pass it on to his eldest son before he died, so he believed the eldest son must have a steady mind to make proper use of the system.

After a while, he called for his personal guard and whispered instructions, "Release Dalang tomorrow and have him visit the palace more often to meet the woman from Zhongyuan."

The guard was surprised, "That Bai Ruozhu?"

"If such a woman can become the next mistress of the She Family and pass on our lineage, I believe the She Family will soon become stronger than the Mu Residence," She Zongyi said with narrowed eyes because she also possessed a treasure.

"I’m afraid the young master won’t agree," the guard timidly said. "He has deep feelings for Miss Daimei, his childhood sweetheart..."

She Zongyi snorted with displeasure, "Women, he can have as many as he wants. Let Daimei be a concubine. Let him understand priorities. A man should not be entangled in love affairs; otherwise, he might end up like that Jiang Yichun, who, despite his abilities, is bound to fail someday."

The guard dared not say more and respectfully said, "Yes, I will remind the young master."

"Go, and tell him to be more assertive; women like strong men. I don’t want him to lose to that Jiang Yichun," She Zongyi added.