A husband found in the village? I bought a regent for a penny!

Chapter 444 Maybe I've struck gold

Gu Xixi temporarily agreed to help Mu Nanzhao come up with a solution based on this approach.

Mu Nanzhao still had some concerns, "Old Physician Jiang is a benevolent man, and because of his sect's past, he is subject to certain restrictions. He would never use his medical skills to harm people. Therefore..."

"I don't want to embarrass you."

"It would be better to seek another doctor."

"Look elsewhere?" Gu Xixi retorted. "Can you find someone more suitable than me and my master?"

"I believe you must have trustworthy and excellent doctors around you."

"But if we are far removed from the court and have no connection with the officialdom in the capital, we are the least likely to be suspected or investigated."

Mu Nanzhao frowned, "But..."

“There are no ‘buts’,” Gu Xixi said, looking into his eyes. “It’s just a prescription.”

"How many times did the prescription circulate, who did it end up with, how was it ultimately used, and who did it give it to?"

"I know nothing about it, and it has nothing to do with me,"

She paused, then gave a relaxed smile. "I won't make things difficult for Master either."

"I will prepare the prescriptions. If students encounter anything they don't understand, they can occasionally ask their master for clarification."

Mu Nanzhao's expression softened again and again, and he silently took Gu Xixi's hand.

Gu Xixi squeezed his hand back, gently tickled his palm, and smiled mischievously.

Mu Nanzhao understood and immediately got up and sat down next to her.

The two exchanged a gentle smile, their silence speaking volumes.

Mu Nanzhao could easily understand that Gu Xixi was deliberately putting on a relaxed attitude of "it's a small matter" because she wanted to share his burdens.

She has always been a strong woman and disliked being constantly protected under his wing.

He must accept her help and make good use of it so as not to let her down.

The two nestled together, immersed in this warm and tranquil moment, neither wanting to break the silence.

After a long silence, Gu Xixi finally spoke, "Have you heard anything about the two women from the Northern Li region living at the west end of the village?"

Mu Nanzhao answered lazily, "No."

"Huo Jiang will take care of the affairs of the Northern Li people."

"The only people who are allowed to live in the village are probably ordinary traveling merchants or commoners."

Huo Jiang would never specifically tell Mu Nanzhao about such trivial matters.

Gu Xixi said, "They don't live in the village."

She recounted in detail what she knew about the two women, as well as what she had witnessed firsthand.

He hadn't even had a chance to express his speculation about Ina's identity.

Then Mu Nanzhao pondered and said, "So... that woman named Yina is indeed somewhat unusual."

“Right!” Gu Xixi perked up immediately when she heard Mu Nanzhao say the same thing.

Mu Nanzhao turned to look at her, "You think so too?"

"Hmm!" Gu Xixi nodded, then frowned.

"Logically speaking, General Huo must have investigated them beforehand if he allowed them to stay."

"Perhaps we're just overthinking it?"

Mu Nanzhao said, "It has definitely been investigated."

"But it's hard to say whether the other party is hiding something well, or whether they have multiple identities. It's not easy to find out the truth."

He pondered for only a moment, then his brow relaxed, and he smiled meaningfully.

Gu Xixi couldn't help but glance at her, "Look at that expression..."

"Which unlucky guy are you plotting against now?"

Mu Nanzhao said with a smile, "Huo Jiang may have really struck gold this time."

He whispered a few words in Gu Xixi's ear.

Gu Xixi stared in disbelief, "Are you sure?"

Mu Nanzhao said confidently, "According to your description, it corresponds to the information I previously had, and it's highly likely."

Gu Xixi fell into deep thought.

She could only guess that Ina came from an extraordinary background, either from an official family in Beili or a noble family.

Unexpectedly, Ina turned out to be the female leader of a powerful tribe in Beili.

She is also the only female leader in the entire Northern Li, of noble lineage, and holds military power over the entire tribe.

Her husband was the second prince of the previous King of Beili, and the legitimate son of the former Grand Consort.

It is said that this second prince disliked power struggles and had taken his wife on business trips and travels in his early years.

Even members of the Northern Li royal family rarely knew the whereabouts of the Second Prince.

The second prince and his wife were childhood sweethearts and had a very deep affection for each other.

The second queen stayed with her husband and had not returned to her own tribe for many years, entrusting everything to her trusted confidants.

Surprisingly, no one in that tribe harbored any disloyalty, and military power remained firmly in the hands of the second queen.

Currently, the legitimate royal bloodline of the Northern Li is dwindling, and the whereabouts of the only remaining second prince are still unknown.

Otherwise, the throne would not have gone to the current King of Beili.

Gu Xixi murmured, "No wonder she claimed to be the wife of a merchant, separated from her husband during the war, and stranded here without arousing suspicion."

"Because what I said was the truth."

Mu Nanzhao nodded, "However, there is another identity that has been buried for a long time."

"So long that the outside world has forgotten their existence."

"However, according to my intelligence, the second prince is not separated from his family, but is already dead."

After sorting through all this information, Gu Xixi was suddenly startled. "So, if she really is the Second Princess Consort..."

"Isn't the only remaining legitimate bloodline of the Northern Li royal family in her womb?"

Mu Nanzhao said, "If it is a male fetus, according to the rules of the Beili people, it does not matter whether the current Beili King has any offspring."

“This child is the rightful next King of Beili.”

Gu Xixi frowned, "Would the current King of Beili be willing to agree?"

"Who would willingly relinquish the throne they've worked so hard for to someone else's son?"

Mu Nanzhao looked at Gu Xixi with a half-smile, "It's only natural for people not to want to."

"However, this is not the only thing that is giving the King of Beili a headache."

"The Second Princess Consort herself comes from a noble family and holds military power, and has many supporters both openly and secretly."

"Such a person will return to Beili with the next heir to the throne."

What do you think will happen?

Gu Xixi replied without hesitation, "The Northern Li will be in chaos."

"They will engage in open and covert struggles, and will divide into factions to fight for power and profit."

Mu Nanzhao gazed into the distance at the warm orange light filtering through the window.

"Instability within the Northern Li, whether it's a major upheaval or a minor one, will only benefit the Great Cause."

"The peace and tranquility on the northwestern border can continue for several more years, or even more than a decade."

"That's great!" Gu Xixi clapped her hands.

"I'm still hesitating. Next year, once the tea plantation is fully established, should I buy more land to plant fruit trees?"

As long as the border remains stable and there is no war in the Northwest for ten years, Gu Xixi can confidently and boldly expand the scale of her business.

Mu Nanzhao chuckled lightly, teasingly asking, "Still want to buy land?"

"It seems the boss has made quite a bit of money lately."

Gu Xixi raised her head and said, "Of course, the wheat harvested this year will make us a fortune soon."

“Although the workshop that Anqing and Guan managed didn’t make much money, I still got a share of the profits.”

"The Yunling County Nursery Association bought my seedling cultivation method, and the final payment is expected to arrive next month."

"And this time, General Huo is now rich, so I feel even more at ease accepting his payment."

"The orchard is still small-scale, but the tea plantation... I've done the math on the future, guess how much it can earn?"

……

Mu Nanzhao listened attentively as she recounted her details with great familiarity.

Gu Xixi, however, was so focused on her career that she didn't notice the tenderness on Mu Nanzhao's face.

"Since you've said it's almost certainly true, shouldn't I also protect that Ina?"