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The villagers, full of curiosity, refrained from watching after heeding the village chief and Lizheng's admonishments today.

"Good," Old Hai was clearly satisfied, and had the children divided into eight groups according to their ages before turning to Yang Mengchen, "Little girl, go ahead with your business, but remember to make lunch generous."

Yang Mengchen smiled and responded, murmuring to herself that here was another food lover, no wonder Old Hai and Third Brother Luo got along.

Walking quietly to the left of Yang Mengchen, Long Xuanmo said, "Ms. Yang, Old Hai mentioned your second brother has great military talent. I plan to assign him to the Huwei Army. There, General Ye is my man. He is brave, skilled in battle, and incorruptible. Mo Feng is also there, so your brother will definitely be safe.

What do you think?"

Yang Chengrong, walking on his sister's right, paused. His sister had guessed it right.

Following behind them, Mo Lei and the others either looked down at the path, averted their eyes, or gazed up at the sky, unable to bear watching the prince speak so humbly.

Yang Mengchen spoke indifferently and with an impassive expression, "Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness. My second brother has indeed always wanted to join the army, but I hope Your Highness can agree to wait until after spring next year to make arrangements for him to go."

"Why wait until then?"

"In five months, it's my brother's sixteenth birthday." It would be the first Spring Festival since Yang Mengchen's rebirth, and she wanted the whole family to be together.

"He can celebrate his birthday in the military camp. You can also send him gifts to celebrate. There is no need to be at home." All of a sudden, Long Xuanmo spoke with a hint of grievance, "I went to the battlefield at ten, and haven't celebrated a birthday in six years."

Glancing sideways at Long Xuanmo, Yang Mengchen scoffed coldly, "Can Your Highness really compare yourself with my second brother?"

"We are both men, of course, we are the same," Long Xuanmo asserted confidently.

Yang Mengchen couldn't be bothered to pay attention to Long Xuanmo anymore.

However, Long Xuanmo changed the subject, "The insect plague was indeed man-made as you said, but Prefect Su and County Lord Zhu became scapegoats. Prefect Su was recommended by Marquis Xiao's elder brother, Xiao Hongtao.

Without evidence linking him to this incident, the Emperor could only reprimand Marquis Xiao for his poor recommendation, penalizing him with half a year's salary, while the real culprit behind the scenes remains unscathed."

Yang Mengchen gave no indication of agreement or disagreement.

"Following your suggestion, I attributed the credit to Xiao Hongtao and Luo Shibai. My father was so delighted that he originally wanted to promote Xiao Hongtao, but I spoke up to dissuade him. Consequently, my father awarded Xiao Hongtao five thousand taels of gold and honored Luo Shibai with the 'Apricot Forest Holy Hand' gold plaque and a pot of midnight blooming lotus."

"Thank you."

"As long as you're satisfied." Seeing that Yang Mengchen acted as if she heard nothing, Long Xuanmo sighed in frustration.

Seeing Yang Mengchen and her party arrive, Xu Xun, who was instructing workers in medicine production, hurriedly stepped forward, "This commoner greets Your Highness and has seen Ms. Yang."

"You've worked hard," Yang Mengchen nodded. Luo Jingrui had arranged for Xu Xun to be in charge of the medical factory and only half the town's workers had come, "The newly recruited workers are not familiar with herbs, so please take extra care. The dormitories will be ready soon, then the others can move in, which should make things easier for you."

"I shall follow Ms. Yang's orders," Xu Xun said respectfully.

Learning that Sixth Brother was making medicine in the factory, Yang Mengchen didn't go to disturb him. Instead, after visiting the other three factories and seeing that everyone was working in an orderly manner, she went home.

After lunch, Yang Mengchen, along with Yang Chengrong and Yang Chengning, took about a dozen materials into a room in the backyard and closed the door tightly behind them.

Like a shadow, Long Xuanmo, followed naturally by Mo Lei and the others, kept close.

To prevent Long Xuanmo from noticing anything unusual, Yang Mengchen purposefully experimented back and forth until, after some time, she produced several palm-sized pieces of clear, bright, glistening glass.

"Ceramic Glaze?" Everyone was dumbfounded as they watched Yang Mengchen.

"I happened upon an ancient ceramic glaze formula and thought it was interesting, so I memorized it. Trying it out today, I didn't expect to actually succeed," Yang Mengchen feigned delight, "Your Highness must be aware of the value of ceramic glaze. Lets discuss a business deal, shall we?"

"Same old rules, a seventy-thirty split! You may sell within Qinghe Prefecture," Long Xuanmo instantly agreed.

Ceramic glaze was a royal secret technique of Qing'an Country, but since Qing'an was far from the other four nations and the glaze was fragile, it couldn't be transported. Someone had managed to bring a life-size panel of ceramic glaze to Dong Chu at an astronomical price, yet many bought it eagerly.

The little girl was truly brilliant, having produced ceramic glaze simply from an old recipe. Once it became widespread like cement, it would be another considerable income for the treasury, solving many of the court's problems.

"Deal!" Yang Mengchen said with a beaming smile, "I will give the formula to Your Highness later. Also, remember to use a diamond to etch the ceramic glaze."

Long Xuanmo nodded.

The next morning, Long Xuanmo left with Mo Lei and the others. Yang Mengchen turned Mo Mei and Qing Qing's medicine inside out, instructed Xiao Jin to watch over them, and went with her brothers into the hinterland of the Dayang Mountain.

After staring at the seven Elite Guards in front of her for a full half-quarter of an hour, Yang Mengchen's daunting demeanor fully displayed, the seven maintained their composure with straight backs. She was very pleased, "Do you know why I selected you to come here?"

"Please enlighten us, Ninth Master!" the seven said in unison.

"It's simple," Yang Mengchen stated coolly, "After spring starts, Master Ning will be joining the army. You must have heard about the dangerous and unpredictable nature of the battlefield, and each of you excels in certain skills. I specially picked you for intensive training. In the future on the battlefield, you'll serve as sharp tools in Master Ning's hands, executing various special missions.

Of course, you have the choice to withdraw. Those who opt out can go back and continue their training."

After a moment of silence, the seven spoke in unison, "Reporting to Ninth Master, we choose to stay!"

Yang Mengchen raised an eyebrow, "Are you truly not afraid to die? You know that on the battlefield, it is often a matter of life and death, and if you're captured by the enemy, you might endure all sorts of cruel torture?"

"From the moment we became Elite Guards, our lives have belonged to the nine masters," the seven had thought it through clearly.

"Very well!" Yang Mengchen nodded, "In the coming months, I will train you in various skills."

"Yes, Ninth Master!"

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