"Taking it back is unrealistic, so let's just keep it here."
"When your mother's birthday comes, it won't be too late to eat it then."
The Prince of Pingyang didn't think much of it.
It was just a small fish. Even if they stewed it, how much meat could there be?
"Okay." Duoduo was very disappointed.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang comfortingly patted Duoduo's head.
Duoduo looked up, "Father, can I go to Grandpa Wang's house tomorrow before we leave?"
"Grandpa Wang? Who is that?" The Prince of Pingyang asked.
"It's the tenant farmer Wang Changsheng's family," the Princess Consort of Pingyang explained.
"His family has two children about the same age as Duoduo."
"Previously, when his daughter-in-law came over to cook, she brought the children along."
"Duoduo gets along well with them, so I didn't stop her."
The Prince of Pingyang looked at Duoduo.
"You want to go and say goodbye to them?"
"Yes, we had agreed to play together tomorrow."
"Since I'm leaving, I should go and say goodbye to them."
"Otherwise, they might think I broke my promise on purpose."
"Father, didn't you teach me that one must keep their promises?"
The Prince of Pingyang pondered for a moment.
"Tomorrow you have martial arts practice in the middle of the Mao hour (around 6 AM), and we have to leave at the beginning of the Chen hour (around 7 AM)."
"After your martial arts practice, you will have the time of one incense stick to rest. Is that enough?"
Duoduo nodded.
"Enough!"
"Alright, bring your homework from today for me to check."
"Okay!"
Duoduo happily ran to fetch her homework.
"My Lord, the child is still young. How about letting her rest for a day tomorrow?"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang suggested tentatively.
The Prince of Pingyang's lips curled up.
"It's fine. If she's tired, she'll say so."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang wanted to say more but heard Duoduo's footsteps and closed her mouth.
The Prince of Pingyang checked Duoduo's homework and was very satisfied.
He took an object out of his pocket and placed it in Duoduo's palm.
Duoduo looked and saw that what the Prince of Pingyang had placed in her palm was a stone.
This stone was black.
Duoduo held it and examined it continuously. She felt as if she had seen it somewhere before.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang, who was embroidering beside them while keeping her husband and daughter company, looked up.
She saw Duoduo playing with a stone and gave her a gentle reproachful look.
"You naughty child, why did you bring a stone back to play with?"
"Quick, throw it away before it dirties your hands."
Duoduo chuckled, "Mother, Father just gave this to me."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang stopped her embroidery, "Why did you give Duoduo a stone, My Lord?"
The Prince of Pingyang looked at the two of them meaningfully.
"Take a look. Is there anything unusual about this stone?"
Hearing this, the Princess Consort of Pingyang took the stone and examined it carefully.
"It's heavier than a normal stone, and its color is black..."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang raised her eyes and looked at the Prince of Pingyang.
She saw the Prince of Pingyang's lips curve slightly, and a bold guess suddenly formed in her heart.
"My Lord, could it be... is this iron ore?"
A smile appeared on the Prince of Pingyang's lips.
"Correct!"
"I specially brought a small piece back. Look, this is what is in the mountains of your dowry estate."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang was amazed. She took the stone again and studied it.
"My Lord, this is the first time I've seen iron ore. So this is what it looks like!"
The Prince of Pingyang nodded.
"Indeed. If you're not an expert, how would you recognize that this is iron, which is worth a thousand pieces of gold?"
Hearing this, a look of pleasant surprise appeared on the Princess Consort of Pingyang's face.
She hurriedly stood up and curtsied to the Prince of Pingyang.
"Congratulations, My Lord! You are truly blessed to have obtained such a rare treasure!"
The Prince of Pingyang reached out and helped her up.
"This is your dowry estate, so I wanted to ask for your thoughts."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang was confused.
"My thoughts? I don't have any thoughts."
"I will send people here to mine it secretly and extract all the iron ore."
"Then, the blacksmiths will forge it into weapons."
"This estate will definitely be occupied by then, and you will lose a source of income."
The Prince of Pingyang explained to his wife.
"I was thinking that later, I'll have Ling Feng find another estate with a similar yield."
"When the time comes, we'll exchange it for this estate. What do you think?"
"Once the iron ore in the mountains is completely mined, this estate will still be returned to you."
This was the solution the Prince of Pingyang had considered on their way back.
The Princess Consort of Pingyang's eyes curved in a smile.
"What is mine is yours, My Lord. Why go to such trouble?"
"Didn't you just say that once the iron ore is mined out, the estate will be returned to me anyway?"
"Since that's the case, just send people to mine it, My Lord."
"Even if you gave me a whole mountain of stones, I wouldn't know what to do with them."
The Princess Consort of Pingyang's words made the Prince of Pingyang's eyes flicker.
"I will remember your kindness in my heart."
"Rest assured, I will never let you down in the future!"
The Princess Consort of Pingyang's face instantly turned red.
Her eyes darted around, and she shyly turned her head away.
Duoduo had been holding the stone, flipping it over and over to look at it.
Suddenly, she sensed that the atmosphere in the room was a bit strange.
She looked up at her parents and noticed that her mother's face was as red as a cloth.
And her father was staring intently.
She didn't understand what was going on with the two of them.
Duoduo also curiously looked at her mother's face.
Seeing Duoduo's expression, the Princess Consort of Pingyang's face grew even redder.
"I will take Duoduo to wash up first. You've had a tiring day, My Lord, so you should rest early."
With that, the Princess Consort of Pingyang grabbed Duoduo and quickly left the room.
Duoduo was very puzzled.
"Mother, I haven't paid my respects to Father yet."
"It's fine, your father won't be angry."
"Mother, why is your face so red?"
"It's not. You saw wrong."
...
The voices of the mother and daughter faded away.
The Prince of Pingyang looked at his empty palm, slightly lost in thought.
Just now, he actually had a desire.
He pinched his legs hard, and a very faint sensation of pain transmitted up.
The Prince of Pingyang pushed his wheelchair to the edge of the table.
He tentatively lifted one foot and placed it on the ground.
Once his left foot was steady, he did the same with his right foot.
Then, the Prince of Pingyang gripped the edge of the table tightly.
Using the strength of his arms, he pushed himself up from the wheelchair and stood.
For the past few days, he had been practicing secretly.
Today, he finally discovered that his right leg could move too.
The Prince of Pingyang stood by the table, looking at everything in the room, tears welling up in his eyes.
Two years!
A full two years!
He had finally stood up!
Although both of his legs were currently trembling uncontrollably like a sieve.
But he could stand!
The Prince of Pingyang felt a sharp, needle-like pain in his legs.
He knew he couldn't keep standing any longer.
He grabbed the wheelchair and sat back down.
Because his legs had no strength, he made a loud noise when he sat down.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
Ling Feng's voice came from outside the door.
"My Lord, what happened?"
