spendthrift son farming

Gao Yuan was a man of action, and he went to make preparations early the next morning.

The First Division had reclaimed over a thousand mu of terraced fields, which required a large number of fish fry.

Due to a lack of experience, Gao Yuan did not dare to farm too many, so his plan was two hundred fish per mu of land.

These thousand-plus mu of terraced fields required preparing over two hundred thousand fish fry, which was no small task.

Fortunately, the water systems here were well-developed, and faced with the price Gao Yuan offered—ten wen per jin of fish fry regardless of the species—many of the commoners sprang into action.

While fish fry were still being purchased, the modification of the paddy fields also began.

Gao Yuan led his men to start digging trenches in the paddy fields, which reduced the space available for planting.

Many elders saw this and hurried over to dissuade him.

Gao Yuan, however, was unfazed, dismissing them with a single phrase: "I have my own ideas."

This caused dissatisfaction among many, and some even went to the Prefectural Office to complain.

Yet Zhao Xiyao and the others were helpless, as they had promised Gao Yuan not to interfere.

As for the nominal Prefecture Sima, Mu Sheng, he was even more helpless.

How could he possibly control Gao Yuan, who was the Princess's consort, the duke of anle county, and the leader of the military?

Gao Yuan, however, did not seem satisfied and made another move that left everyone heartbroken.

While the commoners were busy hunching over in the rice paddies planting seedlings, Gao Yuan led a group of ruffians to "play."

The soldiers did not choose to plant the seedlings; instead, they stood at the edge of the fields and tossed the seedlings into the water as if playing a game.

Only after finishing a mu of land did they slowly descend into the field to straighten the seedlings.

Mu Sheng stood by the field, frowning as he made a rough count, and the corners of his mouth twitched immediately.

In Gao Yuan's fields, not only were the seedlings planted in a chaotic mess, but the quantity was barely over ninety percent of what others had planted.

Now, this landlord could no longer sit still; he rode his horse back to the Prefectural Office to lodge a complaint.

"Your Highness, you should really persuade County Duke Gao; if he keeps messing around like this, I fear he will lose face completely by the autumn harvest."

"Prefecture Sima Mu, what has happened?"

Mu Sheng did not embellish the story; he described Gao Yuan's absurd behavior with the soldiers exactly as it happened.

Zhao Xiyao also felt it was very inappropriate, because not only had Mu Sheng come to complain, but several village elders and grassroots officials had also lodged complaints today.

Yet they had long promised Gao Yuan not to interfere.

After thinking about it, she sighed helplessly.

"I previously promised the consort that I would not interfere in his affairs, so..."

Before Zhao Xiyao could finish, Mu Sheng understood; he revealed a helpless smile and shook his head.

"Your subordinate will go and do my best to pacify the commoners."

As a local snake that had been entrenched for many years, it took Mu Sheng a few days to pacify the commoners.

However, soon, news spread throughout West City and Menge:

The Princess Roujia's consort is a prodigal son who treats farming like a child's game and has ruined over a thousand mu of fertile land.

Gao Yuan, however, ignored these rumors entirely and led his men to quickly finish planting the seedlings.

Ten days later, over two hundred thousand fish fry were released into the rice paddies, and his farming journey came to an end.

The subsequent daily maintenance was carried out by soldiers who had retired due to injury.

This could also be considered a disguised way of settling these soldiers who had shed blood and made sacrifices for Gao Yuan's cause.

After completing the planting of his own fields, Gao Yuan even made a show of inspecting the area, naturally garnering many pointing fingers and whispers.

Although the commoners only dared to point and whisper about this legendary "prodigal son" from afar, Gao Yuan still managed to hear them.

This caused Gao Fu to want to take men and capture these "unruly people" who dared to gossip about his master, just to teach them a lesson, on several occasions.

However, Gao Yuan stopped him with a calm and indifferent expression.

"Uncle Fu, blocking the mouths of the people is more dangerous than blocking a river. The commoners have not been exposed to new things, so if they want to talk, let them talk."

"But Master, this might damage your prestige!"

Gao Yuan revealed an expression of absolute confidence.

"No fear, when the autumn harvest comes, everything will be clear."

Upon returning home, the women who had heard of Gao Yuan's reputation as a prodigal son through various channels surrounded him, their faces full of worry.

Gao Yuan could only continue to feign an indifferent expression and wave his hand.

"Don't worry, don't worry; everything will naturally be revealed at the autumn harvest, no need to be impatient."

What the women were most worried about was that he would be affected, so seeing him like this, they breathed a sigh of relief and smiled.

However, unlike Zhao Xiyao and Zheng Wan, Song Yao was the only one who showed absolute trust.

"I believe that you, Husband, will definitely succeed, and when the autumn harvest comes, you will surely make everyone be shocked."

Gao Yuan looked at this woman before him who trusted him unconditionally; to say he wasn't moved would be a lie.

Disregarding the presence of the other two women, he pulled Song Yao into his arms and planted a firm peck on her sexy, rosy lips.

"It's so good to have you."

Song Yao's pretty face turned beet red; she buried her little head in Gao Yuan's chest, murmuring softly.

"Oh, you're annoying; the sisters are still watching."

What surprised Gao Yuan was that the one with the biggest reaction was not Zhao Xiyao or Zheng Wan, but Mu Qing, who was following from a distance.

A blush crept all over her healthy, wheat-colored skin, and even her neck turned a little red.

"Wait, I'm flirting with my wife, why are you blushing like a tea kettle, woman!"

Paying no mind to this woman's reaction, Gao Yuan swaggered back to the backyard with his three wives; he had been busy all day and was already famished.

The calm and leisurely days passed by quickly.

One day at the end of February, Gao Yuan had just finished his daily exercise when Gao Fu rushed in, one hand on his knee and the other pointing outside, panting as he said:

"Mas... Master, there... there is a Red Plume Messenger."

Gao Yuan threw the towel in his hand into the washbasin and bolted toward the main hall.

In the main hall, several people had already finished reading the secret letter, and their expressions were all grim.

Seeing Gao Yuan enter, everyone remained silent, which made Gao Yuan's heart skip a beat, and he secretly thought, "Not good."

Ignoring any rules or etiquette, he walked over quickly, took the secret letter from Zhao Xiyao's hand, and began to read it.

He only glanced at it briefly, and his face immediately turned livid, thinking to himself:

"Damn it, I really do have a villain constitution; there's always someone with a death wish coming to jump around."

The one who sent the letter was none other than Huo Jun, the city defense captain of Menge; the letter stated that the Lan Xang king Fawang had heard that the Great Qian Princess Zhao Xiyao was stunningly beautiful and wanted to marry her, even promising with a solemn oath to make her the Queen of Lan Xang.

Along with this letter, fifteen thousand Lan Xang troops were gathering toward Luang Namtha.

Gao Yuan knew about Luang Namtha; although the population was sparse, it was mountainous with steep cliffs, the terrain was extremely treacherous, and it was a strategic fortress that served as the barrier to the north of Lan Xang.

It could not only defend against attacks from countries like Toungoo and Great Qian, but it could also serve as a starting point for military campaigns to attack surrounding countries at any time.

Now that the Lan Xang people had suddenly mobilized a large army to gather here, it was clear that they intended to resort to force.

Combining this with Fawang's desire to marry Zhao Xiyao, the Lan Xang people's goal this time was obvious: this bastard wanted to force a marriage.

"Fxxx!"

Gao Yuan spat out an internationally recognized phrase and looked up at his wife.

Seeing that the young lady's pretty face was also frosty, with the knuckles of the small hand holding the pen turning white, he walked over, patted her jade hand, and said softly:

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid; you still have me, and I will definitely protect you."

Zhao Xiyao did not respond to Gao Yuan, but said in a trembling voice:

"Back then, my eldest sister and fifth sister were forced to marry far away to the grasslands in exactly this way."

Everyone who heard this could not help but sigh.