Chapter 22 A Visit from Southern Xinjiang

Half a month ago, at the residence of the Princess in the capital.

"Your Highness, there are three people from the Southern Frontier requesting an audience outside the gate."

Southern Xinjiang people

Aside from the witchcraft incident, she had no connection with Southern Xinjiang. Why would the people of Southern Xinjiang be looking for her?

Zhou Chaoyun stopped flipping through the book, looked up, and met A-Yi's gaze. A-Yi understood and left the study first.

She then turned to her servants and said, "Take him to the guest room. I want to have a proper meeting with him."

After changing into a set of luxurious clothes for receiving guests, Zhou Chaoyun encountered A-Yi, who had returned, on the corridor leading to the reception area. A-Yi, as usual, had a stern face: "They are not people Your Highness knows, but it seems that the three of them came from the direction of the Second Prince's residence."

This connection reminded her of how her second brother had collaborated with the Southern Frontier to frame her using a witchcraft doll.

Did the people from southern Xinjiang come here for this reason?

The reception room was already occupied by three people of unusual appearance, clearly foreigners from the southern border regions.

With high eyebrows and deep-set eyes, she possessed striking and intense features. Coupled with her blue-purple attire embroidered with intricate patterns and exquisite silver jewelry, she exuded an exotic charm distinct from that of Da'an.

All three were women, one of whom had a few strands of gray hair mixed in with her black hair. She was older than the other two and looked like the one in charge among them.

The remaining two young girls, one with a baby face and a bright, innocent smile, and the other looking disheveled and huddled to one side.

Before they even stepped inside, the older man grabbed the dejected girl, pulled her in front of Zhou Chaoyun, slapped her hard on the shoulder, and shouted in broken, accented Da'an Mandarin, "Apologize now!"

The girl slid to her knees quickly, instantly falling to her knees and touching her head to the ground. The silver ornaments on her body jingled as they swayed. She pleaded for mercy in Mandarin with the same accent: "Your Highness, the witchcraft matter was a conspiracy between me and the Second Prince. It was my fault. I should take responsibility for my own actions. This matter has nothing to do with Southern Xinjiang. If Your Highness wants to punish someone, punish me alone."

The elder, with an apologetic expression, presented a sandalwood box containing a small piece of agarwood: "This is Qinan, a type of agarwood. I'm presenting it today to apologize to Your Highness. We failed to keep a close eye on A Shuang. Since she has offended Your Highness, she is now at Your Highness's disposal."

Qinan, with its elegant fragrance, is the finest of agarwoods. It grows mostly in the southern part of Vietnam and is rare due to its demanding formation process.

But why would they bring out such precious items to apologize?

They only needed to hand over "A Shuang"; even with extras, they wouldn't have needed to bring out such a rare and precious item.

Despite the myriad thoughts swirling in her mind, Zhou Chaoyun didn't show them on her face. She said in a warm tone, "Miss A Shuang, please get up. Since you know you were wrong, I won't punish you too much. I'll accept this agarwood and consider this matter over."

She shifted the punishment from Ah Shuang to Qinan, and if the other party had ulterior motives for bringing up Qinan, they would reject her suggestion.

Sure enough, the older woman hesitated for a moment. She glanced at the sandalwood box in her hand, then at A Shuang, and finally shook her head in refusal: "Your Highness does not need to let A Shuang off the hook. She has done something wrong and should be punished."

The elder thought for a moment and added, "If Your Highness doesn't mind, A-Shuang can stay and work for Your Highness, even without pay!"

Upon hearing this, A Shuang looked up in surprise and met the older woman's gaze, but remained silent under her firm gaze, offering no rebuttal.

They made no attempt to hide anything, and their every move was under Zhou Chaoyun's watchful eye.

Seeing this act of defection, Zhou Chaoyun rubbed her fingertips, thinking to herself: It seems that her second brother has not reached an agreement with the people of Southern Xinjiang.

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that the two sides are putting on a show for her in order to gain entry into the Princess's residence and then use these pawns when needed.

Zhou Chaoyun paused for a moment before saying, "Isn't this bad for Miss A Shuang?"

The baby-faced girl lazily walked to the elder's side and said with a grin, "Aunt Hui doesn't know much about the rules of Da'an, so let me explain. First of all, A Shuang should take responsibility for her own mistakes. Secondly, the incense is not for A Shuang to get off the hook. We want to ask Your Highness to let us see someone."

The baby-faced girl was called A-Cuo. What surprised Zhou Chaoyun was not her fluent Da'an Mandarin, but that she was the one in charge among the three.

When Huigu saw that A-Cuo had guessed what she was thinking, she quickly nodded and explained, "We want to see the son of my old friend. We heard that the child is in His Highness's residence."

Zhou Chaoyun's eyes swept over the three of them, her tone carrying an unfathomable meaning: "I don't know who you gentlemen are looking for either."

Before hiring anyone, the Princess's household staff had all been checked for their identities. She was unaware that some of them had connections to the Southern Frontier region.

She wanted to see who it was.

“Jiang Xiqu! That child’s name is Jiang Xiqu!” Hui Gu handed the sandalwood box to A Yi, who was standing half a body length away from Zhou Chaoyun, before taking out a handkerchief with the words “Southern Xinjiang” and “Da’an” written on it.

The handkerchief was old and worn; it was clear at a glance that it had been there for quite some time.

Upon hearing the familiar name, Zhou Chaoyun looked up at Huigu with some surprise.

Go to Jiangxi?

Isn't that the young master of the Jiang family that Shang Yuji took away?

Hmm, it seems the excuse they're using is that she took a fancy to Young Master Jiang and forced him into the manor. No wonder they came to the manor looking for him.

Zhou Chaoyun quickly recovered from her surprise and calmly lowered her head to look at the words on the handkerchief.

Over time, some strokes have faded and blurred at the edges, but this doesn't affect visibility. However, no matter how you look at it, the characters "大安" (Da'an) on it all read "江惜去" (Jiang Xiqu)...

Did they contact the wrong person or did they misspell the name?

Zhou Chaoyun did not explain that the person in the mansion was Jiang Xi, only saying that there was no one in the mansion with that name.

Young Master Jiang is far away in Yangzhou; he can't just conjure someone up on the spot, can he?

A-Cuo didn't miss the princess's momentary surprise. She took Hui-Gu's handkerchief, examined the familiar words, and smiled, "The handkerchief has been around for a long time, so the information may be biased. But we would like to trouble Your Highness to let us take a look at the Third Young Master Jiang of the Jiang family in the west of the city, who visited the princess's residence a month ago. If he is not the person we are looking for, we will give up and will not bother Your Highness again."

"We can also use the Second Prince's secret location as leverage. We hope Your Highness will agree to our request."

Ah Shuang had worked in the Second Prince's camp, not reaching the position of a confidant, but still considered a mid-level member. By chance, she learned of a secret location in the suburbs of the capital where the Second Prince hid stolen goods.

It must be said that this condition was indeed tempting to Zhou Chaoyun. Even so, she still had to delay for a while, as this matter was related to Miss Shang and she needed to ask for her opinion first.

"It's a pity you're too late. Jiang San had a fight with me some time ago and left the Princess's residence with his men in a fit of anger. I don't know where he went. If you insist on seeing him, you'll have to wait until he calms down and comes back."

Huigu was visibly disappointed, but Acuo comforted her in the southern Xinjiang dialect, saying, "We've waited so long, what's a little longer?"

Hui Gu knew she was right, and slowly regained her composure. She left Ashuang behind, then took Asuo and said goodbye to the Princess. The two of them then left the Princess's residence together.

The two left gracefully, leaving Ah Shuang kneeling on the spot. The princess told her to get up, and she hesitated before standing up.

Zhou Chaoyun thought that once he got the location of the secret place, he would send the person away to avoid having to suspect the other party's stance.

As for Ah Shuang, she quickly said, "Your Highness, I know a lot of things and I can do things. Please don't send me away, otherwise Hui Gu and Sister A Cuo will think that I haven't received your forgiveness and then punish me!"

Could it be that the punishment in southern Xinjiang was more severe than her treatment?

"How will they punish you?" Zhou Chaoyun asked curiously.

Ah Shuang recalled the past in her mind, and felt like crying: "Eating live insects, squirting, slimy, ugly insects that would wriggle in your mouth!"

"..." This perfectly matches Zhou Chaoyun's stereotype of the Southern Frontier.

Zhou Chaoyun tapped his cheek with his index finger and pondered, "Insects really don't taste very good."

Ah Shuang shook her head and waved her hand: "Not entirely. Fried insects are delicious. Your Highness can make me your kitchen helper. I'm very good at frying insects!"

This further reinforced her stereotypes about southern Xinjiang.

The princess's smile grew even gentler. Ah Yi, who knew her well, immediately sensed the dramatic fluctuations in her emotions and spoke up for her: "No need, the manor has no shortage of cooks."

Ah Yi understands her best.

"Do you know how to raise beautiful insects?" This could be used to decorate the Thousand Garden, which is beloved by the Princess.

"I can do it! I can do it! Please leave it to me, sir!"

Ah Yi didn't really understand her that much. Zhou Chaoyun's expression softened, and under the cover of her long sleeves, she pinched Ah Yi's waist hard.

Ah Yi pursed his lips immediately, but said with a normal expression, "Wait a moment, there are enough insects in the garden, we don't need you."

"I can also play the flute and make the insects dance, and I can also make incense to attract a bunch of insects..." A-Shuang recommended herself, trying to stay.

Zhou Chaoyun had someone take A Shuang to the west wing first. The reason for choosing the west wing was twofold: firstly, it had been empty for a long time and could be used to entertain guests; secondly, the witchcraft doll from last time was buried under the persimmon tree in the west wing. Because of this incident, the west wing, which was originally uninhabited, had become a mere decoration. However, since the witchcraft doll was set up by A Shuang, it would be perfect to use it to entertain her now.

After the person left, Zhou Chaoyun's gentle smile faded, his face darkened, and he instructed, "Assign her a job that is neither too light nor too heavy, preferably as far away from the main house as possible. Also, after you find out the location of the secret place, go and investigate it first, but be careful not to alert the enemy."

"yes."

As for the matter of "Jiang Xi's departure," she had to write to Shang Yuji to inquire. Fortunately, the disaster relief convoy would not depart for another two days, so there was enough time.

.

Jingzhou, the main hall of Jingshan Temple.

The rain was falling steadily, unlike the dark and gloomy weather of a few days ago. Li Wanjing was in high spirits and held back his gaze: "Does the young lady mean that you are going to Jingzhou on the orders of the Princess?"

Shang Yuji nodded and explained the distribution of supplies in the convoy to him. The Yang family gang stood not far away, a group of tall and strong men standing guard in a menacing manner.

Someone in the team muttered quietly, "It really is a flood..."

Yang Bai kicked the man without making a sound, and said in a low voice, "How can you question a young lady's decision!"

The atmosphere inside was just right, so Shang Yuji went along with it and said, "I'll leave these arrangements to Lord Li."

Li Wanjing was so grateful that he almost couldn't speak.

According to the plan, the Princess's disaster relief supplies were about to arrive in Jingzhou, and Shang Yuji informed Li Wanjing of this news.

Perseverance with hope gives us more to look forward to.

Upon hearing the news, Li Wanjing felt a pang of sadness. Fortunately, Jingzhou held on until hope arrived.

A note from the author:

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