Chapter 51 Master, Miss is almost here! ...

As the night deepened and the moon cast a dim light, Wei Yangwan, who had not yet had a chance to appreciate the beautiful scenery of the floating mist and warm greenery, felt even more gloomy than the dark sky.

“Your Majesty is trying to call a deer a horse, and I have nothing to say about that. However, anyone with a brain would know that this is a deliberate frame-up by someone trying to sow discord between us brothers.”

The boy, whose face was covered in bruises, sniffed and sat angrily with his hands tucked into his pockets in the courtyard of the post station.

"It must be Cui Shihan's doing; the strategist has infiltrated the scheme herself!"

"Do we need outsiders to stir things up?" Wei Xichen, with his sleeves rolled up to his arms, leaned against the stone mill in the courtyard. There was a bruise on his left cheekbone. He had lost his usual dignified demeanor and gained a more down-to-earth air.

They had no attendants with them; two groups of guards stood ready to fight outside the post station, but the courtyard was unusually quiet inside the tightly closed gates.

On an ordinary night, the two brothers were finally able to talk calmly after their fight.

"In short, I did not kidnap Gong Fei."

Wei Xichen was well aware that he was caught in a trap within a trap, with an invisible hand repeatedly stirring up his suspicious heartstrings, leaving him bewildered and filled with doubt.

With his maternal grandfather nearing his end, a new force seems to be quietly growing.

The third son reaped the benefits of breaking ties with the Cui family. Who benefited from the break with the third son?

Of the seven princes, apart from the eldest and third princes, the other four were not yet fully established.

Wei Xichen stroked the white jade pendant at his waist, thinking of his maternal grandfather's worries—the eldest prince was dead and his body was nowhere to be found.

The carriage exploded, shattering the body into pieces. The coroner could not identify the deceased by piecing together the remains.

Wei Xichen suddenly felt that the jade pendant in his hand was unusually cold.

"Leave Yangzhou first thing tomorrow morning. Do not cause any more trouble. The salt administration is fair and just, which is related to the prosperity of the country. I do not have the energy to deal with you. Do not force me to use force against your people."

"Threatening me?"

"Let's see if you can take the threat."

The boy sitting on the ground paused for a moment, then got up and patted the dust off his clothes. "That old bastard Gong Fei is in the woodshed, isn't he?"

"do what?"

“Forced confession,” the boy pointed at his elder brother from afar. “Father said that feigned mercy is acceptable, but true mercy will only give the opponent a chance to retaliate.”

The young man rolled up his sleeves and kicked open the door to the woodshed, his manner aggressive and menacing. He walked in and closed the door behind him.

Hearing Gong Fei's loud shout coming from the woodshed, Wei Xichen pinched the bridge of his nose.

"To recruit or not?"

"Does it hurt?"

Inside the woodshed, the wolf-like youth straddled the back of Gong Fei's neck, plucking the old man's beard hairs one by one, causing the old man to shed tears from the pain.

Yan Zhuyi's lips twitched at the sight.

After plucking dozens of whiskers, the boy landed with a leap, glanced at the disheveled Yan Zhuyi, and asked, "Scared?"

In return, she received Yan Zhuyi's disdain: "Childish."

"So, you want me to kill this old bastard, huh?" Wei Yangwan walked up to Yan Zhuyi, looking down at her with a sinister smile.

"Smack!"

A crisp slap echoed through the dark night.

The boy bent over and used the handle of his fan to straighten Yan Zhuyi's face, which had been slapped.

As members of the royal family, they had no playmates growing up. They were all like walking corpses, incredibly boring. When a spoiled girl finally appeared, she bullied her away, and the boy was furious.

"It was paid for Jiang Niannian, put it on her tab."

Yan Zhuyi glared angrily, her dark eyebrows forming thick, almost black lines. "She's born lucky, and you're all just there to make her look good!"

The boy scoffed, "Otherwise, favor you? Why should I?"

At an age when we didn't yet understand scheming and backstabbing, the value of childhood playmates was immeasurable. But looking back now, everything has changed.

The morning sun shines slowly on the blue waves, and the rippling waves send off the passenger boat.

The boy in red climbed onto the deck and gazed at the receding shore.

No one came to see me off.

"Never mind, people are so cold-hearted." The boy shrugged indifferently.

In the sweltering summer heat, during the plum rain season, waterways were likely to be threatened by torrential rains. Wei Qin chose a mountain path for Jiang Yinyue and her servants to return, which was not as treacherous and rugged as the way they had come.

After giving instructions to Hong Mei, who was in charge, Wei Qin walked over to Jiang Yinyue's side.

The first rays of dawn shone brightly, and the lush vegetation was verdant and abundant. They gazed at each other, speechless with farewell.

"Let's go, I'll see you off."

A gentle breeze blows for miles, yet we have not parted.

A babbling brook encircles the green hills, and the splashing water flows downstream, bidding farewell to the green hills.

Walking along the secluded, winding path and onto the long, sloping grass, Jiang Yinyue took the bundle off Wei Qin's shoulder. "Let's go back."

"Be careful on the road."

"Um!"

Hong Mei gave a signal, and the female guards quietly retreated.

Parting amidst the beautiful scenery of Cuiwei, a faint sadness lingers, refusing to dissipate with the wind.

Jiang Yinyue tiptoed and smoothed the stray hairs from Wei Qin's temples, then looked up and smiled at the handsome face so close to hers.

Wearing a blue official robe and a black gauze hat, Wei Qin exuded elegance and charm. His handsome appearance blended with the mountains, rivers, plants, and trees, as well as with the clear eyes of Jiang Yinyue.

"I'll welcome you home in the autumn." Jiang Yinyue suppressed a sob in her voice, hoping he would return home as promised.

Wei Qin bent down and touched his forehead to his wife's.

The scenery was gentle, and the people were gentle too. Amidst the tender affection, Jiang Yinyue did something bold, then timidly ran away, climbed into the carriage, and urged Hongmei to drive faster.

Wei Qin watched the carriage drive towards the other side of the hillside and touched his wet forehead with the back of his hand.

His clothes fluttered in the wind as he lifted his sleeve and gently kissed the back of his hand.

Once they were far away, Jiang Yinyue leaned out of the car window and waved vigorously.

She remains as clever as ever.

After the convoy had traveled twenty miles, it entered a flat mountain road. Jiang Yinyue lifted the curtain, held onto the threshold, and stepped out of the carriage. The sorrow of parting was blown away by the wind.

"Chase the lightning!"

A scraggly horse that had been following the caravan reacted and galloped over with great joy.

As Jiang Yinyue caught up with the carriage, she grabbed the reins and a tuft of mane with one hand, leaped onto the horse, and shouted, "Giddy up!"

The mixed-breed horse, having gained recognition, ran with the spirit of a true Akhal-Teke. But the confined stables could never compare to the boundless freedom and joy of the open mountains!

"Woof! Woof!"

Watching the man and horse gallop freely, Qi Bao, left inside the carriage, kept barking.

Under the bright sunshine, the patterns on the woman's brocade dress bloom amidst the beautiful scenery of the mountains.

She possesses a beautiful and radiant appearance.

The man in white who came to see them off remained silent as he watched the departing man and horse.

On the way back, the magnificent scenery gradually dimmed, and the desire to return to Beijing grew stronger.

Passing by a fortune-telling stall, the man heard a question—

"Judging from your elegant bearing and refined demeanor, young master, why do you look so troubled?"

Wei Xichen stopped the guards behind him and asked gently, "Can this be considered a predestined marriage?"

The stall owner pinched a wisp of his beard and gestured "please".

Wei Xichen sat down at the stall and drew a divination stick from the divination tube handed to him by the Taoist priest.

The stall owner examined it carefully and said, "What can relieve your worries is not marriage, but letting go of a regret."

The guards exchanged glances.

He's got some skills.

Wei Xichen smiled and sighed, "Please speak frankly, is it that my love life is not going well?"

"Many marriages in this world are filled with regrets."

"Understood." He left the silver, nodded, and departed.

People who are not clear-headed about emotions are very clear-headed about other things; they understand things very quickly.

The stall owner stood up and shouted at the white-clad figure, "Where there's a will, there's a way! Don't give up! I wish you all the best and that your wishes come true."

Wei Xichen did not turn around, a slight smile playing on his thin lips. He did not desire much: to ascend the throne, to lose it and then regain it.

There is no resentment in the spring palace.

**

"Whoa~"

After the Great Heat, the scorching sun blazed high. As Jiang Yinyue rode her horse across a stream, she called for a halt, saying, "Let's rest."

Hong Mei glanced at the blazing sun beyond the jagged branches overhead, then led her horse to the stream to cool it down.

After traveling for several days, with no village or shop in sight, she was amazed by her young mistress's patience.

"Miss must have suffered a lot on her journey to her new post with her husband."

Jiang Yinyue held Zhu Dian's hand in one hand and Qi Bao's hand in the other, and walked towards the stream. "With Wei Qin braving the wind, frost, snow and rain, it's not hard at all."

"The son-in-law is very good at taking care of people."

Jiang Yinyue scooped up a ladle of cool stream water and fed it to Zhu Dian, while letting Qi Bao drink the water by herself by the stream.

"But he can't take care of himself and he's always getting hurt."

"Husbands and wives should take care of each other."

Mentioning Wei Qin, Jiang Yinyue's fatigue from the journey vanished. She lay back beside the babbling brook, feeling the warmth of the pebbles beneath her.

"The hottest period of summer will end after the end of summer heat. Let's hurry back home to moisturize our bodies."

The autumn air in the north was dry, and Jiang Yinyue thought of the small pot of pear soup that the cook in the Jiang family used to make.

"This servant is afraid that Miss will not be able to handle it."

Apart from Jiang Yinyue, the rest of them were all martial arts practitioners, able to withstand the scorching heat and bitter cold.

Jiang Yinyue picked up a smooth pebble and pressed it against her face. "I'm as resilient as a stone."

At first, the female guards thought the young lady was bragging, but after enduring wind and sun all the way, the once pampered girl didn't utter a single complaint.

On the ninth day after the end of the hottest period of summer, the group was about to arrive in the capital.

Meanwhile, ten miles outside a city gate in the capital, people were already eagerly waiting.

They were servants sent by Jiang Song, who would wait here every day for the young lady to return.

"Judging by the days, it should be time."

"My wife should be back soon; I'm practically a statue waiting for her."

The husband of a female guard was joking around when he suddenly spotted a scraggly horse galloping towards them in the distance. He picked up his sniffer, examined it closely, and then whistled loudly...

"Master, master, Miss is almost here!"

The servant, who had ridden back to the city at breakneck speed, rushed to the Ministry of Justice and reported breathlessly.

Jiang Song, who was explaining the case to someone, suddenly stood up.

But when he rode his horse to the city gate, he found the Third Prince, who had just returned to the capital two days earlier, waiting there with his men.

"This is?"

Wei Yangwan looked at Jiang Song in the setting sun and gestured casually, "The seventh young master of the Zhang family, the eldest daughter of the Ji family, the sixth daughter of the Zhao family... all of these people have taken advantage of your misfortune. Today, they must apologize to your daughter."

Dozens of nobles gathered, some with drooping shoulders, some with crooked mouths, and some with dark faces, daring not to speak out in anger.

The task of clearing Jiang Yinyue's name, which the Crown Prince was tasked with, fell to Wei Yangwan due to delays caused by the salt administration in Yangzhou.

The unruly boy did not refuse.

Jiang Song raised his chin. "Is this all there is?"

"Making an example of someone is enough."

The torrent of insults and doubts from years ago still echoed in Jiang Song's ears, and a ripple suddenly appeared in his peach blossom eyes. Most of these people were indiscriminate, going with the flow. Once things turned around, how much sincerity would they have left?

We can't arrest everyone; there are too many. From high-ranking officials to lowly clerks, there are just as many who flatter Wei Xichen as those who slander Jiang Yinyue.

Jiang Song shrugged, put his foot in the stirrup, and mounted his horse again. "We don't accept this."

The boy put his hands on his hips and asked, "Then what should we do?"

“You can never change people’s prejudices.” Jiang Song leaned down, close to the boy’s face. “When it comes to prejudice, killing one chicken won’t warn the monkey. We don’t accept insincere apologies, those that are just empty words. What we can do is not be tripped up by prejudice, but rise steadily, not necessarily in rank, but also in character.”

"drive!"

Jiang Song cracked his whip and leaped out of the city gate.

Wei Yangwan, who seemed to understand but not quite, spat out the dust that had flown into his mouth. He waited from dusk until sunset, but Jiang Yinyue did not return.

"Where's the moon? Where's that big moon?"

The boy looked up and sighed.

Outside the city, in front of a grave, a handsome middle-aged man sat with his tearful daughter, talking to his deceased wife.

Jiang Yinyue knelt before her mother's grave, choking back tears, and said, "Mother, your daughter has returned."

Large tears fell in strings.

Jiang Song held his daughter's shoulders and shook her gently. "Alright, Mother doesn't want to see you cry. Give Mother a smile."

Jiang Yinyue wiped away her tears with her father's sleeve, smiled, her eyes slightly swollen and her nose red.

As the moon disappeared behind the stars, Jiang Yinyue lay on her father's back, recounting her experiences along the way, more excited than the birds perched on the branches.

The wind was gentle, the scenery was serene and beautiful. Jiang Song carried his daughter steadily on his back, walking through the dark night, just as before.

It should be noted that from birth to 100 days old, Miss Jiang's feet hardly ever touched the ground. As a result, in the years that followed, the pampered young lady of the Jiang family would furrow her delicate brows even if the soles of her shoes got muddy.

From his daughter's words, Jiang Song sensed her growth, feeling both gratified and wistful.

"After saying all this, let me ask you, do you truly have my good son-in-law in your heart?"

"Um......"

"Hmm, how much can it hold?"

"Compared to Father..."

Jiang Song said sarcastically, "Think it over before you answer."

Jiang Yinyue smiled and said, "Naturally, I can't compare to Father."

"How about comparing strategies?"

"A little less."

"How does Father compare to strategy?"

Jiang Yinyue patted her father's shoulders heavily, propped herself up, and cupped her hands in a megaphone shape, "No one can replace Father!"

Jiang Song retorted, a subtle smile playing on his lips.

Yangzhou.

From the jade-green early spring to the golden late autumn, Wei Qin, who had narrowly escaped death, stood at the ferry crossing with his bundle on his back, waiting for the guards to carry the ice coffins onto the passenger ship.

The passenger ship was built by a master craftsman and equipped with an ice cellar. On the day Wei Qin returned to the capital, Tao Qian would be utterly disgraced.

Eager to return to the capital to visit his maternal grandfather, Wei Xichen set off at the end of summer. Before leaving, he instructed Wei Qin to wait until late autumn when the weather cooled down before transporting the coffin containing the assassin's body back to the capital.

There can be no mistakes.

The guards boarded the ship one after another, leaving Wei Qin standing alone on the shore.

At his request, the Wei family did not come to see him off.

When he heard footsteps behind him, he turned his head slightly and met the gaze of a girl who happened to be "passing by".

There wasn't a single word exchanged.

As Cui Shihan watched Wei Qin board the passenger ship against the backdrop of the sunset, she blinked, forcing back her tears, and said in a hoarse voice, "Take care."

Wei Qin turned around at the stern of the boat and suddenly raised the corners of his lips.

Her clear and melodious voice drifted in the autumn wind.

"Take care, Auntie."

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Author's Note: 100 small red envelopes~