Chapter 270
Jinzhai Chief lay in bed, tossing and turning, thinking about the two academies, then about the orphanage, feeling restless and unable to sleep.
"Are you going to sleep or not?" Chief Jin's wife said impatiently. "If you're not going to sleep, go outside. Don't keep me from sleeping."
Chief Jin wasn't angry. Instead, he turned over and said, "Fuzhou has more than just..."
“Tibet, two academies, and an orphanage,” said Chief Jin’s wife. “You’ve been talking about it for days.”
Chief Jin sat up abruptly and said, "If only all this were here with us."
"Isn't that obvious?" Chief Jin's wife decided to stay up no longer. "But why should they spend so much money here? This isn't even her fiefdom."
That's the absolute truth.
Chief Jin licked his lips and said nervously, "Then tell me, what if we let the princess take over Nanzhong?"
The wife of the chieftain was stunned. Only then did she realize what her husband had been thinking. No wonder he had been restless these past few days.
"Look, most of the people in Nanzhong are ours," Chief Jin said, rubbing his hands together. "And some have secretly pledged allegiance to the princess?"
Jin's wife was more practical, asking, "And will Sha's chieftain and the others agree? This is going against the imperial court."
Chief Jin swallowed hard and said, "I'll mention it to them. Actually, I think they all have the same idea."
"I think we should wait until the imperial officials arrive and see what happens," said the Jin chieftain's wife, preferring to play it safe. "What if the new official is a good one?"
Chief Jin sighed and said, "Even if it were the best, would there be an orphanage? Would there be two..."
Before he could finish speaking, his wife slapped him on the back: "Go to sleep!"
The chieftain Jin then stopped talking and obediently lay down to sleep.
While the chieftains were discussing and hesitating, the officials from the imperial court arrived. Han Jing handed them over without any hesitation, then hosted a meal for the former officials and the chieftains. After they got to know each other, he directly told them that he was leaving.
No one expected Han Jing to leave so quickly.
Han Jing said, "However, the princess really likes the mountain products here, and will send people to collect them regularly in the future. We'll have to trouble the village chiefs then."
Chief Duo quickly replied, "No trouble at all. Since the princess likes it, we'll leave more of the best for her."
Han Jing smiled and offered him a toast.
When Han Jing returned to Fuzhou, his daughter was almost seven months old and had become very close to Yan Shujin. However, she was quite unfamiliar with Han Jing. Seeing that his daughter wouldn't even let him hold her, Han Jing's eyes welled up with tears. He could only gaze at her longingly, looking incredibly pitiful.
Yan Shujin, holding her daughter, tilted her head and smiled at Han Jing, "Jealous?"
Han Jing: "..."
Yan Shujin gave her daughter another kiss with a grin, then raised an eyebrow at Han Jing.
Han Jing moved his lips, feeling an urge to cry.
Yan Shujin burst into laughter.
Huan Jie also hugged Yan Shujin's neck and grinned. She was drooling as she laughed, looking exceptionally cheerful. This scene made Han Jing's sadness disappear completely. He couldn't help but lean over, but instead of reaching out to hug Huan Jie, he gently touched her little hand.
Huan Jie didn't dodge the touch; instead, she grabbed Han Jing's fingers with her small hand.
On the day Han Jing returned, his family spent time together playing with their daughter, without discussing any official business.
However, they only had half a day to relax. The next day, they continued to discuss official business. Han Jing couldn't even find time to be lazy and spend time with his daughter.
Han Jing recounted the situation in Nanzhong, especially the multiple visits by the village chiefs.
Yan Shujin nodded. It was about what she had estimated. Moreover, Han Jing had told the village chiefs about the situation in Fuzhou, just as Yan Shujin had instructed beforehand.
Mr. Du said, "In that case, we might as well wait a little longer."
After all, the power of court officials is limited. Even if they wanted to make things better in the south, they didn't have the money or connections, let alone the resources to set up an orphanage. At present, there are only three orphanages besides Fuzhou. They were originally run by Empress Dowager Yan and Empress Chen. However, after Empress Chen died, Empress Dowager Yan fell ill. Even though she has recovered now, she no longer has the energy to run these orphanages.
Even among the original few families, Yan Shujin felt somewhat safe with the one in the Northwest, but the other two families were somewhat dangerous.
However, it's not that something will happen in a short time. Rather, it's waiting for them to discover that the imperial court's supervision is becoming increasingly lax. At that point, no one knows what will happen to these two orphanages.
Yan Shujin also talked to Han Jing about the matter in Fuzhou: "Luo Zhengyao went to the southwest. Since General Shi is going to stay in the southwest, he will probably need a lot of manpower. Now is the best time to arrange people."
In fact, besides Luo Zhengyao, Yan Shujin and Mr. Du had also arranged other people in private, but these could not be mentioned openly. Moreover, having two pawns, one in the open and one in the dark, was the safest option. This was also to protect Luo Zhengyao. Even if General Shi discovered that Luo Zhengyao was Yan Shujin's man, General Shi would not deal with him immediately. He might even use him to pass on false information to Yan Shujin.
Moreover, General Shi couldn't be sure whether Luo Zhengyao was Yan Shujin's man or Emperor Yan's man. A better way than killing him directly was to control him secretly.
No one expected the turmoil to start so quickly and end just as quickly, though the way it ended was very bloody.
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