After eating until they were half full, the young man in black called over the waiter, tossed him a handful of copper coins, and asked, "Young man, we've been in the south for over a year, and now that we're back, we're completely unfamiliar with the new capital."
"Tell us what's been going on lately, so we can have a look."
There weren't many people in the shop right now; even the shopkeeper had gone back to the backyard for lunch.
With nothing to do and a reward to offer, the young shop assistant carefully hid the copper coins and began to talk enthusiastically.
What, someone's house was burgled in the south of the city, someone's daughter eloped in the west of the city...
He was interrupted by the young man in black after only a few words, "Young man, Xindu is right under the emperor's nose, surely it's not just this little thing?"
"You mean important matters of the court?" The young waiter immediately changed his tune, replying repeatedly, "Yes, of course!"
"A major event just happened today!"
"The Empress's maternal family, the Wu family of the Marquis of Jiangning, had their property confiscated, their doors sealed, and the entire family imprisoned. The old Marquis couldn't bear the blow and died on the spot!"
"They are usually glamorous and noble people, but they are dragged to the government office like grasshoppers. It's so miserable, it's unbearable to watch!"
"However, I heard that the eldest son of the Wu family, who is also the Empress's younger brother, was out fooling around and took the opportunity to escape without being caught."
Another young man in gray asked curiously, "What serious crime did the Wu family commit that warrants the entire family being imprisoned?"
The young waiter looked around and, seeing no one was around, lowered his voice and said, "I heard that they angered the Emperor, who issued a decree directly to the Wu family, saying that the Wu family had failed to live up to the Emperor's favor."
"But some people say that the Wu family offended the Li family and was falsely accused by the Li family."
The Li family?
The two young men exchanged a glance, and the one in black asked, "Which Li family?"
"Which other Li family could it be?" The young waiter seemed to have found a sense of superiority and became even more talkative.
"Of course it's the Li family of Suijintan! I heard that Lord Li and Princess Kangle entered the palace this morning, and the imperial edict was issued to the Marquis of Jiangning's residence shortly after they left the palace."
"Therefore, everyone guessed that it was the Li family who instigated the Emperor to punish the Wu family."
The young man in black sneered and retorted, "Ridiculous! How could His Majesty, with his wisdom, listen to just a few words and throw your father-in-law's entire family into prison?!"
The young waiter paused for a moment, then suddenly realized, "Oh, that makes sense! The Li family usually behaves very well, why would they harm the Wu family for no reason?"
"It definitely wasn't instigated by the Li family; it was probably just a coincidence."
"Yes, that's exactly what I mean!" The young man in gray smiled honestly and casually praised, "I've traveled all over the country for so long, and Brother Er is really the smartest and most reasonable guy I've ever met."
The waiter was pleased with the praise, but he humbly replied, "Hehe, I was just saying it offhand."
"Actually, it's because the Li family has a good reputation. Nobody believes they've done anything wrong. It's just that the Li family hasn't been having much luck lately..."
As the conversation progressed, the young waiter began to talk about the Li family.
Princess Kang Le was seriously ill, and they spent a fortune to seek medical treatment. She recovered her health, but then her condition relapsed.
So the Li family had a great-grandson and held a banquet at the Earl's mansion...
The young men in black and gray listened to the whole thing from beginning to end. When they saw that the waiter had nothing more to say, the two young men gave him a handful of copper coins and then hurriedly left.
The young waiter was overjoyed to have earned a few dozen coins as an extra income, and he hoped that more customers like him would come.
Leaving aside his pipe dream, let's just say that these two young men are Jiayi and Liu Yang...
As they walked through the night in the new capital, they hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to hurry out of the city or stay overnight at the Earl's mansion.
Suddenly, a fast horse entered the city gate. The rider raised a flag and shouted, "Good news! Good news! Great victory in Jiangbei!"
"The Northern Expeditionary Army killed 20,000 enemies and captured 8,000!"
A few words instantly brought the city, which was about to quiet down, back to life.
Everyone ran into the streets.
Someone shouted, "Is this good news from Jiangbei? The Marquis has won again!"
"Yes, we killed 20,000 barbarians, 20,000!" the others echoed, dancing with joy.
"Lord Marquis, you are mighty! The Northern Expeditionary Army is mighty!"
Jiayi and Liu Yang mingled in the crowd, also happy.
Liu Yang lowered his voice and said, "That's great! Fourth Uncle and Uncle Dayong must have made contributions too. They should be promoted again this time!"
"Once General Tang arrives in Xindu, we will surely receive a reward after presenting the captives."
"Then our Broken Gold Beach will be completely famous!"
Jiayi's brow twitched upon hearing this, and his smile vanished.
Liu Yang had lived and eaten with him for so many years that they were more familiar than brothers, so he immediately guessed that something was wrong and quickly pulled him into the alley.
"Jiayi, what's wrong? You're not jealous of Fourth Uncle and the others, are you?" Liu Yang joked.
Sure enough, Jiayi patted him on the shoulder and said in a low voice, "What nonsense are you talking about? I just suddenly thought of four words... 'His merits overshadow his master'."
His achievements overshadowed those of his master?
Liu Yang blinked twice, snapping out of his daze, and asked, "Are you afraid the imperial court will be wary of our family?"
Jiayi nodded. "Grandma used to say, 'I'm not afraid of bad things not happening, I'm afraid of bad people not happening.'"
"Perhaps the Emperor has no doubts about the Marquis and our family, and is pleased that our family has produced so many talented generals who have served the country with utmost loyalty."
"But who knows if someone will be jealous and say something they shouldn't to the Emperor!"
"Today, Tianwu only has the Jiangbei defense line, our Hailan Army in the southeast, and the troops stationed in the important towns in the southwest."
"The Northern Expeditionary Army is under the Marquis's command, and both my fourth uncle and Uncle Dayong are generals. We in the Hailan Army are also considered to be able to stand on our own."
"It can be said that, apart from the major cities in the southwest, our family has already controlled most of the military power."
"If three men can make a tiger, the emperor will probably become wary if he hears it too often and want to consolidate military power..."
"But what the Marquis and his fourth uncle were thinking about was recovering Jiangbei and driving the barbarians out of Tianwu."
"After these years of fighting, next year may be the time for the final offensive. We can't afford to be delayed even a little bit..."
Liu Yang found the idea reasonable, his mind raced, and he hesitated before asking, "You mean... to tarnish your own reputation?!"
Jiayi smiled but didn't answer. He simply said, "Let's wander around first and figure out what's going on between our family and the Wu family before we talk about it."
Liu Yang nodded. They were almost home. He could stay for a month or two this time, so a few more days wouldn't make a difference.
After enjoying a sumptuous dinner at Broken Gold Beach, everyone dispersed.
The Wu family matter was like a sword hanging over our heads for many days, but now it has been taken away all at once, and we no longer have to worry about anyone suddenly coming to cause trouble.
It must be said that the peaceful days that the Li family has finally regained are such that Old Mrs. Li went to bed early today and did not stay up late to do needlework by the oil lamp.
Hearing that the backyard was quiet, Jiayin wrapped herself in a thick cloak and took Shuiling, who was on night watch, to the Wen family next door.
Sure enough, the three brothers, Li Zhensheng, Li Lao Er, and Jiaren, along with Mr. Wen, all gathered together to drink tea and chat.
Everyone was surprised to see Jiayin push the door open and come in.
Li Zhensheng then asked, "Why isn't Fu Niu'er asleep yet?"
Jiayin smiled and sat down next to her older brother, replying, "At the dinner table, no one mentioned what happened during the day. I guessed that you were secretly discussing it behind Grandma's back because you were afraid she would worry."
"As expected, I caught him!"
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