Chapter 46 The Emperor's Jealousy "Xie Qing is virtuous and self-disciplined, but fears only the person she loves..."
The scouts returned, covered in mud from waist to toe, and said, "This swamp stretches for three to five miles; this swamp used to be part of Luo County."
"Is there another way?" Zhuzhao pressed.
After all, they were taking the emperor out, and the carriage couldn't move; they couldn't let Ying Xi wade through the mud.
The soldier replied, "We'll return the way we came, change course to the fork in the road, and take a detour to Luoxian, which will take two more days."
Returning to the mountains in the rain is also inappropriate.
On the surface, Zhuzhao is supposed to be the one making the decisions, but it's unclear whether he should be.
Ying Xi asked, "General Xie, have you ever encountered such a large swamp during your military campaigns?"
Before Xie Qianli could answer, Lian Qing quickly struck up a conversation: "Every time I encounter a road that's more difficult than this!"
Lian Qing pointed his whip into the distance, where the rain was everywhere and everything was shrouded in mist: "Last autumn, the rains were continuous, and the swamp was even bigger. If you got stuck and no one came to your rescue, you would be swallowed up by the swamp immediately. The brothers held hands and crossed the swamp, and the cold seeped into their bones."
The Qingniu rebels gathered in the Heluo area. Xie Qianli had traveled this road before, and this man's martial prowess and physical strength far surpassed his own. As the emperor, he couldn't help but feel threatened.
At the very least, one's will cannot be defeated. Ying Xi nodded.
Zhu Zhao then said, "Order the soldiers to help each other across the swamp!"
Lian Qing relayed the order, and the well-trained Longwu Army immediately and skillfully formed groups.
In an instant, people linked arms, forming a line of three or four. They stood on this side of the stream, their goal the other side.
When Lian Qing saw Ying Xi rolling up her trousers in the rain, his heart trembled violently. He regretted saying that he could wade through the swamp.
Although the emperor's face was made up, his legs were not. His ankles were slender and his calves were pale and white. After being moistened by the spring rain, they looked like white jade covered with dew.
Such beautiful legs going to get tangled in the mud... Lian Qing quickly and guiltily glanced at Xie Qianli!
Through the misty rain, Xie Qianli's silver helmet partially obscured his eyebrows and eyes, making it impossible to discern any change in his expression.
He reached out to Ying Xi, removing the silver-white gauntlet from his left hand. If Ying Xi's identity weren't currently kept secret, he could have carried the emperor across this swamp.
Lian Qing's eyes widened, and her eyes became very bright.
What permeated the relationship between the Emperor and the Duke of England was an atmosphere that even the Qing Dynasty could not comprehend: the general's loyalty to His Majesty was so great that even a blind or foolish person could see it.
But when he took off his gauntlet, his eyes were downcast, and the corners of his mouth were slightly upturned. Perhaps he was seeing things because the rain was too thick?
The feeling of fear was like being pricked by needles, and Lian Qing shivered.
Perhaps His Majesty felt that, as the Imperial Tutor's attendant, it was still inappropriate for the general to support him, so His Majesty and the Imperial Tutor helped each other to cross the swamp.
System Task: Hold Hands with the Imperial Tutor (1/1)
Task Reward: Imperial Tutor's Favorability +5
Xie Qianli put on the gauntlet alone.
Lian Qing took in this scene, desperately searching for disappointment on Xie Qianli's face. He found none.
Xie Qianli instead scolded him, "What are you daydreaming about? Hurry up and go."
"Yes, yes!"
Emerging from the swamp, it approaches Los Angeles County.
As Ying Xi walked, her expression grew increasingly solemn.
The Heluo region was an important grain-producing area of the Qin Dynasty. Although there were many swamps in this area, it was not so desolate as to be completely uninhabited and without any trace of cultivation, which would mean that this wilderness would yield no harvest in the autumn.
Ying Xi asked, "General Lian, was this place just as desolate last year?"
Lian Qing was suddenly called out and abruptly said, "Yes, yes, but we arrived here in autumn, which should be different from spring."
"What's the difference?" Ying Xi pressed.
Even Lian Qing knew the answer: "We should plant the land; we can't just leave it barren!"
When they finally encountered a village along the way, the envoy and his soldiers immediately inquired whether the local farming had been affected by bandits and outlaws.
The two Longwu soldiers who were sent out were both young, but the Longwu soldiers, who were usually known for their high spirits and energy, returned with their heads down and their eyes drooping, looking as if they had suffered some injustice.
Yingxi noticed that the stains on the two people's silver armor that had not yet been cleaned off were a milky white fragment—an eggshell.
***
"This humble official pays respects to the chief and deputy envoys for the offer of amnesty!"
Magistrate Gao Mingyang rushed out of the dilapidated Luo County government office. In Magistrate Gao's eyes, the official ranks and titles of the two envoys who offered amnesty were more important than the heavens.
Along the way, Gao Mingyang had heard about the deeds of the surrender mission. Whether it was Zhuzhao persuading Fufeng Village to surrender or Xie Qianli eliminating Han Laoda, each and every one of them was well-known.
The minor official, Magistrate Gao, nodded vigorously: "The chief envoy for the pacification campaign is highly talented, and the deputy envoy is mighty. This humble official... this humble official can only look up to him with admiration..."
Ying Xi disliked nothing more than people talking nonsense, and couldn't help but glare at the magistrate. Her piercing gaze was like a knife scraping bone.
The magistrate was inexplicably terrified. Seeing Ying Xi dressed as an attendant, he dared not underestimate him at all. Instead, he was intimidated and said briefly, "Luo County and the surrounding counties of Luoyang have all been harmed by the remnants of the Green Ox gang! I have dealt with them many times, but I have been tricked by the thieves and missed the farming season. I deserve to die! I have caused the court to lose the hearts of the people. I deserve to die! Please, messenger, save me!"
After he finished speaking, Magistrate Gao actually started crying.
Despite his stature, he didn't feel ashamed and knelt before Zhuzhao, clinging to the Imperial Tutor's left leg.
Zhu Zhao was indeed good-tempered; he didn't move, the folds of his crane-patterned official robes creased: "Tell me in detail."
Magistrate Gao took a deep breath, knowing that the messenger was about to lend a helping hand, and looked up to speak.
"That's how it is, that's how it is..."
After the Qingniu Army remnants fled, the largest group went up the mountain and wiped out the original bandit stronghold, greatly increasing their power. These remnants knew how to train soldiers, making the bandits well-trained. Magistrate Gao once organized local constables to go up the mountain to suppress the bandits, but they were utterly defeated.
What's even more terrifying is that since there's no farmland on the mountain, they have no choice but to come down and rob. Robbing money, food, and people disrupts farming and land reclamation efforts at the foot of the mountain.
People who missed the farming season knew they couldn't pay the autumn taxes and didn't want to be punished by the court for tax evasion, so they were forced to become outlaws!
With so many people joining the outlaws that Luo County wasn't enough to take, they went directly to other counties to raid.
They were organized and formed into units, becoming a replica of the original Qingniu Army.
“What’s most infuriating is…” Magistrate Gao looked up, his expression ashen, and said, “The people in Luoshan stronghold are a mixed bunch. I couldn’t wipe them out, so I wanted to recruit them. I had a meeting with the chieftain once. Chieftain Dong agreed readily.”
"I have sent them the formal uniforms of yamen runners, hoping to educate them to contribute to the people of Luo County in the future."
"Who knew that after they collected the clothes, they put them on and went down the mountain to rob people as government officials."
“The counties were unaware of the situation and genuinely believed it was an official matter. They were completely deceived and suffered heavy losses.”
Therefore, the government has completely lost its credibility.
People couldn't see the good in the government. Whether it was the yamen runners or the Longwu Army, in the eyes of the people they were either bandits or good-for-nothings!
Thinking back to that piece of broken eggshell, its sharp edges felt like thorns, pricking Yingxi's heart.
Ying Xi asked somberly, "Why not report this to the Emperor?"
The emperor's majesty was ingrained in Ying Xi's very being, and fortunately, everyone at the meeting in the county government office was someone who knew the truth.
Magistrate Gao vaguely sensed that this attendant was different from others, assuming that it was a prince inspecting the work, and muttered under his breath, "No, not in line with the mainstream."
—"???"
Inside the county government office, the high-ranking civil and military officials of the Great Qin Dynasty fell silent for a moment, unable to immediately understand the thoughts of this low-ranking official.
Magistrate Gao looked down at the ground and said in a voice as soft as a mosquito's buzz, "This...this isn't an announcement from the imperial court that the Qingniu rebels have been completely wiped out."
"The remnants of the Luoshan stronghold did not raise any rebellious banners, so they should be considered bandits and should be dealt with by me."
"If I cannot handle this, it is because I am mediocre."
"Mediocrity is fine, just don't go against the tide. If we blame the rampant banditry on the unquelled rebellion of the Green Ox Army, where will the court put its face? Will the war not be fought cleanly?"
"Therefore, I have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the envoys to save our counties from this dire situation," Magistrate Gao suddenly raised his voice, his eyes filled with piety and his blood boiling as he raised his head and raised his arm, "I have been waiting for you envoys for a long time!!!"
The excited magistrate caused a second silence.
In that silence, the Imperial Tutor sighed, the temperature around Duke Xie Qianli was chilling, and Lian Qing suppressed a twitching at the corner of his mouth. All three, openly and secretly, were watching the Emperor.
If there are levels of deception, Gao Mingyang must belong to the highest level.
His bureaucratic tendencies, slickness, and limited abilities led to the desolation and ever-growing problems in Los Angeles County.
He didn't seem to have broken any laws—if Ying Xi hadn't been there to listen to Magistrate Gao analyze his thought process.
Ying Xi took a slow, deep breath.
The cold, rainy night air pressed down on the emperor's complex emotions. The ninth-rank county magistrate was a man of great intelligence and shrewdness; how unfathomable is the human heart!
It requires empathetic observation and communication with people from different walks of life to accumulate rich experience and insights, and to anticipate and solve various difficult problems.
Ying Xi closed her eyes.
If there's anything to reflect on in my past life, it's that I was short-lived, constantly putting out fires and unable to witness the plight of the people.
“It’s never too late to mend the fence after the sheep are lost,” Zhu Zhao said. “Missing the planting season means you can’t plant grains, but that doesn’t mean you can’t plant beans. You can plant cotton after Grain Rain, and you can still get cash crops in the autumn harvest. You can still exchange cotton for grain.”
Zhu Zhao was learned and versatile. He could immediately devise a formula to change the properties of the soil, as well as methods for pest control and ripening, planting essentials, and agricultural techniques. This was the magic of the Imperial Tutor.
Ying Xi thought that his teacher seemed willing to contribute his talents to the Qin Dynasty again. He felt gratified.
Sweetie chuckled, "See, Your Majesty! Thanks to you completing the mission, my favorability rating has increased by five points!"
***
The banditry must be eradicated, but the farmland must not be left to fallow. Both tasks must be undertaken simultaneously.
Tomorrow, Zhu Zhao will represent the court and personally visit the village to encourage agriculture and sericulture. Tonight, the delegation for the pacification mission will settle down and rest in Luo County.
Luo County's finances are strained and it can no longer support the inn.
Magistrate Gao set aside his personal interests, giving up the entire county office for the Longwu Army to rest and recuperate, and also giving up his room and his wife's room for important figures in the imperial court.
Magistrate Gao was poor, and when he hastily received the guest, he found not a single piece of gold or silver in the room, and his wife's rouge box was empty. From this perspective, he wasn't entirely a corrupt official. Ying Xi gained a deeper understanding of the complexities of human nature.
The county government office has two main rooms.
As can be seen from observation, Magistrate Gao's room was very small, with only a double bed.
Madam Gao's room was spacious, with two beds and a small bed for the maids who served her.
So the emperor and his tutor, the general and his deputy, stood in the corridor facing the choice of which room to choose.
Xie Qianli, being tall and long-legged, had already noticed the difference between the two rooms, but his gaze lingered on the larger room, as if deep in thought.
Logically, the emperor should sleep in the main seat of the county government office, but the main room could not accommodate the narrowest small couch, and the double bed was too big, taking up most of the space.
But when he saw the double bed, he felt a tightness in his chest, as if he had a fishbone stuck in his throat. His gaze inadvertently swept over Ying Xi's thin shoulders, which were only covered by her undergarments, and then quickly tightened his gaze at her waistline.
Xie Qianli whispered, “Your Majesty, as the supreme ruler, it is probably inappropriate for you to share a bed with this gentleman. I urge Your Majesty to reconsider.”
San Si means that Zhu Zhao should squeeze in with the two of them.
However, the words were too subtle. Ying Xi needed to complete the surveillance plan, and the master and disciple could not be separated.
Ying Xi couldn't help but think of something else: that he and the Imperial Tutor should sleep in a double room because Xie Qianli didn't want to sleep in another woman's room?
"I have someone I love, and I'm afraid he'll be displeased."
In the lamplight, Ying Xi narrowed her deep gray eyes, her gaze filled with a sharp, piercing light.
Ying Xi sized up Xie Qianli. He had removed his armor and was wearing casual clothes, which softened his murderous aura and made him look clean and bright, like the boy from her distant memory.
Now, this man's considerate and cautious demeanor is all attributed to his mysterious lover, with whom he has no future, and he even dares to use the emperor as an excuse.
My heart's emotions have turned into a nameless raging fire!
Ying Xi glared at Xie Qianli.
The only thing missing was the emperor's gaze; it was filled with anger and resentment, causing Xie Qianli to lower his head inexplicably, looking bewildered, yet unsure of what he had done wrong.
Ying Xi had already taken over the large room with two beds. Separated by the threshold, her fingernails dug into her palms, while her words, thrown outside, were light and casual.
"Your Excellency Xie is of high moral character and fears that your beloved will be displeased. I should help you achieve your goal."
The spring rain was misty, and the door was locked.
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