Facing Yun Hui's shame, Chang Suining said, "People's evil thoughts can never be eliminated, especially in these troubled times, when people's hearts are bound to be more unstable and more likely to despise the law."
Yun Hui said solemnly: "So we need to give more warnings and restraints to maintain order and people's hearts... I will pay more attention to this matter in the future."
Chang Suining nodded to him before saying, "You have done a very good job. Along the way, I passed through several counties, and I saw that the areas under your rule are stable and peaceful."
Just like what happened just now, it is ultimately an exception.
Yun Hui was stunned for a moment, then blurted out, "Do you really think so?"
After asking this question, he felt that he seemed very unsteady, but he still looked forward to her answer unconsciously.
Chang Suining nodded: "Of course."
Meeting that pair of affirmative eyes, Yun Hui couldn't help but smile with joy, but he was afraid that she would think he was proud and complacent: "...I can't say I'm very good yet, I still have a lot to learn."
As he spoke, his eyes dodged for some reason. When he saw the tea set on the small table in front of him, he remembered that he had not yet given her and the people around her... let's just call him the poor fellow for now. He poured a glass of water and couldn't help regretting his impoliteness.
Yun Hui hurried to pour tea, handing one cup to Chang Suining first and the other to the poor senior.
As he handed over the tea, he asked, "I wonder who this senior is..."
Wu Jue held the tea bowl pitifully, not wanting to answer on his own initiative - when he was away from home, his identity was given by His Highness.
"This is an elder in my family." Chang Suining said casually, "The surname is Wu."
Yun Hui nodded in understanding and shouted to Wu Jue, "Uncle Wu, I'm sorry to have frightened you today."
Having said that, he apologized to Wu Jue separately.
The young man's attitude was sincere and he was very polite, which made Wu Jue, who had been looked down upon all the way, feel very uncomfortable. Besides being flattered, he couldn't help but look up to Yun Hui - this young man, although not very old, was surprisingly patient and good at acting.
But Wu Jue observed carefully for a while and felt that the other party's attitude did not seem to be pretended.
Could it be that as His Highness said, His Highness's "effect" is equivalent to the second ring, and as long as he stays by His Highness' side, the aura of disgust will be diluted again? Or is it that this young man... loves the whole house and the whole dog to a certain extent?
After Wu Jue finished his tea, he continued to wrap himself in his cloak and hood, huddled beside Chang Suining, his small eyes darting back and forth between the young man and his own prince.
Yun Hui had a lot to say to Chang Suining. He would write to Chang Suining on weekdays, but it was not as good as meeting face to face.
On the way, he talked about his mother and younger brother at home, the official business of the Hezhou Governor's Office, and the changes in Hezhou over the past six months.
Most of the time he was the one talking and Chang Suining listened carefully.
Therefore, the impression that everyone has of this young man is that he is a very talkative person.
Amid the young men's frequent chatter, Wu Jue yawned silently, tucked his hands into his tattered sleeves, curled up to one side, and fell asleep peacefully.
He hasn't had a good night's sleep for a long time.
One reason was due to his situation, and the other was the physical pain he suffered. But at this moment, the anxiety caused by these two factors was mostly alleviated by the people who came to take him home.
In his dream, he dreamed that he had turned into a stray dog, with tangled hair and wounds all over his body, hiding everywhere with his tail between his legs...
Until someone finally came to take him home.
In the dream, Wu Jue, who had transformed into a dog, stretched comfortably in the downward dog pose.
In reality, he slept more and more peacefully, until a loud snoring sounded in the carriage.
Yun Hui was stunned for a moment, and when he looked at Chang Suining, they both couldn't help laughing.
This smile between them made Yun Hui's slight sense of strangeness disappear when facing Chang Suining, whom he had not seen for a long time.
He stopped talking about official business and spoke from his heart: "A year ago, I never thought that I would become the governor of Hezhou one day..."
At that time, his father was in his prime, and was the most respected and beloved governor of Hezhou in the eyes of the people of Hezhou. Below his father, there was his elder brother, who was more knowledgeable, calmer, and kinder than him.
Although the position of Hezhou Governor was definitely not something that his Yun family would inherit privately, if someone had asked him who was the most suitable person to take over his father's position, he would have thought of his eldest brother without hesitation, just like everyone else.
But Xu's army first captured Jiangning and then attacked Hezhou. He suddenly lost his father and elder brother.
"I am far inferior to my father and brothers. Therefore, when I am in this position, I often feel that I am not worthy of it, nor worthy of the trust of the people of Hezhou." This was the first time that Yun Hui confided such "guilty" words to others.
He did not dare to tell his mother, fearing that she would worry, nor did he dare to mention it to his subordinates, fearing that they would despise him or question him.
He often thought that the reason he was loved and respected by the people of Hezhou was mostly due to the good foundation and reputation left by his father and brother; and that he was able to defend Hezhou City with the help of the Chang family's father and daughter... Therefore, he was very afraid that he would not be able to hold on.
Hearing him admit that he was "not worthy", Chang Suining found it strange: "How can you not be worthy? From the moment you refused to abandon the city and fled, and decided to stay and defend Hezhou, you have been worthy of all the trust that the people of Hezhou have placed in you."
"If you hadn't led the troops to defend Hezhou and delayed the reinforcement time, even if my father and I arrived, it would have been too late." She said: "Even though you have received help from others, you also have many outstanding qualities. No one in this world can accomplish things alone. There is no need to feel that you are useless because of the strengths of others."
Yun Hui looked at her, stunned for a moment.
Chang Suining finally said to him: "Self-reflection is essential, but self-deprecation is not advisable."
"My ability is still insufficient." Yun Hui's self-doubt disappeared for the most part: "I will make myself able to stop doubting myself as soon as possible."
Chang Suining smiled and said, "That's good."
"In fact, I know that the imperial court asked me to take over the position of Hezhou governor more to stabilize the people's hearts in Hezhou." Yun Hui said.
Chang Suining nodded, this was indeed true.
At that time, because Li Yi did not send troops to support Jiangning, Xu's army killed all the way to Hezhou. Later, Li Yi was unwilling to send troops to rescue Hezhou, so the people of Hezhou were somewhat resentful towards the court.
At that time, in order to protect Hezhou, she had used ordinary people as soldiers in Hezhou City and conducted drills. Those people went to the battlefield and killed the enemy just like the soldiers. If they were instigated by others, they could quickly gather into a rebellious army that could not be underestimated.
Therefore, the court chose to make an exception and appoint Erlang of the Yun family, who was the most prestigious among the people of Hezhou, as the new governor. The son succeeded his father's position. This was to demonstrate the loyalty of the Yun family and to comfort the people of Hezhou.
“And if I prove myself useless and incompetent, unworthy of this important task, and fail to govern Hezhou well, the court can naturally let someone else take my place, and there will be no need to worry about me using the Yun family’s reputation to cause trouble.” Yun Hui said, “So at first I was very afraid of ruining the Yun family’s reputation. I was afraid that, as those people said behind my back, I would have to hand over the position of Hezhou governor to someone else after a few days… I’m not afraid of you laughing at me, but in the first few months, I often couldn’t sleep.”
At the end of his speech, the young man gave a somewhat embarrassed smile.
"But now Hezhou City is getting better and better, and you are becoming more and more popular." Chang Suining asked with a smile: "You should be able to sleep well now, right?"
Yun Hui subconsciously glanced at Wu Jue who was still snoring, and said in a relatively relaxed tone: "Sometimes I still can't sleep, and I will have new worries. I worry that I can't do well, and I will disappoint my father and brother's wishes and the trust of the people of Hezhou. I also worry..."
He paused, and then said, "I'm also worried about dragging you down."
Hearing him use the word "burden", Chang Suining looked at him with a little surprise.
"Don't you know? Nowadays, many people compare you and me, saying that Huainan Road has produced two immature governors one after another..." When Yun Hui said this, a young man's unwillingness appeared on his face.
"Well..." Chang Suining nodded: "I've heard of it a little bit."
"But that's nothing." She said nonchalantly, "There are many more nasty insults."
Yun Hui nodded: "That's true. As a woman, it's much harder for you than it is for me."
"It's more difficult for them." Chang Suining put down the teacup and leaned towards the hidden bag behind him, saying, "They will have something to scold in the future. I'm afraid they will get angry and do something bad."
Those people scolded her for being ambitious, ignorant, and arrogant - they were right, she would become even more ambitious, ignorant, and arrogant in the future. As long as they didn't mind scolding her, they could do it.
Hearing what she said, Yun Hui couldn't help but laugh.
Seeing her so relaxed, he seemed to feel relaxed as well. The burden on his shoulders was still there, but it didn't seem as heavy or difficult anymore.
Yun Hui thought about it carefully and felt that she seemed to have the ability to make a very difficult thing very easy and turn everything passive into active. Looking deeper, it should be a kind of firm courage that is not afraid of any difficulties and obstacles in this world.
This kind of determination and unwillingness to admit defeat in her bones even gave him the feeling that "if fate dares to try to tease me, I will definitely beat it again and again until it becomes obedient and satisfies me."
The feeling was very clear, and Yun Hui was sure that this was something she could do.
She seemed a little tired, leaning there with her eyes closed, her arms folded in a relaxed posture, her soft black hair draped over her shoulders, without a single ornament on her body, and she even looked a little bit like someone other than an ordinary person.
Before meeting her, Yun Hui had never thought that there would be such a woman, such a person in this world.
He was so absorbed in watching her that he didn't realize it, until the girl suddenly opened her eyes, her almond-shaped eyes were dark and bright.
Yun Hui was stunned for a moment and wanted to dodge but it was too late.
"Why are you always staring at me?" The owner of the eyes asked him puzzledly: "If you have something to say, just say it."
"..." Yun Hui didn't know that she had noticed it all along. He coughed twice and said in a panic, "You... do you want to tie up your hair?"
As he said this, in order to conceal his panic, he quickly pulled out a box from the side, took out an unused jade hairpin for men, and handed it to her.
This carriage was often used by him for private travel, so the servants prepared daily necessities in the carriage.
Looking at the hairpin handed to her, Chang Suining said "thank you" and took it.
When Yun Hui was about to hand her another jade comb, he saw that she had already gathered her hair. In a few moves, she lifted up her thick black hair and began to tie it up skillfully.
Her hair was very black, and when it was tied up, her ears, neck and entire face were exposed. Yun Hui inexplicably felt his eyes being burned, causing him to quickly look away.
He suddenly felt that the space in the car had become cramped, and he regretted that he shouldn't have asked her to tie her hair up. Was that a bit rude? But then he thought again, she was not an ordinary girl in the boudoir, and she was not particular about details. She had fought on the battlefield and killed enemies, and now she was the governor of a state and the general of the anti-Japanese war. Obviously, she didn't care about the trivial matter of tying her hair up...
Yes, this is just a small matter, what's the big deal? But...but why does he care so much? Why does he feel uncomfortable everywhere?
Yun Hui tightly grasped the comb in one hand and suddenly opened the carriage curtain with the other hand. Using the curtain to block the view, he slowly exhaled a breath of hot air, looked outside the carriage, and said, "We should be almost at Nanhe County..."
"Yes, sir, it's right in front!" The driver responded, and subconsciously turned his head to look. Suddenly he saw the boy's red face, and was startled for a moment: "Sir, you are not feeling well..."
Before he could finish his question, he swallowed it back in response to the young man's nervous warning with his glaring eyes.
The driver turned his head and concentrated on driving the carriage, but all sorts of voices in his head exploded - it was over, he seemed to have discovered the adults' secret! ...
After returning to Nanhe County, Chang Suining immediately asked a doctor to treat Wu Jue's injuries, and called back all the other subordinates who were looking for people elsewhere.
The case of the villager in Zhengjia Village was also under the jurisdiction of Nanhe County. The magistrate of Nanhe County was a fair man, and when he heard that the matter was related to Governor Chang, he dared not neglect it.
When everything was done, it was already dark.
Yun Hui, who was helping out with the busy schedule, invited Chang Suining to go to Hezhou City. While Chang Suining was thinking, he heard Yun Hui say, "...My mother and sister-in-law heard that you came to Hezhou, and told me to invite you to their home for a meal, otherwise they would definitely blame me for being rude to my savior."
Hearing the invitation from Madam Lou and Huo Xin, Chang Suining finally nodded: "Okay, sorry to bother you then."
She Cai and Zeng Huan were both in Hezhou City, and Meng Lie was also there. She was going to wait for She Cai and the others to return tomorrow before leaving together. This place was only twenty miles away from Hezhou City, so it would be the same if she went over to meet up with She Cai and the others. It wouldn't delay her departure tomorrow, and she could also visit Madam Lou while she was there.
Putting aside their personal friendship, as they are both in Huainan Road, she and Hezhou are also going to be friends for a long time.
While Chang Suining's subordinates were packing up and preparing horses, Yun Hui found an excuse to quickly leave the inn, and quickly called his trusted followers, whispering: "...you must ride back to the city first, and tell mother that Madam Chang is coming to the mansion, and ask her to get people ready!"
The attendant immediately agreed and was about to go and get the horse.
"Wait, there's more..." Yun Hui lowered his voice even lower: "Tell mother again that it was she who invited Madam Chang to her home as a guest!"
Follower: “Ah?”
"Do you remember?"
Jin Sui nodded. Although he didn't understand, he remembered it! ...
When Chang Suining followed Yun back to Hezhou City, it was already completely dark, but the city was still bustling with lights on and people passing by.
Chang Suining was driving his horse slowly, feeling that the city was very different from the state capital, when he suddenly heard a vague story about shepherd's purse from a few flower-selling women on the street. (End of this chapter)
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