In the early morning of April, the sunlight was already somewhat dazzling and the air began to feel a little warm.
Chang Suining got up early to practice martial arts, changed out of his sweaty clothes, took a simple bath, and put on a fresh and clean silk robe. After he tied his hair up again and was about to have breakfast, he heard Xier come in and say that "Madam Rong" was here, and Li Tong came with her.
Princess Xuan'an came to say goodbye.
Firstly, she had been in Jiangdu for more than a month, which was a long time since she left, so it was time for her to go back to Xuanzhou.
Secondly, an urgent letter came from Xuanzhou, saying that bandits and rioters had started an uprising near Xuanzhou, threatening to follow Bian Chunliang and kill all the powerful and noble families. They had gathered several forces that could not be underestimated.
The 17 prefectures of Jiangnan West Road spanned a small part of Jiangnan. The Yangtze River and Ganjiang River separated it into two parts, east and west. The prefectures where Bian Chunliang started the rebellion and Yuezhou, which he currently occupies, all belonged to the western part of Jiangnan West Road.
Because of the natural barrier of the Gan River, even though the Bian army was powerful, the war did not affect the eastern states. The eastern states have always been led by Xuanzhou, and for many years they have shared interests and are closely united. With Princess Xuan'an in charge, the situation has been relatively stable - until this urgent letter arrived.
Princess Xuan'an vaguely felt that this matter was not that simple.
Bian Chunliang started the uprising the year before last. As the momentum grew, more and more people followed and responded, including some who responded from afar. Since they were all in Jiangnan West Road, it seemed natural that they would be affected.
But those places that can incite the people to revolt are mostly places where people's lives are suffering, or places ravaged by war and barrenness. The states near Xuanzhou have always been known to be prosperous and safe, with developed commerce and a friendly atmosphere... Especially after the wars broke out, most people especially cherish this hard-won stability.
Under such circumstances, when riots suddenly broke out in many places, it was hard for Princess Xuan'an not to suspect that someone was behind this.
West of the Gan River, the rebellion of the Bian Army was under the charge of the imperial court and the Duke of Han, Li Xian, so she could not care less. However, east of the Gan River, if anyone was secretly planning something, they would have to ask Li Rong of Xuanzhou if she agreed. The Grand Princess Xuan'an had asked Yaojin to prepare for the departure, and they would leave Jiangdu by this afternoon at the latest.
"Jiangdu is so competitive now. As a close neighbor, Xuanzhou will not hold Huainan back." The eldest princess smiled and said to Chang Suining, "Since we are going to do big business together, I will go back first and clean up my house so that I can take advantage of this overwhelming wealth."
The passage order of Jiangdu Maritime Customs has been prepared to give priority to the eight prefectures headed by Xuanzhou in Jiangnan West Road, and the trade exchanges between Xuanzhou and other prefectures in Huainan Road are also being prepared.
When Chang Suining first took over Jiangdu, he relied on Xuanzhou's generous support during the poorest times. Xuanzhou's timely assistance was worthy of Jiangdu's long-term special treatment.
At this time, Chang Suining said: "If the situation is different, Your Highness can just send a fast horse to deliver the message. No matter what, Jiangdu will definitely not sit idly by."
Princess Xuan'an smiled when she heard this, looked at the girl in front of her, nodded and said, "Okay, with Sui Ning's words, I feel relieved."
Li Tong, who was standing by, felt a little uneasy after hearing what Chang Suining said, so he said, "Mother, I will go back with you this time."
From initially wanting to escape his mother's scolding to finally being so happy that he didn't want to leave, Li Tong has been in Jiangdu for more than a year.
At first, Grand Princess Xuan'an often urged her to go back, but now she said, "Why do you want to go back? You finally got some respect, and now you want to go back to live a life of luxury? You stay in Jiangdu and do the work I assigned to you, which will help me share my worries."
Xuanzhou had government-run workshops and many commercial operations, all of which were supervised by the Xuan'an Grand Princess's Mansion. Xuanzhou and Jiangdu had close ties, so naturally there were people responsible for the handover.
But Li Tong felt that this matter did not have to be done by her alone, and Yao Jin could also do it.
But she knew very well that her mother had the final say when it came to important matters, and since she had spoken, she had to obey her mother's instructions.
Princess Xuan'an gave Li Tong a few more instructions, and Li Tong agreed to them all.
Regarding the situation in Xuanzhou, Chang Suining also gave the Grand Princess a few side reminders, and the Grand Princess nodded in understanding.
Afterwards, Chang Suining personally escorted the Grand Princess out of the courtyard until the Grand Princess signaled her to stay.
After walking a distance, the Grand Princess sighed in a low voice: "If there were more young and capable people like this who have a broad mind, Dasheng might not be in such a state now."
"It's hard to find a person like Sister Chang among millions of people, and it's hard to find a second one... Mother's "more" is like saying cabbage." Li Tong said, "Sister Chang is really rare."
"She is very rare." Princess Xuan'an said with some regret: "If such a rare person was born in my Li family, he would definitely be able to do more. Maybe he could even light the lamp for the world..."
As he spoke further, his voice became lower and lower and could no longer be heard clearly.
Li Tong only heard the first half of the sentence, and then said, "Mother wants Sister Chang to become a member of the Li family. It's actually quite simple."
The eldest princess turned her head and looked at her.
Li Tong whispered, "...If mother takes the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery as her husband, then wouldn't the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery's daughter naturally be the daughter of our Grand Princess Xuan'an?"
After hearing these blunt words, Princess Xuan'an reacted for a moment, and finally chose to face the greed honestly between anger and shame.
Although what she said "being born in the Li family" and what her daughter said "becoming a member of the Li family" are not essentially the same thing, this proposal still inevitably made her excited.
Grand Princess Xuan'an showed a rare moment of infatuation: "...then...if that's the case, can Sui Ning call me mother?"
"Why not?" Li Tong continued to encourage quietly, "This way, Sui'an can go home with a clear conscience."
The money shaker beside him: "..."
Who could have thought that after all these years, this was the first time His Highness showed signs of seriously considering giving the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery a title, and it was because he wanted to legitimately claim the Marquis of Loyalty and Bravery's daughter as his own.
When Li Tong was about to continue to instigate, Princess Xuan'an had already come to her senses and glared at her daughter: "Alright, stop talking nonsense. This matter involves many things, it's not that simple..."
But she didn't mean to give up, she just had to think it over carefully...
Seeing that his mother was interested, Li Tong was secretly delighted - who wouldn't want to have a sister like Chang for themselves?
As for Sui'an... at this point, it seems to have become an extra.
Just after noon, the carriage was ready and Princess Xuan'an left through the back door of the governor's mansion.
Chang Suining came to see him off, and Chang Kuo also followed.
Seeing Chang Kuo, Princess Xuan'an asked, "What are you doing here?" and added many gentle words to the words, "It's inconvenient for you to walk, and it's so windy, why did you come here specially?"
Chang Kuo leaned on his crutches with both hands, frowned and looked at the willow branches that were swaying slightly. How could the wind be so strong? Besides, it was April, so why should I be afraid of the wind? What nonsense was this woman saying? If she didn't care about others, why did she have to be so hard on her?
Wait... concern? Chang Kuo looked at the gentle-looking eldest princess with some suspicion, only to hear her slowly admonish him, "... take good care of yourself, control your temper when things happen, don't be stubborn all the time, and listen to your children more."
Chang Kuo suddenly tightened his grip on his cane, and his beard trembled - isn't this almost too much? At first glance... it sounds like an old married couple!
Chang Kuo's heart trembled. He thought a lot in a short moment, and from these many thoughts, he keenly grasped the key point -
He knew...
It must be because she saw him boxing with his upper body naked that day! Oh, this woman... after so many years, she is still as lustful as ever.
Even if she had many lovers, what would it matter? Who could compare to his unruly demeanor? He knew that he only needed to use a little trick and she would have no chance of resisting!
Thinking of this, Chang Kuo, holding the crutches in both hands, silently straightened his body a little more, and his face became more solemn and resolute.
Seeing his arrogant demeanor, Princess Xuan'an resisted the urge to frown - is he sick? She said so much, why didn't he say a word? What is he pretending for?
Until Chang Suining said: "Your Highness, please be careful on your way."
Princess Xuan'an patted her hands with satisfaction, her eyes full of kindness and smile.
Chang Kuo suddenly came back to his senses and said, "...you should control your temper, don't be reckless and use your brain more!"
Hearing these upsetting words, Princess Xuan'an's smile froze. However, looking at the lovely girl in front of her, the unpleasant words came to her lips, but she chewed them up and swallowed them back, nodding slightly to Chang Kuo: "I understand."
"..." Chang Kuo's eyes were shocked and he almost crushed the crutch - is this woman serious?
But he is already old...it would be bad if he told others about it, right?
And if he really wants to do that... is he preparing a betrothal gift or a dowry? How should he explain this to the child? Will the child be able to accept this?
Also, will he stay in Xuanzhou to retire after that, or will he follow His Highness?
What would those lovers in her house say? He could forget about the past, but he would never agree to live under the same roof with those people in the future! Chang Kuo was in a dilemma, his eyes were tangled and determined.
"...Father?"
Chang Suining took two steps and saw Chang Kuo still standing there motionless, so he turned back and called out.
Chang Kuo suddenly came to his senses and looked forward, only to find that there was no one there and the carriage had already driven away.
Chang Kuo was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly followed the girl: "...Here she comes!"
Chang Suining returned to the mansion and went directly to the outer study to handle official business.
Seeing her coming back, Wang Yue came forward with a slightly anxious look and whispered, "My lord, this is bad... The Wuzhong Qian family has come to our house. In this case, Guanlin's identity as the Wuzhong Qian family may be exposed..."
If he had known this would happen, he would have taken the responsibility of signing the poem no matter what!
Chang Suining was stunned for a moment, but he was not panicked. He just asked, "Where is the person?"
"He has been politely invited into the mansion by Chief Secretary Wang to have tea..." Wang Yue said, "The Chief Secretary also asked Ze'er to go to the silk weaving workshop and invite his grandmother back to talk."
After all, considering the importance of "Mr. Qian", it is difficult for Wang Changshi not to treat his clansmen with warm courtesy.
Chang Suining smiled and sat back down: "Let Granny Jin go and see him, then you don't have to worry about it."
At this moment, Luo Ze and his grandmother had already got into the carriage heading back to the Governor's Mansion.
Luo Ze was panicking: "Grandma, what should I do now..."
My grandmother lied to me and established a relationship with me, but now the real owner has come to me...
"Why are you panicking?" Granny Jin said without any guilt: "It's still unclear who is going to get close to whom now."
He added, "Your father is unreliable. The Qian family has more than enough people to take care of us. They can help us in the future and help us gain a firm foothold in front of the adults."
"?" Luo Ze was stunned. It was fine if grandma had no guilt at all, but had she even figured out how to use her? "Grandma...will this work?"
"Why not?" Granny Jin said without any pressure: "Isn't this just like a dung beetle rolling a dung ball? It's easy to do, right?"
Looking at his grandmother who was making all the decisions, Luo Ze had a complicated expression.
So… who is the dung beetle and who is the dung ball? But after the two sides met, his grandmother did show him what it means to be in control—
"...Back then, Ah Shen's great grandfather went far away from home. Although he was only a branch of a branch, he also wanted to make a name for himself and revitalize the clan... But how could it be so easy to make a name for himself? Life was really difficult without the support of the clan members... Before his great grandfather passed away, he told Ah Shen and his father that if they could not pass the imperial examination and become an official, they should not mention that they were from the Wuzhong Qian family, so as not to tarnish the reputation of the Qian family."
Granny Jin wiped the tears from her eyes and choked up, "But, how can a person forget his origins..."
Several mature members of the Qian clan also began to have red eyes, which was a manifestation of reciprocity.
Granny Jin smiled through her tears: "If he can trace his ancestry back to his roots...his father and great grandfather will finally have the dignity to meet the ancestors of the Qian family in the afterlife."
Several members of the Qian family thought about it and nodded.
Granny Jin added at the right time: "From now on, in this governor's mansion, we will finally have family members who can help each other..."
The Qian clan members were moved upon hearing this, but... how could anyone enter the Jiangdu Governor's Mansion casually now? "Just pick out talented young men and send them here..." Granny Jin said, "Others are other people, and family members are family members... Although your brother is not very talented, he can still have a say in front of the Governor."
The Qian family members understood what he meant when they heard it.
A young man tried to ask: "I wonder... what is the name of Mr. Qian Shen's great grandfather?"
Granny Jin sighed with a frown, "It is said that his name is Qian Ren... But he felt ashamed to return to the Qian family until his death. Who knows whether this name is true or not?"
The young man looked to the side, his eyes hesitant: "Father, this..."
Granny Jin hesitated when she saw this: "Could it be... there is some misunderstanding? Are we marrying above our station?"
This move of retreating in order to advance made the Qian clan members immediately feel a sense of crisis: "How could it be!"
"Qian Ren... there is indeed such a person in the side branch. I looked through the family tree recently and I remember him!"
The boy's father looked at Luo Ze: "... Just by looking at Ze'er and Maocai's appearance and demeanor, I can tell they are from the same family!"
Granny Jin looked at it hesitantly and said, "Don't tell me... it really looks strange, right?"
"How can cousins not look alike?"
"More than alike...they are literally cast from the same mold."
"..." Luo Ze and the young man looked at each other in silence - is there such a fickle, unpredictable, and random person in the world? (Old Chang: Wanpin can regain favor with a little trick.) Good night~
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