Aftermath
As soon as the carriage arrived at the gate of the Silver King's Mansion, the clan elders and their members stood waiting in front of the gate.
The leader, Uncle Yin, leaned on a cane. Although his hair was gray, he was still very energetic. When he saw Yin Li get out of the car, he immediately stepped forward and cupped his hands: "Miss, no, Patriarch! You're finally back! We've cleaned the ancestral hall and were just waiting for you to come back and pay respects to our ancestors!"
The clansmen echoed her sentiments, their eyes filled with excitement and anticipation. Yin Li looked at the familiar faces—the old steward who used to play with her when she was little, Granny Zhang who taught her embroidery, and the little maid who used to secretly bring her food. Her eyes welled up with tears again: "Thank you, uncles and aunts. You've all worked so hard over the years."
Upon entering the Silver Prince's Mansion, the crabapple trees in the courtyard, though their leaves have fallen, still stand tall and straight.
The maids were sweeping the courtyard and wiping the doors and windows. The plaque, which had been covered in dust, was hung up again, and the three large characters "Silver Prince's Mansion" gleamed in the sunlight. Yin Li walked to the crabapple tree, reached out and stroked the rough trunk, remembering when she and Yin Li flew kites here when she was a child, with her mother watching them with a smile. Her heart was filled with warmth.
"Patriarch, the ancestral hall is ready," Uncle Yin's voice came. Yin Li nodded, straightened her robes, and followed the elders to the ancestral hall. Inside, the ancestral tablets of the Yin clan were spotless, and new incense and candles were burning in the incense burner, with wisps of smoke rising.
Yin Li walked to the memorial tablets of her mother and second uncle, knelt down and kowtowed three times, placing the real account book on the offering table: "Mother, second uncle, the injustice done to the Yin family has been cleared. I will be a good head of the Yin family, protect the people of the Yin family, and not let you down." After paying respects to the ancestors, Yin Li summoned the elders to the hall for a meeting.
She listed out the evidence of Wei An's collusion with foreign enemies and misappropriation of salt permits, and then took out the imperial edict restoring the Yin family's salt transport privileges: "Now that the Yin family has regained control of the salt transport, the first step is to reorganize the salt fields, investigate the previous accounts, and clean up the mess left by Wei An."
Uncle Yin nodded: "The patriarch is right! Wei An's men were causing trouble at the salt fields before, and the salt workers were full of complaints. We need to send people to the salt fields as soon as possible to appease the salt workers and revise the salt transportation rules."
“Furthermore,” Yin Li added, “we cannot forget Yin Li’s grudge. The purple-clad men of Qinglang Mountain have not been completely eliminated, and Wei An’s remaining followers may still be operating in the shadows. We must strengthen the defenses of the Prince’s Palace and continue to investigate the whereabouts of Qinglang Mountain to avenge Yin Li and those who were killed by them.”
After the meeting ended, it was already dark. Yin Li returned to her bedroom and had just sat down when He Mo came in with a bowl of osmanthus soup: "You must be hungry after a busy day. Drink it while it's hot." He placed the osmanthus soup on the table and took out a small box containing a silver hairpin with a small begonia flower engraved on the head. "This is for you. Consider it a gift to celebrate your becoming the head of the Yin family."
Yin Li picked up the hairpin; the begonia flower on the tip was delicate and lovely, gleaming softly in the candlelight.
Looking into He Mo's eyes, she felt a warmth in her heart: "Thank you, He Mo. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't have made it."
He Mo sat down beside her and reached out to pinch her cheek: "Why are you thanking me? We're family." He paused, his eyes becoming serious, "After I've dealt with the Yin family's affairs, I'll go to the Emperor to ask for his decree to grant us a marriage."
"I want to marry you openly and honestly, to make you my queen. No matter what happens in the future, I will protect you." Yin Li's cheeks flushed instantly. She lowered her head to drink her osmanthus soup, but a slight smile involuntarily appeared on her lips: "Okay."
In the days that followed, Yin Li devoted herself entirely to the reconstruction of the Yin family. She personally inspected the salt fields, reassured the salt workers, and established a new salt transportation system;
She sent people to investigate the remaining members of Qinglang Mountain, and they quickly found the hiding place of the purple-clad men and wiped them all out. She also renovated the courtyard of the Silver Prince's Mansion, replanted crabapple trees, and gradually restored the mansion to its former liveliness.
Three months later, the Yin family's salt transport business was back on track, and the crabapple tree in the Yin Prince's Mansion also sprouted new buds.
When the Emperor received Yin Li's memorial, he praised her abilities highly. He not only rewarded her with a large amount of gold and silver jewelry, but also personally arranged a marriage between her and He Mo, setting the wedding date for the season when the crabapple blossoms were in full bloom.
Wow, are the good days finally coming? Hahaha!
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