Chapter 51
The snow was blown down from the branches by the wind.
The misty snow blurred their vision.
Wang Shuhuai couldn't see her face clearly, but he could hear her clear laughter coming through the ice and snow, as if pointing in his direction and talking to the child,
"Ke'er, look quickly, your father is back."
The child had always missed his father, and sure enough, the sound of wheels came towards him.
The snow fog gradually dissipated, and the mist in Wang Shuhuai's eyes was also cleared. When he stepped onto the steps of the hall again, all his emotions were restrained. She was standing not far away. He did not look at her, but squatted down, hugged his daughter who rushed over to him, and picked her up from the wooden cart.
Little Ke'er fluttered excitedly in her father's arms. Wang Shuhuai hugged her calves and supported her back with his other hand. He looked at her lovely face, which vaguely resembled Xie Yunchu's outline, and was slightly distracted.
Xie Yunchu stood downwind. After she became pregnant, she became particularly sensitive to smells. When she smelled the crisp scent of cedar on him, she stood at a distance not too far away, watching the father and daughter quarreling.
Wang Shuhuai had lost some weight, his features were deep and clear, and his expression could not hide his fatigue.
Xie Yunchu asked him softly, "Second Master, have you had lunch yet?"
Wang Shuhuai looked at his daughter, but noticed her out of the corner of his eye, "I have used it."
"How many days will the Second Master stay in the capital?" she asked so that she could arrange his diet.
Wang Shuhuai's eyelids seemed to be pressed down by something, becoming heavy, and his pupils narrowed unconsciously to a slit.
"Leave in the evening..."
Xie Yunchu was a little surprised. After the incident of taking a concubine, the atmosphere between them was now a little subtle.
Xie Yunchu didn't quite understand why Wang Shuhuai wanted to take a concubine but didn't accept it. If he was so "loyal", why did he accept Xie Yunxiu as his second wife in his previous life? Maybe he looked down on women of low birth. That's all. She just didn't want to do it in the future.
The child was making a fuss to get off her father again, and Wang Shuhuai put her into the wooden cart. Ke'er was smiling and moving back and forth between her father and mother. The couple's eyes fell on the child at the same time.
Wang Shuhuai glanced at Xie Yunchu's belly with mixed feelings. Recalling the day when she received the pigeon letter, she felt joyful. She had his child again, and she would never mention divorce again. She felt very relieved, so she couldn't wait to return to Beijing. The funny thing was that she gave him a heavy blow.
How could he bear to blame her when she was pregnant?
There is no need to blame her.
She doesn't have him in her heart, can he force it?
At this time, the guard came running over and handed him a document, which contained the emperor's imperial edict to confer the title of Prince of Nan'an on the heir. Wang Shuhuai held the document behind his back, his eyes never leaving the child.
The thin halo gradually sets in the west.
Xie Yunchu had been standing for a long time and felt weak, so he asked him, "Second Master, please have dinner before leaving. I will go and ask someone to prepare dinner."
"No need." He raised his eyelids and glanced at the sky, "I'll leave now."
Xie Yunchu paused and sighed, "Then be careful on the road."
An inexplicable bitterness surged in his heart. Wang Shuhuai swallowed hard and said in a dry voice,
"good."
He stood there for a moment, turned around, and finally looked up at his gentle and quiet wife with a warm smile from a distance, "Take care of yourself and the children."
The tone was gentle and indifferent.
The familiar scene reappeared. This was the Wang Shuhuai that Xie Yunchu knew. She breathed a sigh of relief, "Second Master, don't worry. Everything is fine at home. Just be careful."
Wang Shuhuai bent down and gently rubbed the child's hair. The child smiled. Wang Shuhuai concealed his reluctance and turned to leave. From beginning to end, his face was frighteningly calm.
In the following days, everyone was very busy.
While Xie Yunchu was suffering from morning sickness, he was also calculating the store's income and purchasing goods, and designing styles for the spring. He was busy every day in a tense and orderly manner.
As for Wang Shuhuai, when Liu Qiliang returned to Beijing, all the affairs were piled on his shoulders. He had to get up early and go to bed late, and was so busy that he didn't see the sun for a long time.
Qi Wei's letters home still arrived on his desk on time every three days, but Wang Shuhuai had not opened them yet.
Not only that, he also gave Minggui all the family letters, the few letters from Xie Yunchu, and the children's graffiti toys.
"Put it away."
Minggui looked at the unopened letter and the miscellaneous old letters on the table, wondering what had gone wrong.
Put all the things into a box and place it in the cabinet in the ear room.
The flower lantern that Prince Xin had originally placed on the table had been used by him for self-reflection, but now he had ordered the secret guard Lengshan to "throw it away."
After tidying up the table, only the lonely ivory ball and the pot of calamus on the windowsill that was no longer watered were left.
After Wang Shuhuai gave the imperial edict to Jiang Cheng, Jiang Cheng was indeed very moved. Feeling the sincerity of the court and the courage of the young man in front of him, Jiang Cheng decided to support Wang Shuhuai. Once Jiang Cheng's attitude changed, Wang Shuhuai faced much less resistance in implementing national policies.
Wang Shuhuai acted vigorously and vigorously to carry out land survey in the counties surrounding Jinling.
Large counties and cities were easy to control and appease, and Jiang Cheng could almost settle the matter with just a letter. However, the local tyrants in small places were so deeply rooted that even Jiang Cheng was powerless.
On the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Wang Shuhuai, regardless of the heavy snow that blocked the mountains, came to Yizhou County with a dozen officials. The county magistrate here was a coward, and the officials in the county government were all relatives of the wealthy families. The leader, together with some powerful people in the surrounding areas, gathered thousands of people to cause trouble in front of Wang Shuhuai.
At that time, Wang Shuhuai was accompanied by only five officials and a dozen yamen clerks. Those powerful servants surrounded him. Seeing that Wang Shuhuai was just twenty years old, and so young, and so handsome, they did not take him seriously. They used provocative words and exaggerated behavior, trying to scare Wang Shuhuai away.
This young man, holding a precious imperial sword, stood at the front of the crowd with a handsome appearance and a stern look. He was wearing a blue official robe that looked like ink, like an unconcealable monument in the vast world.
Without saying a word, he carried a coffin and threw it forward. As the coffin fell to the ground, he drew his sword and cut off a corner of the coffin. His movements were smooth and smooth, making a sharp sound. A sinister smile appeared on the corners of his lips.
"I, Wang Shuhuai, have come here with no intention of returning alive. If you have the guts, keep me here. Otherwise, you will die!"
Everyone was overwhelmed by his aura and began to sweat.
After all, Wang Shuhuai is an official and holds the imperial sword in his hand. If he is really killed, his entire family will be unable to escape. No one dares to confront such a ruthless person.
Some people were smart enough to go into battle first, while others retreated one after another. Only the man with thick eyebrows and big eyes who was in the lead was left unconvinced. He yelled and cursed Wang Shuhuai for being a pretty boy with no real skills, and told everyone not to be afraid of him.
Wang Shuhuai was filled with anger. He raised his sword and chopped off the opponent's head. Blood covered him. He swept his eyes across the room.
"Who else wants to try my blade?"
Everyone was frightened and dared not say anything.
Wang Shuhuai did not really go with only a dozen yamen officials. He secretly deployed a special force in the woods. He did not want to cause a river of blood unless it was absolutely necessary.
The news soon spread to all the counties in the south of the Yangtze River. Some powerful families had originally planned to resist, but when they saw Wang Shuhuai's courage, they finally surrendered.
After shocking the powerful families, Wang Shuhuai next planned to deal with the inactive officials. He was very experienced and spread a large banner in front of the yamen in the Jinling government office district, on which were written the letters of surrender from officials from all over the country. This was related to the officials' political achievements and promotions, and no one wanted to be inferior to others, so they were forced to do so. The county magistrates took the initiative to go to the Jinling Ministry of Revenue to surrender and sign a letter of surrender, and took charge of organizing the survey of land and population.
The powerful were intimidated and local officials were transferred. Wang Shuhuai used a two-pronged approach with both firmness and flexibility to completely eliminate obstacles and smoothly implement national policies. His prestige reached an unprecedented high and everyone said that he had the potential to be a prime minister. Officials in Jinling vied with each other to make friends with this future cabinet minister.
As New Year's Eve was approaching, Jiang Cheng took the initiative to invite Wang Shuhuai to his house for a banquet.
Mrs. Jiang accompanied him and pushed a stack of crystal sashimi that she had cooked herself in front of him.
"Shu Huai, try it. This is my craft."
She has a gentle expression and a graceful appearance.
Wang Shuhuai looked at the small dish of crystal sashimi, and noticed the similar face in his peripheral vision. He was dazed and wanted to pick up his chopsticks, but for some reason, he stopped the idea and pushed the small dish back to Jiang Cheng in shame.
"Madam, your intention is good. Huai should not have refused. It is true that every time I eat this meat, my heart aches and I feel hysterical. I dare not accept it without permission. Please forgive me, Madam."
It is common to get rashes after eating raw meat, but it is the first time I have heard of hysteria.
Mrs. Jiang smiled and expressed her understanding.
Jiang Cheng felt very sorry and put the meat into his mouth without saying anything, "Then Shu Huai missed a delicious meal."
Wang Shuhuai smiled politely.
"By the way, New Year's Eve is approaching, Shuhuai will be returning to Beijing soon, right?" Jiang Cheng asked him.
I was originally looking forward to returning to Beijing, but now I don’t know what to look forward to.
Wang Shuhuai's eyebrows were cold and sharp, and he felt empty and unhappy. "I haven't received a reply from the court yet, so I dare not leave Nanjing easily."
Jiang Cheng understood, "If you don't want to go back, come to my house for a drink on New Year's Eve."
Wang Shuhuai choked up a little and offered a glass of wine in return, "Thank you very much."
I returned to the house alone and sat down behind the table.
No one knew where Minggui had taken the letters from home on the desk. Apart from a stack of documents, the desk was empty.
He had promised Minggui to come back to Beijing to celebrate the New Year. Yesterday, Minggui returned to Beijing with a huge amount of New Year gifts. The house was still empty, with only a pair of old servants taking care of the housework and a secret guard walking his bird outside the corridor.
Wang Shuhuai looked at the empty house. The books had been packed up by Minggui and taken back to the capital. The shelves were empty. The pot of calamus on the windowsill had withered silently, leaving only a few dry stems standing in the hard mud. The mud surface was cracked and the color was white, just like his dry heart.
It was getting dark, and the lights in the house were still off.
Wang Shuhuai flipped through the documents in silence.
After a while, Fernando stood outside the open window and asked Wang Shuhuai,
"The Duke sent a letter to urge you to return to the capital. Lord Qin Guang from the Southern Capital Ministry of Revenue sent a servant to ask you if you return to the capital. If you do, he will stay at the government office and be on duty. Don't worry, he will pay attention and there will be no trouble."
Wang Shuhuai placed his hands on the large table, still wearing his official robes, his eyes were as dark as the abyss, without a trace of light, "He still has an old mother at home, let him go back for the New Year, I will take over the duty."
Lengshan choked, but said nothing in the end.
There were a total of seven officials who were responsible for surveying the land together with Wang Shuhuai. Most of them were young officials who either had elderly mothers or wives and young children at home. Wang Shuhuai gave them a holiday because he thought they had worked hard with him for half a year.
Everything is fine at home and his wife doesn't need him. There is no point for him to go back. He might as well take care of Jiangnan's affairs once and for all.
On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Xie Yunchu received a letter from Wang Shuhuai. The letter contained only a few words.
"I have important matters to attend to and cannot return to Beijing. Please do not worry."
The familiar handwriting was slender and strong, and very beautiful. In her previous life, Wang Shuhuai had not been with her on New Year's Eve. He was not even by her side when she gave birth to her son. In this life, she was used to receiving such a letter.
Even so, thinking of her husband who was living in the open air, Xie Yunchu still asked someone to prepare thick spring clothes, some food boxes and silver to be sent to Jiangnan for Wang Shuhuai.
Although Xie Yunchu did not go out this month, it did not hinder her from managing the Linglong Embroidery business. At the end of the year, Linglong Embroidery also launched several New Year's clothes, with a total of four categories, and only twenty pieces in each category. The whole city was rushing to buy them. Xie Yunchu could not count the silver, and she was still counting the accounts until the day before New Year's Eve. No matter how busy or tired she was, she was happy when she looked at the balance on the account.
On the morning of New Year's Eve, the eldest princess and the duke returned to the mansion. The mansion was decorated with new decorations. Xie Yunchu, who had not been out for a long time, also came to Qinghui Palace to attend the dinner on this day.
She was pregnant and arrived a little late, but no one cared about her. But as soon as she stepped over the threshold, she saw Wang Shuyi running out of the hall crying, covering her mouth.
Jiang and Dou Keling followed after her.
Xie Yunchu was full of doubts and asked Wang Shuqin who came over,
"What happened?"
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