Chapter 88
After finishing the work in Qinghui Palace, the first thing Xie Yunchu did when he returned to his room was to take a bath.
To others, this event might be a shocking change, but to Xie Yunchu, it was just a ripple among the many waves in his previous life. The eldest princess and the Duke divorced, and the haze hanging over the second house dissipated. Xie Yunchu no longer had to try to please and guess everything for fear of angering the eldest princess, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
I washed my hair carefully with the newly bought ointment and took a comfortable bath.
She came out casually wearing a long gown, with waist-length hair. She gently tucked her hair behind her head and sat on the armchair, letting Chunqi comb her hair. The gown was thin and transparent, and her peach-pink floral skirt loosely covered her chest. Her delicate collarbone was as white as snow. Her slender body sank into the armchair, her jade feet retracted under the chair, only a row of white and jade-like toes were exposed from under the hem of her skirt. Her posture was three parts lazy and three parts charming, her face was flushed by the hot water, and she looked pretty.
There was a man standing outside the pearl curtain, wearing a silver-gray gown embroidered with dark bamboo patterns. He was tall and handsome, and his eyes were staring straight at her through the pearl gauze.
Xie Yunchu didn't pay attention to him. After tossing and turning for a day and a night, he was now listless and leaned lazily on his back like a sleepy beauty in spring.
Chun Qitong Haofa discovered Wang Shuhuai, then picked up the comb and went into the inner room.
Wang Shuhuai lifted the curtain and came in.
Xie Yunchu heard the sound of the bead curtain and turned his head to meet his gaze. His clear and elegant eyes were dark and bright without any sign of fatigue. It was obvious that he was in a very good mood.
Before leaving, the second master mentioned that he wanted to move the old lady's tablet out. At that moment, Xie Yunchu thought of herself. She must have become a tablet placed in the Wang family ancestral hall at this moment in her previous life.
As soon as this thought came to my mind, I felt indescribable as I looked at this man who was so decisive and ruthless and could hold up the sky with one hand.
"The Second Master is back," Xie Yunchu said in a calm voice, his slender and plump arms resting lightly on the table as he drank his tea leisurely.
Wang Shuhuai had a warm expression on his face and sat down opposite her.
Noticing that his wife's fair face was covered with green air, he asked gently, "What's wrong?"
Xie Yunchu shook his head, "Nothing... I've been up all night, I'll lie down for a while, Second Master, please do as you please." Without looking at him, he walked into the inner room.
Chunqi was about to come out, so he quickly made way and watched the couple enter the bed one after the other. He quietly pulled the curtain and left the room.
As soon as Xie Yunchu lay down on the bed, Wang Shuhuai followed him.
"Tell me if you are unhappy. Have you been wronged?"
"Did the Royal Guards touch your things?"
"No." Xie Yunchu knew that he was angry for no reason, so he slowed down his tone, "Second Master is tired too, take a rest."
The Imperial Guards were ordered to search, but they did not dare to rummage around randomly. Every box and wardrobe was handled personally by Nanny Lin, and everything had been restored before Xie Yunchu returned.
Wang Shuhuai saw that she looked tired, so he thought she was still afraid. He went up to the bed and hugged her to comfort her gently. He leaned over and kissed the corner of her lips. Xie Yunchu didn't want to be intimate with him, so she turned her face away. His hot breath fell on her neck and behind her ears. Xie Yunchu was so angry that she pushed him away.
"You are tired, take a good rest. There may be other things waiting for you to take care of..."
Wang Shuhuai didn't care. His rough fingers slipped into her clothes unconsciously. The cool temperature of his fingers touched her soft skin, and he caressed it slowly. Xie Yunchu's breathing became slightly disordered, and she slid off his knees like a fish. Wang Shuhuai followed her and grasped her jade legs with ease, clamping her slender waist.
The man who was decisive and resolute outside acted like a spoiled child when he was with her. Xie Yunchu was annoyed by his frivolity and kicked him accidentally. She originally wanted to kick his knee, but he slipped down the knee and kicked the vital part.
Wang Shuhuai let go of her immediately because of the pain. He supported himself on the bed with his hands, slightly bent his back, and made a slight hissing sound. After a while of pain, he leaned back and sat on the bed. A layer of fine sweat slowly seeped out of his cold pale face.
Xie Yunchu knew that he had not kicked well when he saw his expression, and he regretted it secretly.
Wang Shuhuai put his hands on his knees, waiting for the pain to subside, and looked at her with a headache.
"What kind of evil fire is this?"
Xie Yunchu said bluntly, "Thinking of your grandmother now only having a lonely tablet left, I feel sorry for her."
Wang Shuhuai was slightly stunned. He also regretted that he had never seen the old man's true appearance. After a moment of silence, he suddenly remembered that Xie Yunchu had dreamed that he had died of illness... Suddenly, he understood everything. He didn't care about the pain, and quickly raised his hand to gently hold her in his arms.
"Don't be angry. I will definitely die before you. If you want to place a tablet on the altar, put mine first..."
Xie Yunchu glared at him unhappily, but his joke dissipated the anger in his heart and he felt that it was meaningless.
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
"I'm not talking nonsense." He raised his hand, "I, Wang Shuhuai, swear to heaven, heaven and earth will show their spirits, let me die before my wife Xie Yunchu from now on."
Seeing him so serious, Xie Yunchu found it funny. "If you want to die, don't die so quickly. At least become the Prime Minister, raise your children to adulthood, and have someone to inherit your legacy before you die."
Wang Shuhuai smiled and said, "It doesn't matter if I die, but you must not remarry."
Xie Yunchu's pretty face tensed, "Why?"
"I can't tolerate my child calling someone else daddy..."
The upright body sank downwards with all its might, and Xie Yunchu was unable to defend himself.
Could she tolerate her child calling someone else "mother"?
Unfortunately, nothing she said to this man would work. He had no experience in his past life, and all her resentment was just like a punch on cotton.
As the lingering passion came up, Xie Yunchu persuaded herself to think more positively and regard the man in front of her as another Wang Shuhuai. Her husband was in a high position and could protect his wife and children, handle important matters, and was devoted to her. What more could a husband ask for? Thinking of this, she found Wang Shuhuai much more pleasing to the eye.
He remained motionless and stuck to her. Xie Yunchu's cheeks flushed slightly. "Why are you looking at me?"
Wang Shuhuai's gaze was as thin as a gossamer thread, wandering over her bright eyes, her straight nose, her cherry-like lips, her black hair spread on the pillowcase, her snow-white skin, her fragrant cheeks, her charming demeanor, and further down were her slender, snow-white limbs.
"You look good."
This was the first time Wang Shuhuai praised her appearance.
I'm used to his reserved and deep nature, and I can't stand his sudden straightforwardness.
Xie Yunchu turned his face away.
Her quietly blushing face betrayed her.
Wang Shuhuai rarely saw his wife being shy, his Adam's apple rolled slightly, and he suddenly held her tightly.
He held her back up, his aggressive gaze cast down, Xie Yunchu shrank slightly, swallowed hard, "Wang Shuhuai..."
He hadn't slept for a day and a night, and had experienced a confrontation with the eldest princess, dismissed the people watching at the door, and then sent away all the officials who came to inquire about the news. He must have been exhausted and physically exhausted. If it were her, she would have fallen asleep by now, but Wang Shuhuai was still so energetic.
Wang Shuhuai was really excited. Once the princess left, the Wang family fell completely into his hands. From now on, no one would hinder him. There was a blazing light in the man's eyes.
"Chu'er, from now on, as long as I am successful, you will be respected. No one will dare to look down on you anymore."
This is probably the most beautiful thing Wang Shuhuai has ever said in his two lifetimes.
Her hard heart was hit hard by him. Xie Yunchu's lips moved. These words aroused countless sorrows and joys in her heart, but she had no way to express them. She suppressed all the complexity in her eyes, which turned into a radiant light that slowly flowed out from her eyebrows. She didn't know how to respond to him. She hooked her porcelain-white arms around his strong arms and asked softly,
"Aren't you tired?"
"Don't you know if I'm tired?"
The sunset cast mottled light through the sparse window grilles. Xie Yunchu lay listlessly on the bed, her hair sticking to her temples. She had finally washed herself clean inside and out, but was ruined by Wang Shuhuai. The guy hit her hard, as if he had offended her. She felt empty now and had no energy at all.
Her body was sticky and she wanted to take another shower, but she finally held back as she looked at the man sleeping soundly with tired eyes beside her. She didn't sleep well last night and was pestered by Wang Shuhuai for most of an hour. Xie Yunchu was also exhausted, so she simply closed her eyes and fell asleep. She didn't know how long she slept, and when she opened her eyes again, it was dark and there was no one beside her.
Wang Shuhuai took a shower, changed his clothes and returned to the study.
In the east side room in the dead of night, a man was sitting in silence, his long spine slightly bent and his body hunched, like an old prisoner whose shackles were suddenly released. He was holding his breath but it leaked out, and for a moment he could not adapt to the surrounding environment. He was silent with a dazed look on his face.
After forty years of marriage, there is more or less some lingering affection.
Wang Shuhuai could see that the Duke's heart was not as calm as it seemed. Wang Shuhuai had no right to ask about the elders' private affairs, nor did he intend to. He walked straight behind the Duke, lit the lamp for him, poured a cup of West Lake Longjing tea and handed it to the table in front of him, then sat down on the brocade stool opposite him.
"Grandfather, it's so late, why haven't you gone to bed yet?"
The Duke had a tired smile on his face, "I can't sleep."
Every time he closed his eyes, his head was always buzzing, as if countless faces were running around in front of him.
Wang Shuhuai looked at him calmly for a while, knowing that he needed some time to digest his emotions, he simply changed the subject and talked about business.
"Before I returned home, my grandson sent a great gift to Prince Xin. I checked the accounts of the Ministry of War a while ago and found that the accounts of military equipment and military pay at several garrisons in the northwest border were not correct. I suspect that Prince Xin is secretly planning to hoard grain and forge weapons. I also found out from the branches of the northwest border that some merchants are smuggling salt, iron and raw silk. I have roughly figured out how Prince Xin's mansion makes money. I have secretly revealed some information to the Jinyiwei and the princess. Next, my grandson plans to keep quiet for a while and sit on the mountain to watch the tigers fight."
The Duke nodded calmly, "Last time, the Duke of Zhenguo and Lin Xiyue were involved in the case of the attack on the Crown Prince. The old officials of Jinning have caused the fear of His Majesty and the Princess. You should be careful in the future. It has been a while since you returned to the capital. The tax policy in Jiangnan has yet to be implemented. You should go to Jiangnan to avoid the limelight for a while."
Wang Shuhuai asked worriedly, "What about you?"
The Duke did not answer him, but asked softly, "Do you have a knife?"
Wang Shuhuai stood up and took out a tiny blade from a small box under the rosewood table.
The Duke took the sharp blade, lifted up his black clothes, revealing a section of his tan jacquard trouser legs, and then he rolled up his trouser legs all the way to his knees. Wang Shuhuai could clearly see a dark blue patch on his calf three inches below his knees. Every winter or when it was windy and rainy, the Duke's old cold legs would relapse, and everyone in the mansion knew about it.
The Duke was seen holding a sharp blade and gently melting the dark blue skin. Blood was dripping down along the knife marks. Wang Shuhuai's brows suddenly tightened, and he realized something. His expression became solemn. The Duke was focused and resolute, his arm didn't even tremble, and he gently peeled off the dark blue skin.
A blurry piece of flesh and blood was revealed, and he then took a knife and gently scraped it inside, as if a piece of flesh of medium size fell off. Wang Shuhuai quickly reached out to catch it, and vaguely saw some white lines in the bloodstains. He carefully tore it apart, and a line of dark red and slightly blurred handwriting came into view.
Looking at the iron-painted and silver-hooked words, a battlefield filled with smoke seemed to emerge in front of him. There seemed to be the sound of iron horses galloping past his ears, and there seemed to be silent wind and rain in his heart. Wang Shuhuai was speechless for a long time.
Once the shackles were removed, the Duke closed his eyes deeply and leaned back dejectedly. His tall body fell heavily on his back, and his whole body was filled with a sense of relief. His injured leg was stiff, unable to straighten it or lift it up, and the shocking wound was like a battlefield after rain, muddy and untouched.
Wang Shuhuai felt a stinging pain in his eyes. He put away the blood letter, stood up to find the white silk ointment, re-bandaged the piece of skin for the Duke and applied the ointment.
The Duke was so numb that he could hardly feel the pain. After Wang Shuhuai treated his wound, he gently lowered his trouser legs and smiled lonely.
"Child, take this to Jiangnan. Dong Wenyu, a scholar from Jiangnan, is a leader in the Imperial Academy. He is aloof, reserved, and tough. He was once the top scholar in the Jinning Dynasty and has a great reputation. Show him the blood letter and he will know what to do."
"Grandson understands."
After the eldest princess and the duke divorced, Qinghui Palace exceeded the rules, so in the evening the duke ordered people to demolish Qinghui Palace and redivide the mansion. He originally planned to build a high wall along the old site, but Chao Yunlai in the palace came with a message, saying that the Wang family was too crowded and the land was too small, so the eldest princess's mansion gave two courtyards to the Wang family. Not only that, the eldest princess also divided two boxes of property between the third and fourth rooms as a subsidy for her two sons. The third and fourth masters knelt down facing the direction of the palace to express their gratitude.
Since Qinghui Palace was going to be demolished, the Duke simply stayed in Wang Shuhuai's study that night.
After returning to the palace, the princess handed the blood edict to the emperor. The emperor was so angry that he burned it to ashes on the spot and said, "This world is my world, and no one can take it away."
The princess groaned in silence. After receiving the will, the emperor felt relieved. He then asked the princess softly,
"Neither is the Last Emperor's treasure?"
The princess shook her head. "No, I searched every corner of the Wang family's house and all the secret rooms in the house, but I found nothing."
The emperor murmured, and covered his forehead with his hands, "When that old thing, the last emperor, returned to the court, I wonder where he hid that thing?"
The princess looked bewildered. "Who knows? Your Majesty, please be open-minded. Our Great Jin has been established for so many years. Who dares to question your majesty's authority? The most urgent task is to establish the foundation of the country as soon as possible, enrich the treasury, and stabilize the border. By the way, Your Majesty, since my sister has severed her relationship with the Wang family, we must send a confidant to Jiangnan."
The emperor agreed, "But Jiangnan cannot do without Wang Shuhuai. Only he and Jiang Cheng can suppress the Jiangnan nobles."
"Yes, so we won't move these two people lightly for the time being. If Your Majesty has no objection, I intend to send Xu Wei, a doctor of the Jiangnan Qingli Division of the Ministry of Revenue, to accompany Wang Shuhuai to Jiangnan."
"As you wish."
After the eldest princess left the Wang family, the fourth wife's family property was not as secure as before, but the Duke had no intention of replacing her, so she could only bite the bullet and carry on. Fortunately, the third wife could help occasionally. After half a month, a small ditch was built between the eldest princess's mansion and the Duke's mansion, and two high walls were built. Because the two mansions were connected by blood, they still opened a corner gate for communication between them.
One third of the original mansion was allocated to the princess's residence, and the rest all belonged to the royal family. The residences of each mansion remained largely unchanged, except that the back garden was allocated to the princess's residence. Qinghui Palace was changed to Qinghui Hall for the Duke to live in, but the Duke did not live there. Most of the time, he lived in the small attic in the northwest corner of the mansion.
It is well-lit and very quiet, suitable for the elderly to spend their twilight years.
This change in the Wang family shocked the entire capital. Without the eldest princess, the Wang family was still the same Wang family, and the eldest princess was still the eldest princess, as if nothing had changed. However, for Prince Xin, he no longer had to worry about dealing with the eldest princess. The eldest princess also put pressure on Prince Xin everywhere, and the conflict between the two parties became increasingly acute.
Wang Shuhuai was ordered to go to Jiangnan on the tenth day of April. Xu Wei, a doctor of the Ministry of Personnel, and Sheng Ming, a doctor of the Ministry of Personnel, followed him. On the surface, they were assisting Wang Shuhuai, but in fact they were monitoring him. Wang Shuhuai didn't care at all. Once he arrived in Jiangnan, he was like a dragon diving into the abyss. It was easy for him to restrain these two people.
He was away for more than half a year. The new tax laws in Jiangnan were implemented one after another, and the national treasury was gradually filled. Wang Shuhuai returned to the court with his achievements and became the talk of the town. The emperor was both pleased and wary of him. However, his health had been deteriorating over the past year, and Prince Xin and the eldest princess were fighting each other in the court. The emperor was exhausted from being caught in the middle, and he wanted to use Wang Shuhuai to control the government.
The emperor intended to reward Wang Shuhuai by conferring him the title of nobility, but the Duke was worried that Wang Shuhuai would be too successful and would threaten the emperor, so he refused. The emperor was sincerely pleased, but he could not help but reward Wang Shuhuai, so he simply issued an edict to confer Wang Shuhuai the title of grandson of the Duke of Wangguo, intending to let Wang Shuhuai succeed his father Wang Shou to the title of Duke. The Duke agreed.
Jiang, who failed to become the Crown Prince's wife, was secretly jealous of Xie Yunchu.
Ever since Wang Shuhuai returned to the court, the emperor had the intention of warning him, but Wang Shuhuai was not in a hurry. He went out late and came back early, spending time with his wife and children and enjoying the pleasures of life. Many court officials saw that the emperor and the eldest princess were getting rid of him, and they were secretly dissatisfied with the emperor.
However, at the beginning of spring in the twelfth year of Tianxi, when Xichu should have agreed to deliver the last batch of horses, Xichu suddenly tore up the agreement, suddenly detained the merchants passing through the border from Dajin, and refused to deliver the horses on the pretext that Dajin had given them fake silk.
This move completely angered the court officials. If they kept silent, neighboring countries would only think that Jin was easy to bully. After discussing with the emperor, the princess ordered troops to be dispatched to Western Chu. However, Western Chu was well prepared. In the first three battles, Jin was defeated and lost two border fortresses one after another. The court was shocked.
The commander-in-chief of Western Chu was none other than the grandson of the former King of Jing'an, Meng Luchuan, the current King of Jing'an. Meng Luchuan endured humiliation and made careful plans for three years just to avenge his previous shame. The powerful generals of the Jin Dynasty were defeated one after another by Meng Luchuan, whose tongue had been cut off, and the whole court was depressed.
A timid courtier proposed peace talks, but the princess refused.
"If we negotiate peace at this time, it would be like asking for peace after a defeat. Great Jin cannot afford to lose face like this."
Another minister stood out from the crowd and petitioned to have Wang Shuhuai take charge of military affairs as the military supervisor.
"Meng Luchuan was defeated by Minister Wang before. As long as Minister Wang rushes to the border, he can boost the morale of the soldiers and intimidate the enemy."
"Furthermore, Duke Wang was once the commander-in-chief of the three armies that conquered Chu. The people of Western Chu both respect and fear Duke Wang. Letting his descendants go to conquer Western Chu is the best choice."
Letting Wang Shuhuai go to the border is like letting a tiger enter the mountains, so both the princess and the emperor are worried.
But the current situation did not allow them to think about it. The war was tense. When the news of the fourth defeat reached the capital, the Duke secretly instructed the Duke of Zhenguo to write a letter to ask Prince Xin to rush to the southwest border to resist Western Chu.
The elderly Duke Zhenguo knocked on the threshold of the Fengtian Hall during the court meeting in the early morning and proposed this proposal, but the princess rejected the memorial without a second thought. At the same time as the invasion of Western Chu, the Mongols also sent their young generals to frequently harass. If Prince Xin was transferred to Western Chu, the Mongols would surely take advantage of the opportunity and by then the Mongols cavalry would kill all the way to the foot of the capital, and the mistake of the Tumu Incident might be repeated.
No one dares to joke with the millions of people in the capital.
Besides, the princess was even less willing to believe that the prince was in charge of a large army.
If she had to make a choice, the princess would rather Wang Shuhuai go to Western Chu.
In this way, the Duke used a tactic of feinting to the east and attacking in the west, forcing the Princess to order Wang Shuhuai to go to the border as the commander-in-chief of military affairs.
Wang Shuhuai was away for nearly half a year. Meng Luchuan was eager to give Wang Shuhuai a warning, and repeatedly insulted him with all kinds of dirty words, forcing Wang Shuhuai to go out of the city to fight him. Wang Shuhuai, on the contrary, took his time and slowly wore down the opponent's spirit. By the fourth month, that is, May of the twelfth year of Tianxi, Wang Shuhuai finally defeated the opponent in one fell swoop and recaptured the lost city. When the news reached the capital, the entire court was delighted.
The war came to an end.
Four full years have passed since Xie Yunchu was reborn. In nearly a year, she and Wang Shuhuai have been together less and less.
But no matter how busy he was, no matter how intense the war, Wang Shuhuai would always send back a letter from home every five days, or buy various small border toys for the children, or make a kite himself and send it back with her image drawn on it.
Every time Xie Yunchu looked at the kite, he would be absent-minded for a moment.
While her husband was making great achievements outside, Xie Yunchu did not stop her own steps.
The Caoyun Wharf was bustling with people and thriving. Linglong Embroidery had opened branches in Yangzhou and Jinling, becoming the most famous brand of the Great Jin Dynasty. When Xie Yunchu had some free time, he thought about doing some other business.
One day, Wang Shuqin was annoyed by the Third Madam's urging to get married, so she hid in Wang Yining's princess residence. The Third Madam asked Xie Yunchu to go and persuade her to come back. Xie Yunchu went there, but did not try to persuade her. The group gathered together to chat.
"Do girls have to get married? Is getting married the only way out for women? I won't get married. I'll see if there's another way out in this world."
Having lived two lives, Xie Yunchu was unable to persuade Wang Shuqin to enter into marriage, so he decided to try to find a way out for her.
One day, when I saw Sister Ke and Sister Mei reciting a book together with their heads nodding, an idea suddenly popped into my mind.
"Let's plan to build a girls' academy. There is the Imperial Academy in the capital, Jinling Academy in the south, Yuelu Academy, Songshan Academy, and Tengwang Pavilion Academy in Jiangzhou. Although these academies are famous all over the world, they do not allow girls to enroll. It's a pity. Our Wang family can teach the girls in our own school to learn to read and write, but what about those ordinary girls? Don't they know how to read?"
Wang Shuqin slammed the table and said, "This is a good idea. I can teach the girls to play the piano."
"Then I teach painting?" Wang Shuya's pretty eyes brightened.
"Then I will accompany the girls to recite poems?" Chen Yi blinked.
Jiang Fan thought for a moment and said, "I'll take the girls to arrange flowers..."
Princess Fuyuan said as a matter of course, "I taught them to play polo."
Xiao Youran sat upright on the long table, acting like a female teacher, "I have a hot temper, so you can just let me be the supervisor of the study."
Seeing how serious she was, the girls started tickling her armpits and had a lot of fun.
Wang Yining climbed up from the chaise longue, "You guys have taken all my work away from me, what should I do?"
Wang Shuqin smiled and pushed her, "You are a local rich man, so please provide a yard for our academy."
"That would be great." Wang Yining quickly asked her maid to bring a box and took out her villas in the capital. "Here, these are all my villas. You can choose a good place and build a school there."
Everyone talked about it at once, and finally they simply picked a courtyard in Chenjiayuan, north of Gongyuan. This courtyard was backed by mountains and faced water, with pleasant scenery, and it could compete with the Gongyuan to the south. The girls all agreed.
"It's just that we have made up our minds now, but we are just missing someone to take charge..."
Everyone's eyes turned to the elegant and bright Xie Yunchu.
"I think this person must be our Master Xie."
Xie Yunchu was the winner of the flower-viewing banquet in her past. She was outstanding in poetry, calligraphy, painting and playing the piano. She was steady and did things flawlessly. Who else could do this?
Xie Yunchu said without hesitation, "Then I will be the headmaster."
From the beginning of the preparations in the twelfth year of Tianxi to June, the academy was officially completed and the school was about to start. Xie Yunchu was so busy that he was exhausted. After finally returning to Chunjingtang, he took off his embroidered shoes and lay down on the Luohan bed.
At this time, Xia An came in from outside, holding a letter from home quietly in his hand, and said with a smile,
"Miss, I have something good to tell you. Can you guess what it is?"
Upon hearing this, Xie Yunchu turned over and sat up from the Luohan bed, meeting Xia An's smiling eyes. She guessed what was going on in her mind, and asked softly, "Is the Second Master coming back?"
"That's right." Xia An handed over the letter with great interest. "Minggui sent a letter by carrier pigeon just now, saying that our master went down the river from Xichuan and will return to Beijing from Yangzhou. He has arrived in Jiangzhou now."
When Xie Yunchu heard the word "Jiangzhou", he was slightly distracted.
Xie Yunxiu is still in Jiangzhou. Xie Yunchu has been doing so well in recent years that he almost forgot about such a person.
"Did Master say how long you would stay in Jiangzhou?" Her tone became noticeably colder.
Xia An smiled and replied, "Qi Wei didn't say anything, he just said that the master would go to Jinling for inspection soon, and he probably wouldn't stay in Jiangzhou for long."
The Wang Shuhuai mentioned by Xia An was now quietly riding a small boat, sailing down the river from Yuezhou to Jiangzhou.
As the fishermen sang late, the ships arrived at the Jiangzhou wharf for supplies. Wang Shuhuai stayed at the Jiangzhou Inn that day and night. The Jiangzhou prefect secretly heard the news and quietly arrived at the inn to pay a visit. Wang Shuhuai was holding the post of Minister of the Ministry of Revenue and the title of Commander-in-Chief of Military Affairs, but in fact he was already the backbone of the Western Expedition Army.
The officials in the opposition could see clearly that the Princess and Prince Xin were only concerned with internal fighting and depleting the vitality of the Jin Dynasty. Only Wang Shuhuai, a key minister, was supporting the country. They all secretly hoped that Wang Shuhuai could join the cabinet. As the whole court was in chaos, they were even more respectful to him to show their loyalty.
This was the first time that the governor of Jiangzhou Prefecture met Wang Shuhuai. The afterglow of the setting sun cast a gentle glow on him. He was sitting on the osmanthus tree in a white shirt, pointing at a scroll, looking elegant and graceful, just like a scholar with clean sleeves and a clear mind.
The governor of Jiangzhou was stunned for a moment, seeing that his sharp edge was restrained, but he was still dazzling and charming everywhere, which made people dare not desecrate him. He could be said to be the embodiment of the spiritual brilliance of heaven and earth.
The governor of Jiangzhou Prefecture was more and more shocked, thinking that this trip was the right one.
Starting with the customs and folks of Jiangzhou and ending with the situation of the imperial court, Wang Shuhuai stopped at that point and sent the people away half an hour later. At that time, the wind on the river was howling, and Wang Shuhuai stood on a high platform with his hands behind his back, slowly watching the wind and clouds rising and the waves crashing against the shore.
Just at this moment, a sudden female voice came from the plank road below the high platform.
"Brother-in-law, save me..."
Wang Shuhuai was so immersed in his own thoughts that he didn't notice it. Minggui, who was standing beside him, saw that the woman's features looked familiar and she kept looking over here for help. He reminded Wang Shuhuai softly, "Second Master, look, is that woman asking us for help?"
Wang Shuhuai glanced sideways and saw an old woman dressed as a brothel owner in a smoky purple jacket, twisting a woman's arm, as if she was going to abduct her. The woman was wearing a light red skirt that flowed to the ground, with the belt gently wrapped around her slender waist, which made her look delicate and particularly pitiful.
When Wang Shuhuai looked over, the woman had a worried look on her face, her eyes were dim, and she cried tenderly, "Brother-in-law, save me..."
Wang Shuhuai glanced at it indifferently, came back to his senses with an expressionless face, and continued to look at his river view.
He did not recognize Xie Yunxiu. It was no secret that Wang Shuhuai was a little face-blind when it came to women. Otherwise, he would not have recognized the beauty of Xie Yunchu after being coveted by others.
Minggui was quite surprised to see that his master was indifferent, "Second Master, won't you lend a hand?"
Anyone who sees a weak woman who is powerless would step forward to rescue her.
Wang Shuhuai glanced at him indifferently. "First, there were so many people coming and going on the shore, why did she only stare at me? This is strange. Second, she kept calling the stranger brother-in-law and pretended to be familiar with me. It can be seen that this woman is quite scheming. With such ability, she can't escape the clutches of a brothel owner."
"More importantly, why would I save a woman for no reason? What if she finds an excuse to pester me? Wouldn't that be troublesome?"
It is better to do less than more. He has never been a good person.
What does it matter to him whether the woman is alive or dead? He will never get involved with any woman to cause trouble for his wife. Besides, he is in a high position, and there may be hidden stakes planted by someone to lure him into the trap.
Wang Shuhuai walked down the steps and boarded the boat calmly.
"Tell the boatman to sail to Jinling overnight."
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