This time it didn't take as long as last time.
Yan Xia woke up in the evening.
Open your eyes.
Just like that day.
The children and maids gathered together.
"Mother, you're awake. Are you still feeling unwell? Are you starving? I've already asked Xiao Ji to prepare the meal."
Chang Yu's eyes were slightly red.
She didn't know why Yan Xia had been fainting lately, and only assumed that there was something wrong with her health.
"Mom doesn't feel bad anymore, I'm much better. I want some water." Yan Xia was in particularly good spirits.
Xiao Ji brought her a glass of water, which Yan Xia gulped down. She breathed a sigh of relief, feeling as refreshed as parched earth after a downpour.
However, at this moment, the Xu family in Jiangnan County was in complete chaos.
In the morning, while Madam Fan was still asleep, she suddenly heard a scream. She frowned, about to curse, but saw the cabinet door wide open, the iron lock on the ground, and the maid lying limp on the ground, trembling.
"Where's the luminous pearl? Huh?"
Fan instantly came to her senses, realizing something was wrong.
He asked the maid if the luminous pearl was in the cabinet.
The maid shook her head, trembling.
"Madam, I just woke up and saw the cabinet door open. A thief broke in! A thief! I usually wake up before dawn, but I slept until now today!"
The maid was clever.
She quickly explained, afraid of being implicated.
"Call my son over here! Quickly!"
Madam Fan was so angry she almost fainted, and she screamed hysterically.
The maid was so frightened that she scrambled to her feet and rushed to fetch Xu Wenyan.
In the morning, the officials arrived and thoroughly searched Fan's house inside and out. They found a hole in the window paper and ashes of sleeping incense on the ground.
So, a thief really did break in.
"What good are you? This mansion is so big, yet thieves come and go as they please. First, my jewelry was stolen, and now this luminous pearl! It's a luminous pearl!! So many eyes are watching our house, didn't you send more guards to patrol day and night? Huh? I didn't even get to touch this luminous pearl properly before it was gone! Gone!!"
Fan couldn't catch his breath.
He fell straight down.
She fainted.
"Quickly, go and fetch a doctor!"
The Xu family is in complete chaos.
But what awaits them is far more than that.
In the afternoon, Ye Shaoyun, the governor of Jiangnan, arrived at the county government office, and Xu Wenyan hurriedly greeted him.
"I wonder what business the governor has to give me? It would be too much trouble for you to come all this way. Just send someone to let me know, and I'll come over on my own."
Xu Wenyan no longer possessed the fierce temper he had displayed when he was beating and scolding his servants.
He hunched over, fawning like a eunuch.
"I've heard that you have a luminous pearl in your residence. Bring it here for me to see."
These words were spoken.
Xu Wenyan felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.
He forced himself to stay alert and tried to come up with a solution.
"This, this." His voice trembled, and his palms were sweaty as he spoke.
"What, can't I stand to see this?" Ye Shaoyun curled his lips into a sneer, but his smile was tinged with malice.
"No, no, Your Excellency, my residence has just been burglarized; the luminous pearl has been stolen!!"
Even Xu Wenyan thought it was a coincidence, so he was afraid that if he told Ye Shaoyun, Ye Shaoyun wouldn't believe him.
"Oh? What a coincidence? Then I've come at an inopportune time." Ye Shaoyun picked up his teacup and took a small sip.
"It's true. A thief broke into our manor this morning. The luminous pearl was in my mother's room, but the thief used a sleeping incense to drug my mother and her maid, and stole the pearl. Our manor is investigating thoroughly. If you don't believe me, you can come with me to the manor and see for yourself. The ashes of the sleeping incense are still on the ground."
Xu Wenyan was sweating profusely, his face was deathly pale, and his legs were so weak that he almost knelt down.
"Of course I believe you, we're in the same boat, but..." Ye Shaoyun paused, then stretched out his fingers and rhythmically tapped the table, making a 'tap-tap' sound.
“But this luminous pearl is of great use, so you’d better find it as soon as possible. The Minister is eagerly awaiting its return.” He raised his chin, his dark eyes scanning Xu Wenyan.
"Yes, I will find it as soon as possible."
Xu Wenyan breathed a sigh of relief.
Don't be fooled by his absolute power in Jiangnan County, where he acts like a local tyrant.
But when facing his superior, he was even less than a servant.
I offended Ye Shaoyun.
Just one sentence.
Xu Wenyan's life is in danger.
Not seeing the luminous pearl, Ye Shaoyun didn't linger. He went straight to the carriage and prepared to leave Jiangnan County.
Just as we were about to leave the city.
When the carriage encountered a crowd, the officials sent by Xu Wenyan to monitor Ye Shaoyun had their view blocked by the crowd.
At the same time, a man with an ordinary face, ordinary clothes, and nothing special jumped off the carriage.
He walked into the crowd and instantly blended in.
"Xu Wenyan is becoming increasingly unruly." A low voice came from inside the carriage, like a demon's growl.
After the carriage left the city gate.
Those peering eyes turned and left.
As the weather gets hotter.
Spring passed in a flash.
Early summer has arrived.
It's already June in the blink of an eye.
Wang Jingshui's belly was swollen high; she would give birth in another month.
This year is different from previous years. Although it is only early summer, the sun is already scorching, making it feel like we are in the midst of a sweltering heat.
Since the beginning of spring, not a single drop of rain has fallen.
The people's crops can only be irrigated manually, and many small ponds have dried up.
The river level has also dropped considerably.
Everyone's face was filled with worry.
In the past two months, Xu Wenyan still failed to catch the thief, and as a result, his relationship with Ye Shaoyun, the governor of Jiangnan, has been strained.
Rumors were still circulating outside that he had hidden the luminous pearl.
Many people took a stroll around the Xu residence.
Officials and constables are impossible to guard against.
The entire Xu household was extremely distressed.
Of course, there were also people who didn't believe the rumors and wanted to visit Yan Xia's house to find out for themselves.
Those who had no intention of harming anyone were ignored by Yan Xia; those who carried weapons were killed and thrown into the mountains by Yan Xia.
June 10th.
The Imperial City.
Minister of Revenue Du Jiuzhong celebrates his fiftieth birthday.
He held a banquet at his residence.
Many officials from the capital attended the banquet.
The Du family was bustling with guests, and this scene was observed by the Imperial Guards who came to monitor them.
He handed the list of officials attending the banquet to Emperor Yuanming in the palace.
"Investigate again!"
The emperor's voice, authoritative without being angry.
"yes!"
The Imperial Guards withdrew.
Emperor Yuanming slammed the list in his hand onto the table.
He remained silent.
Her lips were pressed tightly together.
"Your Majesty, please don't upset yourself." The chief eunuch, Wang Fulai, knelt down beside him.
"Fu Lai, tell me, what exactly is Du Jiuzhong up to? Is he planning a rebellion? Making friends with so many ministers, where does that leave me? He keeps saying the Ministry of Revenue is out of money and the national treasury is empty. How can I possibly sit secure on my throne?!"
The Emperor spoke.
No one dared to interrupt.
Even after rising to the position of head eunuch, Wang Fulai remained unchanged.
"This servant dares not speak presumptuously, Your Majesty, your health is of utmost importance," Wang Fulai advised once again.
"Enough, why bother explaining this to you? You wouldn't understand anyway. Prepare the carriage and go to the Jade Hall!" Emperor Yuanming left in a rage.
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