Shen Youying took out the Hundred Flower Cake for him and told him about what the Xu family mother and daughter had done on the street: "Judging from the behavior of those people, they have been bullied by the Xu family for a long time. It may not just be the Xu family. Other officials in Xizhou City are also used to exploiting the people. Otherwise, they would not have been so uneasy at the beginning."
Upon hearing this, Xue Shen's expression darkened slightly, and he said, "It seems that Xu Qiao is still unwilling to give up and intends to turn the tables with the help of a few women."
Unfortunately, the Xu family had committed too many evil deeds in the past, so the people had no sympathy for them and would only beat them while they were down and cheer them on.
"Ignore them. In a few days, the Xu family will be executed, and they will never appear in Xizhou City again."
Shen Youying nodded. Seeing that there were still a lot of official documents piled up on his desk, she didn't linger to disturb him and got up to leave: "Okay, you go ahead and do your work. I'm tired after wandering around for a while. I'll go back and rest for a while."
Xue Shen still had quite a few things to deal with. He saw her onto the carriage and only went back to continue his official business after she got in.
Shen Youying, meanwhile, was riding in a carriage, preparing to return to her residence.
It was already summer, and although the northwest wasn't yet scorching hot, the sun was already blazing. The carriage was stiflingly hot under the blazing sun, so Shen Youying lifted the bamboo curtain, leaving only a thin gauze curtain for shade.
As the carriage traveled along the long street, Shen Youying's gaze swept over the vendors hawking their wares along the way, but out of the corner of her eye, she suddenly caught sight of a very familiar figure.
"parking!"
Shen Youying suddenly spoke up, and the coachman quickly pulled on the reins and stopped the carriage.
Before the carriage had even come to a complete stop, Shen Youying lifted her skirt and stepped out, anxiously looking around. But the figure that had flashed by just moments before seemed to have vanished into the crowd like mist, never to be found again.
She looked around anxiously, refusing to give up and searching in the direction she had just glimpsed.
Bai Luo and Liu Yun, along with their guards, were unaware of what she had seen and their expressions changed drastically. They could only anxiously follow behind her. Bai Luo hurriedly went to help her, saying, "Miss, Miss, slow down, you can't run."
Shen Youying didn't care about any of that. She lifted her skirt and walked quickly to where the figure had appeared, before stopping in a daze.
Bai Luo was extremely worried: "Girl, what are you looking for?"
Shen Youying recalled that familiar figure, and her nose tingled with tears: "Did you see it just now? Did you see it...?"
She wanted to ask them if they had seen her eldest brother, but before she could speak, she realized that apart from Bai Luo, no one else present had ever seen him. And for Bai Luo and those who used to know her eldest brother, he was already gone.
Even she herself, though unwilling to believe that her older brother was dead, subconsciously felt that he probably wouldn't come back whenever she thought about it.
But ever since her father suddenly defied the imperial decree and led troops to the Northwest, and Xue Shen told him that her elder brother might still be alive, that little bit of hope in her heart rose again. She still hoped that one day, her father would bring her elder brother back and the family would be reunited.
Thinking of her elder brother, whose fate was unknown, and her father, whose whereabouts were still unknown, Shen Youying couldn't help but shed tears.
No matter how Bailuo and the others asked, she just shook her head and refused to speak.
Shen Youying stood there for a long time before finally being helped back into the carriage by Bai Luo and Liu Yun.
After she left, a tall, slender figure emerged from the shadows, gazing intently at the receding carriage for a long time.
The figure was tall and slender, dressed in a black outfit, with distinct facial features, a high nose and deep-set eyes. His long hair was braided with gold ornaments and rope and hung down his back. If Shen Youying were here, she would recognize him as Shen Xiuyi, who had fallen off the cliff and gone missing.
He stood there, lost in thought. It might sound strange, but he had a feeling that the woman had come straight for him.
He didn't recognize the woman, but judging from her clothes and the style of the carriage, she must be a member of the family of some high-ranking official...
But for some reason, seeing the woman standing there with tears in her eyes, he was suddenly touched.
Before he could figure it out, his companion came running: "Ah, His Highness has ordered us to return to the royal court immediately."
Interrupted from his thoughts, A-Ye pulled himself back from his reverie and no longer focused on the woman he had only met once. He asked seriously, "Didn't Your Highness order us to come to Xizhou to investigate the gold mines? Why the sudden recall? Has something happened at the royal court?"
His companion said, "Chamuqi is dead. Chamuqi is furious and is spreading rumors in front of the king, trying to incite the king to send troops."
Aye frowned and said, "I heard he ran into the hands of the King of Qin of Great Wei? Chamuqi acted arrogantly, so it's no wonder he died at the hands of someone more powerful than him. But how could His Majesty listen to Chamuqi's instigation?"
Although the Tibetan king was old and no longer had enough energy to handle state affairs, he had entrusted all matters of the royal court to his brother Chamuqi and his three sons. However, having been king for so many years, he had never made a mistake on these important matters.
In the past, Chamuqi had also instigated the king to unite with the Northern Rong to invade the south and extract more resources from the land of Wei.
However, the king knew that Tibet's power was far inferior to that of the Northern Rong, and he never agreed with Chamuqi's advice, instead refuting it on many occasions. But recently, for some unknown reason, the king suddenly became close to Chamuqi, and Chamuqi's subordinates were also given important positions.
Now, instigated by Chamuqi, they intend to march south.
"I don't know either. His Highness sent an urgent letter summoning you back, saying there was something important to discuss."
Aya nodded: "I understand, I'll head back now. Are there any people left here to continue the search?"
"Ten people were left behind, but Xizhou City is not what it used to be. Since the Prince of Qin came, the defenses have been strengthened both openly and secretly, so we dare not investigate any more obviously."
Aye pondered for a moment and said, "I'm going back to the royal court. I'll leave the rest to you. Find an opportunity to capture a member of the Xu family and question him. Maybe you can get some clues out of him."
Their mission was to search for gold mines in Xizhou, as ordered by His Highness.
It is said that starting about two years ago, unidentified people from the border of Xizhou transported a large amount of goods to Tibet to trade cattle, horses and weapons. Later, they even took over a shop in the royal court and conducted business between the two countries for a long time.
But the goods these people brought were always very cheap, almost like giving them away for free.
Later, His Highness discovered by chance that these people were not actually doing business, but rather trying to launder gold. These merchants from the Great Wei would transport large quantities of spices, tea, and other goods, but the wheel tracks on their wagons were very deep, clearly indicating that they were transporting heavy cargo.
They would often stay at the royal court for a month, selling off spices, tea, and other goods at very low prices, practically at a loss, before returning to Xizhou with empty boxes.
On one occasion, he was ordered by His Highness to secretly follow them and discovered that those huge “empty boxes” were actually filled with gold.
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