7. Song of the Clouds (VI)

The men who were chasing Yun Ge caught up with her and saw Yun Ge lying in the arms of a man in white. The man was dressed in white, with long black hair hanging down behind him. When he raised his head, he saw a pair of deep and distant eyes, but at this moment, there was a hint of coldness in his eyes. Such a handsome man is extremely rare in such a remote rural area, even in a southern city like Guangling, and everyone was stunned.

"Who are you? Why don't you put down my beauty!" The thin man came to his senses, stepped forward and shouted. He had been staring at this little beauty in front of him for a long time, and now that he was finally getting her, how could he let her be snatched away by someone else? Although Guangling has been producing beautiful women since ancient times, it is still rare to see a beauty like this little beauty.

Master Qingchen raised his eyes and glanced at everyone calmly, saying, "Who are you? You are quite courageous."

The thin man was stunned, and soon sneered: "I think you are quite courageous, and you have the ability to meddle in other people's business! Listen carefully, I am the eldest son of the Huang family in Guangling City. In Guangling, no one dares to go against me!" At first, seeing Xu Qingchen's extraordinary demeanor, the man was a little hesitant, but when he saw that he was dressed in white, ordinary clothes and a powerless ordinary person, the man's arrogance suddenly rose again. In Guangling, although the Huang family cannot be said to be all-powerful, their power is so great that it is definitely not something that a weak scholar from outside can match.

Xu Qingchen leaned over and picked up Yun Ge, saying calmly: "Huang family? I remember it."

Seeing Xu Qingchen holding Yun Ge and about to leave, Mr. Huang was furious, "How dare you! Stop! Why don't you come on!"

After hearing the master's order, the men who followed him naturally rushed forward. However, Xu Qingchen turned around and headed towards Guangling as if he didn't see them at all.

Being ignored by a powerless person, everyone could not help but get angry. One of them punched Xu Qingchen in the back. Unexpectedly, a strong wind blew past, and the man fell to the ground holding his fist and wailing in pain before he could even touch Xu Qingchen's clothes.

Everyone was startled and looked around vigilantly. At some point, several men in gray clothes appeared on the hillsides on both sides of the road. They glanced at everyone indifferently and flew to Xu Qingchen, "Young Master."

Xu Qingchen looked down at Yun Ge who was sleeping in his arms and said calmly, "Take him back to Guangling. Also, have the governor of Guangling come to see me."

"As you command." The gray-clothed man replied in a low voice. With a wave of his hand, the men behind him neatly captured the group and tied them up like dumplings. Mr. Huang stared at Xu Qingchen in shock. The man who could easily ask the governor to come and see him in person was definitely not an ordinary person. "Who... who are you?"

Xu Qingchen glanced at him calmly, turned around and walked away holding Yun Ge. Several guards behind him looked at the thin and sickly Mr. Huang with some sympathy. Mr. Qingchen followed Miss Shen everywhere and lost her several times, so he was in a bad mood. This guy even wanted to die by falling into Mr. Qingchen's hands. It was really... too pitiful...

In the backyard of an inconspicuous inn in Guangling City, several well-dressed people were standing in the yard, waiting with trepidation. At the door not far away, several gray-clad guards stood expressionlessly, as if they did not notice the uneasiness of these people at all.

The leader was wearing the clothes of a third-rank official. He had a lot of white hair on his temples, which mixed with his black hair and looked like gray hair. He should have been a senior official in charge of Guanglingcheng, but now he looked worried and anxious as if the sky was about to fall. Following him was a middle-aged man who was dressed in rich clothes and looked wealthy. Behind him were several men and women of different ages, but he obviously didn't understand the governor's worries. He just looked anxiously at the guards standing not far away with a frown on his face.

"Sir, my son..." The man looked at the Guangling governor and frowned. After hearing that his son was captured, he originally planned to ask the servants and guards at home to see who was so bold as to act wildly in Guangling City. However, he did not expect to receive a message from the governor before he even left the house, asking him to rush to the inn immediately. He was also reminded to be respectful. He immediately understood that the person his son had offended might not be an ordinary person. But when he got here and saw the governor acting like this, he was a little dissatisfied. With the influence of the Huang family in Guangling, as long as Prince Ding and Princess Ding did not come in person, who could do anything to them? As the saying goes, a strong dragon cannot defeat a local snake. Doesn't the governor, who has just taken office not long ago, have to be respectful to these old Guangling clans?

The prefect of Guangling frowned, and his expression when he looked at Mr. Huang was somewhat unfriendly. It was not known whether the Huang family had really committed too many sins by offending Master Qingchen. People outside who were not aware of the situation might think that Master Qingchen was gentle and kind-hearted and must be a humble gentleman, but as officials from Prince Ding's Mansion, how could they not know? Two years ago, Prince Ding and the Princess were often away at war, and all the affairs of Prince Ding's Mansion were handled by Master Qingchen. There were many old officials and generals under the command of Prince Ding's Mansion who were arrogant. If Master Qingchen only had talent but no iron-fisted means, how could he suppress these people? If it was really Prince Ding and the Princess who came, maybe he could ask the Princess for mercy. Now he has offended Master Qingchen... Looking at Mr. Huang who was still at a loss, the Guangling governor shook his head in his heart and ignored him. He only silently calculated in his heart whether he had made any omissions in governing Guangling these days.

Seeing the governor's expression, Mr. Huang also felt something was wrong. But he couldn't think of anyone in Guangling that the Huang family couldn't afford to offend. Even those generals with heavy troops could be dealt with by the Huang family with their wealth. Moreover, the person who brought the letter back also said that the one who captured his son was a weak young man.

Everyone outside the door had different thoughts, but Mr. Qingchen in the room didn't care about everyone's anxious waiting. He sat leisurely beside the bed and looked at the quiet and lovely face of the sleeping girl. The sleeping girl was more peaceful and beautiful than when she was awake. One hand stretched out to pull a corner of the quilt and she slept very sweetly, just like a little kid who had never experienced the world.

Raising his hand and pinching the girl's rosy cheeks, Master Qingchen laughed helplessly and whispered, "Why don't you just stay by my side? Why do you run around everywhere? What will you do if I'm not around this time? If you are stupid, you should behave yourself. I won't dislike you. Your little face has become thinner. You are such a little fool."

The sleeping girl's slightly curled eyelashes trembled slightly. Master Qingchen calmly withdrew his hand and smiled, "Do you still want to pretend to sleep?"

The sleeping little girl immediately opened her eyes, rubbed her red face, and smiled dryly at the handsome man in front of her, "Xu Qingchen...why are you here?"

Master Qingchen smiled coldly, "If I wasn't here, you would have become someone else's concubine."

Miss Yun Ge, who knew she was wronged and had a natural fear of someone, shrank her neck in grievance. Xu Qingchen looked at her pitiful appearance and his heart softened. He sighed and said, "Don't run around in the future, okay? You should know how dangerous it was today."

Yun Ge nodded repeatedly, not caring whether she understood Xu Qingchen's words clearly or not. Master Qingchen raised his hand to ruffle her hair and said, "You just got rid of the poison. Take a rest first. I'll go take care of some things."

"Yeah." Yun Ge nodded and blinked her big eyes at Master Qingchen.

Master Qingchen stood up, looked at Yun Ge and said in a deep voice: "Don't run away again! Otherwise... I'll lock you up and make you copy books for the rest of your life."

Woo… Yun Ge's heart trembled, and she nodded vigorously and then shook her head desperately. Seeing her like this, the coldness in Master Qingchen's eyes dissipated a lot, "If you behave yourself, I won't punish you." In fact, Miss Yun Ge is a very interesting thing, Master Qingchen thought silently. But you can't bully her too hard, otherwise the little girl will run away again.

"Yeah, I'm tired, I'm going to sleep." Miss Yun Ge, who didn't dare to rebel anymore, shrank into the quilt, covered her head and didn't want to face the facts in front of her. Master Qingchen smiled faintly, shook his head, turned around and walked out the door. At the same time, his eyes, which originally had a faint warmth, were covered with a layer of frost again.

As soon as he walked out of the door, the Guangling governor came to greet him attentively, "Sir..."

Xu Qingchen raised his hand to stop him from saying anything, glanced at the people in the yard, turned around and walked to the front hall. The gray-clothed guards guarding the door left two people to guard the door, and the rest followed silently. Guangling prefect hesitated for a moment, glared at Mr. Huang and his family, and hurriedly followed.

In the flower hall, Master Qingchen was sitting at the top drinking tea. Master Huang, who was arrogant before, was tied up like a big dumpling and thrown into the hall. The Huang family had already arrived, and a middle-aged woman in elegant clothes rushed over with a whine, "Joe, Joey, what's wrong with you? Who bullied you?" Master Huang mumbled for a long time and couldn't speak. It was obvious that someone had pushed him to silence. He could only wink at the woman, but unfortunately the woman was anxious and worried, and didn't understand what he meant at all.

"I am Li Jiye, the governor of Guangling, and I pay my respects to you, young master." The governor of Guangling straightened his clothes and stepped forward to pay his respects. But Mr. Huang was furious, "Sir Li, what is going on? Who is this young master, and why does he treat my son like this?"

The prefect of Guangling cursed the man as an idiot in his heart, lowered his eyes and looked at his nose, as if he didn't hear what Master Huang said.

"Lord Li." Master Qingchen put down the teacup in his hand and said lightly.

"Yes, sir, please give your instructions." The prefect of Guangling said hurriedly.

Xu Qingchen said, "You have been in Guangling for more than three months, and you have handled the official business well. But how do you explain these things?" A thick stack of paper rolls was thrown into the arms of the Guangling governor, who quickly took it and opened it, but his face became paler and paler. All the records on it were about the wealthy and powerful people in Guangling who bullied the people and did evil. Some of these things were reported to the government but were suppressed by himself. The Guangling governor also had his own difficulties. Guangling had been in the hands of the Great Chu before, and then in the hands of Xiling for a few years. But no matter which side was in control, these local old nobles were still safe and stable. Guangling was once the capital of the previous dynasty, and the nobles left behind were also deeply rooted with a long history. He was born in an ordinary family and relied on his own ability to become the governor. However, after arriving in Guangling, he was controlled by these nobles in every way. In order to take over Guangling smoothly and restore people's livelihood, he had to compromise with these nobles and turn a blind eye to many of their actions.

"I know I was wrong. Please punish me, sir." The governor of Guangling knelt on the ground and did not make any excuses, but just pleaded guilty in a deep voice.

Xu Qingchen looked at him and said, "I understand why you did what you did. I won't punish you for your reasons, but... since you are a governor, you are the people's parents. I hope you will think of the people first instead of weighing the pros and cons. If you have any difficulties, just report them directly and someone will naturally help you. Even if you act first and report later, the prince and princess will not blame you. But... if the people suffer because of your weighing of the pros and cons, not to mention the prince and princess, even I will not forgive you, and you don't have to be a governor anymore!"

In fact, it is too serious to say that the people were living in poverty. Guangling under Li Jiye's rule was still quite good in all aspects. However, these nobles who had occupied Guangling for a long time were not something that Li Jiye, a mere governor, could deal with.

After hearing what Xu Qingchen said, Guangling Taishou secretly breathed a sigh of relief and knelt respectfully, saying, "I understand. I have betrayed the trust of the prince and princess, and I will never do it again."

Xu Qingchen nodded with satisfaction and said, "Very good, let's deal with these matters first."

Hearing this, the governor of Guangling could not help but take a deep breath. This book records the crimes of almost all the nobles in Guangling. If it is really handled according to the law, I am afraid that all the nobles in Guangling will be offended. But thinking about how the prince in Licheng treated those old ministers and dignitaries of the previous dynasty, the attitude of Master Qingchen seems to be justified. I am afraid that both the prince and the young master are very dissatisfied with these people, and today's incident is just an excuse.

"What?" Seeing his hesitation, Xu Qingchen raised his eyebrows calmly.

"No... I obey your command!" The Guangling governor stood up and said, "Someone come!"

Soon, the yamen runners waiting outside the gate came in and obeyed the order respectfully. The Guangling prefect read out a long list of names in one breath. They were all some notorious playboys from the noble families in Guangling City. He said in a deep voice: "Quickly arrest these people and bring them to justice."

Even the yamen runners were stunned for a moment by such an order. They looked at the handsome young man sitting at the top, and quickly took the order and left.

"Master Li, what exactly does this mean?"

Mr. Huang was a little slow to react to this sudden change, and looked at the Guangling governor and questioned. The Guangling governor sneered and said, "The others have not arrived yet, why don't we deal with the current situation first, what do you think, young master?"

Xu Qingchen raised his eyebrows and said, "Okay."

"Huang Yaozu, you relied on the power of the Huang family to forcibly seize a woman and force her to be your concubine, resulting in the death of three members of your family. Do you know your crime?"

"What?!"