Upon hearing this, Grand Secretary Zhong was speechless.
After a long silence, she blushed and spoke softly, "I didn't mean anything by it, I just think His Majesty should care more about us."
Before them, there was Qi Yong, who enjoyed the emperor's favor for many years, and after them, the banished immortal surpassed them. They could only watch helplessly as they gradually felt themselves becoming more and more marginalized.
As a Grand Secretary, he could never win the Emperor's heart, a heartbreaking and helpless situation that was incredibly distressing.
Upon hearing this, Liu An's lips twitched.
At your age, you can't even eat food that's a little hard, what's with all the fuss?
“We, as subjects, only need to do our duty,” An Qingyun couldn’t help but shake his head. “Doing our job well will naturally earn us respect. As for other things, His Majesty has his own plans.”
“That’s right,” Liu An said meaningfully, giving Zhong Ping a subtle look. “Instead of focusing on trivial matters, it’s better to do your job well. Once you’ve made a name for yourself, no one can deny your contributions.”
After all, the Grand Secretary is not a favored concubine in the harem, and does not rely on the Emperor's favor for his livelihood.
Even so, Liu An was still somewhat envious.
Even among court officials, there is a difference between being favored by the emperor and not being favored by him. All he could do was rack his brains and try his best to become one of the few who were favored by the emperor.
She doesn't compare herself to Qi Yong, nor does she dare to dream of the treatment of a Protector of the Nation's wife. She's content as long as she has her own little corner and isn't reduced to a mere tool.
The two did not understand Liu An's true thoughts, but instead felt that his words made a lot of sense.
On the surface, they remained calm and continued exchanging pleasantries, but after parting ways, everyone worked even harder.
The Residence of the Protector of the Nation.
As soon as Jiang Nuan returned, her parents rushed over, asking, "Girl, what happened?"
“The grain purchased by the aristocratic families has been burned,” Jiang Nuan sighed. “This kind of thing is neither a big deal nor a small deal. I hope nothing unexpected happens.”
"The grain was burned?" The old woman's eyes widened in disbelief. "Which bastard is so despicable as to burn grain? Aren't they afraid of divine retribution?"
Thinking about how she used to go hungry, the old lady wanted to grab her broom and chase after these people.
I've never seen such a wicked person. Growing food is so difficult, and so many people are struggling to get enough to eat. How dare someone waste food like this!
"Never mind," Jiang Nuan didn't want to talk about it anymore. "Mother, let me take you out for a walk."
Logically speaking, these grains were bought by a powerful family, and if they didn't want them anymore, they could simply burn them; it was none of the business of outsiders.
However, there are far too many people who are starving in this era, so this kind of behavior is really not very comfortable.
Regardless of whether their purchasing methods were legal, their behavior of harming others even when it doesn't benefit themselves is simply unappealing.
"Can we go out?"
"It always has been possible."
"Let's forget it," said Grandma Jiang, afraid of being recognized if she went out. "We haven't finished exploring our own house yet. We can go out another time if we have the chance."
Jiang Nuan's eyes flickered, and she immediately understood her mother's concerns.
"If you don't want to go, Mother, you can stay home and rest. I'm going out for a walk."
"Are you going out?"
"Um."
"Then I'll go with you, and let your dad come too. If anything happens, the three of us will share the responsibility!"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Nuan was both amused and exasperated, "Okay!"
After a quick change of clothes, the group immediately went out.
"Juquanlou is in the west of the city, and you have to walk through several streets. If you're not feeling well, Mother, take a nap first, and I'll wake you when we get there."
"Are you looking for Han Yi?"
"Yes, since we're in the capital, we definitely have to go and take a look."
“That’s right,” Grandma Jiang slapped herself. “Han Yi has always helped our family, so we should go to see him. But after going to the capital, he only knows how to be cowardly and has completely forgotten about this matter.”
The old lady's words made Jiang Nuan laugh. "It's not too late now, there's still time."
"I wonder how they are doing," the old woman said anxiously. "All along the way, we've met people who want to settle scores with our family. The Han family has been so close to us; they've probably already been..."
"Don't overthink it, nothing's wrong. He's fine. If something had happened, he would have sent a message."
Han Yi is not the kind of person who silently endures grievances and licks his wounds alone.
He is indeed a good person, but he is also a businessman and cannot ignore his own gains and losses.
“That makes sense,” the old lady said, immediately putting her mind at ease. “Let’s go ask him if he has any difficulties. If he can’t handle it, you must help him.”
"rest assured."
Han Yi was quite surprised when he saw the three of them. "Auntie, why are you coming to the capital at this time?"
"That's why I had to make a trip to the capital."
“You shouldn’t have come at this time,” Han Yi said hesitantly. “The rumors have a really big impact. Things will only get better once the storm has passed.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Han Lei came over to report, "Young Master, we've caught another suspicious person. He... was carrying a basin of black dog blood!"
After saying that, he glanced nervously at Jiang Nuan.
"The usual procedure," Han Yi said dismissively, "if you catch someone, send them directly to the Ministry of Justice."
"yes!"
“Wait,” Jiang Nuan suddenly spoke up, “I’ll go out with you and take a look.”
“Young Master…” Han Lei looked at Han Yi.
“Auntie, it’s nothing serious, there’s no need to watch over it,” Han Yi paused, then continued, “These people can’t do much, at most they’ll throw some vegetable leaves or splash some dog blood, we can handle that anytime.”
“It’s alright,” Jiang Nuan said, not changing her mind. “Father, Mother, you stay in the back room for tea. Han Lei will lead the way.”
"yes!"
On the way, Han Lei explained, "Madam, you really don't need to worry about this. Juquanlou's business has been the envy of many for a long time. When such an opportunity arises, many people will take advantage of the situation behind the scenes. Most of these people who are making moves have other masters behind them."
"Others may be right, but this shouldn't be the case."
The powerful families have all been wiped out; where would they get the money to bribe officials?
Upon hearing this, Han Lei remained silent.
He wanted to comfort people, but found he was too clumsy with words and didn't know how to offer comfort at all.
In the front hall of Juquan Building, a ragged man shouted, "Let me go! I'm going to act on behalf of Heaven and expose this demon!"
"Shut up," Han Yun said angrily. "The Lady Protector of the Nation is not a demon, she is a celestial being. If you keep talking nonsense, I will really hit you!"
"I'm not afraid. You're all in cahoots with this monster. You're no good people either. You'll all die a horrible death sooner or later!"
These words made Han Yun unable to bear it any longer.
Clenching his fists, he charged forward, shouting, "I'll teach you to curse, to talk nonsense, to slander people. Since you don't know how to behave, I'll teach you a lesson today."
After saying that, he started punching the man repeatedly until he was screaming and lying on the ground, too afraid to get up.
Seeing this, Han Yun clapped his hands, glanced at the ground, and said, "Do you still dare to talk nonsense?"
"If you've got the guts, kill me. Otherwise, when I get back on my feet, you'll regret it!"
"He still needs to be disciplined!"
After gritting his teeth and saying this, Han Yun was about to make a move again.
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