Chapter 120 Roads and paths, families and children in tow…
After her anger subsided, Xu Rong learned more details from the boy.
Like Bai Quan, Hong Liu's brother Xiao Liu was also targeted as soon as he entered Pingliang County, which was under the jurisdiction of Pingliang Prefecture. Because of Bai Quan's experience and Xiao Liu's previous experience as a fugitive, he was more vigilant than Bai Quan in this regard. However, this vigilance backfired. As soon as the people watching them noticed that they had been discovered, they immediately reported it to the Prince Qing's Mansion, and then the guards of the Prince Qing's Mansion came to arrest them.
Therefore, the young man couldn't say much about the local customs of Pingliang. He could only say, "It's really not good. Not to mention the countryside, even the people in the city are so dry that their faces are covered in dirt. When we stayed at the inn, the dust on the table kept coming back up no matter how much we wiped it. It was never clean."
That was when he first arrived in Pingliang; if we consider the present, the situation is probably even worse.
This was already known, so Xu Rong didn't ask any further questions. Instead, she focused on another point: "Were you being watched as soon as you entered the city?"
The boy nodded and replied, "Grandma probably doesn't know that place is very different from the capital. People from unfamiliar places can tell the difference at a glance. Moreover, at this time of year, it seems that things aren't going well there, and there aren't many merchants from other places going there. Most of the rooms in the inn where we are staying are empty."
Therefore, Xiao Liu and his group became even more conspicuous. Even if they disguised themselves, it wouldn't be of much use to a local tyrant like Prince Qing.
Then the question arises: Did Prince Qing send people to monitor all the unfamiliar faces entering and leaving Pingliang during this period, or—
"Does Prince Qing know your identities?"
"Manager Xiao Liu didn't say anything at first, but later he couldn't reason with Prince Qing's mansion, and because of the scoundrels, Prince Qing learned that Brother Bai Quan had sent someone out to seek help—"
Xu Rong's heart tightened, and he asked, "What, has Your Highness turned against Bai Quan?"
The young man hurriedly shook his head: "No, it's just that Steward Liu can't call anyone back to tell Grandma about the situation anymore. Moreover," he looked a little confused, "Prince Qing doesn't seem to care much about our origins. The head steward of Prince Qing's mansion directly assigned Steward Liu a task. Steward Liu couldn't do it or not, so he had no choice but to tell him that we were Grandma's dowry."
This was the autonomy that Xiaoliu had granted Rong before she left. Without changing her expression, she asked, "And then?"
—Then, Prince Qing still refused to release the person, but when Xiao Liu tried to call someone back, he didn't stop her.
"It seems that Prince Qing means that even if I come back to report, it will be useless. The manor—the manor can't suppress him, and he simply won't release the person."
Xu Rong pondered.
If there weren't so many backstories involved, Prince Qing's actions would just seem like those of an ordinary arrogant prince. And if she knew what was good for her, she could simply give away the two servants to Prince Qing.
But things are clearly not that simple.
She couldn't quite put her finger on what was amiss. Concluding with the worst-case scenario, Prince Qing was clearly plotting a rebellion, hence his indiscriminate recruitment of talent, using anyone he saw without regard for anything else. But he hadn't even officially started his uprising yet; was this indiscriminate recruitment of people as if he was afraid of leaks or the court not intervening?
If you call him foolish, then someone who was able to give up on the eve of the palace coup back then was far more clear-headed and ruthless than many others; such a person, who endured hardship for twenty years and finally made a comeback, would actually be so foolish as to lose his mind to this extent.
...
The boy who finished speaking was taken away to rest.
Xu Rong rubbed her temples, her head aching. She even wondered if Prince Qing had developed mental problems after being stifled in Pingliang for so many years. Only a madman would act so erratically.
There's an even more important connection involved: before she sent Xiaoliu out, she didn't know Lin Xin would receive such an order, which immediately increased the complexity of the situation.
After two days of tense deliberation, Xu Rong realized she had no other choice.
If we send other people, no matter how capable they are, they will probably only follow in the footsteps of Bai Quan and Xiao Liu, like throwing meat buns to a dog – they will never return. If Lin Xin did not go, it would be more effective for Lin Ding, the head of the family, to personally intervene. However, given that Lin Xin has already set off, firstly, Lin Ding is a military commander and cannot travel freely without an imperial decree. Secondly, even if an imperial decree is obtained, military officers do not have strict rules regarding recusal from their posts. It is common for fathers and sons to fight side by side, but civil officials must adhere to these rules. He cannot be suspected of having the same duties as Lin Xin in the same place.
That left only one option: she could go and see for herself—the imperial envoy couldn't bring his family, but she wasn't traveling with Lin Xin, so it wouldn't matter.
Only then will we know the truth about Pingliang and Prince Qing.
Having made the decision, Xu Rong had nothing to hesitate about. She then spent some time persuading Madam Wei and Lin Ding. It was easy for Madam Wei, and not difficult for Lin Ding either. He came from humble beginnings and, even after becoming wealthy, he had no way to get in touch with the wives of high-ranking families. The only person he knew was his daughter-in-law, Xu Rong. He was so used to seeing how she did things that he had the misconception that all women from noble families were so capable.
The inner curtains cannot confine her, nor are they necessary to confine her.
It took Xu Rong about five more days to complete all the preparations before setting off for Pingliang.
**
The journey was quite long, and as time went by, the further west they went, the stronger the summer became, with the scorching sun hanging overhead day after day.
After entering Shaanxi Province, Xu Rong discovered that Pingliang Prefecture was not the only one suffering from water shortage. This was normal, as there was no reason for any prefecture to be the only one to experience drought. As the carriage passed through the rural fields of several prefectures, the farmers all wore worried expressions.
However, Xu Rong sent someone to inquire and learned that the situation in these places was not as severe as in Pingliang, where there had been no rain for more than a month. They could still manage by spending more effort to fetch water from the river for irrigation.
However, production cuts are inevitable.
For this reason, the imperial court was unable to collect disaster relief grain from the surrounding areas, so it had to send a batch of emergency supplies from the capital first. At the same time, after the imperial envoys arrived in the area, they could also urge the government to open the Ever-Normal Granaries to release grain.
Therefore, Xu Rong stopped to rest along the way and listened to the people talk about the weather this year. They were worried, but not desperate. For thousands of years, they had become accustomed to this kind of suffering. The fact that the court was willing to send people down to provide disaster relief meant that the emperor was wise and enlightened. They could endure it and get through it eventually.
—If it weren't for Prince Qing being a hidden powder keg planted in the middle, then that's indeed how things would have been.
That's a story for later, so let's leave it at that. Xu Rong also found out about the disaster relief team ahead. They were moving faster than she had estimated. Based on the time the farmers had given them when they passed through before, they should have already entered Pingliang Prefecture by now.
Xu Rong also quickened his pace a bit.
The closer they got to Pingliang, the more different the atmosphere became. They encountered more and more pedestrians along the way, which was not a good thing, because Pingliang was not a populous prefecture. Xu Rong had done his homework before coming and found that the three prefectures and seven counties under its jurisdiction had a total population of only over 500,000.
These people were all disaster victims who came to collect the relief grain after hearing that the imperial envoy had arrived.
On main roads and side streets, families and children traveled in an endless stream.
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