Chapter 37 [Revised] He left for Changping without leaving a single word...
"I heard from the people in the manor that the old lady invited the imperial physician for the young mistress, and the prescription was changed twice, but she still hasn't gotten better after half a month," Qingque said.
After retrieving his clothes from the mansion, he recounted in detail the events that had occurred there recently. Ji Jinghe, preoccupied with official business at his desk, seemed to be listening but not really.
"According to Baozhu, the young mistress has been making money by selling sachets, working day and night for half a year. Her health has deteriorated, which is why she is in this state. The imperial physician said that she needs to take good care of herself, otherwise a minor illness could easily turn into a serious one..."
Ji Jinghe paused, stopping halfway through writing the character.
The room fell silent, so quiet that only the conversations of the yamen runners and officials walking back and forth outside the corridor could be heard.
How do you make sachets to sell?
He entrusted the management of the household to her so that she wouldn't feel wronged in the mansion, so how could this happen?
Qingque: "Does the master not know the young mistress? She even returned the things the master gave you and the young lady exactly as they were. How could she let the steward show favoritism?"
"Miss sent word several times that Madam scolded the young mistress again..."
The moment the words were spoken, the person sitting there immediately stopped writing.
Qingque hurriedly added, "The young mistress wanted to bury Master Chu and Madam Chu together before Qingming Festival this year, but she refused because of Master Chu's reputation."
"No one knows what the young mistress and the madam said. It is only said that when the young mistress came out, she did not look well and was seriously ill."
"I sent someone to check on Master Chu's grave today. Apart from the time the master asked us to take care of it last time, there are no signs of it being moved. You see..."
"Why didn't you report this sooner?"
The voice above carried a hint of anger; without even looking, one could tell that the speaker's expression was not good.
Qingque bowed deeply, not daring to utter another word.
Ji Jinghe took a deep breath. "Do as the young mistress wishes. There's no need to disturb her recovery, and there's no need to let the madam know."
As he dipped his hand in ink, the anger that had been hidden in his tone vanished, replaced by his usual indifference.
Qingque nodded and, having received the order, hurried off to carry it out.
The brief report caused Ji Jinghe to lose his composure again. The scene in front of Rongshou Hall that day kept replaying in his mind, and he couldn't even bear to look at the documents in front of him.
Never mind, I'll still go back.
He rode back under the cover of night, first going to Rongshou Hall, where he heard the old lady mention Banmu Courtyard, only then learning that the person had passed away that morning.
“I’ve been telling you two to be considerate of each other since you got married, but neither of you listened to me.”
Mother Ji sighed. "Your situation is already much more complicated than others, so you need to be even more careful."
“Grandmother’s words are correct,” Ji Jinghe nodded.
Mother Ji: "In my opinion, after Yu'an comes back, you should move back to the Half Acre Courtyard. Even if you sleep in separate beds, you should still sleep under the same roof."
Ji Jinghe: ...
He no longer cared about such things and asked, "Does Grandmother know where she went or which relative she visited?"
"If you really care, go ask him yourself," Madam Ji said reproachfully. "Anyway, he's seriously ill and going to a far place; who knows what might happen..."
Ji's mother deliberately changed her tone, so that it conveyed a different meaning to him.
With grievances bottled up inside and suffering from illness, he left for Changping without saying a word. How could anyone feel at ease?
Seeing that he was distracted, Madam Ji gave him a few more instructions as usual, and then let him leave.
Ji Jinghe stepped out into the cold wind and immediately asked, "How come I didn't know that the young mistress had gone out?"
Qingque was taken aback: "I haven't heard any news. When I came yesterday, everything was normal."
Knowing Ji Jinghe's anxiety, he suggested, "If you're worried, sir, why don't I send someone to check right now?"
He looked up into the courtyard, where the withered leaves on the branches were rustling in the wind, and the gray sky held no sign of life.
Finally, he sighed softly, "Fine, I'll go myself."
As the emperor grew weaker day by day, civil and military officials stayed in the palace day after day until the imperial edict establishing the heir was produced in the Qianqing Palace, which finally calmed people's hearts.
The King of Chu returned to his fiefdom, and the King of Qi made him crown prince.
Ji Jinghe stayed in the palace for three days straight, and was finally able to return home on the day the imperial decree was issued.
His Majesty is critically ill; his time may be approaching.
"If you go, sir, you'll have to rush back tomorrow. It's a long and arduous journey through wind and snow. Why don't I ride there on horseback and wait until the young mistress has arrived safely at her uncle's house before I return to report?"
In Qingque's opinion, there was no need to make the trip in person just to take a look, especially since she had important matters to attend to.
Stepping quickly into the study, Ji Jinghe went straight to put on his fur coat, completely ignoring his words. "There's nothing important to it anyway, we can deal with it when we get back."
Blue Sparrow: ...
"Why not set off tomorrow? It's almost time for dinner now. If you leave now, it will probably be dark by the time you get there."
Ji Jinghe frowned, looking at his dawdling manner, and said impatiently, "Why are you nagging too?"
Qingque forced a smile and muttered, "We don't even know where the young mistress and the others are right now. It would be a waste of time for the master to go. What if they've already stopped to rest on the way? How will the master find them? Besides, the master doesn't even know where his uncle lives..."
Everything he said made sense, but he wouldn't take it.
Having lived for over twenty years, he rarely acted impulsively, but today, for some reason, he was acting strangely.
"I was just going to Changping on business, why are you talking so much?"
Ji Jinghe urged in a cold voice, "Go and prepare the horses immediately."
Qingque muttered to herself, thinking to herself that there was nothing important at all, it was just an excuse, but then she obediently listened to her master and went to prepare.
*
At midday, they stopped at an inn along the road for lunch. Yu'an, who was ill, had no appetite, so he stood by the carriage to get some fresh air.
As time went on, two little beggars suddenly appeared around me, a boy and a girl, who were only knee-high.
"Madam, could you please give us some money?" the boy asked, holding a worn-out bowl in his hands, his voice as soft as a cat's.
Yu An was still hesitating when the girl pointed to the distance and said, "That's my mother. She's sick, and my brother and I can't get anything to eat. Please, Madam, have pity on us..."
Everyone has a compassionate heart, and Yu'an is no exception. Now that her parents have passed away, whenever she sees other people's parents suffering, she can't help but think of her own parents.
She turned around, took out a money bag from the carriage, and, trying to avoid the crowd at the inn, slipped a few taels of silver into the hands of the two children in front of her, telling them to hide it well.
"Take this money and secretly go to see a doctor. Make sure no one else sees you."
Yu An squatted down and asked, "Could you tell me how many beggars live around you? Where do they live?"
The boy said, "We have no home. We go wherever there is food. There are big beggar gangs nearby, but they don't want us..."
Yu An nodded and took out some loose silver from the bag. "After you help your mother get better, you can take this money to the capital to make a living. But the condition is that I will teach you to sing a song. If any of you sing this song and the bigwigs in the capital hear it, you will get paid."
...
After finishing her meal, Baozhu bought some braised meat at the inn. Yu'an was currently ill, and the next time she would have to stop, it would probably be in Changping. She needed to buy some food just in case.
Looking at the half-empty money bag, Baozhu was puzzled. How could there be a place to spend money in the middle of nowhere?
Originally, they planned to go straight to Huairou, but unfortunately, Yu'an's health deteriorated again after they arrived in Changping, so they had to find an inn in Changping Prefecture.
Baozhu brought in the hot food. "Miss, I've found out the route to the prefectural government office. The person you asked for is waiting at the back door of the inn. Go and eat this food."
"Time is of the essence, we'll eat when I get back."
Yu An dressed in the servant's clothes. "After I leave, turn off the lights and say I'm going to rest for now."
Actually, it wasn't a big deal, as long as the servants who came with the family didn't find out.
However, they all kept in mind that they were sick, so who would have thought they would suddenly run away?
Although Changping Prefecture is not far from the capital, it exudes simplicity and rudimentary atmosphere, and its prosperity is far less than that of the capital. Walking on the streets, one feels a sense of emptiness.
Yu'an followed the route Baozhu had given him to the prefectural government office. It was evening, and there were no guards left at the entrance.
"You know what to do, right?"
The servant nodded, took the official seal, and led Yu'an forward to knock on the door.
After a long while, the gates of the prefectural government office finally opened.
The servant said, "We are here on the orders of the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief to retrieve documents. Please inform the Prefect that we should return immediately to report back."
The yamen runner hesitated before accepting the official seal, glanced at them from head to toe, closed the door, and went to fetch the prefect from the back courtyard.
Upon seeing this, the prefect immediately dressed himself neatly and went out to investigate.
"You were sent by Lord Ji." The prefect examined the seal in his hand and couldn't help but look them up and down.
It's already late. Even if it's in accordance with the official transfer request, it should be discussed during the day. Why the rush?
Moreover, he came directly with his official seal, which is really not the style of a high-ranking official in the capital.
The prefect said coldly, "We just received news that His Majesty is critically ill and the Crown Prince has been chosen. Instead of dealing with palace affairs, Lord Ji has the mind to send people to Changping?"
The servant, using the tone and manner he had learned beforehand, replied, "Officials in the capital serve His Majesty during the day and handle affairs at night. We are also acting impartially. We hope the Prefect will be lenient."
The official seal in his hand showed no flaws. The prefect glanced at the person behind the servant and pointed, saying, "Then who is he...?"
“My master’s personal attendant.”
After considering for a moment, the prefect waved his hand and said, "Take the men to the grinding station."
Despite being a high-ranking official in the central government, he had served as the prefect of Changping for nearly ten years, and this was the first time he had ever seen the official seal of a third-rank official.
Changping is a small place that is often overlooked and hardly anyone comes here.
That's why he had so many doubts.
The servant stayed at the door to deal with the prefect, while Yu'an lowered his head and followed the servant into the grinding room.
Li Yan once worked here. He must have received some benefits to be able to work for the Xia family. For example, he was transferred from Changping to the capital. If she could find evidence that the Xia family frequently communicated with people here, then her current idea would be quite good.
The prefect chatted with the servant brought by Yu'an, asking him all sorts of questions. Yu'an was afraid of revealing any flaws, so he became even more nimble.
The prefect said, "Our Changping has always been peaceful and unassuming. Why are you suddenly here to retrieve documents?"
This former prefect had long ago managed to curry favor with a high-ranking official in the capital, serving in the emperor's court and rising to prominence. However, he later took a risky path and died a year ago.
Everything has two sides. After hearing about this, the prefect was both envious and disdainful, but he never gave up his desire to climb up to a high-ranking official in the capital.
As the saying goes, fortune favors the bold, and who wouldn't want to go to the capital to witness its fleeting prosperity?
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