Chapter 96: Thank you for returning to Beijing

Shen Yuan has been at home these days, but she also heard about Qin Ruyue's affairs.

Shen Yuan guessed that Qin Ruyue left not because of any illness, but because she was not the child of Duke Jingguo and his wife.

Shen Yuan thought that the reason why the Duke Jing's Mansion was able to send the person away so cleanly and efficiently was probably because Qin Ruyue had not grown up with them for all these years.

However, the most innocent and pitiful person in this matter should be the real Miss Qin.

He was sent away from his parents when he was young because of illness, and was kidnapped by traffickers a few years later. He didn't know if he would have the chance to return to his biological parents in this life.

…

Qin Ruyue sat in a daze in the wobbly carriage that took her to Mingzhou.

The banners hanging on the roadside inn she passed by had not yet faded, but her mood was completely different from the last time she passed by.

Clearly, she had just returned to the capital from Mingzhou more than half a year ago.

Looking back now, those days seemed like a big dream. She stayed in the big house in Minnesota for more than ten years. The nanny kept telling her that her health was not good and she couldn't go out often. She said her parents would take her home soon.

She was extremely happy when she knew she could return to her parents. For the past ten years, she had been looking forward to this day.

But now she is told that her life of more than ten years, her parents, brothers, and her noble status as the daughter of a duke were all stolen from others.

She had always considered herself noble, but now she realized that she was just a thief. The pressure on her was so great that she couldn't breathe.

The carriage traveled for four or five days, and Qin Ruyue didn't say a word. She hardly touched the food that was delivered to her every day. When the carriage arrived at the post station, she got off to rest, but she still didn't say a word. She looked as sad as she could be.

Nanny Ruan, who was in charge of sending Qin Ruyue to Mingzhou, was worried about what might happen to her when she saw her like this. After all, her master's order was to send her to Mingzhou, and she would not be able to explain if something happened on the way.

So, after arriving at another post station, Nanny Ruan got on the carriage to persuade him.

It's only been a few days, and she's lost a lot of weight. If she continues like this, she'll collapse before she even reaches Mingzhou. As a servant, should she just abandon her or wait until she gets better? It's a difficult task no matter how you think about it.

"Girl, even though you are no longer our daughter, you still have a long life ahead of you. You have to live on, right?"

Originally, Nanny Ruan wanted to say that after more than ten years of being a young lady, she had enough and now it was just a matter of returning to her own place. But the words were too painful, so at this point, she decided not to say anything.

As Nanny Ruan was trying to persuade them, she heard the sound of horse hooves entering the post station.

Seeing that Qin Ruyue finally responded, Nanny Ruan stepped forward and lifted the curtain.

Nanny Ruan muttered, "It's Master Xie from Princess Kangle's family. He came back at this time, probably on business trip back to Beijing."

After hearing what Nanny Ruan said, Qin Ruyue uttered her first words in the past few days, "Returning to the capital? That's great, but it's a pity that I'm afraid I'll never be able to return to the capital in my lifetime."

Nanny Ruan wanted to persuade them to go downstairs to eat something, but after hearing this, she didn't know how to persuade them.

Qin Ruyue continued, "You guys go eat, and bring me some food after you finish eating. I won't go down."

At this time, she didn't want to see anyone in the capital again.

Although he still refused to get off the car, he at least spoke and was willing to eat. Nanny Ruan didn't say anything more. After all, as long as he arrived in Mingzhou safely, her duty was fulfilled.

Xie Hui and his group, who had just arrived at the post station, had no time to pay attention to the carriage outside the post station. They had just finished dealing with matters in Yanzhou and were about to rush back to the capital day and night. Now they came to the post station just for supplies.

When the Qingzhou incident was over, he originally planned to return to the capital immediately, but suddenly received a secret letter from the emperor, asking him to go to Yanzhou before returning to the capital.

Yanzhou is located between the capital and Qingzhou. Once you arrive in Yanzhou, it is not far from the capital, so the situation in Yanzhou is also extremely important. Now all the ministers who can go out of the court have been sent out. The emperor is really worried about letting ordinary people go to Yanzhou to deal with these matters, so he simply thought of Xie Hui.

The investigation of the Xiaoyao Pill case went relatively smoothly in Qingzhou, but encountered considerable resistance in Yanzhou. Yanzhou is not far from the capital and is known as the gateway to the capital. Various forces are intertwined there. It is not easy for Xie, an outsider, to figure out these intertwined forces.

The local prefect Liu Mingchong was a man of more integrity than ability, but he knew his own limitations. When he saw Xie Hui coming with the emperor's edict, he immediately handed over everything to him and even wanted to take off his official uniform and give it to Xie Hui.

He himself knew that after this incident, he might not be able to keep his position as prefect, but he was not sad. In the next few days, he simply packed up his things at home, looking like he was ready to resign and return home at any time.

Xie Hui and his group entered the capital city in the early morning. There were not many people at the city gate at that time. There were only some vegetable farmers outside the city carrying vegetables to sell in the city.

There were only a few scattered figures and breakfast shops that had just opened on the street; the sound of horse hooves was particularly distinct in the empty street.

After entering the city, they did not stay anywhere else, but went directly into the palace.

There was no morning court today. Even the emperor had just gotten up and had not yet had breakfast. When he heard that his nephew had returned, he ran out without even putting on his shoes.

"You're finally back! You've worked so hard." The emperor lifted his feet to let the palace maid put on his shoes, and patted his nephew's shoulder.

"I've lost a lot of weight and become darker. If your mother sees me, she'll scold me again."

Xie Hui remained silent. It was already autumn, and he had no idea where he could go to get a tan. He also didn't know how his uncle knew that.

After a pause, he began to talk about the situation in Yanzhou.

When the emperor heard Liu Mingchong's performance, he also shook his head.

"This Liu Mingchong was not like this when he was young. He has become more timid as he gets older."

"Lord Liu is honest and upright, and is kind enough to the people, but he is often indecisive and not ruthless enough when facing the aristocratic families. Therefore, over the years, more than half of Yanzhou has been controlled by a few aristocratic families, and almost all walks of life are controlled by them."

According to Xie Hui's observation, in recent days, there are several aristocratic families that have been in power for generations and do not take the prefect seriously at all. If this continues, it will be detrimental to the country.

"I know about this, but there are still not enough talents available in the court..."

The emperor sighed. The situation in Yanzhou did not arise overnight, so it would not be easy to resolve. If he sent officials there without considering the actual situation, they might become the second Liu Mingchong. He vaguely remembered that Liu Mingchong, who had just entered the officialdom, was also a very idealistic and impetuous person.

"I will think about this carefully. You should go home first. Your mother is very worried about you. Have a good rest at home for three days before returning to the Dali Temple."

"Yes, I will leave after a period of time."