After leaving the palace, Jing Zhe went to Wenxiang Residence first, intending to tell Zhang Xiaoyu and then ask her to go back.
When he arrived at Wenxiangju, he found that Zhu Xinning, Zhang Xiaoyu and Yu Xiangrong were all there. It turned out that after Duke Yu went back, he told them that Jing Zhe was leaving the next day, and Yu Xiangrong immediately ran over.
Zhu Xinning and Zhang Xiaoyu only then found out.
Afterwards, a period of reluctance and lingering affection was inevitable.
The night was unusually peaceful, without any dramatic battles. Zhu Xinning and Zhang Xiaoyu gently and quietly stayed by Jing Zhe's side, spending a wonderful night together.
The next day was the day of parting.
On the ninth day of the first lunar month, the weather was clear and there was a gentle breeze.
In front of the Jing family's gate, a group of people surrounded a horse-drawn carriage, their voices mingling.
Jing Zhe stood beside the carriage, listening to Zhu Xinning's instructions. Although Jing Zhe was now a second-rank official, in the eyes of Zhu Xinning or other women, he was still the young man who had first come to Jingzhou, and also the man they were about to embark on a long journey. A series of words of advice were inevitable, which made Jing Zhe feel warm and comfortable.
Besides Zhu Xinning, Su Mochen and Yu Xiangrong were also by his side, talking to him one by one, mainly telling him to take care of his health. Jing Zhe nodded in agreement.
As for Zhang Xiaoyu, she didn't, because she had also packed her luggage and was preparing to go out with Jing Zhe. After all, the branches of Wenxiangju and Zhangjia Winery were to be opened together with the newspaper branch, which was something Jing Zhe had promised her.
To Jing Zhe's surprise, Su Xiaoxiao also came with Su Mochen. This time, Su Xiaoxiao unusually did not argue with him, but just pouted.
Looking at Su Xiaoxiao, Jing Zhe felt a mix of emotions.
The feud between the Jing family and the Prince of Jin could at most extend to the Prince of Jin's heir, Su Xinping. Jing Zhe did not hate Su Xiaoxiao, but the thought that her family would be destroyed in half a year at most still stirred up some emotions in his heart.
Others, such as Yu Sheng and Zhu Tong, also came to see them off, bringing with them greetings from many ministers. After all, they had already gone to the palace for court at this time, otherwise the place would have been packed with people.
Accompanying Jing Zhe on this trip to another place were Zhang Xiaoyu and the people she brought from Zhang Family Winery and Wenxiangju, as well as Chen Jiannan, the editor-in-chief of the newspaper, and the heads of the nine departments. Each department head also brought a member of the newspaper. In total, there were about thirty people on this trip, a grand procession with eight horse-drawn carriages.
However, since Jing Zhe had told Chen Jiannan and others about his plan to open branch offices before the New Year, these people were prepared in advance. So when Jing Zhe went to court yesterday, they left ahead of him to pave the way.
I've seen you off for a thousand miles, but we must part ways eventually.
Everyone followed Jing Zhe to the city gate, where Jing Zhe, along with Zhang Xiaoyu, boarded Hanhan's carriage and, under everyone's watchful and reluctant gaze, headed towards the west gate.
At this moment, Hanhan cracked his whip and shouted "Giddy up!" The journey to "bring the woman home and open a branch" officially began!
The carriage sped along, passing through the streets, out of the city gates, and heading west along the main road.
On this day, the president of the Da'an Daily rode westward...
On this day, the纨绔子弟 (sons of wealthy families who have indulged in extravagant lifestyles) in Jingzhou City cheered and jumped for joy…
On this day, Zhu Tangwen and a group of children wept bitterly…
On this day, countless unmarried young women and a few exceptionally beautiful women in Jingzhou City were filled with sorrow…
Jing Zhe came quietly, just as he left quietly, waving his sleeves and taking away the expectations of too many people.
...
After leaving Jingzhou, Jing Zhe headed west.
Of course, this doesn't mean we're going to Jinxi again, but rather to Ruzhou.
Emperor An is right. Whether from an economic, cultural, or geographical perspective, Jiangling is the most challenging place for Jing Zhe to open a branch of the newspaper.
Therefore, as long as the Jiangling branch can become an instant success, it will be a good start, and the problems in other areas will be easily solved.
However, these are all Emperor An's own opinions.
In Jing Zhe's view, the difficulty would be the same no matter where he was, so he followed the principle of proximity and chose Ruzhou according to the route he was traveling.
If he wanted to go to Jiangling, there were two routes: one was by water, taking a boat south along the Yunling River to reach Jiangling.
However, it is winter now, the weather is freezing cold, and the river is covered with ice, so it is not suitable for boating. We can only travel by land.
If you're traveling by land, head west in the direction of Jinxi. When you reach the three-way intersection, Jinxi is to the west, Ruzhou is a few miles to the north, and Kunlun County and Jiangling are to the south.
Therefore, Jing Zhe decided to go to Ruzhou, which was nearby, and after finishing his business there, he would head south to Kunlun County, with his last stop being Jiangling. By the time he finished his business in Jiangling, the snow and ice would have melted and spring would have arrived. At that time, he could take a boat north back to Jingzhou.
Of course, Jing Zhe would never admit that he went to Ruzhou because he missed Mu Qingren and Wang Yingqiu…
Walking along the familiar westward route, Jing Zhe could only recall the scene when he went to Jinxi with Wang Yingqiu, except that Wang Yingqiu was intercepted by Mu Qingren and brought back to Ruzhou halfway.
This time, he embarked on a journey to Ruzhou on his own. Fortunately, Zhang Xiaoyu accompanied him on the way, so although it was a bit slow, he wasn't too lonely.
...
This trip lasted five days.
On the sixth day, which was the evening of the fourteenth day of the first lunar month, Jing Zhe finally saw the city wall of Ruzhou in the distance.
"My lord, we've arrived!"
Perhaps because the Lantern Festival is just around the corner, many lanterns are hanging on the Ruzhou city wall. Although it was already dark, the two large gilded characters on the city wall could still be clearly seen.
Ruzhou!
Jing Zhe was quite excited and climbed out of the carriage.
Although he had never been to Ruzhou, he still had many impressions of it, including the fact that Wuxian Pavilion, where his two women lived, was there, and that Yu Xiangrong's cousin, Yu Haixing, whom he had repeatedly humiliated, was also in Ruzhou.
Besides that, what impressed Jing Zhe the most was Miss Zhou, the woman in white, whom he tried to rescue on the road but ended up making a big misunderstanding.
Her unique Huanhua Jade Brocade became famous throughout Anguo, and she was known as the number one businesswoman in Anguo.
Jing Zhe still clearly remembers his conversation with her back then.
"Young master, are you implying that I won't be as powerful in the future?"
"No, Miss Zhou may remain as capable as before, but in the future—perhaps not too long—an even more capable woman will emerge and become the wealthiest businesswoman in Anguo!"
And now, he's brought Zhang Xiaoyu with him!
"Xiaoyu, when we return to Jingzhou, you will become the richest businesswoman in Anguo!"
Zhang Xiaoyu nestled against Jing Zhe's chest and smiled gently: "Husband, no matter what kind of person Xiaoyu becomes, she will always be yours!"
"..."
————
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
