I clearly wanted to say something to express my joy, but all that came out was a simple "hmm".
"Yes, I have something to ask you."
"Yan'er, please ask away."
"I heard a long time ago that Kobu and Tanaka are all married, right?"
“Hmm.” Yu Nanqing said, “Tanaka, Wang Zhang and many others had already started families before entering the army camp. It seems that Xiao Bu started a family during the three years of hiding after the Battle of Xiaoshui.”
After he finished speaking, he paused and said, "Mingyu does not yet have any relatives by marriage."
Among them, the number of married and unmarried people was roughly equal.
Yu Nanqing asked curiously, "Why did Yan'er ask about this?"
“I’m curious because I’ve never seen their wives and children.” She covered her mouth and lowered her voice: “I heard that Xiaobu has two babies already.”
This was told to her by Qiuye and Huangye; they knew more about these things than their mistress did.
"Previously, Prince Gong's Mansion was under great pressure, and they had to hide their whereabouts. They dared not reveal the whereabouts of their wives and children. Now the situation has turned around, but caution is still the best policy."
In this respect, Prince Gong's Mansion has made many enemies.
After Emperor Yuanhe passed away, there was also the Empress Dowager. Who knew when they would be caught red-handed?
Su Wanyan nodded in understanding: "Then... let's go to Fuzhou, to their family..."
“We have already set off ahead of schedule, Yan’er, there’s no need to worry.” As their master, Yu Nanqing naturally had to take this into consideration.
Su Wanyan suddenly realized, paused, and then asked, "Then why isn't Mingyu married yet? How old is Mingyu?"
Yu Nanqing frowned slightly. How did he know that?
After thinking for a moment, I said, "About... twenty-seven?"
I did the math, and it seems to be around this age.
Yu Nanqing asked curiously, "Yan'er has some ideas?"
"What thoughts could I possibly have? I was just asking."
Su Wanyan rested her chin on her hand and pursed her lips; it wasn't that she had no thoughts at all.
Qiuye and Huangye were two years older than her. According to the rules here, maids could leave once they had served their masters to a certain age.
Some masters would arrange marriages for their maids, while others would have their maids betrothed long beforehand.
Su Wanyan was a little conflicted because, in her opinion, seventeen or eighteen years old was still a bit young, and she didn't know whether she should worry about this matter.
She had asked Qiuye and Huangye before, and they said they wanted to follow her for life. But how could they really follow her for life? If they really wanted to follow her for life, she still had to think about their marriage.
The two of them weren't in a hurry, and Su Wanyan didn't dwell on the matter.
Even now, Su Wanyan still feels that this matter should be given more attention.
On the other hand, just as Su Wanyan had imagined, Dai Yiqiu's life was not easy.
Seven days into their journey, one palace maid went missing each day, leaving only twenty-three. The palace maids were on edge and took their frustrations out on Dai Yiqiu.
Not only did they treat her like a maid, but they also wouldn't let her sleep at night. If Dai Yiqiu tried to use her status to suppress them, she would be met with even more outrageous humiliation.
In just two or three days, Dai Yiqiu was covered in bruises, looking listless and her clothes were filthy.
Tanaka encountered this during his patrol. When Dai Yiqiu pleaded for help, he only gave them a few perfunctory reprimands before letting it go.
Dai Yiqiu was heartbroken. She wanted to find Yu Nanqing, but this time she didn't even need Tanaka to stop her. More than twenty palace maids were watching her closely. Not to mention Yu Nanqing, she couldn't even leave the room where they were resting.
For the first time ever, since they started bullying Dai Yiqiu, none of the twenty-three palace maids have gone missing.
Suddenly, a rumor spread among them that the reason why some of them had gone missing was all because of Dai Yiqiu.
Dai Yiqiu was in love with Yu Nanqing and thought she was different from him, so she regarded their lives as worthless and cruelly killed them.
This explains why Dai Yiqiu could still be so ruthless and cold-blooded even after one of them died.
Upon hearing this rumor, the twenty-odd palace maids were enraged. Regardless of whether the matter was true or false, or whether it was reasonable or not, they took turns beating Dai Yiqiu almost every night.
When this matter was reported to Yu Nanqing, it was already half a month later.
When Tanaka came to report, Su Wanyan had just woken up hungry in the middle of the night, and Yu Nanqing was busy in the kitchen.
Fortunately, the report was made in the kitchen, so it wouldn't disturb Su Wanyan. Yu Nanqing didn't even raise an eyebrow: "If they can kill her, that's fine. If not, you'd better find a way to get rid of her."
Even if they were killed, it was due to their incompatibility and internal conflicts, and had nothing to do with him.
Now that so many days have passed, Dai Yiqiu is still alive and well. I'm afraid that the palace maids are afraid that if Dai Yiqiu dies, the responsibility will fall on their shoulders.
"Your Highness, rest assured, the hatred and fear in the hearts of those palace maids will only intensify. With just a little instruction from me, they will become even more ruthless."
"I will not interfere with how they are dealt with, but there is one condition..." He slowly raised his eyes and looked at Tanaka: "Do not let them reach Fuzhou alive."
During this trip, their resentment and bitterness will continue to accumulate. Once Dai Yiqiu dies, they will turn their anger towards Su Wanyan.
Before reaching Fuzhou, they must disappear completely, leaving no one behind.
Tanaka's eyes flashed, and he lowered his head respectfully: "Yes, I understand."
Back in her room, Su Wanyan was looking at a map.
Upon seeing Yu Nanqing arrive, she raised her eyes and said, "I have roughly calculated that if we speed up our journey, we can arrive in Fuzhou within ten days."
Yu Nanqing raised an eyebrow: "Yan'er wants to speed up the journey?"
"Don't you want to? Although the food, clothing, shelter and transportation are all quite good, I'm so tired of riding in a carriage every day. If I could settle down in one place, who would like this kind of constant travel?"
She prefers to pass through a place and stay for a while, rather than waking up every day and having to set off again the next day.
Yu Nanqing placed the food on the table and nodded upon hearing this: "Alright, I will issue an order tomorrow to expedite the journey to Fuzhou."
The faster schedule means that Tanaka also needs to speed up the things he needs to handle.
During a rest stop, Tanaka went on patrol as usual and heard bursts of mocking laughter coming from a secluded spot in the woods, interspersed with shrill screams and pleas for mercy.
Just by hearing the sound, Tanaka knew what was going on, and calmly stepped into the woods.
From afar, Tanaka saw Dai Yiqiu being forced to kneel on the ground by a group of people, being ridden like a horse.
They still had ropes tied around their necks, with someone pulling them from the front and someone else whipping them from behind.
Dai Yiqiu tried to resist, but she couldn't withstand the overwhelming numbers of the other side. She was powerless to fight back and could only cry and beg for mercy.
She was disheveled, her face covered in bruises, a far cry from the glamorous image she had when she left the capital.
As Tanaka walked over, many palace maids were still playing and frolicking, completely unaware that he had already arrived in front of them.
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