Chapter 232 What if, what if... that's his fate!
(Thanks to Moonlight Marble for casting 2 monthly votes.)
When Li Shiyue went to the General's Mansion to say goodbye to Jiang Huijun, she learned from Jiang Huijun that Yan Jiuniang had taken the initiative to return to the Prince's Mansion.
Since only Jiang Huijun and Li Shiyue were in the side hall at the moment, Li Shiyue asked directly, "Madam, is it because of the Yan family?"
Was it because of her maternal family that Ninth Sister had no choice but to return to the Prince's mansion?
Jiang Huijun's face showed helplessness, anger, and sadness. She smiled bitterly and said to Li Shiyue, "What else can we do?"
Jiu Niang wanted to leave Andong, but in the end she still had to obediently return to the Prince's Mansion.
In October, don't be fooled by our seemingly luxurious lifestyle; we are ultimately powerless to control our own lives.
Li Shiyue didn't respond to this. After all, in Li Shiyue's view, at least people like Jiang Huijun and Yan Jiuniang had a life of luxury, while girls from commoner families had never even had good food or things to use. Didn't they still have to listen to their fathers and brothers and obediently get married?
However, the friendship between Li Shiyue and Yan Jiuniang still exists.
She looked up at Jiang Huijun and said, "Madam, I get along very well with Jiu Niang. If there is anything I can do to help you in the future, please just say the word!"
After Bai Lu escorted Li Shiyue out of the general's mansion, Jiang Huijun took out several letters from a drawer on top of the treasure cabinet in the side hall.
These letters were sent by Jiang Huai some time ago. Yes, Jiang Huai is the eyes and ears that Jiang Huijun placed in Liujiatun.
In his letter, Jiang Huai wrote about events that had occurred in Liujiatun recently, or rather, he focused on recording the events that happened to Yan Jiuniang during her time in Liujiatun.
Jiang Huijun took out one of the letters separately. It described how Li Shiyue, after learning that Wang Ergou and his gang had harassed Zhou Lanhua and Zheng Meiniang, led his men to give Wang Ergou and his gang a severe beating.
After reading the letter again, Jiang Huijun said slowly, "I'm afraid we'll really have to rely on her in the future."
Upon returning to Liujiatun, Li Shiyue first visited the school and the paper mill. Inside the school, a dozen or so children were sitting and listening to Jiang Huai, who was standing above, reciting the "Three Character Classic".
After listening for a while outside the school, Li Shiyue went to the paper mill.
Looking at the papers in the warehouse, Li Shiyue said to Li Wangshui, "Uncle Wangshui, raise the price we pay for wild hemp, tree bark and straw again."
Everyone has worked hard; please produce as much paper as possible during this time.
If I raise your wages a bit more, I'll have someone buy a flock of chickens, and I guarantee you'll have meat to eat every three days.
Once the busy trade fair is over, the paper mill can take a break.
"Then we can start selling charcoal. I see Brother Ma has already made some that are ready to sell."
"Hey, October, don't worry, I'll definitely make sure they do a good job!"
We absolutely won't delay our market sales!
Then Li Wangshui scratched his head at Li Shiyue with a hint of flattery and asked, "Shiyue, well, someone over there came and asked me, the houses at the village entrance are all repaired, and the roads and bridges are almost done. How do you think we should split the business?"
“I’ve already thought this through. Tomorrow, I’ll have everyone go to the ancestral hall so I can give them a proper talk.”
Li Wangshui treated everything Li Shiyue instructed him to do as a serious matter. Seeing that Li Shiyue had no other instructions, he quickly went out to get busy.
Before Li Shiyue could explain to the people of Liujiatun how to do this business, she received a letter from Yan Jiuniang.
Seeing the dark-skinned man in front of her, Li Shiyue quickly welcomed him into the house, but the man waved his hand and said, "Li Madam, don't bother. Just give me a bowl of water."
Just then, Li's mother brought out a bowl of warm water with sugar. The man thanked her and then gulped down the whole bowl.
Li Shiyue had already torn open the envelope and was looking at the two thin pages of letter inside.
Li Shiyue quickly skimmed through the letter, reading ten lines at a glance. Although her mother couldn't see what was written on the letter, she could tell from Li Shiyue's furrowed brows that it probably didn't contain any good news.
After reading it once, Li Shiyue pulled out the first sheet of paper and carefully read it again from beginning to end.
“Please wait a moment, brave man. I’m going inside to write a note, and I’ll have to trouble you to take it back to Ninth Sister.”
The man wasn't a talkative person; he simply nodded, cupped his hands in a respectful gesture to Li Shiyue, and then waited to the side.
Li Shiyue went inside, found paper and pen, took out a piece of paper, and wrote only two sentences on it.
"Regarding my uncle's matter, all we can do is try our best and leave the rest to fate!"
If you are unwilling to do so, just say so, and I will wait for you in Liujiatun.
After blowing away the ink, folding the letter twice, and stuffing it into the envelope, Li Shiyue wrote "To Yan Jiuniang" on the envelope.
He went out and handed the letter to the man, and Li Shiyue also handed over the silver he had prepared in advance.
The man declined, saying, "Madam Li, there's no need for that."
I'm just doing my job for the boss, and I'm getting paid for it.
Li Shiyue shook his head, but said to the man, "You've done hard work, brave man. You should keep this money so you can buy tea on your way."
The man still wanted to refuse, but little did he know that Li Shiyue was even stronger than him, and he forced Li Shiyue to stuff the silver into his hand.
Watching the dark-skinned man gallop away towards the village entrance, Li Shiyue returned to the house with her mother, her face full of worry.
"October?"
"Mother, call my aunt and elder sister over. Ninth Sister sent a message that includes information about my uncle."
Seeing Zheng Meiniang's expectant eyes, Li Shiyue could only hand over the second sheet of the letter Yan Jiuniang had given her.
Zheng Meiniang took the letter and quickly looked down to read it. Li Xiatian also went over to read it with Zheng Meiniang.
In her last letter, Yan Jiuniang mentioned that she had learned from the cooks in Shannan East Road through a caravan that someone with Li Wangzheng's physical characteristics had joined the Longxiang Army under Li Huaixian, the former rebel military governor of Youzhou.
The letter stated that Yan Jiuniang had sent another caravan heading to Youzhou to search for news of Li Wangzheng. However, after a long time, news finally came again recently.
It is said that Li Wangzheng participated in a small battle with the Turks in the border town and never returned. He was said to have disappeared, but it is very likely that he is already dead.
Although the letter also mentioned that it was possible that Shi Mingda had gotten lost and was hiding in a Turkic tribe, which was why he had not returned to the army on time.
But how could the Turkic barbarians treat the Han army well?
This statement still implies that Li Wangzheng is dead!
It was because she understood this meaning that Li Shiyue came with a worried look on her face when she was reading the letter outside.
"Aunt? I..."
Zheng Meiniang looked up, her eyes already a little moist, but she still forced a smile and said to Li Shiyue, "It's alright, it's alright, no news right now is good news!"
Your uncle is an honest and good man. He might even do well in the land of the Turks.
Just in case, just in case... that's his fate!
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