Chapter 609 Xie Shang met Xie Yun
The temperature has dropped sharply these past few days, and ice beads have suddenly started falling from the sky. Jiang Fenghua said, "The weather is getting worse and colder. I just hope there won't be any freezing weather."
"So we must return to Shengjing before the New Year." Xie Shang added, "I'll take you to meet up with your elder brother, and we'll return to the capital together."
He had already received news from Jiang Jinyan that Xie Yun and Xie Minmin had been captured, and Fan De was also in Jiang Jinyan's hands.
Jiang Jinyan left the vassal state only a few days later than Young Master Yun, and he and Guo Xiao, along with their soldiers, never showed themselves.
When Xie Shang saw Xie Yun, there was no surprise in his eyes.
Looking at his confident yet expected expression, Xie Yun asked, "When did you find out about my identity?"
“What status do you have? Uncle Kang has been demoted to the Northwest and will never be allowed to return to Shengjing, enter the imperial ancestral temple to worship, and even if he dies, he will not be buried in the imperial mausoleum. What status do you Kang lineage have left?” Xie Shang seized on his sore spot and stabbed him hard.
The reason Xie Kang was still Prince Kang, and his children were still Princess and Heir Apparent, was because the Emperor, out of consideration for their sibling bond and not wanting to strain his relationship with his grandmother, granted them titles.
Xie Yun's eyes seemed to spit out anger, "You... what's so great about you? The things your father did are despised by the whole world. How did you get the throne? You murdered your grandfather, Emperor Huijing, to seize the throne."
Xie Shang smiled faintly, his eyes flashing with cold light. "Stop pretending. Aren't you supposed to be a gentle and refined gentleman? What, are you people from the Kang Prince's lineage going to show your true colors and fangs in order to seize the throne? Are you good people or bad people? Did your grandfather tell your father that he wanted to pass the throne to him?"
Neither Xie Shang nor Xie Yun had ever met their grandfather, nor did they know how the throne had fallen into the hands of Emperor Huijing. For Xie Shang, the process was not important; what mattered was the result.
It's truly laughable that Xie Yun, a mere kid who hasn't even grown up yet, is still seeking the truth of what happened back then.
Xie Yun said, "Although I did not hear my grandfather say it, my grandmother knew. She knew that my grandfather intended to pass the throne to my father, but Emperor Huijing murdered my grandfather and seized the throne. If this news were to reach the ears of the people, let's see if you can still sit on the throne securely."
Xie Shang stared at him coldly, "How did the Empress Dowager tell you?"
He could tolerate Xie Yun and Xie Minmin's unrestrained speech, but he could not tolerate the Empress Dowager still slandering his father.
As a mother herself, why would she favor Prince Kang so much, leaving his father with regrets until his death?
"Go ask her yourself. If you don't want people to know, don't do it in the first place." Xie Yuntian shamelessly said this.
Xie Shang showed no emotion on his face, but in his heart he was wondering what evidence the Prince Kang and the Empress Dowager had to prove that his father had killed his grandfather and seized the throne, because he had once obtained a list treasured by the Duke of Cheng from Cheng Yong.
The people on the list are the very people the Emperor's grandfather wanted to get rid of, but the list is in the hands of Duke Cheng. It includes the names of the Su family, Yang Jing, and even Qin Tai, all of whom are the Emperor's right-hand men.
Xie Shang left the room where Xie Yun was imprisoned and said to Jiang Jinyan, "Send a personal letter from me to Uncle Kang in the Northwest. I want to see him."
Jiang Jinyan asked in confusion, "How does Your Majesty intend to deal with Xie Yun? He disguised himself as Young Master Yun in an attempt to have the vassal state occupy the Southern Kingdom and then attack the Great Zhou. According to the law, he committed treason. He also arrested Prefect Fan's family to threaten him into embezzling disaster relief funds, which is also a crime of embezzlement. He also committed kidnapping and spread rumors to smear Your Majesty. He is truly unforgivable."
Xie Shang said, "There is something more important than beheading him right now. It concerns the reputation of the royal family. If this matter is blown out of proportion, people all over the world or other countries will laugh at it. It is not advisable to publicize it."
Jiang Jinyan respectfully replied, "Yes, Your Majesty. I will send someone to deliver the message immediately. Even if Prince Kang arrives at the fastest speed, it will take about a month. It has snowed, and the roads are difficult to travel. Your Majesty, why don't you return to the capital first and wait for news from Prince Kang?"
Xie Shang added, "First, take Fan De to Shengjing and interrogate him thoroughly to find out exactly how much silver he embezzled. If he is truly guilty, then send him back to Qingzhou to be executed."
Jiang Jinyan replied, "Yes."
He knew that the matter in Qingzhou required an explanation to the people of the world, and Fan De's death was that explanation.
As the Minister of Revenue, Jiang Jinyan did indeed personally allocate funds to Fan De. Later, when he and Xie Shang went to the Southern Kingdom, they neglected the disaster situation in Qingzhou.
Jiang Fenghua caught a cold after leaving Qingzhou that day. She didn't leave her room after entering the inn, and stayed in bed to sleep. The more she slept, the colder she felt, and her voice became hoarse from coughing.
They rented an inn in a small town. Lin Yu went to great lengths to invite a doctor and personally went to get the medicine. Guo Xiao accompanied them, doing odd jobs and running errands diligently. After several hours of work, they finally managed to brew a bowl of dark medicinal soup and deliver it to Jiang Fenghua.
She took one sip and couldn't drink any more. "What's in this? It tastes awful, it's so bitter."
"Good medicine tastes bitter, so I've prepared some rock sugar for you. It's really hard to find candied fruit around here." Lin Yu handed her the medicine. "Eat one first, and the medicine won't taste so bitter."
Jiang Fenghua couldn't stand the taste of the medicine any longer, so she put the rock sugar into the medicine bowl, stirred it until it dissolved, and then drank it all in one gulp, enduring the discomfort. "I'll never take medicine again, it's really..."
As she spoke, she felt like vomiting.
Seeing this, Lin Yu felt a pang of heartache. "How can you get better without taking your medicine? I don't know how the Prince has been taking care of you; you're so sick."
“What does it have to do with him? I caught a cold because I was sleeping in the carriage.” Jiang Fenghua quickly said, “Xie Shang was so busy those days that he didn’t get any sleep at all, and I didn’t get much sleep either, so I got sick.”
Seeing that she kept speaking up for Xie Shang, Lin Yu tentatively asked, "How far have you and Xie Shang gone? Do you really like him now?"
Jiang Fenghua's cheeks flushed, whether it was because of the medicine she had taken or because she blushed upon hearing Xie Shang's name, she said, "What do you mean, 'what step'? We are completely innocent."
Lin Yu was exasperated and anxious. How would she handle the mess she had made when she returned to Shengjing? "A-Ruan."
Lin Yu couldn't bring herself to say it. She could sense that Jiang Fenghua had developed feelings for Xie Shang after spending so much time together. They were husband and wife, so it was normal for something to happen between them. But Jiang Fenghua didn't have those memories now. What if she found out and stopped liking Xie Shang?
Lin Yu felt like a time bomb had been planted in her heart, and she felt it might explode at any moment, which made her panic just thinking about it.
"Ah Ruan, take good care of yourself and get well soon. It's snowing outside, I don't know how we're going to get back to the capital." Lin Yu sighed. "The snow came so early this year, and there are still two months until the New Year. It looks like this year is going to be a harsh winter!"
The worse the weather, the more severe the disaster in Qingzhou. It was Ran Heng who guided them to his hometown. Finally, it was Xie Shang's tireless efforts that made the people of Qingzhou stop begging for food.
Jiang Fenghua admired him quite a bit; at least he would investigate corrupt officials for the sake of the people and even take the initiative to deliver disaster relief grain to the people of Qingzhou.
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