Lu Anyuan's hands were no longer shaking. He crossed his arms and leaned forward, thinking for a while.
"Yixing, is it possible that the second half of her sentence meant that it was somewhere within the Sun Mansion's management area, and not in the Sun Mansion itself?"
"You mean, for example, a dungeon in one of the manors in the Sun Mansion?" Oh, the prince is so smart! "But if that's the case, the area is much larger, and it would be too difficult to find."
“It’s a bit troublesome, but it’s not impossible.”
"What?" Xu Yixing looked up again, and this time her eyes were full of surprise and a hint of admiration, which was also caught by Lu Anyuan.
So Lu Anyuan could only press his hands together and put them behind his back again. Yixing’s eyes are so beautiful!
"My second brother recently wrote to the Emperor, saying that many of the princes and ministers have concealed or misreported the number of tenants and farmland assets. I hope the Emperor will conduct a thorough investigation."
"Ah? Doesn't the Second Prince have a brain to do such an offensive thing?" Xu Yixing spoke too quickly and regretted it right after he finished speaking, leaving a frustrated expression on his face. Unfortunately, Lu Anyuan loved him so much.
Facing those old-fashioned ministers and hypocritical brothers all day long, only on Xu Yixing's face could he see the expression of a living person, which made him feel like a living person.
"Father has not yet made a comment on this matter, but I can think of a way to push it forward. As long as the government re-surveys the land, they will definitely discover those messed-up things."
"Well... that's a good thing, but what if we're wrong and we go through so much trouble but still can't find it? Wouldn't that be a big loss?"
"What's the big deal? It was my second brother who came up with the idea. It's up to our father to decide whether to investigate or not. Even if they don't find anything, it won't involve us."
After Lu Anyuan finished speaking, he savored the word "we" again. He never expected that one day he and Xu Yixing would be able to use this address.
"Okay, I'll trouble you then. If you still haven't found it by then... forget it. Even if you do find it, it'll probably be rotten. Just do your best."
"Okay." Lu Anyuan smiled and said, "My aunt will probably mention this matter to the emperor as soon as possible. Then your family will just wait for the imperial decree."
At first Xu Yixing thought it was about the investigation of Zhuangzi, but after hearing it he realized it was about marriage and blushed.
Then he asked, "But my father is a general. If you marry me, aren't you afraid that the emperor will doubt your intentions?"
"What are you doubting? Isn't this what father wants?" Lu Anyuan didn't know why Xu Yixing was worried about this matter.
Xu Yixing's eyes flashed a few times, and he found that he was still narrow-minded.
Balance is certainly important, but the emperor absolutely does not want the princes to lose the will to fight for the throne. After all, those negotiations are just means, and selecting the most suitable candidate is the ultimate goal.
"Actually, this is all thanks to the stupid tricks used by Sun Ziyou and that imposter. If Yixing hadn't fallen out of favor with Old Man Xu, I wouldn't have been able to marry Yiyan."
Xu Yixing was horrified. This was indeed true.
Ever since the fake got hurt and hid in the Sun Mansion and refused to go out, Dad has put most of his training energy on his second daughter. The Xu family has few descendants, and with the loss of one, the other two will have to support the family for Dad.
"Then I'll leave first." Xu Yixing didn't want to express any opinion on the marriage, so he left the quiet room first.
When I got on the carriage, I found that the little monk from last time was actually standing next to the carriage. Isn’t this the little brat who claimed to be twenty years old?
"Donor, congratulations on your wish coming true!"
"Xiaosui has been found?" Xu Yixing's eyes lit up. This is really good news!
"Yes, he has already lived in the temple and has been learning how to answer from us recently."
Good! That's great! When the time is right, it's time for Xiaosui to "accidentally" meet Xu Housheng's younger brother.
Throughout the winter month, the Xu family was immersed in a strange atmosphere: the lady of the main courtyard's complexion became worse and worse, and she often lost her temper for inexplicable reasons. Even Nanny Gu was scolded by her several times.
Old Man Xu, however, was in high spirits. He went to and from court every day, and the people who followed him also received many rewards and were very happy.
Xu Yiwen's courtyard was in a bleak state. Some people were driven away last month, and the whole courtyard seemed a little lonely. He himself also changed his previous style of enjoying himself and turned down most social activities. He just practiced swordplay and dancing in the courtyard every day.
Only the Second Young Lady's courtyard was bustling with activity, with both the master and the servants enjoying themselves. Siqin and Sihua knew about their young lady's marriage, but they kept their mouth shut and refused to spread any rumors.
As the year was coming to an end, Xu Housheng's younger brother finally returned to the capital from his travels. He went home excitedly to visit his only brother. However, when he opened the door to the yard, he saw only desolateness, as if no one had lived there for a long time.
What's going on?
When he came out of his future sister-in-law's family home, he was shocked by the tragic news and seemed to shrink. He had only been away for a while, but his family had been struck by such a tragedy: his brother had died of an illness, and his sister-in-law had remarried.
God! Why do you treat me like this?
He dragged his feet and wandered aimlessly. His brother was gone, and his home was gone. He really didn't know where he should go back to.
Passing by the back alley, he saw a thinly dressed little beggar. Xu Xiucai's nose was sore. When his brother took him to live, his family was also so poor that they didn't even have warm clothes in winter. Now that life is just getting better, how could it be like this?
"Here, go buy a sesame seed cake." Xu Xiucai took out a few copper coins from his purse and handed them all to the little beggar. When he was about to leave, he heard the beggar actually call out to him:
"Xu Xiucai? Are you Xu Xiucai?"
The voice turned out to be a girl. Xu Xiucai turned around in a daze, but he had no recollection of having seen this child before.
"You are the younger brother of Brother Xu from the back street, right? You are back! Brother Xu, Brother Xu..." When the little beggar said this, he actually sobbed, and the northwest wind mixed with his tears and swallowed a belly full of cold air.
"Yes, I am. Do you know my brother? What happened to him?"
"Brother Xu was murdered!" The little beggar said shockingly, but Xu Xiucai changed his confusion and his eyes became clear.
He suddenly squatted down and grabbed the little beggar's shoulders with both hands: "What did you say! Do you know something? Tell me, I will definitely thank you!"
Xiaosui was already frail, and after wandering around the capital for half a year, she felt even more miserable. Fortunately, she hadn't encountered any bad people, but she just lived a life of hunger and starvation until she met that little kid...
She felt as if her shoulders were about to be crushed by this scholar, and tears came down in pain when she opened her mouth.
However, in Xu Xiucai's opinion, these tears must be because this little beggar had a friendship with his brother in the past, which made her sad now, so he believed her a little bit.
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