Chapter 135: Aftermath
"I didn't know it would get so serious that I had to ask the prince to return." Sun Wei said, "And Tian Ying and Fu Cheng..."
"I understand everything. Madam, you did the right thing," Sima Jun said. "This is a matter under my jurisdiction. Everything they did was directed at me. It was my negligence that allowed Xunyang City to harbor evil and chaos. If there's any trouble, it's me who is causing it, Madam."
Sun Wei knew that Sima Jun came to see her just now because he must have cleaned up the mess in the city.
"What do the officials say?" she asked.
"The wealthy and powerful families have always been difficult to deal with," Sima Jun said. "When my father was still alive, they often used his name to resist his rule. But I've been fighting them for many years and have quite a bit of experience. Although they like to quarrel, they're just trying to win the argument. I heard that many people were beaten by Madam's stick today, which is really relieved. I've wanted to do this for a long time, but I just didn't have the opportunity."
The corner of Sun Wei's mouth twitched.
"Have you been listening outside for a long time, my lord?" she said.
Sima Jun did not deny it.
"I had originally intended not to trouble my wife and wanted to follow her in," he said. "But she was filled with indignation and seemed to be unable to vent. After careful consideration, she decided to step aside."
She just knew it.
"Then why did you come in again? I clearly hadn't finished what I was saying."
Sima Jun looked at her and said, "Because I'm afraid that if I don't show up again, Madam will cry."
Sun Wei was a little displeased.
"I won't cry," she muttered, then looked at Sima Jun again. "So, it's me who's doing the bad for the prince. From now on, I'll be branded a vicious woman."
"Anyway, they've been calling me a rebellious son behind my back, so I'm a perfect match for the lady."
Sun Wei was stunned.
Sima Jun then said: "We are a family."
Sun Wei also nodded: "Exactly, we are a family."
After the words fell, no one responded and there was silence between the two.
Sun Wei took a sip of tea and continued, "Now that the Chief Secretary is dead and the Chief Steward is seriously injured, how does the Crown Prince plan to handle the affairs of this prefecture?"
Sima Jun also took a sip of tea.
"There's no suitable candidate for Chief Secretary within Jiangzhou Prefecture right now," he replied. "But there are some outside the prefecture. Ruan Hui is quite suitable, but he's currently tied up. I think we could let our deputy Li Kang take over as Chief Secretary for now. What do you think, Madam?"
Sun Wei looked at him: "Sir, are you asking what I mean?"
"Madam just had a quarrel with Li Kang, and she even threatened that anyone who neglected their duties that day should not be appointed as Chief Secretary." Sima Jun said as a matter of course, "Madam will be the one who will live in Xunyang in the future, so she will inevitably have frequent dealings with Jiangzhou Prefecture. This matter must be approved by Madam."
He's quite sensible, Sun Wei thought.
She naturally disliked Li Kang. However, she also admitted that, although he was corrupt, he was familiar with the daily affairs of Jiangzhou Prefecture. Now that the Chief Secretary was gone, he would have to deal with it.
In his previous life, Ruan Hui did eventually become the Chief Secretary of Jiangzhou Prefecture, which was a similar destination.
"How could I be so narrow-minded?" She said with a tolerant attitude, "This matter should be decided by the prince. I have no complaints."
Sima Jun looked at her with interest.
"Is that so?" he said. "Then has Madam considered the candidate for the chief steward of the military government?"
Sun Wei looked surprised. "Your Highness, don't you plan to continue using Tian Ying? Although he is injured, as far as I know, the injury is not serious. Even while he is recuperating, he can still handle military affairs in the camp."
"Tian Ying accepted bribes and traded the crucial position of Sima of Pengcheng. This is a capital crime," Sima Jun said sternly. "He dared to do such a thing, which shows how powerful he is and how he feels he has nothing to fear. I've long wanted to eliminate him, but he's an old minister of my father's and is implicated in many matters, so I can't act rashly. Now that we have a pretext, we can't miss it."
Sun Wei pondered.
She intervened in Tian Ying's affairs because in her previous life, Tian Ying died early, and the power of Jiangzhou fell into the hands of Fu Cheng while Sima Jun was in mourning. Fu Cheng defected to Huan Yi, which enabled Huan Yi's army to successfully pass through Jiangzhou and attack Jiankang.
Afterwards, Wang Han fled with the royal family. Sima Jun stepped forward, united various forces, and fought hard with the Huan family for half a year before finally winning.
Although we won, the battle left great consequences.
The Jiangzhou and Beifu armies suffered heavy losses, but Wang Han and his men seized the opportunity to expand their power. Meanwhile, in Jingzhou, Lü Qiuyan gathered the remaining forces of the Huan clan, rapidly rising to prominence and ultimately becoming the victorious ruler.
Sun Wei has been doing things so far mostly based on the three words "know it in advance".
But everything at the moment shows that even if Tian Ying didn't die, he would not be able to handle the heavy responsibility.
Everything somehow returned to its original path.
Sun Wei felt that his ability to predict future events was becoming less and less useful.
"As for the choice of the military governor, I think Yang Quan is a good candidate. However, although Yang Quan is good at marching and fighting, I'm afraid he would be unfamiliar with the management of the military affairs of an entire state. Why don't you consider arranging a deputy to assist him?"
"No need, I will come back often." Sima Jun said suddenly.
Sun Wei was stunned.
"Does the prince come back often?"
Sima Jun said "hmm".
"When I return to Jiankang, I will report the Xunyang rebellion to the Queen Mother. Jiangzhou is my father's lifeblood, and the Queen Mother will not sit idly by. I can ask to be in Xunyang to supervise the government. That way, I can travel between Xunyang and Kuaiji from now on, without having to deal with the Queen Mother, and no one will notice I went to Kuaiji. It's like killing two birds with one stone."
The Queen Mother had banished Sun Wei to Xunyang to keep her away from the Crown Prince and Sima Jun. She was naturally unhappy that Sima Jun was coming to Xunyang.
But moving out of Jiangzhou is different.
The Queen Mother was no fool. Jiangzhou was the gateway to Jiankang. If it were lost, the consequences would be far more dire than if she were merely a concubine. She knew what was more important than what was less important.
"Madam, don't you want me to come here more often?" Sima Jun asked as he flipped through the book she had copied on the desk.
"Why do you say that, Your Highness?" Sun Wei said, "Xunyang has just experienced a great turmoil, and it's time for Your Highness to take charge of the situation. However, Your Highness has to travel back and forth between Xunyang and Kuaiji, so he must be a little tired."
"For men in the military, running around is a common occurrence." Sima Jun looked indifferent.
He is still the same, with the word "strong" written on his face all the time.
Sun Wei looked at the sky outside and said, "It's getting late, Prince, go and get some rest."
Sima Jun remained indifferent and continued to flip through the book in his hand.
"Even my wife is still working hard, how can I be tired?" He said calmly, and then put the book aside. "This matter should be handled by the government. Why should my wife bother?"
"That woman named Yao Rong did this because she was targeting me, so I must do it myself," Sun Wei said. "I also looked over these physical evidence and found them. I can only feel at ease if I count them myself. I'm also thinking that there must be some evidence of contact with Yao Rong left at Fu Cheng's house, so I should search that as well."
"There's no need to go to Fu Cheng's house," Sima Jun said. "There was a sudden fire during the Fu family's funeral, and Fu Cheng's study was completely burned down."
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