On the tenth day of the tenth month of the ninth year of the Xuanli reign, in Jinling, on the banks of the Qinhuai River.
Autumn is already here, especially in this cold rain.
The third princess of Dayu, Yu Qinglan, looked at Huo Huaijin lovingly and said, "I will leave for the Desolate Country early tomorrow morning."
Huo Huaijin held a paper umbrella over Yu Qinglan's head, remained silent for a long time, and uttered a "hmm" from his nose.
"If I don't come back... you can find a better woman." Yu Qinglan reached out and straightened Huo Huaijin's clothes, with a forced smile on her face, "I will try my best to come back, come back intact."
Huo Huaijin took a deep breath and lowered his head. "His Majesty did not agree to let me go to the Desolate Country, and he died..."
He, of course, refers to Fu Xiaoguan.
Before Fu Xiaoguan left for Wu Dynasty, Huo Huaijin entrusted the safety of the third princess to him with great caution. Perhaps only he could bring the third princess back safely.
But he died in the Wu Dynasty!
This really made Huo Huaijin despair!
The wedding procession was led by Xu Huaishu, the Minister of Rites. All the people there were civil servants. They were there to complete the mission of marriage. They had no intention of bringing the third princess back, nor did they have the ability to bring her back.
So with this trip, the third princess's fate was already determined.
She will become the wife of Tuoba Feng, the king of Huang State, the queen and mother of Huang State, and give birth to children for the emperor of Huang State. She will never be able to set foot on the homeland of Dayu again in this life.
"I went to see Ninth Sister last night and chatted with her all night long."
"She...I think she must be feeling very uncomfortable."
"I've calmed down a lot. I guess it's because half a year has passed. The longing isn't as strong as it was at the beginning. It's become much lighter." Yu Qinglan raised her head and looked at Huo Huaijin tenderly. "Maybe this is a woman's fate. Under the influence of Empress Shang, my ninth sister is a remarkable woman who doesn't believe in fate. That's why she went to Linjiang last year for Fu Xiaoguan."
Yu Qinglan turned around and cast her gaze towards the misty Qinhuai River. "She grasped her own destiny, but unfortunately, the heavens are blind, and in the end, she still ended up alone in the cold window."
"Huai Jin, I still remember that we met by the Qinhuai River that year. Many love stories have taken place here, but most of them ended in tragedy... like Xu Yunqing and Emperor Wen, like Fu Xiaoguan and Dong Shulan, and like... you and me."
"I invited you here today because, firstly, I wanted to see you again, and secondly... I wanted to take another look at the Qinhuai River. Why has it buried so many beautiful dreams?"
"Ninth sister told me not to give up on returning. Of course I want to return... But how can I return?"
"Ninth sister said that the wedding procession should wait for a day in Pingling County. Now I roughly understand what she means. That is the last soil of my homeland. Perhaps she wants me to see it more, touch a little more of my homeland's soil, and smell the fragrance of my homeland more."
Huo Huaijin was suddenly stunned. Pingling County would take a whole day to wait?
After suppressing the bandits in Pingling Mountain, Shenjian went to Huangguo... Shenjian is Fu Xiaoguan's team. Does the Ninth Princess mean that Shenjian will return to Pingling to escort the Third Princess?
His heart suddenly became excited. Although Fu Xiaoguan was dead, his team fulfilled his last wish and wiped out Gong Shenchang. He would definitely entrust the task of escorting the third princess into the Desolate Country to the Divine Sword!
"Qing Lan!"
"Um."
"Look at me!"
Yu Qinglan turned and looked at Huo Huaijin, whose face was nervous and excited.
"You must remember what the Ninth Princess said. You must have the wedding procession wait in Pingling County for a full day!"
"Waiting for what?"
"Waiting for the Divine Sword... or waiting for Bai Yulian!"
…
…
Pingling County Government Office, backyard.
County Magistrate Zhang Wenhan looked carefully at Bai Yulian who was sitting opposite him, his eyes wide open!
"You said... you are Bai Yulian? The heroic Bai Yulian who wiped out Captain Gong?"
Bai Yulian shrugged her shoulders and said, "Exactly."
Zhang Wenhan suddenly burst into laughter and shook his head. "These days, there are very few scammers in this area. Do you know why? This place is too poor. It's impossible to scam people out of money..."
His expression darkened, becoming stern and murderous. "Tell me the truth about who you are! Otherwise, don't blame me for arresting you and throwing you into prison!"
Bai Yulian is innocent. I came here with good intentions to deliver a message to Fu Xiaoguan, but you actually don’t believe that I am Bai Yulian!
How can I prove that I am Bai Yulian?
Zhang Pei'er, who was sitting on the side, held a sword in his hand and looked at the very handsome man with great vigilance - these days, the more handsome a man is, the less reliable he is, and most likely he is a liar.
"Zhang, the Magistrate, I don't have time to waste on you. I'm here because my son, Fu Xiaoguan, entrusted me with this."
Zhang Pei'er was stunned, and Zhang Wenhan was shocked. "What did he ask you to do?"
"The craftsmen from Xishan will soon arrive in Pingling and Quyi counties. Young Master's intention is to first establish cement and brick and tile workshops in these two places... These two workshops require the most workers, so we must first solve the employment problem for the people in these two places—"
Bai Yulian thought hard and said, "You can understand it this way. The common people will have a hard time getting through this winter. But if Xishan recruits these people, the salary will be the same as Xishan's, 50 wen per person per day. Although the grain price in Pingling is much higher than Linjiang, 50 wen can still buy at least 5 kilograms of coarse grain."
"That's what you mean, sir. If the common people have jobs and money, they can survive this cold winter and have hope of survival... Do I still look like a liar to you now?"
Zhang Wenhan was stunned for a moment. "No, the Divine Sword went to the Desolate Country, and Bai Yulian is the leader of the Divine Sword... Who are you?"
Well, Bai Yulian gave up the idea of clearing her name. "Don't worry about who I am. I just want to ask you, do you accept my young master's idea or not?"
Zhang Wenhan knew that the Xishan Cement Workshop could accommodate tens of thousands of people. However, his entire county had less than 100,000 people. If cement and brick and tile workshops could be built, the people would have jobs!
"Adopt it, of course I will. This is Officer Fu's idea, and I will definitely cooperate. What should I do?"
Zhang Wenhan became enthusiastic. This was like timely help!
In the evening, I have to light a stick of incense, burn some paper money, and offer a glass of wine to Fu Xiaoguan!
"According to the schedule, the people from Xishan will arrive here in about five days. This is a letter from my master. He said you should do as it says."
Zhang Wenhan took the letter, but Zhang Pei'er suddenly asked excitedly, "Is he still alive?"
“…No, dead.”
"No way. How can I write to my brother if he's dead?"
"...Oh, a suicide note, a suicide note left by my young master!"
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