Chapter 59 You Want to Help Her Escape from Marriage

After the disaster victims were resettled, He'an received news from the capital that the emperor had approved Ji Lingchuan's help in building the dike. This way, Ji Lingchuan's stay in Lucheng was legitimate.

The preparations for building the embankment have already begun. The two men stood at the embankment, looking at the rotten poplar wood that had been dug out from the broken gap. Ji Lingchuan said bitterly: "No wonder this embankment has to be repaired once a year. I'm afraid there are ant holes in the wood."

This result was expected and He An was not surprised. What he was worried about now was the Second Prince's private soldiers.

"Send someone to check the Wu family's grain storage."

Ji Lingchuan had the same idea: "The method proposed by the young lady a few days ago is a great help to us. The transportation of large quantities of food will always reveal some clues."

He said with a sigh of relief: "Although the young lady is a woman in the back house, she is very shrewd in her strategy, but..."

Tsuruan side head.

Ji Lingchuan said what he was thinking: "I always feel that what the young lady does can always help us. Once or twice it can be said to be a coincidence, but this time the flour collection... is obviously aimed at the Wu family."

Ji Lingchuan hesitated for a moment: "Did you leak the secret?"

He An didn't say anything.

Forget it, Ji Lingchuan doesn't care about these. The affairs of Lucheng involve the prince and are taboo. Since Hean is in charge of this matter, the emperor must have given him enough power.

He An had already sensed what Ji Lingchuan said. His wife's suggestion to provide steamed buns to the disaster victims seemed to be just a kind act, but it coincided with his idea of ​​taking over the Wu family.

Although the Wu family was in the grain business, they only imported goods and did not export them. In name, they were engaged in reselling, but he had found out the sources of grain clearly, and found that they had few sales channels. This must have been a false name set up to avoid suspicion.

As for the purchased food, it should have all been delivered to the Second Prince’s private army camp. Feeding nearly 20,000 people is not a small number.

There are only a few thousand disaster victims on Wangyue Mountain, and the daily rice and grain consumption is already huge. If the Second Prince wants to maintain the expenses of his private soldiers, the Wu family must have a large amount of reserve grain.

If Madam continues this move for a period of time, the Wu family's food reserves will not be completely consumed, but there will definitely be a deficit. It can also help him find out where the food is hidden. Once there is any unusual movement, the private army's supply can be cut off.

Inside the county yamen, Magistrate Bao was sitting in a backyard room with a heavy heart. He didn't know whether the prime minister would investigate the poor disaster relief work after the dike was built. If there was an investigation, he, as the official in charge, would be the first to be held accountable.

In the final analysis, he was also wronged. He was a small seventh-rank county magistrate. Even a small official from the capital could show off his power in front of him. He could not afford to offend anyone. He had been in trouble for two consecutive years and was worried every day, fearing that the higher-ups would use him as a shield.

Unexpectedly, the worried pursuit did not happen, but the Prime Minister, a big Buddha, came to him. Even though the emperor was far away in Lucheng, he had heard about the Prime Minister's deeds. To be able to sit in that position at such a young age was like a sharp sword in the emperor's hand.

He knew very well how deep the water in Lucheng was. The two local bosses of the Wu family were also difficult to deal with. At this point, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and move forward.

There was a knock on the door. It was the county magistrate's wife and daughter Lianru. "What big thing happened that you asked me to come to the county government office in such a hurry?"

The wife of the county magistrate had originally made an appointment with several ladies from Lucheng to play cards. When the game was almost ready, the officer said that his master had urgent business and asked her to go to the county government office.

Bao County Magistrate put away his sad face and said, "It's about the Wu family proposing marriage to the Qian family."

The wife of the county magistrate knew about this and was not interested: "Isn't it already done? I went to Zhenjiang Prefecture a few days ago and heard from the prefect's wife that Master Qian had agreed."

"What's the use of Mr. Qian's agreement? Miss Qian doesn't want to do it."

The county magistrate's wife understood and said with disdain: "Who can be blamed for this? Everyone knows how the eldest lady of the Wu family died. Who would be willing to marry into such a family?"

The Wu family was embroiled in scandals one after another. The eldest lady nominally committed suicide, but in reality she ended her life because she could not endure the humiliation.

"Alright, alright, shut up." Bao County Magistrate stood up and almost covered her mouth with his hands. "Whoever wants to talk about this can talk about it, but you can't mention it again in the future."

The county magistrate's wife sighed, "Let's not talk about it. The marriage of children is a matter of parents' decision. In the end, it has to start with Mr. Qian and his wife. I'll go to her house and negotiate a settlement when I have time."

"The prefect has already done the work of negotiating peace. You just need to help Master Wu create some opportunities for them to get along."

"What, your Excellency's intention..." The county magistrate's wife paused for a moment, sent her daughter away, and then spoke: "Master Wu wants to use force?"

"It's up to him to do what he wants, you just need to clean yourself up."

The county magistrate's wife was in a dilemma. She had forced women of good families into prostitution before when high-ranking officials came to Beijing. But this time it was the Qian family. After all, Mr. Qian had been an official in Beijing, so she was unsure.

After his wife left, County Magistrate Bao looked up at the tall green pine trees in the courtyard, and he let out a long sigh, not knowing whether it was out of guilt or regret.

He was also unwilling to wade into this trouble, but compared to the Qian family who had lost their official positions, he really couldn't afford to offend the Wu family, as they had nobles in the palace behind them.

In the villa, Chu Li called the five guards who were accompanying Ruan Qinghuan as she had said. These guards were all brought from the Duke's Mansion and all of them were highly skilled in martial arts.

Seeing them standing straight with steady expressions, it was obvious that they were from the military. Ruan Qinghuan was very satisfied. After all, they were his own people, so he felt at ease using them.

In addition to Chu Li's five people, there were also Jiang Qi and Jiang Heng. Chu Li was puzzled: "Sister-in-law, what are you doing? Are you going to fight?"

In his opinion, it is only necessary to call for help when fighting.

"Of course not." Ruan Qinghuan tapped Chu Li's forehead: "However, this matter is more difficult than fighting."

Chu Lizi didn't understand what she said and looked confused.

Just as she was about to ask, she was interrupted by Jiang Chen who came in and said, "Today, the county magistrate's wife went to the county government office, and after leaving, she went to the Qian family's rouge shop and said that a lady wanted Miss Qian to help her embroider a pattern."

"Do you know where the appointment is?"

"Just because it's in the west of the city, it must be a wealthy family."

Ruan Qinghuan thought for a moment and said, "You continue to keep an eye on him. Don't let anyone know where he is. Once you have determined his address, send the letter back as soon as possible."

Chu Li's eyes were filled with even more confusion. Jiang Chen's lightness skills and tracking abilities were very impressive. Why did Ruan Qinghuan let him secretly watch Qian Yunxi?

"Sister-in-law, actually what I said before was a bit exaggerated. Although Qian Yunxi has feelings for the Prime Minister, He Luohua has feelings for him, but time is merciless. There is nothing between the Prime Minister and her."

Chu Li thought that Ruan Qinghuan was worried that Miss Qian and the Prime Minister were having an affair because of what she had said before. She thought that if she didn't explain it clearly and the Prime Minister heard about it, wouldn't she be in trouble with both sides?

Ruan Qinghuan knew she had misunderstood: "Don't worry, I know exactly what kind of person He An is. I'm not doing this for this reason."

"Why is that?" Chu Li asked worriedly, "The Lord told us the day before yesterday to be careful in our actions. Will you do something wrong by doing this?"

Ruan Qinghuan was silent for a moment: "Do you remember that the other day at the Qian Mansion, the master mentioned that the Qian and Wu families were planning to marry?"

Chu Li nodded.

"But Qian Yunxi doesn't want to. The Wu family is so powerful that they won't let it go."

Chu Li frowned: "So, you want to help her escape from marriage?"

Ruan Qinghuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry: "That's not the case, but we can't just watch the Wu family do whatever they want. I'm not sure if my calculations are correct, but I'm just being safe."

He An has always been cautious in her actions. How could she hide her actions from him? If he really wanted to stop it, Jiang Ming and the others would not listen to her.

Chu Li was unsure, but He An had already received the news. He and Ji Lingchuan were listening to the secret agents reporting information about Xifeng Cliff. It was the territory of the bandits and the defenses were tight. In order not to alert the enemy, they could only secretly investigate in the safe area outside.

The spy was transferred from the Crown Prince's Palace. He was agile and efficient. "My Lords, we have been guarding outside Xifeng Cliff for two days. There were more than ten carts delivering rice, grain, meat and vegetables. You can see that there are many people inside."

Ji Lingchuan looked at the topographic map sent by the spy. These roads were winding and rugged, hidden in the tall grass. After the transport vehicles withdrew, roadblocks were set up with stone piles and wooden fences. In fact, many traps were set in places that made people think they were safe.

If we go up the mountain rashly, we will suffer heavy losses: "Keep watching, and report any news immediately."