After sending Qi Wen away, Emperor Jianning asked Li Xi to announce the imperial edict to Qin Shu, and privately ordered Qin Shu to find an opportunity to kill Kang Yueran and not let Kang Yueran have the chance to return to Beijing.
Upon learning that Emperor Jianning had asked Kang Yueran to go to the southwest with him, Chai Shijing became anxious. "I will unite the ministers to ask His Majesty, Yueran, you cannot go to the southwest. If you go to the southwest, His Majesty will definitely take the opportunity to harm you."
"Ajing, don't worry, I won't get into trouble that easily."
"How can we be sure? The emperor has left people in the southwest. If they are against you, you will be defenseless."
Kang Yueran stood up and took two steps back, then said with a smile, "Watch carefully, don't blink!" After that, she flashed into the space.
Chai Shijing stood up and walked to where Kang Yueran had just stood. "Yue, Yueran, Yueran, where are you?"
Kang Yueran came out of the space, "I'm here!"
Chai Shijing grabbed Kang Yueran's shoulders and asked, "Are you okay? Can you get into the treasure bag too?"
"I'm fine. I can go into the treasure bag. My white tiger is always in the treasure bag."
She threw herself into Chai Shijing's arms, "Ajing, don't worry. If I'm really in danger, I can hide in the treasure bag and make sure no one can find me. There's food and drink in the treasure bag, so I can live there for a year or two."
Kang Yueran persuaded him for a long time before Chai Shijing finally agreed. "Then you have to be careful in everything you do. Don't forget that you were hit by an arrow last time."
"I was careless that time. I will be more careful next time. You should also be careful in the capital. If His Majesty can't find trouble with me, he will definitely find fault with you every day."
"Well, I will take good care of my aunt and Yuanfeng Yuanhao. The emperor doesn't dare to kill me openly, and most of the civil servants in the capital have joined my school.
Although Duke Lu's death remains unconfirmed, based on that blood oath, the generals who once followed him will most likely not directly surrender to His Majesty. I will privately try to win them over, and I'm sure I can gain some support."
Kang Yueran was busy outside, but in fact, Chai Shijing was not idle either in the capital.
It was no longer a secret that the emperor was seriously ill. After Chai Shirong was deposed, the emperor did not push Chai Shiqin out in time, which led to many people in the capital expressing their loyalty to Chai Shijing.
Although it was obvious that Chai Shijing did not win the emperor's favor, he had already established his own relatively stable power. It might not be impossible for these forces to unite and seize the throne.
We've just been together for a short time, and now we have to separate again! Chai Shijing was reluctant to let them go. "The Eastern Dynasty and the Southern Chen Dynasty didn't really want to annex Dayong. They knew they didn't have the ability to do so. They were just taking advantage of the situation to rob.
I think the chaos in the southwest will be quelled in three to five months at the earliest, or by the end of the year at the latest. I will find a way to move up our wedding date, and we will get married as soon as you return."
Kang Yueran smiled mischievously, "Then you should stop being angry with the emperor. He must be alive before I come back!" If the emperor passed away, Chai Shijing would have to observe mourning and the wedding would have to be postponed for at least a year.
Chai Shijing nodded vigorously, "Okay!"
A month later, Kang Yueran transported a batch of food to the military camp, then said goodbye to Qin Shu and went out to collect food again.
Qizhou City Prefectural Mansion
Kang Yueran, dressed in night clothes, sneaked into the mansion and found Jiang Li, the prefect of Qizhou.
The two began to talk in the study. "Prefect Jiang, Duke Lu gave me an account book before he died. It detailed the officials he bribed over the years, and Prefect Jiang's name was listed prominently. I wonder..."
Jiang Li's breath caught in his throat, and he cursed inwardly for causing trouble for Duke Lu even after he died. "Is this really true? I truly don't know. Why don't you ask Miss Kang to bring out the account books so I can verify them?"
"Now that I've taken it out, can I take it back? Does Governor Jiang think I'm a three-year-old child? It doesn't matter if Governor Jiang doesn't acknowledge it. I'll go to the Duan family in the city and ask if they give you three thousand taels of filial piety every month.
Two years ago, when the Third Prince celebrated his birthday, you sent two stunning women to the capital. Did you ask the Duan family to pay for them? ” Kang Yueran made a move to leave.
"Hey! Don't worry! Miss Kang, don't be anxious. Miss Kang hasn't told me why she came to see me tonight."
Kang Yueran snorted, "Three thousand taels a month, that's thirty-six thousand taels a year, and that doesn't even include gifts for festivals, New Year's Day, birthdays, weddings, and funerals. There's more than one Duan family in Qizhou, right? Governor Jiang has made so much money, why not give some to the soldiers in Huaizhou and the people in the southwest?"
If you lose money, you can earn it again, but if you lose your position, you lose everything. Jiang Li was very direct, "How much do you want?"
"Not much! One hundred thousand catties of rice and eighty thousand taels of silver." Kang Yueran needed the money urgently. She just wanted to get the money and food smoothly and didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble.
Jiang Li had collected a lot of money over the years, but he also had to spend money on his family, and the amount Kang Yueran proposed was painful for him. Jiang Li gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, when do you want it?"
"There is a Xiaoming Mountain outside the city. Send someone to the foot of Xiaoming Mountain tomorrow night, and I will send someone to get it."
"Miss Kang, I promise you, that account book..."
Kang Yueran didn't have any account books at all. "I can't give you the account books. There are more than just you on them. But don't worry, since I've taken the food and silver, I won't say much."
"How do I know if you will use this to threaten me again in the future?"
"Shou Jiang, even if I gave you the account book, are you so sure I can't find another fault with you to blackmail you? In other words, do I need an account book to blackmail you?"
Jiang Li hunched his back. Without the support of Duke Lu, he really couldn't do anything to Kang Yueran.
Kang Yueran said seriously: "If you don't want to be blackmailed, then be a good official! Governor Jiang, I mean what I say. I won't pursue the past matters anymore, but if you still don't know how to restrain yourself in the future, I can't guarantee it." After that, she got up and left.
Jiang Li was still afraid, so he delivered the rice and silver as promised. Kang Yueran received everything in her space, then glanced at the list Hou Zhensheng had given her. Taking advantage of the night, she flew a helicopter to the next state capital.
Qin Shu was indeed a rare general. With her leading the troops in battle, they quickly recaptured the lost city.
Just as Chai Shijing said, the Eastern Dynasty and the Southern Chen had no ambition to annex the city. After they captured the city, they did not kill many people, but they looted a lot of things, especially merchants, and the losses were extremely serious.
With the frequent good news from the southwest, Chai Shijing also started to take action. He asked a high monk to re-read his fortune, and the result was that he had a good fate and did not need to wait until he was 27 to get married.
Knowing that Emperor Jianning would deliberately make things difficult for him, Chai Shijing did not go to the palace to ask for permission to advance the wedding date. Instead, he went straight to the Imperial Astronomical Observatory to recalculate the date and set the wedding date in mid-September.
When Emperor Jianning learned about this, the news had spread throughout the capital. He summoned Zhang Jianzheng, the Imperial Observatory, to the palace and demanded, "Is your Imperial Observatory my Imperial Observatory, or is it Prince Ping's Imperial Observatory? Are you planning a rebellion? Ahem...?"
Zhang Jianzheng knelt down and apologized, "Your Majesty, calm down. The monk that Prince Ping invited is a highly accomplished monk, very famous in Dayong. He said that Prince Ping's proposal for an early marriage is beneficial to Your Majesty.
I observed the stars the night before and indeed saw the Purple Star growing dimmer and dimmer. After rescheduling the wedding date for Prince Ping, the Purple Star became much brighter.
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