Chapter 151 Changes
When Xiao Qing and Fu Mingyi arrived in Feng County, Li Qinghe was standing alone on horseback under a thick old camphor tree outside the city.
The horse leisurely bent down to graze on the grass—which was probably already turf.
Li Qinghe leaned against the tree trunk, his arms crossed in front of his chest, his head slightly lowered, as if he were resting with his eyes closed.
The sound of horses' hooves grew louder as they approached, then slowed down.
Li Qinghe slowly opened his eyes and looked around... Oh, there's no need to look anymore, the two riders are right in front of him, it's Fu Mingyi and his younger brother.
He gestured, and in the blink of an eye, the two of them dismounted gracefully. The young master beside him, in particular, moved with a light and graceful gait, dismounting like a swallow, which made his otherwise ordinary face come alive.
Li Qinghe couldn't help but whistle, which earned him a cold look from Fu Mingyi.
Li Qinghe laughed heartily, "The city gate is just ahead, let's go in."
It was nearly dusk, and if they had been any later, the city gates would have been closed, and they would have had to spend the night in the woods outside the city.
The three hurried into the city before sunset. No sooner had they entered than the city gates slowly closed with a heavy creak.
Xiao Qing unconsciously looked back. The setting sun was like blood, and its red light was shining on the city wall. The dark gray bricks and tiles under the red line had a quiet and solemn beauty.
Several soldiers walked around on the city wall, holding spears in their hands. The sharp metal at the tips of the spears gleamed with a cold, blood-red light, which caught her attention.
"What's wrong?" Fu Mingyi asked softly.
Xiao Qing shook her head and quickly turned back.
Previously, after leaving the palace, she would at most wander around Nanhua City.
There are many fun and bustling places in Nanhua City. But having seen so much of that, she no longer found it beautiful.
This time, traveling with Fu Mingyi by carriage, facing the sunrise and rushing to the sunset, seeing mountains and rivers, passing through cities and meeting people, she realized that Nanxiao was not actually the name of a country in a strange world.
It is a vivid picture.
The mountains and rivers here are uniquely magnificent and beautiful, and the people here experience both joy and sorrow.
From large nations to small ants, there are many things to ponder.
"fine."
Li Qinghe thought Fu Mingyi's younger brother had particularly vivid and beautiful eyes.
It feels... familiar?
Just as he was about to take a closer look, Fu Mingyi patted him on the shoulder.
Where can I find lodging?
Li Qinghe nodded. "Come with me, everything is arranged."
He then asked, "Are you planning to investigate openly or covertly?"
“Investigation is the job of the censors; how can I take away their job?”
Li Qinghe thought to himself: That's quite humorous.
"Are three rooms enough?"
Fu Mingyi thought for a moment and looked at Xiao Qing.
Xiao Qing nodded. "That's enough."
Li Qinghe chuckled.
He looked at Fu Mingyi with a smile, "You're acting like an older brother who's worried about his younger brother living alone."
Fu Mingyi smiled too.
“My brother-in-law is young, so naturally I’m always worried about him.”
Li Qinghe suddenly thought of a piece of gossip.
"I heard that people from your hometown have come again, intending to arrange a marriage for you?"
Xiao Qing raised an eyebrow and almost immediately perked up her ears.
Thinking about it this way, Fu Mingyi is indeed not young anymore.
A man reaches adulthood at twenty. Many people get married as soon as they reach adulthood, and by his age, he is already a father.
But in all these years he has been busy with state affairs, and she has never heard of him having any entanglements with any woman, let alone marriage.
Fu Mingyi's smile gradually faded.
"I didn't know that Li Qinghe not only knew about people, but also acted as a matchmaker."
Li Qinghe laughed heartily. "Who could be your matchmaker, Fu Mingyi? Your old man looks at you like you're his own eyes. He always wants to give you the best."
Fu Mingyi showed no outward expression, but inwardly he let out a cold laugh.
So they sought lodging there.
The hotel was small, but the place was quiet and the rooms were very clean.
The three of them went back to their rooms to settle in for a while, and then went downstairs to eat. There were several tables of guests downstairs, eating and drinking, chatting and laughing.
"I heard that General Zhao was sued by them."
"This is nothing new."
"So how was this matter finally resolved? General Zhao is such a good person, have those people lost their minds?"
"What do you know? Do you know who reported him? And do you know who wants to investigate him?"
"How would I know? Isn't this something that happens in the north?"
Xiao Qing counted the grains of rice as she put them into her mouth while listening to their conversation.
Fu Mingyi had already put down his chopsticks, as if he was listening attentively.
Only Li Qinghe continued to eat at his usual pace.
"We don't need to listen to this," Li Qinghe said softly.
"I've collected quite a few of these folk sayings that you wanted. Now, let's just eat properly."
He looked at Xiao Qing and smiled, "Young master, eat more. It's the time when you're growing."
Xiao Qing quickly lowered her head and ate her rice a little faster.
After dinner, the three of them gathered in Xiao Qing's room, and Li Qinghe took out a bunch of things and put them on the table.
"These are all here, take a look."
Fu Mingyi and Xiao Qing sat facing each other at the table. He divided the documents into two piles, pushed one pile in front of Xiao Qing to show her, and placed the other pile in front of himself, slowly flipping through it.
Looking at him with curiosity, Li Qinghe couldn't help but ask, "Your younger brother isn't an adult yet, is he? Is he here for training?"
Fu Mingyi nodded, "My brother-in-law often sits alone at home, complaining that he's bored, so I bring him out to relax."
When Fu Mingyi finished reading, Xiao Qing hadn't. He placed his pile next to the pile Xiao Qing hadn't finished reading, and then took the pile she had finished reading and continued reading.
When Xiao Qing finished reading it all, he roughly understood what was going on.
It is highly likely that Zhao Ziyuan did indeed use state taxes. However, he used the state taxes from Feng County.
Moreover, it was indeed not used on himself.
Uncle Zhao Youchen is a very frugal person...
After Li Qinghe left, Fu Mingyi asked Xiao Qing, "What do you think?"
"While popular opinions may not be entirely accurate, they can still reflect the situation. We'll have to see what Zhao Ziyuan and Feng Zhengmin say for the specifics."
Fu Mingyi nodded, stood up and paced back and forth: "That's right, but we're going on a secret trip, so we can't alert Zhao Ziyuan and Feng Zhengmin."
Xiao Qing thought for a moment, "Brother only wants to protect Zhao Ziyuan, right?"
Fu Mingyi looked over and asked, "Qingran, do you think this is okay?"
Xiao Qing nodded. "If I still say that what my brother did must have a reason, wouldn't my brother think I haven't made any progress?"
Fu Mingyi smiled.
The fact that she can say such things proves that something inside her has begun to change.
It happened earlier than he expected.
"So, what does Qingran want to say?"
"Zhao Ziyuan is Zhao Youchen's uncle, and his elder brother has a very close relationship with him, so he certainly won't ignore it."
Fu Ming walked slowly.
“Although Zhao Ziyuan misappropriated state taxes, it does not appear to be embezzlement. There must be something else going on. That is the second point. How could my brother wrong an innocent person?”
Fu Mingyi laughed, "That's all true. But there's one more reason."
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