Chapter 241 Lingnan Yizhou
As the New Year approaches in Lingnan, the mountains are covered with clouds and fog, and the mountains are connected. A team is slowly driving on the official road.
The air was filled with dampness, and I felt the coldness penetrate my bones.
Cuizhi in the carriage couldn't help but grumble, "I thought it would be warmer as we got closer to Lingnan, but why is it even colder than Bianjing?"
Dongxue lifted the curtain of the carriage and looked outside, only to see the ancient city looming in the mist.
There were more and more passers-by around, and the closer the carriage got to the city, the slower it went.
"We've arrived in Yizhou." Dongxue said.
Upon hearing this, Cuizhi immediately put down the hand warmer in her hand and moved towards Dongxue. Looking at the city standing in the fog so close to her, all the fatigue she had felt in the past few days disappeared.
"We're finally here." Cuizhi couldn't help but sound excited.
As they spoke, Dongxue put down the curtain in her hand, and Cuizhi also looked away. The two of them looked at Xie Rongying who was leaning against the table and taking a nap.
Perhaps sensing their gazes, Xie Rongying raised her eyes slightly and said, "Once we get to Yizhou City, have someone take my father to the clinic. He'll be fine as long as he's breathing."
"Yes." Dongxue said respectfully.
Cuizhi was so frightened by Xie Rongying's words that she lowered her eyes.
After leaving Bian Jing, the father-daughter relationship between Xie Jing and Xie Rongying completely collapsed.
Xie Jing vented all his resentment towards the Yan family over the years on Xie Rongying.
Over the years, Xie Jing has been suppressing many emotions because of his daughter Xie Rongying. After all, Xie Rongying has half of his blood flowing in her body.
Because Xie Rongying was his only child, he was mostly tolerant of his daughter.
In addition, Xie Rongying had little contact with Yan, and Yan was also distant and alienated from Xie Rongying, so Xie Jing thought that his daughter would be wholeheartedly on the same page with him.
However, Xie Jing found it difficult to understand what Xie Rongying had done since her marriage, and he even saw the shadow of Yan in Xie Rongying.
This made Xie Jing feel more complicated about Xie Rongying.
In particular, Xie Rongying killed Feng Qing with her own hands, and then prevented him from visiting Feng Qingyun in prison.
In the end, he was even taken away from Bian Jing, and his official career was ruined by his daughter.
Because of all these things, Xie Jing felt that Xie Rongying was as disgusting as her mother.
The feeling of wanting to break away but never being able to sever ties with his daughter made Xie Jing feel powerless.
Finally, with no other options, Xie Jing and Xie Rongying had a big fight.
Of course, the quarrel was just Xie Jing's one-sided expression of dissatisfaction with Xie Rongying by yelling at her.
After being forcefully taken away from Bian Jing by his daughter, Xie Jing felt that he had no control over his own life and was being controlled by others. Venting his anger in front of Xie Rongying was like punching cotton. Xie Jing was so furious that he started a hunger strike to threaten Xie Rongying.
But this kind of drama didn't bother Xie Rongying at all.
Xie Jing even committed suicide to express his dissatisfaction with Xie Rongying's disregard.
Xie Rongying let Xie Jing make a fuss, and also said that if Xie Jing really gave up his life for the woman named Feng, she would respect her father as a man.
Unfortunately, Xie Jing was just pretending.
Xie Rongying seemed to see through Xie Jing's tricks and said a few words to provoke Xie Jing.
Xie Jing responded by being so stressed that he actually did something cruel to himself.
Cut his wrists.
The servants of the Xie family were worried and speechless when they saw that their master, who was so old, was still threatening the young lady with such a trick.
After Xie Jing cut his wrist, the bleeding did not stop, but the servants did not dare to step forward to stop the bleeding and bandage Xie Jing's wound without the eldest lady's order.
Until Xie Jing's face became paler and paler, and there were a lot of bloodstains on the ground.
Xie Rongying then asked the maid who had some medical skills to stop the bleeding and bandage Xie Jing's wound.
In this way, Xie Jing finally calmed down.
All the way south, apart from giving Xie Jing some ordinary medicine powder, no one took special care of Xie Jing. Even the food Xie Jing had was not enough to eat.
Because of the long journey and the bumpy road, Xie Jing's health was getting worse day by day.
Xie Rongying told everyone to just let Xie Jing catch his breath.
Dongxue and Cuizhi, in particular, saw Xie Rongying's attitude. If their master stayed in Bian Jing, it would only bring disaster to the Xie family.
The eldest girl keeps her master under her nose, which is also a form of house arrest.
The team moved much slower as they entered the city gate.
The master, his servant and his two companions could faintly hear the conversations of the people outside the carriage.
"The new emperor ascends the throne and grants amnesty to the world."
"For three consecutive years, land tax and business tax have been cut in half."
"As long as they haven't committed serious crimes, they can be freed under the control of local officials."
"I heard that Emperor Rende was bedridden due to a conspiracy between the Crown Prince and the Consort Chen in the harem, and now he has returned the throne to the King of Wei."
"Cut taxes in half. The border war is urgent right now. If you do this, will the soldiers at the border go hungry?"
"No, no, the new emperor has his reasons for this. Moreover, the border is the most important matter, and the new emperor would not take this matter lightly."
"This way, we can serve the country and the people."
"It's really not easy for Dayin."
Listening to the conversation outside, the fatigue on Xie Rongying's face disappeared.
She had been waiting for news from King Wei since she left Bian Jing, but she didn't expect to get the news as soon as she arrived in Yizhou.
At this moment, she clearly heard someone outside say, "At the end of the ninth year of Dayin Chengde, Emperor Rende was seriously ill, the Crown Prince and the evil concubine conspired to rebel, and the King of Wei ascended the throne by imperial decree and changed the reign title to Yongle. As the year draws to a close, it is also the first year of Yongle."
"The new emperor ascends the throne and the whole world celebrates. It hasn't even reached New Year's Eve yet and the festivities have already begun."
Dongxue and Cuizhi listened to the sounds outside, both of them having unspeakable emotions in their hearts.
From Bian Jing to Yizhou, it also witnessed the succession of emperors of Dayin.
From the ninth year of Chengde to the first year of Yongle.
Just like Xie Rongying’s life, that period of time filled with a rotten smell passed away with the passing of nine years in Chengde.
"Miss, will the changes in Emperor Dayin lead to any other unexpected events?" Dongxue asked.
Xie Rongying pondered for a moment and said, "As long as the new emperor can stabilize the people's hearts and the morale of the army can be stabilized, even if something unexpected happens, it won't be a big deal."
The Jin people had provoked the Liao people early on, and if the Liao people sent troops again at this time, it would indeed be a tricky situation for Dayin.
However, these things were not something Xie Rongying should worry about, and she knew that Zhao Yu was no ordinary person.
Zhao Yu loved Dayin even more than Emperor Ren De.
This time, Xie Rongying came to Yizhou City for more important things.
Just as Xie Rongying's voice fell, the carriage stopped.
"Eldest sister?" Xie Changfeng's voice was heard outside.
Cuizhi was sitting by the window. She immediately opened the curtains and saw Xie Changfeng standing by the window. She said respectfully, "Second Young Master."
"Cuizhi, where's my eldest sister?" The young girl standing next to Xie Changfeng spoke. She had a similar look to him and a playful tone in her voice. "Didn't we say we should have arrived a long time ago? Why did we only arrive in Yizhou at the end of the month? Did something happen on the way?"
"Third Miss, our journey was delayed because our master fell ill," Cuizhi said.
It was the early afternoon, and a thin mist was shrouded the city gate.
Xie Rongying was covered in a snow-white cloak. After getting off the carriage, Dongxue handed the hand warmer to Xie Rongying. As soon as she raised her eyes, she saw a girl in a red fire fox fur rushing towards her.
"Eldest sister, you're finally here." Xie Rongli threw herself into Xie Rongying's arms. She looked up at her elder sister and said, "Brother has encountered a difficult situation."
Xie Rongying first glanced at Xie Rongli, then glanced sideways at Gu Xun, Huai'an and Bailin who had followed.
Before he could open his mouth, he heard Xie Changfeng order: "Sun Song, take the eldest lady's team to the villa."
"Yes." Sun Song said.
Xie Rongying fixed her gaze on Huai'an and Bailin and said, "You two should go to the villa first."
"Yes." Huai'an and Bailin said respectfully.
Under the guidance of Sun Song, the carriage slowly headed in another direction.
Xie Rongying lowered her eyes and looked at the girl clinging to her. The only memory she had of this cousin was that she had always followed her around when she was little. She smiled faintly, "Why are you still so clingy?"
Xie Rongli heard a hint of tenderness in Xie Rongying's tone. She boldly took her elder sister's arm and said, "Brother said that you are becoming more and more gentle. I didn't believe it at first, but now from your tone, it seems that what you said is true."
Xie Rongying glanced at Xie Changfeng and said, "Why did Li'er come to Yizhou with me?"
"Mother said that Li'er's personality is not suitable for Bianjing, so she asked me to bring her to Yizhou to stay for a while, to..."
Before Xie Changfeng could finish his words, Xie Rongli interrupted him and said, "When my wedding date comes, I can get married."
Xie Rongying glanced at Xie Rongli with some confusion: "Wedding date? Have you reached the age of marriage yet?"
"She won't come of age until April at the beginning of the year," said Xie Changfeng.
Xie Rongying frowned: "Which one did you book?"
Xie Rongli's engagement is definitely not with a family in Bian Jing. Xie Lin has always been dealing with Ren in Chenjun, so he should be a local resident of Chenjun.
"The Xiao family." Xie Changfeng glanced at Xie Rongli while speaking, and continued, "But Li'er doesn't seem to like the kid from the Xiao family very much."
Xie Rongying raised her eyebrows slightly.
"Marriage has always been arranged by matchmakers and parents, no matter what people like or dislike." When Xie Rongli said this, her expression was completely different from her playful look just now. There was a layer of coldness on her face.
"Rong Li," Xie Changfeng knew that Xie Rong Li's words were full of sarcasm. "You also know that it's the matchmaker's words and the parents' orders. Don't make it difficult for your parents."
Xie Rongli's expression became even uglier.
Xie Rongying also promptly brought the topic back to what Xie Rongli had just said: "Li'er, you just said that Changfeng encountered a difficult situation. Could it be that the previous matters have not made any progress?"
Sure enough, when the topic was raised, both the brother and sister had a serious look on their faces.
"Eldest sister, I've heard that an iron mine was discovered in a village in Yizhou. I reported it to the Yizhou government, but they didn't report it to the court, so the matter was covered up."
Xie Changfeng paused for a moment before continuing, "Originally, after hearing the news, my grandmother wanted to buy the iron mine at a high price. My father came here once for this reason. However, after he arrived in Yizhou, the people in that village said it was just a rumor and that there was no iron mine."
"Yes, my father couldn't find out anything from the people in that village. He just knew that someone didn't want anyone to know about this matter and had colluded with the Yizhou government." Xie Rongli continued Xie Changfeng's words, "But our Xie family has been to that mine before. At that time, only the villagers of that village and the officials of Yizhou went to survey it, and it wasn't heavily guarded. This time, when my brother and I came to Yizhou, we went there and found that it was already heavily guarded."
"But the Yizhou government deliberately concealed the matter. Those who knew about it either disappeared or kept their mouths shut, as if the news that our Xie family had heard before was false and did not exist."
Before Xie Rongying left Bian Jing, she learned a general idea from Old Madam Xie.
But she didn't expect that the water in Yizhou was so deep that they dared to conceal such an important matter.
What should the government of this prefecture do if they discover an iron mine but don’t report it to the court?
However, the Xie family did not dare to report to the court without any definite information. What if they reported it to the court and the court sent people to Yizhou? The officials of Yizhou colluded with the people sent by the emperor and said that the mine was a figment of the imagination. Where would the Xie family be put then?
This is also what Mrs. Xie is worried about.
However, Xie Rongying could also vaguely guess something. Shangguan Yan was not in Longxi, but in Lingnan. She didn't know how much the Yizhou mine incident had to do with Shangguan Yan.
"Just the night before last, my brother and Sun Song went to that village and were targeted, but at least they got rid of them." There was some worry in Xie Rongli's tone when he said this.
Xie Rongying glanced at Xie Rongli and asked, "Did you really get rid of him?"
Xie Rongli and Xie Changfeng were slightly stunned.
Xie Rongying looked at the crowd on the street, and a cold look flashed in her eyes.
If Shangguan Yan was in this Yizhou, and thinking about the day when Qin Junyi escaped from Bian Jing, maybe Qin Junyi was also in this Yizhou.
"Let's go back to the villa first." Xie Rongying said.
Xie Changfeng and Xie Rongli, brother and sister, fell silent after listening to Xie Rongying's words.
If the Xie family was targeted when they came to Yizhou, then the person behind it must have already started plotting.
Who on earth could collude with the government of Yizhou?
Xie Changfeng didn't believe that the Yizhou government would dare to conceal the matter of the mine.
Just as Xie Rongying and his group were walking among the crowd, in an inconspicuous private room of a restaurant.
Two pairs of eyes were fixed on Xie Rongying and others in the crowd.
"Xie Jing was able to give birth to such a great daughter. I really underestimated Xie Jing." The man was about forty-five years old. Although his face showed some years and vicissitudes, he looked particularly tough.
Qin Junyi lowered his eyes coldly and did not comment.
Shangguan Yan's gaze fell on Qin Junyi's face again: "Why aren't you talking?"
Qin Junyi raised his eyes and met Shangguan Yan's gaze, saying, "What does my father-in-law want me to say?"
"They say a powerful dragon can't overpower a local snake. This is Yizhou. Could Xie Rongying really be so powerful?" Shangguan Yan stared at the complex expression on Qin Junyi's face and sneered, "In Yizhou, even a dragon must coil up and a tiger must lie down."
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