Chapter 249 Meng Qing looked at Du Li, Du...
Meng Qing looked at Du Li, who pondered for a moment and said, "You're already in your twenties and can make your own decisions. Since you've decided to go to Youzhou, I won't stop you. Even your parents couldn't stop you, so I, as your second uncle, won't be disliked."
Jinshu wanted to speak, but didn't know what to say. The second uncle in front of him was completely different from the second uncle whose face he couldn't make out in his memory. Not only him, but his second aunt had changed the most. Her imposing manner made him feel intimidated. In this mansion, he was the only one who didn't fit in. Whether walking, standing, or lying down, he was always uncomfortable. Only when he was with the dog did he dare to relax a little.
"Youzhou is too far from Luoyang. The journey north is fraught with danger, with high mountains and deep forests. I'll arrange for two people to escort you there." Du Li was worried that something might happen to Jinshu; if something were to happen to her, Li Hongguo would be a difficult person to appease. It was from this point that he judged Du Min's reply to be highly unreliable, and that all the talk of assessments and cultivation was just empty pretense.
Jinshu was secretly pleased, but worried that his third uncle would disapprove of him if he was escorted there. He glanced at the letter, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.
“I will explain to your third uncle that he is, after all, his own nephew, and he cannot disregard his safety.” Du Li saw through his meaning. “I will have someone send you there. If your third uncle wants to train you, he can take you with him.”
Jinshu smiled and said, "Second Uncle, you're so kind."
Du Li frowned inwardly, wondering how Du Ming and Li Hongguo had raised their child. Did they squander all their money on food? After more than ten years of eating and drinking, a handsome child had grown into a fat man whose neck was so big that his eyes were squeezed out by the flesh on his face. He didn't look like a smart person, and his smile was even more glaring.
“Write a letter to your mother explaining things clearly, and include your third uncle’s letter in it as well, so she won’t be worried,” Meng Qing said. She probed, “I always feel that your mother thinks your third uncle wants to harm you, why is she reacting like this?”
"I don't know either." Jin Shu looked annoyed. "Never mind her. She's just short-sighted and inexperienced. She's afraid something will happen to me on the way, but I've managed to get here safely."
Meng Qing smiled. A life of leisure with no worries about food and clothing is good for people; their minds are filled with fat.
"Remember to write a letter to your mother and explain clearly," Meng Qing instructed.
"Okay, I'll go back to my room and write the letter now." Jinshu didn't know what else to say, and he left impatiently.
Meng Qing and Du Li exchanged a glance, then went back to their respective courtyards to talk.
"Are you sure you want to send him to the third brother?" Meng Qing asked.
“Aren’t you going to see him off? He decided to go himself. If I stop him, won’t he hold a grudge against me? This is Du Ming’s own son. I don’t believe that a crooked melon can produce good seeds. If I send him onto the boat back to Wu County, he will resent me for the rest of his life for blocking his bright future.” Du Li shook his head. “I’m more afraid that he will stay here and refuse to leave. I feel upset whenever I see him, as if the muddy puddles I’ve waded through in the past have splashed mud on my legs again.”
Meng Qing sat on the couch, looking at him with a half-smile.
Du Li glanced at her, forcing herself to retort, "This was brought in by the third brother, he can handle it himself."
The smile on Meng Qing's face faded, and she let out a long sigh, remaining silent.
Du Li walked to the window and looked at the paper-cut window decorations. The paper-cut by Wang Zhou last year had faded and needed to be replaced.
“No matter what the third brother does, there has to be a solution to the hidden dangers in our hometown. Let the third brother handle it. Whether it’s using force or bribery, he should be responsible for cleaning up the mess he left behind back then,” Du Li said.
"Hmm." Meng Qing didn't want to think about it anymore.
*
Two days later, Jinshu left Huaizhou by boat with a huge bundle and two guards.
The journey from Huai Prefecture to You Prefecture involved passing through nine prefectures. The further north they went, the colder the weather became. When Jinshu reached Xing Prefecture, he considered turning back. He thought he could go back to Huai Prefecture and find work, so he told his guards that he wanted to return to Huai Prefecture. However, the guards had been instructed by Du Li before setting off to make sure that Jinshu was delivered to You Prefecture.
“Young Master, we two still have official duties to perform and cannot turn back,” one of the guards said, refusing.
“If the young master is afraid of the cold, we can stay in Xingzhou for a few days,” another guard suggested.
Jinshu chose to stay in Xingzhou for a few days.
Having started this journey, Jinshu would rest for a few days in each city she passed through on the rest of the trip.
When they arrived in Youzhou, it was already April. The three of them went to the post station and learned that Du Min had left a month earlier.
The guards then carried Jinshu to Jizhou without stopping, and arrived at the post station where Du Min was staying half a month later.
"Is this the lord's nephew?" The servants left at the post station looked at the man in front of them, but could not find any resemblance to Governor Du in him.
"No mistake, we come from Huaizhou, on behalf of Lord Du, to bring this young master here," the guard replied.
The servants had no choice but to believe them. "Alright, the master has gone out today and hasn't returned yet. You can stay here for now and wait for his instructions when he comes back."
"Haven't you heard my third uncle mention me?" Jinshu asked.
"No," the servant shook his head. "Why have you come all this way?"
“My third uncle sent me.” Jinshu sensed his disdain and resentfully thought, “A servant putting on airs like that?” But he only dared to curse inwardly, and when he spoke, he only asked, “Where is my third uncle? What has he been busy with lately?”
The servant did not answer; he led the people inside.
Jinshu waited from afternoon until evening, until it got dark, but no one came back. She could only go to sleep with a belly full of things to say.
In the dead of night, Du Min appeared at the back door of a house. He knocked on the door, and it immediately opened from the inside.
"You all stay outside and keep watch," Du Min instructed in a low voice. He stepped inside, followed the light, and saw Prime Minister Zheng writing at his desk.
"You've arrived?" Prime Minister Zheng looked up. "Sit down."
Du Min didn't sit down. He took out a stack of letters from his robes and placed them on the desk. "These are the pieces of evidence I collected in Youzhou. The Lu family of Fanyang allowed their servants to commit murder. One of their sons was riding a horse on the official road outside the city when he trampled a tofu peddler to death. When the peddler's family came to complain, the servants beat them with sticks. The peddler's two elder brothers are now paralyzed in bed. Also, in Yangshu Township, out of ten villages, the Lu family has seized the land in six of them, turning the villagers into tenant farmers. Now, even the burial plots for villagers' coffins have to be bought from the Lu family. The Cui families of Boling and Qinghe also have land to occupy. When you were here, these two families gave you face and said they would return the land to the people, but at the end of autumn, they still came to collect rent."
"Have any members of the Li family from Zhao County committed any crimes?" Prime Minister Zheng asked.
"We haven't found anything yet," Du Min replied.
Prime Minister Zheng glanced at him, then picked up the letters on his desk and read them one by one. They ranged from major offenses like injuring people and occupying land to minor ones like disobeying orders and holding lavish funerals. All nine prominent families in Youzhou, including the Lu, Cui, Zu, and Kou families, were on file.
"How did you find out?" Prime Minister Zheng asked.
“By using the guise of promoting simple funerals to go to the countryside and talk to the villagers, you can get in touch with them, and some of them will be willing to share their knowledge,” Du Min replied.
"I have a task for you. Li, the military commander of Jizhou, is suspected of embezzlement. Investigate him," Prime Minister Zheng instructed.
Du Min paused, "What exactly is the situation?"
“My men have received information that Lieutenant Li sold over ninety hectares of wasteland reclaimed by the local soldiers to a foreign merchant last year under a different name, thus helping the merchant obtain a place for his son to study at the Imperial Academy,” said Prime Minister Zheng. “We can’t get any evidence now, but you can try to find witnesses.”
"This Commandant Li..." Du Min asked hesitantly.
“He is your nephew’s master’s nephew.” Prime Minister Zheng slammed the evidence on the table. Du Min wanted him to target his in-laws, but he couldn’t show favoritism.
Du Min: ...
"I will return to Youzhou tomorrow. Don't slack off in Jizhou. I await your good news," said Prime Minister Zheng.
"Understood." Du Min was not discouraged. If the Li family found out that he had been involved, and if the old master Li was no longer willing to guide Wang Zhou in his studies, he could simply let Wang Zhou find another master.
"Shall we stay here tonight, or return to the post station?" Prime Minister Zheng asked, seemingly trying to see his guest off.
"Let's go back to the inn." Du Min didn't want to have to eat breakfast with that old face again tomorrow morning.
After rushing back to the post station overnight, Du Min went back to his room to wash up and heard from his servant that his nephew had come looking for him.
"Which nephew?" Du Min asked. "What's his name?"
"His name is Du Jinshu, and he has a very strong southern accent."
Du Min paused, what was going on? He had already given up on the idea, but the hostage was right in front of him again.
"Do you know him?" the servant asked. "He was brought here by the guards of the manor, supposedly on the orders of Young Master Du."
Upon hearing this, Du Min immediately said, "Call him over here."
Jinshu was jolted awake from his sleep and brought before Du Min, still half-asleep. Looking at the man in front of him, dressed in an undergarment and wearing a silver-black cloak, he dared not speak for a moment, and even couldn't bear his gaze, instinctively wanting to back away.
"How did you get yourself into this state? Even the fattest pigs waiting to be slaughtered at the New Year aren't as plump as you." Du Min looked disgusted. "Did you eat the harvest from hundreds of acres of land? You weren't like this when you were a child, and your mother didn't care?"
Jinshu stammered, unable to speak.
"It's strange that you've managed to eat yourself into this state and still have the audacity to come and seek refuge with me. Why did you come here? Have you had enough of living a life of excess?" Du Min asked sincerely.
Jinshu was so angry that her face turned red.
"Never mind, never mind." Du Min shook his head, then asked the crucial question: "Have you been to Huaizhou? Have you met your second uncle and aunt?"
"Yes, I arrived in Luoyang on the 20th of the twelfth lunar month last year. After disembarking, I was picked up by my second uncle and taken to Huaizhou."
"Your second uncle actually recognized you? He has a good eye." Du Min said admiringly. "And then he sent someone to Youzhou? Did anything happen in between?"
“My second uncle initially intended for me to return to Wu County, but after receiving your letter, I decided to come here myself, so he didn’t stop me,” Jinshu replied. “It wasn’t my second uncle who went to Luoyang to pick me up; he sent someone to set up a missing person stall at the ferry, and I saw it when I got off the boat.”
"Come here, did your second aunt stop you?" Du Min asked, concerned about Meng Qing's attitude.
"No, she only told me to write a letter back to my mother."
Du Min tapped his fingers, lost in thought. Did his second sister-in-law and second brother really believe the nonsense he wrote in the letter?
"Third Uncle, can I work for you? I don't want to go back to the village." Jinshu asked cautiously.
“Since you’re already here, I can’t just send you back.” Du Min thought to himself that this was all fate. He had given up before, but God insisted that he keep something in reserve.
"Send a letter to your mother to let her know you're safe, and then you'll work for me." Du Min called out to the outside, and when the servant came in, he instructed, "This is my nephew from my hometown. Hand him over to my guards and make sure he loses weight within six months."
The attendant should be.
"Don't give him any special treatment just because he's my nephew. Take him along for all the hard and tiring work, and punish him if he doesn't do a good job." Du Min instructed Jin Shu directly.
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Author's note: See you tomorrow night.
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