Chapter 862, Demoted to Xiliang
The Emperor sat in silence on the dragon throne, looking at the ministers kneeling on the ground. Finally, he turned to Xiao Yeyang and said, "Xiao Yeyang was disrespectful to the Queen Mother. He is demoted to the fifth rank of the Ganzhou Guard in Xiliang and sent to guard the border of Daxia to atone for his sins. What do you think, my dear ministers?"
The Ganzhou Guard of Xiliang was a fifth-rank pacification officer. All the officials were speechless about this punishment. Xiliang was notoriously poor, and they had to guard against the occasional invasions of the Western Liao people. Sending a prince of a royal palace to guard the border was definitely a severe punishment.
"Your Majesty is wise!"
The emperor glanced at his nephew, who was kneeling on the ground to take responsibility for the crime, and a trace of guilt flashed across his eyes. "Anything else you want to report?"
Seeing that the officials were silent, the emperor stood up and said, "Let's adjourn the court."
After saying that, he turned and left.
The officials all looked at Xiao Yeyang. Seeing that he looked devastated, some people felt sympathy for him, while others gloated over his misfortune.
Regardless of Xiao Yeyang's mood, as soon as the morning court ended, rumors spread that the empress dowager died suddenly because she was angered by Xiao Yeyang.
With the deliberate promotion of officials, the rumors that the emperor killed the empress dowager were quickly suppressed.
Prince Ping's Mansion.
When everyone in the palace heard that Xiao Yeyang was demoted to Xiliang, their expressions were a little shaken.
Daohua received a wave of sympathy, but she had been mentally prepared for this and did not react at all. She just thought silently that after she returned, she would find some books that recorded the customs and landforms of Xiliang.
Concubine Ji was the most excited among all. The prince had three sons. Xiao Yechen went to guard the imperial mausoleum, and Xiao Yeyang was now demoted to Xiliang.
Xiliang, I heard that it is very difficult there, and there are often frictions with the Western Liao people, and small wars are constantly going on. If something happens to Xiao Yeyang, will her son be
The more Concubine Ji thought about it, the more excited she became. She had never held out any hope for a royal title, but now God had actually sent the title to her.
Unfortunately, Prince Ping’s next words instantly extinguished the passion in Concubine Ji’s heart.
"Although Xiliang is bitterly cold, there are many wars there. With Yeyang's abilities, he will be able to return with merit in a few years."
Obviously, Prince Ping knew in his heart that Xiao Yeyang was punished on behalf of the emperor.
Concubine Jiang looked at Concubine Ji's stiff face and sneered softly, "You don't know your own limitations."
Xiao Yechen is so favored by the prince that the prince has never thought of passing the title to him. How could he give it to Xiao Yechang who is not outstanding in anything?
When Xiao Yeyang returned from the palace, it was already dark. As soon as he returned to the room, he saw a lot of books on the table. Daohua was holding a book and reading it carefully.
"What are you looking at?"
Daohua saw Xiao Yeyang coming back and smiled as she shook the book in her hand. "This is the Geography of Xiliang. I plan to finish reading it as soon as possible, and then I'll know what to prepare."
As she spoke, she pulled Xiao Yeyang to sit down and sat on his lap.
"When are we going to leave? I want to know."
Xiao Yeyang hugged Daohua tightly: "You will have to suffer with me."
Daohua glanced at him and said, "What kind of hardship can I endure? I have maids and servants to take care of my food, clothing, shelter and transportation. Now I am just moving to a new place to live."
As he spoke, he leaned over to Xiao Yeyang's ear and chuckled, "To be honest, I'm kind of looking forward to going to Xiliang. I heard there's an endless grassland there, and I really want to go see it."
Xiao Yeyang straightened Daohua: "Life in Xiliang is very hard. Miss Dong went to Xiliang before, and her face became so rough and her skin became a lot darker."
Daohua: "I'm not afraid, I will take care of myself." Then she looked at Xiao Yeyang and said, "If I become darker and uglier, will you dislike me?"
Xiao Yeyang was a little amused and helpless. How could Yi Yi be so carefree? Xiliang was a place of exile, and one could easily imagine how hard life was there. Yet, this guy was just thinking about all sorts of nonsense.
"I'm thankful that you don't despise me. How dare I despise you?"
Daohua smiled and said, "I don't think you dare. If you dare to look down on me, I will beat you together with my master." Then, he looked at Xiao Yeyang seriously again:
"Really? I don't think going to Xiliang is hard. The capital is prosperous, but there are so many things to pay attention to. Especially since the people we often interact with are all royal relatives and ministers. They are all full of twists and turns. I'm exhausted after interacting with them so much."
"I think the place is better, it's more comfortable."
Listening to Daohua's words of comfort, Xiao Yeyang's guilt dissipated a lot: "Winter is quite cold in Xiliang. It's already October. I plan to leave after the Queen Mother's funeral."
Daohua nodded: "Okay, I'll pack up as soon as possible."
In the days that followed, Xiao Yeyang and Daohua were busy with their own things.
The first thing Daohua decided was the list of people to take to Xiliang. Wang Man'er and Qin Xiaoliu were left in the capital. Although she and Xiao Yeyang went to Xiliang, the news from the capital and the palace could not be cut off.
Wang Maner and Qin Xiaoliu can now stand on their own feet, so she feels at ease letting them stay.
The next step is to prepare the supplies to be taken to Xiliang.
The land in Xiliang is barren and the grain yield is extremely low. Daohua thought of the corn and cotton seeds harvested this year and decided to take them all to Xiliang.
She had read the geographical records of Xiliang and found that the area was suitable for growing corn and cotton.
As for other crops, she will go and inspect them on site when she gets there.
After sorting out the list of supplies, she handed the rice flowers over to Guyu, Lixia and Bishi to take care of them, while she took Mei, Lan, Mei and Ju to the Yan Mansion every day.
She didn’t know how long it would take to return to Beijing after this trip to Xiliang, and she wanted to spend more time with her family.
As for Gu Jian, the day after he heard that Xiao Yeyang was demoted to Xiliang, the old man started packing his luggage, directly indicating with his actions that he wanted to follow them.
Daohua and Xiao Yeyang both knew that Gu Jian didn't like the capital, so they didn't stop him.
The emperor tried to persuade him several times, but unfortunately Gu Jian remained unmoved.
Prince Ping watched Gu Jian packing his bags and felt a little restless. Unfortunately, he knew that as a prince he could not leave Beijing at will.
The empress dowager's body was kept for half a month before being sent to the imperial mausoleum for burial.
It was already mid-October at this time. In order to save time, Daohua and Xiao Yeyang went to Duke Dingguo's Mansion to say goodbye in the morning the day after the empress dowager was buried. After lunch, they went to Yan's house to say goodbye.
When leaving Duke Dingguo's mansion, Xiao Yeyang looked at Guo Ruomei, whose eyes were filled with worry and reluctance. After hesitating for a moment, he finally explained in a low voice, "The Emperor's uncle is determined to reform Xiliang. I'm being demoted on the surface this time, but I actually hold considerable power. You don't have to worry too much about me."
Guo Ruomei didn't expect Xiao Yeyang to say this to her, and her expression was a little excited: "Xiliang is bitterly cold, you and Yiyi should take care of yourselves. If there is anything I can help with, please write to me."
Xiao Yeyang nodded and said, "Okay." Then he turned around and got on the carriage.
The carriage drove away for a long distance. Xiao Yeyang saw Guo Ruomei still standing at the door looking at him, and his heart was still moved. But when he saw Chu Lang walking out from the side, he couldn't help frowning.
Seeing this, Daohua reached out and held his hand: "Mother is so lonely all alone. Wouldn't it be nice to have someone who understands her and keeps her company?"
Xiao Yeyang remained silent.
Daohua continued, "Everyone grows old. Can you bear to see your mother die alone?"
Xiao Yeyang: "I will take care of her in the future."
Daohua sighed, "Yes, we can take care of her, but we can't be with her forever. We can't be by her side all the time, so there will always be things we overlook."
"Furthermore, everyone has emotional needs. There's a fundamental difference between the companionship of children and the companionship of a loved one. My father has two concubines, and the other wives are another. What about my mother? What does she have?"
Xiao Yeyang kept silent.
Daohua didn't say much. Some things only need to be mentioned briefly. It would be bad to say too much.
Soon, they arrived at Yan's Mansion.
Daohua and Xiao Yeyang accompanied the Yan family for dinner before returning to the palace.
"Grandmother, Mother, Master is also coming with us to Xiliang. You can stay at Four Seasons Villa whenever you want. It's good for your health to soak in hot springs in winter."
Old Mrs. Yan pulled Daohua reluctantly and gave her a lot of instructions.
Before leaving, Daohua sent several carts of food and medicinal herbs from the space to Old Lady Yan and Madam Li, and told them to keep them for themselves and take good care of their health.
On October 20th, Daohua and Xiao Yeyang set out on their journey to Xiliang with the farewell of their relatives and friends.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
