Chapter 863, Leaving Beijing
At the city gate, the eldest prince, the second prince, the fourth prince, and the fifth prince also came to see him off. They came mainly to see Gu Jian. Knowing that the emperor respected Gu Jian, they naturally wanted to show their respect.
Watching the carriages and horses departing, the eldest prince said quietly, "Xiao Yeyang has gone to Xiliang this time. I'm afraid he won't be back for eight or ten years."
The Fourth Prince frowned: "Father values Xiao Yeyang so much, he won't let him stay in the borderland forever."
The Second Prince sneered, "Father may value you highly, but don't forget why Xiao Yeyang was banished to Xiliang. If he wants to come back, the ministers in the court will not agree."
The Fifth Prince also spoke up: "It's his fault for being too flamboyant before. Last year, when he led the Jinling Guard to investigate the Eighth Prince's followers, he offended so many people. Although most of them deserved their punishment, in this capital, every family has some kind of in-law relationship, and there are many people who hate Xiao Yeyang."
Several princes sighed and shook their heads, then prepared to return home.
As for the Yan family members next to them, they just nodded without any extra greetings.
In their opinion, Prince Ping usually does not take care of things, and the Yan family will not be able to achieve much without Xiao Yeyang as their backer.
"Ye Xuan, let's go together."
The eldest prince greeted Xiao Yexuan warmly.
Because Prince Yong was involved in impeaching Xiao Yeyang, he did not come to see him off, but only sent Xiao Yexuan over.
Xiao Yexuan glanced at the carriage not far away and declined with a smile: "I want to see Xirong and Naixin off."
Upon hearing this, the eldest prince stopped trying to persuade him and left with the second prince and others.
Xiao Yexuan said goodbye to Yan Zhigao and Madam Li, and then left with Wu Xirong and Kang Naixin.
On the Yan family's side, Yan Zhigao and Madam Li didn't care much about the attitudes of the eldest prince and his friends. They never thought of interfering between the princes.
However, the expressions of the three sons-in-law all changed.
Having grown up in Beijing, they know too well the difference between having a backer and not having one.
The husbands of Yan Yihan and Yan Yishuang were fine. One was still concentrating on studying and was not in a hurry to enter officialdom, while the other had already worked in the Hanlin Academy. They did not pin their future entirely on outsiders, and were not too disappointed about Xiao Yeyang's demotion.
But Yan Yile’s husband was different. Fang Shuo’s face darkened as he sat in the carriage.
He is not young anymore, and his elder brother has already got a job, but he has been sitting at home doing nothing.
My father is a noble and pedantic man. Although he is the chief academic officer of the Imperial College, he has not built up many connections over the years, and he has no way to get a better job.
He decided to marry Yan Yile after careful consideration. Although the Yan family had just arrived in Beijing and their foundation was not stable, they had the support of Prince Ping's Mansion. With such a relationship with the Prince's Mansion, it would not be a problem for him to get a position with real power in the six ministries by making some arrangements.
But now, everything has become empty talk. Not only can he not get a job, but he also has to be careful not to be implicated by the Yan family.
Yan Yile didn't notice that Fang Shuo's expression was not right, or rather, she didn't pay attention at all. She was just immersed in the secret joy that her arrogant elder sister was going to Xiliang to live a hard life.
"Big sister, you've been so happy that you've ended up in tragedy. Grandpa Gu was given the title of Duke of Fuguo, but he didn't even send us a notice. He's completely looking down on us. It's only been a few days, and he's already been banished to Xiliang. He really deserves it."
"I've heard that life in Xiliang is very hard. We should let Big Sister experience some of that, so she doesn't always act so high and mighty over us sisters."
"That's what I said. How could God be so unfair? She gets all the good things. So what if she marries into the royal palace? It's still the same."
"Shut up!"
Fang Shuo shouted fiercely.
Yan Yile was speaking excitedly, but when she heard Fang Shuo's scolding, her voice suddenly stopped. She looked at Fang Shuo with an expression of disbelief, as he had a face full of suppressed anger.
"Husband, what's wrong with you?"
Fang Shuo looked at Yan Yile coldly: "Why didn't I think you were so stupid before? Haven't you heard the principle of "when one suffers, all suffer; when one prospers, all prosper"? Your elder sister was demoted to Xiliang. What benefit can you get? What is there to be happy about?"
Yan Yile was a little dazed. This was the first time she saw Fang Shuo angry, and also the first time she saw disgust towards her on his face.
Daohua was unaware of what had happened at the city gate. At that moment, she was looking up at Xiao Yeyang, who was riding up from behind, and asked with a smile, "What did you say to mother just now?"
Xiao Yeyang looked at Daohua, whose brows were relaxed and she was smiling, and said with a smile, "Why are you so curious about everything?"
Daohua shrugged: "I can't help it. One is my husband and the other is my mother-in-law. I have to pay attention to it."
Xiao Yeyang got off the horse and got into the carriage.
Daohua handed him a cup of hot tea.
Xiao Yeyang drank his tea, looking a little uncomfortable: "I'll ask my mother to find someone to take care of herself."
When Daohua heard this, she immediately laughed, hugged his arm, and said with a smile: "You finally figured it out. Mother will always be your mother. Having Chu Lang is just one more person to take care of her."
After a moment of silence, he carefully reminded her, "If your mother has other children in the future, don't think too much about it."
Xiao Yeyang's eyes suddenly widened: "What nonsense are you talking about? How old is the mother? How could she still give birth to a child?"
Daohua retorted: "My mother is not even forty yet, how can she not have children?"
Xiao Yeyang was silent for a while, then looked at Daohua anxiously: "They are not really going to have a baby, are they?"
Daohua quickly comforted her, "Think about Grandma and Master. They were so lonely before they met us."
Xiao Yeyang lay sideways in the carriage and didn't say anything.
Daohua smiled, ignored him, and picked up the book that recorded the customs of Xiliang and started reading.
After a day's journey, the convoy left the capital.
In the evening, Daohua and others got off the carriage and stayed in the inn.
Xiliang is a border area, so Xiao Yeyang naturally couldn't take up the post empty-handed. He took away all the Jinling Guards who had followed him before, as long as they were willing.
At the same time, he also asked the emperor for a guard of 500 people.
There are many hidden dangers on the border, and he has to consider the safety of his uncle and his wife.
It was not convenient for these people to follow Xiao Yeyang in a high-profile manner, so they left the capital early and waited for Xiao Yeyang at the post station.
As for Daohua, they didn't prepare too many things on the surface, but they sent Cao Chuan, Guangtou and others to escort a batch of supplies out of Beijing in advance.
Now everyone has gathered at the posthouse.
So, on the second day of the journey west, the original twenty-odd carriages suddenly became more than a hundred, and the huge and magnificent procession was quite spectacular.
However, less than half a day later, Xiao Yeyang asked the fast-moving escort team to transport most of the supplies to Xiliang first.
The rest of the team was not moving very fast. There was no other way. There were women and elderly people in the team, so they were destined not to travel too fast, otherwise their bodies would not be able to bear it.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
