Chapter 130
Following the clues in the Qian Datong case revealed several deeply buried suspects. These individuals would have remained unnoticed without careful investigation. Furthermore, many of them had been with Li Wenzhu through thick and thin, and had also contributed to Zhou Jingchen's rise to power in Beiting. Who could have imagined that these individuals were so intricately connected to the conspiracy at the Qianwang Palace eight years earlier?
If it weren't for the sneak attack on the Zhou family and the thorough investigation, and if Bazatu hadn't captured Yang Chenglie, it's likely that the hidden clues would not have been uncovered.
After uncovering the secrets, Ajiu's days became busier. He grasped a clue and followed it back, quickly bringing down a number of individuals. Many of them were former members of Prince Jing's palace, former confidants of the former King. It was fortunate these individuals were brought to justice before the founding of the dynasty; if they had been, they would have become a thorn in the new court's side.
Since it was a betrayal, there was no longer any friendship. Ajiu would not give them a chance to counterattack. If there was irrefutable evidence, they would be executed on the spot. As for Yang Chenglie, considering his past military exploits and the fact that he was not the mastermind, he was not dealt with immediately. However, this time when the Zhou family left Beiting, they would take Yang Chenglie with them.
When Yang Chenggang's son was rescued, his legs were broken and he was badly tortured. Seeing that he was barely breathing, Ye Jia didn't kill him, but asked the Yang family to take him away.
This year's New Year's Eve was particularly turbulent.
To quickly put an end to these matters, Ah Jiu escorted the Zhou family and Ye Simei and her son back to Yanjing, spending the entire twelfth month of the year and the first month of the year traveling. He and Ye Simei had been married for a short time, and they were often apart. He didn't even have time to say a word to his child when he returned home. Yu Shi felt a little guilty, but Ye Simei herself was quite open-minded: "When he was young, he worked hard outside, so that the child and I could have a good life. There's nothing wrong with it."
"You are quite open-minded." Yu was amused by her. Ye Simei looked weak, but not clingy.
Fourth Sister Ye smiled, as if it was a matter of course: "Isn't it? We have a lifetime to live with after all, I can't always be clinging to you."
By the time Ajiu had almost finished investigating the case, the New Year had passed in a blur. During this period, Ajiu's hands had inevitably seen a lot of blood. He killed people as easily as slaughtering chickens, and successfully intimidated many people. In order to deter these dishonest people and prevent them from taking desperate measures, the people of Bazatu surrounded Dongxiang Town like an iron barrel.
But even so, the area around Dongxiang Town is still not peaceful.
Even after Zhou Ye fled Yanjing, he didn't completely stop harassing Beiting. Life was tough for him, and he didn't want Zhou Jingchen to have it easy. Assassination attempts continued, but Bazatu kept them all at bay.
"It seems we have to leave as soon as possible." Even if you are on guard against thieves for a thousand days, there will be a time when you can't be careful. If you delay for too long, it will only cause more trouble. After Ajiu finished his work, he immediately urged the Zhou family to move out of Dongxiang Town: "Stop these people from coming all the time."
"Of course." After this incident, Ye Jia knew that any further delay would be a joke on his own life. Although reluctant, when it came time to make a decision, Ye Jia would not hesitate. "Rest for three days and then set off."
After the matter was finalized, Ye Jia went to discuss with Yu what things to move.
Yu Shi had actually already prepared everything she needed to take away, so she could move if she wanted. Listening to Ye Jia talk about the situation outside, she felt a little scared. If Ye Jia hadn't said it, she really wouldn't have thought that Beiting was hiding so many dangers. Holding Rui Jie'er in her arms, she couldn't help but mutter, "Thank goodness you're home. Otherwise, with my foolish personality, I'd have died countless times."
Rui Jie'er was already old enough to be a magistrate, and she was so well-behaved that it was heartbreaking. Hearing Yu Shi's words, she reached out and grasped Yu Shi's hand. Yu Shi patted her, then sighed as she looked at the gloomy sky outside the door curtain.
"Don't worry, mother." Ye Jia couldn't help but comfort her. "Now that the people have been caught, these things won't happen again. Besides, we have decided to move away."
In fact, Ye Jia believed that even if these people hadn't been apprehended, they wouldn't dare attack the Zhou family. Zhou Ye's fate was lost, and the Turks had been crippled by Zhou Jingchen. Ye Jia had stalked the Wuhuan and several other minor nomadic tribes, severely weakened by their repeated attacks. They wouldn't dare attack again for at least ten years. Unless these people were seeking death, they wouldn't easily show up.
"I know the seriousness of the matter," Yu nodded, "just make your arrangements."
In the cold spring, the days are short and the nights are long. This day passed in the blink of an eye.
After Ye Jia took advantage of this period of time to arrange his business, he stayed up late to compile a set of land mine samples, production materials for crossbows, sleeve arrows, and design drawings of earth bunkers.
All possible arrangements for Beiting's business had been made, leaving the details to his subordinates. Following Yang Chenglie's surprise attack on the Zhou family, Ye Jia had drafted a set of internal regulations based on modern corporate management practices. These detailed guidelines governed the management of personnel and tasks, detailing each person's responsibilities and authority. Ye Jia assigned each person a specific position, delegating authority to individual individuals, making it easier to address any issues. Once the regulations were laid out, he assigned his subordinates to implement them.
Lingdang and Qiuyue were temporarily in charge of the Rouge Shop and Qingxuexuan in Beiting, while Qiuyue was in charge of the Xiangpizi workshop, the pear blossom cream workshop, and the Rouge workshop. A professional chef was hired to take over the Xishi shop, and he would make the dishes as long as he was given the recipe.
Old Man Sun returned in early Zhengyue. Sun Yushan was in Libei Town, so he would definitely not leave. But Old Man Sun was in a dilemma because of his two grandsons.
Sun Jun's intelligence was innate, often surprising Ye Jia. Ye Jia had promised to find him a good teacher, but various circumstances hindered her from fulfilling her promise. Now that Ye Jia was leaving, Sun Jun naturally wanted to go with him. Sun Cheng didn't understand his brother's decision, but if Sun Jun wanted to leave, he wanted to go too.
Because of this incident, the Sun family, who had always lived in harmony, had a big conflict.
In those days, travel was slow, and a journey from south to north would take at least a year or two. People nowadays typically stayed in one place their entire lives. Old Man Sun couldn't accept his grandsons leaving Beiting. He feared that if they left Beiting, he wouldn't be able to see them again until he died.
Old man Sun was reluctant to let the child go, so he secretly wanted to keep the child.
Of course Sun Jun was unwilling, so Old Man Sun got violent and locked his two grandsons in the house and wouldn't let them out.
Ye Jia had naturally heard about this. Although she didn't agree, it was a family affair of the Sun family, and even she couldn't interfere. Ye Jia felt a little regretful, and after much thought, she sent someone to invite Old Man Sun over. However, before she even opened her mouth to ask about it, Old Man Sun had already expressed his refusal. Old Man Sun frankly said that he knew that Ye Jia valued Sun Jun and that it was a blessing for the Sun family, but that the Sun family's current situation was enough. The whole family could live a peaceful life, and he would be able to give a good explanation to his wife in the future.
Having said that, Ye Jia swallowed the advice that was on the tip of his tongue.
It was already February, and the weather was gradually warming up. But perhaps because of the melting snow, the night wind still felt like a knife scraping at one's bones.
Three days passed in a flash, and soon it was the day of departure.
Ye Jia had gone to bed early last night, and naturally woke up early to catch up. As soon as the sun rose, she opened the main courtyard door to find Sun Jun, his eyes red, squatting in the courtyard corridor waiting. Ye Jia was still in the room washing up when Xiao Li came in and told her about this.
Ye Jia was stunned for a moment and asked someone to call the child in.
Sun Jun didn't know how long he'd been waiting outside. His nose was red from the cold, his body was hunched, and a thin layer of ice crystals had formed on his shoulders. Ye Jia had someone quickly bring in some hot tea and let the child drink some before speaking: "Why are you waiting outside?"
Sun Jun's cheeks flushed silently as his body recovered. He said nothing, lowering his head in embarrassment.
Ye Jia looked at him, but didn't scold him. To be honest, from the first time he saw this child, Ye Jia felt that this child was a bit precocious. His eyes were different from those of ordinary children. Even now, Ye Jia still didn't change his mind.
After a long silence, the child took a deep breath and raised his head: "My Lady, I want to go to Yanjing with you."
Ye Jia's eyes flickered slightly, and after a pause, he asked him, "Does your grandfather know?"
Sun Jun shook his head and stood there stubbornly with his jaw clenched.
Ye Jia looked at him for a long time, then reached out and touched his head. Huanpei had just brought breakfast over, so Ye Jia asked him to join in.
Speaking of which, Sun Jun was a naturally intelligent child. While he'd been learning to read with the Yu family for a while now, I wouldn't say he had a perfect memory, but his talent was impressive enough. Ye Jia's original plan was to send the child to the Yu family to study. The eldest uncle of the Yu family was a renowned scholar, with many students across the country. The students who could become his disciples were all exceptional, and they were undoubtedly more than capable of teaching Sun Jun. However, the Yu family's current circumstances made it difficult to accept a disciple, so the plan was put on hold for the time being. Now that the Zhou family was planning to move to Yanjing, it was only natural that the Yu family would follow suit.
If Old Man Sun hadn't refused, Ye Jia would have taken the child to Yanjing. But now Old Man Sun had refused.
"My Lady, I'm already ten years old." Sun Jun bit his lip and said with difficulty, "I can make my own decisions."
Ye Jia was stunned by these words.
"I want to be a learned man like His Highness and His Majesty." Sun Jun lowered his head, his voice booming, but his words were clear and audible. He said, "I don't want to live my whole life in ignorance."
She felt touched for some reason and patted his head: "...Are you really willing to leave home and never regret it in the future?"
When Sun Jun stood up, he was only as tall as Ye Jia's chest, but his eyes were too deep to be a child's: "I won't regret it."
Ye Jia looked at him for a long moment, then suddenly smiled. She looked at the determined little boy in front of her. To be honest, she had been a little hesitant at first. Although Old Man Sun was reluctant to let Sun Jun go, the boy's recent performance made it difficult for Ye Jia to watch him fade away. It wasn't that she thought Beiting couldn't grow, but rather that the opportunities outside were greater.
Sometimes, success requires opportunity, like unpolished jade needs polishing, and so does talent. After a pause, Ye Jia couldn't help but ask him, "When did you come to my yard? I saw you when I opened the door this morning. Did you run out last night?"
The child sniffed and said seriously, "To answer your mother's question, I sneaked out in the middle of the night while grandpa was asleep."
The child tentatively grabbed Ye Jia's sleeve and said, "My Lady, you will take me with you, right?"
Since he had such determination, Ye Jia was naturally relieved: "Please leave a letter for your grandfather. This time, I am being unkind."
Sun Jun's eyes lit up in an instant and he nodded happily.
…
Ye Jia's things had actually been loaded into the car last night, and now it was filled with other people's things.
Yu had also risen early; the cold spring morning was quite chilly. She stood at the gate, wrapped in a heavy veil, watching some cabinets being loaded onto a carriage. Although she hadn't lived there long, she still felt nostalgic for this courtyard. "...Jia Niang, we don't need to take everything with us. Who knows, once the situation in Dayan stabilizes, we might be able to return to Beiting."
Although Beiting has a bitterly cold climate, it's a vast, free place. Once you get used to it, you'll be hard to leave.
"You can come back if you want to," Ye Jia smiled, "I'm just afraid that I won't have the opportunity by then."
As the two were talking, Ajiu came out of the yard with Ye Simei, holding the child.
Since they were leaving, Ye Simei would naturally go with them.
Ah Jiu was now an official appointed by the imperial court, a first-rank military commander with a proper residence and property in Yanjing. The mansion Zhou Jingchen had gifted him had five entrances and five exits. Now, the vast mansion lay empty, waiting for Fourth Sister Ye to decorate it. Fourth Sister had been delighted by this for quite some time, her face always smiling. This time in Yanjing, she was the only one who was so happy.
"Sister, how are you going to arrange things with my parents?"
Before getting on the carriage, she thought of this. It wasn't a recent thought, but she couldn't bear to part with her biological parents, who had given birth to her and raised her, no matter how bad they were. She had wanted to bring it up earlier, but Ye Jia was busy, so she didn't dare interrupt.
Ye Jia didn't react much when she heard this. She had no affection for the old couple of the Ye family.
After thinking for a while, he said, "Big brother will guard Beiting, Qinghe is also here, so naturally, Dad and Mom will follow Big brother Qinghe."
...That's true. With their biological son around, the old couple of the Ye family can't remember their daughter.
The two sisters were strangely silent for a moment. Fourth Sister Ye sighed. She had two nurses carry Little Seven and Little Eight to the carriage, and took one last look at the Zhou family compound. After marrying Ajiu, she'd actually been living in the Zhou family for even longer. Little Seven and Little Eight were still young, too young to understand the meaning of parting. They found it strange and squeaking by the window.
Ye Jia didn't care about the Ye family, but he was a little worried about Ye Wumei, who was alone outside. Ever since the last wedding incident, Ye Wumei had disappeared. She was only a teenager, and Ye Jia sent people out to look for her but couldn't find her. He only knew that she was in the south.
Just as he was thinking about it, Fourth Sister Ye leaned out of the carriage window again and asked about Fifth Sister: "Is there any news about Fifth Sister in the south?"
After almost all the things were loaded onto the carriage, Ye Jia also boarded it: "There's news that I saw my fifth sister in Huizhou."
Hearing Ye Jia say this, Fourth Sister Ye felt relieved a little: "If we can find someone, we can take Fifth Sister to Yanjing as well."
"Of course." That was Ye Jia's original plan. With the old couple of the Ye family here, Fifth Sister Ye probably wouldn't want to return to Beiting in her lifetime. Ye Jia was worried about her being alone out there, so he decided to take her under his watch.
As the two sisters were talking, it seemed that neither of them had any intention of going to Luntai to see the old couple of the Ye family. Yu thought about it and had no intention of persuading the two sisters.
She has seen the moral character of her relative-in-law, so it is better not to provoke him if possible.
The driver cracked his whip and the carriage creaked eastward.
Ye Jia lifted the car window curtain and took one last look at the Zhou Mansion, then put it down after a long moment...
…
The carriage moved very slowly, and in order to arrive as early as possible, Ajiu deliberately took few rests along the way.
The original plan was to take the route from Luntai to Jiayuguan, then Yongzhou and Jizhou. However, after crossing Jiayuguan, Ye Jia suddenly received a letter from Ye Wumei. It stands to reason that a letter would have to travel quite a distance to reach Dongxiang Town, and wouldn't necessarily bypass Yongzhou. As luck would have it, the group had just arrived at the post station, preparing to rest for two days to replenish supplies before setting off again, when the letter arrived at the post station in Yongzhou.
By chance, someone saw that the letter was sent to Ye Jia, so the letter went directly into Ye Jia's hands.
Ye Jia initially thought it was a business matter, or perhaps a message from Ye Wumei to report safety. But after opening it and reading two rows, her brow furrowed. Ye Wumei had only recently arrived in the south, and before her business had even gotten off the ground, she was already getting married. The man she was marrying was quite old, about twenty years older than she was. The children in that family were all a year older than she was, and Ye Jia's brows knitted together.
Ye Simei had just finished washing up and came to sit with Ye Jia. Seeing that she was frowning, she wanted to come over to see her.
Ye Jia handed her the letter, and she looked at it twice with a unhappy expression.
The two looked at each other, and Ye Simei spoke: "Could it be a mistake?"
She read the letter again from beginning to end to make sure she had read it correctly. Then she turned her head and said, "Sister, tell me, was Fifth Sister deceived or kidnapped?"
Ye Jia's thoughts mirrored those of Ye Simei. With Ye Wumei's personality, she had no intention of getting married. It was impossible that after suffering a setback in her marriage, she would foolishly marry someone old enough to be her father. If she hadn't been hit in the head, she must have been threatened.
Ye Jia couldn't just ignore what was happening to Ye Wumei. Last time, because of her inattention, Ye Wumei was nearly driven to death by the old couple of the Ye family. This time, Ye Jia would see to it. However, the group couldn't delay their journey back to Yanjing. After much deliberation, Ye Jia decided to have Ajiu escort Yu Ruijie, Xiao Shubai, and the others first, while she took a detour from Huizhou and Huizhou to see for herself what was going on.
Ajiu initially hesitated to agree, but then he thought about it. The Lingnan Army had already surrendered. Liu Yuan and Guo Huai were leading the Anxi Army in the south, eliminating the danger there. If Liu Yuan and Guo Huai were dispatched ahead of time, nothing would go wrong. So he agreed.
In this way, Ye Jia and Yu Shubai went their separate ways in Jizhou.
It wasn't too far to go from Jizhou to Huizhou. Ye Jia ordered his men to ride as fast as they could, and they arrived in Huizhou in less than a month.
By coincidence, Ye Jia had just arrived in Huizhou and, having failed to meet Ye Wumei, had instead encountered the Cheng family's caravan on the official road. As Dayan gradually settled, trade ports linking to the five kingdoms of the Western Regions opened. Due to the imperial court's crackdown, the once arrogant Huizhou and Shanxi merchants had become more docile. Now, caravans from Beiting would also travel south to purchase goods.
After Cheng Yi followed Zhou Jingchen into battle, Cheng Feng became the heir of the Cheng family. Naturally, Cheng Feng was the leader of the team this time.
The two teams met at the inn. Cheng Feng almost swung his tail like a whirlwind when he saw Ye Jia getting off the carriage, if he had a tail. Seeing someone coming in from the right, he didn't care about the public and rushed directly in front of Ye Jia.
Huanpei and Xiaoli drew their swords and stopped him from coming any closer. Cheng Feng stood not far away, grinning widely, "Madam, we meet again."
Ye Jia was truly helpless. This Cheng Feng simply didn't take his head seriously. If he had been so reckless before, he was bullying. Now that Zhou Jingchen was in that position, he still dared to do so. This was truly audacious.
Nodding slightly at him, Ye Jia decided not to stay downstairs and went straight upstairs.
Cheng Feng had some sense of propriety and didn't deliberately follow her. But even if he hadn't, it was almost the same. He stood downstairs, staring at her. His eyes were so intense that she wanted to draw her sword and chop him down. Ye Jia was sure that if Zhou Jingchen were here, he would probably gouge his eyes out. He was truly fearless.
"Master..." Huanpei truly disliked Cheng Feng, fearing that any of his actions would bring bad reputation to Ye Jia. "Should we change inns?"
To get here as quickly as possible, Ye Jia rode the carriage non-stop. The bumpy ride day and night had her bones practically broken. She shook her head and asked Xiaoli to fetch some hot water. "It's okay. Even though Cheng Feng might be acting crazy, he won't go too far."
Huanpei muttered something and retreated quietly.
Ye Jia saw Ye Wumei again three days later, and it took some time for him to send people to inquire about her.
Ye Wumei appeared before Ye Jia, looking completely different. She was wearing a rich, peach-colored dress and delicate makeup. She had lost a lot of weight, looking lifeless. Four stout, fierce-looking women followed behind her. When they saw Ye Jia, they only glanced up and said nothing.
The fifth sister's face lit up for a moment, then fell silent again: "Sister."
Ye Jia frowned and looked at the four maids, his eyes falling on Ye Wumei's face.
After a moment, he only said: "What's going on? Tell me."
Ye Wumei pursed her lips and wanted to say something, but a maid behind her coughed and she immediately shut up.
Ye Jia's expression suddenly turned ugly.
"Xiaoli, Huanpei."
Xiaoli didn't say anything, and pulled out the long sword from her waist with a bang.
The four maids hadn't expected the seemingly delicate girl to be armed with a sword. After a moment's surprise, they immediately lunged at her, ready to engage. Regardless of their size, four untrained maidens could only bully the powerless girl; they were no match for a skilled practitioner. Without even Huanpei's help, Xiaoli single-handedly dispatched her in the blink of an eye.
The four maids collapsed to the ground, and Ye Wumei threw herself into Ye Jia's arms and burst into tears, "Sister..."
Ye Jia was about to ask more, but hearing her crying so miserably, his heart softened. He ordered his men to tie up all four women and throw them into the corner. Ye Jia patted her on the back.
Ye Wumei cried for half an hour before she stopped, her eyes were swollen like walnuts.
This story isn't complicated; it's just that life in those days was difficult for women. When Ye Wumei left Luntai, she was determined to make a career. She carried nearly three hundred taels of silver with her. She headed south, hoping to open a restaurant in Jiangnan. However, her plans didn't pan out. Shortly after leaving Luntai, she encountered a scammer and had her bag stolen.
She had learned this from Ye Jia in the past. In addition to putting silver in her bag, she also sewed silver bills into the seams of her clothes.
Although her silver was stolen, she still made her way to Huizhou. Knowing that unmarried women in Dayan were not allowed to own property, she pretended to be a widow from exile and attempted to register as a "female household" at the government office. However, despite her good intentions, the government office demanded payment but refused to process the application. She spent nearly half her savings on the process, and when she finally succeeded, she was unlucky enough to be noticed by the brother of the local county magistrate's wife.
The old pervert saw the charming young woman and her striking appearance. He secretly sent people to investigate and learned that she was a widow who had fled from the north and had no social status or background. He then attempted to abduct her.
Even a weak woman like Ye Wumei couldn't hide, and even stronger men couldn't defeat her, let alone a wealthy businessman with connections to the government. Within days, she was kidnapped and taken home by the old pervert. Ye Wumei tried to escape, mentioning her unusual status. But the old pervert, a local tyrant, didn't believe her and assigned four sturdy servants to keep her under guard.
Ye Wumei had been naughty and cunning, but she was arrested before she even left Huizhou. Ye Jia's veins throbbed as he heard this, and he was furious: "Whose servants are these?"
"Yeah." Ye Wumei had left Luntai with great ambitions, but she hadn't imagined life outside was as easy as she thought. The world was vast, and people were treacherous. She didn't have the foresight or experience, and every step was difficult.
"Isn't it okay?" She was only seventeen years old, still a child in Ye Jia's eyes. He shouldn't have let her go alone.
Ye Wumei's face was a little grim, as if she was extremely ashamed. After a long while, she nodded and said with difficulty, "I persuaded that old man to not touch me before I had a legitimate relationship with him, but he still didn't get any advantage. Luckily, my sister arrived just in time."
Ye Jia exhaled deeply and felt relieved: "That's good, as long as everything is fine."
In the past, Ye Jia would have been more conciliatory. But now, there was no need to be so cautious. A ruthless look flashed in Ye Jia's eyes, and he said calmly, "Xiao Li, send a letter to Liu Yuan and ask him to come and have a proper talk with the Huizhou County Magistrate."
Xiaoli kicked the old woman on the ground and replied, "Yes."
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