Trip to Jiangnan (4)
Inside the Ganlu Palace, Jiang Yi lay limp on the bed. The gold and jade hairpins had the opposite effect, making her look as thin as a pale sheet of paper.
Since Rong Zhang's incident, she has fallen ill, and her condition has been fluctuating for several months without improvement.
This is why Rong Zhang, who was forbidden from leaving the Eastern Palace, was able to have two hours to visit his son.
He was dressed in plain clothes, with empty sleeves, looking like a skeleton supporting the clothes.
The mother and son looked at each other in silence, and even in this predicament, they still resembled each other.
The moment Jiang Yi saw him, two lines of tears fell down her cheeks. She reached out and gently touched his sunken face inch by inch.
The once vibrant expression on his face, now gaunt and unrecognizable, had turned into a sinister look.
He raised his hand and grasped Jiang Yi's hand, his previously concealed guilt fully revealed. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Mother..."
When Jiang Yi's hand landed on his head, his tears of regret broke free, and the tears of a flamboyant person flowed even more freely.
"It's my fault for being too willful, causing my mother and uncle to end up like this..."
Jiang Yi has always been his pillar of support, both in the past and in the future.
"There's no need to bring up the past. You weren't the one who caused all this." She raised her hand to wipe away his tears, took out a letter and handed it to him. "This is from your uncle. Take a look."
At this moment, Rong Zhang still did not understand the meaning behind Jiang Yi's words.
Rong Zhang took out the letter from the already opened envelope. Before he could finish reading it, his hand, which was tightly gripping the letter, began to tremble.
"You bitch!"
After scolding, Rong Zhang looked helpless, like a child who had made a mistake, and said to Jiang Yi, "Mother, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it was me."
Jiang Yi's voice was weak, but her words of comfort still had an effect. "Take this as a lesson for the future. Since Rong Xuan was prepared, this was bound to happen sooner or later. And that Yan Congjin, a mere official in charge of imperial documents, we really underestimated her in the past."
The letter mentioned that Yan Qing was also involved in Rong Xuan's framing of Rong Zhang; that is, the female official Yan Congjin who was dealt with by them.
Having just escaped from the palace, the fact that a scapegoat with the same appearance and build was found suggests that someone else was behind it all.
As for who that person is, it's already very clear.
"Yan Congjin is Yan Qing, and the Boss Yan who suddenly appeared in the capital is also her. In addition, she has close ties with Rong Xuan and the Cheng family. She is not someone to be underestimated. Although she has left the capital, we cannot act rashly. She has such abilities, and we need to plan carefully to deal with her."
"I will heed Your Majesty's teachings." This was the first time Rong Zhang had listened to Jiang Yi's instruction so earnestly; he seemed to have undergone a complete transformation.
Two hours later, before being forcibly asked to leave, Rong Zhang left behind a final promise uttered through gritted teeth.
"Mother, please take care of yourself. Rong Xuan, Rong Xiao, I will make them pay for everything they did today, one by one. And..."
"Yan Qing."
Yan Yang sent someone to ask Yan Qing if she was free today, as she and Rong Xiao were going to go boating on Ming Lake and hoped that Yan Qing and Fang Bi could go together as well.
Since her hasty departure last time, Yan Yang has frequently extended invitations, wanting to spend more time with her. A few days ago, she even personally delivered a kitten. It's easy to guess that she learned from Rong Xiao that Yan Qing often interacts with cats in the capital, and thus came to get closer to her.
However, Yan Yang always knew how to maintain a good balance. When she noticed Yan Qing's slightest hint of rejection, she would withdraw her outstretched branches, allowing Yan Qing to gradually lower her guard without becoming annoyed.
Take Dahuang for example. Yan Yang brought it over unintentionally, and Yan Qing took the initiative to touch it before Yan Yang offered to give it to her. Yan Yang's purpose was thus naturally achieved.
The kitten has arrived.
The big yellow dog slowly walked to Yan Qing's side and patted her shoulder with its paw.
It's time for a snack.
Yan Qing was both amused and exasperated. She got some food for it and broke it into small pieces to feed it.
Dahuang is an orange cat, a very individualistic and punctual kitten. It eats, sleeps, and plays at fixed times every day. If anyone breaks its rules, it will wave its soft, fluffy white paws and gently slap the troublemaker.
Dahuang has another important rule: it won't eat large pieces of food; someone has to break them into small pieces to feed it. It's clear that it has been pampered since it was a baby.
Dissatisfied with Yan Qing's feeding, it immediately jumped into Fang Bi's arms.
Fangbi caught it steadily, and then, by muscle memory, began to feed Dahuang some dried shrimp.
She had read Yan Yang's invitation and knew that Yan Qing was going, but she was still puzzled: "If you don't want to have anything to do with the Yan family, why are you still contacting them?"
Upon hearing this, Yan Qing fed the last bit of dried shrimp to Da Huang, patted its bottom, and let it find a place to fall asleep.
After doing all that, she looked at Fangbi and said in a consultative tone, "What do you think about using them to enhance the reputation of Xiyuan Pavilion?"
She didn't deny Fangbi's previous statement, but she didn't continue the topic either; she hadn't thought it through yet.
Perhaps because Yan Qing's intentions were too obvious, Fang Bi was a little slow to react. After regaining her senses, she followed Yan Qing's words and thought about it. After a moment, she nodded, "The Yan family has a good reputation, and Rong Xiao is the Prince of Qi. They are a good choice. But how should we proceed?"
Yan Qing smiled mysteriously, somewhat deliberately enigmatic: "I can find out what they're investigating."
Fangbi didn't doubt her words, but she was a little worried that Yan Qing's involvement might be too deep and could be dangerous.
Although the matter Rong Xiao and Yan Yang were investigating did not involve direct confrontation, it was certainly not safe.
Rong Xiao stayed in Yunzhou for a long time to clean up the mess caused by the corruption of taxes in Jiangnan.
He had already taken care of this matter at the beginning of the year. The Yunzhou magistrate and other relevant officials involved had been punished according to the law. However, he still felt that Yunzhou was shrouded in gloom, so he stayed there to conduct a thorough investigation in secret.
Although Rong Xiao and Rong Xuan are brothers, their personalities are quite opposite.
Rong Xuan is suspicious, but Rong Xiao is trusting and unguarded.
Although Yan Yang was trying his best to bring Yan Qing back to the Yan family, and Rong Xuan also wrote a letter to Rong Xiao, the two of them implicitly acted as her guarantors. However, Rong Xiao's honesty and trust in Yan Qing still surprised her.
When he and Yan Yang told her the whole story and invited her to investigate together, Yan Qing was stunned for a full minute.
To this day, we still don't know exactly how Rong Xuan introduced Yan Qing to Rong Xiao.
"Why not enjoy the excitement?" Yan Qing readily agreed.
Fangbi stopped following Yan Qing and started working on the affairs of Xiyuan Pavilion.
Having served under Rong Xuan for so long, she was naturally more capable of handling this kind of task, so Yan Qing entrusted it to her and went around with Rong Xiao and Yan Yang.
She followed the two men for a month and basically grasped their progress. They had found the largest theater in the city, but that was where they stopped.
Yan Qing often waited with the two of them in the theater, and occasionally she would spend time alone with one of them, which allowed her to get to know them better.
She remained calm and unhurried, while the other two were somewhat anxious. Their days of surveillance had yielded no results, and the stone they had accidentally dropped into the lake had already scared away the fish. It seemed that the clues were about to be completely lost.
Fortunately, Fangbi had already made the arrangements and recruited several dozen people as subordinates of Xiyuan Pavilion, which was enough.
Regarding Xiyuan Pavilion, Yan Qing thought that she didn't need anyone else to gather information for her. Now, she was like a monitor of the world, and the kitten was her eyes. Wherever the kitten was, Yan Qing knew it perfectly well.
She only needs a few people to deliver messages for her. More people would cause management problems. Besides, with more people around, it's hard to guarantee that no one will suspect Yan Qing.
It would be better to only recruit messengers and further obscure the source of the information, making Xiyuan Pavilion even more mysterious and unpredictable.
Fangbi scattered all the people she found to various places, holding their life-and-death contracts in her hands.
It's time to bring Xiyuan Pavilion into the public eye.
Although Yan Qing's reputation had not yet spread among the common people after he had been in Yunzhou for several months, it had already become known among the cats.
Rumor has it that as long as you go to her residence, there will be delicious food, and all your pain will fly away if she touches you.
As a result, a steady stream of cats came to Yan Qing's door, all drawn by her reputation. Most of the kittens would eat and then leave, like heroes who had temporarily returned to replenish their energy. After eating and drinking their fill, they would continue to roam Yunzhou. The more carefree ones would simply bring their cubs to their door and then leave in style.
Yan Qing was naturally very happy.
According to Yan Qing's observation, Fang Bi is the same; she is also a potential hardcore cat lover.
This is specifically reflected in some of Fangbi's actions that are very inconsistent with her personality.
After discovering that the cats were always clinging to her, Fangbi began to secretly acquire the same items as her: clothes in the same color scheme, sachets filled with the same fragrance, and the same cat hairpins...
Finally, just as Fangbi was about to become a carbon copy of Yan Qing, she stopped her blind actions and turned to Yan Qing directly for an answer: "Why are they all so clingy to you?"
At that moment, Yan Qing was snuggling with the kitten when she heard Fang Bi's serious question. She raised the kitten's paw and waved it at her a few times, proudly declaring, "Because I am a fairy!"
The kitten meowed, seemingly agreeing with her.
It was infuriating, but Fangbi nodded and accepted the situation, then went to pet the helpless kitten.
However, while the two of them thoroughly enjoyed petting the cats, there were other cats that weren't to their liking.
rhubarb!
Since more and more kittens have come to eat at the banquet, Da Huang's sense of crisis has been rising rapidly. Specifically, when Yan Qing accidentally wakes it up, it doesn't slap her with its claws, but instead rolls over to expose its belly and obediently lets her pet it.
Unfortunately, it's easier to change mountains and rivers than to change a cat's nature.
After several days of persistence, the number of cats coming to visit didn't decrease, but rather increased, and Da Huang was exhausted.
Now, Big Yellow is completely lying flat, unmoved no matter how much you move around, and it hits even harder.
Sometimes, after leaving a red paw print on Yan Qing and Fang Bi, Da Huang would realize he had hit them too hard and would guiltily rub his head against it, as if using himself as an eraser to try and wipe away his incriminating evidence.
When it's time to do other things, it will self-disciplinedly carry out its plan, regardless of whether you wiped it off or not.
They were left speechless, both amused and exasperated.
In the early morning, after feeding and watering the cat, the two went out to keep their appointment for the cruise.
Although the trip was intended to be for leisure and relaxation, the conversation inevitably turned to the opera house.
Yan Qing casually asked, "Have you heard of Xiyuan Pavilion?"
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