Ning Yao shook her head, finding it somewhat amusing. Her parents were very loving, and her father was willing to spoil her mother, which was truly enviable.
"Father, Mother, I'm here."
Ning Yao knocked on the door, and a flurry of activity came from inside before the door opened.
Ning Wenyi almost cried when he saw his daughter suddenly appear before him.
My daughter has finally arrived! It's been such a long time!
"Come in quickly, come in quickly!" Ning Wenyi pulled Ning Yao inside and then closed the door.
As soon as Ning Yao stood still, Madam Ning rushed over and hugged her tightly: "My daughter, you've finally arrived! Was your journey safe? Were you in any danger? Are you hurt?"
She spat twice more as soon as she finished speaking: "What are you saying? How could someone as strong as Yao Yao get hurt!"
Ning Yao's heart softened, and she suddenly wanted to act cute.
She frowned and said in a pitiful voice, "My daughter isn't hurt, but her chest hurts a little."
Madam Ning was shocked and flustered: "Why would I have chest pain? There's nothing wrong with our family."
Ning Yao hugged her, rested her chin on her shoulder, and said with a look of longing, "My heart aches from missing you so much on this journey."
Madam Ning stiffened and didn't speak, but the next second she tightened her grip on Ning Yao.
"From now on, you'll stay by your mother's side and not go anywhere else, understand?"
Ning Wenyi looked longingly at the mother and daughter embracing and asked, "Um, can I join them?"
...
Nobody paid him any attention.
"Hey, I'm the head of the family, your husband and father, right? Can you give me a hug?"
...
Still, no one paid him any attention.
Ning Wenyi was a little sad. All that sweet talk about a caring daughter was fake!
After a long while, the mother and daughter reluctantly parted ways, only then noticing Ning Wenyi standing to the side with a worried expression.
"Dad, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Ning Wenyi glanced at her and sighed, "No."
Seeing that he was indeed alright, Ning Yao then got down to business: "I know about Zhilan's situation. I've rescued her and sent her out of the city."
"I captured the governor of Nanjiang City. He is currently outside the city with the young master. I sent the city lord to retrieve him, and I estimate he has already left the city by now."
Ning Wenyi asked, "Why capture Zhilan? Wouldn't capturing anyone else be more useful than capturing Zhilan?"
Ning Yao shook her head: "The Lin family in the capital was robbed, and they suspect me. They want to arrest my people and force me to hand over those things. The only person I'm closest to and who listens to me is Zhilan. Father, if you, Mother, or anyone else received that letter I wrote, would you have gone alone as instructed in the letter?"
Ning Wenyi and his wife exchanged a glance and both shook their heads.
“I share a room with your mother. If someone sends a letter, and it's one you wrote, we'll definitely show it to the recipient. Your brother and sister-in-law do the same. As for Dongyue and Zhimei, they'll definitely ask us for permission. Only Zhilan will listen to you.”
Ning Yao nodded: "That's right. Moreover, their target was Zhilan from the beginning, so their goal was very clear. However, now that I have rescued Zhilan, they have no bargaining chips, so we don't need to worry about what we do."
"What do you mean, daughter?"
Ning Yao recounted everything that happened on the road outside the city to them, omitting the part about being teased.
Upon hearing that yet another civilian had been murdered, Ning Wenyi was filled with rage.
"I'll go find your uncle, or we can act tonight!" Ning Wenyi said, turning and leaving.
Madam Ning told Ning Yao about a series of events that happened after they entered the city.
Ning Yao frowned and said, "Isn't Prefect Wen being such a spineless official?"
Madam Ning gently patted the back of her hand, pretending to scold her, "He was also a victim. His wife and children died at the hands of his colleagues. If it weren't for seeking justice for the people of Nanjiang City, he would have hanged himself the day we arrived. You would never say such a thing in front of him, lest you chill people's hearts."
"Mother, I understand, please rest assured. It's just that I feel these three official positions are really superfluous. Our dynasty's laws are not perfect and are full of loopholes, which is truly the responsibility of those in power!"
Madam Ning covered Ning Yao's mouth: "Why are you getting more and more out of line? Is this something you can discuss? Don't forget your status! As a concubine in the harem, leaving the palace without permission is already a serious crime, how dare you criticize His Majesty?"
Ning Yao stared wide-eyed at Madam Ning: "Mother, he himself has abandoned the capital, why should I still hold onto that position? Don't I know how to be flexible?"
"To tell you the truth, even if His Majesty hadn't left the palace, the Zhang family hadn't harbored any rebellious intentions, and the drought hadn't occurred, I would still have tried to find a way to escape. In fact, I would have prevented the imperial edict from reaching our family in the first place!"
"Those deep palaces can't confine me, and they won't confine me either. Our Ning family only needs one Empress Zhaohui. If such an honor were to befall the Ning family again, it would not be a blessing, but a disaster."
When Madam Ning first heard Ning Yao talk about this, she was surprised but mostly curious.
She was curious about how much her sixteen-year-old daughter could see through all of this.
At the same time, she felt a little relieved; of her two daughters, at least one of them could see reality clearly.
Madam Ning pulled her hand and sat her down, saying with a kind expression, "Tell me your thoughts?"
Ning Yao didn't refuse; she would speak if asked, since it was just the two of them here.
"The Zhang family's ambition is known to everyone in the court and the harem. So, where did the Zhang family's ambition come from? Did the Zhang family just appear out of thin air? Generation after generation of virtuous ministers have been favored by the emperor, rewarded with honors and power. They have prominent official positions in the court and the position of empress in the harem. How could their ambition not grow under such circumstances? The emperor's failure to exercise power is to blame!"
Madam Ning's eyes deepened.
"Human desires are endless. Once you reach a certain position, you will inevitably yearn for a higher one. The Zhang family is like that. Empress Zhang has a legitimate son by her side, who will be the future crown prince if nothing unexpected happens. But what if something unexpected happens, or what if something unexpected happens to the emperor? The maternal family is the prime minister, and the mother is the empress. Wouldn't it be easy for the Zhang family to control the emperor? As a subject, this is the double responsibility of disloyalty!"
"Even when Prince Duan was granted the power of regent, he chose to retire gracefully and not participate, which shows how formidable the Zhang family is."
Ning Yao's eyes were burning: "Mother, the Ning family has its own mission, but it is absolutely not to accept the emperor's favor and send ourselves to an abyss of no return."
"If I may speak unfilially, then if my parents, or even I, were no longer here, then when the Ning family falls from its peak a hundred years from now, all that will be left is shattered to pieces! I do not want the Ning family to end up like that."
A series of claps came from outside the door, which was then pushed open, and Ning Wenyi, Shen Wei, Wen Yuan, and others walked in.
"My niece is right!"
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