One thing after another, it was already noon.
After quickly filling her stomach, Hua Zhi went to the backyard of the government office where Zhu Ling lived. It could not be said that Zhu Fang's affairs were her responsibility, but she had to make the trip out of emotional and rational considerations.
Zhu Ling saw that her expression was a bit complicated. He didn't expect his daughter to be injured like this. But he was not in the right. Fang'er should never have taken the initiative to attack.
"I'm sorry about your daughter's matter."
Zhu Ling sighed and shook her head. "With her status, she's not much better than this."
"I'll apologize to Miss Zhu in person."
"No need to do that. It's very thoughtful of the young lady to come here. I will explain the truth to her."
"Well, thank you Lord Zhu for your concern." Hua Zhi gave it some thought and decided not to insist. From previous rumors, she knew that Zhu Fang was a bit arrogant. If she went over to him and said anything now, it would only add fuel to the fire. It would be good if she could teach him a lesson.
After leaving Zhu Ling, Hua Zhi pressed the back of her neck and asked, "Where is General Lu?"
"I have arranged a room for him to rest."
After calculating the time, Hua Zhi decided not to disturb them for now and said, "Let's go out and take a look."
But she bumped into someone she didn't intend to disturb in the front yard. Lu Peiyu bowed from a distance and asked, "Young lady, are you going out?"
Hua Zhi bowed and said, "I was planning to go check out the situation outside. Why isn't General Lu resting in the house?"
"I was just about to go out to digest my food, wanna join me?"
Hua Zhi agreed without any objection, and simply decided not to take the carriage, and asked someone to bring the horse.
When Lu Peiyu saw her climbing onto the horse, he knew that she was no novice and he became even more curious. He had seen the daughter of the Hua family before. She was a lady from a noble family with no faults of hers. This girl had the charm of the Hua family, but the things she knew were definitely not what a girl should know. He didn't know how she grew up to be like this.
The deserted street was extremely empty, and the sound of horse hooves disturbed the silence.
The well-arranged houses on both sides, the spacious main street, the gurgling Lotus River, the huge market town on the east side, etc., all of these still vaguely reflect the prosperity of the former small capital city, but upon closer inspection one can still see its decadence.
The houses have not been repaired for a long time, the shop steps are covered with moss, the market is dilapidated, and even the Lotus River is not as clear as it used to be. The decline of a city begins to show in these aspects.
A few riders stopped not far from the market town, where a few people were squatting or standing here and there, and from time to time some people came out of the market town.
Jia Yang came back after a while, "They invited the village head and the elders of each village to identify people. Those whose identities are confirmed can come out. Every half hour, there will be palace soldiers to send them out of the city. Now more than half of the houses are empty. I think it should be cleared out today."
Hua Zhi nodded slightly. It was quite good that they came up with the rules so quickly. So it is said that there is no one who can't do things who can enter the government. It just depends on whether he is willing to do his job seriously.
I went around the residential area again and saw several groups of people going door to door to question people. Although it was still difficult to avoid putting on police airs, it was barely accomplished in terms of ensuring the safety of the people.
"What does the young lady want to see?" After walking around for a long time, Lu Peiyu asked curiously.
"I just want to feel at ease." Hua Zhi gently squeezed the horse's belly and turned the horse's head back to the government office. "If I don't see it with my own eyes, I'm always worried that something will go wrong again. Yan Xi gave it to me, so I have to live up to his trust."
"Have you ever thought that no matter how well you do now, you are just helping others? The person who takes over may even overturn your plan completely?"
She had thought about it, how could she not have thought about it? She even thought that the people who came this time might be the political enemies of the Hua family. But whether a place is in chaos in her hands or in the hands of others is two different things. She can only take care of herself. As for what the person who takes over will do in the future, and whether Jin Yang will become better or worse in his hands, she really has no control over it.
She didn't need to tell others these words, she just said: "Since it is a wedding dress, it should be beautiful. I hope it will still be bright and beautiful in the future."
Is it bright and beautiful? Lu Peiyu smiled meaningfully. In the eyes of those people in Beijing, Jin Yang was a fresh, juicy and ripe peach. In order to grab this ripe peach, they would have to break their wrists. But if they really got it, they would know that it was a rotten peach. With Jin Yang's current situation, it would be difficult for ordinary people to achieve anything. Maybe they would even die here. He was waiting to see which unlucky guy would come.
Back at the government office, Hua Zhi handed the reins to the servant and turned to look at Lu Peiyu, "General, please move aside. I have something to discuss with you."
Lu Peiyu was not surprised and extended her hand to invite him.
The two went directly to Zhu Ling's study. Zhu Ling was writing something. When she saw them, she stood up and greeted them.
"Let me borrow your map to look at it."
Zhu Ling took out the map and was about to move the things on the desk when she heard the eldest girl say, "Just put it on the ground, it's convenient."
Putting it on the ground allows it to be seen from several directions without having to be crowded together. It is indeed more convenient. Zhu Ling put it in an open place and tactfully prepared to leave.
"No problem, you stay and listen, maybe you can help with some ideas."
"yes."
Lu Peiyu's eyes circled between the two of them, she raised her eyebrows but didn't ask any more questions.
"Jia Yang, tell me about your plan."
"yes."
Zhu Ling was confused, but Lu Peiyu understood a little bit. She immediately put aside all those random thoughts and moved to look at the map.
"It is more convenient to travel from the capital to Jinyang by water, so the two places have always traveled mostly by boat. This time, I plan to go by land, and I have good reasons." Jia Yang pointed at the horse farm, "The horses here are all good horses, and their breeds and appearance are better than those in the capital. It would be a waste to use them as racehorses. We should send them to the pastoral supervision, and they will be able to make the best use of them. With this reason, it is reasonable for our team to be larger."
"You mean to smuggle the silver into this group? Since we are all going back to Beijing, why not use water transport? The amount of silver is not small, it may be difficult to smuggle it."
"This batch of silver cannot be transported by water. Experienced people can tell how deep the ship's draft is. Besides, most horses are seasick. It is common for them to get sick after riding on a ship. Some of them never get better. Jinyang is not too far from the capital, so it is more appropriate for them to go by land."
Yes, Hua Zhi rubbed her brows. She was careless and didn't think about this. The amount of a ship's silver could be calculated just by looking at the draft. If she really did this, she would expose herself immediately.
"My idea is that this batch of silver and horses will be sent back to the capital by land by the master's people, and the rest of the silver to be handed over to the court will be brought back by you and Qi Su Si by boat. What do you think?"
Hua Zhi thought for a moment and said, "Leave before they arrive?"
"yes."
"Okay, you need to make arrangements and never let the news out."
Jia Yang bowed in response.
Zhu Ling understood. Was the young lady going to embezzle the money? This was not consistent with her previous attitude.
PS: The plot is very fragmented, and it almost drove me crazy to glue it all together naturally. I have only finished one chapter.