Song Zaishui's letter had not yet reached Xiliang City. Since Shangguan Shiyi finally surrendered, Wei Changying returned to Xiliang City with her husband.
Although they have been away for a few days, because Diecuiguan is also in Xiliang and Huang is in charge of the internal affairs in the ancestral hall, it is no different from when they were there. The house and courtyard are all cleaned up to perfection.
Looking at the bright and clean interior and exterior, Wei Changying nodded with satisfaction and said to Mrs. Huang, "Thank you for your hard work, aunt."
"It's all a servant's duty, what's the point of hard work?" Huang smiled and saw that Wei Changying was in good spirits, so she simply reported the matter to him, "A few days ago, over at Jiyuan, Mr. Ji sent Young Master Cao again. The castle master came here once, nominally to bring some local products, but the maid thought that the castle master Cao wanted to see the young lady for something, so the servant asked the young lady. As a result, the castle master Cao heard about the young lady. Since the young master and the young lady are not here, we will wait until the young madam and the young master come back. My servant originally wanted to write a letter to tell the young madam, but before the letter was written, I received the news that the young madam and the young master were coming back, so... "
"The little girl came here again?" Wei Changying was a little surprised, "She also sent another local product? But she didn't know what local product it was? Could it be that the people from Caojiabao dug up a second old ginseng plant somewhere? , or mountain delicacies such as Ganoderma lucidum and Shouwu?”
Huang said: "My maid guessed the same thing. She even told the person picking up the things to be careful! But when she took the things out and looked at them carefully, she found that they were all local products this time. They were just ordinary vegetables. , The maid was worried and took it to the small kitchen to select a part for cooking. She cut it all into pieces and looked at it... but there was nothing included. "
"Then she just wants to see us." Wei Changying smiled and said, "I don't know what the reason is this time?"
Madam Huang asked, "Do you want to see her, Madam?"
"Send someone to pick her up tomorrow." Wei Changying thought for a while and said.
That night, Wei Changying told Shen Zangfeng about the matter: "The Mengshan Gang seems to be unable to sit still."
"This is natural." Shen Zangfeng quickly took off her dress and said, "Previously, the Di people were defeated and split into two groups to fight against each other, so Lai Dayong wanted to defect. Now Ayitahu's The request for peace talks has been approved, how can Lai Dayong not become more anxious? "
"He is in Guanzhou, not in Xiliang." The captain of the guard, Yingren, picked up his husband, put his arms around his neck, kissed him, and asked with a smile, "Why is he anxious? Is he afraid that you will be freed from Di people?" Don’t let go of Caojiabao? Is his relationship with Caojiabao so close? Caojiabao is not so anxious now!”
Shen Zangfeng raised his head from her cheek and said with a smile: "He saw that I invited Brother Shangguan, and temporarily freed his hands due to external factors. He was afraid that he would be too late and not be able to become a confidant!"
"Hey, he actually came after your confidant?" Wei Changying asked in surprise, but she still wanted to say something, and Shen Zangfeng didn't have the patience to continue answering...
Early the next morning, the servants brought Cao Ya.
Wei Changying met her alone and asked about Ji Gu's health first. He was very happy to learn that Ji Gu was fine and could now walk with a stick, and ordered his surroundings to send more nourishing food to Ji Garden.
After such pleasantries, Wei Changying asked Cao Ya what happened when he came to look for him before.
To Qi Shankou, the general manager of Jiyuan, this wild girl was unruly and disrespectful to her elders. She was always shy in front of Wei Changying. When she asked, he didn't say much, so he took out a letter from his arms and handed it to her. Bring it to Shigure in the hall.
Wei Changying didn't accept the letter, so he handed it to Shi Yu and scanned it. Seeing that not a single word was left on the envelope, he asked Cao Ya, "What is this?"
Cao Ya whispered: "My grandfather gave it to me and asked me to give it to the young lady."
After asking a few more questions, I saw the little girl lowering her head and rubbing her clothes.
Anyway, Wei Changying can guess what is written in this letter. Ji Gu is also in Xiliang City - Wei Changying has been sued by Qi Shan several times, and his impression of Cao Ya is not very good, and he is not in the mood to see it. Tease her and send her back.
Cao Ya was taken out by Shi Yu, while Wei Changying handed the letter to Huang and opened it aside. After all, such a thin letter, even if it is tampered with, is poisonous. Huang, who studied under Ji Qubing, is not afraid of poison the most.
After a while, Huang finished checking it and handed it back to Wei Changying: "There was no manipulation in the letter."
Wei Changying nodded. In fact, she also felt that it was impossible for Ji Gu or Lai Dayong to tamper with the letter. It's just that the son of a rich man can't sit down in front of the audience. It has become a habit that such unexpected letters must be checked by others before they can be read in his hands.
After receiving the letter, before Wei Changying read it, a figure flashed at the threshold, and it was Shen Zangfeng who came in. His face was a little strange, with a hint of laughter.
Wei Changying put down the letter and asked, "What's wrong?"
Shen Zangfeng laughed and said: "I remembered that Brother Shangguan followed us to Xiliang City. Although we arranged a place for him, he always only had one servant around him. Do you want to add some maids to serve him? So I came here to follow Just tell me... I didn’t expect to meet the young fort master of the Cao family just now.”
"What happened to Cao Ya?" Wei Changying asked curiously, "Did she say something arrogant to you?" Qi Shan kept saying that Cao Ya often quarreled with Ji Gu and never called Ji Gu his grandfather in person. , they are all "old and immortal", very unfilial... Could it be that Cao Ya revealed her true colors as soon as she left him, and Shen Zangfeng happened to bump into her
However, Shen Zangfeng shook his head and said, "My servant led her out. When we met her on the road, my servant reminded her to salute me. As a result, the little girl raised her head and looked at me, and her face immediately changed. She seemed to be attracted by me. As if he was frightened, he hurriedly saluted, grabbed the servant's sleeve tightly, and hurried away as if he was using the servant as a shield."
Wei Changying was confused when he heard this and said, "Did she do something bad? It's just that she was very well-behaved in front of me just now."
Shen Zangfeng said: "Yes, Shen Die said she might be afraid of strangers? But I don't think she saw me once last time? Besides, when she didn't look up at me before, she wasn't that scared."
"Let Qi Shan inquire later." Although Wei Chief Ying just didn't have time to read the letter because his husband came in, he still saw that the letter's header was "Mengshan Gang Lai Dayong bows his head", so he handed the letter over, " You came just in time, this letter is for you."
Shen Zangfeng took the letter and read it carefully. Wei Changying also came over. The couple read the letter together and both smiled slightly.
Not only was the letter written by Lai Dayong, the leader of the Mengshan Gang, but Lai Dayong also readily expressed his intention to defect in the letter.
"It seems that Lai Dayong has a deep relationship with Caojiabao. It is not as simple as Caojiabao buying private salt from him." Wei Changying held his husband's arm and tilted his head and said, "He wants to defect to you, but he has not forgotten it. Take it with you to Caojiabao."
"Otherwise, I wouldn't have asked Ji Gu to forward this letter." Shen Zangfeng smiled slightly and said, "But since the letter said so, why are the gangs in Guanzhou so close to my refugee settlement in Xiliang? Just ask and you will know... There are three thousand residents of the Cao Family Fort, um, Shen Die, please go and invite Uncle Nine to come to the ancestral hall to talk."
Uncle Jiu is Shen Donglai, now the governor of Xiliang.
Because Lai Dayong's conditions for defecting, in addition to clearing the cases of people with criminal records in the Mengshan Gang, including him, he also made a request that the refugees in Caojiabao be allowed to return to their place of origin and be given land for their livelihood.
These two points were not difficult for Shen Zangfeng. For the first one, he wrote a letter to the Central Committee, and Shen Xuan and Shen Zhou discussed it with each family and it was concluded that the Holy Emperor likes to hear good news and hates all kinds of bad news. Especially the news of bandits appearing in the country, the Holy One does not like to hear the news the most. Every time he reports such reports, his subordinates will inevitably be angered by the Holy One.
As time went by, no one reported any news about the gangsters. It is said that the Mengshan Gang has been wreaking havoc in Guanzhou for quite a long time, but the Holy One still doesn't know about it. Therefore, if you want to close the case for them, you only need to discuss it with the Duanmu family in charge of the civil affairs department and destroy the case file directly.
The latter is even easier. Say hello to Shen Donglai, re-register the refugees in Caojiapu, and assign some land to each household... Many of them actually have land, but they can't bear the excessive taxes and miscellaneous taxes, so they abandon their land and leave. Rushing into Caojiabao. As long as the original fields of these people are returned to them and some taxes are reduced, it will be enough.
Shen Zangfeng obviously wanted to get these two things done immediately, so he sent someone to invite Shen Dong to come over on the spot.
Shen Dong, who had no ability himself and only relied on his father's quickness and accuracy in standing up for the position of governor of Xiliang, would never go against Shen Zangfeng's wishes.
Shen Zangfeng then wrote a reply saying that he could agree to both conditions and that he had already started working on it, and sent it to Jiyuan.
Lai Dayong was quite happy. After receiving the letter, he immediately brought only a dozen of his skilled helpers, disguised as business travelers, and went into Xiliang City alone. As usual, he asked Ji Gu for help and asked to see Shen Zangfeng.
"Your Uncle Lai from the neighboring county?" Wei Changying heard what Cao Ya said when he came to the door again. He thought for a moment that Lai Dayong and Cao Jiabao have a really close relationship. Could it be that Cao Ya calls him uncle? Became brother and sister with Mu Chunmian? As a result, the rumors that Li Mu Chunmian had an affair with Lai Dayong were no longer true.
But these were all trivial matters - Guard Chief Ying calmed down, followed Shen Zangfeng's previous instructions, and readily asked Cao Ya to tell her uncle to teach him to enter Mingpeitang through the corner gate in two days, and someone would be there to guide him.
Two days later, Wei Changying arranged for a tight-lipped servant to lead the way to the corner gate. The person would be taken to a secluded courtyard in the front yard, where Shen Zangfeng would be waiting. These were all official matters, so Wei Changying would not ask any more questions. , to deal with the backyard affairs accumulated when he left Xiliang City.
As a result, it was noon and Wei Changying had had lunch alone and was about to take a nap. The young maid chosen from the Shen family's children, Yanyu, rushed in. She didn't even ask the maid and the guard chief Ying, who were standing in the corridor with their hands down, whether they had fallen asleep at the moment. She rushed into the house and didn't wait for the ambassadors to scold her. He angrily reported: "Young madam, the group of people you just asked your maid to lead to meet the young master in the upper courtyard in the northeast corner want the young master to take concubines!" (To be continued)