In the dead of night, on the deserted street, the sound of wheels rolling could be clearly heard.
After Lu Linyuan sent Jiang Yanxi to the inn, he thought that once Feng Shuo started to investigate him, he would not be able to hide his assets. He asked someone to take Jiang Yanxi to her room and told the innkeeper: "Once the city gate opens tomorrow, have the Dingjia Village staff in the inn take her to Dingjia Village for shelter."
Lu Linyuan once saved all the villagers in Dingjia Village. The villagers all remembered Lu Linyuan's kindness. After Lu Linyuan took over the inn as his base, in order to prevent others from planting spies, he recruited many people from Dingjia Village who were grateful to him.
The steward nodded: "I'll make a note of it."
Lu Linyuan didn't even have time to take a sip of tea before walking out again: "Tell the people below to keep their mouths shut. I didn't come to the inn tonight."
The manager agreed to everything.
Just as he was about to leave the inn, Jiang Yanxi, who had changed into a clean dress, chased him down from upstairs: "Brother Lu, is what happened tonight... very tricky?"
Lu Linyuan caught a cold and had a splitting headache. He just said, "I can handle it."
He raised his foot to leave, but asked again: "Are you sure that the person who saved you didn't tell you anything else or give you anything, but just let you leave?"
Jiang Yanxi looked at Lu Linyuan, hesitated for a moment, and shook her head: "She said she killed the person and it had nothing to do with me, so she asked me to leave."
Lu Linyuan looked at Jiang Yanxi with a look that was missing something. He forced a smile and nodded, saying, "Go to the countryside to hide for a while tomorrow morning. This inn will be discovered sooner or later."
When Jiang Yanxi heard that the inn would also be investigated, she finally realized that Lu Linyuan might not be able to deal with this matter. She pinched the corner of her clothes, hesitating whether to give the wolf fang given to her by the "woman" to Lu Linyuan.
But before she could make a decision, Lu Linyuan had already put on his cloak and walked out of the inn, leaving only one sentence: "Yan Xi, since you have changed your identity, just live in anonymity and think that everything in the past was just a dream. Now that you have woken up, forget everything."
Jiang Yanxi stood there in a daze. For a moment, she couldn't tell whether Lu Linyuan's words meant that she should put aside everything in the past and live a good life, or that she should forget everything that happened between them in the past.
Lu Linyuan walked to the front of the carriage and said to the steward who had chased him out, "Tell the maidservants who serve her to be careful. If they find any foreign objects on her, just take them away without making a sound."
After hearing this, the manager understood Lu Linyuan's attitude towards Jiang Yanxi and nodded.
A breath of cold wind choked his throat and eyes. Lu Linyuan coughed twice and got on the carriage.
He didn't mention the next place name, and Qingsong didn't dare to make his own decision, so he asked, "Sir, where are we going?"
Lu Linyuan put on his cloak but still felt cold. He closed his eyes and said, "Let's go to the government office."
Qingsong flicked the whip and the carriage drove into the endless night again.
Lu Linyuan leaned against the wall of the car, feeling the cold air in the car penetrate into his bones. Today, he had been investigating a case and looking for Jiang Yanxi at the same time, and his pair of cotton boots had been soaked by the snow. Now, the coldness was rushing up his body through the soles of his feet, chilling him to the bone.
It felt like something was blocking his chest, and he couldn't breathe in or out, making him feel suffocated and anxious.
He knew that Jiang Yanxi lied.
She said that she liked him and that she had traveled thousands of miles to Xizhou for him, but just like in her previous life, she would rather keep the secret for a stranger than trust him.
All his worries about looking for her all day and all night long became ridiculous at this moment. For the first time, Lu Linyuan began to ask himself whether it was worth it to use everything he had worked so hard for to protect her, only to receive her lies and defense.
He has done everything he can to maintain this relationship that has lasted for two lifetimes, but unfortunately, an invisible rift has already appeared between them.
Perhaps he wanted to do too much in this life, and at this moment Lu Linyuan felt really tired.
He fumbled to pick up the hot water bottle in the car. After being out for a whole day, the hot water bottle was cold and had lost its temperature.
Maybe human hearts are like this too. No matter how passionate they are at the beginning, there will always be a moment when they cool down completely.
The carriage suddenly stopped, and the driver pulled the reins, with a trembling tone: "Sir, there is an armored army ahead."
Lu Linyuan's eyelids twitched. He didn't expect it to come so soon.
***
As soon as the sun rose, the innkeeper arranged a carriage to take Jiang Yanxi out of the city.
The person who followed her to Dingjia Village was a young girl who helped in the kitchen of the inn. She was originally the daughter of a farmer in Dingjia Village, and she insisted on staying in the inn to work. Everyone working in the inn could see that she had some feelings for Lu Linyuan.
Because there were no maids in the inn, she was the one who served Jiang Yanxi last night.
When Jiang Yanxi went downstairs, the farm girl winked at the manager, meaning that she didn't find anything in the clothes that Jiang Yanxi had changed last night.
How could she know that what she wanted to do was written all over her face. Jiang Yanxi had been on guard against her and kept all her valuables close to her body.
Jiang Yanxi sat in the corner of the inn and had breakfast. There were many people coming and going in the inn, and there was a lot of news.
Jiang Yanxi was sipping rice porridge with a meat bun when she heard a table of diners talking about things in the capital. She couldn't help but prick up her ears.
"They say that serving the emperor is like serving a tiger. The Jiang family at least had a concubine. How can she be imprisoned just like that?"
"What's a concubine? The daughter of the Fan family is even an imperial concubine. She can be beheaded just like that!"
"The Fan family is rebelling, which is a serious crime that will implicate all nine generations of the family. How can the Jiang family be the same as the Fan family?"
"You may not know this, but the Jiang family and the Chu family are related by marriage. After Fan Wei and the Prince of Xinyang formed an alliance, they immediately decided to take Yongzhou as well. It is said that the Yongzhou defender Chu Changping deserted his post. The war was almost upon us, and without the commander, what was the point of fighting? If Yongzhou was lost, the Chu family should be beheaded! Who knew that the Chu family fled the capital, and Minister Jiang even helped stop the imperial guards at the city gate? The Jiang family deserved to be imprisoned! But this relative is really nice, and it is the Chu family that is really heartless!"
When Jiang Yanxi heard that all the members of the Jiang family were imprisoned, her heart sank. She accidentally knocked over the bowl of porridge but didn't care. She stood up and questioned the person who spoke: "Where did you hear the news?"
The guest who was talking was inexplicably yelled at by Jiang Yanxi, and he was feeling uncomfortable. But when he saw that it was a good-looking young lady, he calmed down a little and said, "It's just that the notice hasn't been posted in Xizhou City yet. The court has posted notices at the city gates of the prefectures and counties to the south. The Chu family deserves it. I heard that several of their grandsons have been arrested and are being escorted back to Beijing to be punished!"
Jiang Yanxi didn't care about the Chu family. She interrupted the guest and asked, "Is Minister Jiang also in prison?"
The customer thought she was a bit crazy, and his previous favorable impression of her disappeared. He said impatiently, "Of course."
Jiang Yanxi fell back onto the stool, tears streaming down her face.
She never thought that Minister Jiang would go to jail.
And it all started with the Chu family!
When the innkeeper came to urge her to get on the carriage and leave the city, Jiang Yanxi said with a firm look: "I'm not going to Dingjia Village. I want to go back to the capital."
The manager was startled. He did not dare to disobey Lu Linyuan's order and said, "Miss, please don't embarrass me."
The peasant girl who was serving Jiang Yanxi came in from outside. She had been holding back her hostility towards Jiang Yanxi before, but now it was written directly on her face: "In order to protect you, the young master was taken away by the military camp last night. Why are you still making trouble? Do you think it's not enough to harm him?"
The peasant girl had just heard from the servants of the inn that Lu Linyuan's servant Qingsong came to report last night that Lu Linyuan was taken away by the people in the military camp. Lu Linyuan asked them to send Jiang Yanxi away as soon as the city gate opened.
Jiang Yanxi was already distracted by the fact that Shangshu Jiang was imprisoned. When she heard from her that Lu Linyuan was taken away by people from the military camp, she was so frightened that her hands and feet turned cold.
She pushed aside the peasant girl and ran out: "I will turn myself in to the government and get Brother Lu out!"
The manager had not expected things to turn out like this, and he was so angry that he pointed at the peasant girl and said, "You screwed up, you'll have to bear the consequences!"
The peasant girl looked aggrieved, but more resentful.
Although she didn't know what had happened, she could clearly feel that Jiang Yanxi was related to Lu Linyuan's capture.
*****
Because she was used to it in the store, Jiang Yanyi got up a little late today. If the maid beside her hadn't reminded her while she was washing up, she would have forgotten that she had to pay her respects to Old Madam Chu in the morning.
She packed up quickly and rushed to the old lady's yard, not missing the time.
Chu Shubao and her two sisters were already there. The grandparents and grandchildren were talking in detail with smiles on their faces, and laughter could be heard from time to time.
Chu Huibao was so happy to see Jiang Yanyi that she smiled sweeter than anyone else.
When Jiang Yanyi saluted Old Madam Chu, he was still a little confused, wondering why this little girl smiled like a flower when she saw him.
As soon as she sat down, Chu Huibao said with a proud look on her face, "Finally I'm not the last one to come every time."
Old Madam Chu and her two sisters couldn't help laughing.
Madam Chu tapped her forehead and said, "Girl Yi, there are times when you need to get up early, but you only get up at that time every day."
Chu Huibao stuck out her tongue embarrassedly.
Madam Chu took Jiang Yanyi's hand again and said, "You must have been too busy with the antique soup. It won't hurt to sleep a little longer before getting up."
Jiang Yanyi felt guilty and was too embarrassed to say that he was used to sleeping in in the store.
After paying their respects, the grandparents and grandchildren had breakfast at the old lady's place. The cook in the kitchen cooked a soup with white fungus, lily and lotus seeds. The heat and time were well controlled. The white fungus was cooked until it was thick and tasted sweet in the mouth.
The lotus seeds have been cored and have no bitterness at all. The lilies and wolfberries floating on top of the Tremella soup look really nice.
After breakfast, Chu Yan returned to his own yard to read, while Jiang Yanyi was dragged by Chu Shubao to the yard to pick winter plums together. Chu Shubao wanted to use the plum petals to make rouge.
The two were picking flower branches when they heard, through a hanging flower door, some servants talking about the Chu family moving to Xizhou.
"No wonder the old servant from the capital was so wary of us. I heard that it was the third master of the mansion who deserted his post and handed Yongzhou over to the rebels! When the rest of the Chu family fled from the capital, the Jiang family, who were related to them, helped to stop the imperial guards. In the end, only the Chu family escaped from the capital, and the Jiang family was imprisoned!"
"This is too unfair! They still have the nerve to change the surnames of the two children of the Jiang family? If you ask me, the two children of the Jiang family are ungrateful wolves!"
Chu Shubao was so angry that she broke off a large piece of plum blossom branch and quickly walked around the hanging flower gate: "Which shrew dares to gossip here?"
The two maids sweeping the snow were startled. They looked at Chu Shubao and Jiang Yanyi who appeared at the hanging flower gate and said evasively, "Hello, young ladies."
Chu Shubao shouted, "What were you talking about just now?"
"This... I also heard it from outside, young lady, please don't be angry." The fat maid said embarrassedly.
These two maids were bought by the Chu family after they arrived in Xizhou. They were only responsible for doing rough work on weekdays.
Chu Shubao laughed angrily: "Did you hear it from outside? You are saying something without any basis, aren't you afraid of getting your mouth rotten?"
A stout servant woman sneered and said, "My dear lady, this is not something someone else made up. Notices have been posted at the gates of various counties and prefectures. You can shut up this old servant, can you shut up the mouths of everyone in the world?"
Chu Shubao was very angry at her sarcastic words. She rolled up her sleeves and tried to fight with the old woman, but was stopped by Jiang Yanyi.
Chu Shubao cursed: "What the hell! If it weren't for that old bastard Jiang Jingan deliberately delaying, would my aunt have died? This ability to confuse right and wrong is really eye-opening to me!"
The fat servant who was scolded said, "This is all written in the imperial edict. Young lady, please don't take your anger out on me."
When she mentioned the imperial edict, Jiang Yanyi's first reaction was that the emperor had deliberately released the news just to let Jiang Yanxi, who had fled to Xizhou, know that Minister Jiang was in prison.
But Shangshu Jiang was loyal to the court, and his only fault was helping Jiang Yanxi fake her death and leave the palace. It would be ridiculous to spread the charge of helping a concubine escape from the palace, so the emperor threw the dirty water on the Chu family.
Anyway, the Chu family is no longer loyal to him, and describing the Chu family as disloyal and unrighteous villains is exactly what the emperor wants.
Jiang Yanyi felt nauseous.
She didn't get angry and curse like Chu Shubao did. She just looked at the two maids and said, "It's not the place for a few lowly servants to comment on the affairs of my Chu family. Since you dare to speak ill of your master, I can't keep you!"
The skinny maid obviously didn't take Jiang Yanyi's words seriously: "Cousin, we were all bought by the old lady."
The fat maid also crossed her arms and said, "Given the current reputation of the Chu family, who would be willing to work in this mansion?"
The two of them sang the same tune, obviously thinking that Jiang Yanyi and Chu Shubao were both unmarried girls and easy to control.
Chu Shubao had indeed never seen such disgusting faces. She wished she could slap them dozens of times to feel better. She was almost crying with anger.
Jiang Yanyi squeezed Chu Shubao's hand, looked at the two maids calmly and said, "Grandmother is old and kind to the servants in the mansion. Are you trying to get ahead of me and act arrogantly? I want to see if my Chu family can't buy other servants without you two!"
Jiang Yanyi quickly called the housekeeper over, asked the guards to drag the two maids to the outer courtyard, and also called the other newly bought maids over.
The two maids had never seen such a scene before, and they panicked. They were carried by the guards and cried and begged for mercy: "My two young ladies, I will never talk nonsense again. Please have mercy on me!"
Jiang Yanyi ignored them.
The reason why they were called to the outer courtyard for handling was because we were worried that they would start making a fuss and alarm the old lady.
Although these new servants were punished when they entered the mansion, rumors about the Chu family were spreading rampantly outside. If they were not made to serve as a warning to others, there would probably be people gossiping about them in the future.
Chu Changping asked her to live back in the Chu family for a few days because he wanted her to keep the people under control.
But Chu Shubao was with her. As the eldest daughter of the Chu family, Chu Shubao was in a better position to say these things. Jiang Yanyi also didn't want to be known as someone who meddled in other people's business and cause gossip, so as to avoid damaging the relationship between the sisters.
Seeing that all the servants in the mansion were almost gathered, she whispered to Chu Shubao and told her what to do next.
Although Chu Shubao had learned housekeeping from Liu, she had never really put it into practice. She was still a little nervous when she suddenly had to establish her authority in front of so many people.
Jiang Yanyi whispered to her, "You can be a little more aggressive, that way you can calm them down, otherwise there will be servants who will gossip about you in the future."
When Chu Shubao thought of the nonsense the two maids said, she became furious. She clenched her fists and said, "I will curse them to death!"
When the servants of the Chu family saw the two maids being forced to kneel in the snow, they couldn't help but talk about it.
Jiang Yanyi gave the butler a look, and the butler told the servants to be quiet.
Chu Shubao shouted, "You are all servants bought by my Chu family. You know how my Chu family has treated you these days! These two traitors dare to criticize their master. My Chu family will never tolerate this!"
"Two hundred slaps on each person, their mouths smashed and they'll be sold! If anyone does this again, we won't show any mercy!"
Soon, the guards held down the two old women and started slapping them in the face with their big hands, using all their strength in each slap.
The two maids could bear it at first, but later they couldn't help screaming.
"Everyone on the street is talking about it. Do you want to slap them one by one?" The fat maid's face was swollen like a pig's head. She wanted to struggle but couldn't, and she screamed in pain.
Chu Shubao looked at her coldly: "I don't care what others say, but as a servant of the Chu family, you take the monthly salary from the Chu family, but you are dirty-mouthed. You came to my house to be the ancestor, so do I have to support you two?"
This act of killing a chicken to scare the monkey was very successful. The servants of the Chu family were all given a warning, and even if they heard any news from outside, they dared not spread it.
Chu Shubao sent the two maids to prison, but she was still not completely satisfied. She asked the servant to go outside to get information about the Chu family, to see how outrageous the rumors could be.
The servant went out and brought back the news that Chu Chengmao and Chu Chengbai were arrested by the imperial court. After all, Chu Shubao was just a girl who had never been a head of household. She was so frightened that she didn't know what to do and cried in Jiang Yanyi's arms.
Jiang Yanyi strictly ordered the servant not to pass the news to the old lady's room, and comforted Chu Shubao: "Uncle has already taken people to rob the prisoner car, and cousin and the others will all return safely."
Chu Shubao sobbed and asked, "You knew this all along?"
Jiang Yanyi hesitated for a moment, but still nodded, "Uncle kept it from you because he was afraid that you would worry too much."
Chu Shubao sobbed a bit: "No wonder my father and second uncle drank all night the night before yesterday. He must be worried about this matter too."
Jiang Yanyi patted Chu Shubao on the back and said, "Grandma must not know that cousin Chengmao and the others were arrested."
There is an old saying among the people that the older people are, the more difficult it is to go through winter every year. The death of Mrs. Jiang had already made Mrs. Chu sick. If she found out that something happened to her grandson, she would probably get sick again. The old lady's body could not withstand such hardship.
Chu Shubao nodded, as if she regarded Jiang Yanyi as her backbone, and asked: "What about those rumors outside?"
Jiang Yanyi sighed and said, "There are so many mouths in the world, it's impossible to control them. Rumors stop at wise people."
Over time, these discussions naturally faded away. If you want to cover up those rumors immediately, unless something bigger happens to attract the attention of the people.
Jiang Yanyi really had no choice.
After careful consideration, Chu Shubao decided to tell Liu about her brother's arrest. Although Liu was petty and short-sighted, she was able to distinguish right from wrong.
After crying for a while, Liu also realized that the Chu family cannot be in chaos now. She has been the housekeeper for decades. Although she can't say how well she manages the family, she has never made any big mistakes. She is much more experienced than the novice Chu Shubao. She taught Chu Shubao how to discipline servants step by step.
The Chu family has been reorganized from top to bottom, and is now as solid as an iron barrel. Jiang Yanyi finally feels relieved.
The notice posted by the emperor was obviously unfavorable to the Chu family, and Chu Changping left Yongzhou because of himself. Jiang Yanyi decided to find Feng Shuo to discuss it.
She didn't know that at this moment Feng Shuo was also gathering his generals and staff to discuss matters together.
The staff members had different opinions on how to deal with Lu Linyuan and they argued till their faces turned red and their necks became thick.
"Grand Scholar Lu is a great scholar of the time. How many Confucian scholars would criticize him if the new emperor demoted him? If his only son died in Xizhou, given Grand Scholar Lu's prestige among Confucian scholars, I'm afraid the whole world would be filled with articles criticizing the prince. Lu Linyuan cannot be killed! He cannot be killed!"
"Most loyal people are butchers, and most unfaithful people are scholars! Do you think a few Confucian scholars' articles are enough? Lu Linyuan sheltered a Turkic spy, which is a crime of treason. He has refused to admit his guilt so far. Why can't he be killed? If I were Master Lu, and I gave birth to such an unfilial son, I would pick up a knife and chop him up myself!"
"That's just the words of a reckless man! There's no point in defending yourself!"
"you… "
When the staff and generals were about to continue arguing, Chi Qing walked in quickly from outside and said with a folded hand, "Your Highness, Song Lushi has escorted a woman here. She claims to be the person rescued by Lu Linyuan last night."
"Could it be a trick?"
"It's better to interrogate him."
The staff members started arguing again.
Feng Shuo, who was sitting at the top, spoke in a deep voice: "Let Yuan Yi go and identify the person to see if it is the woman who escaped last night. Chi Qing, go and interrogate Lu Linyuan again and tell him that the woman surrendered herself. After the interrogation, compare the two people's statements and see if they are consistent."
Chi Qing took the order and withdrew.
Feng Shuo looked at the staff in the hall, not wanting to listen to them arguing about how to deal with Lu Linyuan, so he asked, "What do you think should be done about the Chu family?"
The imperial notices were posted outside Xizhou City. Feng Shuo did not allow those notices to be posted inside Xizhou City, but the rumors were like a flood and could no longer be suppressed.
Chu Changping rarely interacts with his staff, but the generals basically recognize each other's abilities, and after they can have a drink and chat with each other, they will treat you as a brother who has shared life with you.
Soon, a general spoke up for Chu Changping: "The imperial edict clearly confuses right and wrong! When General Chu and his family left the capital, Jiang Jing'an clearly obstructed them, so how could he be said to be helping them hold back the imperial guards? I think the young emperor saw that you, Your Majesty, had gained a powerful general, so he deliberately smeared the Chu family's reputation!"
An aide hesitated and said, "It is true that Yongzhou fell and Chu Changping was not in Yongzhou. This crime can never be washed away. If the prince wants to start a rebellion in the future, his generals will have a reputation for abandoning the city and fleeing, which is not conducive to winning over forces."
As soon as this was said, a general immediately retorted: "Fan Wei and Prince Xinyang rebelled without fear of the spit of the people. General Chu just doesn't want to serve the court! Can he be scolded?"
They didn't know where the hatred between the Chu family and the emperor came from. They just thought that Chu Changping had wanted to surrender to Feng Shuo since a long time ago, so he moved all the way from Yongzhou to Xizhou and brought all the family members from the capital to prevent the emperor from using his family members as hostages.
Feng Shuo listened to the speeches of his staff and generals without saying anything.
He was also thinking about the new emperor's intention in making this move.
The new emperor was afraid of this stain before and didn't dare to act rashly, but now he seems to have gone crazy, as if he is not afraid at all that he will be exposed by his side for what he did, or... he wants to achieve a more important purpose and can't take it into account at all.
Feng Shuo thought for a long time but couldn't come to any conclusion.
But since it concerned Jiang Yanyi's reputation, he couldn't reveal the fact that Jiang Yanyi had been punished by the new emperor to serve as a prostitute in the Xizhou camp.
The staff below are still arguing.
A charcoal brazier was burning in the study, and the windows were opened for ventilation. From time to time, cold wind came in through the window. A thick layer of snow fell on the lush green pine and cypress trees in front of the window. Perhaps there was too much snow, and the branches of the pine and cypress could not bear it, so they shook off a lot of broken snow when they fell down.
Feng Shuo seemed to have made up his mind, his eyes were as dark as the night sky: "Chu Changping can be a talented general."
When these words were spoken, no one in the room objected.
It is easy to find talented generals, but it is difficult to find talented commanders who can plan and strategize.
He said in a deep voice: "The battle of Yongzhou was not because Chu Changping deserted his post, but because he led his old subordinates to join me!"
As soon as these words came out, the room fell silent.
The staff and generals were stunned for a while before they asked in ecstasy: "Your Majesty, are you going to start a rebellion yourself?"
Feng Shuo raised his eyes slightly: "Why not?"
Sooner or later he would rebel against the court. The new emperor wanted to discredit the Chu family, so if he continued to use Chu Changping in the future, he would inevitably be criticized. He might as well start a rebellion and cover up the dirty water that the new emperor had thrown on the Chu family.
The staff and generals were all ecstatic, kneeling down and shouting, "We pay our respects to the Emperor!"
The author has something to say: The second update is a little late, the author has tried his best to compensate everyone in terms of word count qaq~
The male protagonist’s career is on the rise, and next is the female protagonist’s career of becoming the richest person!
I wish all the cute students who are taking the postgraduate entrance examination today can perform exceptionally well, get all the answers they guessed right, and make it to the shore! All of you can make it to the shore smoothly! (Work hard.jpg)