Chapter 289 : Resisting The Decree

Children quickly grew as they changed every day.

When Yuxi saw Boy Ping in Changle Courtyard, she smiled and pinched his white and tender little face, saying, “Mother, doesn’t Boy Ping look bigger than he was a few days ago?” He was Lu Xiu’s second son and was named Ping, hoping that Han Jianye’s return would be smooth.

Qiu Shi said with a smile, “Children are like that. If you don’t see them for ten days or even half a month, you probably won’t even recognise them.”

Yuxi smiled a little and said, “Mother, when I went to see Grandmother yesterday, she was in a much better spirit.”

Because of the marriage withdrawal, the Old Lady was so angry with Qiu Shi and had been ill for a long time. But fortunately, her health was still good, and she was well now. However, after recovering from her illness, her temper worsened. Every time she saw Qiu Shi, she didn’t give her any good face, and she was even colder towards Yuxi. But she treated Wen Shi and Yurong, who had been at her bedside for these several months, much kinder.

Qiu Shi used to serve the Old Lady with all her heart, but she never got a few good words from her, but now she has put her filial heart down completely. If the Old Lady was disgusted with her, she just let her feel disgusted. Her son had already become the head of the family, and no one could shake her position. So, apart from the occasional visit to the main room to show consideration for the Old Lady’s face, she wouldn’t go at any other time to avoid them from getting tired of looking at each other. She had served the Old Lady for most of her life, and her feelings for the Old Lady had worn off when the Old Lady had compromised her face for Wen Shi, who only entered the household recently. Nowadays, Qiu Shi had left all the affairs of the residence to Ye Shi and spent half of her day chanting and the other half teasing her grandchildren. How comfortable her life had been.

Qiu Shi nodded with a smile and said, “Yes! The physician said that the Old Lady has recovered from her illness, but she is too old to move around anymore and must recuperate.” The Old Lady could not die yet. Her two sons would have to mourn for the Old Lady if she did. Qiu Shi’s eldest son had just managed to secure the post of Assistant Minister of War. So, he couldn’t be held back because of this.

When Qiu Shi thought of this, she suddenly remembered Han Jianye, who was probably eating sand in the northwest. “I wonder how your Er Ge is doing in the northwest. He has no one to take care of him, and the environment there is harsh. Just thinking about this makes me nervous for him.” When she found out that Han Jianye was going to the northwest, Qiu Shi didn’t say anything to stop him from going. She knew that her son hadn’t studied martial arts for years just for him to stay in the capital. Despite her unwillingness to let him go far, she could not stop him from seeking his future and finally had to send him away with tears in her eyes.

Yuxi said with a smile, “Mother, don’t worry about Er Ge. He was sent to the mountains to train in martial arts when he was just eight years old and learned to cook while he was there. So Mother doesn’t have to worry. He will be able to take good care of himself in the northwest. Furthermore, the one Er Ge admires most is Waizufu, and he hopes to become like Waizufu in the future.” Qiu Shi’s old man was the Lord General of Minnan, stationed in Minnan for more than ten years. Hence, he could be said to be the emperor of the land there.

Qiu Shi was a bit depressed as she said, “Your Waizufu? I haven’t seen him for more than ten years.” It had been sixteen years since her father had last returned to the capital, and it had also been sixteen years since he had seen anyone. She wondered what his father was like now? Her hair had almost turned grey, so her father must be even older. When she thought of this, her eyes burst into tears.

Now that Qiu Shi was fasting and chanting, how could she not hope Buddha would bless her father and youngest son? “I only hope that your Waizufu will be healthy and that your Er Ge will be safe and sound.” Her father had been operating in Minnan for almost 20 years. Hence, apart from worrying about his health, he didn’t need to worry about anything else. Her younger son was going to the northwest, but he was unfamiliar with the area and had to start from scratch.

Yuxi smiled and said, “Mother, Waizufu will definitely live a long life, and Er Ge will certainly return safely.”

Their conversation ended with the sound of Boy Ping’s crying.

In the evening, Han Jianming called Yuxi to his study. She took a letter from Han Jianming’s hand, opened it and smiled, “It’s a letter from Er Ge.” Han Jianye’s handwriting was so unique that she knew it at first glance.

Han Jianming waited for Yuxi to finish reading the letter and said, “Yun Qing is quite impressive. Your Er Ge has only been in the northwest for a short time, and he has already won him over.” The way Han Jianye called Yun Qing xiong in the letter was enough to explain everything.

After speaking, Han Jianming gave Yuxi a deliberate glance. He wondered why Yuxi was so confident in Yun Qing. Where exactly did this confidence come from?

Yuxi hadn’t asked Han Jianye to befriend Yun Qing before he left for the northwest. There were things she could tell Han Jianming, but not Han Jianye. Because with Han Jianye’s temperament, if she told him to befriend Yun Qing for the sake of interest, he would absolutely despise it. Yuxi responded, “This is also Yun Qing’s ability.” If he wasn’t capable, how could he end up becoming the commander-in-chief of the northwest?

Han Jianming looked at Yuxi and said, “Yun Qing used the excuse that his injury had reoccurred to not return to the capital.” That man was pretty much courageous. Han Jianming couldn’t believe Yun Qing would use the recurrence of an old injury as an excuse not to return to the capital. Even though this reason sounded dignified, Han Jianming still didn’t comment on how commendable Yun Qing’s gut was.

Yuxi smiled as she pointed it out, “Dage, isn’t this what you guessed a long time ago? But, won’t the Emperor become angry with him?”

Han Jianming gave a rare smile and said, “The 9th Prince said a few good words for Yun Qing in front of the Emperor, saying that if they forced Yun Qing to return to the capital, it would chill the hearts of the officers and soldiers in that border town.” What the 9th Prince said was right, but the problem was, no one else besides the 9th Prince dared to say that.

Yuxi was very surprised. “The 9th Prince? There’s no way for the 9th Prince not to know the feud between the Yun family and the Song family. How could he put in a few good words for Yun Qing?”

Han Jianming explained, “He is not speaking up for Yun Qing. He did so because the Song family had already made private contact with Qin Zhao. Great General Tong is Song Huaijin’s brother-in-law. If the Song family is also allowed to take control of the northwest, will the world be surnamed Song or Zhou?”

Yuxi understood. “Is the 9th Prince guarding against the Song family?” The 9th Prince wasn’t the Crown Prince yet, so he took extra precautions against the Song family. But the Song family was not foolish people. They only needed to wait for the 9th Prince to become Emperor for them to have a more unconstrained life than they had now.

Han Jianming shook his head and said, “You can’t say it that way. The 9th Prince is probably looking at the big picture. Yun Qing is indeed a man he can send to fight in the war. Keeping him alive has more advantages, outweighing the disadvantages.” The 9th Prince was a prince who was likely to ascend to the throne, so he naturally hoped to keep a few more valuable talents around him.

Yuxi smiled, “Advantages outweigh the disadvantages?” To the 9th Prince, Yun Qing was a talented man, but to the Song family, Yun Qing was their mortal enemy.

But in her heart, Yuxi muttered, the 9th Prince had an accident in his previous life, and she wondered if the Song family was behind it. To the Song family, the 9th Prince was the same as the 10th Prince, where both were their nephews. If the 9th Prince did not listen, it would be the same if the 10th Prince, who would listen to them, took the throne instead. Only that, these were only her guesses, and no one ever knew the absolute truth.

Compared to the northwest, the situation in Liaodong was much better. After all, the current defender of Liaodong, Great General Tong, was Song Huaijin’s brother-in-law. No matter how the Ministry of Revenue would’ve paid for their rations and supplies first. And General Tong was not a straw man. He had lost and won some on the battlefield, but his winnings and losses were equally divided since he was not as impressive as Marshal Yan.

After talking about these general matters, Yuxi spoke about things that happened in the capital. “A lot of refugees have gathered outside the capital. It’s the eleventh lunar month, and the weather is getting cold. Dage, do you think we can send some rice, food and quilts over there so that they can survive the winter?” It was forbidden for refugees to enter the capital for fear of disturbing the peace and order of the capital. Most importantly, the Imperial Court was afraid that these people would riot. However, they also decided not to take care of the refugees gathered outside the capital for the time being. Still, some official families and wealthy families had privately sent some rice, grain and quilts over. Although there were many vicious people around the capital, there were still many kind-hearted ones.

Han Jianming shook his head and said, “Don’t send any more for now. It’s impossible just to rely on private donations alone. The Imperial Court also has to step in to settle this matter.”

Yuxi looked up at Han Jianming and asked, “The Imperial Court? Does the court even have money?” It was said that only rats could be found inside the treasury.

Han Jianming laughed a little and said, “Don’t worry about that. Even if there is no money, the Ministry of the Revenue has to squeeze it out.” Seeing Yuxi’s confused look, Han Jianming said, “There are many corrupt officials in the dynasty who are busy scrambling for power and profit, but there are also officials who still have a conscience.” They couldn’t just let the refugees freeze and starve to death outside the city. Besides, if these people were not given any food and water, it would be a big deal if there was a riot.

Yuxi said, “I hope so!”

Han Jianming smiled a little and suggested, “But someone should come forward to raise money for charity. So if you have a heart, you should donate more!”

Yuxi frowned and argued, “Donating more is not a problem. I am just worried that some people will embezzle them.” It would be uncomfortable to think of the corrupted ones feeding the pests with the money others had spent on good deeds!

Han Jianming shook his head helplessly as he stated, “Even if they are corrupt, they won’t go too far.” There were good-hearted officials, but too few of them, and too many pests. At that time, he could only hope that an incorruptible official would be sent from above to handle the corrupted ones.

When Yuxi heard this, she felt even more distress with it and said, “Then we might as well buy more rice, food and quilts and send them over ourselves!” They did good deeds, hoping that those refugees would suffer less, but they felt pretty uncomfortable when they knew they were being exploited.

Han Jianming shook his head and disagreed, “No, we can’t. We can send some things over, but not too many.” He was not willing to let himself be set up as a standard. Moreover, even if he sent more things privately, it would not solve the fundamental problem. Only when the Imperial Court came forward could the issue be settled.

Yuxi knew this was true, but she felt miserable. When she returned to Taoran, she sat in her chair and thought about these things. The world was a difficult place, and the people at the bottom always suffered the most.

When Momo Quan noticed that Yuxi’s face did not look good, she asked, “What’s wrong, Miss? What did the Lord Duke say to Miss, making Miss look so grave.”

Yuxi came back to her senses and said, “I was thinking about the refugees. By the way, Momo Quan, your nephew’s family is still at Red Jujube Hamlet. Why don’t you just pick them up and bring them to the capital?” Ever since Yuxi had taken over the Red Jujube Hamlet, the tenants there had been having an even smoother time. For no other reason than Steward Chen would accept everything that everyone grew, such as peanuts and beans. Because of this, the tenants wouldn’t have to worry about sales. So, they fully utilised every piece of land around the Red Jujube Hamlet, and over time they even had a few spare cash on hand. When they had more money, everyone tried to keep more grains. There was an old saying that said, if one had food in one’s hands, one wouldn’t panic. That was why every family in Red Jujube Hamlet had saved a lot of grain.

Momo Quan answered with a smile, “When I first found out about the refugees, I did tell them to go to the capital. But they didn’t want to and said that there were more than a hundred families in Red Jujube Hamlet, with two to three hundred able-bodied people there. With so many people guarding the place, those refugees won’t dare to cause trouble in the hamlet.”

Once people got hungry, not to mention the bark and roots of trees, they would even dare eat other human beings. Once these people targeted the Red Jujube Hamlet, there would be a massive incident. Yuxi said, “We need to have someone remind Steward Chen about this so that he can keep the estate well guarded.” There were many refugees that were worthy of helping hands, but one still had to be wary of those who had malicious intentions.

Momo Quan nodded and said, “I have that worry too. I am afraid that if the hamlet becomes a sheet of loose sand, things will easily go wrong. If Steward Chen can step in and organise everyone, then we won’t have to be worried.”