Chapter 479 : Negotiation (1)

Yuxi placed the account book in her hand on the table, looked at Mr Xia, and asked, “If I’m not wrong, the Marshal should have had this plan in mind a long time ago, but something unexpected happened before it could be implemented, right?” She suspected that Marshal Qin was just treating the Xu family like fat sheep, and when the army desperately needed money, he would slaughter the fat sheep to make up the shortfall. This could be seen from the fact that Mr Xia was able to get his hands on such a confidential account book.

Mr Xia did not deny it. “Yes, the Marshal had this intention. But no one expected him to have an accident while saving the Young General.” If Marshal Qin had not died from severe injuries, given his physical condition, he would have no problem living for another ten to twenty years.

One couldn’t help but admire a person like Marshal Qin. Yuxi asked: “Has Mr Xia told Qin Zhao about this?”

Mr Xia shook his head. “No. The Young General is in too deep and can’t get out. If I told him, he would only help the Xu family to silence me.”

The phrase ‘in too deep’ could have many meanings. But Yuxi did not ask for details, knowing that even if she did, Mr Xia would not tell her.

Yuxi asked a question that she found strange, “Why did you tell the General about this?”

Mr Xia replied, “Because Yun Qing is the Marshal’s chosen successor. What the Marshal hasn’t accomplished should be left to Yun Qing to accomplish.” There was something else he did not say. He was also touched when he saw Yuxi busily rushing around to care for the orphans. He felt that with these two, Yun Qing and Yuxi, Yu City would be better than before.

Yuxi asked Mr Xia another question, “The General is worried about you leaving. I would like to ask you, will you leave Yu City and return to your hometown in the provincial capital?”(🔮)

Mr Xia shook his head. “No, at least not for the time being.” Looking at Yun Qing was like seeing the young Marshal. Besides, Yu City was where he had lived for almost thirty years; he was reluctant to leave.

Yuxi smiled. “That’s good then. The General can’t do without you! These days, I have been trying to figure out how to make you stay if you insist on leaving!”

Mr Xia was also pleased to hear this. Everyone wanted to be a significant person, not an insignificant one. “Madam, there is something I don’t know whether to say or not.”

Yuxi smiled and said, “What’s this about whether to say something or not? If you have something to say, just say it!” The fact that Mr Xia could take the initiative to talk to her like this proved that he wasn’t ready to leave.

Mr Xia laid out his opinion, “The officials in the Imperial Court are extremely corrupt, and the government is being controlled by the Song and the Yu families. The Yu family’s previous agreement with the General was only to remove Qin Zhao from power so that the Crown Prince and the Song family would have one less supporter, and they weren’t really willing to help the General. Otherwise, the Ministry of Revenue wouldn’t have found all sorts of excuses not to give any money. If we want to save Yu City and not be constrained by others, we can only think of another way out.” Mr Xia didn’t believe the Ministry of Revenue didn’t have a single coin. Grand Chancellor Yu just didn’t want to give it up and was deliberately stalling.

Yuxi’s heart stirred as she listened and asked, “Sir, do you have any idea?” Of course, she did not want to be at the mercy of others, but it was not easy to raise that much money.

Mr Xia had a very simple idea: continue trading with the Northern Barbarians. “In addition to grain and grass, we can see other daily necessities such as salt and cloth outside the customs to make up the difference.” After a year of this business, they would have a considerable income.

Yuxi was choked speechless for a while before she said, “If Sir can persuade the General, we can indeed do this business.” She was not willing to discuss such a matter with Yun Qing. There were some things that she could help persuade, but there were some that she should never be involved in.

Mr Xia said this, hoping that Yuxi would come forward to convince Yun Qing, but he didn’t expect her to return the ball to him. Now, it had indeed become a dilemma!

Yuxi immediately changed the subject. “I will take some people to Xinping City tomorrow night.” If they settled this matter early, they would get the money quickly and buy a house for the winter sooner than expected. It was now the ninth month, and the weather would turn cold in two months.

Mr. Xia nodded. “Then the General will set off the day after tomorrow.” When Yun Qing brought his troops to Xinping City, it would be time to raid the Xu family.

Yuxi shook her head. “Xinping City is the territory of the Xu family. I’m afraid two days will give them time to notice something. The best thing to do is to let the General leave tomorrow at midnight. I’ll get through Governor Tan on my side, and then the General on the other side will bring his people to raid the Xu family.” She frankly didn’t want Prefect Tan to do anything. She just hoped he wouldn’t bring his officials to stop Yun Qing when he raided the Xu family. Otherwise, if the two groups started fighting each other, it would give the Xu family an opportunity that would be far from good for them.

Fortunately, the Prefect was one of them. If the Prefect had not been changed, she would surely not sit back and watch Yun Qing raid the Xu family. Yun Qing did not have the authority to do so, even if he had proof of the Xu family’s betrayal. On the other hand, the Xu family was extremely wealthy. Whoever confiscated their property would have a lot of money in their hands.

Mr Xia asked, “Can Madam’s body withstand the journey?”

Yuxi smiled and said, “Don’t worry, I will get to Xinping City before the General.” She had already made plans to take Master Yang and Zijin to Xinping City this time. Yu Zhi would stay in the estate to protect Zaozao.

After they had talked things over, Mr Xia left.

When Mama Lan found out that Yuxi was going to Xinping City, she muttered: “Madam, you are so cruel. Didn’t you think the child would cry if she didn’t see you?” Who would leave a child alone for seven or eight days? Not only was the father unfit to be a father, but so was the mother. It was also because the Old Lady was not here. If she had been here, she would have scolded Madam to the point where Madam would have been sprayed with dog blood(2).

If anyone else went to Prefect Tan, he would most likely disagree with their plan. So, it was better for her to go there in person. But in the end, she let her own child down. Yuxi said, somewhat embarrassed, “Actually, this matter is so pressing that there’s nothing else we can do!” The grain and fodder bought from the Wu family were only half paid for. In addition, only 20% of the deposit for the quilts and cotton clothes Yun Qing had booked from Wu Kuo had been paid. It would be a shame if they didn’t have the money to pay for these things when they finally arrived.

Mama Lan sighed. “I will take good care of the child, and you, Madam, should be careful on the road.” When one married a military leader who always had to go to war, one would never have a peaceful day. No wonder the Old Lady never stopped worrying day and night! This current situation had only validated her worries.

Yuxi promised: “I will return when the matter is settled.” Having received the news early, Yuxi had already found a woman on the estate who had just given birth and asked her to help feed Zaozao for a few days. It was just that she didn’t know if her girl would bawl when that time came.

Only after everyone had gone to bed did Yuxi leave Yu City with Zijin and Master Yang. For fear of being discovered, the carriage and horses had been placed outside the estate.

A man dressed in a duan da(3) clothing had already been waiting there for a long time. When he saw Yuxi, he said, “Madam, please get on the carriage.” Clothes, dry food and other things had been placed inside the carriage.

After boarding the carriage, Yuxi found tea and snacks inside, as well as a thin quilt. Everything was exceptionally well prepared. Yuxi slept in the carriage all night, and when she woke up early the next day, her back was sore, and she felt very uncomfortable. Yuxi complained to Zijin: “I travelled from the capital to Yu City for several months last year, and yet, I was not as tired as I am now.”

When Master Yang heard this, he said: “Your body is not like it was last year.” After a woman gave birth to a child, her body condition would be very different.

Zijin did not believe Master Yang’s words and said, “Madam, it has been a long time since you have travelled this far in a carriage, and the speed of the carriage is too fast; that’s why you feel uncomfortable.”

Yuxi shook her head. “Wasn’t the speed of the carriage last night not that fast?” Because they were now in the ninth month, there was a bright moon at night, and the coachman knew this road very well. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have dared to travel at night.

Zijin suggested, “How about we slow down even more later?”

Yuxi shook her head. “We can’t slow down. The General’s group will set off tonight. They will all be on horseback, and their speed will be much faster than ours. We can’t slow down if we want to get there before them.”

After a short rest, they resumed their journey. The coachman did not speed up in order to take care of Yuxi. Instead, Yuxi asked him to speed up, and as a result, he drove so fast that she almost turned everything she had eaten that morning upside down. To save time, Yuxi could only disguise herself as a man and ride on the same horse as Zijin.

Yuxi didn’t have an easy trip, nor did Mama Lan and Mama Xi at the estate. In the middle of the night, Zaozao woke up hungry. When she found out that the person who usually fed her had changed, she started to refuse to eat, so she howled and cried. Most of the people in the estate probably heard the loud noise she made. Zaozao bawled for half the night until she had no more energy to cry. She was so hungry that she couldn’t sleep even if she wanted to. She just lay there in her swaddling clothes, twitching, indescribably pitiful.

When dawn came, Mama Lan instructed: “Call the wet nurse to come over. Miss should be able to eat now.” After being hungry all night, she shouldn’t be fussy anymore.

As Mama Lan expected, Zaozao stopped being fussy, but she ate very little, not even half of what she usually ate.

Mama Lan breathed a sigh of relief when she saw this. Although the child was eating less, at least she was eating something. “You’re too young. If you were older, I could prepare some minced meat for you.”

After eating, Zaozao went to sleep.

Mama Xi couldn’t help but grumble, “Madam is truly cruel. She even has the heart to leave her child behind.” No matter how important the matter was, it couldn’t be more important than one’s own child!

Mama Lan’s face did not look good as she warned, “If we were in the official residence and the Old Lady heard your words, there would be no good fruit for you to eat(4).” No matter how bad Madam was, Mama Xi shouldn’t have complained in front of Madam’s child. This could be seen as provoking the mother-child relationship.

Mama Xi felt so sorry for the child that she spoke those words without thinking. “I won’t do it again in the future,” she immediately replied with a pale face.

Mama Lan reminded her, “You must be careful in the future, and there must be no next time.” She muttered about this to Yuxi yesterday to express her dissatisfaction with Yuxi’s decision. But such things could only be said in front of Madam, but not to the child. It was fine for now because the child was still young and couldn’t understand anything. But when she grew older and heard such words often, she would think Madam didn’t love her very much or never did! When that time came, it would cause estrangement in the mother-daughter relationship.

Mama Xi nodded hastily and assured her, “Don’t worry, Mama Lan. There won’t be a next time.”