Chapter 253: Rehearsal

early morning.

The morning light falls on the water, spreading sparkling waves.

Perhaps the ship that escaped was lucky enough to report to the authorities after it docked, so early this morning, the county magistrate and the general of the nearby command camp arrived.

People need to be reasonable, but power is not humane.

When the county magistrate and the general commanding the camp learned the identities of the people on the boat, they were all frightened and broke out in cold sweats.

If something happened to the crew on this ship...

If the only daughter of the Yongyi Marquis's Mansion was a hot potato in the past, then the young lady of the Pingyang Marquis's Mansion was a bolt from the blue that could overturn the fortunes of her own family!
Although they could see that Hualan had not suffered any damage, they both bowed and said something about how powerless they were to take care of the situation.

If the Yang family reported to the court that there were rampant bandits under their rule, they would have no chance of being evaluated as an official in the future.

Hualan didn't care.

He only had Li Xu brought out, and after briefly explaining the situation, he wanted the county magistrate to send someone to escort Li Xu and her daughter back.

The county magistrate was delighted when he heard this.

Since there is a request, I believe the young wife of Marquis Pingyang will not intend to make a fuss about it.

At this moment, he thought of the young man who had curled up at the gate of his own yamen to report to the police in the morning. Combining the two, he could not help but blurt out:
"This woman's son may not be dead!"

Then he told him what he had seen and heard this morning.

After a discussion of the boy's physical features, it was determined that the boy was Li Xu's child.

Upon hearing that her son was alive, Li Xu burst into tears of joy on the spot, and then expressed her gratitude to the county magistrate and Hualan.

"I'm afraid I'll have to trouble Lord Han again."

Hualan simply sent him west as well, and while telling Cuichan to fetch some silver, she said:

"This is the money for the boy's medical treatment and recovery. I hope we can wait for a while until he recovers, and then send them back home."

Han Lin saw at a glance that the money the maid handed over was more than that. It was probably the cost of sending the family back to Jinling, so he kept making excuses:

"I feel guilty for the pirates who killed their family. Even if Madam Sheng doesn't tell me, I will do my best to send people to send them back. There's no need for the silver bills!"

I can’t even make up for what I’ve done, so how can I take money from others?
Han Lin naturally refused to accept the money.

After saying this, he did not stay on the boat for long. He let Li Xu get on board first, and then asked the county lieutenant to escort the pirates back to the boat.

When being escorted away, the pirate's legal advisor, who was dressed as a Chinese, kept glaring at Chang Qing, as if he wanted to eat him.

Cuichan and Changqing were standing together. Seeing the pirates making faces at their husband, Cuichan could not help but ask Changqing beside them:
"What's wrong with him? Why is he looking at you?"

Chang Qing shrugged and said casually:

"I'm afraid it's because I called him a fool that hurt his integrity. After all, he's still dressed like this even though he's a pirate. I'm sure he has the character of a scholar in his bones. He must be furious when I mock him for being illiterate."

"But I'm also right. With his condition, I'm afraid he can't even get the title of Tongsheng. He must not have read as many books as I have."

As a close follower of Yang Wenyuan who grew up together, Changqing was trained to be the chief steward of the Marquis' Mansion in the future. It is unknown how well he studied, but he has read a lot of books since he was a child.

Thinking about the flawed plan of the pirate's advisor last night, Chang Qing felt that he had a clear conscience when he said this!
The matter of the water bandits came to an end.

The ship continued to sail towards Huangzhou.

What happened last night sounds a bit thrilling, but what they actually experienced was just being woken up in the middle of their sleep and then sitting in the palace for an hour.

Hualan was still a little frightened and couldn't recover from the shock.

But Minglan and Rulan had completely forgotten the fear of last night, and were now talking to each other about their "experiences" of last night.

Of course, they did not witness the details of the pirates' rampage with their own eyes, but only vaguely heard the screams around them.

Therefore, the two people's words did not seem to be describing what they had experienced, but rather like finding out the errors in the account books and correcting them one by one.

"I... last night..."

"No, it should be like this..."

"Oh, I must have misunderstood. That's right, but then..."

"..."

As the two of them talked back and forth, a script for "The official's daughter is surrounded by dangers and outsmarts the pirates on the boat" has been roughly arranged. All that's left is a flash of inspiration to polish it, and then she'll gain admiration from her friends.

"Yeah, that's about it!" After saying this with dry mouth, Minglan and Rulan looked at each other.

it is more than words!
"Why, is there anything else on your mind?"

When Hualan was enjoying the breeze at the bow to wake herself up, Old Lady Sheng came over.

In front of her grandmother, Hua Lan had no intention of hiding anything, and just said in a daze:

"Grandma, I just feel that it's a little unreal that there are such vicious... bandits in the world who gather together to rob. I'm afraid many people died last night..."

Although she had never seen anyone die in front of her, and there was no blood on the boat, the wailing she heard was so real that it made her unable to get over it for a while.

Old Madam Sheng smiled softly:

"You are still young and have little experience. You are also the mistress of a family. If you are eager to take everything on your shoulders, it will naturally be difficult for you to get over it."

As she spoke, Old Lady Sheng pointed at Rulan and Minglan beside her:

"Your two sisters were also very scared last night, even more so than you, but they are not married yet, so they don't have so many worries, so they are naturally more open-minded."

As Old Lady Sheng spoke, she smiled again:

"It's good that you experienced the pirate incident last night. This can make you understand a little bit where the wealth and glory of the military families come from. Before you, they relied on the ancestors of the Yang family. After you, you have to stretch your face and stand up."

"It's a pity that Wenyuan protected you too well."

The wife of a military hero should not only indulge in cultivating her temperament, but also have a decisive and cold side.

This should be a skill that is passed down from generation to generation in the family and then learned through practice in the backyard.

There were no offspring at home, and the only female elder in the Pingyang Marquis's mansion was Madam Chen from the family of Commander Yangdu, who doted on her even more than at home. This made Hualan not look like a dignified lady, but more like a favored daughter of a powerful noble family.

She looks very much like Princess Jiacheng of the Yongwang family.

Apart from the fact that he didn't develop the arrogance and arrogance, everything else was the same.

Old Madam Sheng actually felt that there was nothing wrong in letting Hualan see blood in person last night.

"grandmother……"

Hualan refused at the moment, but the melancholy in her heart had already been relieved a lot.

“This is why the mistress of a large family is called the ‘female general of the backyard’. Managing such a large family means not only enjoying the glory, but also having responsibilities to shoulder.” Old Lady Sheng said earnestly.

"Yeah!" Hua Lan nodded vigorously in response.

She planned to think carefully about her grandmother's words when she had some free time later. Ever since she married into the Yang family, she had been like a sponge, absorbing a lot of knowledge from the words of the people around her that she had never noticed.

So at this moment Hualan also tasted some meaning from her grandmother's words, so she immediately asked Old Madam Sheng for confirmation:

“Grandma, do you think your granddaughter’s son is a little soft?”

After the incident, Old Lady Sheng didn't want to talk about it anymore. There was no chance to do it again. Besides, hadn't Yang Wenyuan and the elders of the Yang family considered the issue she was thinking about?

But he had never heard Hualan say that, and his granddaughter's behavior had not changed.

I guess he doesn't care.

I feel that the wind and rain outside cannot reach my home.

Just like Yang Rujin, the legitimate daughter of the Yang family. Could it be that Yang Wenyuan didn't know the pros and cons of Yang Rujin's marriage to Changbai?

That must be clear in my mind.

But Yang Wenyuan never did anything to hinder it, and even fanned the flames. Ever since the last banquet at Pingyang Marquis's mansion, he often dragged Changbai, who was on leave from the yamen, back home to discuss matters and drink, and Yang Ruijin happened to be there every time.

Wang Ruofu was also supported by Madam Chen.

Old Madam Sheng also understood clearly that the root of all this was that Yang Wenyuan knew Changbai inside and out, and the Yang family just "coveted" Changbai because he was an official who could treat his wife well.

The identity of a Shujishi?

Once every three years is not a must.

The downside?

I think he doesn't care about it like Hualan.

Just like my father and mother in the past, after they felt my determination, they could only follow my heart.

Forcing is not beautiful.

"That's not necessarily the case."

Old Madam Sheng smiled without commenting:
"Perhaps that's why Wenyuan likes you. If you were someone cold and ruthless with a dark mind, perhaps what we did wouldn't have been possible."

Hearing this, Hua Lan was silent for a while, with thoughts running through her mind.

Old Madam Sheng didn't say anything either, she just stayed by their side, occasionally glancing at Minglan and Rulan who were talking happily, with a smile on her face.

Finally, Hua Lan sighed:
"Grandma, the world is a bit chaotic now. I remember when I was a kid, I went to other places with my father. We lived a bumpy life for many years, but we never encountered any banditry or tragedies."

Old Madam Sheng nodded slightly, her voice drifting in the wind:
"A country without a crown prince is like a country without a foundation..."

"A country without a crown prince is like a country without a foundation!"

When Hualan arrived in Huangzhou, the letter she had sent back to Bianjing at full speed from the post station also fell into Yang Wenyuan's hands.

Inside the Mansion of Marquis Pingyang.

As usual, Yang Wenyuan took Changbai home for a drink and a feast.

There is no way. My wife has returned to her hometown, and I am the only one left in this huge mansion.

The newlywed husband is lonely and cold, and can only find someone to keep him company.

It's not just Changbai who is there, Gu Tingye is there too.

It’s just that Changbai was brought back by Yang Wenyuan on the way, while Gu Tingye came here on his own initiative.

He now needs to "remain chaste" before marriage. For the sake of his own reputation, he cannot go to entertainment venues. So now, apart from decorating his own wedding room, he has nowhere else to go and can only "huddle together for warmth" with Yang Wenyuan.

As for the work that should have been done by Hualan, it naturally fell on Yang Ruijin's shoulders.

Changbai was shy and acted like an innocent little scholar every time he saw Yang Rujin. Therefore, Yang Wenyuan was afraid that Changbai would run away and regarded his home as a den of tigers and wolves, so he did not dare to let Yang Rujin stay for long. He only met her a few times before letting her go back.

On the desk.

At this time, Yang Wenyuan had finished reading the letter sent by Hualan and handed it to Changbai.

In the letter, Hualan described the causes and consequences of her experience with the pirates and said she was safe.

Everyone present knew him well. After Gu Tingye finished speaking, he continued:

"The emperor has been slow to appoint a crown prince. Not only is the court in Bianjing in turmoil, it seems the same is true in the prefectures below. Now there are even pirates on the water. I imagine there are even more strong men and bandits rampaging through the countryside!"

What Gu Tingye said is indeed reasonable.

Compared to mountain bandits and robbers who have no cost at all, water bandits still require initial investment.

After all, how can you rob on the waterways without a boat?

It's a bit like "when a cockroach appears in the house, it means there is already a nest of cockroaches in an invisible place."

All the investors who need angel rounds are already here, so aren’t there more other entrepreneurial sectors?

Changbai read the letter with a worried look on his face, and only felt relieved when he was sure that his sister, grandmother, and younger sisters were all right.

Just after listening to Gu Tingye's words, he could not help but nodded:

"Zhong Huai's words make sense."

However, no matter how loyal Changbai is to the emperor and the country, he can do nothing now.

The Shujishi are only allowed to observe the government, do you want to participate in politics?
Go wherever is cool!
Besides, even if a memorial was submitted to the government, it would not cause any trouble.

After all, the desk in the emperor's study is already piled with memorials about the succession of a crown prince. As for the memorials about banditry at the lower levels, they are really not worthy of being put on the table.

The emperor is old and frail, and has not yet determined his successor, causing the controversy over the succession to become more and more serious. Officials don't even have time to care about their own positions, so how can they have the energy to deal with the scabies and scabies below?

There was a bandit problem below, and the court was also in a state of excitement.

As time goes by, the trend of adopting members of the royal family can be said to be becoming increasingly uncontrollable, and has already entered the "final round of succession"!
At every court meeting, one could see officials above the fifth rank attacking each other. These were officials belonging to the Yong Wang and Yan Wang factions. They were always playing the "find the fault" game while praising the wisdom and bravery of their own princes.

At the beginning, I was able to control myself a little, but when it comes to talking, you can say that if you endure it for a while, everything will be calm, but if you take a step back, the more you think about it, the angrier you get.

So the situation got a little out of control.

What governs the country?
The right thing to do is to put our own prince on the throne!

No matter how well I do my job, if the new king is not my boss, wouldn't it be all in vain?

You won't be forced to pack up and go home, but you will definitely be exiled to a bitter and cold place to suffer.

No one wants to end up losing by one move.

In order to increase their impression points in front of the emperor and lower the other party's evaluation, the Prince of Yong and the Prince of Yan can be said to have worked hard in the court.

The ministers were either powerless or simply did not want to intervene, and they all remained silent, allowing the two princes to run rampant in the court.

They also wanted to force the government to choose a crown prince.

"What can we do?"

Yang Wenyuan said calmly:

"Changbai and I can't move, so we can only watch. Zhonghuai, you are free, but are you willing to abandon your wife and go to the south to join the army to quell the troubles?"

Gu Tingye smiled awkwardly.

He will be able to marry Yu Yanran in the early spring of next year, so he naturally would not choose to join the army at this time.

Besides, he still has the imperial examination to take.

I muttered something disrespectful in my heart. I'm afraid the current emperor can't wait for six years, maybe even three years.

Enko was about to arrive.

Who knows, the new emperor might even try to win over the Ningyuan Marquisate, exempting him from the interim imperial examination and allowing him to take part in the special examination directly.

In this case, why join the army?

Just wait and watch the show!

Seeing that Gu Tingye didn't say anything, Yang Wenyuan naturally understood his thoughts and just smiled and said:
"That's right, the state affairs are taken care of by the elders and the Privy Council. We just need to complain in private."

After saying that, Yang Wenyuan looked at Changbai with a teasing expression, winked and said:
"But Zecheng, Gu Tingye and I both have hope, you...?"

"I have my grandmother, father, and mother to help me make the decision!"

(End of this chapter)