Chapter 196: A Letter
On the cart back, Li Xiaonan, trying to overcome the jolting, wrote a letter with broad and fine strokes. She went to the villa to borrow a silver nugget from Wan Jing to seal it with wax. After sealing it inside and out, she handed the letter to Wan Jing.
Gu Yan and the Crown Prince had just set off in the morning. The inspection was not a military march, so their speed was not fast. The encampment that day was not far from Pingjiang City. Around dinner time, Gu Yan received this letter urgently delivered from the villa.
Gu Yan turned the envelope, looking at the crooked wax seals covering both sides of the envelope, and felt utterly speechless.
“Quite cautious.” The Crown Prince took the letter from Gu Yan’s hand and, turning it over to look at the wax seal, couldn’t help but laugh. “This seal looks like ‘Together at this moment.’ Did you two agree on this?”
“No, I asked her to talk about divination, and I gave her a few silver nuggets.” Gu Yan felt a bit embarrassed, like being caught with his fly down.
“Oh.” The Crown Prince slowly said “oh” and handed the letter back to Gu Yan. As Gu Yan tore open the envelope, he suddenly asked, “Should I step aside?”
“It’s definitely official business.” Gu Yan pulled out the letter and scanned it. “It’s official business.”
The Crown Prince immediately leaned in. Gu Yan moved the letter a bit closer to the Crown Prince.
“Huang Xianzhou has been very preoccupied lately, and I’m a bit worried. I asked her to go talk to Huang Xianzhou. She’s very well-liked; even someone like Miss Shi is willing to confide in her.” Gu Yan explained a few things.
Li Xiaonan’s letter was straightforward and simple. After wishing Young Lord well, she wrote that she had visited Mr. Huang that afternoon. Mr. Huang had chatted with her about how there were many young ladies by the roadside watching Young General Yang during his inspection, and asked her if her third sister was doing well. He also asked if she and her sisters had found suitable partners, and about Mr. Huang’s sentiment that judging cases is easy, but dealing with the aftermath is difficult, and the advice he gave her, that good and bad are always a muddled mess.
“This little girl isn’t afraid of you at all, is she? Why would Huang Xianzhou mention gossip about Young General Yang Qifan? She didn’t write about it, nor did she write how she answered when asked if she and her sisters had found suitable partners.” The Crown Prince glanced sideways at Gu Yan.
“If Huang Xianzhou has the mood to gossip about young ladies looking at Yang Wu, then there’s nothing serious going on.” Gu Yan answered a question with a non-sequitur.
“Huang Xianzhou knows that the most difficult part of this case is the aftermath. Your judgment is good; this muddled mess.” The Crown Prince tapped the letter with his finger and sighed. “Arrange for someone to stay close to him for a while and see how he handles himself in this muddled mess. He might be a person of great use.”
“Mm.” Gu Yan nodded.
“Huang Xianzhou wasn’t asking about her sisters, but about her, right? Isn’t her eldest sister already self-combed?” The Crown Prince returned to the previous topic.
“She still has a second sister who is of marriageable age.”
“She didn’t write how she answered. Do you want to send someone to ask?” The Crown Prince looked at Gu Yan with a smile.
Gu Yan glanced at the Crown Prince and did not reply.
“If you had broken off your engagement after arriving in Jiangnan, I would definitely have thought you did it because of her. Unfortunately, you broke off the engagement before coming to Jiangnan.” The Crown Prince continued to laugh.
“I haven’t thought about that yet.” After a moment of silence, Gu Yan looked at the Crown Prince and said.
The Crown Prince was stunned for a moment, then asked, “What do you mean by that? Do you really intend to marry her?”
“I haven’t thought about it yet. For the past two years, I’ve been solely focused on the Maritime Tax Bureau matter. Besides, she’s only sixteen this year.” He paused, then looked at the Crown Prince and said, “She can bear the responsibilities of a Princess Consort.”
The Crown Prince looked at Gu Yan for a long time. “Is this thought of yours known only to me?”
“Mm, you asked, so I couldn’t not say.” Gu Yan spread his hands.
“Then I’ll pretend I don’t know. Handle your own affairs yourself.” The Crown Prince stepped aside.
“At most, it’s just my mother. This is a matter for the future. For now, let’s focus on sorting out this mess of the Maritime Tax Bureau.” Gu Yan smiled.
“And that little girl, too.” The Crown Prince paused, stunned for a moment, then suddenly burst into laughter, patting Gu Yan as he laughed. “You need to think carefully. Just from this letter, this little girl isn’t afraid of you at all. Later, with your mother on one side and this little girl on the other, being caught in the middle will be quite uncomfortable.”
“We’ll talk about it after the Maritime Tax Bureau is sorted out.” Gu Yan folded the letter and put it back in the envelope.
………………………………
In a restaurant not far from the Pingjiang Prefectural Yamen, Ping Yatou and Yu Da Lang came out one after the other.
Ping Yatou stopped and looked at Yu Da Lang, whose face was pale. He patted him on the shoulder. “Don’t overthink it. Your cloth shop has only been open for a few months, so it definitely won’t be implicated. Relax.”
“Yes, that’s what I think too.” Yu Da Lang tried to smile but couldn’t.
“How are you getting back? You look unwell. Don’t walk back; get a cart.” Ping Yatou waved over a cart for hire, motioned for Yu Da Lang to get in, casually placed the mulberry paper package he was holding onto the cart, stepped back, and signaled the driver to leave quickly.
When Yu Da Lang returned home, he carried the mulberry paper package and went straight to his mother.
“You’re back so soon? Why did you bring it back? Didn’t you see Ping Yatou?” Madam Yu asked, frowning as she looked at the mulberry paper package in Yu Da Lang’s hand.
“I saw him. We had dinner together. Ping Yatou didn’t take it.”
Yu Da Lang put down the mulberry paper package and looked at his mother. “Ping Yatou said that the soldiers who deliver orders and messages to their yamen are all from Linhai Town, and they are outsiders. They can only understand the official language, not our Pingjiang dialect.”
“Ping Yatou said that the most important task for their prefectural yamen right now is the task from Linhai Town.”
“He said the first time people came, they were told to arrest people. They quickly went to ask Prefect Liu for instructions. Unexpectedly, Prefect Liu flew into a rage, saying that if they didn’t hurry up and do their duty, why would they need to ask for instructions? From that day on, for any task from Linhai Town, they would first carry it out quickly before reporting to Prefect Liu.”
“Ping Yatou said that almost all the shopkeepers of the weaving workshops in the Pingjiang City Silk Guild have been taken away, and very few have returned.”
“Ping Yatou also said that more than half of the people in their yamen’s finance and grain departments have been taken away, and that his master, Old Prefect Hong, was also taken.”
“Mother!”
Yu Da Lang finished relaying the information he got from Ping Yatou in one breath, looking at his mother, trembling all over.
“Don’t panic. Our fine cloth business has just started, and we don’t ship to Linhai Town, so we’ll definitely be fine. Don’t panic.”
Although Madam Yu’s face was pale, she remained composed.
“Besides, at this point, there’s nothing we can do. We’ve never done anything wicked, so we’ll be fine. You should go back and rest.”
“Okay.” Yu Da Lang pushed himself up using the armrest of the chair, his head lowered and shoulders slumped, and shuffled back to his room step by step.
“You’re back. Is everything alright? Matchmaker Miao just came by and told us to relax, saying that the Yueyang Cloth Shop is still open. As long as the Yueyang Cloth Shop is still open, then everything is fine.” Wu Da Nainai came forward, smiling.
“What does she know, being a matchmaker!” Yu Da Lang suddenly became furious. “It’s all your fault! You spendthrift! This fine cloth business was all your idea! You spendthrift! Get out!” Yu Da Lang roughly pushed Wu Da Nainai away.
Wu Da Nainai was pushed and hit the low couch, tears welling up from the pain, but she didn’t dare to make a sound.
