Chapter 223: Auspicious Words
Gu Yan stood at the entrance of the warm pavilion, wearing a silver-white long gown without a belt, his hands behind his back, appraising Li Xiaonan.
Li Xiaonan stood at the bottom of the steps, looking up at Gu Yan.
“Come in.” Gu Yan smiled at her gaze and gestured for Li Xiaonan to enter.
“This is autumn tea from the back mountain of the Hangcheng Villa, try some.” Gu Yan poured a cup of tea and pushed it in front of Li Xiaonan.
Li Xiaonan picked up the cup and took a small sip.
“Zhou Shennian said you had Yu Chengfu come find him, why didn’t you handle it yourself?” Gu Yan changed the subject.
“That Yu Chengfu looks so ambitious, how could I possibly handle it?” Li Xiaonan replied.
“Why couldn’t you handle it?”
Li Xiaonan raised her eyebrows, looking at Gu Yan, and did not answer.
By what right could she handle it?
“Where is the Crown Prince? Did he go back?” Li Xiaonan asked.
“He went back by sea. The Emperor’s health isn’t very good,” Gu Yan lowered his voice.
Li Xiaonan softly hummed and sighed.
In this era, it truly was rare for a person to live to seventy.
Gu Yan also fell silent. After a moment, he pushed a letter on the table towards Li Xiaonan, “I’ve read it.”
Seeing that it was Miss Shi’s letter, Li Xiaonan hummed and folded the letter, placing it in her sleeve pocket. “Is it useful?”
“Yes, the Imperial Academy students who submitted impeachment memorials have a distant relation to Prime Minister Pang, and their elder brother came from Prime Minister Wang’s faction. Miss Shi’s younger brother is arrogant and reclusive, and there are few literary gatherings he would attend.
“After Miss Shi returned, she only managed to invite him to two events: one was an autumn appreciation party hosted by Prime Minister Wang’s youngest son, and the other was an invitation from the Wei family,” Gu Yan snorted.
“Miss Shi is truly formidable,” Li Xiaonan exclaimed.
“She is meticulous and very intelligent.” He paused, then looked at Li Xiaonan seriously, “Her ruthlessness surpasses her intelligence. Even if it’s someone close to her, be it parents, children, husband, or brother, if they hinder her, or if she feels they should be eliminated, she will act without hesitation.
“This person can be allied with, but not befriended.”
Li Xiaonan quickly nodded.
What alliance could she possibly form with Miss Shi? And who would they be allying against?
“Her letter was written for you to see,” Li Xiaonan said to Gu Yan.
“Her letter was written for you,” Gu Yan frowned.
Although he couldn’t figure out where he had left any traces, he felt that Miss Shi wrote to A Nan because she had guessed his intentions, or perhaps she thought it was a possibility and was trying to establish a connection through A Nan first.
But what was her motive for being friendly with A Nan? What did she want to do?
He didn’t want A Nan to have any contact with Miss Shi. However, he couldn’t say anything to Miss Shi, and he was very sure that A Nan wouldn’t listen to him. If he forbade her from corresponding with Miss Shi, she would at most pretend to agree and continue to correspond with Miss Shi, just not through the villa for forwarding.
Alas, if that were the case, it would be better to go through the villa. At least he could know how frequent their correspondence was, and if it was truly necessary, he could secretly read it before forwarding it to her.
“I think Miss Shi just wants someone to talk to. If she and I can barely be considered friends, then we’re pen pals. She’s such a noble lady, she’s too far removed from me.”
Li Xiaonan looked at Gu Yan’s tightly furrowed brow and explained earnestly.
Gu Yan looked at her and after a moment, snorted.
Li Xiaonan looked at the clearly displeased Gu Yan and picked up her cup to sip tea.
From Yu Chengfu to Miss Shi, she felt like they were talking past each other.
Gu Yan looked at Li Xiaonan, who was lowering her eyes and sipping tea, and after a moment, sighed.
It was natural that she didn’t understand his words, but despite it being natural, he still felt very depressed and unhappy.
“Yang Wu and Fourth Mistress’s marriage has been settled,” Gu Yan said abruptly.
Li Xiaonan was stunned for a moment before realizing he was referring to Young General Yang and Fourth Mistress Wei.
“Fourth Mistress doesn’t mind…” Li Xiaonan didn’t finish her sentence, her tongue getting tied.
This should be considered private talk between Fourth Mistress and her, she shouldn’t have said it.
“Doesn’t mind what?” Gu Yan pressed.
“I mean, Fourth Mistress is such an elegant person, and Young General Yang is quite martial,” Li Xiaonan rephrased.
“If he weren’t martial, how could he lead soldiers well?”
“When Yang Wu was seven or eight, his elder brother took him to the army for over a year. When he was twelve, he went again for over a year. At seventeen, he officially took on a task, starting as a ten-man squad leader, all the way until now,” Gu Yan said with a smile.
“The Yang family has always prioritized the Wei family when choosing a bride. Yang Wu has always been very obedient to Fourth Sister since he was young and treated her extremely well. If there’s anything not good about him, it’s probably just a bit of a martial air, which isn’t a big deal.”
Li Xiaonan hummed. Indeed, this marriage was only a little short of perfection. Where in the world was there anything perfect?
“How is your Second Sister’s marriage coming along?” Gu Yan asked.
“There’s no suitable match. Eldest Sister is too busy, Second Sister is also busy. Second Sister isn’t in a hurry at all, she doesn’t seem to want to get married,” Li Xiaonan said with a smile.
“Aren’t you in a hurry either?” Gu Yan appraised Li Xiaonan.
“If Second Sister isn’t in a hurry, why should I be? It’s not like one absolutely has to get married. I mean for our family,” Li Xiaonan quickly added.
In this era, if it weren’t for families like theirs, daughters truly would have no choice but to get married.
“Does your Eldest Sister think the same way?” Gu Yan glanced at Li Xiaonan.
“Eldest Sister told Second Sister: even if you get a bit older, don’t rush and grab the first thing you see. If you marry the wrong person, like Mei Jie, it’s better not to marry at all,” Li Xiaonan said with a smile.
“Did she say that in front of you?”
“No, they were whispering, and I happened to overhear,” Li Xiaonan chuckled.
“Happened to overhear?” Gu Yan pouted.
“Just happened to!” Li Xiaonan lifted her chin.
Gu Yan couldn’t stop laughing, nodding as he did.
He had also “happened to” experience something similar.
“How is your business?” Meeting Li Xiaonan’s sideways glance, Gu Yan quickly coughed and asked.
“Not very good. More money goes out than comes in,” Li Xiaonan sighed.
“Didn’t you say, ‘cast a long line to catch a big fish’?”
“The long line has been cast, and there are quite a few big fish~” Li Xiaonan sighed again, “But there are also many people fishing. Never mind, let’s not talk about this. How is your case going?”
“On my way back, when I passed through Hangcheng, the local weaving workshops had stopped paying weavers their monthly allowance and had all the weavers registered with the real estate agencies. Zhou Shennian said you asked the Li family to collect autumn silkworm cocoons? How many can you collect?” Gu Yan frowned slightly.
“In the past month, people from silk brocade shops or weaving workshops have often come to Sister-in-law Yin’s place, using the excuse of buying things to spread gossip.”
Li Xiaonan became serious.
“I think all the weaving workshops and silk brocade shops in Jiangnan are hoping that the case you’re handling will be concluded quickly, no matter how it ends. If you lose, it will just be a minor setback, and everyone will go back to how they were, a happy ending for all.
“If you win, everyone will quickly follow your lead and change the rules. They’ll change them as they see fit. No matter how they change, Jiangnan can’t be without weaving workshops. If other workshops can stay open, their own can also continue.
“In either of these scenarios, the autumn silkworm cocoons must still be collected. After all, there’s a full half-year until the spring silkworm cocoons after this batch of autumn cocoons.”
Li Xiaonan paused, looked at Gu Yan, and continued, “If there’s no news or rumors, and no one knows when the case you’re handling will conclude, everyone will be afraid to act rashly. No one will dare to be the first to stick their neck out. If it drags on for half a month, these autumn silkworm cocoons will rot in the hands of the silkworm farmers.”
Gu Yan listened intently, and after a moment, hummed, “Then let’s give them some news.”
“A few days ago, I went to Linhai Town. Mr. Huang sighed with every few words he spoke, saying that all the difficulties were on your end,” Li Xiaonan looked at Gu Yan.
“Yes, the Crown Prince came this time and witnessed it firsthand. When he returns to the Capital City…” Gu Yan’s words trailed off, and he sighed, “Governing a great nation is like cooking small fish. I used to think it was easy, but now I know how difficult it is.”
“I believe you can clean up the Maritime Tax Bureau, and then from the Maritime Tax Bureau all the way to the Capital City, assisting that Crown Prince to become a ruler of resurgence,” Li Xiaonan said earnestly, looking at Gu Yan.
Gu Yan raised his eyebrows, looking at Li Xiaonan. After a moment, he smiled and cupped his hands towards Li Xiaonan, “Thank you for your good wishes.”
