Chapter 317 Farewell to Chang'an
Chapter 317 Farewell to Chang'an
The next day at noon, the Cui sisters arrived at the Wencui Restaurant in Pingkangfang. Achu and Xiaoqing had been waiting for them at the side door for a long time.
The two men stepped forward and helped Cui Yu get off the carriage, and Cui Mei jumped down as well.
"Are you two going with the Master too?"
Xiao Qing nodded. "We started to dismiss the servants yesterday. Only Butler Liu and six maids were willing to go to Liang County. The others didn't want to leave Chang'an, so we had to give them some severance pay and let them go home on their own."
"Where is Achu? Doesn't your mother want to keep you?" Cui Yu asked Achu again.
Ah Chu curled her lips and said, "She is only concerned with making money now, so she doesn't want to ask me. Anyway, I won't stay."
The four of them went up to the third floor through the side door, and Xiao Xia was already waiting for them.
Cui Yu stepped forward, held Xiao Xia's hand and asked, "Didn't my father give you a cold shoulder yesterday?"
"No, your father and second uncle are very polite. They get the news quickly. I received the imperial edict the morning before yesterday, and they knew it on the same day."
“Of course they pay attention!”
Cui Yu and his sister took off their outer robes and sat down at the table. It was a late spring day and the room was still quite cold, so the waiter brought a brazier.
Soon, the wine and food were served. Xiaoqing and Achu filled everyone's glasses with wine. According to the rules of wealthy families, they could not sit at the table and could only stand behind the host. However, Cui Yu was more knowledgeable and invited them to the table from the beginning.
Starting from these small details, they were won over, and they had long regarded Cui Yu as their hostess.
Cui Yu raised his glass and smiled, "Young Master, you are leaving tomorrow. Xiao Mei and I wish you a safe journey!"
Cui Mei also raised her glass and said with a smile: "I wish you a safe journey, big brother, and I wish you two sisters a safe journey!"
Xiao Xia and the other two also raised their glasses and said with a smile, "Cheers to seeing each other soon!"
After dinner, Cui Mei went shopping with Xiao Qing and A Chu, leaving the two of them some time to be alone together.
The two hugged and kissed each other for a long while, and Cui Yu asked faintly: "When will Xia Lang come back to see me?"
Xiao Xia kissed her pretty face and said, "I don't know either, but I can write you a letter."
"I will write to you too. Where is the gourd pendant I gave you yesterday?"
Xiao Xia pulled it out from his neck, "Here!"
It is a small gourd made of very good jade, which symbolizes "blessings and fortune" and is very popular.
Cui Yu was very happy when he saw his lover wearing it close to his body.
"This is what my grandmother gave me when I was three years old. I have been wearing it all the time. You are not allowed to take it off. Apart from Xiaoqing, you are not allowed to take any more concubines. Do you understand?"
Xiao Xia lowered his head and kissed her red lips, then said with a smile: "Madam has given an order, and I will obey it!"
"loquacious!"
The two of them hugged each other intimately for a while, and Xiao Xia's hand was a little dishonest, and he quietly reached into her underwear.
Originally, this was absolutely not allowed, but my lover was leaving tomorrow, and I didn't know when they would see each other again. Cui Yu acquiesced this time.
But when he wanted to move his hand down again, he was not allowed to do so and was held down by Cui Yu.
Xiao Xia's hand immediately turned around and attacked upward, defending the position that he had captured with great difficulty.
The two of them were affectionate until the three of them came back laughing, and then they reluctantly parted.
"Brother Xiao, I bought you a new leather belt!"
Cui Mei had managed to save up ten strings of cash and spent eight strings of cash to buy Xiao Xia a high-quality leather belt.
Cui Yu took the leather belt and put it on Xiao Xia himself, saying with a smile, "This is all of Xiao Mei's savings, don't let her down."
"Xiaomei, I'll give you fifty taels of silver as pocket money later."
Xiaomei immediately smiled and nodded shyly.
It was getting late, so Xiao Xia personally sent the two sisters back home. They soon arrived at Cui's house and it was time to say goodbye.
Xiao Xia took out an envelope and handed it to Cui Yu, "Here is 10,000 strings of cash, use it yourself." Cui Yu quickly rejected it, "Xia Lang, I really can't take it, my father will scold me, and our family rules are very strict."
"Then try another way!"
Xiao Xia took out a box and handed it to her. "This is a night-shining pearl. You can exchange it for 10,000 strings of cash at the West Sea Jewelry Shop. If you don't want to exchange it, you can keep it for fun."
Cui Yu couldn't refuse his lover's kindness, so he had to accept it, "Okay!"
Xiao Cong took out two more gold ingots, one ingot weighing twenty taels of silver and the other ingot weighing ten taels. He gave ten taels to Cui Mei and twenty taels to Cui Yu.
"Buy some snacks, cosmetics and the like!"
Cui Yu did not refuse and accepted it. Cui Mei smiled brightly. Ten taels of gold! The black market price was 130 strings of cash. She had become a wealthy woman.
"I'm leaving, take care!" Xiao Xia waved his hand.
"Xia Lang, write to me!"
"must!"
Xiao Xia waved to the two sisters again, turned his horse around and left.
Cui Yu watched his lover go away, feeling indescribably lost. He didn't know when they would meet again.
As soon as the sun rose, Xiao Xia left Chang'an.
He brought two carriages, one with Xiaoqing and Achu in it, the other with six maids, and Butler Liu followed Xiao Xia on horseback.
In addition, there were more than one hundred mule carts loaded with gold, silver and other valuables, including one hundred thousand taels of gold, nine hundred thousand taels of silver, and more than a dozen large boxes of other treasures.
This is Xiao Xia's entire fortune, including what his aunt Yang Lihua gave him and also the spoils he earned himself.
Fifty warriors from Zhentian Martial Arts School followed and escorted them. The new owner was named Zhang Hui, a trusted warrior sent by Yang Lihua.
The team slowly walked out of Chang'an Chunming Gate and headed towards Xinfeng County. At the same time, the newly acquired 6,000 soldiers, led by Sun Lei, had arrived at Xinfeng County Manor yesterday.
That afternoon, Xiao Xia and his party reunited with their own army at the Xinfeng County Manor. They rested for a day and set off again before dawn the next day, heading towards Tongguan.
A few days later, Crown Prince Yang Yong received news that Xiao Xia led an army of 6,000 out of Tongguan and finally left Chang'an.
Yang Yong breathed a long sigh of relief. The person who had given him the most headaches had finally left. He was going to have a banquet to celebrate tonight.
In fact, Xiao Xia's departure was just the beginning, not the end. Yang Yong soon received another piece of news. The day after King Han Yang Liang arrived in Taiyuan, he began to recruit troops on a large scale and concentrate money and food. This was bad news, which cast a shadow on the heart of Crown Prince Yang Yong.
In the Han Palace in Taiyuan, Yang Liang looked with a gloomy face at a large group of generals in the yard. Their leader was none other than Xiao Moke. After being driven out of Guanzhong, they came to Taiyuan with untold hardships and surrendered to Yang Liang.
Their arrival also meant that all of Yang Liang's people and property in Guanzhong were captured, and his plan to launch a coup d'état after his father's death was completely ruined.
Those people's property were the little fortune he had accumulated over several years, and now they were all gone. Yang Liang was so angry that he almost fainted.
"How dare you, Xiao Xia, to attack me? Aren't you afraid that I will tear you into pieces?"
Yang Liang was so angry that he was shaking all over and gritting his teeth.
The counselor Qiao Huan winked at Yang Liang, and Yang Liang suppressed his anger and comforted everyone, saying, "You all came at the right time. I am cleaning up the army, but I have no one to use. Your arrival has solved the biggest problem that bothers me the most. Everyone go to the posthouse tonight and have a good rest. Everyone come to the barracks tomorrow. I will never let your hard work go to waste!"
Yang Liang's words made everyone happy. Yang Liang signaled Xiao Moke to stay, and the others were taken to the inn to rest.
In the inner hall, Yang Liang listened to Xiao Moke's detailed report, and he finally understood that this must be a collusion between the prince and Xiao Xia, or even an arrangement by the prince, with Xiao Xia carrying out the execution. Otherwise, if Xiao Xia led the army to abandon his post without permission, the prince would be the first one to not let him go.
At this time, the strategist Wang Long came hurriedly. He was counting the food and grass in the military camp, which delayed him for some time.
When Yang Liang saw Wang Yu, he said in shame, "I didn't listen to the military advisor and didn't bring the army out. In the end, the whole army was destroyed. It's too late to regret now!"
Wang Xu had advised Yang Liang to take his army to Taiyuan, but Yang Liang did not listen. He always had a glimmer of hope in launching a coup and was reluctant to abandon so much money, food and supplies. He did not expect that the prince and Xiao Xia would take action as soon as he left.
Wang Long said calmly, "There is nothing we can do now. Fortunately, the generals are all safe. Let's look forward! I did hear a piece of news that Xiao Xia is appointed as the governor of Liangzhou. Your Highness, don't you feel it? This is like a dagger, right at our abdomen."
(End of this chapter)