Chapter 482: The Deep Waters of Jiangnan
Chapter 482: The Deep Waters of Jiangnan
Xiao Xia rushed back to Wu County and found Xiao Lin directly. Xiao Xia asked with some dissatisfaction: "Mr. Xiao already knew about Yetang's situation, right?"
Xiao Lin asked the tea boy to serve tea and said with a smile: "Don't be angry, Your Highness. Listen to me slowly."
Xiao Xia suppressed his anger, sat down and said, "Go ahead! I'll listen patiently."
"Your Highness, the water in Jiangnan is very deep. If you don't experience many things yourself, you won't be able to understand how deep the water is. I'll just tell you one thing. Work in Yetang Town has been suspended for more than a month. How could the Wumen family not know about this? Your Highness traveled all the way to Changshu. Did Lu Heming tell your Highness about this?"
Xiao Xia frowned. It was true. Lu Heming had been silent all the way and basically didn't talk to her.
"Does Magistrate Qian of Changshu County also know about this?"
"Of course I know. Yetang Town has not only government-run but also privately-run blacksmith shops. I can understand that County Magistrate Qian was unaware of the government-run blacksmith shops, but the privately-run blacksmith shops have also stopped working. Now is the spring ploughing season, and there is a great demand for iron farm tools. How could County Magistrate Qian not know about this?"
"What is County Magistrate Qian's background?"
"Qian Zhao is a disciple of the Zhu family!"
"Possessed Lang?"
Xiao Lin laughed, "Fushenlang is the local dialect of Wujun. Your Highness actually knows it. Fushenlang means a disciple, born in a poor family, raised by a noble family since childhood, and after passing the imperial examination, the noble family arranged for him to return to his hometown to serve as an official. The meaning of humble position is that everyone knows the situation in Yetang, but no one is willing to talk about it. Only I kept nagging Your Highness, and Your Highness was still dissatisfied with me."
Xiao Xia apologized: "My tone was harsh. I really didn't see through many things, but I want to know the reason!"
"Your Highness killed the Wu County tyrant Liu Kun before. Liu Kun was actually just a small ant. The real local tyrants ignored Wei Yue at all. Wei Yue had no choice but to support a local thug Liu Kun. The real number one tyrant in Wu County is the Wuxing Shen family."
"Isn't the Wuxing Shen family one of the Wumen families? I had a dinner party yesterday, and it seemed that the Shen family also came."
"Your Highness, the Shen Kai who came yesterday was not the head of the Wuxing Shen family. He was from the Wuxian Shen family. Although the two Shen families are from the same family, they are from different branches and they were separated during the Southern Dynasty."
"Okay! Let's continue talking about the Wuxing Shen family."
"Although the Wuxing Shen family is the most powerful family in Wu County, it has a close relationship with the Wumen family and has been intermarrying with them for a hundred years. But at the same time, the Shen family also has a close relationship with the powerful families in Shanyue to the south and has also formed an alliance with them through marriage."
"Wait a minute!"
Xiao Xia interrupted Xiao Lin and asked in surprise, "What did you say, Shanyue tyrants?"
Xiao Lin laughed, "Your Highness, do you know this now? It wasn't the Jiangdong nobles who rebelled against the court. The Yu and He families were literary families, and Yu Shiji was still in power in the court. Of course, they wouldn't oppose the court. It was the Jiangdong tyrants who opposed the court, and the tyrants in the south were almost all Shanyue people. There were hundreds of them in every county, and there were more than a dozen leading tyrants."
"The Shen family are also Shanyue people?"
"The Shen family is Han Chinese, but they also have Shanyue blood."
Xiao Xia nodded, "Please continue, sir!"
Xiao Lin continued, "So if there is any movement by the Shanyue tyrants in the south, the Wuxing Shen family will know about it, and then through various in-laws, the Wumen family will also know about it. The Wumen family knows the real reason why the Yetang construction was stopped, but they all kept silent. This is why I advised Your Highness not to go to Yuhang County. The Shanyue tyrants in Jiangdong may rebel again."
"So all the iron ore produced in Dongyang was bought by the Shanyue tyrants? They need to forge weapons for war."
"This is one of the clues that was discovered by His Highness. In fact, there are other clues that His Highness must also know, but he has not thought of the real reason, such as the county soldiers."
Xiao Lin's reminder made Xiao Xia suddenly realize that Luo Shixin led the county troops to the west, but gave up halfway and the county troops withdrew to their respective counties.
"I thought those generals were dissatisfied because they failed to plunder the county, so they withdrew."
"That's why I said the waters in the south of the Yangtze River are deep. These generals are actually the sons of powerful families. They withdrew only after receiving orders from their families. They said they were going home for the New Year or they were dissatisfied because they failed to plunder. These are just excuses to prevent Your Highness from seeing the truth."
Xiao Xia frowned, "When did Mr. Xiao know about these things?"
"It was last night that Lu Shenyan told me that His Highness had taken a fancy to Lu Xieting, and Lu Shenyan had started to take sides."
Xiao Xia sneered and said, "But Lu Heming doesn't look like he's standing in line today!"
Xiao Lin spread his hands, "The key is that His Highness' attitude is ambiguous. He only said that he would invite Lu Xieting to Jiangdu to teach the princess to play the piano. Of course, the Lu family's attitude would be ambiguous. If His Highness had told the Lu family openly that he would marry Lu Xieting, then Lu Heming's attitude today would be completely different." Xiao Xia did not speak for a long time. He had never expected that the relationship here would be so subtle.
Xiao Lin advised earnestly, "Your Highness, the Lu family is actually taking a big risk by marrying you at this time. If you give Lu Shenyan some reassurance, I believe Lu Shenyan will tell you some deeper information. I feel that the rebellion of the Shanyue people is not that simple."
Xiao Xia came out of the county government office and told Zhang Qing, the captain of the personal guards, "Go to the market and buy a goose, and also buy forty rolls of fine silk. Pack them into boxes and tie them up with red silk, and also buy some other gifts."
Xiao Xia gave a few more instructions, and Zhang Qing hurried away with a dozen personal soldiers.
Xiao Xia returned to the plum garden. It was noon. Xiao Xia came to her residence, but saw Xiao Maruko sitting at the door and taking a nap in the sun.
Xiao Xia patted her head. Xiao Wanzi opened her eyes and saw that it was her master. She stood up quickly and said embarrassedly, "Didn't the master just come back this afternoon?"
"Did you give her the letter this morning?"
"Give it!"
"And then? Did she read it?"
Xiaowanzi laughed and said, "It's really funny. Miss Chang's face turned red immediately, redder than peach blossoms. Then she twisted my ears and said that I tricked her into coming to the garden yesterday. I ran away in a flash."
"And then? Did you get so angry that you tore up the letter?"
"No! Later I secretly went back to see her and saw her reading the poem that the young master had written to her. She was so absorbed in it that when she saw me, she was startled and quickly hid the letter. I asked her if she wanted to reply, but she shook her head and said that she couldn't understand the letter written by the young master."
Xiao Xia laughed, "Go to the mansion again and invite Old Master Lu over. Tell him that I have something to ask him."
"I'll go right away!" Chibi Maruko turned around and ran away.
Not long after, Lu Shenyan hurried over, clasped his fists and said with a smile: "I thought His Highness would not be back until the afternoon."
Xiao Xia smiled slightly and said, "There are some important things in Jiangdu, so I won't go to Yuhang County for the time being. I will return to Jiangdu directly tomorrow. Time is tight and there are some things I need to deal with."
Lu Shenyan smiled and said, "Your Highness, you haven't had lunch yet, right?"
Xiao Xia nodded, "Indeed not. I would like to invite Miss Xie Ting to have lunch with me. I wonder if the head of the family agrees?"
"Of course, I'll let her come over."
Xiao Xia smiled again and said, "If Miss Xie Ting is willing to go to Jiangdu, I would like to take her back with me tomorrow. Does the head of the family agree?"
Lu Shenyan hesitated for a moment and said, "If she is willing, I have no objection!"
"Please ask the master to invite a skilled embroiderer to come here."
Although he didn't understand why Xiao Xia wanted to find an embroiderer, Lu Shenyan agreed immediately.
A quarter of an hour later, Lu Xieting came slowly following Xiao Wanzi. She wore a spring green blouse on her upper body, a crimson long skirt inlaid with gold thread on her lower body, embroidered shoes on her feet, and held a round fan in her hand. It can be seen that she had put on a little makeup, with a thin layer of rouge on her face and red lips. She looked a little nervous and did not dare to look Xiao Xia in the eye.
Xiao Xia stepped forward and saluted, "Thank you for your honor, young lady!"
Lu Xieting's pretty face blushed slightly, and she bowed gracefully, "Xieting played the piano last night, did Your Highness hear it?"
"The girl's piano playing is like the sound of nature, how can I not listen?"
Xiao Xia then stepped aside and invited Lu Xieting into the house. Lu Xieting walked into the lobby slowly. Xiao Xia had drawn a line on the door frame, which was exactly 1.8 meters. The moment Lu Xieting walked into the lobby, Xiao Xia knew her height, which was 1.78 meters.
Although she is tall, she has a well-proportioned figure and great curves, especially her thin waist. The charm of a Jiangnan beauty is fully reflected in her thin waist.
Chibi Maruko followed behind and couldn't help but be amazed. She thought the girl was already very tall, but it turned out that His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin was half a head taller than the girl. No wonder the Prince of Jin liked the girl. They were really a perfect match.
(End of this chapter)