Chapter 172 – The Family Affairs of the State of Zhen

Chapter 172: The Family Affairs of the State of Zhen

 

As a result, Miantang didn’t eat the whole bowl of bird’s nest soup eggs for free, and surprisingly, she survived until noon.

 

The sunlight outside was scorching, but Miantang was almost snoring.

 

She had never been so exhausted when being chased by Cui Xingzhou’s men and horses all over the Mountain of Yang, and at that time, she probably didn’t expect to fall into the hands of her enemy, Prince Huaiyang. It turned out that she could still be so…

 

However, Prince Huaiyang looked refreshed, with a soothing energy after detoxification. He first coaxed Miantang to eat before sleeping but was mercilessly kicked in the face by his beloved princess consort.

 

Cui Xingzhou didn’t take it seriously, only indulged in stuffing her tender feet back into the blanket, and then went to eat before continuing with his official duties.

 

Now Kou Island has been cleared, but the internal problems have not been resolved. If it weren’t for the Japanese colluding with the moths in the court, they wouldn’t have become increasingly reckless in the North Sea.

 

The iron-cast artillery was related to the artillery casting techniques recorded in the capital’s military academy.

 

If no one had secretly communicated these secret drawings to them, Japanese people like Takatsukasa would not have been able to produce such precision artillery even with refined iron.

 

The urgent task was to seize Shi Yikuan’s leverage in connecting with foreign enemies and uncover the old accounts of this Imperial Uncle.

 

Unfortunately, Takatsukasa, whose legs were crushed by artillery, was a tough man who refused to open his mouth to confess.

 

However, his other subordinates were less stubborn. After being served with a large punishment, they finally admitted that General Takatsukasa had a dedicated channel to obtain various weapons and ship charts.

 

So their ships have always been more flexible and faster than the ships of the local navy in the North Sea.

 

But who was the mysterious figure who gave the blueprint to Takatsukasa? They really don’t know, they are all in direct contact with him.

 

As for the two imperial envoys who escaped, after revealing the date of the North Sea Navy’s deployment, they were also considered to have finished their mission and were captured by Cui Xingzhou without any problem.

 

Prince Huaiyang politely asked them to temporarily enter the prison car and start their journey back to the capital criminal department with the group of Japanese including Takatsukasa to recount the history of their collusion.

 

These situations were also written by Cui Xingzhou in his memorial early on, directly reaching the emperor.

 

The news that the bandits in the North Sea were annihilated in one fell swoop and the Japanese warships were captured unscathed quickly spread to the capital.

 

For a moment, the people were boiling with excitement, and the heroic deeds of Prince Huaiyang were miraculously written into various book paragraphs. Then these stories were talked about by storytellers in teahouses of all sizes in the Great Yan Dynasty.

 

After rectifying the area and eliminating the remaining sins of the Japanese people, Prince Huaiyang piled up the seized Japanese materials on the small ground and asked Miantang and a group of military dependents to share the items and distribute them to the people of nearby villages.

 

Over the years, these villages have suffered the most severe poisoning.

 

The people are living a miserable life one by one. Many girls twelve or thirteen years old from poor families do not even have fabric skirts to cover their bodies. They only use a unique local palm leaf to poke into thin ropes and weave skirts around their waist.

 

But looking at the various materials on Kou Island, as well as the cloth and porcelain obtained from the robbery of merchant ships, they were simply piled up into small hills.

 

In addition to those that need to be deposited into the national treasury, after selecting and registering some ordinary cloth utensils, they can be distributed to the local poor people, which can be considered as gratitude for their support to the soldiers of the State of Zhen during this period.

 

Looking at Chief Su Xing again, there was no longer the cold manner he used to have. He took the initiative to lead someone to build a shed and sort things for the princess consort, which was extremely considerate.

 

Chief Su said that he could witness with his own eyes the expulsion of Tartars by the Great Yan Heroes in this lifetime, even if he died in the North Sea, he would have no regrets.

 

For this job, Miantang was also proficient, which was similar to how she used to rob the rich and help the poor on the Mountain of Yang. Unexpectedly, she has already been offered amnesty by sleeping with Prince Huaiyang and can resume her old business.

 

Although Cui Fu had not yet shown her composure, she was also afraid of getting tired, so Miantang asked someone to put a recliner in the grass shed and asked Cui Fu to drink iced coconut on the side, just to watch the excitement.

 

Liu Miantang, on the other hand, had someone carry a ladder and sit at the top of the ladder with an oil umbrella, commanding everyone to sort and inspect the items. She also reminded some women who love to take advantage of small things to pay attention from time to time.

 

“Hey, you, Zhou An’s family, with a lighter hand, sorted out the tea set with the welcome garden picture at the bottom of the pot. That thing is precious. If you give it to ordinary people’s families, it cannot be used as a good thing. If it broke, a hundred taels of silver would be considered gone. After we have won such a big battle, we must let the emperor see some good things in the court! It’s all about filial piety to the emperor, so don’t note on the wrong booklet.”

 

As she spoke, she took a sip of water from the small porcelain teapot and glanced at the Li Shan family. “What are you secretly sitting under your buttocks? I’ve been talking about you so many times. When you see the beautiful fabric, you want to share it within your own house. The prince will calculate the reward for the general separately. After pilling so much, it’s almost enough to lift you to the sky! Don’t worry, the fabric distributed to your house is enough for you to change your foot wrap every day.”

 

As soon as these words were spoken, the military dependents in the small square burst into laughter. The Li Shan family explained that it was because the ground was cold that the fabric was placed inside the skirt.

 

Amidst a burst of laughter, suddenly someone rushed over.

 

“Princess Consort, Lady, something bad has happened!” Mo Ru ran sweating profusely.

 

Miantang frowned and said, “What’s the matter? Speak slowly, don’t be so agitated.”

 

Mo Ru swallowed and spat, saying, “A letter has come from the State of Zhen’s hometown, saying that… Saying that the Old Lady is no longer in good health…”

 

As soon as these words were spoken, Cui Fu was startled and immediately stood up, her body shaking slightly.

 

Miantang quickly descended the ladder and went over to help Cui Fu. She frowned and said, “What the hell is going on?”

 

Mo Ru shook his head and said, “I can’t explain it clearly for a moment. I suggest that you and the young lady hurry back to the mansion and inquire with the prince in detail.”

 

When Cui Fu followed Miantang anxiously back to the mansion in a sedan chair, she saw Cui Xingzhou and Li Guangcai sitting together seriously discussing matters.

 

Before Cui Fu could enter, she trembled and asked, “What’s… What’s wrong with my mother?”

 

Li Guangcai quickly stood up and supported her arm to comfort her, saying, “Don’t worry, mother-in-law is just suffering from the cold. After being treated by the famous doctor, she will recover.”

 

Cui Fu took a look at her letter from home and realized that her mother had recently been at a banquet with a chill or something. At first, she thought that it was just a cold, but after a while, she always felt back pain and chest tightness. Recently, when she was walking in the garden of the Residence, she fell to the ground. If it weren’t for the Steward who called the doctor in the residence in time and continued her life with Danshen tablets. She was afraid that she would almost have been unable to wake up.

 

The steward dared not conceal the illness of the old lady from the prince, so he quickly dispatched a courier station to deliver the message to Cui Xingzhou.

 

Normally, even for important officials who serve in the court, such as those whose parents are seriously ill, the emperor should prioritize filial piety and let the courtiers return to their hometowns.

 

After all, not being able to deliver to the high court is an unbearable moral flaw.

 

According to this situation, Cui Xingzhou should return to the State of Zhen to visit his mother. If the Old Princess Consort really can’t endure this, once she passes away, as a son, he will need to return to his hometown to be a filial son for three years and cannot enter the court again.

 

Liu Miantang can no longer remember her mother-in-law, the Old Princess Consort, and naturally has no very sad feelings to express.

 

But all the way back, she kept listening to Cui Fu talking about how healthy her mother’s body was, looking even younger than some women in their thirties. Why did she suddenly get so sick?

 

Listening to these words, Miantang suddenly realized that if the Old Princess Consort was seriously ill, she was afraid that Imperial Uncle Shi could take the opportunity of Cui Xingzhou’s absence from the court to overturn the ironclad evidence and escape a major disaster.

 

But now, she can’t think of anything else. Fortunately, due to the fear of being defeated and fleeing, all the luggage was packed.

 

Cui Xingzhou was preparing to depart the next day and return to the State of Zhen with his family. He will decide whether to return to the capital after going back to see his mother’s situation.

 

At night, Cui Xingzhou played with Xiaoyi’er for a while. After the nanny took Xiaoyi’er away and coaxed him to bed, he suddenly said to Miantang, “I just received news that someone happened to assassinate the escort team of the two imperial envoys and Takatsukasa on the way to the capital.”

 

Miantang frowned and said, “Imperial Uncle Shi, this is a desperate move. He wants to get rid of witnesses like Takatsukasa and the two imperial envoys and cover up his charges of colluding with the Japanese and framing you. What’s the matter? Have they succeeded?”

 

Cui Xingzhou closed his eyes and said, These assassins act very strangely, like specially trained warriors who are fearless of life and death. They are all tied with explosive bags and ignite to die with the guards when they cannot pass. There are many guards I sent, and there are also many experts, who were forced to blast a path with their flesh and blood. However, what’s strange is that… All the assassins are rushing toward Takatsukasa, and not one of them goes to bomb those two imperial guards… In the end, Takatsukasa was blown to pieces and died.”

 

Miantang couldn’t understand after listening. After calculation, the most powerful evidence of the collusion of the Japanese by Takatsukasa this time was those two imperial envoys, after all, they intentionally leaked the military plot to Takatsukasa!

 

There was no reason why those dead soldiers only killed Takatsukasa and left two living certificates as imperial envoys!

 

Was it that? Those assassins were not sent by Imperial Uncle Shi? Then, who would that be? What deadly secrets do they want to conceal?

 

After thinking for a while, Miantang asked, “Takatsukasa has a study on the island that specializes in handling letters. Have you ever checked it?”

 

Cui Xingzhou said, “I have ordered someone to bring back all the items in his study. I have read all his letters, including those written in Japanese, and have had them translated by someone who speaks Japanese. There are indeed testimonial letters from him and Imperial Uncle Shi regarding the smuggling of iron ore, but they do not mention the five cannons.”

 

Upon hearing this, Miantang pondered silently for a while but still had no clue. He said to Cui Xingzhou, “I… I want to go and see the things used by Takstsukasa, maybe I can discover something.”

 

The night was a bit chilly, so Cui Xingzhou picked up a cloak and put it on Miantang. The two of them walked out of the room hand in hand, and in the cold moonlight of the starry sky, they walked to a courtyard.

 

Several guards are guarding the entrance of the courtyard.

 

Miantang and Cui Xingzhou walked into the room, lit candles, and saw neatly stacked letters and various objects on the desk and ground. At a glance, they knew they had been carefully examined.