Standing at the door of the Xia family's old house, it was already less than two months ago, and everyone felt as if they had lived a lifetime ago.
The danger of death in the labor camp, the warmth of the small courtyard in Nantian Lane, all these things over the past month have surged up bit by bit, from the heart to the eye sockets, turned into tears, and then fell bit by bit.
Xia Mingxiong and Xia Hengzhi wiped away their tears and stepped forward at the same time, each pushing open the door of the mansion.
Lu Erhu really didn't dare to neglect. He cleaned the house and restored it to its original appearance as much as possible. He even replenished a lot of furniture that was damaged because of the house raid that day.
Xia Jingyun and the rest of the Xia family don't have that kind of mental disorder, and they are not wearing clothes and bedding, so they can use them once they are done.
The first thing they did when they returned to the mansion was that everyone, led by Xia Mingxiong, went to the ancestral hall of their home, lit incense and prayed in front of the ancestral tablets, and told the story of the wanderer's return home.
Thanks to the fact that people today still believe in the theory of ghosts and gods, and thanks to the fact that Lu Erhu hasn't had time to dispose of them in this courtyard, these ancestral tablets are still well preserved, otherwise no one would be able to worship them if they wanted to.
After finishing all this work, before they had time to clean up the house, the chief who escorted them here came to report that there were many people outside, and they all said they were old friends.
Although everyone knows what these "old friends" are like, they shouldn't be too harsh on them.
So Xia Mingxiong and Xia Hengzhi spent the whole day picking up customers and living the day to the fullest.
Among them, a thousand taels of silver were given to the family friend who took the risk to visit them last night as a token of gratitude.
With the help of the visiting women, the house was quickly tidied up both inside and outside.
In the evening, we called for some noodles from the county and had a good meal together.
Work until late at night before resting.
Tonight, these non-commissioned officers have a spacious resting place where they can take a bath, rest and have a good night's rest.
Xia Jingyun was sitting in the original owner's room, looking at this small world. The memory of studying hard in the past ten years could not help but come to mind. Something was strange in his heart, so he simply got up and walked around the courtyard.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he went out, he saw Xia Yunfei walking out of the room opposite.
The two brothers smiled at each other tacitly, then found a stone bench and sat down.
Xia Yunfei said: "I see that you still have a worried look on your eyebrows all day long. Everything is fine now, what's the point of being anxious?"
Xia Jingyun pursed his lips, "I still feel like something's not quite right. I always feel like I'm thinking in the wrong direction, which leads to a lot of confusion."
"Is it still about Mr. Zheng?"
"Yeah. It's so weird, there's no way to pretend it didn't happen!"
"Think about it slowly and protect yourself. Sooner or later, they will show their flaws."
Xia Jingyun agreed, and that was all he could do. Then the two chatted for a few more words, and Xia Yunfei patted him on the shoulder.
"Well, get some rest early. We have to rush back to Jiang'an tomorrow."
"Okay, brother, you should also go to bed early."
The two brothers said goodbye to each other, and then they lay on their beds and looked at the sky.
There is nothing else to do now, otherwise we would awkwardly meet each other in the canyon after saying good night.
Xia Jingyun silently calculated that today was already the sixth day since Empress Dowager De's arrival, August 12th, and tomorrow would be August 13th.
Concubine De will only stay in Jiang'an for a total of ten days during this trip.
After the banquet on August 15th, Empress Dowager De was reunited with her old father at home for one day. She took the opportunity to wrap up everything for this trip. She then went to Sishui Prefecture to show off her royal dignity before setting off back to Beijing.
Could it be that Zheng Tianyu saw that Concubine De was now his great supporter and didn't dare to act rashly anymore?
Do you have to wait until Empress Dowager De to leave and Wudangjun’s guards to take any action?
But where the hell did I offend him!
My eldest brother has joined the army now, should I hire a bodyguard?
The old servant next to the master trained his eldest brother for half a month, and he became a soldier that even the generals of the Wudang Army valued. It would be a good idea to ask him, right?
With these random thoughts running through his mind, Xia Jingyun fell asleep without knowing when.
After a good night's sleep, when he woke up the next day, Xia Jingyun was full of energy and vitality.
To put it more mysteriously, home seems to have a strange magic power that can make people relax physically and mentally;
To put it simply, everything is complete now, there is no need to worry about it, and the mind will naturally recover quickly.
Looking at the rest of the Xia family, they all had smiles on their faces, which made the autumn colors outside bring out a hint of spring.
After having breakfast with their families and chatting about things like hiring maids and nursing homes, Xia Jingyun and Xia Yunfei said goodbye to their families and left with their team.
In Wanfu County, the two juniors don't need to worry about these things.
As for talking about the future, we can wait until the empress leaves.
Without the burden of carriages and cargo on the return journey, everyone whipped their horses all the way and rested once on the way. It only took half a day to get back to Jiang'an City.
After arriving outside the city, Xia Yunfei took his team back to the Wudang Army camp to resume their duties, while Xia Jingyun took another team directly to Yun Mansion.
The guards in the mansion now all knew him, so he came to Concubine De's courtyard without any obstruction.
The palace maid on duty went to report. After a while, Feng Xiuyun came out and looked at him. A smile appeared subconsciously on her beautiful face. "The empress told you to wait in the main hall. She will come over soon."
"good!"
Xia Jingyun naturally knew that people in melon fields and plums should not be talked about. He nodded, turned around and went out, only to find that Feng Xiuyun was also walking out with him.
"You don't have to go back?"
"I'm going out to do something."
Xia Jingyun now has all the big things settled, and he feels relaxed. He used to worry all day long, but now he doesn't have to worry too much.
Smelling the faint fragrance wafting from the side, he was confused and jokingly said with a smile: "Speaking of which, you are leaving. If we don't spend the two days before and after, aren't you afraid that I will change my mind next year?"
Feng Xiuyun stood still, with the usual determination on her beautiful face, "I am willing to accept defeat. If you change your mind, you will treat me as blind."
Xia Jingyun suddenly stretched out his hand and touched her butt lightly.
"Eh?" Feng Xiuyun quickly looked around, with a flustered and nervous look on his face.
"Don't be so tense, you're tired." Xia Jingyun smiled and said, "Don't worry, I won't let you down."
Feng Xiuyun broke through instantly and blushed, "I won't tell you anymore!"
Xia Jingyun sat in the main hall for a while and soon waited for Concubine De.
Looking at the dusty Xia Jingyun, Concubine De smiled and said, "You too, don't even bother to freshen up. We don't need to be so polite between us."
"Isn't it because I can't help but miss my sister?" Xia Jingyun smiled, then stood up and thanked her, "Thanks to my sister's reputation, everything went well when I returned home."
Concubine De waved her hand and said, "I didn't do anything. It's you who can do it and sit up straight. There's no need to thank me."
"Hey, I had so many things to worry about before, but now I've settled everything all at once, and I'm still a little uncomfortable!"
Concubine De smiled playfully, "Didn't you redeem a girl in a brothel? Are you still afraid of being lonely? Do you want me to give Xiuyun a day off?"
Ahem, I almost forgot that the aloof imperial concubine was actually a young woman, and she was a bit cold and fierce when talking to people close to her.
Xia Jingyun laughed awkwardly and said, "No, no, no, sister, business is important."
Concubine De smiled and rolled her eyes at him, then calmed down and said, "Qiu Wei is coming soon, are you ready?"
Xia Jingyun hummed, "I will definitely live up to my sister's expectations."
Then the two of them chatted about some major affairs in the state and county. Only then did Xia Jingyun realize that the Wudang Army's anti-bandit campaign had entered a critical stage, and it would take another few months to achieve full success.
At the same time, money and grain were continuously transferred from outside, and the disaster relief measures launched by various counties at the same time were also promoted in an orderly manner.
In addition, many state officials were taken down due to corruption. According to the emperor's order and the central government's opinion, Li Tianfeng, the minister of the Ministry of Rites, was announced by De Concubine to be the temporary acting prefect. After carefully listening to De Concubine's instructions, he appointed temporary substitutes one by one. He only needs to wait for Concubine De to complete his appointment as state pastor after her return to Beijing. There will be no procedural issues with these appointments and they will be officially recognized by the empire.
These people will all be counted as members of the Virtuous Concubine lineage to some extent.
And it is even more foreseeable that big figures from all walks of life will consider placing bets because they see that Concubine De has done such a big thing. They recognize Concubine De's abilities.
Xia Jingyun couldn't help but sigh: "Just this one thing can accumulate huge political capital for my sister!"
Concubine De nodded slightly, her stunning appearance still showed no signs of haggard, but her tone was a little tired, "But it is indeed tiring. Things from all directions have to be gathered here. In addition, people's hearts are full of ghosts, plotting every day, and being on guard everywhere. I Sometimes I can’t help but wonder why we have to live so hard!”
Xia Jingyun said softly: "We calculate many things, but in the end we just want to avoid calculating a few things."
Concubine De was stunned, nodded and smiled.
Xia Jingyun looked up at Concubine De, "I hope I can become someone that my sister can completely trust and rely on in the future."
Concubine De's heart warmed slightly, and she looked at the man she liked more and more with a smile, "Okay, I'll wait for that day."
After chatting with Concubine De, Xia Jingyun went to find Mr. Yun again.
Su Shidao knew that he was an eyesore here these days, so he went out to have a drink with his friends. It happened that Xia Jingyun and Mr. Yun could talk alone.
He told what happened on the way, and then said seriously: "Master, what do you think Zheng Tianyu is planning? If you want to take action, yesterday and today are rare opportunities. Why not take action? Is it possible that you want to take action in the city?" To assassinate me? Wouldn’t that be easier to expose?”
Mr. Yun also looked serious and said thoughtfully: "The key problem is that we don't know why the Zheng family boy wants to deal with you, and there is no way to prevent it."
Xia Jingyun was speechless and said, "Isn't it? I can't even imagine when I would provoke such a person. I can only wait for the other party to take action. It's so uncomfortable!"
Seeing Xia Jingyun scratching his head and scratching his head with a sad look on his face, Mr. Yun comforted him: "Don't think so much. Things in this world are unpredictable, and good and bad things depend on each other."
"It's just like when you were framed, your family was confiscated and you were sent away. It's pitiful, but because of this, you got this chance and became the apprentice of this old man like me, and even the adopted brother of the empress."
"Just like our county, if the county magistrate hadn't forced Lieutenant Shi to go out to suppress the bandits, Lieutenant Shi wouldn't have died so unluckily, and there wouldn't have been a new county captain. Now there's no such thing. This is a good situation in the county where everything is safe and sound.”
"Just wait and be careful, the trap will eventually show up."
Xia Jingyun had no choice but to nod.
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In Jiang'an City, in a small courtyard not far from Nantian Lane, a woman in green clothes was tending to pots of daisies and potted plants with her newly bought maid.
When there was a knock on the door, both of them looked at the door, their eyes full of alertness.
The maidservant is very loyal, because it is rare to find a master in the world who returns the deed of sale to her as soon as she buys her, and who is also very kind to her.
So she stepped forward bravely and shouted through the door, "Who is it?"
A calm voice came from outside the door, "I am Xia Jingyun's man."
The courtyard door opened, and standing outside was a beauty in palace attire, with a beautiful face, a bit of coquettishness in her aloofness, looking at them calmly.
