Chen Kan had no choice but to stretch out his hand and put it on Fengyang's head.
"Bad daddy, bad daddy, bad daddy..."
Fengyang was obviously unconvinced, and kept moving his round little head towards Chen Kan.
Then he soared into the air as he pressed against him!
Chang Ning held Fengyang in his arms and scolded him angrily: "Eat, don't make trouble again!"
As soon as Chang Ning yelled at him, Fengyang immediately calmed down, which can be said to be a vivid interpretation of the four words of bullying the weak and fearing the strong.
Chen Kan filled his stomach quickly, burped, and was about to get into the carriage and sleep again when the sound of rapid horse hooves came from the reeds behind the Xiangjiang River.
"Master Hou, Master Hou!"
Before anyone arrived, the sound came first, and a moment later, several horses entered the camp where Chen Kan was.
"Master Marquis, the old lady, the old lady has passed away."
The visitor got off his horse, knelt down on one knee in front of Chen Kan, but the news he brought made Chen Kan's eyesight instantly go dark.
Here in Chen Kan, there is only one person who can be called an old lady, his wife Zheng.
"What did you say?"
Chen Kan asked in disbelief, and the messenger hurriedly repeated: "Master Hou, Mrs. Fang Zheng, the wife of Mr. Fang, the Minister of Rites, passed away at home on the sixth day of July."
"how come?"
Chen Kan was a little stunned.
"It shouldn't be. When I left the capital, wasn't my wife still fine?"
Chen Kan shook his head, his expression full of disbelief.
At the same time, a faint sense of sadness suddenly emerged from my heart.
"Husband, husband!!!"
Chang Ning hurriedly put Fengyang on the ground and held Chen Kan's arm.
"Go back to the capital, quickly, go back to the capital!"
Chen Kan suddenly panicked, and he couldn't tell what his mood was now.
It seems a little sad.
He really should be sad.
This body was raised by the Zheng family. After he came to the Ming Dynasty, Fang Xiaoru and the Zheng family also treated him as their own son.
In the Ming Dynasty, Chen Kan had no relatives.
Fang Xiaoru and Zheng are his only elders in this world.
But most of it seems unbelievable.
He didn't quite believe it. It was clear that Zheng was still so energetic when he left the capital. Apart from being unable to move physically, she was still in good spirits.
"Husband, don't worry, we will return to the capital right now."
Chang Ning seemed to see through Chen Kan's mood, holding Chen Kan tightly with both hands, and then quickly called Yuncheng over to start making arrangements.
"Give the order, everyone should turn around and return to the capital."
"Yun Cheng, send two people to Tanzhou to tell the emperor's grandson and the prince of Han that the Marquis will return to Beijing first, and ask them to go to Yunnan to meet Liu Yushi after finishing their affairs in Tanzhou."
"Yun Niang, dispatch the fleet."
At the critical moment, Chang Ning showed the demeanor that a princess should have.
As her order was issued, the convoy quickly moved into action.
Chen Kan came to his senses, broke away from Chang Ning's hand, and said in a deep voice: "It's too late, it's too late."
Chang Ning was stunned and asked doubtfully: "Why is it too late?"
Chen Kan shook his head and said: "The speed of the convoy can't keep up. Master's wife passed away on the sixth day of July. Today is already July 14th. According to the teacher's character, Master's wife will definitely be buried lightly. The time of her death will not be too long. Maybe They are being buried now.”
Chen Kan's mind was frighteningly clear now. He knew Fang Xiaoru, and with Fang Xiaoru's character, he would never organize the funeral of his master's wife with great fanfare.
The most that can be done is to inform the descendants and clan.
Fang Xiaoru was from Ninghai, Zhejiang, only three days away from the capital.
Eight days have passed now, and people from the Fang clan and the Zheng family must have arrived in the capital.
Even if Fang Xiaoru is now the Minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, when his wife dies, the court needs to give her certain honors, such as being buried with a few grades of imperial edict.
But this time will not be too long, no more than a month at most.
He rushed back with his whole family, but it would definitely be too late.
Thinking of this, Chen Kan suddenly took Chang Ning's hand and said with a serious face: "I'll go back. I'll go back to attend the funeral of Master Niang. Madam, you take Yun Niang and Fengyang and continue walking towards Yunnan. Leave the matter of Yongding Guard to them. Two brothers, send someone to deliver the message to them. One will stay in Tanzhou and the other will rush to Yongding Guard. When the master's wife is buried, I will catch up with you quickly."
Chang Ning frowned and said, "But Xiao He'er and the others don't have a clue about the affairs in Tanzhou yet. If we ask them to send one of them to Yongding Guard, will they be able to handle it?"
"We should do it even if we can't figure it out. Tell them that they are no longer children."
Chen Kan's voice rose a little, and Chang Ning could only nod his head and said, "I will ask someone to tell them."
Chen Kan nodded and continued: "The matchmaker is well aware of the tasks arranged by His Majesty this time. Let the matchmaker assist the two brothers. Do what you can and leave what you can't until I come back."
"I see!"
Hearing Chang Ning's consent, Chen Kan did not delay. He took two horses and a few personal guards and left the camp, running towards the capital.
When Zheng passed away, Chen Kan had to go back to mourn.
He is a disciple, not a son, so there is no such thing as observing filial piety for three years.
But it is necessary to go to the funeral.
The Ming Dynasty governed the country with filial piety, but Chen Kan did not even go back to wear sackcloth and wear filial piety when his wife died. That was unfilial.
Even with Chen Kan's current status, he couldn't bear the big label of being unfilial.
But his mission out of Beijing this time has not been completed yet, so he can only place his hope on his two disciples.
To put it bluntly, Chen Kan's trip to Yunnan this time was just a name or a matter of convenience.
What he really wants to do is what Zhu Di told him.
If Zhu Di wants to restart the enfeoffment system, he will definitely encounter opposition from many people, so Zhu Di must first resolve all the conflicts that should be resolved in the Ming Dynasty before bringing up this matter.
And Chen Kan was the tailor he chose.
Some local matters are difficult for the emperor to control remotely, and must be done by trustworthy people.
Only when the Ming Dynasty stabilized and Zhu Di had no worries, could he devote all his energy to fighting wits and courage with those who opposed the resumption of the enfeoffment system.
There was no other way. The enfeoffment system Zhu Di wanted to implement was completely different from the enfeoffment system in history.
The Ming Dynasty was an empire that had formed a complete national system. The domestic interest chain was basically formed during the Hongwu period. If Zhu Di wanted to restart the enfeoffment system, those who were enfeoffed would inevitably take away a large amount of manpower, material resources and even financial resources.
After all, to open up new territories, both money and people are indispensable.
But it is definitely impossible for Zhu Di to conjure these things out of thin air, so he can only divide them from the chain of interests of others.
Therefore, restarting the enfeoffment system is definitely not just a matter of words, but a new distribution of benefits.
And this distribution of benefits must be completed before Zhu Gaoxu's class teacher returns to the court. Otherwise, with Zhu Gaoxu's temperament, if time drags on, he will definitely try his best to stay in the capital and not leave.
Therefore, whether attending funerals or easing domestic conflicts, Chen Kan and Chen Kan cannot give up.
Then we can only temporarily arrest the Zhu brothers to carry out the task.
As for how well they did, that can only be said after doing it.
After Chen Kan left, the morale of the entire camp seemed a bit low.
Chang Ning thought for a while, then called Yuncheng to arrange the things Chen Kan ordered one by one.
This time Chen Kan took them away from the capital. Although she didn't say what she wanted to do, she was a woman who grew up in the royal family after all, and she still had the simplest sense of politics.
As for the people who travel between the convoy and Tanzhou to report the news, they can only fall on Chen Kan's personal guards. The matchmaker and Wu Di will not see the light after all. Chang Ning does not want to use them until the critical moment.
Soon, Chang Ning arranged everything and the team continued on the road.
Only this time, the destination of the convoy is no longer Yongdingwei, but Yunnan.
As the motorcade set off on the road, Chang Ning and Yun Niang rode in the same car together. Both women were a little worried.
Things in Tanzhou are still a mess, and something happened in the capital again.
Now that Chen Kan is gone, he doesn't know when he will be back.
No matter how smart the Zhu brothers are, given their age and experience, they can only rely on theory to do many things.
She and Yun Niang were from women's families, so they couldn't help the Zhu brothers.
No one expected that in an instant, the situation would become what it is now.
In the carriage, the two women were in a depressed mood for a while, and they couldn't help but sigh secretly at the same time.
On the contrary, little Fengyang was very excited, because with her bad father gone, she could have her mother and aunt all to herself.
Therefore, when the atmosphere of the entire team was gloomy, Fengyang's silver bell-like laughter could be heard from time to time in the carriage that Chang Ning was riding in.
Miraculously, as Fengyang's laughter continued to spread, the deadly silence of the convoy began to become harmonious again after driving a certain distance.
...
After Chen Kan left the camp, he led a group of guards to beat horses and run wildly.
Chen Kan had not expected that Mrs. Zheng would pass away this year. He made a special trip to see her when he was out of Beijing.
Zheng's mental state was still good at that time, and Chen Kanju felt that she could survive for at least a few more years.
But life is so impermanent, and things like birth, old age, illness, and death are beyond human control.
All he can do now is to rush back to the capital as soon as possible, and at least give Zheng a last leg of his life to show his kindness in raising her.
Fortunately, he is still in Huguang and not too far from the capital.
If he had already arrived in Yunnan, he might not even be able to make the last journey back to the capital to see off Zheng.
"Drive, drive, drive~"
Chen Kan drove the war horse on his crotch very fast, and the scenery and objects behind him were left behind at an extremely fast speed.
The sound of rapid horse hooves resounded on both sides of the official road. When the sky darkened, Chen Kan had already galloped more than sixty miles.
"Master Marquis, why don't you take a rest? If you keep running, the horse will be unable to withstand it."
The roar of the guards came from behind. Chen Kan came to his senses and looked down, only to find that foam was already appearing between the mouth and nose of the war horse.
Chen Kan was suddenly startled. He hurriedly reined in his horse and shouted, "Everyone, rest here for half an hour."
Hearing Chen Kan's voice, a group of guards breathed a sigh of relief.
Chen Kan was traveling with such high intensity that no matter how powerful the team was, he would not be able to withstand it. He had to take a good rest for a while.
