If he could do something for his daughter, even just a little, he would at least hope that she could fulfill her wish.
To fulfill his daughter's wishes was the last thing he could do as a father.
Xie Ying carried Xie Shangguang out the door, their figures disappearing into the night.
Just as the palace guards were changing shifts, they encountered a soldier carrying Xie Shangguang in. Without a second thought, the guards let them in.
Xie Ying carried Xie Shangguang back to the palace, passing by Lanzhang Palace and heading directly towards the Zidian Palace.
Once they found a sheltered spot, Xie Ying placed Xie Shangguang in a corner of the carved railing, where the shadows of the corner concealed him.
Xie Ying entered the inner palace.
At this moment, Yelü Qiqi was still awake. During her time at Xie Ying's house, Madam Wang taught her to weave towels, but she was clumsy and never learned well. Now, to pass the time and ease her longing for that person, she had unknowingly learned to weave.
Before I knew it, I had knitted a pair of gloves in a single day. The gloves were only slightly larger than myself.
Thinking of Xie Ying's rough hands, she gently grasped her own, looking cautious and hesitant. Silently, a smile slowly appeared on Xie Ying's face.
Just as she stepped into the hall, she came into Xie Ying's view, and Xie Ying's calm expression suddenly softened.
She called softly, "Qiqi."
Qiqi looked up blankly at Xie Ying standing in front of her, her eyes filled with tenderness and love, completely embracing Xie Ying's image.
"Here we go again." Qiqi put down her gloves and said with a wry smile, "I drifted off to sleep again without even realizing it."
Xie Ying walked up to her, knelt on one knee with the other leg propped up, and then cupped Qi Qi's face as if it were a precious treasure, giving Qi Qi a light but firm kiss on the lips.
Yelü Qiqi felt her real, rapid breathing, and she finally realized that this was not a dream.
The woman she had been thinking about all day finally arrived.
The night was like a deep, dark sea, heavy and oppressive.
Lanzhang Palace.
Si Xitong quietly climbed out of Xie Lanzhi's arms, tucked the blanket around the person who had finally fallen asleep, and then covered herself with Xie Lanzhi's large black cloak. She then went outside.
Zhang Changle jumped down from the roof and whispered, "Master."
"I've kept you waiting," Si Xitong said. "What news is there?"
Zhang Changle said, "Indeed, as the Marshal said, the Huns in Weidu are secretly preparing a plan to arrest people."
He just didn't know that the information from the marshal was far too accurate.
Si Xitong thought to herself, "Just as I thought. The dream Lan Zhi spoke of must be real." She also breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed Heaven hadn't intended to abandon Lan Zhi, having granted her new abilities while taking away her inner strength. The mission to defeat Aqina, this unpredictable being, now fell to her.
Thinking of Lanzhi's heavy burden, and the fact that her three children were all expressing their own opinions, none of them were giving her any peace of mind.
She said, "You can send people to keep an eye on things, but don't rush to arrest them. It's not too late to wait until they take Anshan out of Weidu."
The area surrounding Weidu is entirely comprised of vassal states of New Tianjing, essentially her territory. Within her territory, it would be difficult for these people to escape. Currently, they are being held hostage to verify the identity of the third double.
As long as she has a firm grip on the third person, Aqina's life or death will be decided!
Zhang Changle said, "Master, news from Qiankun indicates that Aba has woken up and is now clamoring to find the Marshal."
Si Xitong raised an eyebrow: "Send someone to buy time, so that the Marshal won't have to go to all this trouble."
"The Yue Kingdom has also appointed a new ruler to oversee the overall situation," Zhang Changle said. "After all, the Yue Kingdom was conquered by the Marshal, and the people of Yue no longer dare to support a royal family with rebellious intentions. Therefore..."
Si Xitong said, "Then let's go with Zheng Xiu."
"In addition, send Qiankun to keep an eye on Zheng Xiu."
Those honest people certainly wouldn't dare to rebel rashly again. There's no one in Yue who can fight now; even if they organized a force, they couldn't withstand Xie Bing's attack.
However, in order to reduce the pressure on Vietnam's border defenses and prevent Vietnam from stirring up trouble again.
Si Xitong then ordered, "Send Aba Na to the main city of Yue and have him garrison the main city of Yue."
In order to cooperate with Xie Lanzhi, Aba Na would definitely adopt a humble attitude and obey her every word. Besides, even if Aba Na stayed in Mingbao, his 20,000 men would still need someone to command them to prevent any unrest among them.
This idea, which seemed to benefit Aba by killing two birds with one stone, was actually just a distraction tactic.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Changle's eyes lit up. "Master's move is brilliant! It's a decisive blow to destroy their spirit! The Yue Kingdom can't defeat Xie Bing, so they inevitably harbor resentment. But if we put someone they dislike even more in front of them, Aba will surely absorb most of the Yue Kingdom's resentment and eventually become a thorn in Yue's side."
Afterwards, Zhang Changle told her about Xie Ying secretly sneaking into the inner palace.
Si Xitong frowned slightly, suddenly understanding why Lan Zhi was so worried. These two younger people were indeed immature and naive, only knowing how to love head-on without considering the future.
But when emotions run wild, who can control them?
Si Xitong ordered Zhang Changle to wait another quarter of an hour before immediately kicking the person out.
Zhang Changle immediately sent people to guard the inner palace.
Before the sent spies could even begin timing, Xie Ying emerged from the inner palace, then carried Xie Shangguang back to his residence.
Xie Shangguang had a temporary outer room in the palace where the imperial guards would rest during their night shifts. Xie Ying placed him on the bed and turned to close the door.
Xie Shangguang had woken up at some point. He asked, "Are you done talking?"
Xie Ying froze, turned her head, and looked surprised: "You..."
Xie Shangguang got out of bed, crossed his arms, and looked serious, a demeanor somewhat reminiscent of someone else.
"Now I finally understand the Marshal's good intentions."
Xie Ying remained silent.
"Xie Ying, you can't save the little princess right now," Xie Shangguang said. "During the day, I thought the marshal was very domineering and wanted to control everything."
"Now I understand that for her, this was the life of all three of us. If any one of us didn't handle it well, it would all be ruined here."
"You are not good enough for her."
After Xie Shangguang finished speaking, he lay on the bed, rolled over, and curled the blanket into a ball, leaving the back of his head exposed to Xie Ying.
Xie Ying was grateful to her no matter what. But she would no longer be timid. Her father was right: even if it was a dead end, they had to find a way out.
Finally, Xie Ying somehow managed to slip out of the palace.
It's certain that Zhang Changle turned a blind eye, and Zhang Ju also turned a blind eye. Currently, for both the Censorate and the Western Guard, capturing Anshan is the most important thing.
For the next three days, the new Tianjing was peaceful as usual, and the people were happy and chatting about the New Year.
In the third year of the Jin Dynasty, in the third month, people began to prepare for spring planting.
Xie Ying was still digging in the river mud when the officials on the bank noticed that the little girl who usually followed them was gone. They couldn't help but ask her about it.
Xie Ying simply said she had gone home.
The officials didn't pay much attention, and soon a fight broke out on the shore. Some laborers came to report the incident, and the two officials hurriedly ran towards the crowd not far away.
At this moment, Xie Ying went ashore, scooped up a handful of silt with both hands, picked out a dagger from it, and hid it in the haystack.
Today is another quiet day.
The next day, the officers received another report of a quarrel. This time, it was an old man surnamed Xie arguing with a shrew. He was slapped by the shrew and twisted his back. Now he was lying on the ground demanding compensation from the shrew.
The officials handled one civil case after another.
On the third day, the shrew's vegetable garden was completely robbed, and the thief even defecated in her garden as a show of defiance. The shrew reported the theft again, but the officials initially thought it was a minor matter and didn't intend to pursue it.
As a result, a torrent of excrement fell from the sky, scalding both officials to a crisp.
The officers immediately drew their swords and cursed. Someone jumped down from the roof and ran away. The officers, while clutching their backs and retching, still had to give chase.
Afterwards, the officers, focused on catching the guy who threw the excrement, ignored Xie Ying. They assumed Xie Ying was honest and wouldn't dare to run away, so they relaxed and chased after the guy who made them smear excrement.
That scoundrel is so stubborn; he's always hanging around that shrew, as if he only ever picks on her. The shrew, unable to contain her anger, curses and curses until her throat is hoarse, yet she still can't vent her frustration.
The neighbors enjoyed a few days of peace and quiet until the voice went hoarse.
Until something was also pulled at their door. The neighbors immediately picked up hoes and guarded their doors day and night, wanting to see which fool was daring to act so recklessly at their doorstep.
At the same time, Zhang Changle personally went to Jianzhang Palace to deliver the message.
Xie Ying ran away. She ran away to Weidu.
Zhang Changle asked in disbelief, "Your Highness, our people haven't revealed a single piece of information about Weidu. How did Xie Ying know?"
Compared to him, Si Xitong was much calmer. She put down one folded document, picked up another from the other side, and flipped through it: "Whoever it is, if she has the ability to prove herself, it doesn't matter."
"If we fail, at least she'll give up on that idea."
Zhang Changle said speechlessly, "Your Highness, if you knew about this, you should have intervened. This is far too chaotic."
They waited for ten days before they got any news, and then a little girl found out in the blink of an eye. It was incredibly demoralizing when it got out.
They in Xiwei are known for being tight-lipped, but it's not enough for just Xiwei to keep their mouths shut; everyone else should also keep quiet!
Si Xitong said, "This information was originally given by the Marshal, so of course she has the right to exercise it."
Zhang Changle had no choice but to shut up; after all, only the marshal could provide such well-informed information.
Meanwhile, Xie Ying had already taken a boat to Weidu.
The boat to Weidu was full of ordinary people, and everyone spoke highly of Weidu: "Weidu's rice is famously cheap. I heard that as long as you pay the commercial tax, they'll deliver it to your door."
"Is there really such a good thing? Then I'll have to buy a few more packs."
The old man on the other side reminded them, "There is no shortage of grain in Tianjing now. Even if you bring in so much grain, you won't be able to sell it. You might even lose money."
“I heard that if you buy 100 catties of rice at five coins per catty, you have to pay six coins. If you buy more than 50 catties, you have to pay one coin as a commercial tax. If you buy 500 catties, you have to pay ten coins. If you buy 1,000 catties, you have to pay twenty coins.”
“You need to buy at least 500 jin of rice to sell. There is a guarantee of delivery, but you have to wait in line for the ship. In the current peak season, it will take two or three months for your rice to be delivered to your home.”
"In that case, you might as well buy a boat, get a boat license in Weidu, pay some road tax, and act as a courier for people. You can make a good profit going back and forth. It's better than waiting around!"
Upon hearing this, the young people on the boat immediately exclaimed in surprise, and everyone surrounded the old man, showering him with praise.
Xie Ying, however, was squatting in the corner of the cabin, her eyes fixed intently on the old man, when she suddenly fell into deep thought.
A note from the author:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2022-01-29 20:44:19 and 2022-01-30 21:02:51!
Thank you to the little angels who threw landmines: Qingshan and Hongyan (1 each);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!