RMACAUH Chapter 46
by VolareChapter 46 Chapter 46 What is this stuff worth? Why don’t you just steal silver…
Seeing him still struggling, Si Mo threatened, “You wouldn’t want me to knock you out again, would you? I’d feel sorry too.”
Feng Xilan gnashed his teeth in anger, but there was absolutely nothing he could do. He could only passively leave the cave with him.
Si Mo whistled, and the horse grazing nearby galloped over upon hearing the whistle. Si Mo took him along on the horse and continued eastward.
About five hundred meters away, a long arrow shot towards them.
Si Mo, with Feng Xilan, agilely dodged the incoming arrow. However, the horse was tripped by a rope buried in the ground. Si Mo, holding Feng Xilan, rolled a few times on the grass. When he flipped over, a long sword was held to his neck.
Feng Xilan took the opportunity to break free from his arms and retreated to Si Ming’s side.
Si Mo stared intently at Feng Xilan, his eyes blazing: “Do you really think Si Ming can protect you for the rest of your life?”
“Shut up, I don’t want to hear your nonsense anymore, kill him quickly!” Feng Xilan ordered. As long as he died, he wouldn’t talk nonsense, and he could safely return to be his Shizi Consort!
“Tie him up and take him back to Nan Zhao to be dealt with by Father.” Si Ming glanced coldly at Si Mo, then looked no further, but protected Feng Xilan onto a horse and headed back.
After sending him back to the carriage, the young servant beside him helped him change his clothes, and then walked away.
When the maidservant brought food, Feng Xilan anxiously grabbed her hand: “Where is your Shizi? I want to see him now.”
“Shizi is resting in the carriage.”
“Take me there.”
The maidservant hesitated for a moment, then led him to Si Ming’s carriage.
“Your Highness, the Shizi Consort requests an audience.”
After a while, Si Ming’s clear, cold voice carried no fluctuation: “Help the Shizi Consort into the carriage.”
The maidservant helped Feng Xilan into the carriage, glanced at Si Ming sitting upright in the seat of honor, and secretly took a breath: “I didn’t know Si Mo would be so crazy, it’s too scary.”
“You’ve suffered. Si Mo’s personality has been like this since he was a child, not worldly and difficult to discipline.”
Feng Xilan clenched his fingers tightly, and opened his mouth with difficulty: “There’s nothing between Si Mo and me… would you believe it?”
Si Ming lowered his eyes, hiding the emotion in them, “Of course I believe you.”
Hearing this sentence, Feng Xilan finally relaxed and forced a smile: “Si Mo has committed such a big mistake, even as a Junwang, he shouldn’t be easily forgiven.”
“Don’t worry, I will definitely give you an explanation when we return to Nan Zhao, but after all, he is a Little Junwang of Nan Zhao, and cannot be arbitrarily dealt with like this outside.”
“In that case, I won’t disturb Your Highness’s rest, I’ll go back to my own carriage first.”
“Yes, you rest well.”
After Feng Xilan got out of the carriage, Si Ming’s eyes were gloomy, and he sneered in disgust.
How ridiculous!
Appearing before everyone in such disheveled clothes, rolling around with Si Mo, if he had any sense of shame, he should have committed suicide to atone for his sins! Instead of putting on a show here to prove a non-existent innocence!
Feng Xilan returned to the carriage with a heavy heart, and slowly ate the food on the table after it had cooled down. The wound on his tongue would probably take a long time to heal.
All because of that damned Si Mo, why is he still alive!?
He must not let him live to Nan Zhao. Every day he lives makes him unable to eat or sleep in peace.
Late at night, Feng Xilan put on a fox fur cloak and walked out of the carriage. The maidservant guarding the night bowed.
“Why hasn’t Shizi Consort rested yet?”
“I can’t sleep, I’ll walk around, don’t follow me.”
“But…”
“What? Doesn’t the Shizi Consort of Nan Zhao have this much freedom?”
“Understood.”
At this time, Si Mo’s hands and feet were bound by chains, and he was locked in a simple prison cart.
Because of his status as a Little Junwang, there was also a thin blanket in the prison cart.
He wrapped himself in the thin blanket, and with his face upturned, was counting the stars in the sky. He counted to a thousand and then started counting again, like an idiot.
Seeing Feng Xilan from afar, he was like a dog that smelled meat, and crawled to the side of the prison cart, his hands tightly gripping the bars and his eyes excitedly staring at him.
Feng Xilan only felt utterly disgusted. Taking advantage of the guards being lax, he walked to the prison cart in a panic.
“Fulang, you’ve come.”
Hearing this title, Feng Xilan felt his scalp explode: “Do you believe I’ll poison you mute?!”
“You’re already my person, what’s wrong with calling you Fulang?”
“Si Mo, you’re not allowed to mention what happened that night again, otherwise I won’t let you go!”
“What happened that night?” Si Mo tilted his head and looked at him suspiciously: “What happened that night?”
Feng Xilan’s breathing was unsteady, and he was trembling all over, “If I don’t live, you don’t think you can live either. We might as well die together.”
“Great! That’s great, if we can’t share the same bed in life, then let us share the same grave in death.”
“You beast!”
“Hahahaha… I know, I’m a beast, I’m your dog, woof woof~”
Feng Xilan supported his forehead, so angry he was about to faint.
“You just wait, one day, I will kill you!”
Si Mo nodded vigorously: “I’m waiting for you.”
“Don’t say it! Did you hear me?!”
“What can you do if I say it?”
“You…” Feng Xilan’s mental defenses collapsed. He was right, she really couldn’t do anything to him. He also knew that Si Ming definitely didn’t believe him, but not believing and saying it out loud were two different things.
Seeing Feng Xilan’s eyes reddening, Si Mo’s heart tightened, and he put his index finger to his lips, making a silencing gesture: “I won’t say it, keep it a secret.”
“Really?”
Si Mo nodded: “Really, I won’t lie to you, I won’t lie to anyone but my Fulang.”
“You, you’re not allowed to call me that!”
“Then what should I call you?”
Feng Xilan saw a guard walking towards this side, so he stopped arguing with this rogue and turned around and left in a hurry.
*
In the following half month, Feng Yue and the others sped up their journey and finally arrived in Guangling in early April.
The current Guangling Wang Mansion was formerly the local Administrative Commissioner’s Office. After the Administrative Commissioner was abolished, the Commissioner’s Office had been vacant.
The carriages stopped one after another in the alley outside the mansion gate. The commotion caused the neighbors to come out and crane their necks to look.
Chief Steward Zhao stepped forward and pushed open the gate. A large spider web fell down, and the dust in the air choked him, causing him to cough repeatedly.
Sang Cai gasped secretly and sighed, “Is this habitable?”
Feng Yue helped Wei Xiaofeng out of the carriage, looked at the dilapidated courtyard, and sighed softly, “Let’s go in and see what the situation is. Anyway, it will have to be renovated and rearranged sooner or later.”
Hearing this sentence, everyone regained their spirits. The crowd carried the items from the carriages down, one box after another, into the courtyard.
The neighbors stared wide-eyed and talked.
“My goodness, are those boxes full of gold, silver, and jewelry?”
“This is a big family!”
“Keep your voice down! This house used to belong to the Commissioner. Ordinary people can’t live here. It must be some big shot from the imperial court.”
“You don’t know, do you? My uncle works in the Provincial Administration Office and received the news issued by the imperial court long ago. This person is the Third Prince of the current dynasty, the current Guangling Wang!”
“Guangling Wang?! Is that the young general who recovered the four provinces?” When a child mentioned him, his eyes twinkled like stars, full of admiration.
“Yes, it’s him!”
“Why would imperial relatives come here?”
……
Feng Yue took Wei Xiaofeng for a walk around this desolate house, and many bricks and tiles had been stolen. None of the doors inside were left. The place was quite big and spacious enough.
Steward Zhao first asked the maidservants and nannies to clean up a room for the master to rest temporarily. It would probably take three to five years to repair it, and it wouldn’t look presentable.
Steward Zhao sighed, “We can only take it slow.”
“I’m making you suffer with me again.” Feng Yue couldn’t help but feel a little discouraged. He had traveled thousands of miles to come here, but ended up with nothing and had to start all over again.
Wei Xiaofeng was very optimistic: “What is this? When it’s cleaned up, it won’t be worse than the previous Wang Mansion.”
Everyone moved the carriages and all their belongings into the courtyard. There were five hundred guards accompanying them. Now that the power of the feudal lords has been weakened, they cannot amass troops on a large scale. From the previous three camps of three thousand guards, to now one camp of one thousand guards.
However, secretly recruiting soldiers and buying horses, with the mountains high and the emperor far away, who can control it?
On the surface, the Nan Zhao feudal lord continues the old department, with only five battalions, but in reality it is far more than that. Moreover, the Nan Zhao Wang has been there for three generations, and the local officials are naturally in cahoots.
The emperor had repeatedly wanted to send people from the imperial court to take over local official positions, but in recent years they had all declined, saying they could not adapt to the local customs.
The emperor could only turn a blind eye. As long as the Nan Zhao Wang was content and self-disciplined, the imperial court would naturally not spend its troops to deal with him. No one likes to fight, and fighting means investing countless financial, material, and human resources.
Now that the four provinces have just been recovered, the national treasury is empty. Not only has the tax not been reduced, but it has been increased by several percent. Although the people complain, as long as they can still live, there will naturally be no trouble.
In this situation, any act of rebellion can stir up a thousand waves.
On the first day, they simply swept away the dust. After cleaning up the master’s temporary residence, they each went to clean up their temporary houses.
At night, everyone bought some wood, came back and lit several bonfires, and after sharing the dry food, they went to sleep.
Feng Yue hadn’t slept in this kind of broken house for a long time. Lying on the couch, he could still see the stars above his head.
Xiaofeng was probably tired from the journey these few days, and was particularly sleepy. Even in this situation, he could still snuggle in his arms and sleep soundly.
Since the last time he had a nightmare, he hadn’t dreamed again.
This made Feng Yue puzzled. Xiaofeng clearly dreamed about the scene of his previous life. He couldn’t draw a conclusion about what kind of opportunity would allow him to dream about it.
Perhaps after experiencing a life-and-death disaster, the soul is unstable, and this kind of situation will occur?
Feng Yue had a jumble of thoughts in his mind. Thinking about it, he fell asleep.
Around three o’clock in the morning, when people were sound asleep, there were some strange noises outside.
He looked at Xiaofeng next to him, pulled the slipped blanket up for him, and quietly got up, put on his clothes, and went out to check.
As soon as he went out, the guards on duty poured out from the shadows and surrounded the twenty or so people who had broken in.
The torches illuminated everything around them. Looking at the attire of these twenty or so people, they were wearing clothes made of coarse cloth, patched with many patches. The old, the young, the women, and the children were all there.
“Kneel down!”
The captain of the guard shouted: “How dare you be so bold, daring to steal from Guangling Wang, don’t you want to live?”
Feng Yue stepped forward, and everyone knelt down. In April, the Guangling area was still very cold at night. These people were thinly dressed and shivering in the cold wind.
“What did you steal?” Feng Yue asked them, “Take it out now, and I won’t pursue it.”
Hearing that he wouldn’t pursue it, more than twenty people took out what they had stolen.
Some stole meat, some stole rice, and some stole cloth.
Logically speaking, there were dozens of boxes of things, and most of them were gold and silver jewelry. Feng Yue wondered: “What is this stuff worth? Why don’t you steal silver?”
Mu Yunhua laughed, and Feng Yue glared at him. What was so funny at such a serious moment?
“Ahem~” Mu Yunhua pretended to be serious and cleared his throat, scolding: “Speak up, the Wangye is asking you questions! Are you all mute?!”
An old man tremblingly made a bow and was about to speak. Feng Yue raised his chin at Mu Yunhua.
Mu Yunhua immediately understood and helped the old man up.
“Wangye, please forgive us! The common people are forced to do this. If we could make a living, who would think about stealing? I’m already old, it’s embarrassing to spread it out. We all thought that you are Wangye, so you wouldn’t notice if we stole some rice, noodles, grain, and oil. We can’t break a tael of silver, and we’ll get into trouble if we take it out.”
Feng Yue sneered, looking disbelieving: “Guangling is surrounded by mountains and rivers. Although it’s not a very rich place, it is a land of fish and rice with excellent terrain. The grain turned over every year is abundant. Why are you living so miserably? You must be too lazy and have evil intentions.”
The old man knelt down, wronged and grieved, and kowtowed heavily: “Wangye, please understand! Although Guangling is treated well by God, the local officials are inhumane, the criminal laws are harsh, the taxes are heavy, and the soldiers and bandits collude, making life miserable for the people!”
Feng Yue: “Who is the official in charge here?”
“Returning to Wangye, it is the Provincial Administration Commissioner, Ling Yifu.”
“Aren’t there two Provincial Administration Commissioners, left and right?”
“Here, there is only one, and he is the one… who has the final say.”
“So, Ling Yifu has been covering the sky with one hand for a long time?”
“Yes, he is our local emperor here. After the Administrative Commissioner’s Office was abolished, Commander Shen Yitang took over the guards of several battalions. These two are in cahoots and don’t care about anyone!”
He had never heard of these things before, only knew that the Guangling area paid its taxes early and completely every year, and that the items contributed to the capital were extremely numerous and excellent.
If he hadn’t come here, he would have thought that the people here should be living in peace and contentment, with ample food and clothing.
“What is this business of soldiers and bandits colluding that you speak of?”
“More than a dozen years ago, a group of pirates appeared nearby, causing fishermen and merchants to be afraid to sail in this sea area. Later, Commander Shen Yitang took thousands of guards to suppress the bandits and fought for several years, reaching a cooperation agreement. All merchants passing through this sea area have to pay several times more taxes than stipulated by the imperial court.”
“Our place originally relies on the mountains for food and the water for food. The taxes are so heavy that at the end of the year, it’s all for nothing. The officials are getting richer and richer, and the lives of our people are getting harder and harder!”
Mu Yunhua cursed, “Damn it, it’s turned upside down!”
This time Feng Yue didn’t stop him, but ordered the guards to release the people. Before they left, he also asked Steward Zhao to distribute some silver coins to them, telling them not to mention what happened that night when they returned.
“It’s almost dawn, tidy up, and those who can’t sleep can get up and work.” Feng Yue said before returning to the house.
At this time, Xiaofeng turned over, but was still sleeping soundly.
Feng Yue couldn’t help but smile: “Really can sleep!”
As soon as it was dawn, people from the Provincial Administration Office came, bringing a card.
Feng Yue opened the card and saw that it was sent by Ling Yifu, asking him to go to the Provincial Administration Office to register some procedures.
Steward Zhao frowned: “This Ling Yifu has such a big air, he doesn’t think about coming to pay a visit to Wangye, but instead wants Wangye to curry favor with him!”
Although the military power of the feudal lords has been weakened now, they still have control over local land and resources. Before the feudal lord came, the land taxes here were paid by the Provincial Administration Commissioner and then distributed to Feng Yue along with his salary by the imperial court.
Feng Yue had just arrived here, and the land and resources were handed over from the Provincial Administration Commissioner.
But now it seems that everything is not so simple. After returning from the war in Qingyang, there is still a tough battle to fight in Guangling.
“Interesting.” Feng Yue couldn’t help but find it funny: “It seems that he has been the local emperor for too long, and doesn’t even know his own name.”
Steward Zhao: “The procedures for the handover of land and estates cannot be delayed, I’m afraid there will be complications.”
Mu Yunhua: “What are you afraid of? Kill one if they come, kill a pair if they come in pairs!”
“Let’s leave them out in the cold for a few days first. This Wangye wants to see what they can do if I don’t go.”
On his first day here, Wei Xiaofeng was curious about everything here, so he pulled Feng Yue to go to the surrounding towns for a stroll.
Anyway, he was idle now, and the Wang Mansion was very messy. It would take a long time to pick up bricks and tiles, and there was a lot of dust. Feng Yue took him to the early morning market.
In the past, Feng Yue wanted to hold his hand like this and go to the market together, but he never had the chance. Now that he had come here, his wish had come true.
Wei Xiaofeng liked beautiful gold and silver jewelry, and also liked snacks, but recently his appetite wasn’t very good, and he had lost some weight.
Feng Yue only thought that he was tired from the journey, and would slowly nourish him back later.
“Aye, I want to eat candied haws!”
Feng Yue saw that the candied haws stuck in the grass were very beautiful, and the fruits were red and big, so he bought him two skewers.
“Do you want to eat one? It’s so sweet!”
Seeing his eager eyes, Feng Yue couldn’t bear to refuse, and bit one directly from his hand. As soon as he ate it, his face twisted with sourness.
He spat it out violently and took a breath: “It’s too sour!”
“Sour? Not sour! It’s delicious.”
“Were you always able to eat sour things like this before?”
“No, I don’t like to eat sour things.”
“……”
Feng Yue stared, and Wei Xiaofeng suspiciously ate another one. It was clearly sweet and sour, and delicious!
It seemed that Aye was not blessed to enjoy it.
When passing by a jewelry shop, Wei Xiaofeng’s gaze lingered for a long time, and Feng Yue pulled him in: “Don’t you want to go in?”
“You’ve already given me so much, and even if I buy more, I don’t know where to put it.”
“Put it wherever you want, let’s go in and take a look.”
“You’re the one who asked me to go in!”
Feng Yue laughed: “That’s right, it was me who insisted on dragging my Fulang in to buy jewelry. I’m really too extravagant.”
“That’s right, don’t be like this next time.” Wei Xiaofeng ate the candied haws guiltily, and followed Feng Yue in with great interest.
Although the samples were not as numerous as in the capital, they had a very local flavor, and the handicrafts were also extremely well made.
“So pretty!”
Feng Yue had discovered that his Fulang’s hobbies were crude and simple, he just liked these sparkling, colorful hairpins and flowers.
Sometimes he could buy several colors of one style.
But he didn’t wear them much after buying them, and kept them in his collection. Occasionally, he would take them out to look at them. When he was in a good mood, he would pick out some to reward the maidservant sisters or young and beautiful little brothers.
“Aye, look at this hairpin, it has small purple pearls set on it!”
“Yes, it’s indeed relatively rare.” Even though he was a direct son of the royal family and raised by the queen since he was a child, he had rarely seen this kind of purple pearl.
“I like it!”
“If you like it, then we’ll take it.” Feng Yue called the shop assistant and asked for the price.
The shop assistant saw that the two of them had an extraordinary temperament, and the material of their clothes was also the finest cloud brocade. This cloud brocade was brightly colored and could only be worn by the royal family or when bestowed by the emperor.
Usually, when someone asked about this kind of thing, the shop assistant’s expression wouldn’t change, but today he knew that two distinguished guests had come, and the smile on his face was full of wrinkles.
“Did the two guests see this purple pearl hairpin?”
“How much is it?”
The shop assistant made a gesture.
Wei Xiaofeng guessed, “Twenty taels?”
“Twenty taels of gold!”
Wei Xiaofeng counted with his fingers, but before he could finish counting, Feng Yue gave him a few gold leaves, “Is that enough?”
The shop assistant looked at the gold leaves for a long time, his eyes staring straight. He had never seen such craftsmanship or such purity before, and nodded repeatedly: “Enough! Enough!”
Wei Xiaofeng actually felt a little sorry for his money: “Life is tight now, do we really have to buy it?”
The shop assistant was afraid that they would go back on their word, and said with a pained expression: “Gongzi! Your Langjun really cares for you very much. I’ve never seen any Langjun who is so willing to spend money on their Fulang. Don’t feel bad about this money, if you miss this village, there won’t be this shop, there are many people who like this purple pearl! Your complexion is white, it will definitely look good on you!”
Before he could hesitate, the shop assistant took the pearl hairpin out of the counter and was about to hand it to him. Suddenly, a brother’s hand snatched the hairpin from his hand.
“I like this hairpin, I want it!”
The shop assistant was furious. Looking at this brother, he was also a stranger, with a small round face, almond eyes, and a pretty nose. He had an innocent and lovely appearance, which was a face that the gentleman liked very much among the brothers.
“This little gongzi is one step late, that Langjun has already paid for it.”
The little brother went over the shop assistant and looked at Feng Yue and the others. He saw Feng Yue at a glance, and he had never seen such a good-looking gentleman, and he immediately had an idea.
“What’s your name?” The little brother didn’t pay attention to Wei Xiaofeng on the side at all, and his almond eyes stared straight at Feng Yue.
Feng Yue reached out to snatch the hairpin from his hand, but the brother actually put the hairpin behind his back: “I won’t give it to you!”
“I like the hairpin I saw, it’s mine now. If you have the ability, go to the Provincial Administration Office to find me, Ling Yifu is my brother-in-law!”
Hearing Ling Yifu’s name, the shop assistant swallowed his saliva and his face turned pale.
“Gong, gongzi, even if gongzi likes it, you have to pay for it.”
“Who said I wouldn’t pay? Here! Take it!” As he said that, he stuffed a silver note into his arms. The shop assistant looked left and right, a hundred taels of silver note, still three hundred taels short!
The shop assistant still whispered to remind him: “Gongzi, those two just gave four gold leaves.”
This brother was also shameless, and snorted coldly: “You’re quoting prices randomly, be careful I’ll ask my brother-in-law to punish you.”