noffsinger Chapter 435 Arriving in Yangzhou
Chapter 435 Arriving in Yangzhou
Although Chen Ji and Luo Xiaoran's faces had changed, Old Man Yan was still afraid that they didn't believe it, so he quickly explained:
"Although I am only the ninth leader of Qianlong Village, I have a close relationship with the village chief since we were begging together since childhood, so I was fortunate enough to have read the top-secret handwritten letter!"
"In order to gain the trust of the village chief, Lin Xiaotian added his own seal at the end of the handwritten letter. I saw it clearly!"
"Your Highness, Prince Yan, if the lives of my father and I were not in your hands, I would take this secret with me into my grave."
"Although I am in the martial arts world, I also know that His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan and the Lin family are not on good terms."
"If Your Highness can obtain that handwritten letter as physical evidence, I am willing to risk my life to testify against the Lin family for their crime of deceiving their superiors and concealing the truth from their subordinates. I only ask Your Highness to let my foolish son go!"
Old Man Yan punched Yan Kui's back several times, his tone full of anger at his lack of fighting spirit, but his cloudy and dry eyes were already red.
He let out a long sigh, and his already bent back lowered a few degrees, as if he wanted to crush the self-esteem he had accumulated throughout his life at this moment.
"After all, if he could choose, he would also like to learn to read and write, pass the imperial examination, serve as an official, and be a clean person."
"But this idiot has a bad fate. His father is a bandit, so he is destined to be a bandit too!"
"father!"
Yan Kui stared blankly at Old Man Yan who was crawling on the ground. He couldn't help but call out to him. Suddenly, he felt cold on his face. It turned out that he was already in tears.
……
Chen Ji finally agreed to Old Man Yan's request.
"When he got the account books and letters from the Tang court, His Highness said that it was not the right time to overthrow the Lin family yet."
"If we succeed in finding the handwritten book in Yangzhou, is the time ripe?"
Luo Xiaoran looked at Chen Ji calmly. Seeing him nod without hesitation, she couldn't help but smile, but there was a hint of helplessness in her smile.
Regardless of whether the appearance of Old Man Yan was a coincidence given by God or a plot by someone, as long as the handwritten letter was real, Chen Ji had to take this step willingly.
There's no better opportunity than this!
The successful suppression of bandits six years ago brought Lin Xiaotian's official reputation to its peak. That was something that was more difficult to defeat than official rank or power; it was public opinion and public sentiment.
In order to defeat the Lin family, one must first destroy the image of heroes they created among the people. The key is to reveal the truth that the bandit problem was instigated by Lin Xiaotian himself so that he could direct and act out the drama of suppressing bandits!
"Your Highness and Lord Huo have always believed that the death of the late Crown Prince was related to the Lin family. Now it seems that Lin Xiaotian designed such a big drama in the past to avoid the investigation of the death of the late Crown Prince."
"There is just one thing I still can't figure out. Lord Huo seems to think that Chen Lingyi is also related to the death of the late crown prince."
"It's just that the prison caught fire that night and Lan Zheng was arrested. I didn't ask him in detail because there were so many people around. Later, he was sent to escort Chen Lingyi back to the fiefdom, so I didn't have the chance to ask him clearly."
Chen Ji frowned slightly. He had been convinced for many years that the death of the former crown prince was related to the Lin family. Xiao Ran analyzed the relationship with the Jiang family based on the "peanut allergy" incident. As for Chen Lingyi...
Not long after the death of the former crown prince, the then queen adopted Chen Lingyi and Chen Xuanrui, and she also had motives to get involved.
Since Qingyun had some suspicions, he went to Yangzhou to look for the letter. As it was Chen Lingyi's fiefdom, they would inevitably meet, so it was a good opportunity to test the waters in person.
As the conversation between the two ended, the last ray of afterglow in the west slowly faded away, and stars dotted the night sky.
The huge official ship placed on the wide river also looks petite, like a model that can be used for playing.
The sun rises in the east and sets in the west, the clouds roll and disperse, and the boat model keeps changing from black to white on the river. Finally, it completes its mission and docks at the port of Yangzhou.
The original route was to take the water route to Yangzhou, and then go west by land for a hundred miles to Chuzhou. Finding the handwritten letter was a very convenient thing to do.
More than 30 bandits had already been transferred to the government office according to Luo Xiaoran's decision. Yan Kui and his son disembarked at the same port and were secretly escorted back to Beijing by four personal guards.
Except for the absence of four personal guards, the crew was exactly the same as when they set out from Kyoto.
As the group got off the official ship, someone came to the shore to greet them, and the leader was Zhu Yan.
"Your Highness, Prince Yan. The princess learned that Your Highness was passing through Yangzhou, so she specially ordered me to wait here."
To be honest, the protagonist of this trip to Chuzhou is Luo Xiaoran, and Chen Ji is just a "bodyguard". However, Zhu Yan can completely ignore Luo Xiaoran's existence and only has Chen Ji in his eyes.
Luo Xiaoran was not surprised at all, the lead singer was just a follower!
Chen Ji didn't even look at Zhu Yan. He gently took Luo Xiaoran's hand and asked softly:
"Then let's go to Niece Qingyi's place and take a look, shall we?"
Luo Xiaoran swore that she had tried her best to endure it, and she knew that Chen Ji was venting his anger for her.
Zhu Yan ignored her, so Chen Ji ignored Zhu Yan.
But Chen Ji's deliberate look was so fresh that it made her feel warm in her heart and at the same time she found it very interesting. In the end she couldn't help but lower her head and bite her lips to smile.
Feeling that Chen Ji was holding her hand a little harder, Luo Xiaoran used all her strength to suppress her sudden drop in laughter, and said with a serious face:
"Qingyi was driven away, oh no, after returning to the fiefdom, there were no relatives around him."
"As uncle and aunt, we have to take good care of the younger generation, so let's go see her on the way!"
Sing in unison and cooperate in perfect harmony.
Veins on Zhu Yan's forehead were throbbing.
……
The Princess Qingyi Mansion in Yangzhou is no worse than the one in Kyoto, and it even occupies a larger area. Even the vermilion walls are ridiculously high.
A gold-inlaid plaque hangs above the main entrance, with the six large characters "Princess Qingyi's Mansion" written in a flamboyant style.
The surrounding walls were paved with glazed tiles, which sparkled with colorful light under the sun, and at the same time blinded Luo Xiaoran's money-grubbing eyes.
How much silver must have been spent on building this princess mansion? Chen Lingyi is so extravagant!
If all this money was used for business, the cash flow would be more than sufficient, and she and Yun Hu would not have to scrimp and save on the various plans they arranged.
As you step through the gate, the first thing that catches your eye is a wide and straight bluestone avenue. Rare flowers and trees are planted on both sides of the road. Even though it is winter now, the flowers and trees are still in full bloom.
Passing through gardens, ponds and other landscapes, and then passing by the well-arranged rockery, pavilions and towers, continue along the avenue and a magnificent palace-style building will come into view.
Zhu Yan had already asked someone to inform in advance, and Chen Lingyi, who learned the news, was waiting outside the palace. She was still wearing a white gorgeous dress, with beautiful makeup, and the beauty mole between her eyebrows was extremely eye-catching.
"You should have been outside the main gate to greet your uncle, but Qingyi was lazy. Your uncle won't be unhappy, right?"
Again! Again!
Chen Lingyi's attitude towards Chen Ji is always so sticky, which really makes her feel very weird~~
Sometimes, she couldn't help but think about certain things, but she would immediately stop the ridiculous guesses in her mind. It gave her goosebumps, didn't it?
"No." Chen Ji uttered two words lightly.
"That's good." Chen Lingyi smiled sweetly and walked forward to hold Chen Ji's arm, just like she did in front of Anruo Temple on the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Chen Ji dodged sideways, with a trace of disgust in his eyes that could not be ignored.
If it weren't for the purpose of questioning the late crown prince in person, distracting Chen Lingyi's attention and buying time for the guards to find the letter, he would never have set foot in Chen Lingyi's house!