Tianliangyuan

Chapter 416 He Can't Reach High Places

This time, the thieves were wiped out, and Emperor Yong'an's anger finally subsided somewhat.

Where did Li Ye flee to?

"Your Majesty, I have captured two women. One is Li Ye's wet nurse, and the other is one of Li Ye's attendants. According to their confessions, Li Ye fled to the north with more than ten men, but they do not know the exact location."

Fang Youwei's ability to capture these two people can be considered a great achievement.

"Well done, you can go now."

"Wei Chen retire."

After this incident, Emperor Yong'an would naturally no longer be careless.

Li Ye, though young, is quite capable of causing trouble.

However, Emperor Yong'an still believed that the troublemaker was likely a former subordinate of Prince Fu, who was close to him.

What great things can a teenager accomplish?

Xu Zhaozhao was in the Duke's mansion, but news from all sides kept pouring in. She didn't leave Jinxiu Garden, yet she knew all the latest news perfectly well.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, the Duke has returned and said he would like to speak with you in his study."

"understood."

Xu Zhaozhao could roughly guess what it was about.

Yunqi Manor did a great job this time, and it was His Majesty's people who made the greatest contribution. In any case, His Majesty will be pleased.

Sure enough, Xie Xiaolin brought up the matter of Lantian County.

"Are you intentionally pushing Fang Youwei to a higher position?"

Xu Zhaozhao guessed her father-in-law's meaning and said softly, "Magistrate Fang may not be very talented, but he is a man of action. To put it bluntly, a man like him will not go far in officialdom without someone protecting him. Even if someone protects him, he will not be able to reach a very high position."

Xie Xiaolin glanced at her, and after thinking about her words, he understood that Fang Youwei was not someone she was focusing on cultivating, but someone who could become an important member of her own team.

that's enough.

"It's good that you know what's going on. Li Sheng has made the greatest contribution this time, and His Majesty has rewarded him by promoting him. He was originally the captain of your guard, and now he has been given a nominal position with a higher rank, but he will still serve by your side."

"Yes, father."

“You are the county magistrate, and your fief is now 1,200 households. The able-bodied men drawn from these 1,200 households alone are enough to protect the entire Yunqi Manor. Why do you still want to share the credit with the local garrison and Fang Youwei?”

“Father, it’s not scarcity that’s the problem, but inequality. Your daughter-in-law dares not gamble. If the enemy is too strong or their forces too numerous, Yunqi Manor may not be able to withstand them. Besides, you yourself said that they are just able-bodied men, not soldiers who have received formal training, and there is a difference. Therefore, I must rely on the strength of the local government troops.”

But if I do that, where do I put Magistrate Fang and the local county constable? Besides, I had already suspected that there were some bandits hiding in Lantian County. I just sent a letter to remind him, and he did it, investigated, and got results. So, he has done a good job and will be grateful to me.

If he doesn't trust me, doesn't investigate, and doesn't cooperate, then he'll miss out on this opportunity, and I won't be blamed afterwards. This move was originally intended as a test. Fortunately, Fang Youwei hasn't disappointed me.

Xie Xiaolin looked at Xu Zhaozhao, speechless for a long time.

Such a shrewd and capable daughter-in-law is truly a wonderful surprise.

"Sanlang is right, he's not good enough for you!"

Xu Zhaozhao stared wide-eyed. What did this mean?

Xie Xiaolin burst into laughter upon seeing her reaction.

"You are exceptionally intelligent, and your courage is no less than that of a man. With you as my wise and capable wife in the future, I can rest assured."

"Then daughter-in-law, take this as a compliment."

"Haha! I'm just praising you, no need to be modest. If you ever need anything in the future, just come to me."

"Daughter-in-law thanks Father."

Xie Xiaolin looked at his daughter-in-law and became more and more satisfied.

Luckily, he acted early and arranged the marriage early on. Otherwise, where would Sanlang, that cold-faced devil, have found such a gentle and intelligent wife!

"No need for formalities. You are pregnant now, so please have your subordinates do as much as possible. Don't overwork yourself."

"Yes, Father, your daughter-in-law will remember."

"Okay, let's go back."

Xie Xiaolin then stayed alone in the study for nearly half an hour before going to pay his respects to the old lady.

When he came out again, he had a smile on his face. He had to appease his daughter-in-law, Xu Zhaozhao.

The old lady never expected that her granddaughter-in-law would be so intelligent, not only accomplishing one great thing after another, but also managing to perfectly remain out of the picture.

This is simply genius!

"Go to Jinxiu Garden and tell them that it is my will that unless there are special circumstances, there is no need to come to pay respects. Just have Zhaozhao come to sit with me on the first and fifteenth of each month. Also, have someone go to the storeroom to select some good tonics and send them over. Inform the other households that unless there is something important, they should not disturb the young master's wife."

"Yes, old lady."

At the Marquis of Anxin's residence, Wang Ruolan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

She was incredibly relieved that it wasn't her son who fell for the trap.

Fortunately, his son didn't act impulsively at the time. If he had been eager to make a name for himself, Xu Jun'an might have been the one who got hurt.

But all things considered, Xu Junting inadvertently made a contribution in this matter.

Regardless of whether the carriage intentionally revealed its emblem, it was Xu Junting's timely discovery that gave the imperial court the opportunity to annihilate over a thousand enemy soldiers.

If Xu Junting hadn't rushed to deliver the message, and these more than a thousand people had followed the orphan of Prince Fu, who knows what kind of trouble they would have caused.

It has now been confirmed that only a few dozen people followed Li Ye, so His Majesty can at least sleep peacefully.

As for Li Ye's deliberate feint to create a fake Li Ye, it was probably for the purpose of transporting those things.

Now it's all been investigated in Lantian County.

Moreover, because the investigation was so sudden, it was said that Li Ye's usual clothes were confiscated as well.

This shows that Li Ye fled in a sorry state.

However, after calming down, Wang Ruolan asked Xu Junan, "Why did Li Ye want to attack Yunqi Manor?"

Xu Jun'an frowned: "Perhaps it was to create chaos, and he probably didn't expect that Lantian County would be prepared. I think his main purpose was to sow discord, then take the opportunity to set fires and cause trouble in Lantian County, and finally flee far away."

Wang Ruolan, however, felt that this reason was insufficient.

If the goal is simply to sow discord, why target Xu Zhaozhao's fiefdom?

There are jade mines belonging to the Qu and Zhao families there. If we just blow up those jade mines, wouldn't that cause even bigger trouble?

Wang Ruolan couldn't understand it. Now that her husband wasn't around, she didn't dare to think wildly, for fear of scaring herself.

"Pass down the order: all female members of the Marquis's household are forbidden from entering or leaving at will, and all, regardless of whether they are mistresses or servants, must obey."

"Yes, ma'am."

Xu Junan suggested, "How about we go see Zhaozhao?"