Chapter 138: Heir Han Arrives
Early morning.
Magpies chirped on the branches.
Old Madam Jiang’s hands ached unbearably; the fingers are connected to the heart, and they had been trampled until they were swollen.
The pain was so intense that she couldn’t bear to hear any sound.
Even the chirping of magpies made her want to have them chased away.
Every master of the Jiang Family had been to the Quiet Room, except for Madam Wu.
Old Madam Jiang even began to suspect whether she hadn’t framed that beast after all, and if that beast really did have an affair with Madam Wu. This thought crossed not only Old Madam Jiang’s mind, but even Jiang Huaisheng and Jiang Wan had suspected it for a fleeting moment.
Thus, sometimes when dealing with enemies, treating them differently is enough to make them fight among themselves.
Jiang Rong had gone completely mad—mad to the point where he couldn’t even distinguish who he was seeing.
As for Jiang Wan, whenever she didn’t see Jiang Changtian, she would slowly recover.
She couldn’t believe that she would fall in such a small place as Ming County.
It was absolutely impossible.
Even if she didn’t change anything, as long as she acted according to her dreams, she could at least climb to a high position.
She only needed to kill that person in advance, and everything would be fine.
She even felt that going to the Quiet Room was to warn her of the danger Jiang Changtian posed; he had to die.
But right now, they were isolated, helpless, and in imminent danger.
Yet, unexpectedly, in the afternoon, Jiang Wan received news that the Rebels had actually accepted the offer of amnesty, and the Imperial Court had sent people to negotiate it.
She immediately went to tell her grandmother the good news.
At first, Old Madam Jiang was expressionless and indifferent.
But when she heard Jiang Wan say, “I heard that Heir Han is personally coming to oversee the amnesty.”
Old Madam Jiang suddenly sat up in shock.
“Who did you say?”
Jiang Wan was startled and repeated, “Heir Han, the only legitimate son of the Grand Princess and the Consort, the current Emperor’s most favored nephew.”
Jiang Wan was actually ecstatic inside because, in her dreams, Heir Han treated her extremely well; whenever she almost met with an accident, it was Heir Han who helped cover it up.
This was someone who truly treated her well, like a real elder.
She felt that this was Heaven not closing all paths to survival.
Although this experience was terrifying, it laid a more solid foundation for her future. When the time came, as long as she eliminated Jiang Changtian, she would have no more worries.
Old Madam Jiang was both surprised and delighted.
She looked at her swollen hands, suddenly burst into tears, and felt aggrieved.
…
Jiang Mianmian sat in Father’s arms, looking at the rolling mountains in the distance.
She felt Father’s chest rising and falling.
It seemed his heartbeat was very fast.
She inexplicably felt that Father seemed a bit off again.
She turned to look at her older brother.
Her older brother patted her head.
And went off to train the soldiers again.
…
The mountains rolled and undulated.
A procession of carriages and horses marched majestically.
The main army followed to provide support.
At the head of the army was a youth with a square face.
The war had started inexplicably and ended just as inexplicably.
A group of civil officials in the Imperial Court suddenly shouted to accept the amnesty, insisting they stop fighting because there was no money left.
In reality, at the end of the year and the beginning of the new one, the Emperor had hosted several luxurious large-scale song and dance events, overspending the national treasury.
Coupled with the expenses for Heir Han’s birthday celebration and marriage, all the military funds had been spent at once.
The civil officials couldn’t blame the Emperor for spending too much, and they were worried about the responsibility for the lack of military funds falling on them, so they eventually reached a consensus: amnesty.
Anyway, throwing out a few bones would make the Rebels submit.
They would continue to sing songs and dance.
As long as the fighting didn’t reach their doorstep, it didn’t exist.
Meng Qingshe pleaded bitterly in his memorials, saying they could not offer amnesty.
Great Marshal Zi was ambitious, ungrateful, and had grand designs.
However, the civil officials unanimously attacked Meng Qingshe, claiming the Meng Family wanted to seize military power.
Great Marshal Zi had only one son, and the son had a mental deficiency; it was said that all he wanted was a certain medicine, not to actually rebel.
Instead, it was General Meng who was pushing too hard, harboring grand schemes and ill intentions.
Meng Qingshe argued back with the other party, “I have ill intentions, my foot! My family has only one lone seedling, while your family has eighteen concubines, sixteen sons, and thirteen daughters! Your daughters are all married to officials, and the Imperial Court is full of your relatives—it is you who have ill intentions!”
In the Imperial Court, Meng Qingshe knocked out one of the civil official’s front teeth on the spot.
He was scolded by the Emperor for a few sentences.
Then the Emperor ordered Heir Han, Meng Shaoxia, and a eunuch to leave the capital together as envoys for the amnesty.
Everyone knew that amnesty was an easy job—easier than fighting, but the merit was easy to obtain, practically given away for free.
Go on a trip, enjoy the scenery, and obtain the military merit that others had risked their lives to earn.
The Emperor sending Heir Han out was likely because he wanted him to earn some merit, so that people would stop being jealous and saying he favored his nephew too much.
As for arranging for Meng Shaoxia to go, it was also to appease the Meng Family.
Eunuch Duan was the Emperor’s eyes and ears; having a eunuch with the army during operations was standard procedure.
Eunuchs in the imperial palace all wanted to go on external assignments; in the palace, they were servants, but outside, even those civil officials with red-tasseled hats had to respectfully address them as “Eunuch.”
Even if they looked down on them, they still had to bow and scrape because they were the people by the Emperor’s side.
Eunuch Duan had used his connections with Eunuch Yan, the red-hot favorite before the Emperor, to get this opportunity for an external assignment.
Meng Shaoxia had changed from the callow youth who had traveled with Young Master He Chen a year ago into a composed, seasoned youth; he had grown a little stubble on his chin, making him look more mature.
His skin was also a bit darker.
His hands were also rougher.
Fighting the war had left him very confused.
The cessation of war left him even more confused.
Those corpses seemed to have served no purpose.
The big guy hadn’t been able to earn military merit to serve as a dowry for his beloved woman.
Amnesty.
Of the four youths who used to pat his shoulder and call him “Little Fang,” three were dead.
Amnesty.
Those past days of fighting for their lives had vanished, as if they had never existed.
The meadow was gone too; the grass had grown taller and greener. He had even forgotten where they had built their campfire back then.
When he was fighting, he had wanted to go to Ming County every day, but he never made it.
Now that there was amnesty, he hadn’t expected that the first stop after Jingzhou would actually be Ming County.
Heir Han didn’t want to come to this remote corner either, but his Father had said that the descendants of an old acquaintance were here and asked him to help look after them or bring them back to the capital.
Although Heir Han was extremely arrogant and lawless in the capital, he was very obedient to his Father’s words.
He liked to wear red; his robes were bright red, and he himself was sunny and radiant. From childhood to adulthood, he had never suffered, so the hardships of this journey were basically the greatest suffering he had ever endured.
The carriage was huge, and specifically fitted with the cushions he was accustomed to, so he could sleep at night.
There were six maids serving in the carriage; their looks were all distinct, but they had one thing in common: they were all slightly older.
Heir Han liked beauties, but unlike others, he liked them a bit older.
Others forcibly seized unmarried women; Heir Han forcibly seized married women.
He was willing to come out and endure the hardships of this journey, firstly because of the Emperor’s order, and secondly because he liked beauties.
He had grown tired of playing with all the beauties in the capital, and the ones left were those he couldn’t touch. There was nothing fun there. On the road, he indeed encountered beauties who were completely different, each beautiful in her own way.
It was a pity that the fool Meng Shaoxia was always standing there, getting in the way everywhere.
Eunuch Duan was more interesting and knew how to handle things better.
Eunuch Duan thought: “We are all rootless people; other than knowing how to handle things, what else can we do?” He had obtained the help of Eunuch Yan to get this lucrative assignment, which allowed him to leave the palace and take a look at his hometown; he could die without regrets.
He had also received instructions from Eunuch Yan that if he arrived in Ming County, he should look after a certain family, as they were the only relatives he had left in the world.
The procession moved majestically; upon entering the territory of Ming County, it became even smoother.
Heir Han lay in the carriage, enjoying the freshly sliced peaches fed to him by the forcibly seized married woman.
He was a bit bored again; she was too docile.
He hadn’t even really seized her; the other party had just submitted.
That man hadn’t even objected, but instead offered her up with both hands, asking only for money—boring.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of drums, crisp and melodious, beating in sync with his heart.
Heir Han sat up, lifted the carriage curtain, and asked, “Where have we arrived?”
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