All Hail Cousin Brother

Chapter 847: Report to the Imperial Court

Translator: Atlas Studios    Editor: Atlas Studios

After settling the matters in the stockade, Yin Huaixi went down the mountain and accompanied Yu Youyao for lunch. “I’m setting off back to Xiuyan in the afternoon to continue patrolling and inspecting all the matters related to settling the refugees.”

“So soon…” Yu Youyao’s heart ached for him rushing back and forth, and she felt a little reluctant.

Yin Huaixi nodded and felt reluctant. He continued, “It’s still a four to five-day journey from Anshan to Xiangping. There are no relay stations along the way. We have to camp in the wilderness at night and sleep in the wind. We have to take care of our health.”

“Your foot is injured. Even if the swelling disappears, don’t walk around. If it’s too boring in the carriage, let Chun Xiao carry you out to take a breather.”

“The massage has to be done three times a day. You can’t be negligent. Sooner or later, you have to soak in the medicine that will revive your blood circulation…”

This was already an old saying. Yu Youyao actually did not know when Yin Huaixi had become so long-winded. She endured it until Yin Huaixi talked about food and what shoes to wear.

“Auntie Xu will take good care of me.” She couldn’t help but interrupt him. She looked up at him and her eyes couldn’t help but pause.

Yin Huaixi’s long eyebrows reached his temples, and there was a faint dust between them. His long and narrow eyes were bloodshot, and there was a faint green shadow in them. She suddenly remembered that Yin Huaixi had not closed his eyes even until now.

Her eyelashes trembled slightly as she lowered her eyes and said softly, “You’re busy all day. It’s also hard on you. You have to take care of your health more. Carry the Essence Nourishing Pill and the spiritual dewdrop with you and take it every morning and night. The other incense medicine can be used. You lost your foundation a long time ago. Nourishing more is beneficial and harmless to your body.”

Her voice was gentle, and every word was sincere. Yin Huaixi held her hand. Her hand was like a tender bud as he held it in his hand. “I’ll listen to you.”

Yu Youyao said softly, “I’ll wait for you in Xiangping City.”

Yin Huaixi let go of her hand. “There’s a lot of rain in Xiangping City. The climate is relatively wet and cold. When you reach Xiangping, you have to take care of your health. The new residence that the Xie family has bought isn’t too far from the Yue Fei Residence. If there’s anything, get Yin Shi or Yin San to go to the Yue Fei Residence to inform them. Uncle Sun lives in the residence. Xiangping City is open to the public. Don’t constantly worry that you’ll alarm the commoners and stay at home all the time…”

Yu Youyao had grown up in the capital. It was dry and cold in the capital in the winter, unlike Xiangping City which was frosty. He had originally only wanted to remind her, but as soon as he said this, he felt that there was a lot to be reminded.

With this explanation, he said a lot more. Yu Youyao looked at him as he nagged and the sadness of parting immediately disappeared a lot. She only found it funny.

After Yin Huaixi left in the afternoon, Lord Li also brought his men back to the government office.

The next day, General An Yuan continued to escort Yu Youyao to Xiangping City. Huang Wenhua had to stay behind to deal with the follow-up matters of suppressing the bandits.

With Huang Wenxian’s cooperation, the reparations were carried out in an orderly manner. In less than three days, the case was closed.

Huang Wenxian took the account book of the bandits’ looting and compared it to his account book. He counted the treasures in the treasury in the stronghold and returned them one by one according to the list of hostages that had already been verified.

After Lord Li and Huang Wenxian discussed, they decided to give a small portion of the ownerless wealth to some poor and seriously injured commoners.

All the hostages knelt on the ground and thanked King Yue Fei for his kindness.

However, Huang Wenxian sighed and said, “The vassal lords can’t mobilize troops internally. Even if they know of the existence of the mountain bandits, they can’t mobilize troops to suppress them. This time, it was the mountain bandits who were bold and reckless. They attacked the Princess’s phoenix carriage. The Princess entrusted the You army with this task, so the You army took action to eliminate the mountain bandits. If you want to thank someone, thank Princess Shaoyi!”

The hostages cried on the spot and knelt on the ground, shouting, “Sacred Kindness.”

There was not much left of the loot. The You army had put in a lot of effort to suppress the bandits, so it was only right for them to deal with it themselves.

This way, the entire matter came to an end.

Lord Li heaved a sigh of relief and immediately discussed with Huang Wenxian about the matters of the Imperial Court.

Huang Wenxian did not interfere in this matter and only said, “Lord Li is a parent official of Liancheng. This matter concerns Princess Shaoyi, and it’s His Highness’s duty to protect her. It’s really a helpless move to overstep his authority. However, the government should step in to deal with the aftermath. I’m just helping, so Lord Li will make the decision himself.”

Military Advisor Huang had his own way of advancing and retreating. It should be the credit of the government, but he was not careless at all. This made Lord Li, who had not put in much effort to begin with, feel overjoyed. He immediately drafted a memorial and explained everything in detail. Then, he sorted out all the evidence and case files related to this case and sent them to the capital.

The news spread to the capital, causing a huge commotion in the royal court.

Naturally, someone used the fact that King Yue Fei had sent troops to suppress the bandits to cause trouble and make a big fuss. “As the vassal lord, King Yue Fei is suspected of overstepping the law by interfering in the government’s matters.”

However, the group of royalists led by Elder Yu thought that the bandits had attacked and plundered Princess Shaoyi because they were lawless, looked down on the court, and disrespected the emperor. King Yue Fei was guarding the North. If even a small bandit dared to act rashly under his watch, where would his dignity be?

Both sides had their own opinions and argued endlessly.

In the end, the Empress Dowager stepped forward. “All the ministers are concerned about the country and have their own opinions. However, the most important thing now is to settle the refugees and alleviate the drought.”

As soon as these words were spoken, the court officials shut up.

Princess Shaoyi had come to the North to help King Yue Fei promote the planting of sweet potatoes in the three provinces of Liaodong to ease the disaster.

Now that most of the refugees in the Great Zhou Dynasty had gone to the North, if the sweet potatoes could not be successfully planted, where would so many refugees get their food?

Millions of refugees had gathered in the North. There was no food, there was the threat of refugees rioting inside, and external enemies were watching. Even if King Yue Fei had three heads and six arms, he probably wouldn’t be able to deal with them.

From the looks of it, Princess Shaoyi’s safety was more important than anything else.

This group of bandits was related to hundreds of thousands of bandits in a mountain that stretched over hundreds of miles. They were not bandits ordinary people could deal with. Not only was King Yue Fei right to eliminate the bandits with lightning speed, but he had also contributed.

In addition, the case file submitted by the government was very clear, and there was not a single mistake. The court officials were only spouting nonsense. If they really wanted to pick out something that was wrong, they really wouldn’t be able to find it.

This matter was settled.

The royalists sighed. “Ever since Princess Shaoyi was conferred the title of princess and went to the North, we’ve really been successful in the court.”

Everything Princess Shaoyi did and was involved in was closely related to the interests of the royalists. The Empress Dowager also trusted the Yu Clan more and more.

Although Yu Zongshen and Ding You were at home, Princess Shaoyi’s reputation had benefited the Yu Clan and even the entire royalist party.

Lord Qi agreed deeply. “You didn’t see that when Princess Shaoyi was mentioned in the morning court just now, Duke Xu looked like he had eaten a fly. It was really satisfying!”