The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 508: Suppress bandits
Chapter 508: Suppressing Bandits
This time, although King Liang was not put to death by a single move, at least some of the children were rescued.
The matter of suppressing the bandits cannot be delayed any longer. Before the fake bandits arranged by the Wang family to come to Shuoyang escape, we must go out of the city to suppress the bandits in a grand manner. This can be regarded as a mission to the emperor and the prince.
“Chun Tao, go tell housekeeper Hao to send someone to tell Bai Qingping and Shen Yancong that we will set out to suppress the bandits early tomorrow morning. Instruct Shen Yancong… There are tall trees on the mountain, so arrows are useless. The new recruits can just wear swords.” Bai Qingyan said.
“Okay, I’ll go right away.”
Bai Qingyan folded Bai Jinxiu’s letter and put it into his sleeve, then turned around and went back to the main hall.
In the main hall, Yue Shi was bending over and talking to Xiao Rongyan. When he saw Bai Qingyan coming in, Yue Shi hurriedly stood up and bowed in Bai Qingyan’s direction: “Miss…”
Yesterday, Yue Shi had already asked clearly, and the master said… for the time being, just call Miss Bai “Miss”. Yue Shi didn’t understand what “for the time being” meant, but since the master said so, he would call her that for now. When the master asked him to call her by something else, he could call her by something else.
Bai Qingyan nodded, and walked towards the main seat, asking, “I don’t know, Mr. Xiao, do you know the inside story of the Nandu County Princess Liu Ruofu and the King of Liang?”
Xiao Rongyan did not hide it from Bai Qingyan and nodded: “I know…”
Not only did he know that Xiao Rongyan also played a role in fueling the flames. The prince naturally wanted Prince Liang to “defile” Princess Nandu and be suspected by the emperor of intending to get involved in military power, but he didn’t want Prince Liang to really marry Princess Nandu.
But what Xiao Rongyan wanted was for the two princes of Jin to get entangled in a fight for the throne. The more intense the fighting in the Jin court, the more chaotic it would be, the better it would be for Dayan. So Xiao Rongyan’s people took advantage of the situation and added fuel to the fire, asking the prince’s people to help Prince Liang and Princess Nandu become a real couple, making Prince Liang and Princess Nandu a real couple.
Bai Qingyan understood, she nodded and sat down: “Later, I ordered someone to pretend to be the Ninth Prince of Dayan to save the life of King Liang. So King Liang should be grateful to the Ninth Prince of Dayan.”
Xiao Rongyan just smiled and said nothing.
“Today is Madam’s birthday. I wonder if Yan would be fortunate enough to personally present a gift and wish Madam a happy birthday?” Xiao Rongyan looked at Bai Qingyan and asked in a low voice.
Bai Qingyan called in the maid who was guarding outside the door and asked her to go to Qingheyuan to ask her mother whether Mr. Xiao came to celebrate her mother’s birthday and see her or not.
“Thank you, young lady.” Xiao Rongyan said with a smile.
Soon, Nanny Qin beside Dong came over in person, smiled and bowed to Bai Qingyan and Xiao Rongyan, then folded her hands in front of her belly and said kindly: “Madam asked me to pass on a message. Thank you Mr. Xiao for your concern. The Bai family does not plan to hold a banquet for Madam Youxiao’s birthday. Mr. Xiao is a guest. If you don’t mind the simple home-cooked meal, please follow this old servant to Shaohua Courtyard.”
Xiao Rongyan stood up calmly and bowed to Nanny Qin: “Thank you for your invitation, Madam. I am honored.”
Mrs. Dong was also thinking about the family dinner today. There was no man in the Bai family who could sit at the table with Dong Changlan. It just so happened that Xiao Rongyan came. Xiao Rongyan was a person who had done the Bai family a favor, so it was a good opportunity to invite Xiao Rongyan to sit at the table with Dong Changlan.
“Mr. Xiao, please…” Nanny Qin turned sideways and made a gesture of invitation to Xiao Rongyan.
Xiao Rongyan nodded, then turned to look at Bai Qingyan: “Miss Bai, please…”
Nanny Qin walked in front to lead the way. Bai Qingyan and Xiao Rongyan kept a distance and walked side by side, talking all the way. They soon arrived at Shaohua Courtyard along the Nine-Curved Corridor.
Xiao Rongyan had been to Shaohua Courtyard once, but when he stepped through the threshold he couldn’t help but praise the scenery of Shaohua Courtyard again. No wonder the fifth master of the Bai family, who had been expelled from the clan, wanted to occupy the Bai family’s ancestral home.
The winding paths are cool, the flowers are fragrant, the green clouds are like a canopy, the shade fills the garden, cicadas are chirping, birds are singing, the water is gurgling, and the fish are leaping for joy.
Such scenery is hard to find.
Dong and his group had already arrived at Shaohua Courtyard and were sitting on the second floor chatting and laughing.
While drinking tea, Dong Changlan occasionally talked about interesting things in Dengzhou, which attracted the admiration of several children. They all shouted that they wanted to visit Dengzhou if they had the chance.
Seeing Bai Qingyan and Xiao Rongyan coming in, Bai Jinzhi’s eyes lit up, she put down the teacup in her hand, stood up and called out, “Eldest sister! Mr. Xiao…”
Dong Changlan turned around, quickly stood up and said with a smile: “Cousin, Mr. Xiao.”
Xiao Rongyan took two steps forward and respectfully greeted Mrs. Dong and the other members of the Bai family.
When the fourth wife, Wang, saw Xiao Rongyan, she was grateful. She paused while fiddling with the sandalwood Buddhist beads, stood up, and nodded to Xiao Rongyan with a smile.
Xiao Rongyan asked Yue Shi to bring over the birthday gift box prepared for Dong. Yue Shi opened it and found a jade carving of an auspicious beast with extremely delicate craftsmanship. The jade was transparent and it was obviously not an ordinary item. What was even more surprising was the two luminous pearls inlaid in the eyes of the auspicious beast. The claws were embedded with gems, and no one knew how they were embedded in the eyes. The workmanship was extremely exquisite.
“Yan once heard that when he was in Longyang City, there was a rumor… saying that Xiao’s house was in Longyang City, and there was a golden sculpture of a auspicious beast that was one meter tall, and its body was inlaid with gems. Yan thought that this was probably the statue they were talking about, but the rumors outside were a bit too exaggerated.” Xiao Rongyan smiled and looked at Bai Qingyan.
Bai Qingyan lowered his eyes and stared at the clear tea in the cup as if nothing had happened.
Bai Jinzhi turned to look at her eldest sister. Others didn’t know how the news got out, but all the generals in the battle in Northern Xinjiang knew about it! It was just her eldest sister who deceived the Liang army.
“Mr. Xiao, this item is too valuable. Please take it back!” Mrs. Dong said with a smile.
“Please do not refuse, Madam!” Xiao Rongyan stood up and bowed to Mrs. Dong. “If I have this item, it would be a crime to possess it. It is better to give it to Madam. I wish Madam good health and well-being.”
Xiao Rongyan’s tone was sincere, and Dong Shi found it difficult to refuse. She thought about returning the favor with a generous gift in the future.
It was just a back and forth interaction, and over time they became friends. Although Xiao Rongyan was a businessman, he had a noble character, so Dong didn’t mind and there was no problem with their interaction.
She smiled and said, “In that case, thank you, Mr. Xiao! Nanny Qin, please put it away!”
Xiao Rongyan then sat down with a smile.
“Mr. Xiao, have you ever been to Dengzhou before?” Bai Jinzhi asked with a smile.
“Not really…” Xiao Rongyan turned to look at Dong Changlan and said, “However, I heard that several counties in front of Dengzhou are plundered by Rongdi almost every autumn because they are close to Rongdi.”
Dong Changlan nodded: “Most of the Rongdi people live by nomadism. In winter, they don’t have enough food, so they naturally come out to plunder.”
Xiao Rongyan thought for a moment, put down the teacup in his hand, and said to Dong Changlan with a smile: “Yan is a businessman. From a business perspective, why doesn’t Dengzhou open up to trade? Just like Mengcheng in Dayan… Every year, some herdsmen in Xiliang can exchange for food in the trade, and the people in Mengcheng can exchange for furs and horses. In this way, everyone gets what they need. If Dengzhou does this, wouldn’t it be able to avoid Rongdi looting to the greatest extent?”
The third update is coming! Keep rolling around and begging for monthly tickets!