The Eldest Daughter Is Beautiful and Saucy
Chapter 529: evacuate people
Chapter 529 Evacuating the People
Bai Qingyan hadn’t had a good chat with her uncle just now. She didn’t know whether her uncle was in the study at this moment, and it was not appropriate for her to rush to look for her uncle without permission. She was about to point a maid to ask if her uncle was free at this moment, when she saw Xiao Cui, who had been waiting outside the courtyard gate for a long time, smiling and bowing to Bai Qingyan.
Bai Qingyan held Chuntao’s hand and walked out of the courtyard. Looking at the refreshing little Cui, he smiled and called her, “Sister Rong…”
“It was Changlan who asked me to wait for my cousin here. My father and Changlan were waiting for my cousin in the study. They were afraid that my cousin didn’t know the way, so they asked me to come and pick her up.” Xiao Cui said as she took Bai Qingyan’s arm.
Chuntao quickly folded her hands in front of her abdomen, took two steps back, and followed Bai Qingyan.
However, when Wang Ma’s niece Qiuhuan saw Chuntao retreating to the back, she quickly took advantage of the opportunity to pass Chuntao and stepped forward to hold Bai Qingyan’s arm.
Bai Qingyan saw a figure suddenly appear beside him, turned around and said, “I am not old yet, I don’t need help.”
Qiuhuan blushed and whispered that she had retreated again, but she did not return to her original position. Instead, she walked side by side with Chuntao, as if doing so could raise her status to the same level as Chuntao, Bai Qingyan’s personal maid.
Xiao Cui talked with Bai Qing all the way and walked slowly along the nine-turn corridor with Xiangfei bamboo curtains hanging. The journey seemed much shorter.
Probably because of Dong Changlan’s instructions, when Xiao Cui and Bai Qingyan stepped into the study gate, they were not stopped by the guards outside the gate. Xiao Cui turned around and told her personal nanny not to follow them in and just to guard outside the yard.
Bai Qingyan also turned around and told Chuntao to wait outside.
Dong Changlan heard the noise outside the courtyard and came out from the study. He smiled and bowed: “Cousin…”
Bai Qingyan returned the greeting.
“Then cousin, please talk to father and Changlan about business first. I will go make some of my signature snacks for you. I mentioned this to you before…but when we were in Shuoyang, I didn’t have enough ingredients, so I couldn’t make them for you to try. It’s just right that you’re here this time!” Mrs. Cui smiled and made an excuse. She just didn’t want to stand there and disturb Bai Qingyan and her father-in-law and husband from talking about business.
Although women generally do not participate in men’s affairs outside the courtyard, when they were in Shuoyang, Xiao Cui finally understood that her cousin was not like other women who were content to stay in the backyard.
After paying her respects, Mrs. Cui smiled and withdrew. She ordered people to guard the yard and not allow anyone else to enter, and went to the small kitchen to prepare snacks.
Dong Changlan personally lifted the Xiangfei bamboo curtain for Bai Qingyan and led Bai Qingyan into the study: “I have already delivered the message that my cousin asked me to bring to father last time… But the soldiers are worried that if they evacuate the people rashly, it may cause panic in Dengzhou City.”
When Bai Qingyan entered, Dong Qingyue was sitting at the desk, holding a memorial in his hand that was sent back by the prince after being reviewed. He was talking to his staff in the mansion and looked a little tired. Sunlight shone in from the window, and dust floated in the light. A few silver threads could be vaguely seen in Dong Qingyue’s hair.
Seeing Bai Qingyan coming in, Dong Qingyue raised his head and smiled. He did not interrupt his staff and motioned Bai Qingyan to sit aside.
The counselor paused, and seeing that Dong Qingyue had no intention of interrupting him, he continued, “The silver that the lord sent is just a drop in the bucket. It can only take care of the soldiers who are disabled and unable to work due to years of garrisoning Shuoyang. However, the fact that the emperor is building a temporary palace and the Dengzhou army is short of food and grass has already made the army dissatisfied.”
Dong Qingyue frowned and nodded: “I understand…you go down first!”
The strategist then stood up and bowed to Dong Qingyue, and then bowed in the direction of Dong Changlan and Bai Qingyan. He could vaguely guess Bai Qingyan’s identity in his heart.
Although the counselor had never seen the women in the Dong family’s backyard, the only woman that Dong Qingyue could allow to enter this important study room, apart from Old Lady Dong and his wife, was probably only his niece…Princess Bai Qingyan.
Dong Changlan personally poured tea for Bai Qingyan and sat down next to him. Bai Qingyan asked directly, “Uncle, what did I tell you last time? Do you still have any hope for the court?”
Dong Qingyue sighed softly, nodded, and handed the memorial in his hand to Bai Qingyan: “Take a look! This is the reply I just received… from the Crown Prince.”
From the time Dong Changlan went to Dengzhou until now, Dong Qingyue has submitted more than a dozen memorials… but all of them fell on deaf ears. Who would have thought that someone would deliver the prince’s reply at noon.
Bai Qingyan opened it and took a look. The prince’s meaning was very simple. He said that Dong Qingyue was making a fuss out of nothing. Now the Rongdi people were in civil strife, and the southern and northern Rong were fighting each other. Dayan had made it clear that it would help the northern Rong restore orthodox rule. The southern Rong were too busy trying to curry favor with the Jin State, so how could they have the courage to make trouble for the Jin State? Could it be that they were not afraid that the Jin State and Dayan would join forces to defeat a small southern Rong like them?
As for the arrears of food and wages, the prince did not mention a word.
Bai Qingyan was not surprised by this result. This was indeed something the prince could do.
Bai Qingyan put the reply in his hand aside and looked at Dong Qingyue: “Nowadays, the court is full of flatterers, and they all try to figure out the emperor and the prince’s thoughts! Otherwise… the incident of withholding military pay to repair the emperor’s palace would not have happened! And my uncle’s dozens of memorials would not have fallen on deaf ears!”
“As long as the officials see that the emperor is dissatisfied with my uncle’s memorial, they will come up with excuses for the emperor. No matter if it’s the civil strife between the southern and northern Rong… they dare not provoke our Jin State! Or they are afraid that Jin State will attack the southern Rong together with Dayan. Most of these are probably excuses made by the court officials to guess the emperor’s intentions. They will not even present my uncle’s subsequent memorial to the emperor.”
As Bai Qingyan said, when Dong Qingyue’s memorial was submitted for the first time, Gao Demao saw that the emperor just glanced at it and threw it aside without making any comments, so he gestured for it to be passed on. After that, Dong Qingyue’s memorial never came before the emperor’s desk again.
Later, the emperor asked the prince to start handling the memorials. Prime Minister Lu then quietly and secretly sent the memorials to the prince, hoping that the prince would take the lead and persuade the emperor.
Well, who knew that the prince and the officials would discuss it and give Dong Qingyue such a reply.
Dong Changlan frowned and nodded in agreement: “Father has sent spies to investigate the movements of Nanrong. If there is any movement in Nanrong, report it immediately.”
“Uncle, you should make plans early. Even if it’s not for other reasons, just for the people of Dengzhou City, you should evacuate the people after the autumn harvest to avoid the Rongdi attack and the loss of innocent lives.”
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