Cheng Bei Zheng readily paid Cheng Bei Qian to leave and pondered for half a day, finally reaching the same level of thought as Emperor Chang Wu.
That was to keep it a secret for now and wait until Lu Nian Fu gave birth.
But they forgot that ever since the Silver Supervision Office lost copper, all parties in the capital had been keeping a close eye on Shan Xi. The news from Shan Xi had not been blocked, and it would reach the capital sooner or later.
Jincheng. Pawnshop
When Situ Yan walked out of the pawnshop, his clothes, although torn in a few places, still showed that the fabric was of good quality. Now they were replaced with coarse cloth short jackets, with two patches on them. Coupled with his dark complexion, he looked exactly like a robust hunter who lived by the mountains.
Mo Sang stepped forward, "How was it? How much did you pawn it for?"
"The pawnshop thought the material was too worn and only gave five taels of silver." His valuables, along with his purse, had been washed away by the river. Even his clothes had been slashed several times. Who would have thought that Mo Sang would only have a few dozen copper coins? She did have a lot of silver jewelry on her, but according to her, they were all items for warding off蛊(gu), and couldn't be touched.
"I thought it wasn't worth much, so what do we do now? Five taels of silver, is that enough for me to find my husband's travel expenses?"
Situ Yan: ...
In his entire life, this was the first time he had encountered such an eager-to-marry girl.
He weighed the broken silver in his hand, "Your husband is far away in the capital, and this money is still far from enough. You can come with me to find my people first, and I'll take you to the capital after things are settled."
"How long will that take?"
Situ Yan narrowed his eyes, a faint smile curving his lips, "Soon."
The officials of Shan Xi, cornered, all charged at him, thinking that without their leader, they could seize an opportunity to breathe.
Ridiculous, how could the soldiers he led not work without him?
As Situ Yan predicted, when he took Mo Sang to eat at a restaurant, he heard about the imperial envoy leading people to search and confiscate officials' mansions. Evidence was presented, and direct military suppression was carried out, which was even more brutal than he had imagined.
These brats got off too easily. Back then, he had worked himself to death, engaging in guerrilla warfare and ambushes. He had finally gathered all the evidence, only for them to do all the enjoyable work of taking action. Situ Yan gritted his teeth, wondering if these brats had remembered to share some of the ill-gotten gains with him. Having suffered such a great loss this time, how could he not claim some interest?
Mo Sang gnawed on a chicken leg, "Wow, has the sky changed after only a few months since I came out? I thought those bandits would eventually become kings, but I didn't expect them to be wiped out so quickly."
"They were just a rabble. Calling them kings would be too high a praise. If they hadn't colluded with the officials in secret, they would have been turned to dust long ago."
"So, the rulers of the Great Yin Dynasty are incompetent. In our place, those who are not capable and rob everywhere would have long been thrown to the蛊(gu) worms."
Situ Yan straightened his expression, "Mo Sang, I know that the methods of raising蛊(gu) in your place are strange and varied, but this is Great Yin, not Xi Jiang. If you dare to use living people to raise蛊(gu), I will be the first to get rid of you."
Mo Sang's heart tightened, knowing that Situ Yan was not joking, because at that moment, Wan Wan, who was sleeping in her bamboo basket, jolted violently.
What kind of oppressive aura was it that could make Wan Wan, whom she had raised, feel fear?
Her little face drooped, and she pouted with dissatisfaction, "What are you saying? I'm a genuine蛊(gu) raiser, I don't do the things that dark蛊(gu) do!"
Looking at the innocent face before him, Situ Yan couldn't utter any more harsh words. After all, the young girl had just saved his life, and threatening her like this seemed truly unkind.
Thinking this, his tone softened, "Alas, I was just telling you. By the way, do you guys have different schools of thought for raising蛊(gu)?"
"Of course, everything has two sides. Speaking of which, where are your people? Five taels of silver won't last long."
"After you've had your fill, we'll take a carriage to Taiyuan."