Chapter 186: Visitor

Hey there, my amazing novelworms! ? First off, a massive sorry for ghosting you all this winter—it’s been a real doozy. Between me playing a never-ending game of “flu roulette” (spoiler: I lost) and my poor kitties turning into little shivering furballs, it’s been chaos over here. But fear not! I’m dusting off my keyboard and slowly getting back into the groove. Updates are coming, promise! Thanks a ton for sticking around and being your wonderful selves, grab a cozy blanket and happy reading! ??✨

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Lu Xian was so angry that he almost fainted, and You Fangyin was not feeling any better.

After leaving the banquet, they immediately returned to Xie Bai Residence.

At this time, Jiang Xuening was instructing people to go to Yangzhou to capture Wei Liang.

Seeing that the date for the Jiangning autumn examination was approaching, she had thought that Wei Liang would return to Jinling after arranging the potato matters in the fields. However, after waiting for two days, there was still no sign of him. When she sent someone to inquire, she found out that he had said farming was more important and the provincial examination could be taken casually.

How could this be?

Even though he had the title of a top scholar in his previous life, and despite his love and talent for farming, it was only after he became an official that he could fully utilize his skills, and the people revered him as the God of Agriculture. Although Jiang Xuening used him for her own purposes and personal gain, she couldn’t bear to delay his official career. So, she was extremely angry.

Seeing You Fangyin, she smiled bitterly and said, “You came at the right time. I was just sending people to capture Wei Liang and bring him to Jinling. At least make him finish the provincial examination first. How can there be such scholars in the world?”

These scholars indeed have their own aspirations.

Lu Xian helping Xie Wei with business was understandable, as Xie Wei was a capable person; but Wei Liang helping her with farming, what was that about?

In the past, You Fangyin might have laughed upon hearing this, but now she could only manage a forced smile.

Jiang Xuening noticed that she had something on her mind.

With a slight turn of her eyes, she vaguely guessed something and asked directly, “Did you encounter Lu Xian again?”

By the rockery in Xiebai Residence, there was a lake full of withered lotus leaves.

Jiang Xuening stood by the lake, holding fish food in her hand.

You Fangyin hesitated, not wanting to trouble her, but her hidden fears outweighed her hesitation, so she said, “I did.”

She recounted her encounter with Lu Xian in detail, only omitting the part where she made things difficult for him.

After listening, Jiang Xuening frowned and remained silent for a long time.

You Fangyin said, “I heard some news about the princess from the Tatar side at the banquet. Could Lu Xian’s visit be related to this?”

A medicine merchant from the border said that the princess was in the Tatar royal court and might already be pregnant.

Jiang Xuening felt dazed.

The thing she feared the most had finally happened. Because she had mentally prepared for it for a long time, she wasn’t too shocked at this moment, only feeling a heavy and sorrowful sense of fate being unchangeable.

But she was determined to fight against this relentless fate!

In her previous life, she hadn’t known about the princess’s pregnancy in advance. It was only after the Tatars launched a massive invasion of the Central Plains that she heard about Shen Zhiyi’s tragic fate, being slaughtered in front of the Tatar army as a sacrifice after becoming pregnant!

How could the Tatars leave an enemy princess and a child with enemy blood alive if they were to invade?

A nauseating feeling gradually rose up.

Jiang Xuening could taste a faint hint of blood in her throat.

It is often said that good people are rewarded, but how could Shen Zhiyi have met such an end in her previous life?

She clenched her fists tightly to suppress the trembling caused by fear and decisively said, “No matter why Lu Xian is looking for me, it’s now my turn to find him. Find someone smart to figure out where Lu Xian is staying and send him an invitation. I need to see him.”

Although Jinling is large and populous, Lu Xian, being a prominent merchant here for the salt permit business, had many connections, so finding his residence wasn’t difficult.

It didn’t take long for her subordinates to locate his guesthouse.

However, when they went to deliver the invitation, they found out that Lu Xian wasn’t there.

Jiang Xuening had planned to visit Lu Xian immediately after sending the invitation, but she didn’t expect him to be absent.

She frowned and asked, “If he’s not at his residence, where did he go?”

The young boy responsible for delivering the invitation bowed and replied, “I asked the gatekeeper at the guesthouse. He said their boss had urgent business in Yangzhou and left on horseback in the afternoon. He left in a hurry and didn’t say when he would return.”

Jiang Xuening felt a sinking feeling in her heart.

You Fangyin, standing beside her, said, “Perhaps we should wait until he returns.”

Jiang Xuening was silent for a moment.

You Fangyin felt uneasy and asked, “Do you think something is wrong?”

Jiang Xuening replied, “If it were just business, Jinling to Yangzhou is downstream along the Yangtze River, and the boat would be very fast. Why would he need to ride a horse?”

You Fangyin was shocked and asked, “Do you mean…”

Jiang Xuening closed her eyes and said, “I’m afraid he didn’t go to Yangzhou.”

What could make Lu Xian leave Jinling at this critical moment?

She had some vague suspicions but didn’t dare to draw conclusions.

She immediately instructed her people to check Lu Xian’s guesthouse daily to see if he had returned to Jinling. At the same time, she wrote a letter to be sent urgently to Yanlin in Huangzhou, Hubei, asking if there was any definite news about Shen Zhiyi and whether Lu Xian was there and what his plans were.

Lu Xian was gone for nearly ten days.

On the eleventh day, officials from the Lianghuai Salt Transport Office held a banquet at Qingyuan, inviting all the salt merchants to discuss next year’s salt permits and the emperor’s southern tour. News came back that Lu Xian had ridden back to Jinling, changed his clothes at the guesthouse, and hurried to the banquet.

Jiang Xuening immediately decided to wait for him outside Qingyuan.

Qingyuan, built along the Qinhuai River, was vast, with half of it facing the river. It was originally constructed by the Xie family of Jinling during their peak in the previous dynasty, featuring rockeries and pavilions with changing scenery. Unfortunately, by the current dynasty, the Xie family had declined, and the garden had fallen into the hands of corrupt officials, eventually confiscated by the court and used to entertain imperial envoys, nobles, or for official banquets.

Everyone in Jinling knew this place.

Jiang Xuening naturally knew it too, as Xie Wei was from the Xie family of Jinling. When he achieved top honors in the imperial examination, everyone thought he would revive the Xie family. Unfortunately, the Xie bloodline was already thin, and Xie Wei didn’t seem particularly biased towards his family, so the Xie family didn’t prosper. In her previous life, people described Xie Wei as the last brilliant remnant of the once-great Xie family in the new dynasty.

However, since the banquet was an official event for salt merchants, Jiang Xuening, who had no official salt merchant status and preferred to stay behind the scenes, decided to rent a floor at the Guanlan Teahouse opposite Qingyuan to wait for Lu Xian.

In the past few days, she had already brought Wei Liang back to Jinling.

Seeing Jiang Xuening about to leave, Wei Liang was secretly pleased, thinking he might have a chance to slip away.

How could staying in Jinling compare to the comfort of the fields?

Unexpectedly, just as Jiang Xuening was about to leave, she turned back, looked him up and down, and said, “You come with me.”

Wei Liang: ???

He was filled with a thousand refusals, wishing he could stay seated, his face turning green as he said bitterly, “Miss, you’re going to discuss important matters and business. What am I supposed to do?”

Jiang Xuening looked at him with a half-smile and said, “It’s important to bring you along.”

Firstly, to prevent this future top scholar from slipping away and missing the provincial examination; secondly, if the news about Shen Zhiyi from the Tatars was true, she had her own plans. Wei Liang didn’t understand money matters, and she didn’t understand grain matters, so bringing him to see Lu Xian was just right.

After speaking, she didn’t bother to look at his expression and directly dragged him into the carriage.

However, Jiang Xuening had no idea that just as her carriage left, another group arrived on horseback.

The leader reined in his horse in front of Xie Bai Residence.

A tired-looking young man dismounted and asked the gatekeeper, “Is your master at home? My master has come from afar and has important matters to discuss.”

The gatekeeper looked at the group of a dozen people, his gaze lingering on the leader, feeling inexplicably nervous and fearful, and replied tremblingly, “Our master just left.”

The young man was stunned and looked back at the leader.

The leader, holding the reins, covered in dust from travel, asked, “Where did he go?”

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