Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands-Chapter 644 - 599: Sitting and Watching the Joke (2)
Li Xing’an laughed, "The Empress and the imperial concubine’s families are fighting, and Li Can is seriously ill. These two things are quite interesting. It’s just a pity that I won’t get to see it."
He shook his sleeves and shook his head, showing a look of regret.
Li Xingsheng also smiled, "When we return to the Capital in the future, opportunities like this will only increase."
Li Xing’an touched his chin, his eyes shifting slightly, "Second Brother, why don’t I sneak back to the Capital to take a look? We’ve been here for over a year, and we’re quite familiar with the County Magistrate and Prefect. As long as they don’t say anything, we can come and go as we please."
Li Xingsheng drew out the fan from his waist and tapped Li Xing’an on the head, saying with a stern face, "Father truly has foresight. When I left, he warned me that if I encountered you, I was to warn you not to return to the Capital without his permission!"
Li Xing’an touched his forehead, "Why? We have backing, why can’t we go back?"
Li Xingsheng sneered, "Of course, someone is watching our family’s movements in secret."
Li Xing’an took a sharp breath, "Who?"
Li Xingsheng sneered, "I don’t know who, but such things have happened before! Since Li Can wants our family to die here of old age, he would surely send someone to supervise us. Besides him, there are others who don’t want us to return to the Capital and are certainly watching us in secret! Think about how Eunuch An knew about us living in the bamboo house in Taohua River Village? Last year, the place he threw us to wasn’t Taohua River Village, but the neighboring Huang Village!"
With Li Xingsheng’s reminder, Li Xing’an suddenly recalled the possibility of having spies around them.
Relatives being exiled and the Emperor sending people to secretly monitor them had happened before.
"Humph, if we can’t go back, we can’t go back. Isn’t it just two families fighting? Haven’t I seen enough of such things before?" Li Xing’an flung his sleeve and snorted coldly.
Li Xingsheng chuckled, "Third Brother, with them in such turmoil, would Li Can still have time to scheme against us? I actually think it’s a good thing."
Li Xing’an clapped his hands and laughed, "Haha, you’re right. What Empress or imperial concubine, isn’t it all Li Can’s own doing? Serves him right! I’ll just sit back and enjoy the show!"
.
After resting for a night, early the next morning, Prefect Lou arranged for people to prepare a carriage to leave the county town.
Entering summer, traveling is faster than it was in winter.
Last year, when Li Yu En got married and went to the Prefecture, it was during a time of ice and snow. The mules, horses, and carriage drivers couldn’t withstand the cold, and with the muddy roads, it was slow going.
This time, when going to the Prefecture, the sun was shining brightly.
The sun rose early and set late.
In less than three days, they returned to the Prefecture.
The carriage had not yet reached Lou Mansion when the leading guards had already returned to Lou Mansion to report.
When Prefect Lou and his party returned home, there was a long line at the entrance. Lady Lou, along with several sons, daughters-in-law, and a group of servants, were waiting at the mansion gate to welcome them.
Prefect Lou got off the carriage, and everyone saluted together, "Master has returned? It must have been hard on you during the journey."
They then saw a woman walking with Lou Chengye, and all looked at her in surprise.
The face seemed somewhat familiar, could it be...
"Mother, we’re back." Lou Chengye excitedly pulled Li Yu En’s hand and approached Lady Lou.
"Mother." Li Yu En curtsied to Lady Lou and greeted several brothers and sisters-in-law.
Li Yu En?
Several of the Lou Family Ladies, upon seeing Li Xing’en approach, were so surprised they forgot to return the salute.
"Big Sister-in-law, Second Sister-in-law, Third Sister-in-law, Fourth Sister-in-law, why are you looking at me like that? What’s wrong with me?" Li Yu En looked down at herself.
Lady Lou came to her senses and smiled sheepishly, "It’s just that we haven’t seen you for so long that we missed you."
As the family’s eldest daughter-in-law, she invited Li Yu En and several other siblings to enter the mansion, personally offering support to Lady Lou.
The Lou Family’s sons surrounded Prefect Lou, Lou Chengye, and the visiting Li Xingsheng as they entered the mansion.
Li Yu En followed Lady Lou and the party at the rear.
Everyone frequently glanced at Li Yu En, and someone whispered, "If I didn’t look closely, I would have thought a stranger had come. This Li Family member, after three months, has changed drastically."
"Fourth Sister-in-law, she looks much better than you now." Lou San Niangzi smiled slightly.
Lou Si Niangzi immediately raised her eyebrows, holding back her temper, "Third Sister-in-law, Fifth Sister-in-law is taller than you and her skin is fairer, did you notice?"
Lou San Niangzi turned her head away in anger.
.
After Prefect Lou and his party returned to the mansion, a banquet was immediately arranged, and the entire mansion was filled with joy.
Prefect Lou instructed Lou Chengye to take Li Xingsheng to the side hall for refreshment, while he went to the study with several other sons to discuss official matters.
Having been away for three months, he started to ask his sons about the administration at the government office. He was surprised by his eldest son’s report.
"The Nanyue Country is causing trouble on the border?" Prefect Lou asked with a stern face, addressing his eldest son, "When did this happen?"
"It happened just half a month after you left the Prefecture. The Nanyue people colluded with Feihu Village, stole quite a number of horses, tea leaves, and grains." Mr. Lou explained, "You were summoned to the Capital on orders, so we didn’t report this matter to you."
Reporting wouldn’t have helped, Prefect Lou wouldn’t have been able to resolve it.
The Nanyue Country frequently collaborates with bandits within Zhao Country’s borders to raid, and such incidents have been commonplace in the past.
Zhen An Prefecture is located at the southernmost point of Zhao Country, adjacent to the Nanyue Country to the south, divided by mountains and dense forests.
Although Zhen An Prefecture is not as wealthy as the large northern cities, it is richer than the Nanyue Country.
The Nanyue people risk crossing mountains and forests to raid Zhen An Prefecture for valuables; this has been happening for hundreds of years.
If the scale is large, the Prefect of Zhen’an will deploy troops for a crackdown. If the scale is small, sending troops won’t catch anyone.
The Nanyue people are cunning, scattering into the dense forests and disguising themselves, not even leaving a trace of their presence.
"Feihu Village again!" Prefect Lou took a deep breath, "How many households suffered loss of property?"
"In total, one hundred and eighty households, most of them only had their belongings stolen. Twenty-three households’ homes were burned down. I followed your previous policy and distributed relief food and clothes to those families," Mr. Lou replied.
"The Nanyue people are becoming increasingly arrogant. Previously, they only stole property, but now, look, they’ve directly burned down the mountain people’s houses! The mountain folks’ homes are either made of bamboo or wood, very flammable. When one catches fire, it spreads rapidly. Those twenty-three households were all located in a mountain hollow. In less than an hour, they were reduced to ashes," Lou Second Young Master lamented, shaking his head sorrowfully.
"In the past, they would just grab whatever they saw. From last winter to this spring, the Nanyue have become more unscrupulous, even completely emptying a village. This time, they burned down half a village. How are the villagers supposed to survive?" Lou Third Young Master gritted his teeth in anger.
Lou Fourth Young Master sneered, "The Nanyue people are inherently barbaric, they don’t care about the lives of our mountain folk!"
