20demayo Chapter 185 Assassination
Chapter 185 Assassination
Jing Qishan motioned for her to keep her voice down, then said, "Don't ask any more questions, just follow me."
Li Yujiao realized that something was wrong. She felt that Jing Qishan was more aware of danger than her, so she didn't ask any questions. Instead, she picked up the child beside her and followed him.
Xiao Huaning drank her fill before going to bed. She had gotten used to the running around these days, so as long as she wasn't hungry, she wouldn't wake up even if there was thunder.
Jing Qishan asked her to change into ordinary women's clothes, and then took her out through the back door of the post station.
It was dark outside.
But Jing Qishan seemed to have night vision. He held his daughter to his chest with one hand and held Li Yujiao with the other.
She didn’t know how long she walked until dawn, when she saw the city gate just around the corner.
Just then the city gate opened, and Jing Qishan took her into the city again.
To enter the city, one had to have a document of spies, and Jing Qishan naturally had one. When the guards saw that the couple had a child and were wearing ordinary people's clothes, and that they looked like an ordinary family of three, they did not suspect anything and let them in easily.
After entering the city, Jing Qishan hired a carriage and helped his wife and daughter into the carriage.
Then he returned smoothly to the original general's mansion.
Now the signboard of the mansion has been changed to Jing Mansion.
There were servants in the mansion. After recognizing Jing Qishan and Li Yujiao, they were very excited. They quickly arranged for them to bathe and wash, and also prepared food for them.
"Qishan, now that we're entering the city, what should we do with Butler Li and the others?" Li Yujiao asked.
Jing Qishan said: "They should be fine."
Even if something happens, it's their fate.
But fortunately, after just two hours, Li Zhongping, Huahong, Liulv and others came back.
Li Zhongping and his men came up to greet Jing Qishan and said, "General, according to your instructions, we were transporting the empty cart back to Beijing, and we were ambushed in Lingzigou!"
Jing Qishan asked seriously, "Are there any casualties?"
"No, as soon as the assassins arrived, my subordinates opened the door. When they saw that there was no one in the carriage, they immediately disappeared."
Li Yujiao was shocked when she heard this.
Because she was in a hurry and was afraid of waking up little Huaning, she was very careful and didn't ask a single question.
She had also thought that she would be assassinated, but she didn't expect it to be true!
Jing Qishan is so young and is about to take up such an important position. There must be people in the capital who are unwilling to do so and want to kill him before he enters the capital!
Or maybe it was to give him a warning.
The water in the capital is indeed deep.
Jing Qishan said to Li Zhongping and the others, "Thank you for your hard work. Let's announce that all of you who have contributed to the escort will be rewarded with 20 taels of silver each."
Li Zhongping quickly thanked Jing Qishan.
……
The news that Jing Qishan returned to the capital to take up his post spread quickly.
Some are happy and some are sad, but the sad ones are the majority.
He went to the palace the next day to receive the promotion ceremony.
He saw the old emperor again, and the old emperor looked at him with a smile: "My dear Jing, are you used to returning to the capital this time?"
Jing Qishan said, "Your Majesty has shown me great kindness, allowing me to serve as a minister at a young age. I am deeply grateful. I will definitely serve Your Majesty and Daqi with all my heart in the future. How can I say I am used to it or not?"
The old emperor smiled and said, "You are quite good at talking, but since you said this, I will assume that you can do it."
"I dare not speak lightly, I must do it!"
"I heard you have a daughter in the southwest?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Bring your wife and daughter to the palace another day. I have not yet met your capable wife."
"It is my honor that Your Majesty wants to see me. I will definitely bring her in to pay my respects to Your Majesty when I have the chance!"
"Good, good!" The old emperor looked at Jing Qishan with satisfaction.
I just feel that although he is young, he acts calmly and wisely. He is a man of courage and will definitely be able to take on great roles.
……
After the enthronement ceremony, Jing Qishan had to attend court every day.
Since he was the young minister who was supported by the emperor against all odds, he was naturally sought after by many ministers.
Either this minister wanted to invite him to drink, or that minister wanted to visit him at his house.
But Jing Qishan always declined on the grounds that he had a young daughter at home who needed to be taken care of.
The old emperor was becoming increasingly frail. Based on developments in his previous life, he should have died by the end of the year.
At this critical moment, he must not take sides, nor be suspected of taking sides.
And because he always used his wife and children as an excuse, everyone in the capital knew that the newly appointed Minister of War was a henpecked man.
Jing Qishan didn't care about this. He was henpecked and was afraid of what others would say.
Once, the Minister of Finance wanted to invite him for a drink, but he said directly: "But I am henpecked. I am afraid that if I return late, my wife and children will be unhappy at home."
The Minister of Revenue was so angry that he turned around and left.
……
Since these people could not win over Jing Qishan, they sent their wives or female relatives to win over Li Yujiao.
Li Yujiao did not dare to cause trouble for Jing Qishan, so whenever someone invited her, she would refuse on the grounds that her daughter was too young to go out.
Some people asked her, "Don't you have a wet nurse at home? Why do you have to do everything yourself?"
She said how could a wet nurse compare to her biological mother?
It made the visitor very unhappy.
But she was a third-rank imperial official, and although she had no real power, her official rank was there, so no one dared to offend her.
……
In the palace, the old emperor's confidant reported to the old emperor the recent behavior of Jing Qishan and his wife.
The old emperor was very happy to hear this. While reviewing the memorials, he said, "These two people are really interesting. They would rather offend others than let me have any suspicion of them."
The relative said: "There is another reason. The couple does not have deep roots in the capital."
Hearing this, the old emperor paused with the brush in his hand.
Yes, my foundation is not deep, so I am walking on thin ice everywhere and dare not offend anyone.
The old emperor said, "Find a few old people from the palace and send them over."
……
Li Yujiao has not been leaving the house lately.
Fortunately, the house is big and has front and back gardens, otherwise she and her daughter would be bored.
She missed her time in the southwest more and more. Although it was dangerous at that time, she was free.
Today it is not only dangerous, but also not free.
With a daughter, she had to be more cautious. Moreover, she was unfamiliar with the capital and could not figure out the complicated relationships, so it was best not to offend any family.
At the same time, she found that there were fewer people in the mansion.
She was not used to having servants serving her before, but now that she has returned to the capital, she has to take care of the huge house, as well as the farms and shops that Jing Qishan was rewarded with for his military merits.
There is also the daughter to be taken care of, and someone has to do the work in the house. Huahong and Liulv only know how to serve others, so Li Zhongping is not enough.
But she had just arrived in the capital and didn't know where to find someone available.
Just when she was anxious, she heard that the emperor had sent a few people to her.
One is the 40-year-old Nanny Zhang, who is very good at managing internal affairs and servants. Not only can she help manage the chores in the mansion and the servants, she also understands the etiquette of the palace, and subtly tells Li Yujiao about the affairs of the inner chambers of each mansion.
"The one who sent you the invitation yesterday was Madam Zhou from the Shangshu family. Madam Zhou is not favored at home and is always suppressed by the concubine. She is only sent out when someone needs to be won over. You can refuse it if you want. Don't worry about offending her."