In Liu Jinbao’s eyes, his pitiful young master couldn’t receive his father’s protection, trapped in a poor mountain valley where neither heaven nor earth would answer his calls. He could only bury his head in nursing while several frail servants steadfastly guarded their little master, dreaming that one day when the young master grew up, he could soar to great heights. He was moved by his own imaginings, but this only earned Yun Ye’s displeasure.
Whether he could soar to great heights, Yun Ye didn’t know, but if they continued to spoil him like this, his chances of having his head chopped off at West Market in the future would be much greater. It would be heartbreaking for the entire Yun Family of good people to raise a prodigal son.
“From now on, the young master’s education is entrusted to the Princess. She’s his mother and has that right. The imperial family’s abnormal education methods can offset the effects of you people’s excessive indulgence. You wouldn’t want your own young master to become a prodigal son, would you?”
Liu Jinbao’s mouth gaped wide enough to stuff a fist in. His expression flickered, his gaze wandered, and he even seemed a bit unfilial.
In an instant, Yun Ye understood. He kicked Liu Jinbao’s leg again and said, “Although your Marquis here is Chang’an’s number one prodigal son, when I squander wealth, I can also build it up. I scatter ten thousand strings of cash with a wave of my hand, but with a flip of the palm, the winds and clouds gather again—that’s ability, great ability. No matter how much I squander, I’ve never let you people go hungry. Each of you has gotten fat as pigs.”
Liu Jinbao chuckled without speaking. After thinking for a moment, he said, “Your Lordship, those damn petty kings are easy to deal with—you just kill them. But what about those three from the Feng Family? They’re the ones who started this wave of marriage proposals to the Princess. The Princess’s mansion is now bustling with activity. Unrelated people coming and going makes one’s heart vexed.”
“What does the Princess think?” Yun Ye asked Liu Jinbao with a smile.
“Reporting to Your Lordship, the Princess has deliberately assigned Madam He to serve her these past days, and stops receiving visitors after dark.” Liu Jinbao spoke slowly, word by word, making things clear, fearing Yun Ye might misunderstand.
“Even the dignified Li Anlan has a day when she fears gossip? So be it. Since you’ve kept yourself pure for me, then I’ll eliminate those flies for you and return you a prosperous domain.”
Yun Ye looked at the red sun about to set outside, tapping the window frame and talking to himself. Liu Jinbao’s eyes had already turned red, like a fierce beast about to be released from its cage.
Yongzhou City suddenly filled with many people. News of the ox-head gold’s appearance spread without being told. The entire city was full of people carrying swords and blades, along with various barbarian tribes in strange costumes. Even Hu people had come from distant Guangzhou—all for one reason: they came for the gold. Feng Ang dispatched swift horses carrying his personal letter to ask Li Anlan whether the matter was true.
The ox-head gold sat on Li Anlan’s table. After being cleaned, it gleamed with a dark golden luster. Li Anlan rested her chin on her hands, having gazed at this gold for a long time. This was indeed a genuine piece of natural gold. She liked it very much, but also knew there must be some hidden purpose behind it. She smelled the scent of conspiracy.
Lingnan wasn’t as desolate as she had imagined before coming. On the contrary, there were several relatively prosperous cities—for example, Guangzhou already had a population of one hundred thousand. Her own fief had 13,516 registered people—this was the exact number she had obtained after recounting.
A thin development outline sat on her desk, which she could almost recite from memory. If she were an imperial prince, there wouldn’t be so many troubles. She still had confidence in governing her own domain well. As long as she followed Yun Ye’s ideas—relocating the barbarian tribes from the remote mountains, distributing land to them, having them settle around the city—in just twenty or thirty years, they would no longer be barbarians but her subjects. With over ten thousand people, plus women and children, that would be just over fifty thousand people, not far from Yun Ye’s initial estimate.
A fist only has strength when clenched. Only when her own city became prosperous would she have more say, rather than now having to be controlled by Feng Ang.
Her wise father, the Emperor, in order to prevent any one family from growing too powerful, gave Feng Ang the authority to oversee Li Anlan, but didn’t give him authority to oversee the tributary states. This seemed contradictory—Feng Ang’s jurisdiction stopped abruptly at Li Anlan and couldn’t go deeper, otherwise it would be exceeding his authority, because the real power lay in Li Rong’s hands. A child not yet one year old was the true master of this land. Before this master grew up, Li Anlan was merely someone managing on his behalf. Sooner or later, the authority would need to be handed over to her own son.
Li Er was full of confidence that his grandson would be able to wield power in the future. He had a father with a head full of schemes and a belly full of talent. He wasn’t at all worried that this pitiful child had no one to look after him. As long as he controlled the child’s father, that was enough. He could always grasp the key point.
Li Anlan’s teeth itched with hatred. She had sacrificed her reputation, sacrificed her body, and in the end, the one who benefited was that restless little ball of flesh lying beside her.
Hearing the whimpering sounds from the cradle, Li Anlan’s hatred immediately vanished. Her precious darling had wet himself again.
Lingdang was the happiest person. Ever since discovering there were no cannibals here, she would disappear for entire days. If she came home, it was definitely at mealtime. She had picked up countless colorful stones from the riverside, filling up the room.
Hearing the Princess instructing Madam He to wash the Prince’s bottom in the room, she tiptoed, preparing to sneak back to her own room.
Just reaching the door, she felt her collar tighten—the Princess had still discovered her.
“Lingdang! I’m nearly exhausted all day long, yet you won’t help me handle some household affairs. The moment you have free time, you run outside. Look, you’ve picked up another huge pile of stones. What do you want these stones for?”
Li Anlan deeply regretted that she had agreed when Lingdang asked to live freely and carefree upon reaching Lingnan. She hadn’t expected that she would truly swing both hands and ignore everything. No matter how many times she was told, it was useless.
Fortunately, the female official Zhu Huan who came from the palace was somewhat useful, helping her manage the large and small affairs of the mansion. However, these past few days, for some unknown reason, she insisted on adding the character “Zhang” before the two characters of Zhu Huan. Changing a female official’s surname was troublesome—it wasn’t like getting married. After calling her Zhu Huan for several years, suddenly adding the surname Zhang was as awkward as could be. Knowing she represented another faction, Li Anlan didn’t care. Her kingdom now was a big hodgepodge—the factions were so numerous they could twist into a braid. One more or one less didn’t matter. It was just that Zhang Zhu Huan seemed very afraid of Madam He, which made no sense.
Zhang Zhu Huan was in the room. She and Lingdang shared a room—not because there wasn’t a room for her, but because Lingdang was afraid of blood-sucking bats flying in through the window to suck her blood. She had dragged Zhang Zhu Huan to sleep with her—if bats really came, two people could also bolster each other’s courage.
These were the only two people Li Anlan could command. Those demoted officials outside, every one of them as mournful as if attending a funeral, couldn’t muster any energy, as if they had come to Lingnan to die. They never managed government affairs.
Lingdang clung to Li Anlan again acting spoiled. Zhang Zhu Huan covered her mouth and giggled. Li Anlan grabbed both of them, one in each hand, pulled them into the room, and said in a low voice, “You two need to use your minds. This is our last refuge. Before the Prince grows up, we need to guard this estate well and not let others seize it.”
“Princess, you think too much! The baby has a very formidable father. If the baby is bullied, we’ll just call his father to deal with those bad people. He’ll definitely have a way. Isn’t it better for us to live happily? Don’t you agree, Sister Zhu Huan?”
“Say it again—call me Zhang Zhu Huan.”
“Alright, Sister Zhu Huan.”
Li Anlan sighed, her heart as bitter as coptis root. These two heartless ones—where would they know that Yun Ye hadn’t sent a single letter back to Lingnan in a full half year? She had sent several letters herself, but the replies were all from that shrew Xinyue, only saying her husband had gone traveling outside and wasn’t home. How could this be traveling? Would a dignified marquis go mad and run off traveling alone without managing anything? Which law allowed him to do this? It was an excuse, a prevarication!
Heartless man! Could you really not care about us mother and son? Li Anlan’s eyes reddened as she privately grieved. The two girls didn’t dare play anymore either, accompanying Li Anlan in silence.
Li Anlan’s weakness was only momentary. Raising her head, she was once again that spirited Great Tang Princess, beginning to ponder what use that ox-head gold might have. The person who contributed the ox-head gold was merely the elder of a small village—a small village of two to three hundred people couldn’t stir up big waves. From the moment she obtained the grain, Li Anlan knew that this old man’s target was indeed grain, with no other purpose.
Liu Jinbao must know something, but kept his mouth tightly shut, not saying a word. He became even more diligent in guarding the Prince. Several times during night feedings, she could see his silhouette reflected on the window frame. One could say he never left the Prince’s side.
This was also an important reason Li Anlan could calm her mind. Hong Cheng was leading three thousand beast-like veteran soldiers along the coastline, attacking one country after another. The treasures plundered back could already be described as mountains of wealth. Even her own son had quite a lot—all of the Yun Family’s dividends were given to the Prince. She was green with envy watching, but everywhere there was wealth, yet none of it was hers. Without money and grain, there was no way to buy off the natives, no way to build a larger city. The blueprint Yun Ye had given could only forever remain on paper.
Just by slightly raising taxes using the Feng Family’s prestige, many villages were unwilling, saying if they paid, they would starve to death. The Feng Family mobilized some troops, slightly intimidated those village people, helped a little, then calculated having her marry into their family. Had Feng Ang’s head been kicked by a donkey? This was Yun Ye’s most commonly said phrase.
The two girls accompanied Li Anlan back to her room. The ox-head gold still sat on the table, cold and icy. Li Anlan always felt that when Liu Jinbao looked at the ox-head gold, there was a trace of mockery at the corners of his mouth. Madam He, holding the Prince, also had an air of complete composure, no longer showing the resentment of previous days.
Why was she the only one uneasy?
Looking back at the fat son held in Madam He’s arms, the little person drooling, bouncing up and down against Madam He’s ample bosom, even smiling at her…