Chapter 292: A Newfound Respect

Chapter 292: A Newfound Respect

The mountain path was clear, with the sound of horse hooves echoing.

"Young Master, over here!" the Sixth Boss yelled, waving excitedly at the approaching team.

In the blink of an eye, they were right in front of them. Xin You pulled the reins and stopped.

Behind the Sixth Boss stood four big and rugged young men, who were smiling shyly at her.

"This is our Young Master! What are you standing around for? Greet him!"

The four bowed together in unison. "Greetings, Young Master."

"Don't worry about all that," Xin You said. "Just these four?"

"Five," the Sixth Boss said, pointing at himself. "I'm coming along too. Someone's gotta make sure these clumsy guys don't mess things up."

He trusted Xin You would come back for them, but he couldn't just wait around at Wuyun Village. He had to go. This huge opportunity wasn't something he could let slip!

"If you want to come, then come," Xin You said with a smile. "Let's get moving."

As soon as Xin You finished talking to the Sixth Boss, Xiao Ba got excited. "Sixth Boss! I thought I'd never see you again!"

"What are you saying!" the Sixth Boss said, slapping the over-excited Xiao Ba.

"I thought I'd be dead and never see the brothers again. I didn't think Young Master Xin would bother to get me out of jail," Xiao Ba said, almost in tears, grateful as he glanced at Xin You.

A low-level bandit like him couldn't handle that kind of stress.

"You should call her 'Young Master,' not 'Young Master Xin,'" the Sixth Boss reminded.

Xiao Ba nodded quickly, agreeing. "Young Master."

Qian Feng and An Quan didn't mind, but He Qingxiao's Jinlin Guard were a bit annoyed by the bandit's words.

With the Sixth Boss and his men joining, the original group of fourteen grew to twenty. They spurred their horses and galloped southward.

A few days later, Emperor Xingyuan received news from Ling County. He extensively praised Xin You in front of the courtiers and briefly complimented He Qingxiao. After that, the investigations continued, and the prisoners were sent to the capital. County Magistrate Yang was elevated to county governor, and various other arrangements were made.

Returning to his palace, Emperor Xingyuan took out County Magistrate Yang's memorial from his sleeve and read it again with a smile.

The chief eunuch, Sun Yan, standing by, subtly twitched his mouth.

"Sun Yan."

"This servant is here."

"Do you think Xin Mu has some luck? He was just passing by and incidentally suppressed bandits. Unexpectedly, he rounded up all the escaped rebel leaders. This has avenged me."

As the founding emperor, Emperor Xingyuan couldn't tolerate being insulted, especially by rebels.

"Yes, Xin Daizhao is clear-eyed and looks blessed," Sun Yan replied.

"Don't underestimate these 100-plus rebels. They were kings of the mountain, secretly growing. In disaster years, when people were displaced, they could seize the opportunity to gather a force. As their numbers grew, they might become a significant threat to our Great Xia."

"Your Majesty speaks wisely," he replied.

"I wonder if they've reached Cloud Lake yet?" Emperor Xingyuan had become unusually talkative.

He didn't quite know what this feeling was, but he just felt like talking to someone about it.

Talk about what?

Of course, they were talking about Mu'er's mission to take down the bandits.

News of the events in Ling County quickly spread among the officials and nobles, who each reacted differently.

Princess Zhaoyang clapped her hands in approval, while Minister Xie casually strolled over to the Dai Zhao Office, even asking the divination official to cast a hexagram for him.

As soon as Minister Xie left, the poetry official grinned, "Gentlemen, the Dai Zhao Office has been lively ever since."

This change had happened since Xin Dai Zhao arrived.

The officials couldn't help but anticipate the return of that young man.

Upon hearing about the bandit suppression, Duan Shaoqing shut himself in his room and chugged a cup of tea.

Taking the initiative to take down the bandits and ruthlessly killing over a hundred rebels—that girl was a real she-devil. He had once foolishly considered trying to get rid of her.

Duan Shaoqing was terrified, a cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

At the Zhang residence, several civil officials gathered to discuss the matter.

"This Xin Dai Zhao is truly impressive."

Suppressing rebels and bandits was a shared stance among the officials and nobles. On the surface, it was about national sentiment, but deeper down, the stability of Great Xia aligned with the interests of the aristocracy.

"He's indeed a clever man, knowing how to seize opportunities and build his influence." This was spoken by Zhang Yuchen, a nephew of Chief Minister Zhang Xu. Having entered the bureaucracy through the imperial exams, his position, while not very high, had already made him a pillar of the Zhang clan of his generation.

Those present, having been in the bureaucracy for many years, immediately thought of the upcoming arrival of Xin Huanghou's coffin in the capital.

With Xin Gongzi gaining an unignorable reputation, it wasn't good for their plans to oppose her.

"Who would've thought, he's a troublesome one," someone sighed.

Xin You had already reached Cloud Lake and joined the escort team accompanying Xin Huanghou's coffin to the capital.

Due to continuous rain making travel difficult, the team had been stuck at Cloud Lake for several days. Luckily, the road had cleared over the past two days, allowing Xin You's group to enter the city without issue.

The team comprised around two hundred people, led by two individuals: General Li, a commander of the capital camp, and Eunuch Wang, who held supervisory duties.

Regardless of their personal feelings, both were respectful and did not neglect Xin You's arrival.

"Young Master Xin, now that the road is finally clear, let's set off as soon as possible." Eunuch Wang's sharp voice rang out.

Eunuch Wang, in his thirties and at the height of his strength, had thought this southern trip would be an easy chance to earn merit. However, every step had been difficult, and he felt like he was rotting away in this endless rainy weather.

Wearing white robes, Xin You slowly knelt in front of Xin Huanghou's coffin.

"Mother, we are setting off." She murmured softly, holding back her tears.

He Qingxiao, dressed in black ceremonial robes instead of his crimson official garb, also knelt and respectfully kowtowed several times.

In the solemn atmosphere, over a dozen coffins were pulled away from Cloud Lake by horse-drawn carriages.

The road was muddy, and the procession could only advance slowly. It was tough going, but there's no need to spell it out. After three or four days of traveling this way, the rain started falling again, so the procession had to stop.

Given the weather and road conditions, and with the late empress's coffins in the carriages, we can't afford any mistakes. As the one in charge, General Li proposed, "We're not far from Baiyun County now. Let's seize the time to move forward while the road isn't flooded and make a temporary stop in the city. What do you think, Lord He, and Xin?"

Xin You slightly raised her head under her conical hat.

The sky was a dull gray, and the rain was coming down in sheets, showing no sign of stopping.

Although all the coffins were covered with layers of oiled cloth, her heart still ached slightly at the thought of the cold rain beating down on them.

Seeing that Xin You and Lord He did not object, General Li gave the order loudly, "Everyone, be careful and protect the carriages!"

In the boundless curtain of rain, the large procession of over two hundred people seemed like tiny ants as they slowly approached the outskirts of Baiyun County.