Chapter 404: Wen County

Chapter 404: Wen County

Xin You said lightly, but He Qingxiao felt a wave of warmth spreading from the hand that held his, soaking through his sleeve and pooling in his chest.

His heart burned, and he only grew more flustered.

He dared not move, nor did he want to leave.

This feeling, like it was shredding his self-control, stirred a wild sweetness deep within him.

Xin You took a step closer, throwing her arms around the woodenly rigid man, and whispered, "He Qingxiao, hug me."

If she were really so indifferent, she wouldn’t have asked him.

He Qingxiao went rigid briefly before slowly embracing her.

After a quiet moment in each other’s arms, he stepped back. "Ayou, I should go."

Xin You lifted her lips. "Not 'Miss Xin' anymore?"

He Qingxiao gazed at her deeply. "From now on, I’ll call you Ayou."

They'd embraced, kissed—done everything a married couple would. In his heart, Ayou was already his wife. She was so brave; how could he not even dare to call her name?

"I’ll see you out," Xin You said, her cheeks warming.

She accompanied him through the courtyard adorned with vibrant pomegranate trees, stopping when they reached the back door of the bookstore’s main hall. "You know the bookstore well, so I’ll stop here."

"Ayou, see you the day after tomorrow."

He Qingxiao turned and entered the bookstore.

Xin You stood still, her skirt fluttering in the autumn breeze, lingering for a long while before finally leaving.

Later, as she prepared for the trip, Xin You watched Xiaolian bustling about, determined to pack every single thing, and sighed. "This trip needs to be light and quick. There’s no need to bring so much."

Why was she even packing two sets of cumbersome jewelry Xin You rarely wore?

"But we’ll be away forever!" Xiaolian replied casually.

The young mistress is so sweet on Lord He, and now they finally had the chance to travel south together. Who knew? They might even elope and never return.

"Just bring the essentials."

Two days passed in a blink. After bidding farewell to Emperor Xingyuan, the group of several dozen set off. Besides those Xin You already knew would join, there was one more—Grand Eunuch Sun Yan, whom the emperor had tossed in at the last minute.

Officially, Sun Yan, like Inspector He, was tasked with overseeing the sweet potato cultivation, though his real job was to keep an eye on Xin You and He Qingxiao.

The emperor wasn’t about to wait until the sweet potato harvest and end up with a grandchild.

To ensure the safe transport of the sweet potato vines, the group took the waterways straight there, arriving in Wen County after more than half a month.

Wen County had been Xin You’s deliberate choice.

During her past travels, she had once stayed there briefly and knew enough about its climate and soil—conditions suitable for growing sweet potatoes at this time of year. It was also neither too close nor too far from the capital, for easy messages. Further south, the weather would indeed be hotter and more favorable for sweet potatoes, but the excessive rainfall posed a problem.

Though it was late autumn, Wen County was as warm as spring, with flowers blooming everywhere in the lush green.

"It’s so beautiful here," Xiaolian marveled.

"First time coming to the south, Sister Xiaolian? Many places down here are like this—winter feels almost like spring and summer," the Sixth Master said enthusiastically.

Xiaolian smiled politely, resisting the urge to roll her eyes.

Ugh, what a show-off—always scrambling for attention.

A few dozen people in their group—neither too many nor too few—quickly made contact with the local authorities. The magistrate of Wen County dared not slack in the slightest, practically ready to clear out the entire yamen for Xin You and her party.

"County Magistrate Zhang, there’s no need for such courtesy. Might there be any available farmland in the outskirts? We’d like to rent a few acres, and if there’s a farmhouse we could stay at, that would be even better."

"Yes, yes! My brother-in-law happens to own a farmhouse with plenty of good farmland."

"Five acres each of top, middle, and poor-quality fields will suffice."

Magistrate Zhang found this request rather odd.

These important figures had come all the way from the capital to a small place like Wen County—asking for farmland was one thing, but why poor-quality land? And only fifteen acres in total—what good is that little land?

Xin You thought to herself that she would have liked more, but the sweet potato slips brought from overseas had likely multiplied enough to barely fill one acre per type. Asking for fifteen acres made it seem less suspicious—otherwise, people might suspect they were planning to grow gold.

The farmhouse wasn’t far outside the city. Magistrate Zhang personally led Xin You’s group there, and they quickly settled in.

After hiring some experienced farmers, the planting of sweet potatoes began.

Aside from the slips they had brought back, a few sweet potatoes had also survived the journey. Recalling the method Empress Xin had once mentioned, Xin You cut the sweet potatoes and placed them in jars of water to sprout seedlings.

While things in Wen County progressed smoothly, back in the capital, Xin You’s departure was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, sending ripples far and wide.

"Have you heard? Xin You has left the capital."

"Not just her—Changle Marquis, Inspector He, and even Eunuch Sun from the emperor’s side went with them."

"Reports from the postal stations say they’ve headed south."

"What are they going south for? Some secret mission?"

"If it were the Jinlin Guard on an assignment, that wouldn’t be unusual. But Xin You is deeply favored by the emperor and wields great influence in court. For her to suddenly go south—I can’t help but feel uneasy."

Though Xin You’s group had left the capital discreetly, their prominence made them the focus of officials’ attention. Gossip and discreet questions soon gave rise to a rumor: At the start of the year, the Great Xia had sent envoys overseas, among them a trusted aide of Xin You’s. This aide had brought back a precious commodity, and their journey south was to showcase this discovery.

In one manor, a gathering of men wore dark countenances.

"What is Xin You planning? Bringing back commodities from overseas?" One man slammed his fist on the armrest. "This is clearly her pushing to lift the sea ban!"

"Forcing through reforms wasn’t enough, now she wants to open the seas—Xin You is leaving us no way to survive!"

Minister of Rites scowled darkly. "Let’s wait for word from our spies in the south!"

His own family had secretly engaged in overseas trade—if exposed, the losses would far exceed those from confiscated farmland.

Half a month later, when the news reached him, Minister of Rites was utterly bewildered: Farming? They went to some backwater county to farm?

"I’ve got it!" An official suddenly exclaimed, as if enlightened. "What they brought back from overseas must be a money tree—plant one, and it rains silver!"

Minister of Rites' eyes flashed murderously as he stared at the rambling official.

Another official chimed in, "The overseas world is full of wonders—maybe it really is something like that."

Minister of Rites: "..."

But no matter the speculation, one thing was certain: If Xin You had gone south specifically for this, it was undoubtedly significant—and a threat to their interests.

Xin You, Xin You—the Minister of Rites repeated the name he loathed in his heart, his gaze sharp as a blade.

At the Imperial New Year's feast, the Empress Dowager noticed Xin You’s absence, and her mood instantly soured.

That little wretch—skipping the most important family feast of the year was clearly a pointed reminder of last year’s palace banquet, meant to humiliate HER!