Chapter 111: Wan Xiuer’s Identity

Chapter 111: Wan Xiuer's Identity

Lin Yingxue sent the letter, eagerly anticipating her early departure to Weilin, while Fu Jiaze wrote back, indicating that they still needed to wait a bit longer. Originally, he was only in charge of a county, but now he was governing an entire prefecture, which would take even more time.

After learning the news, Lin Yingxue had already anticipated a possible delay in her trip to Weilin and was not overly disappointed.

Fu Jiaze, clearly fearing that Lin Yingxue would be disheartened, detailed his upcoming tasks extensively in his letter.

She carefully read through the tasks Fu Jiaze had outlined, which were things Pei Jin had not mentioned, but Fu Jiaze had written clearly in his letter.

The iron mine discovered by the Gan family was not particularly large, and after years of continuous mining, the remaining ore was scarce.

Emperor Chengde, after ascending the throne, showed no interest in the remaining ore. Pei Jin, however, saw this and persuaded the emperor to place all of the Gan family's assets under official jurisdiction, leaving them for the entire Weilin Prefecture, with no silver allocation for three years.

Every year, the imperial court allocated a significant amount of silver to Weilin Prefecture, and Emperor Chengde agreed to this arrangement.

Upon hearing this news, the entire Weilin Prefecture was filled with worry and gloom.

Although the Gan family had considerable wealth, it could not compare to the annual allocations from the court, which amounted to about two and a half years' worth of silver.

Moreover, if any disaster were to strike during those three years, there would likely be no allocations from the Ministry of Revenue, and they would have to rely on their own resources.

However, Fu Jiaze believed that his teacher's decision was entirely correct. If the Gan family's assets had not been retained, the annual allocations would have been minimal.

Now, at least, the Gan family could sell some of their current silver, and continue their textile business.

The looms used by the Gan family were different from the current spinning machines; they had modified the horizontal spindles to vertical ones, allowing a single spinning wheel to drive eight vertical spindles. For the Gan family, they did not intend to disrupt the foundation of the Jiang Nan textile industry, so they limited it to eight spindles. Fu Jiaze, however, planned to expand this significantly, increasing the number of spindles and focusing solely on producing affordable and practical fabrics to dominate the entire Great Qi market. He also intended to sell these fabrics to the Di people in exchange for their horses.

After finishing the letter, Lin Yingxue extracted a portion of it to give to Gan Tian'er separately.

As Fu Jiaze had predicted, Emperor Chengde ultimately spared Gan Tian'er's life, allowing her to practice at the Lan Yue Nunnery.

Gan Tian'er's nanny lived at the foot of the mountain where the nunnery was located and often visited her young mistress.

For Gan Tian'er, she was unaware of the iron mine business but had visited the textile workshops many times and knew the workers there. Tongwu County was not prosperous, and if the textile workshops were to close, the workers would lose their livelihoods.

Upon reading the letter, Jingyue (Gan Tian'er's dharma name) learned that the Gan family's textile workshops were now under official control, and the workers had been retained. She clasped her hands together and bowed to Lin Yingxue.

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On her way back to the city from the Lan Yue Nunnery, Lin Yingxue happened to see Wan Xiuer and Lin Baozhen fishing by a lake in the outskirts. Wan Xiuer had caught nothing, while Lin Baozhen's basket was full of fish.

Wan Xiuer said something that made Lin Baozhen laugh.

Lin Yingxue was curious as to why these two women were together, considering Wan Xiuer was merely her elder brother Lin Zongfei's favored concubine.

Her curiosity piqued, Lin Yingxue couldn't help but observe them closely.

To understand why Wan Xiuer befriended Lin Baozhen, one must delve into her background.

The current leader of the Di people is Yelu Xie, who has three sons: Yelu Qi, Yelu Wang, and Yelu Dan.

Yelu Qi, the eldest son, was the most favored by the Khan due to his resemblance to him. According to the third prince's analysis, if not for Yelu Qi's cruel nature and tendency to become violent when drunk, he would have been the Khan's preferred successor.

Since the eldest son was unsuitable, the Khan considered the second prince, Yelu Wang. Yelu Wang was born to the Khan's beloved childhood friend, inheriting her bright and outgoing personality, which made him somewhat impulsive.

The third son, Yelu Dan, was born to a Han woman captured from Great Qi and was the least favored. However, he was precocious and learned the Han language from his mother, starting to plan infiltration into Great Qi at a young age. Wan Xiuer was one of Yelu Dan's agents.

Wan Xiuer sought out individuals who could serve the Di people and met Lin Zongfei in Jiang Nan.

The Di people helped Lin Zongfei advance in his career, even orchestrating the auspicious appearance of the White Jade Guanyin statue. Wan Xiuer became Lin Zongfei's favored concubine.

Lin Zongfei's wife died because, as his confidante, she inadvertently discovered his true identity, leading to her demise.

Wan Xiuer accompanied Lin Zongfei to the capital and, upon learning of Lin Baozhen's status, immediately sought to befriend her.

However, as Lin Yingxue had anticipated, Wan Xiuer's efforts to befriend Lin Baozhen were not smooth.

Lin Baozhen and her elder brother had a close relationship in their youth, but it had grown distant since he took office. With her husband being the leader of Concubine Chen's faction, Lin Baozhen had become arrogant. Even if Wan Xiuer were Lin Zongfei's legitimate wife, Lin Baozhen might not have given her much attention.

Wan Xiuer found it difficult to connect with Lin Baozhen, often encountering obstacles such as her being unwell or out. She suspected that Lin Baozhen was avoiding her due to her low status. Eventually, she resorted to sending continuous lavish gifts, which finally won Lin Baozhen's favor.

When Lin Baozhen saw Lin Yingxue, her expression froze for a moment before she turned away without a word.

Wan Xiuer, upon seeing Lin Yingxue, her eyes flickered. Having successfully befriended Lin Baozhen, she had intended to establish a connection with Lin Yingxue as well.

Though she had known about Lin Yingxue's husband's position in the capital and the news from the He Fei Restaurant in Tongwu County, she had initially not taken Fu Jiaze seriously. Now, she viewed him differently.

It was no small feat for Prince Yelu Dan to infiltrate Great Qi using a county under Weilin Prefecture as a base. Wan Xiuer's own household registration was in Tongwu County, and the He Fei Restaurant was a crucial hub for communication. She had not expected it to be dismantled so easily.

Thinking of Fu Jiaze's current position, Wan Xiuer suggested, "Why don't we invite Second Sister over?"

Lin Baozhen's mood soured instantly. "I'm going back," she said, her temper always quick to flare, especially now that she was pregnant.

Wan Xiuer weighed the two women in her mind and decided to side with Lin Baozhen.

"Big Sister, I was just suggesting. If Big Sister prefers us to be alone, we won't invite her. After all, her husband was just a county magistrate, oh, I mean, now he's a vice-prefect."

As she spoke, Wan Xiuer noticed that Lin Yingxue had already entered the city.

Lin Baozhen was taken aback, never having expected Fu Jiaze to become a vice-prefect. She frowned deeply. "When did this happen? Why didn't I know?"

Wan Xiuer replied, "I heard it from your elder brother. It seems that a prominent family in Tongwu County was massacred, and after he solved the case, he was promoted to vice-prefect of Weilin Prefecture."