Originally, after leaving Qingyuan Temple, the two planned to return to Shuyang.

I came to Qinghengshan on a whim, and I should go back and tell Yuncheng and the others to avoid worrying my family.

When they came, they rode one horse each, lightly equipped and fast. When they returned, Fanglian and the peasant woman were with them, so they hired a carriage, which Hengzhi drove himself.

Thinking that the mother and daughter had finally met, and now they had encountered such an emotional ups and downs, they would definitely need some time to calm down. So Ah’ao settled the two of them, left the carriage, and sat in the front room of the carriage with Hengzhi.

Qingheng Mountain is not far away. If you don’t rest on the way, you can get back to Shuyang in most of the day.

Hengzhi humbled himself to drive the carriage, and sat behind the armrests with his body bent. Although he was indeed a little restrained, his elegant and unrestrained temperament could not be concealed.

Holding a long whip in his hand, he urged the horse from time to time.

“I never thought that one day, you and I would go from riding side by side to driving side by side.” Ah-yi heard the clear ringing of the imperial bells beside her and felt the spring breeze on her face. She couldn’t help but feel happy, “Life is really magical.”

Hengzhi looked ahead, but tried to understand her expression when she said this, and chuckled, “Don’t you find it uncomfortable to sit here?”

The front room was made of wooden planks, without cushions or backrests, and it was very low. Hengqi had to sit with his legs bent, and it was not easy for Ah-yi to sit comfortably in her skirt.

“You’re ruining the mood.” Ah-yi complained, “I’m obviously willing to come here to share the good and bad times with you.”

Willing to share the joys and sorrows.

Hengzhi repeated these words several times in his mind, and then changed his posture. He held all the long reins and braids in one hand, and reached out with the other hand to pull Ah-yi, “Come here and sit on my lap.”

He bent his right leg and placed it flat on the wooden board, while his left leg was still against the axle, as if he was sitting in a half-lotus position, and his body had moved a little towards the middle.

Ah’an understood and carefully changed her position, moving closer to sit in his arms.

But she didn’t sit on his lap, but imitated him, being somewhat bold. Her skirt was long, but she didn’t need to worry about it, after all, she was riding a horse.

“Look, I am such a considerate lady. I always do whatever you do, and every time I give you a lot of face, right?”

That’s true.

When Hengzhi first brought Ah-yi to a banquet hosted by the ladies of Kezhou, many people looked at her with new eyes. Since they knew her identity as a princess, they also began to look at him with new eyes.

Nowadays, gifts are sent to his house continuously during the New Year holidays. If he orders them to be returned, the ladies will come to his house in person and say that they are for His Highness, and if they don’t like them, they have to wait for His Highness to come back before returning them.

Hengzhi was already too busy to care about anything else. They first filled up the backyard of the private residence, and then, when there was no more room, they filled up the deserted house of Zhaohou Mansion.

There was no other reason, and it was not to put people around him, he just wanted to ask the princess to help him set up some good marriages.

Ah’ao was not the material for matchmaking, so Hengzhi didn’t tell her this when they met.

Today, the conversation came to this point, so he just chatted with her, “Even Qin Xi’s stepmother Yang has come home to ask you to find a match for her little daughter.”

Ah’s face also fell, “Who spread these rumors? How can I introduce so many men and women of the right age to them? People in the capital are used to power. Even if I were a princess, few young ladies would be willing to associate with me.”

If they had not joined together to mock A’ao, they would have been considered ladies of noble families.

“Besides,” Ah-yi thought it was strange, “If there really was a good man to marry in the capital, would I have traveled so far to Kezhou to marry you?”

These words touched Hengzhi’s heart. “It’s understandable that they are parents. Most of the wives in Kezhou look down on military officers, which is human nature. Not all of them are as discerning as my Ah-yi and like me.”

Ah’ao really wanted to laugh, but she also felt that what he said made sense.

“So,” Heng Qi added, “when summer comes, after this set of jadeware is finished, you must return to Kezhou immediately. There will be banquets of all sizes waiting for you to attend.”

“By the way, how is Qin Xi, and Chu Qingfang? I haven’t seen them for a long time.”

Chu Qing had just lost her mother and was studying medicine under Gong Sheng, so no one forced her to marry. Yang, the successor of the governor Qin, was narrow-minded. If there were any young talents, she would always choose her own daughter first, and would not pay attention to Qin Xi.

From what Hengzhi said just now, he indeed didn’t hear anyone working hard for their marriage.

“I don’t know.” Heng Zhi carefully followed the husband’s code of conduct, “I have a family, how can I inquire about the marriage of an unmarried woman?”

If the rumors got out, people in Hekezhou would scold him for being unfaithful and fickle after marrying the princess.

Ah-yi sighed. The surroundings were full of flowers and willows, but they didn’t seem so bright anymore. “In fact, I had a very happy life in Kezhou. We had a yard full of rabbits at home. Sometimes I would practice martial arts with Qin Xi, or go shopping with Chu Qingfang. Since I came into the picture, they don’t get along so badly anymore.”

“Well, anything else?”

Hengzhi listened to her recounting and couldn’t help asking, “Among all these thousands of flavors, he should have a place.”

Ah’ao slept with his head next to hers every day, so how could she not hear what he was thinking?

He played the suspense and said non-seriously, “Anything else? Let’s talk about it when we get home tonight. I need to think about it carefully.” This matter finally alarmed Wang Xuan.

This is because the Mo family’s bullying behavior actually has something to do with Wang Xuan.

The wealth of the Mo family is unique in Jiannan Road. Because the young master of the Mo family is a fool, many people are eyeing the Mo family’s property.

And the new lady, Zhao, is one of them.

Zhao’s maternal family was the Wang family of Yunchuan. Although it was an inconspicuous family, it became famous in Yunchuan because the second son of the family, Wang Wan, lost his parents and went to work under the Marquis of Shuzhong. He was eventually adopted by the Marquis.

Actually, Zhao is related to Wang Wan by marriage, so she can be considered his distant cousin.

But when it comes to relatives, they know each other for no reason and they try to establish relationships when there is something to worry about.

Therefore, the Mo family couple did not seem panicked at all after arriving at the Shuyang court.

As they understood, although the woman who came to deliver the letter was holding the gate token of the Shuzhong Marquis’s mansion, it was a well-known fact that there were no female members in the Shuzhong Marquis’s mansion.

Even if she relied on the power of the Marquis of Shu, Zhao was also Wang Wan’s cousin, so who doesn’t have some relationship with her? Most likely, she wouldn’t be able to stir up any trouble.

“Why? My husband and I have already arrived at the Shuyang Court as agreed. Where is the person who interfered in my family affairs? Is he afraid to show up?”

After waiting for two days, Mrs. Mo could no longer bear it and simply knocked on the door of the court early in the morning.

The yamen runner received Wang Xuan’s order early in the morning. He was not surprised by Mo’s visit and said impatiently, “The court is a place of great importance. How can a woman like you be allowed to shout? The lawsuit against the Mo family has been submitted. You two just need to wait for the trial here.”

Awaiting trial?

Mr. Mo could not wait any longer, so he quickly stepped forward and stopped the runner from leaving. He took out a silver ingot from his pocket and quietly put it into the runner’s hand, “Sir, please stay. I have just arrived in Shuyang and I am unfamiliar with the place. May I ask, sir, who filed a complaint against my family? What is the complaint? Just consider it as inviting you to a drink.”

The bailiff looked him over and took the silver.

“It should be a complaint about your family’s disregard for human life and oppression of concubines. I don’t know any more details.”

Only then did Mr. Mo breathe a sigh of relief.

He was not afraid of this charge. First, Fanglian’s indenture was still in his hands. She was sold to the Mo family as a slave, and he treated her well by making her a concubine. Second, the charge of oppressing a concubine was nothing more than taking her children away for Zhao to raise. This was not an exception in ordinary people’s houses, so what could he complain about?

As long as it doesn’t involve the Mo family’s business, Fanglian can do whatever she wants.

It is understandable that people always struggle and feel reluctant before they die.

“My Lord, it has come to this critical moment, why are you just standing there in a daze!” Madam Mo said with a bitter face, “It is so unlucky that Quan’er’s funeral has not been completed yet, and this little bitch has brought a petition to the court. I have asked Zhao to ask Sima Wang to plead for him.”

For the sake of the girl, I’ll cry a little more and this little thing should be over.

Mrs. Mo was full of doubts. She felt uneasy as the matter was not settled yet and she kept sighing.

But she could soon put her worries to rest.

This petition was written by Ah-yi herself.

It wouldn’t take too much time to get back to Shuyang, but the hard part was to find someone to go to Jiannan Road to collect evidence of the Mo family’s crimes, so that we could have a basis and evidence to bring them to justice.

Wang Xuan came to Wuyuan specially from the front yard and offered to lend her someone to investigate the matter.

Ah-yi was curious, “How could a poor and lonely girl like me trouble the Marquis to personally inquire about this matter?”

Wang Xuan naturally had no intention of caring about a woman, but this case happened to involve the Mo family, and he had been wanting to take action against this family for a long time.

“You can’t hide anything from me.” Wang Xuan smiled and read the petition she wrote with his hands behind his back. “Do you know my adopted son Wang Wan? He was indeed a well-behaved child in the past, so I adopted him as my son and planned to let him take care of me in my old age and see me to the end of my life.”

“But this kid is becoming more and more ambitious. It would be fine if he was just making some dirty money in private, but he has set his sights on my mine! I’m sure Zhao Hou knows that no matter what kind of mine it is, it is crucial for war preparations for a state or a prefecture. Although I promised Your Highness that I would not raise troops, I have always been famous for smelting iron and forging soldiers in my books, so I still have to do business.”

Hengzhi, who was watering the flowers for A’ao, did not move at all, as if the person who was called out was not him at all.

Otherwise, if I continue talking, my mind will be on the mine in Kezhou.

“You don’t have to look at him.” Ah’ao hit Wang Xuan at the right time, “I just like to stand up for others. Anyway, standing up for one person is the same as standing up for two people. If you want my help, I will help you.”

“But I have a request.” Before he could be happy, Ah’ao said, “I want you to spend money to open a college in Shuyang for women to study.”

This is unheard of.

(End of this chapter)