Mad Queen Leaves the Palace

Chapter 112 Returning to Beijing

Seven days later, the sun shone brightly, and a gentle breeze caressed the Jizhou Wharf. A magnificent royal cruise ship was steadily docked at the wharf, attracting the attention of many. Although the crew had not yet appeared, the busy dockworkers had already begun unloading cargo from the ship, box after box.

The unloading scene was quite a spectacle! Wooden crates were carefully carried off the ship and neatly arranged on the dock. There were so many crates, piled up like a mountain, that it took a full hour to finish. However, what onlookers didn't know was that these seemingly ordinary crates were actually filled with priceless gold and silver jewels! And all these treasures were ultimately looted by Luo You from the Ye family.

The origin of this matter is quite interesting. Initially, Xiao Lan pretended to have an urgent need for money and asked Ye Zijian for 500,000 taels of gold. Ye Zijian, naturally, dared not refuse and hurriedly managed to raise this huge sum and hand it over to Xiao Lan. But who could have imagined that after receiving the money, Xiao Lan would suddenly change her mind and tell Ye Zijian that, apart from the portion he took, the rest would be donated to the national treasury.

Upon hearing this news, Ye Zijian turned pale with rage and nearly fainted. This wealth was the result of his family head's painstaking efforts and the sale of all their possessions! But what could he do in this situation? He might be able to renege on Xiao Lan's accounts, but attempting to default on payments to the national treasury would have unimaginable consequences. Let alone a mere Ye family, even the most powerful clans, if they dared to owe the national treasury even a single penny, could receive a deluxe gift from His Majesty the Emperor: the extermination of their entire clan!

Ye Zijian was filled with fear and unease; he simply didn't have the courage to take a gamble or act boldly. The morning after Xiao Lan left Xiwu Prefecture, sunlight streamed through the windows onto the cold floor of the warehouse. But Ye Zijian had no heart to appreciate the beautiful sunrise. With a grave expression, he entered the warehouse and began to carefully examine every item inside.

As time went on, Ye Zijian not only meticulously inventoried the goods in the warehouse, but also decisively decided to sell three docks and several larger shops and estates. However, the process was not smooth, and it wasn't until the fourth day, after much hard work, that he finally managed to raise the necessary funds.

Surprisingly, the three docks that originally belonged to Ye Zijian ended up in the hands of the Xiao family, Xiao Lan, and Hou Xianglan, respectively. As for the estates, they were snapped up by Jiang Nihuang, Hou Xianglan, and the prefect's advisor. Even the shops were ultimately bought by the advisor, although on the surface the purchase was made by the advisor's brother-in-law, the real money was actually made by the advisor's older sister—the prefect's wife.

In fact, all of this had been planned long before Xiao Lan set off for Shaozhou. As clever as she was, she understood the principle that wealth should not be hoarded. If she could bring Hou Xianglan and the Prefectural Governor's Office along, she could successfully establish a network of informants throughout the entire Xiwu Prefecture, thereby acquiring more valuable information and resources. This would undoubtedly bring enormous benefits to both her personal development and her future career plans.

Meanwhile, Luo You waited patiently outside the Ye residence for several days. During this time, he racked his brains and exhausted all his efforts to get back the 230,000 taels of silver he had previously given to Xiao Lan. His hard work paid off! He not only successfully recovered the entire sum, but to his great surprise, Ye Zijian, as a sign of respect, presented him with an additional 20,000 taels of silver. Thus, Luo You received a total of 250,000 taels of silver! This overjoyed him, his happiness overflowing.

From then on, when members of the Ye family went out, they only sent a few dozen guards. After all, Luo You was no longer pursuing the matter, so naturally he didn't continue to make things difficult for Ye Zijian.

It was only after being able to freely enter and leave his home that Ye Zijian learned a shocking piece of news—the people at Huanlou had already revealed to the middleman that they had ascertained Xiao Lan's true identity. However, because Ye Zijian's side had deliberately concealed this information first, the 100,000 taels of silver they had previously paid could not be refunded.

After Ye Zijian carefully tallied up the accounts, he was shocked! It turned out that he had lost nearly two million taels of gold in total because of that illegitimate daughter from a collateral branch of the family! Such a huge amount would be no small sum for anyone, let alone Ye Zijian. Under such a heavy blow, his physical condition deteriorated rapidly.

On the very night that Luo You and the others had just stepped out of the Ye family's gate, the darkness was as thick as ink, enveloping the earth. In the stillness of the night, no one expected that Ye Zijian, who had always been in relatively good health, would suddenly develop a high fever without warning.

This sudden turn of events shattered the tranquility of the Ye family, plunging the mansion into chaos. The servants, panicked and disoriented, frantically searched for renowned physicians to treat Ye Zijian. In an instant, the entire Ye family was filled with anxiety, every face etched with worry and unease.

After three agonizing days and nights, the doctors exhausted all their efforts and finally managed to stabilize Ye Zijian's condition, temporarily pulling him back from the brink of death. However, although his life was no longer in danger, Ye Zijian was still extremely weak and could only lie in bed resting all day.

Three more long days passed before Ye Zijian was finally able to get out of bed and move around with difficulty. As soon as he recovered slightly, disregarding his incomplete recovery, he immediately picked up a pen and wrote a long letter to his son, Ye Yuandong, who was far away in the capital. In the letter, he detailed the various events that had occurred in Xiwu Prefecture over the past two weeks, including his entanglements with Luo You and others, and the reasons for his illness. After finishing writing, Ye Zijian hurriedly dispatched a trusted confidant on horseback to deliver the letter to the capital day and night.

Meanwhile, Xiao Lan, Yan Nanhui, and the others were not greatly affected by the unloading of cargo. The large ship had already docked smoothly at the shore in the early morning. As the ship docked smoothly, the other passengers had already eagerly disembarked and left, but Xiao Lan remained lazily lying in the cabin until the sun was high in the sky before she slowly got up and began to pack her belongings.

In contrast, Yan Nan Hui and Xiao Mu An were much more diligent. They woke up early in the morning and set up a chessboard at the bow of the ship, starting a wonderful game of Go. The black and white pieces were scattered across the board, and the two players went back and forth, neither giving an inch. This game of Go seemed to be their best way to pass the time.

The sun shone brightly, and a gentle breeze caressed their faces. Luo You, Yue Jiangchuan, Li Yuan, and the others worked together to meticulously inventory the mountain of valuables piled on the ship. The goods were dazzling and varied, including exquisite silks and brocades, precious jewelry and jade, rare medicinal herbs and spices, and much more, a feast for the eyes.

After careful verification, the items that needed to be deposited into the national treasury were sorted out and handed over to Yue Jiangchuan, who led a well-trained Imperial Guard for strict escort. They were dressed in neat armor, wielding sharp weapons, their expressions solemn, their steps steady, guarding this important shipment like an iron wall.

Meanwhile, the large sum of money Xiao Lan had previously demanded from the Ye family was mostly handed over to Jiang Nihuang. This wealth was no small amount; its purpose was to acquire the Ye family's docks. In fact, not long ago, Xiao Lan had personally helped Ye Zijian calculate the costs. The result showed that even if Ye Zijian exhausted all his efforts and sold off all the shops and land under his name in Xiwu Prefecture, the funds raised would still be far from sufficient to cover the required compensation. Therefore, Ye Zijian would have to painfully relinquish at least two docks to have enough money to hand over to Luo You to make up for the previous losses.

Thinking of this, everyone couldn't help but wonder: if Ye Zijian knew the truth in the future, and found out that Xiao Lan had used the compensation money she obtained from him to buy up her own Ye family's dock, what would he think? Perhaps he would be so angry that he would vomit blood on the spot!

With everything settled, Luo You and his team finally completed this arduous task. Afterwards, this large contingent embarked on their journey to the capital. Along the way, banners fluttered, and the sound of horses' hooves echoed through the sky, attracting the attention of passersby.

This time, Xiao Lan, relying on her exceptional abilities and wisdom, brilliantly completed her assigned tasks. Furthermore, she successfully assisted Yan Nan in conducting experiments on the salt fields and ingeniously extracted pure and fine refined salt on her own. This experience was undoubtedly fruitful and rewarding for them.

Yan Nan Hui, on the other hand, was quite shrewd. Seeing things progressing smoothly, he secretly took a break. He decided to go all in and directly approached his future father-in-law, asking him to come out of retirement and sign the contract for the Yuzhou coal mine. With this connection, everything fell into place. Now, charcoal pencil production in Yuzhou is in full swing. Preliminary estimates suggest that in about a month, these meticulously crafted charcoal pencils will be officially available for sale in designated locations under the royal name!

After everyone finally stepped through the magnificent gates of the capital, Li Yuan led a group of fifty people from Jizhou, carefully carrying the large batch of exquisite jewelry that the Ye family had previously compensated Xiao Lan, and slowly made their way towards Wutong Residence.

Meanwhile, Xiao Lan and Yan Nanhui, along with Yue Jiangchuan and Luo You, headed towards the palace carrying the remaining silver. Their purpose was clear—to report the details of their mission to Yan Zhen and complete their task. Along the way, the four chatted and laughed, feeling both the joy and relief of successfully completing their mission, and a touch of nervousness and anticipation for their upcoming audience with the emperor.

Upon arriving at the palace, Emperor Yan Zhen had not yet finished his morning court session. After a moment's thought, Xiao Lan decisively instructed Yue Jiangchuan to neatly arrange the silver confiscated from the Ye family in the spacious square in front of the Golden Palace. When Yue Jiangchuan and Yan Nanhui entered the hall to report to Emperor Yan Zhen that Xiao Lan's donation to the national treasury had been delivered, the entire court erupted in an uproar.

As the ministers whispered and speculated, Yan Zhen surprisingly ordered that Xiao Lan be invited into the hall as well. This order astonished everyone present, especially Yan Linfeng and Prime Minister Lin, whose eyes were filled with disbelief and shock. It must be understood that in the Great Xia Dynasty, men were always respected, and women were strictly forbidden from entering the sacred Golden Palace. Since ancient times, only women bearing imperial heirs and the esteemed Empress were qualified to ascend this hall symbolizing supreme power.

Today, Yan Zhen surprisingly allowed Xiao Lan to enter the Golden Palace, which was truly baffling. Firstly, Xiao Lan and the Fifth Prince were not yet married, so there was no way she could be pregnant; secondly, the Empress was still alive, and Xiao Lan was merely the Fifth Prince's future consort, so she should not have the right to enter the palace under any circumstances. Just as Yan Linfeng was about to object, he was suddenly interrupted by an official who spoke first: "Your Majesty! How can Xiao Lan, a mere woman, be qualified to enter this Golden Palace?" These words drew the attention of all the officials.

Yan Linfeng glanced casually at the person speaking, thinking to himself, "Oh? So he's one of Prime Minister Lin's secret faction!" In the Great Xia Dynasty, officials were supposed to remain neutral and not favor any particular faction. However, being at the heart of imperial power, how many could truly remain unaffiliated? Thus, apart from the upright and incorruptible Lord Zhang, the other officials either secretly allied themselves with the Lin family or had intricate connections with the Ye family.

Back then, everyone believed that although the position of Crown Prince had been secured, the Third Prince, born to Consort Ye, still held a glimmer of hope. Furthermore, Ye Zijian had served as a royal merchant for twenty years, during which time he cultivated extensive connections with powerful figures and possessed substantial financial resources. Thus, the current situation in the court can be roughly divided into two factions: one led by the Crown Prince, also known as the Lin family faction; the other centered around the Third Prince, Yan Linfeng.