Exile with Storage Space: Family Fortunes in the Barren Lands-Chapter 790 - 0741: Can’t Benefit the Yu Wen Family (1)

Chapter 790: Chapter 0741: Can’t Benefit the Yu Wen Family (1)

"The sooner the better. Deliver it to Zhen An Prefecture immediately and hand it to Prince Luling personally." Prime Minister Pei repeatedly instructed Chang Sui.

Chang Sui tucked the letter into his bosom and asked anxiously, "Master, you have never been on good terms with Prince Luling. If you send him a letter, will he listen to you?"

Prime Minister Pei said, "Whether he listens or not, just deliver the letter first! Besides, his two daughters and two sons-in-law are trapped in the palace and can’t come out to send messages. If I don’t send this letter out, it will be too late for the Luling family to return to the capital, which won’t help matters. If he’s sensible, he’ll come back to the capital."

After the new Emperor ascended the throne, Yu Wenbo and his son had contributed greatly and would certainly control the court more.

It would be impossible for him to regain power, and neither could the Luling family think of returning to the capital.

The Empress Dowager does not like Prince Luling and would be happy if the whole family dies in that village in Zhen An Prefecture.

The Pei family is now weak and must rely on external assistance.

Chang Sui said, "I’ll go to deliver the letter right away."

.

On the afternoon of the second day after the Pei family’s Chang Sui delivered the letter to Zhen An Prefecture, Princess Consort Luling’s family, the Wei Family, also sent someone to deliver a letter to Zhen An Prefecture.

The Emperor is gone, such a significant matter, the Wei Family felt it necessary to let Prince Luling know.

The Wei Family hoped that the Luling family could return to the capital so they could share in their glory again.

.

The messenger rode tirelessly day and night, and ten days later, the Pei family’s letter first reached the hands of Prince Luling.

By this time, it was already August.

The capital in the northwest had entered autumn, while in Zhen An Prefecture, the southernmost part of the Zhao Country, the scorching sun still hung high in the sky.

The midday heat was sweltering, no different from summer.

While Prince Luling was reading the letter in the study, Princess Consort Luling and Chai Eying were happily picking bountiful grapes and autumn pears in the orchard with three children in the back yard.

Li Xingmao was busy harvesting rice in the field across from the Li Mansion with the family’s short-term workers.

Prince Luling furrowed his brows as he read the letter.

Seeing that Prince Luling remained silent, Pei family’s Chang Sui said, "Prince, Prime Minister personally said that considering the family ties, he instructed me to come as fast as possible to inform you. You need to plan soon."

Prince Luling slipped the letter into his sleeve and smiled at Pei family’s Chang Sui, "Thank you for delivering the letter. You’ve had a tiring journey, stay for a night at our humble abode and leave tomorrow morning."

Pei family’s Chang Sui had no choice but to say, "Thank you for your hospitality, Prince."

Prince Luling summoned Uncle Gui, asking him to take Pei family’s Chang Sui to the guest room next to Uncle Gui’s room to rest.

Upon hearing that he was from the Pei family in the capital, Uncle Gui thought it was Mr. Pei sending the letter and treated Pei family’s Chang Sui kindly, constantly inquiring about Pei Shenyan, Li Yuwen, Li Yuzhu, and Mu Yuanxiu.

With the complexity of things in the capital, Pei family’s Chang Sui couldn’t explain it clearly all at once and simply said, "They are all well, all well indeed."

.

After Uncle Gui took Pei family’s Chang Sui away, Prince Luling immediately left the mansion and went to the village road to loudly call Li Xingmao in the paddy field, "Eldest, come here, there’s an important matter to discuss."

Li Xingmao gave instructions to the short-term workers about the harvesting, rolled down his sleeves, and walked up to the road.

"Father, what is it?"

"Look at this letter, it’s personally delivered by Pei family’s Chang Sui, a letter from Pei Wenguang himself."

As Prince Luling handed the letter to Li Xingmao, his expression was grave.

Li Xingmao couldn’t help but frown as he opened the letter and began to read.

The contents of the letter shocked Li Xingmao.

"The Emperor was poisoned to death? Yuwen, Yuzhu, Shenyan, and Yuanxiu are all trapped in the palace? Father, this..." Li Xingmao read the letter again and looked up at Prince Luling, "Although Prime Minister Pei’s letter doesn’t explicitly say we should return to the capital, these matters imply that not returning could be very serious."

Li Xingmao was worried his two sisters might get embroiled, even more so worried about the bookish Pei Shenyan getting into trouble.

Moreover, the inexperienced Mu Yuanxiu was also stuck in the palace.

Prince Luling turned back and glanced at the Li family’s mansion.

Almost three years have passed, and the mansion was no longer the simple bamboo house it was built initially.

They gradually added stables, sheds, and schools around the mansion, as well as a garden, pavilion, and guest rooms within it.

The Li family’s mansion is the largest farmstead among several nearby villages.

Suddenly returning to the capital, Prince Luling felt reluctant.

But if he didn’t return, he would worry about his daughters and sons-in-law.

After thinking for a while, Prince Luling said, "Send someone to notify the second and third, and let’s discuss it together!"

Li Xingmao nodded, "I will go to make arrangements now."

The father and son returned home.

Prince Luling went to the back residence and called for Princess Consort Luling. The elderly couple discussed the matters of the Capital in their bedroom. Princess Consort Luling was greatly shocked and urged Prince Luling to prepare to return to the Capital.

Li Xingmao wrote two brief urgent letters, sealed them with wax pellets, and asked two villagers to deliver them on fast horses separately to Li Xing’an in the County City and Li Xingsheng in the Prefecture City. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

The Li Family is not short of horses now. At the beginning of the year, Mu Yuanxiu brought back ten tall northern horses from Liangzhou City.

Two workers who regularly worked for the Li Family took the letters and the travel expenses given by Li Xingmao, and urgently hurried to deliver the messages.

Li Xing’an, who was relatively close, returned home in two hours.

As soon as he entered the house, he didn’t even drink water, immediately running to the back residence to find Prince Luling and his wife.

In the North Courtyard Main House, there were no other people, only Prince Luling and his wife and Li Xingmao discussing matters.

Li Xing’an walked into the room, exclaimed, "Father, Mother, Elder Brother, I came back as soon as I received the letter, what are your plans, Father, Mother, and Brother?"

"What is your opinion?" Prince Luling asked him back.

Li Xing’an immediately said, "Of course, we have to go back! Li Can is dead, the Empress Dowager is still there, she set up a two-year-old child as the new Emperor, clearly wanting to rule behind the curtains. The Empress Dowager’s temper is no better than Li Can’s; if she comes to power, our family won’t fare well. If we don’t seize the opportunity to return to the Capital, we might never be able to return in the future."

Prince Luling looked worried, "We certainly have to go back, but the situation in the Capital isn’t good now, and the family has many children. Dragging the whole family along..."

Li Xingmao said, "Father, I will stay in the village. E Ying isn’t familiar with the Capital and can’t handle its complexities; the three children are still young. Our family should stay in the village, and we will go back once the situation in the Capital stabilizes."

"You are the Princely Heir, how can you not go back? You must go!" Prince Luling shook his head.

Li Xing’an also said, "Yes, Elder Brother, you absolutely must go back."

At this time, Princess Consort Luling said, "Enough, stop arguing. All of you go back, I will stay and accompany E Ying. You and the few sons go back."

Li Xing’an was surprised, "Mother, if you don’t return to the Capital, who will meet the Empress Dowager? At this time, Mother needs to step forward."

"Isn’t Yu Wen also there? Let her go." said Princess Consort Luling.

Li Xing’an frowned slightly, "Can she manage it?"

"Given the circumstances, it has to be her." Princess Consort Luling sighed.

Li Xingmao thought for a moment, "I trust Yu Wen’s abilities. Her relationship with Empress Cui is quite good; with them in the palace, there will be no mistakes."

Prince Luling was silent for a while, then said, "Let’s arrange it like this. You and your mother, E Ying, and the children will stay in the village temporarily. We few sons will lightly travel to the Capital. When the second brother returns, we will set off. Once the situation in the Capital stabilizes, we will come to bring your mother and E Ying with the children to the Capital."

The father and son understood that the Empress Dowager in the palace was not someone to mess with.

The Empress Dowager was not the late Emperor’s original Empress. She fought her way through cleverness, defeating the Empress and several concubines to rise to her position as Empress.

Through her abilities, she ensured the late Emperor favored her alone, so much so that the late Emperor had only Li Can as a child and no princesses.

Now that Li Can has died mysteriously, the Empress Dowager will surely be enraged and will seize the opportunity to eliminate officials she doesn’t favor.

Other officials will definitely try to please the Empress Dowager, engaging in overt and covert fighting to climb over others.

The Capital will surely be a scene of bloody turbulence, power officials reshuffling.

Having grown up in the Capital, Princess Consort Luling and the Li family father and sons are not afraid of the dramatic changes in the Capital, but Chai Eying, who grew up in a peaceful village, and the young children might not be able to escape the Capital’s strife.

After discussing as a family, they unanimously agreed that Princess Consort Luling would accompany Chai Eying to temporarily stay in the village. They would come to take mother and son back to the Capital once it became stable.

.

Early the next morning, after the Pei family servants returned, letters sent by Princess Consort Luling’s maternal family, the Wei family, reached the Li family.

The letter from the Wei family was more detailed than Prime Minister Pei’s.

In the letter, Wei Daye mentioned that the mansion of the Lu Ling Royal Mansion in the Capital was originally sealed off, but since Li Can’s death, the seal suddenly disappeared. The Wei family inquired everywhere and discovered that the Yu Wen family wanted that mansion.

Wei Daye urged Prince Luling’s family to hurry back to the Capital, warning that if they returned late, the former Lu Ling Royal Mansion would be lost.

The Yu Wen family is currently a supporter of the new Emperor, and a daughter of the Yu Wen family is an imperial concubine and the new Emperor’s foster mother. The Empress Dowager has become the Empress Dowager of the retired Emperor, wielding more power, and is very likely to reward the Yu Wen family by granting them the Lu Ling Royal Mansion.

Upon seeing the letter, Princess Consort Luling was furious.

She urged the Li family father and sons to quickly pack up.

Li Xingsheng, who received the message, traveled day and night and returned to the Li family two days later.

Upon hearing that the old mansion of the Prince’s Mansion might be taken by the Yu Wen family, he immediately clamored to return to the Capital.

The personal belongings he had hidden were still stored in the Prince Mansion; he couldn’t bear the idea of letting those dozens of boxes of gold, pearls, and jade benefit the Yu Wen family.

After sending off the messenger from the Wei family, the four members of the Li family only took some change of clothes and some silver coins, traveling lightly to the Capital.