pjbooks Chapter 161 Right of First Option
Chapter 161 Right of First Option
This trip yielded a great harvest: five village chiefs, 1,500 soldiers, and gold bricks, silver, and brass from the gold mine that hadn't yet been transported back to Zhuzhou.
Xia Yichen whispered to An Yi to inform the capital that he had secured control of the military camp and the gold mine. He then arranged for Tian Ke to lead a thousand soldiers to the valley to take over the gold mine, and for Li Chuan to lead a thousand soldiers to transport the gold bricks, silver, and brass back to Jinji Pass.
Finally, he said to Zhang Xun standing beside him, "The rest of you will remain at Five Tiger Stronghold for now. Deputy General Zhang, you'll arrange your food and lodging. Oh, and have He Zhiwen assist you."
He Zhiwen was the strategist of the Five Tiger Stronghold and the person who knew the situation of the Five Tiger Stronghold best. It was most appropriate for him to assist Zhang Xun in arranging the soldiers' food and lodging.
Five days later, the Emperor received a message from Xia Yichen from Jinji Pass and immediately ordered An Chiyu, Eunuch Zhang, and Meng Xiaoyi to lead men to the Grand Princess's residence, Marquis Xie's residence, and Prince Heng's residence, respectively.
Lina, who was impersonating the eldest princess, along with her maids and attendants from the grasslands, were all arrested by Eunuch Zhang and his men and imprisoned in the imperial prison.
Xie Kun, who colluded with Trafalgar, embezzled supplies from the soldiers of Jinji Pass, and plotted to murder the eldest princess, and his family all knelt on the ground to listen to An Chiyu convey the Emperor's edict:
"Xie Kun and Lina conspired to kill the eldest princess. From this day forward, Xie Kang, the eldest princess's only bloodline, shall sever all ties with his father, Xie Kun. In accordance with the eldest princess's last wishes, Xie Kang shall be granted the title of Marquis of Xiaoyao..."
The Emperor renamed the Princess's residence to the Xiaoyao Marquis's Residence and bestowed it upon Xie Kang, hoping that he would, as the eldest princess wished, live out the rest of his life peacefully and smoothly.
Xie Kang's eyes were filled with tears. His mother, the eldest princess, had been loyal to the country her entire life. Before she died, she asked Xia Yichen to take care of him, sever his father-son relationship with Xie Kun, and avenge his mother—two things he had always wanted to do but was unable to do. The Emperor had done these things for him.
Xie Kang choked up and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for avenging my mother. Thank you for sparing my life. Thank you for your reward!"
An Chiyu patted Xie Kang on the shoulder and said, "Marquis Xiaoyao, while the Crown Prince is not in the capital, you can come to me and Meng Xiaoyi for anything you can't handle." After saying that, An Chiyu turned around, jumped onto his horse, and led the ashen-faced members of the Xie family away.
Compared to Lina and Xie Kun, Prince Heng's fate was slightly better. He did not suffer the pain of exile and was imprisoned for life in the Imperial Clan Court along with his children and grandchildren. Prince Heng's wife, concubines, and daughters were imprisoned in Prince Heng's mansion.
The properties of Prince Heng and the Xie family were to be transferred to the imperial court. Officials flocked to the Ministry of Justice to inquire when the properties belonging to Xia Yanheng and the Xie clan would be sold.
The Ministry of Justice replied that this property sale would be conducted in three phases, one more than before. Only two people were eligible to participate in the first phase, while the participants for the second and third phases remained the same: high-ranking officials and wealthy merchants from the capital.
"The Crown Prince discovered Xie Kun's collusion with Traf, Lina's impersonation of the First Princess, and Prince Heng's illegal gold mining. He should be the first to purchase the gold," a well-informed source said.
"Wasn't the Crown Prince supposed to be lecturing with Princess Mu Hua? According to the lecturers, they're at Pingyuan Pass now!" someone asked.
The crowd discussed amongst themselves, some believing that Princess Muhua, being accompanied by the Crown Prince, should be the first to be selected for the selection, while others disagreed.
Hearing the murmurs of the crowd, the Director of the Prison Department, who knew the truth, smiled slightly, picked up his teacup, and said, "Gentlemen, I will inform you of the sales information in a timely manner. Please return."
After descending the Jiulian Mountains, Wen Yuxia and Xia Yichen parted ways. She went to Xinchuan County to transport foals, while Xia Yichen went to Zhuzhou to take over Prince Heng's fiefdom.
Before leaving, Xia Yichen instructed An Yi to send a message to Zhang Jinxuan, asking him to take the Wen brothers from the lecturer group to Xinchuan County to meet up with Wen Yuxia.
Wen Yuxia, far away in Xinchuan County, was unaware that shops and land were for sale in the capital, nor that she had been granted priority in purchasing them.
At this moment, she, along with the three Wen brothers and Zhang Jinxuan, were eating mutton stew in her family's shop.
Wen Yunhong stuffed a piece of mutton into his mouth and mumbled, "Delicious!" He hadn't tasted such delicious mutton soup since leaving Xinchuan County.
The mutton soup at the Zhang family's restaurant in Beijing uses a recipe given by the youngest daughter of the Zhang family, the woman who traveled through time. The mutton has absolutely no gamey smell, and the taste is comparable to the mutton soup restaurant that Wen Yuxia opened in Xinchuan County.
Wen Yunhong, out of affection for Wen Yuxia, stubbornly believed that the mutton soup at Wen Yuxia's shop was the best.
Wen Yuxia said indulgently, "Eat as much as you like. I'll pack some for you to take back to the capital later." Wen Yunhong nodded happily, "Thank you, sister."
Just then, the sound of horses' hooves came from outside the shop. Everyone looked out and saw a fast horse galloping up to the shop. The rider dismounted, and Zhang Jinxuan recognized him as Li Jie, the head of Yunyi Tower's secret agents in Nanzhou Prefecture.
After bowing to Zhang Jinxuan, Li Jie said, "Prince Heng and Xie Kun's properties are being sold recently, and Commander An requests that you return to the capital as soon as possible."
Zhang Jinxuan put down his chopsticks and smiled slightly: "His Majesty's actions are swift!" Li Jie briefly explained the whole story.
This sale of property is different from the past; someone actually has the right of first refusal. Zhang Jinxuan paused for a moment, then said with certainty, "It's very likely that Yichen and Sister Yuxia have the right of first refusal."
Wen Yuxia pondered for a moment, finding Zhang Jinxuan's analysis quite reasonable. She had contributed to both Jiulian Mountain and the Xie family's affairs. She calmly said, "Brother Jinxuan, please take Brother Hong'er ahead. I still need to go to the horse farm."
Originally, she planned to travel with Zhang Jinxuan back to the capital with the foal, but now the situation has changed. She must put the foal into her spatial storage, which means she will have to temporarily separate from Zhang Jinxuan and the Wen Yunhai brothers.
Zhang Jinxuan had always known that Wen Yuxia had a secret. When she brought up the idea of splitting up, he didn't ask why and immediately agreed. He then took the three Wen brothers and Li Jie and left together.
Wen Yunhong, seated on horseback, waved to Wen Yuxia and called out, "Sister, once you've finished dealing with things at the horse farm, hurry and come find Hong'er!"
Wen Yuxia said calmly, "I understand. I'll come find you later." With that, she got up and led Nan Yi and the others away from the mutton restaurant.
Wen Yuxia drove the foals from the horse farm to a deserted place and put them all into her space. Except for Bei Yi and Bei Er, who stayed with her, Nan Yi and the others were also sent into her space.