The Duke's Daughter is Reborn

An Xiaoyi behaved like a bastard in this matter, and Song Hongwen and An Shi have done their best by paying for the child first.

The people of the An family came here with intentions of closeness and gratitude, and brought many precious items, especially gifts for the Duke and Mrs. An.

Seeing her brother moving piles of gifts into the yard, An's previous unhappiness immediately dissipated, and she welcomed her brother and sister-in-law into the house with a smile.

While An was speaking, she drove out all the maids and old women in the room. It is unknown what was said inside.

However, the next day, the servant of the Duke's Mansion brought a letter and said he would visit the An family.

The Hong family came prepared, and the An family was confused, so the negotiation naturally ended in failure. No matter what Mr. An said, Mr. Hong only said: "Wait until I ask my son for his decision."

Mr. An came here this time just to sound out the situation. It is easy to see that the Hong family is unscrupulous and does not take the An family seriously.

After being treated coldly at the Hong Mansion, although Mr. An was very angry, he began to carefully analyze the families who had been enemies with the An family over the years.

The An family would never have guessed that this was done by Yang Lan, and they would never understand why. First, the relationship between the Hong family and the Yongyi Marquis's Mansion was hidden; second, the An family's master and mistress still didn't know that their good son, An Xiaoyi, coveted Yang Lan in the Duke's Mansion; third, Yang Lan was just an unmarried girl, so how could she have the ability to be involved in such things as "underground banks".

After waiting for a long time, Zong Yue finally arrived in the capital.

According to the time inferred from Zong Yue's letter, Yang Qi had already told Xu and the old lady about leaving the house that day.

Early in the morning, after Yang Qi checked his herbal garden, he took He Mama out of the house.

Since she found Zong Yue and established Guangming Hall, Mother He has been busy and devoted a lot of effort. Now that Guangming Hall has taken shape, Mother He is very happy from the bottom of her heart.

When Yang Qi arrived at Guangming Hall, Zong Yue had not yet arrived. Taking advantage of this time, Yang Qi carefully checked the accounts of Guangming Hall.

Before Yang Qi finished checking the accounts, Mother He called out from outside, "Miss, Zong Yue is back."

After sealing the account book, Yang Qi said happily: "Let Zong Yue in quickly." He has been away for almost a year and now he is finally back.

Zong Yue's journey back to the capital was smooth, and he did not encounter any bandits or horse bandits along the way. However, this was also due to the favor of the Duke of Ying. "Miss, it is not convenient to say in the letter, but the reason why the return to the capital was so smooth this time was because the second young master of the Duke of Ying came back with me."

Yang Qi frowned: "Huo Xuan returned to the capital this time, but was he ordered to return to the capital?" General Huo, a general guarding the Western Hu, could not leave without permission. However, Huo Xuan was less concerned.

Zong Yue nodded: "The Duke of England has two sons. They have been on the battlefield with the Duke of England since they were young. Now General Huo Xuan also has a rank."

Could it be that they came for the "Five Stone Powder"? But although this matter was serious, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince could handle it himself. Why did the Huo family come?

Seeing that Yang Qi didn't say anything, Zong Yue continued, "Miss, the situation in Xihu is extremely complicated. Various forces are trying to place people here, but fortunately General Huo is very capable, and they have never succeeded.

Little did the young lady know that the control in Xihu is extremely strict, much stricter than that in the capital.

People entering and leaving the city are checked not only by their travel permits and places of origin, but also by their luggage.

Even so, the Western Hu still had some ulterior motives to insert themselves in. Last time, when General Huo was poisoned, it was finally found out that it was the Western Barbarians who did it.

More importantly, the territory of the Western Hu has more than 500,000 soldiers and horses. "

Although Yang Qi had been prepared for this news, he was still surprised to get the exact answer: "Then do you know whether these soldiers are surnamed Huo or Nian?"

If his surname is Huo, it means that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Duke of England have long been on guard against the Emperor and have already left a way out.

But if the surname is Nian, this matter would be a very big deal.

Zong Yue shook his head: "Miss, I have only confirmed that there are more than 500,000 soldiers, but I have not yet figured out where these people are kept and how many soldiers there are." This was only possible because Yang Qi had previously emphasized the need to pay attention to the number of Xihu soldiers. Zong Yue had been controlling the amount of medicinal materials for many years before he was sure of this.

However, the difference can be seen from the amount of medicinal materials used, which means that the person behind the scenes supports a considerable number of people.

Yang Qi nodded. Once this matter was exposed, it would be a capital crime punishable by beheading. The person behind the scenes would certainly be extremely cautious. It was already very difficult for Zong Yue to confirm this matter.

After reporting the Xihu incident, Zong Yue whispered, "Miss, I haven't received any news from Fang Hua. According to the information sent back by the spies from the outer area, Fang Hua should be making good progress with the Xiluo barbarians."

Trust the people you employ, and don’t employ them if you doubt them. Since Fang Hua has been chosen, Yang Qi will naturally not have any doubts: “If Fang Hua doesn’t take the initiative to contact his family, we must not contact him.”

Fang Hua was in a dangerous situation, and if he took a wrong step, all his efforts would be wasted. Moreover, Yang Qi had very few people in Xihu, so Fang Hua had to make his own judgment and decision on everything.

Zong Yue nodded: "Of course." If there really is someone in the court colluding with the Western Barbarians, Fang Hua is our only way to learn the truth.

As Zong Yue's work in Xihu progressed, his admiration for Yang Qi grew day by day. I don't know if it was because of the master's matter, but the young lady has shown a steadiness beyond her age since she was a child, and her control of the court situation is better than that of officials who have been infiltrated in the court for many years.

Finally, Zong Yue mentioned something: "Miss, the soldiers at the border are suffering too much. Last winter, the court only paid 100,000 taels of silver to the 500,000-man army! This money is not as good as sending beggars.

Thanks to General Huo's efforts, the soldiers' weapons were the best General Huo could give them, but their clothes and food were really not enough. Last year, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince proposed that the soldiers of the army cultivate their own farmland and grow their own food. Only in this way could the food supply for so many people be solved.

Among the Western Hu, the greatest number of soldiers died not in the battlefields where they charged towards the Western Barbarians, but in the military camps where there was no medicine to treat them.

In the past few years, I have followed General Huo and often treated the injured soldiers in the army. It was at that time that I finally understood why my master preferred to treat the people outside instead of entering the Imperial Hospital early and gaining fame and status. "