Chapter 638 A stroke of genius
Chapter 638 A stroke of genius
...
When they left Yuechuan, it was already the end of April, but fortunately, with Wen Yu, an old hand who had traveled around practicing medicine for many years, they found the place where the fire cicadas appeared without much effort.
Although catching the fire cicada wasn't smooth sailing, perseverance paid off, and after waiting for a while, they finally managed to catch it.
If they continued on their way back, it would be mid-June by the time they returned to Jinzhou Prefecture.
These days, they receive no news in the mountains and cannot send messages. Although Li Shisan and the High Priest do not say it, Lu Yangyang knows that they are worried about the situation in Miao territory at all times.
Therefore, upon returning to Jinzhou, Lu Yangyang immediately led everyone to Tiancheng Trading Company, intending to arrange for carriages and horses to send them back to Miao territory as soon as possible.
Unexpectedly, it wasn't the shopkeeper who came, but Sheng Junyi.
Lu Yangyang and Sheng Yunjiao were both quite surprised to see Sheng Junyi. Lu Yangyang was a little better, knowing that Sheng Junyi was now in charge of Tiancheng Trading Company. Sheng Yunjiao instinctively hid behind Lu Yangyang and whispered in her ear, "Second brother won't come to settle accounts with us, will he?"
Sheng Junyi glanced at her: "Xiao Si, I can hear you."
Sheng Yunjiao muttered, "I didn't say anything wrong."
Sheng Junyi raised his hand, and immediately someone brought over a box, saying, "An apology."
Sheng Yunjiao's eyes widened in disbelief as she leaned close to Lu Yangyang's ear again: "This is the first time in my life I've ever seen my second brother apologize to someone. Am I dreaming?"
Lu Yangyang had already taken the box and opened it.
A box brimming with colorful trinkets.
“These little trinkets came from the sea, you girls can take them and play with them,” Sheng Junyi said with a smile.
Sheng Yunjiao was shocked. "Second brother, have you been making a fortune somewhere all this time?"
“I went to rob someone,” Sheng Junyi replied casually.
Sheng Yunjiao looked at the gemstone, which was the size of her palm, and swallowed hard. "This doesn't look like a robbery. It looks like you've been kidnapped to be a bandit's husband. This gemstone is so big it could blind me."
Sheng Junyi paused slightly as she poured tea. "Are you addicted to making up stories?"
Sheng Yunjiao quickly shut up, and Lu Yangyang handed her the box, telling her to go and choose with Wen Qingqing.
She then invited the high priest and the others in and quickly asked Sheng Junyi, "When did you arrive in Jinzhou? How is Miao territory now? We entered the city today and haven't had time to inquire yet. We were thinking of arranging for carriages to send them back first."
Li Shisan also looked over nervously.
The high priest respectfully bowed to Sheng Junyi: "Thank you for your trouble, young master."
"As for Miao territory, there's no need to rush," Sheng Junyi said with a slight smile to Lu Yangyang, "You've taught a good disciple."
Lu Yangyang realized what was happening: "You mean Mingxiu?"
Sheng Junyi nodded: "You left Miao territory a few days ago, and His Highness's three thousand men surrounded Crescent Moon Mountain, giving Miao territory three days to hand over the salt wells. The chief chief of Miao territory sent someone to Tiancheng Trading Company for help. That young girl had a brilliant idea. She took the token of the Southwest Governor to the military camp to request General Mu to send troops to suppress the bandits. Just before the two sides clashed, General Mu arrived with his men. They attacked from both sides and easily defeated His Highness's three thousand Yin soldiers. They classified the incident as banditry, not only successfully resolving Miao territory's troubles but also bringing great merit to General Mu. General Mu is now worshipping that young girl, wishing he could kowtow to her. If Miao territory were to cause trouble under his nose, he would be held responsible."
"Now we have not only resolved the troubles in the southwest, but also dragged out a string of corrupt officials, thereby thoroughly purging the southwest."
"The prefect of Jinzhou has ordered the local magistrate to personally discuss the development of the salt wells with the chief chief. The problems you were worried about before are no longer a concern."
Lu Yangyang was also very surprised after hearing this. She had given Mingxiu the token of the Southwest Governor that Zong Que had given her so that Mingxiu could meet Zong Que smoothly. She really did not expect that Mingxiu could bring them such a big surprise.
She quickly turned to look at Li Shisan and the High Priest, both of whom were also shocked, but even more so, relieved.
After realizing what had happened, Li Shisan knelt down excitedly, and even the High Priest bent down to kneel down, but was stopped by Lu Yangyang: "High Priest, there is no need for such formalities. It was the Chief Chief who sincerely protected us and helped us at the time, so I thought I would do my best to prevent any unforeseen circumstances. If he needs anything, I might be able to do my part. But what happened afterward was beyond my expectations. If you really want to say, perhaps this is fate."
At the time, Lu Yangyang could only think that the Crown Prince would definitely harm Miao Jiang. However, she never expected that the Crown Prince would be so bold as to directly order people to surround Miao Jiang. In fact, she originally only thought that if Chief Li was willing to cooperate with the government, she could help make a connection. How could she have imagined that Miao Jiang would face the crisis of extermination as soon as they left?
It was truly thanks to Mingxiu's quick thinking and decisive action that the predicament in Miaojiang was resolved. Otherwise, if it had been any later and the Crown Prince's people had taken control of Miaojiang, these people would have been able to use this opportunity to go to Yuechuan, and the chaos in Yuechuan would have escalated even further.
Even Zong Que suspected that the Crown Prince had roughly this many men under his command, so he made thorough preparations, ensuring he could handle the situation should a battle at Yuechuan take place. No one expected that Ming Xiu would eliminate the Crown Prince's forces under the guise of bandit suppression while they were besieging Miao territory.
Therefore, this group of troops not only failed to conquer Miao territory, but also had no chance of going to support His Highness.
It was truly a stroke outside the chessboard for all of them.
Lu Yangyang wanted to hug her and give her a big kiss right now!
That's absolutely awesome!
No matter how meticulous and cunning the Crown Prince was, he couldn't have foreseen that someone who shouldn't have appeared in his entire plan would do something impossible. Yet, it was precisely this crucial element that completely shattered his entire scheme. Even if he managed to return safely from Yuechuan, the affairs of Miao territory would no longer be under his control.
Lu Yangyang helped the high priest up and helped Li Shisan up as well: "Brother Li, you don't need to worry about Miao territory anymore. With the chief chief here, Miao territory will get better and better. I'll talk to the merchants later and have them prepare the carriages and horses. You can set off at any time. If you're not in a hurry, you can stay for a couple more days."
Li Shisan nodded: "Alright, then we'll stay a few more days. I also want to meet the Mingxiu girl you mentioned so I can thank her in person. If you ever need any help from Miao territory in the future, we will certainly do our duty without hesitation."
The high priest also said, "Thirteen is right. Our Miao region was able to overcome this difficulty smoothly thanks to everyone's great help. In the future, our Miao region will also be willing to serve our benefactors like dogs and horses."
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