Chaos of Ming 1628

Wei Zhongxian looked slightly surprised and stared at Sun Qing with astonishment.

He seemed to recover from the shock only after that. After arriving in Hejian Prefecture, he had been thinking about seeing how far Sun Qing had gone in his efforts to govern Hejian Prefecture.

His immense joy made him completely oblivious to the fact that he hadn't seen Yang Qingqing at all.

Wei Zhongxian's tone changed slightly, his voice becoming low and deep: "That child dared to keep us locked outside the city gates, humph!"

He was slightly annoyed, and this behavior only confirmed why he didn't want to see the woman.

From an outsider's perspective, it makes perfect sense.

Only Sun Qing remained calm, his tone indifferent: "I need not concern myself with what is between you. Since the Grand Eunuch is unwilling to see it, I will not force him."

"Then please return to the yamen to rest, Master Eunuch."

"There's no need for that!" Wei Zhongxian refused outright, his face full of indifference: "Although hybridization has brought difficulties, we still have a courtyard in Hejian Prefecture."

"No matter where we are, home is home. Unlike some people who need imperial orders to know where to settle down."

Wei Zhongxian was extremely dissatisfied with Sun Qing's decision to keep him outside the city gates. If he hadn't come here and needed someone's help, he probably would have already taken Sun Qing's head.

Seeing the prosperity of Hejian Prefecture, Wei Zhongxian's mind began to stir. Sun Qing was someone who could either be used or should not be kept.

It was just a sarcastic remark, and Sun Qing didn't care.

His gaze swept over him, and he gave a slight bow, his attitude neither warm nor cold: "Since the Eunuch has made his decision, then so be it!"

"I have a wife at home to take care of, so I'll take my leave!"

Sun Qing turned to leave.

Wei Zhongxian's face was already dripping with coldness.

However, the guards accompanying him, seeing this, roared angrily: "A mere prefect dares to act like this in front of His Majesty the Ninth Prince! I think you're courting death!"

"I haven't settled the score with you properly yet regarding what happened at the city gate."

Sun Qing did not pause in her steps at all.

"Ridiculous," Zhang Hu had been following behind Sun Qing the whole time, and even when he heard Sun Qing say that he was going to hand over Hejian Prefecture without a second thought, he was not shocked.

Upon seeing Wei Zhongxian's reaction, he sneered repeatedly: "If it weren't for my wife threatening her life and the lives of her children, how could Lord Sun have opened the city gates?"

"How dare you be so ungrateful as to stop my master?"

Wei Zhongxian's fingers twitched slightly: "What's wrong with Qing'er?"

Sun Qing didn't look back, but walked away.

Wei Zhongxian had a lot of men at his disposal, but this was Hejian Prefecture.

Even if the imperial guards were fierce, how could they possibly withstand tens of thousands of people in Hejian Prefecture?

Moreover, Wei Zhongxian was waiting for Sun Qing to hand over the reins the next day.

The backyard of the government office.

Yang Qingqing stood at the door of the room, wrapped in a thick fox fur coat, her eyes looking outside.

The nanny stepped forward, her eyes filled with heartache, and gently advised, "Madam, you are now pregnant, and you have been working too hard lately, so the pregnancy is not stable."

"Lord Sun repeatedly instructed you to stay indoors and avoid the draft."

Upon hearing this, Yang Qingqing could only shake her head with a wry smile: "Thank you for your concern, Granny, I'm fine."

"I wonder how our ancestor is doing?"

The old woman felt a pang of pity and hesitated to speak. The entire Hejian Prefecture knew that Sun Qing had already welcomed Wei Zhongxian in, but he knew he hadn't even set foot in the inner courtyard, so he rushed off to see Sun Qing's achievements.

As someone who had been close to Yang Qingqing for a long time, how could he not know what she was thinking?

He downplayed the seriousness of the matter, saying, "Your Excellency wields immense power, and the Emperor dotes on you; you'll be fine."

"Haven't we made it into the city yet?" Yang Qingqing's lips were a little dry, and her eyes stared blankly outside. "Grandpa loves me the most. If we make it into the city, he will definitely come to see me."

"I suppose you are still angry, and I'm afraid you haven't opened the city gate yet."

Yang Qingqing grew increasingly alarmed as she thought about it, and finally couldn't help but take a quick step forward: "No, I have to go and see."

She plunged headfirst into the snow.

"Oh dear, my dear aunt! Take care of yourself!" The old woman was quite frightened and hurriedly chased after her.

Fortunately, Wei Zhongxian's figure swayed in the snow and soon appeared in the courtyard.

Upon seeing Yang Qingqing, he hurried forward and called out, "Good girl, why are you out here?"

Yang Qingqing breathed a slight sigh of relief when she saw that it was Wei Zhongxian: "Grandfather, I'm relieved to see that you are unharmed."

Upon hearing this, Wei Zhongxian's expression stiffened, and he said with slight displeasure, "You can rest assured, that little bit of wind and snow won't take the Zhang family's lives."

Yang Qingqing's expression suddenly changed, and she lowered her head, no longer speaking.

Wei Zhongxian's expression softened slightly. He dragged a chair over and sat down, his gaze sweeping over her face.

Her voice was full of heartache: "Look at you, my precious child, and you've lost so much weight!"

Yang Qingqing paused for a moment, then smiled with her eyes crinkling: "You still care about my health."

"What's there to worry about?" Wei Zhongxian snorted coldly, slamming his whisk on the table. His voice was harsh. "I watched you grow up, and now you're so upset about all that messy stuff outside. How can I not worry?"

"But there are some people..."

"Oh, my good grandson-in-law, you've really grown up to be capable."

"I've already come all the way to Hejian Prefecture, and they still dare to lock me at the gate? Don't they have any respect for their ancestor?"

As he spoke, his anger was palpable.

"But didn't your letter say that you should come alone with one horse and one servant?" Yang Qingqing immediately realized something was wrong and quickly added.

Wei Zhongxian opened his mouth, but no words came out.

Yang Qingqing gave a cold laugh: "My husband has already thought of a solution."

"If you want to live, you'll probably have to obey."

Yang Qingqing lowered her eyes, fully aware of the rules: "You can't let go of your things—the people who raided your home, the Eastern Depot's badge, the palace spies—you're carrying them all. That's one of the reasons Sun Qing won't let you in."

Wei Zhongxian's face darkened: "What does he mean? Is he afraid I'll harm you?"

"He's not afraid that you'll harm me." Yang Qingqing raised her head, her gaze calm. "He's afraid that you'll harm yourself."

Wei Zhongxian sneered, leaned back in his chair, and twirled his whisk in his hand: "Nonsense. I think he's just dissatisfied with me and using this as an excuse to make trouble."

Yang Qingqing didn't reply immediately. After looking at him for a while, she sighed softly: "Didn't you say before that Sun Qing was more accurate in his judgment than you? You even said that you listened to three-tenths of what he said?"

Wei Zhongxian gestured: "They say that now too. Then tell me, what did he predict?"

Yang Qingqing was silent for a moment before speaking, her voice very soft, as if afraid of being overheard: "He said that His Majesty's request for you to resign is only the first step."

She paused, looked into Wei Zhongxian's eyes, and said, word by word, "Your actions are so arrogant that the entire court has long harbored resentment. I'm afraid the Emperor wants more than just your resignation; he wants your life."

Wei Zhongxian was someone who valued his life above all else.

Besides, Sun Qing's divination skills are indeed beyond doubt.

But with the dream of a nation of its own about to come true, who would be content to just relax like this?

"No, that won't happen," Wei Zhongxian said patiently. "I can tell what's safe and what's not."

"But him," Wei Zhongxian said, his face showing displeasure as he mentioned Sun Qing, "if it weren't for the fact that he's still your husband, I would really kill him to vent my anger."

"Look at him, what he said when he left Kyoto. But now, he's using my people and my money to feed those refugees."

"If you really think you can do whatever you want once you become an official."

"He dared to lock me out of the city gates; now I'm merely reclaiming what's rightfully mine. What's wrong with that?"