259 Plea
Tang Guixi felt terrible.
But she continued.
“I just chatted with your mother for a while. Her ideal daughter-in-law should be a gentle, generous, and sensible young lady, but I’m not like that. I can’t take good care of you or stay at home all day to help you do housework. I can’t integrate into your family.”
Lu Yao said, “Don’t listen to her nonsense! You’re married to me, not her. Why do you care?!”
Tang Guixi said, “But she’s your mother. She worked so hard to raise you. She’s an important component of your family. How can I not care about her opinion?”
Lu Yao was speechless.
Tang Guixi took a deep breath and said slowly.
“I can actually understand what your mother did. She did it for your own good. If it were me, I would also hope that my son could find a gentle and considerate wife, and not marry a fierce woman like me who only knows how to fight and kill.”
Lu Yao said, “Don’t talk about yourself like that. I think you’re very good.”
Tang Guixi felt a lump in her throat. She resisted the urge to cry and smiled.
“Then your taste is quite strange. You actually admire a woman like me.”
Lu Yao wanted to reach out and hug her, but he was afraid of offending her, so he could only suppress the urge in his heart.
“Can you not be in a hurry to annul the engagement? Give me a little more time. I’ll convince my parents. I’ll get them to agree that I’ll stay with you in the barracks. If they insist on disagreeing, then I’ll wait for you.”
“We will wait for you to finish your three-year mourning period. After you settle everything in Liaodong County, and the Imperial Court sends someone to take over the Eastern Expedition Army, we will get married.”
Tang Guixi shook her head. “There’s no need. The two of us are not suitable. The engagement will be annulled. This is your marriage proposal and the jade pendant you gave me. I’ll return them to you.”
She took out the marriage proposal and the Guanyin jade pendant and handed them over.
Lu Yao refused to take it.
He looked pleading. “Guixi, it wasn’t easy for me to be with you. Can you not give up so easily?”
Tang Guixi made up her mind. “Since you refuse to accept the marriage proposal and jade pendant, I’ll send them to County Governor Lu later.”
With that, she turned around and left.
Lu Yao called her a few times, but he could not stop her. He could only watch her leave.
….
Lu Yaoguang realized that his son had disappeared and scolded him with a smile, “This kid must have gone to look for Guixi.”
Shen Xu asked curiously, “How did you know that he was looking for Miss Tang?”
Lu Yaoguang sighed.
“I was also young once and had a girl I liked. When you like someone, you can’t hide your gaze.”
Didn’t he see that Lu Yao’s eyes were almost glued to Tang Guixi?
Shen Xu touched his chin and said, “After hearing what you said, I also want to taste the bitterness of love.”
Lu Yaoguang smiled and asked, “Do you need me to introduce you to someone? There are many good young ladies in Liaodong County. As long as you’re willing, I’ll immediately get those people to send the portraits over.”
Shen Xu immediately waved his hand to indicate that there was no need.
He was just having fun. He had not had enough freedom yet, so he did not want to get married so quickly.
Xiao Juan suddenly said, “I’ve already recorded everything that happened in Liaodong County. I’ll order someone to send the letter to the Imperial Capital tomorrow and present it to the emperor.”
The smile on Lu Yaoguang’s face froze.
Once the matter in Liaodong County was exposed, he would not be able to cover up his collusion with the local powers to annex the land of the commoners. At that time, he would not be able to keep his black official hat.
Although Lu Yaoguang was already mentally prepared for this matter, he could not help but take a chance at this critical moment.
He said ingratiatingly, “Your Highness, can you let me off on account of me taking the initiative to confess everything? I promise to be a conscientious good official in the future and never do anything illegal again.”
Xiao Juan said coldly, “I’ve told you before. If you confess everything, I’ll protect your entire family. As for the rest, don’t think about it anymore.”
Lu Yaoguang refused to give up and wanted to plead for mercy.
Xiao Juan interrupted him.
“Although I can’t absolve you of your crimes, I can plead with the emperor to reduce your punishment.”
Lu Yaoguang was overjoyed. If he could reduce the punishment, he might be able to keep his black hat.
He hurriedly said, “Thank you, Your Highness! You’re really my benefactor!”
Xiao Juan said lightly, “Don’t be in a hurry to thank me. There are conditions for me to help you plead.”
“Please tell me. As long as it’s something I can do, I will definitely do my best!”
Xiao Juan said, “Return all the land you swallowed to the people.”
As soon as these words were spoken, not only did Lu Yaoguang’s expression change, even Prince Min and his son revealed surprised expressions.
Lu Yaoguang hurriedly said, “No way!”
Xiao Juan asked, “Why not?”
Lu Yaoguang seemed to want to say something but did not dare to. He looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated.
Xiao Juan said, “If you have something to say, just say it. There are no outsiders here.”
When Prince Min and Shen Xu heard this, they immediately became happy. It seemed that Duke Lang treated them as his own people.
Prince Min chimed in, “County Governor Lu, if you have anything to say, just say it. We definitely won’t tell anyone.”
Lu Yaoguang hesitated for a while before saying.
“Alright, we’ve been through thick and thin together. I’ll tell you everything. There are more than ten powerful forces in Liaodong County. Those families have much more influence locally than I, the county governor. The county governor could be transferred away at any time, but those powerhouses have taken root here for generations.”
“If I offend them, my life as a county governor will not be easy. It was also because of this that I had no choice but to join forces with them and cooperate with them to annex the land. If I ask them to spit out the land now, it would be equivalent to snatching food from the tiger’s mouth. They would definitely not agree. If they make a big deal out of it, they will do anything!”
Shen Xu snorted. “Can they still rebel?”
Lu Yaoguang hurriedly said.
“They won’t rebel, but they will think of a way to cause us all kinds of trouble. The previous county governor here was fired and investigated because he had offended those powerful people.”
“I’m not sure if he took bribes or not. However, I knew that the person who bribed him was in cahoots with the person who reported him.”
“What’s even worse is that after that person was dismissed, he brought his family back to his hometown. On the way, he encountered bandits and his family died.”
Shen Xu’s scalp went numb. “How dare they be so arrogant? Didn’t anyone report it to the Imperial Court?”
Lu Yaoguang said helplessly, “After I took office, I reported this matter to the Imperial Court. The Imperial Court ordered General Tang to send troops to destroy the mountain bandits. During that time, almost all the mountain bandits in Liaodong County were killed, but so what? The local powerhouses are still as stable as Mount Tai.”
259 Plea
Tang Guixi felt terrible.
But she continued.
“I just chatted with your mother for a while. Her ideal daughter-in-law should be a gentle, generous, and sensible young lady, but I’m not like that. I can’t take good care of you or stay at home all day to help you do housework. I can’t integrate into your family.”
Lu Yao said, “Don’t listen to her nonsense! You’re married to me, not her. Why do you care?!”
Tang Guixi said, “But she’s your mother. She worked so hard to raise you. She’s an important component of your family. How can I not care about her opinion?”
Lu Yao was speechless.
Tang Guixi took a deep breath and said slowly.
“I can actually understand what your mother did. She did it for your own good. If it were me, I would also hope that my son could find a gentle and considerate wife, and not marry a fierce woman like me who only knows how to fight and kill.”
Lu Yao said, “Don’t talk about yourself like that. I think you’re very good.”
Tang Guixi felt a lump in her throat. She resisted the urge to cry and smiled.
“Then your taste is quite strange. You actually admire a woman like me.”
Lu Yao wanted to reach out and hug her, but he was afraid of offending her, so he could only suppress the urge in his heart.
“Can you not be in a hurry to annul the engagement? Give me a little more time. I’ll convince my parents. I’ll get them to agree that I’ll stay with you in the barracks. If they insist on disagreeing, then I’ll wait for you.”
“We will wait for you to finish your three-year mourning period. After you settle everything in Liaodong County, and the Imperial Court sends someone to take over the Eastern Expedition Army, we will get married.”
Tang Guixi shook her head. “There’s no need. The two of us are not suitable. The engagement will be annulled. This is your marriage proposal and the jade pendant you gave me. I’ll return them to you.”
She took out the marriage proposal and the Guanyin jade pendant and handed them over.
Lu Yao refused to take it.
He looked pleading. “Guixi, it wasn’t easy for me to be with you. Can you not give up so easily?”
Tang Guixi made up her mind. “Since you refuse to accept the marriage proposal and jade pendant, I’ll send them to County Governor Lu later.”
With that, she turned around and left.
Lu Yao called her a few times, but he could not stop her. He could only watch her leave.
….
Lu Yaoguang realized that his son had disappeared and scolded him with a smile, “This kid must have gone to look for Guixi.”
Shen Xu asked curiously, “How did you know that he was looking for Miss Tang?”
Lu Yaoguang sighed.
“I was also young once and had a girl I liked. When you like someone, you can’t hide your gaze.”
Didn’t he see that Lu Yao’s eyes were almost glued to Tang Guixi?
Shen Xu touched his chin and said, “After hearing what you said, I also want to taste the bitterness of love.”
Lu Yaoguang smiled and asked, “Do you need me to introduce you to someone? There are many good young ladies in Liaodong County. As long as you’re willing, I’ll immediately get those people to send the portraits over.”
Shen Xu immediately waved his hand to indicate that there was no need.
He was just having fun. He had not had enough freedom yet, so he did not want to get married so quickly.
Xiao Juan suddenly said, “I’ve already recorded everything that happened in Liaodong County. I’ll order someone to send the letter to the Imperial Capital tomorrow and present it to the emperor.”
The smile on Lu Yaoguang’s face froze.
Once the matter in Liaodong County was exposed, he would not be able to cover up his collusion with the local powers to annex the land of the commoners. At that time, he would not be able to keep his black official hat.
Although Lu Yaoguang was already mentally prepared for this matter, he could not help but take a chance at this critical moment.
He said ingratiatingly, “Your Highness, can you let me off on account of me taking the initiative to confess everything? I promise to be a conscientious good official in the future and never do anything illegal again.”
Xiao Juan said coldly, “I’ve told you before. If you confess everything, I’ll protect your entire family. As for the rest, don’t think about it anymore.”
Lu Yaoguang refused to give up and wanted to plead for mercy.
Xiao Juan interrupted him.
“Although I can’t absolve you of your crimes, I can plead with the emperor to reduce your punishment.”
Lu Yaoguang was overjoyed. If he could reduce the punishment, he might be able to keep his black hat.
He hurriedly said, “Thank you, Your Highness! You’re really my benefactor!”
Xiao Juan said lightly, “Don’t be in a hurry to thank me. There are conditions for me to help you plead.”
“Please tell me. As long as it’s something I can do, I will definitely do my best!”
Xiao Juan said, “Return all the land you swallowed to the people.”
As soon as these words were spoken, not only did Lu Yaoguang’s expression change, even Prince Min and his son revealed surprised expressions.
Lu Yaoguang hurriedly said, “No way!”
Xiao Juan asked, “Why not?”
Lu Yaoguang seemed to want to say something but did not dare to. He looked like he wanted to say something but hesitated.
Xiao Juan said, “If you have something to say, just say it. There are no outsiders here.”
When Prince Min and Shen Xu heard this, they immediately became happy. It seemed that Duke Lang treated them as his own people.
Prince Min chimed in, “County Governor Lu, if you have anything to say, just say it. We definitely won’t tell anyone.”
Lu Yaoguang hesitated for a while before saying.
“Alright, we’ve been through thick and thin together. I’ll tell you everything. There are more than ten powerful forces in Liaodong County. Those families have much more influence locally than I, the county governor. The county governor could be transferred away at any time, but those powerhouses have taken root here for generations.”
“If I offend them, my life as a county governor will not be easy. It was also because of this that I had no choice but to join forces with them and cooperate with them to annex the land. If I ask them to spit out the land now, it would be equivalent to snatching food from the tiger’s mouth. They would definitely not agree. If they make a big deal out of it, they will do anything!”
Shen Xu snorted. “Can they still rebel?”
Lu Yaoguang hurriedly said.
“They won’t rebel, but they will think of a way to cause us all kinds of trouble. The previous county governor here was fired and investigated because he had offended those powerful people.”
“I’m not sure if he took bribes or not. However, I knew that the person who bribed him was in cahoots with the person who reported him.”
“What’s even worse is that after that person was dismissed, he brought his family back to his hometown. On the way, he encountered bandits and his family died.”
Shen Xu’s scalp went numb. “How dare they be so arrogant? Didn’t anyone report it to the Imperial Court?”
Lu Yaoguang said helplessly, “After I took office, I reported this matter to the Imperial Court. The Imperial Court ordered General Tang to send troops to destroy the mountain bandits. During that time, almost all the mountain bandits in Liaodong County were killed, but so what? The local powerhouses are still as stable as Mount Tai.”
