273 - Destroyer of Ice and Fire

"Her? I have no interest in her. Yunniang, stop making random matches," Ran Fanyin said coldly. "You're right. He looks frail and weak. Never mind, you should stay a few more days, and I'll find you a better match," Yunniang replied knowingly. "The whole village can hear your loud calculations. But thanks for your kind intentions; my father has already arranged a suitable match for me," Ran Fanyin said, immediately grasping Yunniang's intentions. "I wasn't making any calculations," Yunniang responded, looking bewildered. "What I mean, Yunniang, is that you should go balance today's accounts. See how much we've spent. The girls are waiting for me to go to rehearsal, so I'm heading up now." "Ning Daren, the yamen is in this direction," Lu Jin reminded Ning Songwu when he saw him walking the wrong way. Rubbing the jade pendant in his hand, Ning Songwu asked, "Lu Daren, is there a pawnshop nearby?" "Yes, there's one just ahead. Ning Daren, why do you ask?" Lu Jin followed Ning Songwu's gaze to the jade pendant. "Let's go to the pawnshop." "Ning Daren, if you don't mind, please accept this small token of my gratitude." Lu Jin, thinking the pendant must be of great sentimental value to Ning, quickly took out his own purse. "Unwarranted reward shall not be accepted, and I have already troubled you enough," Ning Songwu declined gracefully. “Such injustice to the new bride.” “Our master has no heirs.” “This new bride, she might remain a widow forever, heh heh.” These malicious whispers crept into Ran Fanyin's ears, taking root, sprouting, and blooming. Never had Ran Fanyin suffered such humiliation; she wished she could slap them all. Ning Songwu remained calm, with a faint smile, but his fingers, dangling at his sides, were tightly clenched, white and red with anger glinting in his eyes. Ning Jingyang scoffed, "See? This is the fine son you’ve raised. Have Jiang Shaochang come to the residence tomorrow." Ning Songwu, frightened by the mention of the imperial physician, quickly explained, "Father, last night my wife and I drank too much. It has nothing to do with Mother. Though I appear weak, it's nothing serious." Zhou Huaxiu, seeing the situation, added, "Husband, I recently went to Jiang Taichang and obtained a prescription for a tonic. I've been busy with the marriage and haven't had a chance to order it yet, but I'll have them prepare it daily for Songwu." "Chen Gonggong has arrived!" Ning Jingyang was about to speak but was interrupted by the housekeeper's urgent announcement. Zhong Xiang hurriedly ran into the main hall, "Master, Chen Gonggong has arrived." Before he finished speaking, three people followed behind him. The one in the middle had a face full of furrows, flanked by two young eunuchs. Ning Jingyang quickly stood up and respectfully said, "Chen Gonggong, I apologize for not welcoming you earlier. What brings you here so early?" "An imperial decree from His Majesty." The emperor’s personal eunuch, Chen Ji, spoke in a high-pitched voice, holding up a golden decree. Everyone knelt to receive the decree. "By His Majesty’s decree, the governor of Zhongzhou, Ning Songwu, is to follow this servant to the palace immediately." Ning Songwu responded, "I accept the decree." Chen Ji put away the decree and smiled, "Ning Daren, please follow this servant to the palace now." "Chen Daren, do you know why His Majesty has summoned my son?" Ning Jingyang pulled Chen Ji aside, extracting a bag of silver from his sleeve and slipping it into Chen's hand. Chen Ji quickly pushed it away, terrified. "Si Ma Daren, I serve His Majesty wholeheartedly. Please don’t trouble me. Ning Daren, please." As soon as Chen Ji left, Ning Jingyang swiftly ordered someone to notify his in-law, Ran Houmeng, to visit the palace and waited at the gate himself. Mosang is a rather prosperous town in Zhongzhou Prefecture, primarily producing Guan Yin mulberry leaves, cultivating silkworms, and weaving silk, following the traditional male farming and female weaving smallholder economy. Sangjin is the most famous silk product in Mosang and nationwide, with the royal palace sourcing 80% of its silk from here. Nobility, officials, and influential families, due to the royal favor, imitated this, making owning Sangjin garments a status symbol in high society. Several days of heavy rain had caused severe disaster in the southern part of Zhongzhou Prefecture. As Ning Songwu was a new official, and having concealed his origin, the county assistant magistrates disregarded him. They conspired to deceive Ning Songwu, prioritizing their own welfare over disaster relief and using government workers for their own farms and household repairs, ignoring the common populace’s plight. They also sealed off county gates and posted guards at the borders. The places Ning Songwu was taken to inspect were lightly affected areas, so the reports sent to the court did not reflect the disaster’s severity. Emperor Shengzong received a memorial impeaching Ning Songwu the day after his wedding, furiously scolding him for dereliction of duty. Considering Ning's father’s reputation, he was meant to be fined six months’ salary and demoted. However, due to pleas from Ning Jingyang and father-in-law Ran Houmeng, he was ordered to redeem himself by managing the flood relief in Zhongzhou, while his salary would still be penalized and any demotion temporarily postponed. Who wrote the impeachment memorial? The county assistant magistrates of Zhongzhou wouldn’t be foolish enough to sabotage their futures. Pondering this, Ning Songwu, who had just entered officialdom without making enemies, considered that it might have been his father's old adversary, Wang Chong. However, Wang Chong had spoken on his behalf at the appointment ceremony. In the palace corner, a man dressed in dark brown brocade, with his left hand resting on his waist and his right hand playing with two jade-like walnuts, watched Ning Songwu’s receding figure. The young man next to him held an oil-paper umbrella, obscuring the man's face and expression. 【Could it be... heavens above...】 【Don’t joke like that.】 【To figure this out, we might need to head to Qi Ping City and see if we can find another formation.】 【It's probably related to this other person. Without her, none of this would be possible.】 【Let's try once the wounds heal.】 【After the subtitles disappeared, the orb emerged, and then A Sheng transformed into his current state, his spiritual roots elevating to the highest heavenly grade.】