Harem Daily Life

Chapter 771 Meet again

Commander Wang was worried that if the people from Yixingtang were arrested, they would become dissatisfied with the Empress and that staying in Yuecheng would be dangerous, so after everyone finished lunch, he ordered them to rush to the capital.

It was three days later, on the sixth day of the first lunar month, when the group returned to the capital.

Qi Yizheng had received the news long ago and had been waiting in the palace since early morning, fearing that he would miss Jiang Yingying. Hearing that the Empress had gone to Changle Palace first after returning to the palace, he anxiously waited in the imperial study. After waiting for more than an hour, he eagerly saw Empress Tao bringing Jiang Yingying over.

When Jiang Yingying saw Qi Yizheng, they were both at a loss.

"What? Don't you recognize me?" Tao Yanyan looked at their awkward expressions and said, "General Qi just didn't shave. He does look a little older. But Yingying hasn't changed much... well, she's lost some weight."

Qi Yizheng scratched his head, and his ears turned red instantly when he thought of his unshaven appearance.

Jiang Yingying pulled her sleeves and said, "I'm fine. I didn't suffer much. But you, I heard you were injured. Are you healed now?"

Qi Yizheng looked at her suspiciously: "I'm injured?" How could I not know?

Tao Yanyan hurriedly said: "It was last time, when you went to wipe out the Dark Night Island and were stabbed twice. Have you forgotten?" She tried to wink at Qi Yizheng, and Qi Yizheng understood instantly that this might be Queen Tao using a torture trick on him to trick Jiang Yingying back!

He had no choice but to follow Tao Yanyan's words and said, "Hey, that's just a minor injury, nothing to be afraid of."

Jiang Yingying didn't notice anything, but she still felt something was wrong: "But why are you in the palace? Didn't the Queen say that you were fighting bandits in the mountains?"

Qi Yizheng: “…” You assigned me the task of suppressing bandits during a major holiday?

He gave a wry smile and said, "Yes, I was still fighting bandits a few days ago. As soon as I heard you were back in Beijing, I rushed back as fast as I could."

Tao Yanyan coughed lightly and said, "Alright, if you want to reminisce about the past or have some private conversation, we can talk about it later. Now let's get down to business."

She produced the confessions from the interrogation at the Ministry of Justice over the past few days and spoke of the Yuecheng Yixingtang. "I had no idea the Yixingtang was so powerful, practically monopolizing important checkpoints like shipping and the docks. The commission they extract from merchant ships passing through Yuecheng each year alone reaches over 50,000 taels, and they completely control the loading and unloading operations at the docks. It would be fine if they were just doing business honestly and providing jobs for the people, but they employ people without paying them, effectively enslaving the people. If this evil organization hadn't been exposed this time, I wouldn't have known how difficult life would be for the people under the rule of the Great Zhou!"

Qi Yizheng's thoughts shifted, and he returned to the main topic, saying, "The Yuecheng prefect is also a black-hearted person. It was because of his protection and turning a blind eye that the Yixingtang incident has been kept hidden."

After he finished speaking, he looked at Jiang Yingying. When he heard that Jiang Yingying was working as a coolie carrying packages at the dock below Yixing Hall, he felt extremely heartbroken.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to lead the troops to wipe out Yixingtang. We must not allow this dark organization to continue to harm the people." Qi Yizheng volunteered. Whether for public or private reasons, he had to go. It was also a revenge for Jiang Yingying.

Tao Yanyan nodded, but she did not agree to directly wipe out Yixingtang.

"After all, Yixingtang isn't an organization like Dark Night Island that murders and robs people. My idea is to recruit them and turn their dirty laundry into a clean one. They'll be useful for shipping maintenance in the future, and as long as the court maintains strict management, the court can also benefit. Of course, a thorough investigation is necessary. If anyone involved in Yixingtang's murder is found guilty, they should be executed."

Qi Yizheng naturally understood what she meant, but he hesitated and said, "The Yixingtang has grown to such a large scale, I wonder if there are other forces behind it... It's better to investigate first." If the court wants to touch other people's vested interests, it must first find out who is behind the scenes before taking action.

Tao Yanyan nodded. "Then I'll have to trouble General Qi with these matters." After she finished speaking, she looked at Jiang Yingying and said, "Yingying has really gone deep into the tiger's den this time and pried open a hole in Yixingtang. You have made a great contribution. This time, I will appoint you as my imperial envoy to assist General Qi in the investigation of Yixingtang."

Jiang Yingying was stunned: "Imperial envoy?" She glanced at Qi Yizheng: "I'd better forget it. I... I will leave after I have talked it through with Lord Qi." The last few words were spoken very softly, but Qi Yizheng, who had excellent hearing, heard them.

His heart instantly plummeted from the peak of his heart to the bottom of the valley, his eyes filled with resentment: "I don't care about having children at all. Why do you make the decision for me and tear up our engagement?"

It was the first time that Jiang Yingying heard him say that he didn't care about having children, but even though he didn't care, she couldn't help but consider him.

"You are the only son of the Qi family..."

"So what? The Qi family is not a royal family, and there is no throne to inherit!"

Eunuch Zhang coughed violently: "Ahem, ahem, General Qi, please be careful with your words and actions!"

Eunuch Zhang looked at Empress Tao, only to find that she seemed... not to care at all. Hmm, why did the Empress look like she was just watching a play?

Qi Yizheng realized that what he said was inappropriate, so he said in a deep voice: "In short, the engagement was granted by His Majesty, and it cannot be broken. I don't care whether you can have children or not. We have delayed for too long. I even troubled General Li to prepare the wedding for us. This time, no matter what, we must get married first. As for the investigation of Yixing Hall, we will put it off until after the wedding. We will go together."

Tao Yanyan: “…”

I'm looking forward to you getting married, but you can't stop working, right?

"Well, General Qi, the wedding preparations will take too long, why don't you guys just..."

"Empress!" Qi Yizheng clasped his fists and said, "Please give me three days. I will immediately return home to prepare for the wedding and marry my new bride. After three days, I will immediately take my wife with me to carry out my errands."

"What? Three days?" Tao Yanyan and Jiang Yingying said in unison.

The six rituals of accepting marriage proposals, asking for names, accepting marriage proposals, accepting betrothal gifts, asking for dates, and welcoming the bride are all completed before a wedding is complete. It would probably take at least half a year to complete, but how could Qi Yizheng only take three days? No wonder it would be questioned.

"Yes, three days." Qi Yizheng couldn't wait any longer. To avoid any more trouble, he wanted to marry her into his family as quickly as possible.

Tao Yanyan cleared his throat and said, "Let me be frank. You're in such a hurry, but you still have to follow the proper procedures. You can't neglect Yingying."

Jiang Yingying was overwhelmed. She hadn't expressed her opinion yet, so why did the Queen give the order?

"Yes, I will go back and make arrangements. We will be married in three days!" After he said that, he pulled Jiang Yingying away without saying anything else.

Jiang Yingying's face flushed with shame: "Let go quickly, what's the point of pulling and tugging in front of the Queen?"

Tao Yanyan waved his hand and said with a smile: "Go ahead, go ahead. Remember to invite me to the wedding."