Abandoned Woman Busy Farming

Chapter 1488: Chapter 1589: Auspicious Sign from Heaven or a Warning Sign_1

”Zhanna, what do you think this is?” Bai Ruozhu went to Zhanna with a drawing early in the morning, hoping to cheer her up.

As soon as Zhanna saw what was drawn on the paper, her face lit up with brilliance, ”Is this for me? Does that mean I will be able to walk like everyone else?”

Bai Ruozhu nodded, ”Definitely, I will find the best craftsman and use the best materials to make your prosthetic limbs. You will indeed be able to move freely.”

Zhanna suddenly burst into tears, clutching Bai Ruozhu’s arms with both hands, sobbing and saying, ”Madam, thank you so much.”

”Knowing you would cry, I shouldn’t have told you. Now stop crying, aren’t you making me feel guilty?” Bai Ruozhu said with a smile.

”Alright, I won’t cry anymore.” Zhanna hurriedly wiped away her tears.

Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps came from outside, and Jianqi’s voice came from beyond the door, ”Master, last night an urgent report came into the Imperial Palace from Qingzhou. It said Yang Tianhua encountered a peasant rebellion and was killed by the locals and Quanrong assassins.”

Bai Ruozhu’s heart skipped a beat, and then her face showed a look of joy, ”He’s already dead? What about the other news?”

”We don’t know yet, after all, it was a covert operation. They can’t send back news,” Jianqi replied with a slight shake of his head.

Bai Ruozhu felt somewhat disappointed, but she quickly consoled herself—since Yang Tianhua was already dead, Achun would be returning soon.

”Master, the news of Yang Tianhua’s death has already spread outside. However, the Commerce Association has sent word that the disturbance in Qingzhou wasn’t a civilian uprising. Instead, Yang Tianhua was extorting taxes from the people, who took to the streets to petition when they couldn’t survive, and Yang Tianhua ordered the army to massacre the civilians...” As Jianqi spoke, anger also appeared in his eyes.

”Such a thing happened? We can’t let this be swept under the rug because he is dead. We must expose it,” Bai Ruozhu said through gritted teeth. ”Shi Shangzi should soon arrive in the Capital, and in addition, have the Commerce Association’s influence spread this news from Qingzhou, letting the information disseminate further. Moreover, secretly bring some of the civilians who witnessed this to the Capital to file an Imperial Complaint.”

”The innocent civilians must not die in vain. Even though Yang Tianhua is dead, the Yang Family has others. If the Yang Family isn’t taken down, the people of Qingzhou will continue to suffer indescribably,” she added.

”Yes, I will see to it immediately,” Jianqi said and swiftly left.

Bai Ruozhu took a deep breath to calm herself down. Thinking about it, if the news of Yang Tianhua’s assassination could reach the Palace, wouldn’t Achun also be back soon? He must be racing back without stopping.

...

The Court was enveloped in a somber mood that day. Emperor Wuning, Tang Yin, looked woeful as he spoke to the officials below, ”I suppose you have all heard the news. General Yang was assassinated in Qingzhou. I hardly slept all night, and the mere thought of Yang Aiqing fills me with overwhelming grief and heartache.”

Bai Zepei’s eyelids twitched slightly below, ’Hardly slept all night’—surely that was because he was too overjoyed to sleep, right?

A series of sighs followed below, and then someone came forward and said, ”General Yang sacrificed his life for the country; he deserves a grand burial and a posthumous title. This official petitions His Majesty to issue a decree posthumously honoring General Yang!”

A flicker of coldness flashed in the Emperor’s eyes, but he quickly concealed his sharp gaze. The person was clearly from the Yang Family faction. Even in death, as long as there was a posthumous honor, the Yang Family would benefit.

”Your Majesty, the fact that the mob in Qingzhou dares to kill a General of the Imperial Court cannot be left unaddressed. I request permission to go to Qingzhou to suppress this rebellion,”

speaking was the fifth-rank Brave and Valiant Cavalry Commander Yang Tianwei, who was also the cousin of Yang Tianhua. Having a military honor was merely a title; it carried rank but no real power. With Yang Tianhua present, he had always kept a very low profile and rarely spoke up at Court.

However, now that he volunteered to suppress the rebellion, the intention behind his offer warranted deep thought.

”Your Majesty, the Quanrong army is restless and threatening to act; the Army of Qingzhou must be sent immediately to the Southwest to defend against the foreign enemy. We must not allow the Quanrong to invade our land. I request to lead troops to the Southwest for support,” Ma Tongfang stood up and spoke loudly.

The Prime Minister Si Yuanhang also stood up and said, ”I believe that the rebellion among the people cannot be suppressed by force alone. We should send an Imperial Envoy to investigate the cause, and then provide comfort. The citizens are the people of Danliang. If we rely solely on bloody suppression, would it not further alienate the people?”

”Prime Minister, does that mean General Yang’s death was in vain?” Yang Tianwei asked with a cold face.

”The cause of the rebellion in Qingzhou is yet unknown, but General Yang was killed by a Quanrong spy. The Quanrong have become so brazen, if we do not send additional military forces to the Southwest, I fear it will become a great menace. The pressing issue should be to dispatch troops to the Southwest for reinforcement, rather than dispersing our forces and delaying military affairs,” Si Yuanhang continued.

”I also agree with the Prime Minister’s words. The great threat of the Quanrong cannot be ignored. Now that the Border is in a state of emergency, we can no longer delay,” Jiang Yichun, disguised as Thunderstrike, also spoke up.

On that day, the Court was locked in endless debate, with one faction insisting on securing internal stability by suppressing the rebellion, ultimately aiming to keep the Yang Family’s military power intact; whereas another faction insisted on repelling the foreign enemy by dispatching troops to the Southwest, even if they were not truly loyal to the Emperor, they also did not wish to see the Yang Family continue to benefit.

As a result of such arguments, no conclusion was reached, and Tang Yin, massaging his temples, said, ”You all have made some valid points. Allow me some time to consider.”

Bai Zepei had been silent, but he felt that the Emperor seemed to be waiting for something.

That afternoon, local officials sent an auspicious omen to the Capital, which delighted the Emperor. He ordered many close officials to come to the Palace to view it together.

When the officials saw the characters on the stone, they all praised it and addressed the Emperor with many auspicious phrases, alluding to peace and prosperity, and the vast grace of the Emperor.

However, Bai Zepei subtly noticed a hint of mockery at the corner of the Emperor’s mouth. He looked again at the stone and quickly spotted something fishy; it was an acrostic poem, with the last four characters shockingly revealing ”Yang Family will rebel!”

Of course, it was not appropriate for him to point this out, so he shifted his gaze, thinking that someone else would soon notice it.

Why wasn’t it appropriate for him? As soon as he saw the stone and the acrostic poem, he couldn’t help but think of his quirky little sister back home.

The revelation of auspicious omens on stones was not a first-time occurrence, but Bai Zepei had a premonition that this incident was somehow related to his little sister, and he knew she must have been capable of accomplishing such a feat, seemingly like an Immortal.

Finally, a civil officer pointed at the stone and said, ”This, this appears to be an acrostic poem.”

Everyone took a closer look, and the Main Hall fell silent in an instant. The phrase ”Yang Family will rebel” seemed like a warning sent down from heaven, not only shocking those present but also scaring the Yang Family members.

Yang Tianwei fell to his knees with a thump, ”Please, Your Majesty, see clearly that my Yang Family’s loyalty to you shines as brightly as the sun and the moon. This stone must be the work of someone with ill-intentions, aiming to doom the Yang Family, and the words on it must be false!”