Remarrying Chun Yuan

Chapter 267 Loyalty

Liu Yuechu lost her will to sleep and got up immediately.

Hou Lai returned quickly and reported his safety to Liu Yuechu.

Liu Yuechu thought of Yuan Cuo again, "I haven't heard from him for several days..." Her love letters had also stopped.

"Ahem, Master has probably been working in the mines these past few days, so he hasn't had time to write." Hou Lai was worried that she might be too upset and start to think that Yuan Cuo had another woman.

"Go down into the mine?" Liu Yuechu exclaimed in surprise. "Why does he want to go down himself? Didn't Governor Chen take troops with him?"

“I don’t know the specifics either. I’ve been by your side the whole time. Don’t worry, let’s talk about it in a couple of days,” Hou Lai reassured him.

Liu Yuechu pouted; she was at a loss.

He lay sprawled on the bed, half-asleep, and picked up the love letters from before, reading them over and over again until he finally fell asleep.

At this moment, Yuan Cuo was talking with Governor Chen, who had just arrived at the mine site.

Chen Hongwu was filled with emotion, "...I never expected His Majesty to think of me first."

He first received a letter from Yuan Cuo, instructing him to take men to the mining area under the pretense of escorting Princess Chen back to the capital. However, Chen Hongwu received an imperial edict from Emperor Qi Xiao halfway there and hurriedly returned to the capital.

The heartfelt exchange between the emperor and his minister stirred a sense of guilt in Chen Hongwu.

"So Governor-General Chen has decided to serve His Majesty loyally and withdraw completely without holding back any options?" Yuan Cuo was still dressed in a blue robe, exuding the air of a refined scholar, even in this dark and gloomy mine.

"What are you thinking?" Chen Hongwu decided to have a serious talk with him. "His Majesty wants to hide here, and you also want to secretly arm your own private army."

"Yuan Cuo, I don't care what your intentions are, the Great Qi must never rebel, or you will face certain death!" Chen Hongwu made it clear from the outset.

"What am I rebelling against? I only admire Governor Chen's loyalty along with His Majesty. Even if he has a private army, it is still the Governor's army. I have no personal motives," Yuan Cuo said frankly.

"Why do you insist on arming your private army? Are you afraid that things will not be stable in the capital?" Chen Hongwu had been in the southwest, and although he knew about the news in the capital, he was not sensitive enough to it.

Yuan Cuo nodded. "Besides the power struggles in the capital, I also had someone look into this place. It was once mined, but for some reason they abandoned it."

"Who in the Great Qi territory is authorized to mine iron ore privately?"

"??!!!"

Chen Hongwu immediately stood up. "Does Your Majesty know?"

“Before I could even send this message back, I wrote to the Grand Governor requesting him to bring troops here. I suspect that His Majesty's decision to have the Grand Governor secretly mobilize troops might be for this reason,” Yuan Cuo said earnestly. “I do not doubt the Grand Governor, and I hope the Grand Governor will not doubt me either.”

He thought of Liu Yuechu.

Liu Yuechu was considered Governor-General Chen's adopted daughter, so in a way, he was his son-in-law.

Chen Hongwu remained silent for a long time, looking at the booklet on smelting technology in his hand, his heart surging with emotion.

"His Majesty is not confused..."

"But who is truly devoted to the Great Qi by His Majesty's side?" Yuan Cuo asked this question.

Chen Hongwu met his gaze, and then the two looked away together.

“But opening a smelting plant privately requires a lot of money. If the funds are insufficient, it’s all just a pipe dream, not even worth mentioning.” He still raised a difficult point.

"I'll figure out a way to get the money."

"Go find a woman?"

"..." Yuan Cuo pursed his lips. "I am also wholeheartedly for the Liu family. I am the Liu family's son-in-law, and you are Yuechu's godfather!"

"You mean you've already tied me to this pirate ship, and there's no way I can get off?" Chen Hongwu sneered. If this kid in front of him didn't actually have some talent, he would have liked to grab him and throw him into the furnace.

"Then where do you think the money will come from? Go to the Ministry of Revenue? Would they even listen to you? Wasn't last year's grain supply subsidized by the princess using her dowry?" Yuan Cuo's initial respect vanished when money was mentioned. They were both living off women; who looked down on whom?!

Chen Hongwu's lips twitched; he really didn't have the confidence to refute.

"Your Majesty, I am truly devoted to the Great Qi!" Chen muttered, then went to oversee the progress of smelting refined steel.

This mineral vein is indeed excessively rich, but the smelting technology of the Great Qi is not advanced, and it is unknown whether the new technique provided by Yuan Cuo is feasible.

……

The lights were dim inside the mine.

By the dim light, Yuan Cuo laid out paper and ground ink. "My wife, I really miss you. I really don't just want your money..."

Liu Yuechu received Yuan Cuo's message three days later.

Before she could even see the writing, a pile of dust fell out when she opened it.

"My goodness, it's choking!" Granny Fang quickly grabbed a towel and wiped it clean.

Liu Yuechu, disregarding her filthy clothes, quickly read the letter. It contained only a few words: "Short of money, very short of money. Don't tell Hou Lai."

She turned the letter over and over, but there was nothing else there.

"What did the son-in-law say?" asked Granny Fang.

"Perhaps there is a lack of funds," Liu Yuechu muttered softly.

"How can the son-in-law be allowed to pay for his own travel within the palace? Isn't that just bullying?"

"Who knows? Maybe the Ministry of Revenue can't raise the money at the last minute? You know how empty our Great Qi's treasury is, maybe even less than our family's!" Liu Yuechu's mind raced. She didn't want to tell Hou Lai, probably because she was afraid Hou Lai would report to the palace.

Could it be that he intends to keep the mineral deposits hidden away?

That silver is like a stone sinking into the sea; who knows when it will be filled!

"Have Steward Yao come here, along with the accountant."

All afternoon, Liu Yuechu was thinking about how to free up some money, and it wasn't very obvious.

As dusk began to fall, Liu Yuechan hurriedly returned.

"Second sister, second sister, I've been kicked out of the Huang family!" she cried as soon as she entered the courtyard, feeling extremely aggrieved.

Liu Yuechu was preoccupied with money, and after hearing her words, she was stunned for a long time before she came to her senses. "Kick you out? Why?"

"The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review was also at the residence today. When I went to examine Madam Huang, I was taken directly to the main hall. Minister Huang told me that I no longer needed to perform acupuncture on Madam Huang, and he also gave me a sum of money as a token of gratitude." Liu Yuechan handed the red envelope directly to her second sister.

She was indeed short of money, but she didn't want to take this money; it was too hot to handle.

Liu Yuechu glanced at the thickness; it was one hundred taels.

Compared to ordinary doctors, this was quite generous of Lord Huang.

"Did you see Wanwan? What did she say?"

"I saw her. Sister Wanwan told me to come back first, but I saw that the atmosphere at the Huang family was tense, like a firecracker about to explode!" Liu Yuechan was most sensitive to reading people's expressions, after all, she was born into a concubine's family.

"Since that's the case, just leave it alone for now. Also, tell Physician Sun in case he's still thinking about it." Liu Yuechu didn't know what Huang Wanwan was thinking or what scheme she was planning.

Perhaps they want to extricate the Liu family from the picture first? That possibility is quite high.