Chapter 29: Redeeming People with Silver

Xiao Chengtian acted as if he did not see him, feeling somewhat annoyed. The two little brats of the Fang family were truly nauseating.

Seeing that Xiao Chengtian would not speak, Fang Yu could only threaten Yan Ning.

"If you know what's good for you, let me go immediately; otherwise, when you reach Lingnan, I will kill you! You bitch!"

Yan Ning remained expressionless and pointed at a soldier: "You, go back and tell your master that I have been insulted, and besides the ransom money, I must be paid an additional sum for the verbal abuse."

The soldier ran off at once, fearing that if he stayed here, he would be killed.

The Prince of Nanyang suspected he had misheard, "Princess, what did you just say? Ransom? Is it the ransom I am thinking of?"

Yan Ning looked at him strangely: "Do you expect me to be bullied and insulted for nothing? Only gold, silver, and jewels can soothe my wounded soul; since he came here to cause trouble, I must certainly extort him properly."

The Prince of Nanyang felt a bit dazed; could one even do that?

Fang Yu looked at the easiest one to talk to, Xiao Huaijin, "Huaijin, I am your cousin after all; please beg your uncle to let us off."

Xiao Huaijin shook his head: "It was not my father who captured you, it was the Princess, so neither I nor my father have any say in this."

Xiao Huaijin changed the subject and asked him: "Why did you bring troops to bully the Princess?"

Fang Yu's eyes darted around.

Xiao Huaijin continued: "Was it Fang Qiuling who told you to come?"

Fang Yu did not want to drag his sister down, so he said: "It wasn't her, it's just that I find Yan Ning unpleasant."

Yan Ning waited there until the next morning, when Fang Yu's parents arrived in a panicked rush, "What are you doing?"

Lady Fang was somewhat dissatisfied: "We are relatives after all, must you take things to such an extreme?"

Yan Ning sneered: "Who is a relative of yours? Is the ransom ready? If it is too little, I will not release him."

Lady Fang wanted to say more, but was stopped by Fang Bai.

Fang Bai said in a conciliatory tone: "It is my son who has acted improperly; I apologize to the Princess on his behalf, and I ask the Princess to release him."

Yan Ning reached out her hand: "Fine, give me the ransom and I will release him."

She was somewhat impatient: "If you are going to pay, do it quickly; if not, I will kill him and leave."

Fang Bai felt a bit stifled, but he still handed over the jewels, gold ingots, and silver ingots he had prepared to Yan Ning.

He had originally seen the Prince of Nanyang present and thus tried to haggle, but who knew that this seemingly simple young girl would be impervious to both soft and hard tactics.

Yan Ning took a look; these gold, silver, and jewels were quite valuable and did not look like things gathered randomly to fool her.

Once the money was given, Zhuo Heng untied Fang Yu.

Yan Ning even asked: "Your son should only be fifteen or sixteen years old, so why does he have a force of one thousand troops?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the faces of Fang Bai and his wife turned deathly pale.

Yan Ning continued: "Are these one thousand men private troops or troops stationed in Lingnan? Your son is impressive; whether it is the unauthorized mobilization of troops or keeping a private army of one thousand, these are both capital crimes of treason, right?"

Fang Bai "thumped" and knelt directly before Yan Ning.

"I beg the Princess to show mercy! My, my son could not possibly have thoughts of treason; he was just acting impulsively for a moment."

Yan Ning then said: "Fine, I am a magnanimous person and will not hold it against you, but if we go to Lingnan in the future and you dare to pull any tricks behind our backs, I will go and report your family for attempted treason."

"Everyone present here is a witness."

Fang Bai hurriedly said: "Many thanks, Princess; from now on, we will absolutely not speak recklessly."

Fang Bai and his wife took Fang Yu back.

After returning home, they did not care about his injuries and gave him a thorough beating.

This unlucky wretch had almost been accused of treason and had his entire clan executed!

The two of them almost beat Fang Yu to death.

When Fang Qiuling saw this scene, her heart rose to her throat.

Weren't Yan Ning and her family destitute? How come even her parents going over was of no use?

On the other side, Yan Ning and her family had already reached the border of Lingnan.

Sure enough, this area was all dense forest with all kinds of towering trees, and there were quite a few lakes inside, though the water in these lakes could not be drunk directly as there were many animal carcasses inside.

Upon entering, they could not see any miasma, but Yan Ning and the others felt a bit dizzy, and they felt better after taking a few medicinal pills.

This time going to Lingnan, the group was grand and imposing, and the Prince of Nanyang even said: "The road I am taking has many travelers and is relatively safe; if you come again next time, remember to buy a detailed map."

Yan Ze cupped his hands: "Many thanks."

Five of the Prince of Nanyang's private soldiers could not withstand the miasma and fell into a coma, and the medicinal pills they took had no effect.

Everyone was considering whether to continue bringing them along, when Qian Ruofang hurriedly said: "Everyone wait, I will cure them immediately."

Qian Ruofang was seen using Silver Needles to pierce several acupoints, and then she fed them each a medicinal pill, and they suddenly became much more clear-headed.

Qian Ruofang reminded them: "Do not drink the water here; everyone should try to pick fruit to replenish fluids, and even if you must drink, drink water that has been filtered and boiled."

There were too many people and the water consumption was too high, so filtered water was not very practical, but fortunately there was plenty of fruit here; although some were quite sour, that was still better than dying on the road.

By the third day, the group arrived at Shawan County at dusk.

They entered through the main gate with two hundred troops in a grand procession, attracting many onlookers.

Yan Ning was still thinking that with so many people arriving today, the inn probably wouldn't have enough room.

At this moment, a middle-aged man wearing a cotton-padded jacket smiled and approached: "His Highness, this Nudi has finally waited for you."

Yan Ning looked carefully and only felt the man looked familiar, but she quickly remembered: wasn't this Eunuch Fu from the Empress Dowager's palace?

Yan Ning was somewhat incredulous: "Why have you come?"

Laifu said with a smile: "It is the Empress Dowager who was worried, so she sent this Nudi to come and arrange everything for your arrival in Lingnan."

Yan Ning's eyes turned slightly red; her family had been away for so long, the Empress Dowager must have been deeply concerned.

Laifu said happily: "The Empress Dowager is in very good health, so the Princess need not worry; the Empress Dowager said that you do not need to stay here for long, and when her birthday comes next year, she will certainly invite you back to the Capital."

Yan Ning wiped away a tear.

Yan Ze and Ji Lan both felt a sour, swelling sensation in their hearts.

Laifu continued, "The Empress Dowager had this Nudi come over to purchase a small courtyard; this Nudi will take you all there to rest now."

The group arrived at that small courtyard.

The main gate was very imposing; looking at this three-section courtyard, it was spacious everywhere, almost catching up to the size of their Wangfu in the Capital—to think this was called a small courtyard?

However, Yan Ning thought about it; compared to the palace, it was indeed a small courtyard.

Yan Ning asked Laifu, "You have finished the arrangements; are you preparing to return to the Capital?"

Laifu hurriedly said, "The Empress Dowager's intention is for this Nudi to follow the Princess and His Highness; if the Princess finds this Nudi annoying..."

Yan Ning said with a smile, "Not annoying, not annoying."

The courtyard was very large with many rooms; Laifu had been prepared for a long time and quickly arranged accommodations for them all.

At this time, Yan Ning called Lan Xin, Qian Ruofang, the Grand Tutor, and General Xie over.

Yan Ning asked, "What are your plans for afterwards?"