Chapter 71: Are You Trying to Rebel?

Yan Ze saw Yan Ning wanting to follow and tossed her into the room: "I will resolve this matter; a child like you shouldn't be looking at these bloody things."

Yan Ning refused.

Yan Ze rubbed her head and said to her: "You go have people tidy up the living quarters first, I will handle the interrogation."

Yan Ning had no choice but to give up.

The grandfathers had a very hard journey, going hungry and cold, and over thirty people died on the way; one could tell how treacherous the journey was.

Yan Ning pondered making them something good to eat, but then thought that since they had been starving all the way here, they should eat some light porridge first, and she would make them good food in a few days.

Yan Ning called two maidservants to help tidy up several rooms; the beds and soft couches all had to be prepared.

There weren't many rooms here, though the two rows of stone houses in the back could accommodate some people.

Yan Ning quickly got things ready for everyone.

Of these dozens of people, except for two who were seriously injured and lying with Qian Ruofang, the others all had their living arrangements settled; her grandfather and her uncles' families were all arranged in their rooms, and by squeezing in, the families could stay.

Yan Ning said: "Grandfather, Uncles, please make do for now; I will have people build houses as quickly as possible."

Ji Heming hurriedly said: "Oh, don't go to any trouble. We were exiled here and thought we would suffer, who knew we would be able to live in such a fine residence."

At this moment, Yan Ze came in; he wiped the blood from his hands with a handkerchief and said to everyone: "I found out; it was the handiwork of the Second Prince and the Imperial Concubine."

Come to think of it, the Ji Family was only exiled because they were implicated by Yan Ze, and Yan Ze felt very uneasy about it.

Yan Ning gritted her teeth; she must strike back in the future!

Then she would see how she would teach the Second Prince a lesson.

Yan Ning stepped out of the courtyard and saw two bloody figures lying on the ground. If not for their faint breathing, she would have thought these two were dead.

Ji Lan looked at these people and asked: "Then should we let them go?"

Yan Ning pondered: "I think we should give them a beating, take their money, and then make them walk back. Whether they can make it back or not depends entirely on their own ability."

Ji Heming hurriedly stopped her: "No, absolutely not! To give them a beating and then send them back, isn't that slapping the Emperor in the face? If you ask me, it's best to just kill them; there is a lot of miasma in Lingnan, it's normal for two bailiffs to die on the road."

Yan Ning "hmphed": "It is exactly to slap his face! That Gou Huangdi, he made our family suffer so much."

Ji Heming looked at his son-in-law, then at his daughter: "You two, quickly tell Ningning about the severity of the consequences; she can't just act recklessly."

Ji Lan and Yan Ze both indicated there was no big problem, and that their daughter could hit whoever she wanted to hit.

Ji Heming was so angry he puffed out his cheeks and glared, "You two, you only know how to spoil the child."

Ji Heming thought about it; the mountains were high and the Emperor was far away, and even if he really sent troops to suppress them, it would only be about two thousand soldiers. His son-in-law was not a radical person, and they must have means of self-preservation in their hands.

After the three agreed, they had Qian Ruofang give them simple treatment, then sent them off to Shawan County, and incidentally, they also swiped their horses back.

After they left, the two bailiffs endured the pain and took out a Silver Note hidden in the soles of their shoes. Each of them had hidden five taels of silver for emergencies.

They must return to the Capital and tell everyone about the evil deeds of Yan Ning's family!

Furthermore, they would tell the Emperor that Yan Ning and Yan Ze said, "We are hitting that Gou Huangdi's face!"

On the other side, Yan Ning pulled her father and mother aside for a small meeting.

Yan Ning picked up a map, on which several marks were drawn in red ink.

Yan Ning asked: "Dad, Mom, do you think our combat power here is sufficient?"

Yan Ze pondered for a moment: "It should be no problem. Gou Huangdi cannot send thousands of troops from so far away across mountains and rivers; it's likely just the troops near Haicheng."

"The ones closer with more troops are only the Prince of Nanyang, but Ningning and Huaijin have a marriage contract, so the Prince of Nanyang cannot make a move; therefore, our enemies are only a few thousand troops."

Yan Ning frowned: "Dad, you forgot, can't they take the sea route? Before we were exiled, the Ministry of Works had already started building Ocean-going Ships; these ships can carry many soldiers, so we are still in danger here."

Ji Lan: "How about this, while those two bailiffs haven't gone far, shall we catch them first?"

Yan Ning shook her head: "No need, and I suspect that even if the Emperor doesn't send troops, we are still in danger. Dad, I asked County Magistrate Lin, this area might be harassed by Japanese pirates."

Ji Lan panicked immediately; those "little days" people were disgusting.

Yan Ning said: "So we must speed up and build a Warship!"

Yan Ze immediately expressed his support: "Right, we should build a ship, and equip it with a few more Telescopes; if there are Japanese pirates, we'll just throw an Explosive Package and blow them and their ship up together!"

Yan Ning: "If Gou Huangdi dares to come by ship, we will blow him up too; let him exile us, let him bully people, we must retaliate."

Don't talk to me about the relations between sovereign and subject or father and son; Gou Huangdi doesn't deserve it.

Yan Ning said she would do it, and directly called Er Gouzi over.

Yan Ning hadn't seen Er Gouzi for a long time.

Now, Er Gouzi was completely different from the dirty little kid before; he was wearing fine silk clothes and looked like a young master from some family.

As soon as Er Gouzi saw Yan Ning, he revealed a bright smile: "Miss, what do you need me for this time?"

Yan Ning said: "Go find some shipwrights; I want to build a ship."

Er Gouzi asked: "How big of a ship?"

Yan Ning thought for a moment: "An Ocean-going Ship, the bigger the better."

Er Gouzi thought about it and asked: "Miss, why not just buy one?"

Yan Ning said: "The ship I want is different from the ones sold outside; some parts need to be modified, so I have to discuss it with the shipwrights from time to time."

After all, what she wanted was a Warship, not an ordinary ship; she had to figure out the Cannon so that they could be mounted on the ship later.

Er Gouzi hurriedly said, "Miss, just leave it to me; I will definitely invite the best shipwrights in the area."

Er Gouzi also asked: "Um, Miss, what is the pay for finding the shipwrights?"

Yan Ning really didn't know, so she asked him: "You tell me, what is the normal wage for a shipwright?"

Er Gouzi was a bit uncertain: "Ordinary shipwrights, the ones who just do odd jobs, earn five hundred wen a month; the skilled ones earn two taels of silver a month. I only heard this from others, so it might not be accurate."

Yan Ning thought for a moment and said: "Tell them that once the ship is built, I will give them an extra one thousand taels of silver; as for the other wages, you arrange it as you see fit."

Yan Ning couldn't be bothered with this effort and left it all to Er Gouzi.

Er Gouzi was very reliable in his work, and Yan Ning even thought about having him settle down in Chaoyang Village.

Hearing that they were going to build a ship, Ji Heming immediately came over and asked Yan Ning: "What are you building a ship for? I heard it's a specially customized ship?"

Yan Ning nodded.

Ji Heming opened his mouth.

Finally, he asked, "Are you all trying to rebel?"