Chapter 347

On the second day after the bountiful harvest of sweet potatoes, potatoes, and corn, the news that their yield exceeded a thousand catties reached the ears of Sima Jing, far away in the Jiangnan region.

According to news Yue Fuguang heard later, on that day, every teacup and saucer in Sima Jing's study was smashed to pieces. The commotion was so loud that even the servants standing ten meters away from the study could hear it clearly.

The news of the family head losing his temper and smashing things in anger spread like wildfire, reaching every corner of the massive Sima estate in less than two hours.

Everyone in the Sima family, whether they were supposed to know or not, received the news, yet absolutely no one dared to go and appease Sima Jing's fury.

Because many people simply did not know where his anger came from.

In the Jiangnan region, it could be said that the Sima family were not only high-ranking regional officials but also the local emperors of this territory.

In this domain, even the words of the one sitting on the imperial throne might not be as effective as the words of their family's lord. So what could possibly make him so furious?

Sima Ying, Sima Jing's eldest son, who had just returned to the estate from outside, heard the servants' report and headed toward the study while pondering this very question.

Their Sima family had been operating smoothly and prosperously in Jiangnan for twenty years, favored by fortune and the God of Wealth.

It was only in the past half-year that things began to go increasingly awry. The father and son even sometimes felt an involuntary chill down their spines.

Seeing the servants standing far away, Sima Ying waved them off and entered his father's study alone.

As soon as he pushed the door open, the first thing he saw was the floor covered in shattered teapots and cups, along with an inkstone missing a corner. Tea mixed with ink splashed everywhere, casting an even darker hue over the dark-colored carpet.

Sima Jing half-leaned behind his massive rosewood desk, his hands resting limply on the armrests of his chair. His eyes seemed to be looking at the door, yet also seemed to be gazing at the distant capital city of Shangjing.

Sima Ying stepped over the mess on the floor, bowed respectfully to Sima Jing, carefully peeked at his expression, and asked softly, Father, what matter has provoked you to such anger?

Sima Jing did not speak. He merely picked up a small slip of paper from the messy desk and threw it to him. It just arrived today. See for yourself!

The light piece of paper fell into his arms, yet he felt his heart sink. The unrolled note in his hand felt as heavy as a thousand catties.

He quickly read the contents, and his face instantly turned as pale as paper, then as dark as ink. His face went from white to black, and from black to red. A drop of cold sweat slid down his temples into his eye, startling him awake.

Father, it is your son's incompetence. I failed to gather the information in time, and I failed even more to destroy those things in time!

He immediately knelt down to beg for forgiveness and began to list his faults.

By this time, Sima Jing had regained the demeanor of a high-ranking regional official, but only his own son Sima Ying knew that his old man was currently an enraged tiger.

Sima Jing looked down at his most valued son, upon whom he placed high hopes. In his plans, this son would eventually lead their Sima family onto the path of supreme power.

Everything had been planned perfectly. He had even discerned from various signs that the Great Yan Dynasty would fall into decline, or even outright ruin, in at most fifteen or sixteen years, and at least ten or eight years.

That would be the Sima family's opportunity. Unfortunately, heaven did not grant human wishes. Out of nowhere dropped Yue Fuguang. At first, he hadn't taken this eight or nine-year-old girl seriously at all. As for her descending with a divine oracle, he didn't believe a single word of it.

Though far away in Jiangnan, he knew absolutely everything that happened in the imperial court without missing a detail. Regarding the courteous, even fawning treatment she received from the emperor and the ministers, he had secretly mocked Xie Fei quite a bit.

He ​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‍once thought that the emperor had grown old and muddle-headed!

He never expected such a huge surprise would be waiting for him here!

With these three miraculous crops in Great Yan, as long as the millions of commoners were fed, even the people of his Jiangnan would not abandon their good lives to follow their family in rebellion.

Without internal chaos, his Sima family would have no chance.

Sima Jing shifted his gaze to the map hanging on the study wall, where the territories of the six nations were vividly displayed. What kind of moves would these harborers of malicious intent make upon receiving this news?

Sweeping past Northern Li, Western Qiang, Southern Yue, and Nanzhao, his eyes finally settled on Eastern Yi.

Ying'er, has Matsuyama still not been found?

Sima Ying shook his head. Father, Matsuyama and his subordinates vanished completely, leaving no trace behind. My men suspect this might be related to the government officials, but we have no evidence whatsoever.

Sima Jing nodded. He did not care much about whether Matsuyama lived or died. It would be better if that fellow were dead, so his son Oshima would have one less competitor.

Are the things all packed up? His gaze shifted from Eastern Yi to a small island in its nearby waters.

To answer Father, the things you ordered have all been packed away properly.

Sima Jing nodded. Stand up and speak.

Thank you, Father! Sima Ying stood up, but did not dare to sit down.

Sima Jing's hand tapped rhythmically on the rosewood desk. His brows remained furrowed. In the massive study, only the thumping sound and the ticking of the water clock in the corner could be heard.

After a while, Sima Jing knocked heavily on the desk, startling Sima Ying, whose thoughts had wandered a bit.

His father's slightly aged voice came to his ears. Tell the subordinates below that we are not waiting anymore. We start the transfer tonight. Use all the ships our family owns.

Sima Ying's face was solemn. He couldn't help but take a step forward and ask in a lowered voice, Father, are things really this bad? Is there truly no room for maneuver?

Although he also felt uneasy in his heart, he still felt it wasn't bad enough to the point of transferring their wealth and having the whole family ready to flee Great Yan at a moment's notice.

No matter how well they built up that small island, how could it compare to even a ten-thousandth of the prosperous Jiangnan?

The Emperor's heart... is there really no room for redemption at all?

Still unwilling to give up, he added, With your friendship with that person, would he really make a move against us? Thinking of the foundation he had built here over many years, if he abandoned it now, it would truly all be gone.

Grandmother is still here, and the Empress Dowager in the palace is doing well too. The two sisters could always put in a good word for each other, right?

Ying'er, you don't understand that person. He could even raise a hand against his own father, let alone us father and son who have long harbored disloyal intentions?

No matter how careful the people sent by Xie Fei were, he had somewhat noticed them. He had only thought it was a routine investigation, but as months passed, the number of people increased instead of decreasing. They were even stepping closer and closer to uncovering their core secrets, with such precision that it was as if he had known all along.

He knew then that some link on his end had made a mistake and leaked their bottom line.

Otherwise, when he had an audience with His Majesty in the spring of last year, he clearly saw that the emperor showed not the slightest bit of guardedness toward him.

With this emperor of theirs, the longer he delayed in issuing an edict of inquiry, the more Sima Jing felt that the matter had blown up!

No matter how well his treasonous heart was hidden, it had ultimately revealed traces during these years of increasingly smooth sailing.

Two months ago, when those people sniffed out that specific location, he knew that unless there was some other stroke of luck, if the Sima family did not run, they would sooner or later be finished!

If it had been in the past, he might have been able to put up some resistance, but as soon as those three miraculous crops appeared, he knew he had no chance left!