Chapter 245: Cousin, you really are a talent!

I said Yu Lve is smart; actually, it's not really a lie.

Du Shanü twiddled her fingers, and Chinu gradually smoothed her palm, only then realizing she had unknowingly picked up the same habit as Chinu.

She patted Chinu and continued:

At the time, Ouyang Wu had not only a ring, but also a jade pendant and a jade belt hook......

Everything else was more eye-catching than the ring, but Yu Lve only chose the ring.

That ring, to be honest, is indeed utterly unnoticeable.

If there is anything different about it, it's that the jade used for the ring is southern frontier jadeite.

The quality of jadeite varies greatly.

Lower-quality jadeite is actually just a stone that is somewhat grayish and blackish.

High-quality jadeite, however, can be worth a city and is extremely rare.

In other words, insiders can understand its value.

Although Ouyang Wu's jadeite ring is a bit thin, it might very well be a scrap from that fine piece of jadeite.

This ring, bought and sold, passed around, will surely end up in the hands of those few who know its worth, or those willing to spend a fortune on jadeite.

This will surely be discovered eventually, and seeing how arduous the investigation is, those scouts will only become more convinced......

Du Shanü spoke slowly.

Meanwhile, the study was already utterly quiet.

Whether Chinu or Chen Weifang, neither spoke again.

Du Shanü didn't need to look closely to know that the expressions on their faces were likely the same as hers when she first heard the news.

Thus, Du Shanü merely let out another soft sigh before saying:

This is only one part of it.

When Yu Lve went to handle this matter, he happened to encounter unrest in Tancheng, so he took a look.

That's right; it was just because he is naturally vigilant, taking an extra glance, that led to what followed.

Chinu had previously said that Tancheng's land is abundant, producing grain and vegetables that not only supply the county but also the surrounding counties.

And the unrest in Tancheng, according to Yu Lve, is pitifully occurring right in the midst of their 【abundance】.

During last autumn's harvest, the government arbitrarily raised taxes, with each locality's increase varying, causing a great deal of chaos.

The government wanted money, the people wanted to survive, so they could only empty their savings to buy grain and pay the grain tax.

In the past, Tancheng had the most grain.

Therefore, outsiders thought Tancheng had grain supplies, and thus first thought of Tancheng.

The old magistrate of Tancheng is already deaf and blind, nearly a walking corpse, relying entirely on his son to handle affairs.

And the old magistrate's son, born late in life and excessively pampered, has been arrogant and unruly since childhood, failing his studies, failing the imperial exams, and lacking any grasp of worldly matters.

This man, after taking bribes, actually came to believe that Tancheng had grain.

The young magistrate's lackeys only obey their master; regardless of whether there is grain, as soon as the master speaks, they insist that the peasants have grain......

Everyone thought Tancheng had grain, and the people of Tan County had grain.

However, only the people of Tan County themselves knew that they actually had no grain at all.

In previous good years, after paying taxes and rent, they could still have a small surplus.

However, this year taxes have risen, and everywhere is short of grain; they certainly cannot make up such a huge shortfall.

They can't even scrape together their own taxes, let alone spare grain for others.

Thus, under extortionate exploitation, the abundant Tancheng became the first city in Yongzhou Prefecture to see deaths from starvation.

【Starvation】

【Starvation】

For those living on this land, the two words they cannot bear to hear most are 'starvation'.

When encountering a beggar asking for money, not many people will spare them a glance.

However, if it is a bone-thin person stumbling toward someone, begging for a mouthful of food, as long as that person's own livelihood is not also impossible, they will basically help.

Even families that can only afford plain porridge will often add an extra ladle of water to the broth, simmer an extra bowl of rice soup to share, lest someone starve to death before their eyes.

The people of this land are indeed extremely obsessed with having enough to eat.

Thus, when Du Shanü heard this, she also stared blankly for a long time before continuing her questioning.

Yu Lve said that upon seeing corpses of the starved outside the city, he had already guessed that internal chaos in Tancheng was only a matter of time.

Hunger breeds disaster; hunger breeds calamity.

Although he is skilled at concealing his tracks, the starving refugees, their eyes red with hunger, eyed him warily as he entered the city to investigate.

Whether it was his horse or him...... this person, the situation was already somewhat out of control.

He spurred his horse outward and happened to collide with a passing imperial envoy.

By ill fortune, that imperial envoy, whom Yu Lve also knew, was indeed a member of the main house of the Chen Commandery Xie clan.

"Xie clan......?"

Chinu beside her suddenly muttered a word, interrupting her wife master's speech.

Du Shanü took no offense; instead, she nodded:

"Exactly."

"I asked Yu Lve who that person was, and he told me he is the seventh child of Yu Baobao's paternal grandfather......."

In other words, he can be considered Yu Baobao's seventh uncle.

However, the worst part is that the previous generation's relations are tangled and complex; Yu Baobao's paternal grandfather initially refused to acknowledge his own son, and because the father's mother was a courtesan, he only gave the father the name 'Ji Nu', causing Ji Nu to several times nearly lose his life.......

The two sides can no longer be said to have merely a grudge; they have accumulated considerable enmity.

Ji Nu could not bear the humiliation, fled the Xie clan, wandered to Chong'an, where he met the birth mother of Yu Baobao, married into the Yu family, and thus Yu Baobao acquired the surname Yu.

Later, Yu Baobao was adopted and made heir by Emperor Taizong, who, upon learning of the past, found that this blood-related Seventh Uncle—or indeed the whole Xie family—was in the embarrassing position of being despised by Taizong and was not given important posts.

Although it is unknown why, after Yuan Lang ascended the throne, he again reappointed this group of scholar-officials.

But Yu Lve frankly said that, because of his paternal aunt's husband, he had previously disliked that crowd who always chased fame and profit, a scattered bunch of scholar-officials.

Consequently, after he learned their intentions, he was at once worried that Du Shanü's identity would be exposed and at once flooded with new and old grudges; killing him caused him no burden at all, and he even felt delighted.

Du Shanü recalled the expression on Yu Lve's face when he said those words, and she involuntarily narrowed her eyes slightly.

"He explained to me that he didn't report this immediately and dared to use it as leverage because he knew the outside situation had already been settled."

"An Nan's spies are no match for him; even if there were any minor loopholes, the other side could not find us for a long time. As for the Imperial Envoy sent to investigate me, he unfortunately died in the 'peasant revolt'...."

"He knew I would come to no harm, which is why he delayed a bit, among other things wanting Yu Baobao and me to personally explain the Xie family's intentions."

"Whether this excuse is true or false doesn't really matter."

"What matters is that Yu Lve's attempt to 'explain' actually amounted to lowering his stance."

"This person is capable, and Du Shanü certainly does not wish to just casually discard him."

Du Shanü pinched the fingertip of her Guai Nuanu.

"Guai Nuanu, you also know that your Wife Master is currently short-handed; we have several civil officials and strategists under our command, but only Yu Lve as a military officer......"

"Let him serve as County Magistrate; that's certainly better than having another Ouyang Yan, right?"

?? If Qidian users are interested, they can check the character introduction page on the main page~

? It's really been delayed for a long time..... mainly because I couldn't find a suitable picture...... In the future, if a more suitable picture is found, it will also be updated promptly~