Ning Dao Covered with Snow

Chapter 374 Family Letter
An hour later, the carriage stopped in front of Qingping Residence.

It was noon, lunchtime. Nie Xiayun was overjoyed to see her future grandson-in-law arrive and was about to pull him to eat with her when she noticed that Xiao Wang was followed by a skinny young woman.

Nie Xiayun's smile faltered.

Her heart pounded. She had long heard that the young masters of noble families in Chang'an were fond of beautiful women, and that almost every one of them had several concubines. Could it be that Xiao Wang was like them? His wife hadn't even entered the house yet, and he was already thinking about taking concubines first?
To avoid any misunderstanding, she decided to ask first.

"This young lady looks unfamiliar. What should I call her?"

"Her name is Anmei, you can just call her Meizi."

Xiao Wang then gave a brief account of An Mei's background.

After hearing this, Nie Xiayun felt relieved. Thank goodness, she hadn't misjudged him; Xiao Wang, her future grandson-in-law, was quite good.

She greeted Anmei warmly, saying, "Look how thin you are, it's really pitiful. Come and sit down, I'll ask the kitchen to cook a few more dishes. You need to eat well and try to gain some weight. A woman can't be too thin."

She was very strong; before Anmei could react, she was already pinned to the stool.

Then Xiao Wang and Uncle Jiu sat down at the table, and Xiao Wang asked, "Has Aci eaten?"

"Don't worry, she's already eaten and should be taking a nap now. You can eat slowly."

Nie Xiayun then called Qiu Shuang over and asked her to urge the kitchen to quickly bring up the remaining dishes.

After eating and drinking his fill, Xiao Wang went to Yan Ciwan's bedroom. The window was open, and he could see Yan Ciwan's peaceful sleeping face from outside.

The weather was fine and sunny, spring was in full bloom, and orioles were singing in the treetops, their clear calls rising and falling.

All of this seemed to drift away from Xiao Wang, and he just quietly watched Yan Ciwan, becoming completely absorbed in the sight.

After an unknown amount of time, Yan Ciwan suddenly woke up.

As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Xiao Wang standing outside the window and was taken aback.

Xiao Wang pushed open the bedroom door and entered, asking gently, "Did I disturb your rest?"

"No, I've been resting in bed every day these past few days. I've been sleeping too much, so I wake up easily."

Yan Ciwan sat up with Xiao Wang's help.

Xiao Wang asked her if she wanted some water.
Yan Ciwan nodded.

Xiao Wang poured her a cup of tea, held it to her lips, and fed her the tea.

"anything else?"

Yan Ciwan shook her head.

Xiao Wang put down his empty cup and recounted his journey to Chang'an County to find An Tong from beginning to end. Finally, he took out a letter from his sleeve and said, "This is the letter that Fu Hui gave to An Tong."

Since Yan Ciwan was unable to move, Xiao Wang had to unfold the letter and place it in front of her.

This is an ordinary letter home, written by a soldier far from home to his mother, containing only a few hundred words. "Mother, I am pleased to receive your letter. I have been in Youzhou for two years. To stop the Turks from invading, our army has fought with all its might, but we have been unable to drive the enemy out of the border. The war is raging, and each day feels like a year. I miss you and Father dearly. I heard that Su Niang gave birth to a son for me, but I have never seen him. I wonder what he looks like now? Mother, I want to go home."

The final signature was Fu Zheng.

After reading the letter, Yan Ciwan looked up at Xiao Wang, who was also looking at her.

Yan Ciwan asked, "Is there something wrong with this letter?"

Xiao Wangdao said, "As far as I know, Fu Zheng went to Youzhou with the army twenty-six years ago. There, he fought against the Northern Turkic army and was ambushed. All of Fu Zheng's troops were captured, including Fu Zheng himself. But what was unexpected was that Fu Zheng not only survived, but also killed the Northern Turkic commander, causing chaos in the Northern Turkic army. Fu Zheng became famous after this battle. After returning to Chang'an, he was appointed as the Left General of the Golden Guard. A year later, he was promoted to Left General of the Shence Army. After Emperor Wen died and the current emperor ascended the throne, Fu Zheng was given important responsibilities and has now been promoted to Left General of the Valiant Guard, in charge of the entire Left Golden Guard."

Yan Ciwan lowered her eyes to look at the letter in her hand. This letter should be a letter Fu Zheng wrote to his mother when he was in Youzhou. Judging from the contents of the letter, Fu Zheng was already tired of the war at that time and he was eager to go home.

Two years later, however, Fu Zheng killed the commander-in-chief of the Northern Turkic army, making a great contribution.

What did Fu Zheng experience in just two short years? Why did his personality change so drastically?

Xiao Wang analyzed, "Fu Hui's death is very likely closely related to this letter. Someone knows that he has this letter and is eager to find him. In order to hide his whereabouts, he is hiding alone in an inn in the West Market. He somehow contacted the shaman of the Five Gods Sect and wanted to give the letter to the shaman."

Following his train of thought, Yan Ciwan continued, "Fu Hui is the son of a great general. When he encountered such a big incident, his first reaction should have been to seek protection from his father. But instead of doing so, he left home alone."

The two exchanged a glance, then looked at the thin sheet of paper together and said in unison.

"Fu Zheng has a problem."

The secret Fu Hui possessed was likely related to Fu Zheng, which was why Fu Hui dared not go home. He didn't even dare to report it to the authorities, because he knew that as soon as he showed his face, he would be sent to his father by the government officials.

With no other options, he had no choice but to cooperate with the shaman.

But what he didn't expect was that the shaman also had ill intentions.

The sorcerer only wanted the secret in his possession. After obtaining the letter, the sorcerer instructed An Tong to poison his tea.

Based on Yan Ciwan's understanding of the sorcerer, once that old man gets his hands on this letter, he will definitely use it to coerce Fu Zheng into working for him. This way, when the Five Gods Sect rises up to seize power, they will have a better chance of winning.

Yan Ciwan narrowed his eyes slightly and pondered, "The sorcerer said that the current emperor is the real culprit who murdered Crown Prince Renxian. Assuming that this is true, then the poisoned arrow that shot Crown Prince Renxian is worth considering. It can be confirmed that the arrow came from the Shence Army, and Fu Zheng just happened to have served as the Left General of the Shence Army. The current emperor also trusts Fu Zheng very much."

Xiao Wang's gaze darkened: "The next key target of our investigation is this Fu Zheng."

Yan Ciwan really wanted to help, but she couldn't move, so she could only offer him emotional support.

"Keep up the good work. If you encounter any problems you can't solve, you can come and talk to me about it."

Xiao Wang picked up the letter and put it away, replying with a smile, "Okay."

"By the way, I'm going to see Yan Tingyu the day after tomorrow. Could you spare some time to come with me?"

Xiao Wang frowned slightly: "Your injuries haven't healed yet, so try not to go out."

"I have something very important to do and I need to see her as soon as possible, please."

Yan Ciwan looked pleading in her eyes. Xiao Wang couldn't stand her like that, and he quickly surrendered, saying, "Alright."