I have suffered enough in my previous life, my cousin will never marry me

Chapter 232 Facing National Crisis Together
"Sister Yin, please stop teasing me."

Ye Wanshu did hope that she could indeed conceive twins, but such things are rare and hard to come by, so she couldn't afford to have such expectations.

Holding Qi Shuangshuang, the two were joking around when Chunhong suddenly rushed in in a hurry.

"Miss, Miss, something terrible has happened!" Chunhong said, wiping the sweat from her forehead. "Young Master Tao has important business to discuss with us."

Seeing how anxious the girl was, Ye Wanshu and Chu Yin exchanged glances and felt a sense of foreboding, both thinking that bad news had come from the front lines.

"Chunhong, make yourself clear," Chu Yin said unhappily. "Your daughter is pregnant, don't scare her."

Chunhong quickly shook her head: "It's not the front line, it's Lord Ji. Young Master Tao said that Lord Ji is kneeling in front of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, begging His Majesty to grant him death."

Ye Wanshu breathed a sigh of relief, then asked with a puzzled look, "What is Lord Ji up to now? Why is he suddenly seeking death?"

He led troops into the capital to relieve the siege of Lin'an, and now His Majesty values ​​him highly. Why would he seek death for no reason?

"Wanwan, shall we meet Young Master Tao first?" Chu Yin suggested.

Ye Wanshu nodded, quickly handed Qi Shuangshuang to Chunhong, and was helped out by Chu Yin.

In the courtyard, Tao Anran, Mu Qingqing, and others were whispering and discussing among themselves, all looking quite anxious.

Upon seeing Ye Wanshu emerge, Tao Anran frowned and stepped forward, truthfully reporting, "Young Master, what should we do? The Crown Prince is waiting for Lord Ji to go to the front lines, but Lord Ji has defied His Majesty's decree and refused to go to Jiayuguan."

Chu Yin took a light breath: "Lord Ji is not an unreasonable person. The front line is in dire need of attention. He shouldn't disobey orders. Is there some hidden reason?"

Ye Wanshu also sensed something was amiss and asked, "Brother Tao, what does His Highness want Young Master Ji to do at Jiayuguan? Was there any explicit instruction?"

"It's to appease the prisoners of war," Tao Anran said. "There are 400,000 prisoners of war being held in Jiayuguan in Daqiu. The Crown Prince and the Duke of Ningguo don't know what to do with them. I was just offering my advice, hoping that the Crown Prince could use these prisoners of war to attack the pirates."

He didn't dare say what he was about to say.

“Brother Tao’s advice may be risky, but it is indeed worth considering.” Ye Wanshu also became puzzled: “Why did Young Master Ji refuse?”

Mu Qingqing knew that her cousin was deliberately making things difficult for Ji Yunze, and she was somewhat reluctant to speak up. However, seeing Tao Anran's hesitant manner, she had no choice but to speak up for her: "Sister Wan, my cousin wants Young Master Ji to take those 400,000 surrendered soldiers out to sea to raise grain and fodder."

"What?" Ye Wanshu's heart skipped a beat.

Even she felt that Fu Mingchi had gone too far this time.

It was already extremely difficult to settle 400,000 prisoners of war, let alone get them to steal food from pirate dens.

This is undoubtedly an attempt to put Ji Yunze to death.

Previously, Ji Yunze had always been at odds with him, and Fu Mingchi had never thought of killing him. Why was he making things so difficult for him this time?

After pondering for a while, Ye Wanshu felt that Tao Anran hadn't finished telling the story, so she pressed on and asked, "Brother Tao, did Qingqing just say everything His Highness asked you to bring back?"

Tao Anran thought for a moment, then remembered the box given to her by the Duke of Ningguo, and hurriedly had it brought over.

"This is a gift from the Ningguo envoy to the young master," Tao Anran said. "It must be extremely valuable, and I have been taking great care of it."

"Given to me by the Duke of Ningguo?"

Ye Wanshu and everyone else stared intently at the black box. When it was opened, they found it filled with neatly stacked letters.

Ye Wanshu glanced at them; they were all marked for her to open personally. Mu Qingqing immediately recognized her cousin's handwriting and roughly guessed what he was thinking. She covered her mouth and asked, "Young Master Tao, did my cousin ask you anything else when you went to the border this time?"

"I have truthfully informed His Highness the Crown Prince of what happened in Lin'an. The Crown Prince and the Duke of Ningguo were overjoyed to learn that the young master was pregnant. The Duke of Ningguo even instructed me to invite the Duchess to Lin'an as soon as possible."

Tao Anran finished her report meticulously, but Mu Qingqing refused to let it go: "Oh dear, it's not about these things. Has my cousin never asked about Sister Wan?"

Tao Anran suddenly realized: "Before leaving, the Crown Prince did ask me if the young master had given him any message."

Upon hearing this, Chu Yin and Mu Qingqing both secretly laughed.

Ye Wanshu naturally understood the crux of the problem.

It turns out that the bastard was jealous, feeling that he hadn't been thinking about him.

But he shouldn't have put Ji Yunze to death over this.

"Miss Chu, Miss Mu, what are you all laughing at?" Tao Anran asked, looking at the crowd with a puzzled expression.

Glancing at the box full of letters, Ye Wanshu sighed helplessly and said to Tao Anran, "Brother Tao, please go to the palace to report first. Do not let Young Master Ji anger His Majesty. I will go to the palace shortly after."

The resettlement of 400,000 prisoners of war is a major task for the imperial court, and only someone as stubborn and fearless as Ji Yunze can handle it well.

She had to help think of a solution; she couldn't really let Ji Yunze go to settle the prisoners of war empty-handed.

After having Tao Anran sent away, everyone returned to Mu Cang Zhai, and Ye Wanshu began to plan how to resolve the matter.

At this critical juncture, the fundamental solution lies in food and money.

However, the national treasury had already been depleted by the recent procurement of provisions, and it would not be easy to raise another large sum of money at this time.

Although Chu Yin and Mu Qingqing guessed that the Crown Prince was making things difficult for Ji Yunze, they also knew that this matter urgently needed to be resolved.

The two emptied their private coffers and came to Mu Cang Zhai. Mu Qingqing spoke first, saying, "Sister Wan, I still have 20,000 taels of silver notes and some jewelry left. Please take them to help my cousin out of his immediate predicament."

Qingqing is the Dowager Consort's niece. She helped Fu Mingchi solve his problems, so Ye Wanshu did not refuse. She simply thanked her and accepted the gold and silver jewelry.

Then, Chu Yin handed her a small box: "Wanwan, this is the 500,000 taels of silver you recovered for me earlier."

“Sister Yin, how can this be?” Ye Wanshu interrupted her, “Your circumstances are different from Qingqing’s. Even if Qingqing’s future is not good, she will still have the Marquis’s mansion and the Duke of Ningguo to take care of her. You are currently taking Shuangshuang with you.”

"Don't try to refuse me," Chu Yin said with a smile. "Everything I have is thanks to you, so it's my duty to share the nation's burdens."

She patted Qi Shuangshuang's head and continued, "Besides, Shuangshuang calls you godmother, how could you possibly mistreat her in the future?"

Mu Qingqing felt really sorry for Ye Wanshu, who had lost a lot of weight while helping His Majesty and her aunt procure food supplies.

“Sister Wan, you don’t need to be so polite with Sister Yin.” Mu Qingqing said, “Don’t you know Sister Yin’s personality? Once she’s given it up, there’s no reason for her to take it back.”

"Yes, Auntie, my mother and I are really looking forward to you giving me a younger brother or sister soon," Qi Shuangshuang said softly. "Auntie, you can't let my younger brother or sister suffer because of you."

Seeing the eager looks from the group, Ye Wanshu had no choice but to accept the box of silver coins.

Just then, Ji Ningxuan walked in with Qin Chulin, Gu Qingmian, and Gu Tingji, a brother and sister.

(End of this chapter)