A few days later, Fu Xin Ci learned the full story from a letter sent by Uncle Jin.
It turned out that after they brought the old ginseng to the capital, they attracted the attention of many wealthy families.
An eight-hundred-year-old ginseng root was something that many princes and nobles would bow to.
To use Uncle Jin's words, those families were truly rich; they could spend tens of thousands of taels of silver without batting an eye.
What they hadn't expected was that these soldiers from the Northern Frontier only wanted grain, not silver.
This caused a sensation in the capital and also attracted the attention of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
Fortunately, they knew Yan Yi. Otherwise, as soldiers from the Northern Frontier, they would have been subject to military law for leaving without imperial orders.
It was also thanks to Yan Yi's meticulous nature that he sensed something unusual from their words. He then conducted a thorough investigation. After he clarified the situation of the Northern Frontier soldiers entering the capital, he was furious.
Yan Yi, being at the center of power in the capital, had a keener sense than anyone else. After he untangled the hidden dealings, he cursed those old foxes as inhuman.
"Truly a bunch of beasts. For their own selfish gain, they disregarded the safety of the court and the common people. They deserve to die."
After Yan Yi finished his tirade, he calmed down after a while and, acting as if nothing had happened, presented all the evidence to the Emperor.
Upon seeing it, the Emperor was enraged and ordered the Embroidered Uniform Guard to surround those few residences overnight and bring the officials, who were dreaming of promotion and wealth while embracing their beautiful concubines, before him.
The few men had weak bones and confessed before any torture was used.
Seeing their confessions, the Emperor threw the paperweight he was holding.
Yan Yi almost praised the Emperor for his accuracy, which was just as good as in the past.
The paperweight directly hit the corner of a certain person's forehead, and bright red blood instantly stained half of his face. Yet, the man dared not utter a sound, lowering his head and letting his hot blood flow down his aged face.
Yan Yi felt no pity in his heart. If their schemes had succeeded, not only would Uncle Meng Er's family have been ruined, but the defense line of the Northern Frontier would have been breached.
One must remember that the Northern Frontier was followed by Beizhili, and beyond Beizhili was the capital. If the Emperor did not get angry, there was only one possibility: the Emperor was slow-witted.
These people toyed with the safety of the court and the people at their fingertips. How could the Emperor tolerate them?
As expected, these people were dragged out and directly executed.
They probably never understood until their death that they had always controlled the lives of others and treated others as ants.
Yet, they didn't know that one day, they too would become the ants they spoke of.
Someone tried to intercede for them, but the Emperor did not see anyone this time. He waited until the swords had fallen and those men were undeniably dead before he went to court.
No one needed to ask. Seeing the faces that were older than yesterday, one could tell whose families they belonged to.
The Emperor felt relieved. Old Jin and Qi He's days in the capital became difficult.
Even when they went out, people looked for trouble. Even when they stayed in the inn, people looked for trouble. In the end, Yan Yi intervened and arranged for them to stay at the imperial posthouse.
Some people still wanted to cause trouble, but they dared not act recklessly due to Yan Yi's methods.
Old Jin and Qi He and the others finally had a period of peace.
Yan Yi also told them, "You can exchange the old ginseng for silver. As for the military provisions, you don't need to worry about them; the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue will allocate them uniformly."
Hearing Yan Yi's assurance, Old Jin was naturally happy. Then, the head of the Imperial Academy personally came and purchased two old ginseng roots for fifty thousand taels of silver.
Old Jin gave these fifty thousand taels of silver notes directly to Qi He.
"Uncle Jin."
"Little He, Uncle Jin has never held so much money before. It's burning a hole in my pocket. You should keep it yourself."
Qi He looked at the five large denomination silver notes, feeling troubled. "Sister Fu doesn't like silver notes; she likes gold and silver."
Old Jin wanted to say that silver notes and silver were the same. But upon careful consideration, he felt that Xin Ci's idea might be right. The feeling of gleaming silver was indeed different from that of a silver note.
"However, even if this much silver were converted into gold, it would be five thousand taels. We can't carry so much gold on our journey. Not to mention the long distance, we'd encounter bandits and robbers one after another on the road."
Qi He also knew that even if it were just these silver notes, let alone gold and silver, it would be very difficult to bring them back to Liaodong safely.
"Alas, if only Sister Fu were here," Qi He didn't dare to say that no one could find what Sister Fu hid.
"Indeed. If Xin Ci were here, we wouldn't have to worry so much."
Fu Xin Ci was unaware that Uncle Jin and Qi He were agonizing over how to bring the silver notes back.
Yan Yi, being a local, personally sent them a message, "You must leave here as soon as possible. If possible, leave now. The sooner you return to the Northern Frontier, the better."
Qi He hadn't yet realized what was happening, but Old Jin understood. He solemnly bowed deeply to Yan Yi and said, "I, on behalf of these children, thank Lord Yan for saving our lives."
"Hurry and leave. I can only guarantee your safety within the boundaries of the capital. Beyond that, it depends on yourselves."
"Thank you, Lord Yan."
At this moment, everyone understood and thanked Yan Yi together.
"Alright, hurry and leave. Remember to ride fast once you leave the capital."
"Thank you, Lord Yan. Your kindness is beyond words. We shall meet again."
Old Jin also knew the seriousness of the matter. Their trip had caused quite a stir. The Emperor, in his rage, had beheaded several people. Their factions and families would not let them off easily.
They acknowledged Yan Yi's favor and then, with a command, everyone packed their belongings at the fastest speed and left the city.
Fortunately, they didn't bring much with them, and no one had gone out for leisure. In less than fifteen minutes, everyone had packed their belongings, mounted their horses, and left the posthouse.
At the city gate, Yan Yi's men were watching, and no one dared to be presumptuous. Even if someone wanted to send a message, they were stopped by Yan Yi's men.
Watching them leave the capital, Yan Yi then sent a message by carrier pigeon to his subordinates in Liaodong. The secret letter contained only one sentence.
When Liu Hai reappeared at the Meng family and showed the secret letter to the second master Meng, he left.
After Liu Hai left, Grandpa Meng called his granddaughter and told her that sentence.
"Grandfather, Lord Yan said: 'Tell them to go and meet Uncle Jin and Brother Qi.'"
"Yes." The old man was now frowning. He hadn't expected the Emperor to cause such a commotion. "The Emperor beheaded several people. The families and old associates of those people, unable to take it out on the Emperor, could only pick on the weak."
Fu Xin Ci felt like cursing again.
The old man then sent someone to find his son and Qi Yuanshan. They needed to plan carefully.