The Princess and Her Rough-Rider Khan-Chapter 46 - 0 No good end comes from opposing Khan (first

Chapter 46: 046 No good end comes from opposing Khan (first update)

Chapter 46: 046 No good end comes from opposing Khan (first update)

“Have you thought it through?” Yelu Yan sipped his tea, placed the cup on the table, and looked at the group of court ministers.

The court ministers answered in unison, “We have thought it through, Your Majesty.”

Yelu Yan spoke indifferently, “This Khan knows, you may leave.”

The court ministers hastily knelt and performed the elbow-bending salute to Yelu Yan, respectfully saying, “Thank you, Khan. We shall take our leave.”

After the conservative ministers had exited the Hall of Diligent Governance, many wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads.

While Yelu Yan was staring at them, they felt a chill at the back of their necks and broke into a cold sweat.

A minister said, “What do you think the Khan meant by that?”

Yelu Yan had only said, “This Khan knows,” without another word, so his true intentions were unclear and baffling to them all.

An elderly minister remarked, “What else could he have meant? Can’t you tell that the Khan was angry? He hasn’t forgiven us.”

“Does that mean we still have to deliver a hundred taels of silver next month?”

“Who knows, when the Khan asked you to speak, you were all as frightened as tortoises with their heads drawn in. It was left to this old man to step forward.”

The other ministers remained silent; who wasn’t afraid of Yelu Yan?

Everyone feared provoking the imperial wrath and bringing disaster upon themselves.

A minister complained, “We should never have listened to Minister Ji. We should not have jointly submitted a petition against the opening of new farmland, which has estranged us from the Khan.”

“Yes, I truly regret signing Minister Ji’s petition,” another lamented.

Yet another minister said, “Who doesn’t regret it? Those ministers who had vigorously supported the Khan’s efforts to develop the farmland are now rewarded and promoted, while just a few of us are out of favor.”

Many nodded in agreement.

A minister declared, “I see it clearly now; opposing the Khan leads to no good end.”

“Minister Ji has really done us in,” they lamented.

“Looking back, we were just pawns in his game. He must have opposed the Khan’s initiatives because he is protective of his beloved daughter.”

“I’ve heard as well that Ji Chuchu has long harbored admiration for the Khan, and now that the Khan dotes on Princess Hehui, she has been heartbroken and hasn’t eaten for two or three days,” another mentioned.

Hearing this, the ministers felt even more certain they had been used as pawns, filled with regret over their past actions.

After the ministers had left, Jinwu said, “Congratulations, Khan.”

Yelu Yan glanced at him and replied, “It’s only fair after spending half the day with them.”

Half a day?

Jinwu thought to himself: Khan, you hardly spent half the day on this, handling numerous affairs, visiting Minister Xiao, and even personally seeing off the queen from the palace. This is far from wasted time; not a single matter was delayed.

Yelu Yan called in a calm voice, “Summon the guard.”

A guard immediately entered with respectful reverence, knelt, and performed the elbow-bending salute, saying, “At your command, Khan.”

Yelu Yan instructed calmly, “Send a message to Minister Ma, tell him to proceed as planned.”

“Your servant understands.”

With the command received, the guard retreated with utmost respect.

Yelu Yan stood up and walked outside.

Jinwu hurriedly followed and asked, “Khan, where are you heading?”

“To the military camp,” Yelu Yan said succinctly.

Jinwu quickly ordered the palace servants to bring Yelu Yan’s prized steed to him.

Li Xianyun and her companions left Shangjing City, and after passing through several bustling towns, they veered off the official road onto a smaller path. The deeper they went, the more evident the decay and desolation became.

The road was narrow and full of potholes, and on either side, makeshift low earthen houses were a common sight.

Such scenes were unavoidably shocking.

Just a road separated them, with a thriving town on one side and poverty-stricken villages on the other.

The contrast between wealth and poverty, prosperity and decline, was simply too stark.

Throughout the journey, Li Xianyun carefully observed the surrounding environment.

In the midst of summer, fruit trees planted in front of and behind every house held ripe fruit on their branches, one close to another, a delightful sight indeed.

Li Xianyun also noticed several abandoned orchards with crumbling walls and broken gates, where fallen pears or apples lay rotting underneath the trees, neglected and untended.

No wonder there were so few buyers for fruit in the East Market.

Habu pointed ahead and said to Li Xianyun, “Young man, our village is just ahead.”

A journey on foot that should take an hour was reached in less than half the time, thanks to the convenience of the horse carriage.

As they approached, Li Xianyun saw a damaged stone stele at the entrance of the village, inscribed with the words “Shitoutun.”

Entering the village, they could see narrow and dirty alleys where elderly people sat idly and children played.

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All wore ragged clothes, their hungry faces gaunt, and their eyes unusually large, betraying malnutrition.

As Li Xianyun and her companions passed, the locals couldn’t help but look out curiously.

For Li Xianyun and her entourage were truly eye-catching.

The villagers rarely saw such opulent carriages, and leading them was a person riding a strong white horse, exuding nobility and extremely good looks, almost as if a favorite of the heavens.

Many people gathered around, the crowd growing larger and larger, with children running back and forth beside the carriage.

The carriage stopped in front of a dilapidated courtyard.

Different from other places, this courtyard, though in ruins, with its low houses, was exceptionally clean and tidy.

Li Xianyun dismounted, and the others followed suit.

The Nata couple had just descended from the carriage when three children from the doorway came up laughing.

They had been playing in the courtyard and hurried out when they heard the commotion in the village street.

From afar, they saw several people on high horses approaching, followed by two impressive carriages.

Many curious villagers surrounded the carriages.

A swift-running child reached the three kids and exclaimed, “Stinky Egg, your parents have brought some grand lords home.”

The three children indeed heard their parents’ voices and stretched their necks to look around.

When they saw their own parents getting down from the carriages, they were both shocked and delighted, running over joyfully to throw themselves into their parents’ arms.

The one called Stinky Egg clung to Nata’s leg, looked up, and asked, “Dad, why have you come home so early today?”

The three children, the eldest being only eight and the youngest around four or five, were all thin and pale. Their clothing consisted of patch upon patch and was faded with washing, but it was clean.

The Nata couple spent their days selling fruit and would not return until dark.

The eight-year-old Stinky Egg took care of his younger siblings at home.

Nata pointed to Li Xianyun, crouching down with a smile and said to the three children, “Stinky Egg, you three should kowtow to this gentleman. He is our benefactor.”

The obedient children immediately knelt before Li Xianyun, their heads touching the ground firmly, and with their young voices, they said, “Thank you, benefactor.”

The three children knelt so suddenly and neatly that Li Xianyun was caught off guard. She quickly helped them up, saying, “Good children, please get up.”