83: Jiangnan is as beautiful as a painting

"What do you mean?"

At this moment, in the office of the Provincial Administration Commissioner, Zhang Jiawen looked at Minister Shen before him, trembling with fear.

It had only been a few days, yet Minister Shen, holding the imperial edict plaque, had been making sweeping changes throughout the Two Jiangs without the slightest hesitation.

Those who needed to be removed from office were removed, and those who needed to be imprisoned were imprisoned; Minister Shen did not falter or show mercy in the slightest.

Yet it was strange; only towards him did Minister Shen delay taking any action.

But now, Minister Shen had appeared before him once again, and had even instructed him to prepare, as a distinguished guest was coming from the capital.

This action left Zhang Jiawen even more bewildered.

"It means exactly what it says, Provincial Governor Zhang. Someone is coming from the capital; as the Provincial Administration Commissioner of this province, shouldn't you be responsible for the reception arrangements?"

Minister Shen sat steadily in the center, drinking tea with a smile on his face.

"Rest assured, it is not yet time to deal with you. After all, Provincial Governor Zhang... has governed appropriately during his tenure over these years."

"Heh, Minister Shen, let's not say such things between us anymore, shall we?"

Zhang Jiawen no longer cared. The letters sent by fast horse to the capital either could not get out or received no reply.

Minister Shen had mobilized the troops, strictly guarding every checkpoint throughout the Jiangsu and Zhejiang region, whether by water or land.

He had managed to send out one letter with great difficulty; counting the days, it should have reached the capital, yet there was still no news.

He did not know if Grand Chancellor Zhou truly had not replied... or if the reply had also been intercepted by Minister Shen's men.

"Don't wait. I deliberately let your letter go through."

Minister Shen placed his teacup on the table.

"As for why there is no reply... since I let you send the letter, would I then intercept the reply meant for you?"

Hearing this, Zhang Jiawen actually did not pay it much mind.

He knew better than anyone what kind of person his father-in-law was; he was just testing his attitude.

"You don't need to mock me here, Minister Shen."

Zhang Jiawen sat to one side, somewhat dejected.

"I fear my good days have long since come to an end. I must even thank you, Minister Shen, for leaving me for last."

"You are not vague either, are you, Provincial Governor Zhang? With your whole family unable to escape, that must be a rather uncomfortable feeling, right?"

Minister Shen narrowed his eyes, staring at him with the look of someone watching a spectacle.

"When the Imperial Son-in-law returned to the Jiangsu and Zhejiang region, didn't you also arrange for people to watch him? But it's a pity... the Imperial Son-in-law is highly skilled in martial arts and his mind is meticulous enough. Instead, it was you who were on pins and needles, terrified that your youngest son would draw his blade on you. I imagine you couldn't even sleep well back then, right?"

Zhang Jiawen did not respond; it was clear that Minister Shen was deliberately humiliating him, so why should he bring disgrace upon himself?

But one thing Minister Shen said was right: during that period, every time Mo Yingqi looked at him, those handsome eyes were filled with killing intent and hatred.

At that time, he even dreamt more than once of Mo Yingqi drawing his blade and severing his head.

Not to mention that at the time, Mo Yingqi had turned the entire Zhang household upside down more than once, with endless tricks.

In short, if he couldn't kill anyone, he wouldn't let the Zhang family have any peace either.

During the time Mo Yingqi was in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang region, he had effectively turned him, a dignified Provincial Administration Commissioner, into the biggest joke in the entire region.

"So, seeing that Provincial Governor Zhang has been sleeping well lately, I truly feel uneasy. Isn't it a coincidence? The Two Highnesses thought the same thing as I did."

Minister Shen clapped his hands, and an attendant walked up holding an official document and handed it to Zhang Jiawen.

"The Empress entrusted someone to deliver this overnight by fast horse. The Two Highnesses and the Imperial Son-in-law will set off in a few days and personally travel to the Jiangsu and Zhejiang region."

Zhang Jiawen's face instantly turned pale. He licked his lips, wanting to say something, but in the end, he could not utter a word.

"Do you think I haven't moved against you? In fact, normally speaking, you, as the Provincial Administration Commissioner, should be the first to be held accountable!"

Minister Shen's voice suddenly turned cold.

"It's just that when I first came to the Two Jiangs to serve as Governor-General, The Two Highnesses mentioned to me that I must keep you, keep you until the Imperial Son-in-law comes to the Jiangsu and Zhejiang region to deal with you personally."

"Provincial Governor Zhang, I hope you can still get a good night's sleep. Farewell, no need to see me out!"

At this moment, Zhang Jiawen could not care whether Minister Shen was leaving or not; he just sat there, his face ashen.

In the past, even if he knew Mo Yingqi had entered the Pacification Bureau, he had never been afraid.

What did it matter if he did well? What did it matter if he was promoted to Captain in less than a year?

He was far away in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang region, and his father-in-law was guarding the capital; he did not believe that Mo Yingqi could really use the Pacification Bureau to bring him down.

But now it was different; everything was different.

Now, Mo Yingqi was the Imperial Son-in-law of The Two Highnesses, and furthermore, the Marquis Yongding personally enfeoffed by The Emperor.

In the past, Mo Yingqi had no opportunity to kill him or his eldest son, and when he left the Jiangsu and Zhejiang region, he had breathed a sigh of relief.

Mo Yingqi had tried more than once back then; he had even thought about throwing Mo Yingqi into prison so that this rebellious son could never threaten him again.

But, not to mention that he couldn't catch him at all, Mo Yingqi was truly willing to spend money when it came to ruining his Zhang family.

The Mo family also had quite a reputation in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang region, and many people who had received favors from the Mo family voluntarily embellished the story of Mo Qingyu from back then and spread it widely throughout the entire region.

Mo Yingqi would appear in the busy market every day; this was effectively sending a signal to Zhang Jiawen: "If something happens to me, you, the Provincial Administration Commissioner with a mountain of rotten debts and a ruined reputation, will be confirmed as having committed the crime of harming your own son."

More importantly, Zhang Jiawen himself did not want to have a falling out with his youngest son.

His eldest son's health was getting worse by the day, and he only had these two sons; no matter what, Zhang Jiawen had to leave a way out for himself.

Even if this way out was never really a way out, he was not yet such a beast that he would truly fight his own son to the death.

Actually, he was overthinking it; at that time, Mo Yingqi was always being watched by people from Partridge Sky in the shadows, and whenever Mo Yingqi ran into trouble, someone would rescue him immediately.

Returning from the office to his mansion, Zhang Jiawen was too lazy to even change out of his official robes; he just sat in the study, dazed.

Departing from the capital in a few days; if they took the waterway, he feared they would arrive in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang region before long.

"Fa—cough, cough, cough—Father..."

The door was pushed open, and Zhang Jiawen's eldest son, Zhang Yingcheng, slowly walked in.

He looked handsome, but having been bedridden for years, he was gaunt, his complexion sallow, and his eye sockets deeply sunken.

"Yingcheng, why have you come?"

Zhang Jiawen looked at his eldest son, his heart filled with mixed emotions.

"The wind is a bit strong today; let the servants take you back to get some good rest, alright?"

"Father, I have heard everything."

Zhang Yingcheng coughed a few times.

"Is it him? Is he coming back to the Jiangsu and Zhejiang region?"

"Yes, heh, the Imperial Son-in-law of The Two Highnesses, with a noble title personally enfeoffed by the current Emperor."

Zhang Jiawen smiled with a hint of self-mockery.

"Yingcheng, you don't need to worry either. Father will definitely find a way to send you away..."

Zhang Yingcheng did not answer; they had absolutely no news about what was really happening in the capital.

In the past, he had been on good terms with Xu Fengzhang and wanted to write a letter to the capital to inquire about the current situation, but just like his father, not a single letter had been sent out of the Jiangsu and Zhejiang region.

Minister Shen was now like a fierce tiger, just quietly watching them, never having taken any action.

Now that the fierce tiger was still there, a vicious wolf had come as well, and these tigers and wolves would not fight each other; they were both there to take his family's lives.

"The Jiangnan landscape is as beautiful as a painting, but it is a pity that we, father and son, no longer have the fortune to see it."

Zhang Jiawen smiled with a touch of desolation.

"Yingcheng, I have made preparations to send you to the Southern Island. Just stay there and live for as long as you can..."

"Father, do not panic; there is still my Maternal Grandfather..."

"Him? Yingcheng, do you think that since your uncle could just cast him aside, how much face do you and I have that would make him look at us with respect?"

Zhang Jiawen said with a hint of self-mockery.

"Stop thinking about it. Either we live in humiliation, or... wait for the retribution to come for us men!"