Quick Transmigration: Survive to the End

Chapter 471 World 831

At the time of the official investiture, the only main character was Yin Yin.

It wasn't that the Ming Dynasty was truly so foolish as to completely overlook Chu Yun; rather, it was Chu Yun himself who refused, preferring to remain a simple merchant.

With Yinyin's help, Mingguo readily agreed and awarded the Chu family a plaque of commendation.

With this, anyone with a bit of inside information would know that the Chu family was no longer the Li Kingdom merchants they used to be, whom they could manipulate at will.

The Ming Dynasty bestowed upon Yin Yin the title of Princess Changwu, and as for her fiefdom, it allocated to her the area where the Wu family members were buried.

After reading the imperial decree, General Li of the Ming Dynasty did not feel guilty. Instead, he said, "In principle, we should be granted a fief."

"The Empress Dowager thinks that Princess, you don't lack a few more fiefdoms, so why not change it to this piece of land?"

"Although no one lives here, the place is quite large. What's most remarkable is that the Wu family is buried here, which is of extraordinary significance."

If it weren't for Yin Yin's family's extensive network of information in the Ming Dynasty, and General Li's sincere demeanor, someone else might have actually believed it.

Even the daughters of ordinary princes might not be guaranteed the title of princess, but she, a foreigner who could barely be considered a relative of the emperor, received it due to political reasons.

The Ming people felt she had gotten a huge advantage and originally didn't want to give her any more fiefdoms.

It's just that all the other princesses had them, but she didn't, which made her seem somewhat out of place in comparison.

But if you were to actually give her a luxurious place, the princes in the royal family would object immediately.

Besides, although the princess cannot interfere in the affairs of the fiefdom, she can only receive money, while Yin Yin is still an outsider. If she uses the people of the fiefdom to make trouble in the Ming Kingdom, that would be a real problem.

Finally, the officials in the court discussed it and decided to give Yin Yin a desolate mountainous area on the border.

There are no houses here, and no one cultivates the land, so it's impossible for them to be wealthy. But this area contains the Wu family's burial grounds, and they believe Yinyin can't refuse their offer.

It must be said that these officials have a good grasp of people's hearts, and Yinyin is indeed very satisfied with this place.

After Yin Yin's investiture ceremony, there was still no activity in the Ming Dynasty court, but people in the countryside were already making a fuss.

In the past few years, the fighting had been so fierce that the public was skeptical about the possibility of easing tensions between the two countries.

Now that Yin Yin is both the Princess Consort of Yangliao and a Princess of Ming, coupled with the trust that the Chu family has built up over the years on the border, the exchanges between the people of the two countries have suddenly increased several times over.

While General Li was still analyzing whether the situation was good or bad and whether intervention was necessary, the Chu family had already reacted swiftly, seizing the market and reaping the greatest profits.

For several years afterward, the border between the two countries remained peaceful, and Yangliao, under Yinyin's leadership, became increasingly prosperous.

The eunuch who had once delivered an imperial edict to the royal palace on behalf of the Emperor of Li was so impressed by the brand-new city wall that he didn't even dare to recognize it for a moment.

Is this really the same ordinary border town he saw when he first came here?

Just as the eunuch was standing at the door, he ran into Yin Yin and her husband returning from the Chu family.

Before the gatekeeper could even check his identity, he stepped forward and bowed.

"Eunuch Wang?" Fu Yuanzhou rummaged through the corners of his memory and recognized him. "Why did you suddenly come to Yangliao? Did Father have any orders?"

Eunuch Wang quickly presented the letter to him: "His Majesty said that Your Highness will understand once you read it."

Yinyin got out of the carriage and felt something was strange.

The eunuch has already arrived; even if he were to offer a few words of gentle reminder, it shouldn't matter.

The reason why Eunuch Wang is keeping his mouth shut in front of Fu Yuanzhou is either because there are so many people coming and going, and he can't say anything, or he simply can't say anything.

The former is easier to understand, but the latter would probably cause a lot of trouble.

Fu Yuanzhou also felt something was amiss, so he didn't go to the main room, but instead led Yin Yin directly into the study.

Upon arriving at the study, Fu Yuanzhou opened the letter, read it quickly, and his expression suddenly became complicated.

Yinyin sat down next to him, took the letter, read it, and understood why Fu Yuanzhou had that expression.

In this letter, the Emperor of Li Kingdom rarely expressed such concern as a father, and he also mentioned that he was seriously ill and feared that he would not live long, so he entrusted Fu Yuanzhou to guard the border.

Yinyin placed her hand on his, and he quickly grasped it tightly.

"I understand," Fu Yuanzhou said, then asked Eunuch Wang, "Is the Emperor's condition very bad?"

After seeing that he had finished reading the letter, Eunuch Wang said with a heavy expression, "His Majesty suffered a hidden injury in battle before, and last year he also fell seriously ill. Since then, he has never recovered his strength and spirit."

"The imperial physician originally said that he just needed to rest and recuperate, but who knew that when the seasons changed, His Majesty and Consort Ming returned from admiring the flowers and caught a cold."

"This illness once made him unable to even get out of bed. When the Emperor was feeling a little better, he specially wrote this letter and ordered me to deliver it to the Prince."

Yinyin noticed the hesitation in Fu Yuanzhou's eyes and said, "His Majesty said that if anything were to happen to him, we should guard the border. Now, according to Eunuch Wang, His Majesty should be feeling much better."

"If you are still worried, why not ask if you can return to the capital and personally pay your respects to the Emperor?"

Yinyin made a suggestion, and he became a little awkward again.

After much consideration, he said, "Let's write a letter first."

In the past two years, Fu Yuanzhou has been writing frequent greetings to the emperor and letters home, and Yin Yin no longer needs to draft them for him.

But today, he held the pen, and for a long time he couldn't write the first word.

Upon seeing this, Yin Yin looked up at Eunuch Wang and said, "His Highness is so worried right now that he can barely hold a pen. Why don't you go and rest first, and His Highness can have the letter delivered by a secret messenger tomorrow morning?"

Eunuch Wang naturally agreed and soon left the study under the guidance of his servant.

Fu Yuanzhou put down his pen in frustration: "They say that evil lives on for a thousand years, but I think the Emperor himself is the biggest evil. He's more energetic than I am. He goes out riding and hunting every year, and I heard he even hunted a tiger a few years ago."

"How could someone like that suddenly become so sick that they're about to die? Is that even possible?"

"Yinyin, do you think this whole thing might just be a scam from beginning to end? He just wanted to use this to test whether we're obedient, and then..."

“Yuanzhou,” Yinyin held his hand tightly, trying to soothe his anxiety, “No matter what, it’s better to believe it than not. It’s definitely not wrong for you to show concern.”

Fu Yuanzhou frowned as he began to write, his words coming out in fits and starts.

After finally finishing writing it and putting it away, he sent someone to deliver it to Eunuch Wang, but he still couldn't stop thinking about it.

After Eunuch Wang left, Fu Yuanzhou felt his eyelids twitching constantly, and he felt uneasy, as if a heavy stone was pressing on his heart.

Yinyin knew his heartache, so she turned to ask if anyone or any letter from the Chu family had recently returned from the capital.

If the emperor were truly that ill, surely there would be some news about it among the common people.

Every ordinary person in the capital knows that merchants doing business in the capital cannot be deaf or blind.

A few days later, the Chu family sent Yin Yin a message.

The emperor is indeed not doing well; the crown prince is now overseeing the state in the capital.

The Crown Prince is purging his political opponents, and many capable individuals who are not affiliated with him have suffered misfortune.

Yinyin had a premonition.

It seems unlikely that Fu Yuanzhou will be allowed to return to the capital, nor will he be able to see the emperor one last time.