Jiangling is located in the north of Jingnan. It controls Bashu in the west, Xianghan in the north, with its Jianghu in the north, and its fingers on Wu and Yue. It is the key to the Central Plains connecting Lingnan. It is an important town in the southeast, and its capital is the world-famous Jingzhou City.

At noon, on the official road east of Jingzhou City, there were chariots rushing on the official road, and five or six horses were following around the carriage.

At this time, you can already look at the distant Jingzhou City. Under the sky, Jingzhou City is crawling on the vast earth like a giant beast.

After several days and nights, Yang Ning and his group finally arrived in Jiangling.

Gu Qinghan was determined to come to Jiangling to check the tax bank personally, so Yang Ning was naturally worried. His intuition told him that there must be a very major change in Jiangling, and Gu Qinghan's trip might not be smooth sailing. Therefore, he proposed to follow Gu Qinghan with him. Gu Qinghan did not object, and felt that Yang Ning would soon inherit the position of marquis, so he took this opportunity to take a look at Jiangling's former residence.

Duan Canghai was going to follow the escort in this trip, but there was still a big deal in the capital. Gu Qinghan was worried that General Manager Qiu would be unable to deal with it alone, so he taught Duan Canghai to stay in the capital to assist General Manager Qiu, and only asked Qi Feng to take a few guards along the way.

A fire in the capital caused the Jinyi Marquis’ Mansion to bear a lot of debts. The largest investment in the Marquis’ Mansion is the tax bank in Jiangling. Once there is a problem here, the Marquis’ Mansion will definitely fall into a desperate situation. Gu Qinghan wanted to figure out why the Jiangling tax bank was not delayed soon, so except for occasionally stopping and taking a break along the way, it can be considered as non-stop.

On the way, Gu Qinghan was still hoping to meet the team that could escort tax silver, but she was disappointed all the way, but she was calm and rushed outside Jingzhou City very smoothly.

"Criminal, Jingzhou City is ahead." Qi Feng knew that this prince had never returned to his hometown in Jiangling since he was born.

The Jinyi Hou's family was from Jiangling. Since hundreds of years ago, they have been a prominent family in Jiangling. They have a very high prestige here. After the old Marquis of Jinyi settled in the capital, their direct family members moved to Kyoto. However, Jinyi Hou's fief is here, so they still have a deep foundation here.

When the old marquis was alive, if he had time, he would often return to Jiangling to live in small places. When the generation of Qi Jing came back, there would be a lot less, but he would occasionally come back to worship his ancestors.

However, after the birth of Prince Jinyi, he never returned to his hometown.

Qi Feng's ancestral home is also in Jiangling. He also returned home with Qi Jing back then. He is naturally much more familiar with this place than Yang Ning. Looking at Jingzhou City from afar, Qi Feng feels a little intimate.

"Is our former residence in the city?" Yang Ning asked.

Qi Feng shook his head and smiled, "The Marquis's old house is not far from Jingzhou City, only thirty or forty miles south. There is Qijiazhuang, and the old house is on Qijiazhuang. The late emperor originally ordered a mansion for the Marquis in Jingzhou City, but the Marquis was nostalgic and did not allow it to be built. When he came back, he still lived in the old house in Qijiazhuang." With a glimmer of light on his face, he smiled and said, "The general also lived in the old house when he came back. Whenever at that time, officials from all over Jiangling, including the prefect of Jingzhou City, also went to the old house."

"So that's it." Yang Ning smiled and said, "Our fiefs and land are all in Qijiazhuang?"

"The three thousand households granted by the late emperor back then were mostly divided around Qijiazhuang." Qi Feng explained: "However, the land was not together. The late emperor asked the prefect of Jiangling to choose the best paddy fields in the country as the land granted, so the distribution was different. The prince didn't know that the Qi family was a family in Jiangling back then. It was not an exaggeration to say that it was rich in the country...!"

"Qi Feng, you can just talk nonsense." Gu Qinghan had already opened the curtains of the car and cursed with a smile: "What a wealthy person, it's okay to talk privately. When you arrive in front of others, you are not allowed to talk nonsense. The general also instructed you that this is the hometown and all the fellow villagers. The more you get here, the more you should be careful and never talk nonsense in front of the fellow villagers."

Qi Feng hurriedly said, "Three Lady, I dare not."

"Sanniang, you'd better let him finish." Yang Ning rode a horse by the carriage window and smiled at Gu Qinghan: "You'll let him hold it in now, and you'll really suffocate him to death." Xiang Qifeng said: "Continue talking, what happened later?"

Qi Feng raised his hand and scratched the back of his head, saying a little embarrassedly: "I want to say that the old marquis followed the late emperor to quell the rebellion and gave all the wealth of the Qi family to the late emperor to quell the rebellion. After the late emperor quelled the bandits, he rewarded the old marquis twice as much."

Yang Ning thought to himself that this old marquis was really a long-term person. The late emperor valued Qi's family, although it was because the Jinyi Marquis was good at fighting and was a pillar of the country. In addition, it might have something to do with the old marquis who gave his money to the monk back then.

"Sanniang, should we go to the city first or rush to the old house?" Yang Ning asked in the car.

Gu Qinghan said: "It's still early. If we enter the city and delay another day, we will go straight to the old house. We will travel lightly this time, so there is no need to disturb us when we go to the city."

Yang Ning hesitated for a moment and finally said, "Sanniang, I have a few words to say to you."

Gu Qinghan lifted the curtains, looked at Yang Ning with beautiful eyes, and asked, "Since yesterday, I have seen what you are thinking about, what are you thinking about in your little head?" Speaking of this, thinking that Yang Ning has grown up, it is better not to say this little head in the future.

Yang Ning turned over and dismounted the horse, threw the reins to Qi Feng, jogged in a small step, jumped to the head of the carriage, lifted the curtain and got in. Gu Qinghan looked slightly surprised. Seeing Yang Ning entering the carriage, he couldn't help but shrink to the side. This carriage was much narrower than the large carriage commonly used in the Marquis' Mansion, and it was also to make it lighter to rush.

In addition, Gu Qinghan also had his other ideas.

She was an extremely smart woman. After last time she discovered Yang Ning's strange eyes, she realized that Yang Ning had grown up, and Yang Ning's words and behaviors were no longer as ignorant as before. This made Gu Qinghan even more awakened that Yang Ning was no longer the little boy she had cared for before.

Women are most sensitive to emotional matters. She has always taken care of the prince before and has a deep relationship. In fact, she also understands that it is not impossible to understand that the little boy who has been taking care of herself because of adulthood and has a different feeling for herself, but she naturally cannot allow such things to continue to develop.

Although she still cares about the prince as before, she has paid much attention to her words and deeds. Since then, she will never approach Yang Ning easily, and will not take the initiative to hold Yang Ning's hand. She tries to draw a ditch in it to avoid unnecessary trouble. Fortunately, Yang Ning has paid great attention since then and is still at peace.

This time, when we came to Jiangling from the capital, the journey was quite long. If it were the past, Gu Qinghan would have let Yang Ning ride on the carriage with him to avoid the thrilling and exhaustion of riding a horse.

But this time I chose a small car, which can speed up the journey, and secondly, I can ride alone, just let Yang Ning ride on a horse.

At this time, Yang Ning suddenly got into the car. Gu Qinghan felt panic at first, and then he thought to himself that he was really too sensitive. Although he had to pay attention to his sensibility with Yang Ning, he was always careful, which was a bit too much. Yang Ning might not have any other intentions, but he couldn't let go of it all the time, which was hindered from the normal feelings of the two.

"Ning'er, what do you want to say?" Gu Qinghan calmed down and signaled Yang Ning to sit down beside him, with a gentle voice and a smile on his face, trying to show his identity as an elder.

Yang Ning opened the curtains and said to Qi Feng: "Don't rush to the old house first. I haven't used dry food yet at noon. Go to the front to find a place, and you can eat something first."

Qi Feng agreed, and Yang Ning had already put down the curtains.

Seeing that Yang Ning was mysterious and strange, Gu Qinghan was a little surprised, but Yang Ning had already approached and whispered: "Sanniang, let's go directly to the old house?"

Although Yang Ning got closer, Gu Qinghan didn't think much about him when he saw him being serious and said softly: "Why didn't the tax check be sent to the capital? Naturally, he had to go to the old house. Ning'er, what did you think of?"

"Sanniang, we have not encountered a convoy carrying tax silver along the way, and we have never heard of someone robbing the silver cart." Yang Ning thoughtfully and whispered: "I have been thinking that the tax silver was not sent to the capital. Is there something wrong with the old house?" Without waiting for Gu Qinghan to speak, he asked: "Does our tax silver have nothing to do with the local government? Is the old house responsible?"

Gu Qinghan nodded and said, "There is a chief manager in the old house, who is also a clan member of the Qi family. Over the years, the fief and land in Jiangling have been handled and investigated by the chief manager. The harvest from the tax silver and fields is delivered to the capital twice a year."

"Don't the chief executive collect taxes and silver personally?" Yang Ning asked.

Gu Qinghan explained: "Three thousand fiefs are divided into dozens of villages. Each village has a land. Every year, the land of each village will send the taxes paid in the village to the old house. Jiangling is suitable for growing grain, and there are harvests in spring and autumn every year. After the harvest paid is delivered by the landlord to the old house, the chief executive will exchange it for cash and then send it to the capital."

"In other words, the tax bank is controlled by the chief executive in Jiangling." Yang Ning looked serious, "Whether there is any problem, the chief executive will be responsible?"

"That's right." Gu Qinghan said: "Ning'er, what do you want to say?"

"Sanniang, I have been thinking that it is not the villagers who have not paid the tax." Yang Ning said slowly: "If the taxes are paid to the old house, why has the old house been sent to the capital for a long time? Is the chief executive doing something?"

"Master General?" Gu Qinghan frowned and said, "How could he be so brave? We are back this time to figure out what difficulties the Master General General was facing."

"Have you ever met the chief executive?" Yang Ning stared at Gu Qinghan's charming eyes like water, "Do you know the chief executive very well?"

"The Grand Chief has been to the capital several times, but I don't talk much to him." Gu Qinghan said: "The general is away all year round, and the Grand Princess is dedicated to worshiping Buddha, so many things in the mansion are handled by General Qiu and I. The Grand Chief Executive goes to the capital, and he has always been entertained by General Qiu." After thinking about it, he shook his head and said: "The Grand Chief Executive has not delayed anything in the past few years, and he absolutely has no courage to suppress the tax and silver and not give it to him."
Chapter completed!