In the past, people were always waiting in the hall, but in recent days, he despised the company in the hall because he couldn't stand the noise.
Zhao Yi casually flipped through the folders in his hand, almost all of which were about the drought that hit Jiangnan's three provinces and pleading for tax cuts.
The disaster wasn't new to the country. In fact, Jiangnan usually suffered a few droughts during summer, but they were all successfully handled by cutting taxes by 10 percent to 20 percent.
However, petitions for tax cuts were already carried out when it was only mid-May this year.
He knew it had something to do with the rebels in Jiangnan.
With the pleasant discovery in mind, the corner of his mouth turned up into a smile. He was looking forward to an exciting yet aggressive battle.
It seemed that after the Lantern Festival, it was time for him to make a trip down to Jiangnan.
It was at the assistant minister's residence.
Li Jiaying was with child, so she constantly felt sleepy. After she ate lunch and talked for a while, she felt somewhat tired.
Li Baojia held her and said, "You look tired. Why don't you take a nap on the bed?"
Li Jiaying was a little embarrassed, but pregnant women tended to get tired. She was afraid of hurting the baby but also worried that Li Baojia would feel bored. So, she said, "Okay. I guess I'll take a nap. I'll get up."
Li Baojia helped her to the bed and covered her with a blanket. The two of them talked about interesting stories of their childhood and soon, Li Jiaying fell asleep.
Li Baojia found a small round stool and sat next to her as she talked. Seeing her voice getting softer and softer, she knew that she must be tired from accompanying her today.
She straightened the blanket for her and went out.
Because they were talking in private, the room had the two only. Li Jiaying's maid, Chunxin, was waiting outside the door.
Li Jiaying brought her from her hometown. She had been with her since she was a child, so she was more trustworthy than other maids.
Li Baojia made a shushing gesture to her. "Hush, Jiaying is tired. Let her take a nap on the bed. Get two men to guard the door. Then, let's take a walk in the garden. I'd like to see the place properly."
Chunxin nodded. She called for two maids and led Li Baojia to the garden.
Because it rained last night, flowers in a small garden were fresh and green leaves had dew drops on them. The sight was quite lovely.
Li Baojia said while walking, "The flowers in this garden are good, but unfortunately, a group of flowers doesn't match too well. It is a waste of all these good flowers being put together."
Chunxin nodded behind her. She gritted her teeth and said, "These days, Miss Jiaying is not in charge of the house. She can't even take care of herself properly, let alone these flowers."
Li Baojia turned around and said, "Where does this come from? I know Old Mrs. Zhang has passed away. There are few people left here. Mr. Zhang has only one son, so Jiaying must be the one taking charge. I just can't think of other reasons why she is not."
She apparently realized something. That's why she said Mr. Zhang instead of his nickname.
Chunxin looked hesitated. She looked around and lowered her voice as she said, "Miss Baojia, Miss Jiaying doesn't allow us to talk about our family business with our family. Now that Miss Jiaying is with child, I'm worried she's going to be harmed..."
Li Baojia froze and realized that it was something serious. She asked, "Why? Why did you say that? What happened?"
Chunxin said, "When the Zhang family was in decline, our master and Old Mr. Zhang met each other in a trade caravan where they got to know each other better and became friends. They both had the intention of arranging a marriage between their kids. After Old Mr. Zhang passed away, his son came to make a proposal."
Li Baojia also heard about it, but she did not think much. She merely thought that her sister had found a worthy man.
"The Zhang family is declining gradually. After the passing of Old Mr. Zhang, the situation became worse. Back then, the madam would never give her consent to the association, but the master said he'd let Miss Jiaying decide for herself.
"Then, the marriage was settled, but Miss Jiaying didn't get to lead the life she wanted. Her husband became a provincial graduate and later assumed the position of the assistant minister with the help of the master. They finally settled down in the Imperial City, and Miss Jiaying thought her life would change for the better until the arrival of Ping Qingqing. According to her, she'd had an affair with Mr. Zhang for a long time. She said that he only married Miss Jiaying because his father forced him to."
Chunxin gritted her teeth as she continued, "I hope that's all, but Miss Jiaying has suffered much more than this. I presume she could deal with that woman being brought to this family as a concubine. But she came with a child, saying that it belonged to Mr. Zhang. I think the kid is seven or eight years old."
Li Baojia frowned. "Seven or eight years old?"
At that moment, she realized that their affair had begun even before his marriage to her sister.
It didn't occur to her that she had been kept from the incident from the very beginning.
"That woman was also married before. She became a widow a few years ago. Now that she suddenly appeared with a kid, what a scandal that would be! It's enough that he took her in, but he had to include her kid in his clan. How shameless and outrageous is that!"
Li Baojia asked, "I see. But why is Jiaying robbed of the right to take charge here and why did you say she's going to be harmed? Do you mean that woman?"
"Ever since that woman came, she flirted with Mr. Zhang almost every day. She is also getting more aggressive. Later, she saw her opportunity and forced Miss Jiaying to hand over her power as the person in charge. The worst part is that Mr. Zhang actually gave his consent to this. Now, he's taking things even further by including her child.
"Mr. Zhang let the kid join the pedigree of the clan by claiming that Miss Jiaying hasn't been able to give an heir over the past years. Miss Jiaying couldn't stand such humiliation and passed out. Only recently did she find out that she's been pregnant for over a month.
"Now that the woman has no reason to make her son part of the family, she might do something bad to Miss Jiaying. She looks unaffected, but you never know what she is thinking deep down. If Miss Jiaying gives birth to her child, the woman's kid will never get to join this family."
Li Baojia carefully recalled her previous life but found little information about her sister. She only knew that her sister's health was in a bad condition after her uncle's misfortune. She'd always stayed at home since then.
After all, the palace was more of a prison. One couldn't leave at will once he entered the palace. She didn't have many people she could trust. Most of them were the prince's men.
She then realized why her sister would go back to Su Province to nurse her baby in her previous life.
She was immediately overwhelmed with regret. She was very close to her sister and was also in the same city as her, but she didn't interact with her often in her previous life. So, she knew nothing about the incident.
She didn't even know that her sister had gone through such a thing.
As it got dark, Li Baojia thought that her sister had probably woken up, so she decided to leave. "I understand now. Don't worry. We'll make a way. I can take care of this."