The Princess and Her Rough-Rider Khan -
Chapter 348 - 347 Narrowly Escaped Danger (Second Update)
Chapter 348: 347 Narrowly Escaped Danger (Second Update)
Li Shaojun didn’t tell the truth. Princess Li Yumin, who held all the love and adoration, even if her father found out, what could he do? Report to the Emperor?
That foolish and incompetent Emperor would only think it was a fabrication by her father, who might even end up being punished for it.
It was better for him to deal with it privately, and he had already figured out how to handle the princess.
"Do not offend others if they have not offended me; if someone offends me, I will certainly offend them back," this was what his sister had taught him.
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Li Xianyun led a group of people to the west side of Shitoutun.
This place used to be a vast expanse of saline-alkali land, deserted for many years.
But now, not a trace of barrenness was to be seen, because of Li Xianyun, this area had become the busiest spot for miles around.
Drying Rooms and workshops were neatly arranged, with a continual stream of people who came to sell fruit or buy candied fruit, as well as those who traveled from afar to learn how to make candied fruit and how to produce raisins.
Zhuo Ma, following Li Xianyun’s instructions, did not drive these people away but generously shared her experiences with them.
Li Xianyun’s aim was not just to make money but also to help the surrounding people become prosperous.
Her efforts had already started to show results.
Shitoutun used to be the poorest village for miles around.
Now, with more people coming and going, the villagers tried every means to conduct businesses.
Some opened teahouses, while others built restaurants, and yet others engaged in a variety of trades, it could be said to be quite diverse.
Shitoutun was quickly becoming a well-known desirable place in the area.
Li Xianyun, led by Tuotuo, inspected over a dozen Drying Rooms.
The raisins in the first five or six Drying Rooms had already been dried.
Those in the other ones weren’t ready yet because they were dried later.
The finished raisins, depending on the grape variety, differed in color and shape.
There were green ones that resembled small gems, soft yellow ones, and even large purple ones.
Each type of raisin, because of strict oversight in the initial stages and solid craftsmanship, had beautiful colors and a sweet taste.
Li Xianyun took some, planning to bring them back to Yaduo and Yelu Yan to try.
She said to Tuotuo, "Next, you need to hire some women to pick the raisins and use winnowing baskets and sieves to remove the broken branches and leaves. Make sure the raisins are completely clean before packing them into paper bags of two pounds each, and hand them over to Zhuo Ma to store in the workshop."
"Okay," Tuotuo said.
"After these five or six Drying Rooms are emptied out, we can continue to dry more grapes inside them. Tell the old man that the more grapes of good quality we can collect, the better, and there’s no need to worry about not having enough space in the Drying Rooms."
"Yes."
After giving instructions to Tuotuo, Li Xianyun intended to visit the workshop, but as soon as she stepped out of the Drying Room, she noticed something amiss—there was black powder around the Drying Rooms.
Li Xianyun walked over, squatted down, wiped a bit of the black powder with her finger, and sniffed it close to her nose.
With a puzzled look, Tuotuo asked, "Young master, what’s wrong?"
Li Xianyun stood up and said, "It’s nothing; just start preparing as I told you."
"Okay."
After Tuotuo left, Bater and Youlan gathered around.
Youlan asked, "Master, what’s wrong?"
"Someone is planning to blow up the Drying Rooms."
More precisely, someone wanted to blow her up with explosives, but since she had gone to the Northern Region for the past two days and hadn’t come to Shitoutun, those people hadn’t found an opportunity to act.
Upon hearing this, Youlan felt a chill down her spine. Who would dare to commit such an atrocity?
Bater, on the other hand, didn’t have much of a reaction. While Li Xianyun had squatted down to inspect earlier, he had also taken a bit to smell and confirmed it was black powder.
Li Xianyun said, "If my guess is correct, not only is there gunpowder in the Drying Room, but it should also be in the workshop."
Youlan became immediately flustered upon hearing this.
Li Xianyun looked at Bater and said, "The Khan must have sent you here not only to protect me, but also to summon the Hidden Guard. It’s imperative to catch those people."
If the powder were ignited, losing these Drying Rooms and workshops wouldn’t be a concern, but the innocent civilians would suffer terribly.
"Yes," Bater replied.
Li Xianyun added, "Those people are easy to recognize. They all wear soft boots, and both their hands and faces will be very clean. Moreover, they are all martial artists, moving with grace. Detain anyone with these characteristics."
The characteristics of the hands, faces, and way of walking were easy to infer. The people sent to kill her would certainly be highly skilled in martial arts.
Such individuals often held themselves in high esteem; disguising themselves as commoners temporarily, they couldn’t possibly attend to every detail.
The most easily overlooked aspect would be the soft boots on their feet, thinking a long robe would cover them and they wouldn’t be discovered, was simply deluding themselves and others.
Li Xianyun paused, then continued, "Remember to act discreetly to avoid causing a panic."
"Understood."
Having spent a lot of time together, Bater grew increasingly respectful towards Li Xianyun.
She was not only the Khan’s favored concubine, but also a strategist truly intent on bringing benefits to the people.
How could such a person not command respect?
After Bater left, Li Xianyun went to the workshop with Youlan and whispered a few words to Zhuo Ma.
Zhuo Ma stood up in fright and said, "My lady, let’s leave this place quickly."
If the Khan knew that they had put the princess consort in such danger, he certainly would not spare them.
Li Xianyun said, "I have already told Bater to root out this group of people. What we need to do now is pour water over the black powder as soon as possible to prevent those people from becoming desperate and resorting to drastic measures."
Once wet, the black powder would lose its effectiveness, removing any further concerns.
"Yes."
"Call Jin Hua and the trusted female workers as well. The more people we have, the faster it will go."
"Yes."
Zhuo Ma immediately went to find people.
Li Xianyun and Youlan filled buckets with water and headed out.
The group had been secretive in their dealings, only placing small amounts of black powder at the base of walls, not in a continuous line, neatly hidden behind mounds of earth or the backs of houses, making them quick to douse.
Still, under Li Xianyun’s orders, everyone hurriedly dealt with the task while ensuring not to overlook any nook or cranny.
When Bater came to find Li Xianyun, all the visible powder had already been destroyed by Li Xianyun and her group, but it was possible some remained undiscovered.
Li Xianyun instructed Zhuo Ma and Youlan to carefully check with their people, while she and Bater went up to a secluded hollow in the hills, guarded to prevent anyone from coming over and seeing.
Li Xianyun immediately saw the Hidden Guard standing there in a dark mass.
She couldn’t help but be stunned; Yelu Yan had actually dispatched so many people to protect her.
In the clearing among the ranks of Hidden Guards, five or six people knelt on the ground, their limbs bound with thin ropes. The Hidden Guards were well-versed in capturing and interrogating people, always carrying rope with them.
Li Xianyun looked dispassionately at those kneeling on the ground. As she had expected, they were all wearing soft boots, their arrogance and self-important attitude ultimately betraying them.
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