CHAPTER 328: CHAPTER 324: I AM THE MARQUIS MANSION DOWAGER 13

After Tang Bai left, Mrs. Yang asked Tang Baoguo, "What does mother mean by that?"

Tang Baoguo sighed, "Big brother died in such unclear and suspicious circumstances, and do you remember how mother looked when she was gravely ill? And now with the affair of Tang Pei... Thinking about it now still makes me shudder. I don’t know what kind of force is trying to harm our family, as if it won’t rest until it sees all of us dead."

Mrs. Yang was frightened by these words.

She clutched Tang Baoguo’s hand, "My lord, let us listen to mother’s words."

Tang Baoguo also had the same thought, "The court is looking to send officials to the Southern Province, but because it’s so far from the Capital and is a barbaric land, no one really wants to go. How about I petition His Majesty and we hide over there? I always feel the farther from the Capital we are, the safer."

Mrs. Yang nodded hurriedly, "My lord, please send the petition quickly."

That night, Tang Baoguo was writing the petition in his study, while Mrs. Yang alone in the prayer hall was chanting sutras.

Firstly, she was praying to the Bodhisattva to bless Anning, and secondly, she also sought peace of mind.

The next day, Tang Baoguo submitted the petition.

He wanted to ease the Emperor’s worries, taking his family to serve in the Southern Province.

Emperor Jianyuan was indeed worrying about the Southern Province.

Actually, the coastal region of the Southern Province was also prosperous, but the lack of officials was in the poorer areas; the place was uncivilized with multiple ethnic groups living there, and serving as an official was very dangerous. For more than ten years, several officials had died in their posts there, and the thought of going made the court officials cry out in horror, none of them willing to go.

Who knew Marquis Zhongyi would be willing to go.

Emperor Jianyuan couldn’t help but think of Marquis Zhongyong who died saving him, and thus sighed, "The Tang Family truly are loyal ministers, what a pity."

Though Emperor Jianyuan was skilled in the Machiavellian arts of an Emperor, he felt deeply guilty towards the Tang Family.

He thought of it as a debt the Royal family owed them, and if Marquis Zhongyi could truly manage the region well, he would definitely be heavily rewarded.

Thus, Emperor Jianyuan issued a decree for Tang Baoguo to take up his post immediately.

After receiving the decree, Tang Baoguo paid his respects at Duke Zhongyong’s Mansion to say goodbye.

Mrs. Song was quite pleased to hear that Tang Baoguo was going to the Southern Province.

Still, she held Mrs. Yang’s hands with an appearance of reluctance to part, "Second brother, why this sort of rash decision? Life is so good in the Capital, why must you suffer in such a place. Second brother’s wife, why not you and the children stay in the Capital and keep me company; it’ll spare you the suffering."

With a faint smile, Mrs. Yang said, "Elder sister-in-law, what are you saying? Our lord wishes to share the Emperor’s burdens. If the lord endures hardships, how can I enjoy comforts here in the Capital? I must go with the lord."

In her heart, she thought, dare I stay in the Capital? If I stayed, who knows when I would lose my life; at least in the Southern Province, I might live a bit longer.

After farewells at Duke Zhongyong’s Mansion, Tang Baoguo hastily packed and set off.

His haste was as if someone was chasing after his life.

And it just so was.

No sooner had they left the Capital than the Crown Prince committed suicide, leaving the Crown Princess Consort imprisoned with the Crown Prince’s eldest son.

Many court officials were implicated in this affair and suffered as a result.

Furthermore, the Crown Prince’s concubine bore a daughter that was secretly sent to the Fu Family, with friendly relations to the Tangs.

This was fortunate for Tang Baoguo, who had left - otherwise, the Crown Prince’s illegitimate daughter might’ve been sent to his family instead.

A few days out from the Capital, Tang Baoguo learned of this and wiped his cold sweat, thinking how close a call it was.

Mrs. Yang was also unsettled.

The family then hurried even more on their journey, truly an urgent escape.

Once out of Zhili Province, Tang Baoguo’s traveling entourage was stopped.

Then Tang Baoguo saw his mother, whom he hadn’t seen in years, smiling and holding Tang Pei’s hand, looking at him.

For a moment, Tang Baoguo was overwhelmed with mixed emotions.

He quickly had the entourage stop to rest, and asked Mrs. Yang to bring Anning over.

In a secluded room, Tang Baoguo and Mrs. Yang quickly knelt down, "Mother, we’ve come to see you, are you well?"

Anning bent down to help them up, "I’m very well."

"Mother,"

Tang Baoguo, looking at Anning, cried like a child, "Your son thought you didn’t want him anymore, your son..."

Mrs. Yang also burst into tears.

She turned her head and quietly wiped away her tears.

Anning patted Tang Baoguo on the shoulder: "Alright, you’re going to be a grandfather now, no more crying. The second brother’s wife should do the same. Today is a joyous occasion for us women, so let’s not shed golden beans."

Mrs. Yang laughed in an instant: "Yes, it is a joyful occasion."

Anning had the two sit down.

She pulled out a map from her sleeve and passed it to Tang Baoguo.

Tang Baoguo took it with a puzzled look, but upon inspecting it, he was shocked.

It turned out that Anning had given him a map of the area where he would be stationed.

The map was incredibly detailed, marking out where there were mountains and rivers, areas with mineral deposits, places suitable for planting various crops, and even outlined the roads in great depth.

Beyond the map, there was also a booklet.

The booklet contained various details about the local gentry, which families were related by marriage, which were enemies, which families had dirty secrets, and which had engaged in illegal business.

In short, the booklet was detailed, including the preferences of the heads of those families.

"This..."

Tang Baoguo looked up at Anning, his face full of disbelief.

Anning smiled: "Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will never be in peril."

"But how... did Mother acquire this?"

At this moment, Tang Baoguo felt like he was dreaming, thinking how fortunate children are to have a mother, how they are cherished like treasure.

Anning spoke softly, "Don’t worry about how I got it. In the end, it’s useful to you. Once you’re there, you can act more freely. Also, I have some people there. I’ll give you a token, so you can seek their help when you arrive."

Tang Baoguo was dumbstruck as he accepted the token handed to him by Anning.

Anning also gave Mrs. Yang some medicine pills, all intended for preserving life.

After giving everything out, Anning then stood up, taking Tang Pei with her: "Alright, you should hurry and leave."

Tang Baoguo had just seen his birth mother, and before he could say much, he was reluctant to go.

"Mother."

He called out tearfully.

Anning, annoyed, slapped her hand: "Enough, stop dawdling. Hurry up and leave. Just seeing you makes me anxious."

At that instant, Tang Baoguo’s face was covered in tears.

He and Mrs. Yang knelt down and kowtowed deeply before leaving without looking back.

After leaving the house, Mrs. Yang looked at Tang Baoguo, concerned: "My lord?"

Tang Baoguo wiped his tears: "Mother is doing this for our good, afraid that seeing us might bring trouble upon us..."

Mrs. Yang understood in her heart, too, her eyes flickering with tears.

When Tang Baoguo and Mrs. Yang left, they were very sad; Anning, on the other hand, appeared quite carefree.

Instead of returning home, she took Tang Pei and went directly outside the border.

When the exiled clansmen of the Li family arrived outside the border and had not yet settled down, they saw Anning.

Li Zhicheng, Mrs. Li’s father who had once served as the Imperial Tutor, was startled when he saw Anning: "Old, Old Madam?"

Anning nodded.

She took Li Zhicheng aside: "Yunniang is doing well, I’ve come to see you with Pei’er."

Seeing Tang Pei nestled beside Anning and calling him grandfather, Li Zhicheng’s tears flowed freely: "The Old Madam shouldn’t have come..."

Anning smiled: "The garrison commander here is my adoptive son, I will instruct him to take good care of you."

Anning also took out a box and handed it to Li Zhicheng: "This should cover your food and clothing expenses for these years in the northwest. After some years, as long as you can endure, there will be a time to return to the capital."

If it were someone else who said these words, Li Zhicheng would never believe them.

But coming from Anning, he trusted her.

After all, he had seen Anning’s courage to lead the armies.

He also knew that the former Marquis Zhongyi, known for her wisdom and bravery, was not an ordinary woman.

Li Zhicheng had even thought that Marquis Zhongyong’s fear of taking a concubine during his life was probably not just out of respect and love, but because he couldn’t outwit or outfight the Marquis Zhongyi, so he spent his life subdued, never daring to stray.