After letting the eunuch wait for a full half-hour, Han Mo, supported by several servants, finally arrived at the front hall of his residence.
"Cough—cough—cough—"
As soon as he entered, Han Mo began to cough violently.
"My lord, my lord, are you alright?"
The eunuch, who had been ready to reprimand Han Mo, swallowed his words upon seeing his condition.
"Han, Lord Han, what's wrong?"
Hearing Han Mo's violent coughing, the young eunuch forgot about delivering the imperial edict and hurried over to help Han Mo catch his breath.
As he approached Han Mo, the eunuch immediately detected a strong medicinal smell emanating from him.
"I, I'm afraid I won't make it this time. Ever since I caught a chill last time, my health has never been good. I, I also wanted to go and receive the imperial carriage, but, but unfortunately this time..."
"Cough—cough—cough—"
Before he could finish speaking, Han Mo erupted into another violent coughing fit.
While coughing, he brought a handkerchief he was holding to his mouth.
"Blood! My lord is coughing blood again!"
As soon as he wiped his mouth, Jiang Yan, who was standing beside him, pushed the young eunuch aside and shouted!
"Doctor! Doctor!"
Before the eunuch could respond, Jiang Yan and Han Mo's servants had already carried Han Mo towards the backyard.
"This, this..."
Seeing Han Mo leave like that, the young eunuch who came to deliver the edict became even more bewildered.
With Han Mo gone, what should he do with the imperial edict?
How would he report back?
It felt like he had seen the main person, but also not quite...
However, if he were to ask them to bring Han Mo back now, not only would he not dare to say it, but just looking at the worried expressions of the people just now, he doubted if he would even survive to return if he said such a thing.
"Esteemed envoy, my lord is truly unwell. Please convey the truth to your superiors after you return!"
As he stood there at a loss, Shao Bowen, with a troubled expression, finally entered. While speaking, he took out two ten-liang gold ingots from his sleeve and placed them directly into the eunuch's hand.
"This, this is not appropriate..."
Looking at the two ingots of shining gold, the eunuch's face broke into a bright smile. While speaking, he tucked the gold into his sleeve.
"This is just a token of my lord's regards. We can't have you travel all this way for nothing, can we? Please relay to the Grand Emperor that although my lord is gravely ill and cannot rise, he has already sent word to the Governor of Yangzhou, Han Zhe, to prepare for the imperial reception on my lord's behalf!"
"Please have the Grand Emperor move to Yangzhou. Once my lord's health improves, he will personally go to Yangzhou to receive you."
"Sir, rest assured, I will convey your message!"
After receiving twenty liang of gold, the eunuch became immediately deferential.
"Then, shall I have someone prepare a carriage for you to return?"
"Thank you, sir. And the imperial edict..."
The eunuch spoke while glancing somewhat awkwardly at the imperial edict laid out on the incense table before him.
"Perhaps it can be left here for now? And once our lord has recovered somewhat, he can come and retrieve it himself?"
"So be it! I shall take my leave now. Please stay well, sir!"
"Farewell, Eunuch!"
Only after the eunuch had left Han Mo's mansion, and Han Mo had changed his clothes, did he return to the main hall, holding a hot towel, refreshed and spirited.
"Is he gone?"
Casually sitting on a nearby chair with ungraceful posture, he then tossed the hot towel onto the table beside him. Han Mo picked up the imperial edict before him.
"He's gone, but how many more do you think will follow?"
Looking at his roguish demeanor, Shao Bowen asked with a smile.
"How many more? Whatever. I don't want to bring a bunch of ancestors upon myself!"
Han Mo stretched as he spoke.
"Aren't you afraid those below will be unruly?"
As Shao Bowen spoke, he also sat on the chair to Han Mo's left, looking with interest at the imperial edict Han Mo had tossed over.
Looking at the apricot-yellow scroll, Shao Bowen felt a surge of emotion.
Although he now lived a carefree life, in his youth, he too had been ambitious and sought fame and fortune.
However, despite coming from a prominent family, he repeatedly failed the imperial examinations, and eventually, he simply gave up.
At that time, how he wished for such a scroll to appear before him, to pull him out of his sea of suffering.
Now, seeing the very thing he had once desperately desired so casually tossed before him by Han Mo, he felt an urge to laugh.
Indeed, some things in this world are only precious when they are out of reach.
The more you crave something, the less likely you are to obtain it.
Conversely, when you treat it like dirt, it starts coming to your doorstep.
"Are you referring to those two pacification commissioners? Don't worry, if they dare to have any disloyal thoughts, I believe someone will deal with them for me! The Qian family has invested so much money, do you think they would watch their investment go to waste?"
"That does seem to be the case. It seems I was overthinking. However, when do you plan to enter the capital? It's truly on the brink of war in Bianliang."
"No rush. At this time, Bianliang is a mess, and I don't want to go in and make trouble for myself. As long as we have money and provisions, no matter who ascends to the throne, they will have to treat us with utmost respect!"
As Han Mo said this, he couldn't help but pick up his teacup to rinse his mouth again.
"Next time, can they not use deer blood? It's making my nose blister!"
After spitting out the tea, Han Mo grumbled again.
"Hahahaha, I can't help you with that!"
Seeing Han Mo's pained expression, Shao Bowen couldn't help but laugh.
"Right, I heard they've already achieved some preliminary results over there. Shall we go take a look tomorrow?"
Mid-sentence, Han Mo suddenly pointed in the direction of the southern city.
"The kind you can get on a ship?"
Upon hearing Han Mo's words, Shao Bowen's eyes lit up.
"Mr. Shao, I feel like ever since you went to Nanyang, you can't go three sentences without mentioning a ship."
Looking at his shining eyes, Han Mo couldn't help but tease him.
"Do I?"