Bao Hong felt more like he was being sent from Leping County as a tribute to Luoyang, rather than returning to the capital to report.

But then again, even though he had become a Lieutenant in Luoyang, there were still many Lieutenant and Captains with better backgrounds than him.

Compared to others, he didn’t really have any advantages, and under normal circumstances, he wouldn’t have the chance to meet figures like the Grand Commandant.

Moreover, he had only gone to Leping to supervise the completion of the temple construction after delivering Qiao Xuan’s coffin.

At most, he was just tasked with delivering letters.

With such a plausible reason, he shouldn’t be blamed by Liu Hong just because he gave Qiao Yan something inappropriate… right?

Starting from Leping and arriving in Luoyang, due to his fast pace and familiarity with the road, he reached the capital in November.

Shortly after entering the pass, snow began to fall from the sky.

By the time he passed through the northern mountains, the once verdant hills were now shrouded in white mist.

And upon entering Luoyang City, it was even more of a snowy scene, with snow spreading over the roofs of houses.

This was the situation during the Little Ice Age at the end of the Han Dynasty.

Even in the Jiangnan region, where snow was rarely seen in meteorological records, it could snow for a month in winter, let alone in the north.

The severe cold of last year was still vivid in Bao Hong’s memory.

At that time, there was three feet of snow in the capital, and many houses within the city walls collapsed.

If it weren’t for the consideration of the Emperor’s image, it would probably not have been repaired so quickly.

This year showed no signs of being any less severe.

Bao Hong came from the direction with the fewest collapsed houses in the northern city, and he already saw a desolate scene, which made him shiver involuntarily.

He wondered how many people would freeze to death this winter.

When he left Leping, the mountain ditches reserved for planting yams next year were already completed, and winter wheat had been sown on the flat land.

After completing the construction of the temple and the yam warehouse, the captured Black Mountain bandits, under Qiao Yan’s orders, continued to build winter houses outside the county, under the mountains.

Although there wasn’t any land redistribution for these captured bandits, and these winter houses would accommodate quite a few people, the land of Leping was not as magnificent as Han Que.

However, for some reason, Bao Hong felt that Leping was more orderly.

But this wasn’t the time to contemplate this.

The carriage continued on the road, accompanied by the grand funeral procession of the three public officials from the Huangwu Mansion.

It was destined that this guardian would have to meet the Emperor upon his return to the capital and explain the situation.

He had to prepare himself mentally and first meet the Emperor.

Additionally, he had to deliver the box and memorial that Qiao Yan had entrusted to him to Liu Hong.

As Bao Hong stepped into the grand hall of the palace, he couldn’t help but feel nervous.

However, whether it was because the fire in the palace burned vigorously, causing him to enter from the cold outside, he suddenly felt heat on his back, and his nervousness temporarily subsided.

Carefully raising his gaze towards Liu Hong, he handed the box and memorial to Zhang Rang, who then passed it to Liu Hong.

Since it wasn’t a formal audience, the Emperor was not dressed in court attire, but was sitting at the head of the room wrapped in a fur coat.

Bao Hong couldn’t help but feel that Liu Hong’s illness seemed to have worsened with the arrival of winter, his complexion appearing more severe.

The glow of the fire in the room also reflected an unhealthy redness.

But he dared not speak of it.

Although everyone knew that the Han Emperors tended not to live long, he couldn’t say it out loud in front of Liu Hong.

He could only remain silent and wait for Liu Hong to speak first, which he did, asking, “How is the temple of Duke Qiao?”

Bao Hong replied, “Marquis Qiao captured the Black Mountain bandits two or three months ago and used them as laborers.

This did not delay the autumn harvest of the people in Leping County.

After completing Duke Qiao’s temple, Cai inscribed a plaque for the temple. In my opinion, the temple is simple and majestic, which can effectively demonstrate Your Majesty’s favor towards Duke Qiao.”

“That’s good,” Liu Hong said lightly. “These Black Mountain bandits turned out to be useful.”

After Qiao Yan defeated the Black Mountain bandits, she had schemed with the three governors to deceive and extort provisions.

However, she truthfully reported the situation in her memorial to Liu Hong.

With the amnesty across the nation after the era name change to Zhongping, the leniency towards those involved in the Yellow Turban activities was limited.

She continued to restrict people within her own territory, which couldn’t be considered as an overreach of jurisdiction.

Moreover, the surrounding three counties were particularly concerned about the whereabouts of these people.

Being able to keep them confined to Leping was indeed a suitable way to deal with them.

However, this resulted in Leping suddenly having an additional nine thousand people…

Knowing that Qiao Yan had been granted the title of Marquis of ten thousand households was somewhat coincidental, and as Emperor, Liu Hong might not be pleased to see the population expanding on her territory.

But Bao Hong couldn’t possibly mention these subtle thoughts.

He only asked, “I heard that the grandson of the Grand Commandant is still in Leping?”

Earlier, around early August, the Grand Commandant’s mansion had sent him.

The person arrived in Leping.

According to the letter brought by the Yang family’s retainer, upon seeing the letter left by Yang Xiu, he initially intended to take his grandson back immediately.

However, considering Yang Xiu’s previous behavior of competing with Qiao Yan at Dingzhongguan, he felt it might be beneficial for him to suffer a bit.

So, he instructed his servant to come back for Yang Xiu a month later.

The Yang family’s retainer arrived in Leping just before Qiao Yan eradicated the Black Mountain bandits.

At that time, Yang Xiu was busy making wine.

Why did the young master of the Grand Commandant’s mansion have to make wine? In the eyes of this messenger, it was truly a waste of time!

Moreover, with banditry outside, he was eager to knock Yang Xiu unconscious and take him away.

Even though it was later proven that Qiao Yan had the ability to eliminate bandits, and Yang Xiu switched from making wine to “writing children’s songs,” it still didn’t make him feel any better.

But Yang Xiu was determined not to return.

He even threatened that if there was a way to knock him out and take him all the way to Luoyang, then fine; he would still find a way back on his own.

Bao Hong couldn’t help but find it amusing to think of the chaotic scene at that time.

However, he couldn’t show such emotions and replied, “Young Master Yang probably wants to stay outside for a couple more years since he hasn’t left Luoyang before.”

“Then let him stay,” Liu Hong replied nonchalantly.

For some reason, Bao Hong felt that Liu Hong’s tone was somewhat cheerful when he said this, as if he was pleased to see the future heir of the Yang family of Hongnong behaving in such an unconventional manner.

But before his not-so-nimble mind could come up with a reason, he saw Liu Hong reaching for the box sent by Qiao Yan.

His heart rose again.

He watched as Liu Hong took out a small box from the rather simple one.

There was a special wax seal around the box, and it seemed to contain something else mixed in.

As the attendant by Liu Hong’s side began to open it, they found that it was stickier than usual wax seals.

However, it was not unusual for something presented to the Emperor to be a bit special.

What was strange, though, was that when the box was opened, it contained not precious jewels, but pieces of flower-shaped pastries.

The accompanying silk scroll explained that these were pastries made from yams, Chinese yam, honey, and millet, which needed to be steamed before consumption.

While the concept of rice cakes in southern pastries was already known, the popular desserts in Luoyang still tended to lean towards rice balls with various embellishments.

Qiao Yan’s yam pastries appeared delicate and were different from the norm,

Liu Hong couldn’t help but become interested.

After confirming the steam’s heat from the Imperial Kitchen, the delicacies were placed on a jade tray.

The golden-yellow color of the pastries was particularly appealing.

Liu Hong tasted one and found it to be sweet and fragrant, surpassing even his fondness for pea cakes.

Although the taste of yam was somewhat bland, the millet, commonly known as small yellow rice in the north, added a hint of sweetness after being ground into flour.

Combined with the blending taste of honey, it became what Liu Hong was currently tasting.

Perhaps tasting sweets lifted one’s mood, coupled with the joke from the Taiwei Mansion earlier, when Liu Hong took the memorial written by Qiao Yan, he felt less of the previous displeasure.

As he read the content of the memorial, he suppressed this emotion further.