Lady Liu soon wrote a letter and handed it to Bai Xiaowen.
Bai Xiaowen did not open it. At this point, if Lady Liu wanted both her sons safe, she had no choice but to follow his arrangements. She would not try to be clever.
With the family letter in hand, Bai Xiaowen added one of his own, then sent an envoy to Julu to escort Yuan Tan back.
As for the official appointment, Bai Xiaowen did not rush to have the emperor issue a decree. Instead, he chose to stall and told Yuan Tan to come to Ye Capital first.
The next day, Jiang Yiqu respectfully escorted Ju Shou to Ye Capital.
Though Ju Shou had been imprisoned in Liyang, he looked well enough. It seemed he had not suffered much.
Ju Shou wholeheartedly approved of Bai Xiaowen inheriting the Yuan Clan's legacy. Without hesitation, he began addressing Bai Xiaowen as his lord.
Bai Xiaowen took Ju Shou's hand. "Sir, your timing is perfect. I have a difficult task that only you can handle."
Ju Shou said readily, "Whatever it is, my lord, please tell me."
Bai Xiaowen spoke a few words in a low voice.
Ju Shou was startled at first. After giving it careful thought, he said, "My lord, this is a brilliant plan. It has something of the spirit of the founding emperor's secret march on Chencang. But for it to succeed, we will need one person's help."
"Who?"
Ju Shou said, "Kong Rong, Kong Wenju. He was formerly chancellor of Beihai and concurrently inspector of Qingzhou. He now serves as minister of the imperial household."
Bai Xiaowen frowned. "He would indeed be useful. But we cannot let him remain in Qingzhou, or he may grow too powerful."
Kong Rong had once served as inspector