Jiapingguan Chronicle

Chapter 2218 Much the same 8.0

"You know, the Second Master went to Jiangnan this time to travel, and he had some errands with him."

"A mission?"

"Yes, guess what it is?" Qin Zheng looked at Shen Haolin, then at Shen Cha, and said, "Make a bold guess. It doesn't matter if you're wrong."

"It shouldn't be wrong." Shen Cha and Shen Haolin exchanged glances, sighed softly, and said, "I still know a little bit about my grandfather's mind." She handed her cup to Meilin and asked her to refill the tea. She drank two sips carefully before continuing, "Brother Xiaojue once told us that his uncle told him to go out more and see what the outside world is like before he is crowned. Because once he is crowned, once he becomes emperor, he will be trapped in that square palace, and his channels to understand the real situation outside will be completely cut off."

"Yes!" Shen Haolin took over and continued, "My grandfather also said this. Anything that happens outside the palace, including natural disasters, wars, border battles, and the livelihoods of the people, whether it is good or bad, whether there are any difficulties, are all written by local officials and submitted to the central government. After being reviewed by the elders and prime ministers, my grandfather can see it."

"Yes." Shen Cha sighed softly and said, "In this way, what he heard is likely to be far from what really happened, or even two completely different situations. Therefore, if you want to truly understand the people's sentiments and what is happening outside, you must go out and see with your own eyes, hear with your own ears, and feel with your own heart. This is why the Emperor's grandfather and uncle have always indulged Brother Xiaojue to run around everywhere, even if they caused chaos outside the palace, they still indulged him."

"Your Majesty has become what he is today and always likes to sneak out. They have also contributed to this."

"But they did nothing wrong, especially the late emperor." Qin Zheng looked at everyone, smiled bitterly, and said, "When he was still the crown prince, he suffered a loss like this. You all know it, right?"

"I know!" Shen Haolin nodded. "Officials of the Eastern Palace used my uncle's name to work with others to make money and harmed many people. Later, the victims risked their lives to go to the capital to file a complaint, and my uncle only then knew what had happened. My grandfather was furious, but not at my uncle, but at those court officials. In fact, many of them knew what had happened, but they all kept silent and hid it from my grandfather and uncle."

"That incident caused quite a stir. Later, a new group of people were replaced in the Eastern Palace. Grandfather allowed my uncle to go out of the palace every day to investigate. Even though the censors wrote letters to the emperor every day to advise that this was against the rules, my grandfather and uncle fought back." Shen Cha took a sip of tea and sneered, "Later, we focused on investigating the few who jumped the most, and it turned out that there were indeed problems."

"It's usually like this. Those who jump the most happily are usually the ones who are afraid of being investigated. It's a sure thing." Qin Zheng adjusted his sitting position and chose a more comfortable position. He continued, "Your royal grandfather knew that this situation would occur. Before the second master left, he summoned people to the palace to let him take a good look at how the people live and see if the words in those memorials are true."

"Then can I understand that Jiangning Mansion was specially visited because Grandfather Huang had some doubts about this place, right?"

"That's right." Qin Zheng looked at Shen Cha and said, "The places that the Second Master went to are all on the suspect list, and Jiangning Prefecture is the most suspected." "Because of private salt?" Shen Haolin looked at Qin Zheng and said, "Jiangning Prefecture has always been the largest official salt transportation place in Jiangnan, and private salt is rampant, so it has always been a place of focus."

"Indeed." Qin Zheng nodded towards Shen Haolin and said, "Let's continue talking about the old lady selling wontons. I was very curious, so I specially talked to Second Master about it. Second Master said that the old lady's wontons were delicious, but the taste was bland. He asked the old lady if she didn't add salt or something. The old lady said that the price of salt is very high now, and small businesses like them can't afford it."

"If I remember correctly." Qi Bo thought for a while, "official salt has a very low price, and is sold specifically to ordinary people like this, right? Although some places will increase the price, it won't be too much." He looked at Qin Zheng, then at Yan Bo, with a look of disbelief on his face, and said, "People in Jiangning Prefecture even make such dirty money?"

"As long as there is money, they don't care whether they are evil-hearted or not." Yan Bo sneered and said, "Don't interrupt. Just listen to what Ah Zheng has to say. You will hear a story that will subvert your imagination."

"Please." Qi Bo sighed, made a gesture of invitation to Qin Zheng, and said, "I'm all ears to see what else these grandsons can do."

"The second master also asked the old lady, saying that the government has official salt for the benefit of the people, and even if the price is slightly increased, it is affordable for ordinary people. The old lady said that it is impossible to buy it. There is a limit every day, and it starts selling at irregular times. Moreover, the government officials will inform the people who resell the official salt in advance, so that batch of salt was sold to those people."

"I can imagine that." Shen Cha nodded, "But Master just said that this old woman's experience was very tragic. Why is that?"

"This mother-in-law is the only one left in her family. Her husband and son are gone. They died in an accident. Erye said that if you don't know in depth, you don't know there is such a thing. It is said that at the beginning of the year, her husband and son were beaten to death for snatching salt from those salt dealers. In this accident, not only these two people died, but also four others. Their families went to the government to complain, but the government didn't care. They said they were gang fighting and it was good enough not to hold them accountable. Originally, this wonton stall was supported by the three of them, and life was still okay. Now that her husband and son are gone, the old woman is left alone, and she just lives one day at a time." Qin Zheng spread his hands, "The second master listened to it, and on the surface he remained calm. He left a small piece of silver for the old woman, but he didn't leave too much, for fear of causing trouble for her."

"Money can make people's hearts move. If someone really has bad intentions, the old lady alone can't bear it." Shen Cha nodded gently and said, "Although it seems on the surface, Second Grandpa still took care of this matter."

"Of course, this is also his job. But they just arrived in Jiangning Mansion, and they can't just listen to the old lady's one-sided story. They still have to visit a few more families to see what the situation is like in Jiangning Mansion. Anyway, they are not in a hurry. They are here to travel and it is good to stay a few more days than originally planned." Qin Zheng sighed softly, "But you also know that your second grandfather is not stupid. He knows that if this matter is confirmed and he finds it out, their lives will be in danger."