Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 874 Who is thinking about it?
Second floor hall,

The atmosphere was warm.

Everyone blushed, still wondering what His Highness meant.
Zhang Jinyu carefully looked around and saw that no one was paying attention. She wanted to find a seat to sit down. But when she got there, she was very upset. The tables were short and almost everyone was kneeling on the futon. She didn't like it. Even if she liked it, her legs couldn't bear it.
The corner of my mouth twitched and my legs went numb!
I really don't understand where His Highness's hobby comes from.

Just when he was about to sit down, the eldest princess spoke as if on purpose.

"How can you sit in the back when your Lordship comes here? If someone sees you, they might think that I didn't make the arrangements well enough."

The unprovoked words made the heated atmosphere in the hall pause, and everyone looked at His Highness in the main seat in confusion.

Which Lord is here?

When everyone was puzzled, Zhang Jinyu looked a little embarrassed. It was obvious that he had dug a trap, but he didn't care. He stood up and walked over, bowed,
"I, your Highness, send my regards."

"Since you're here, just sit in the front, Liu Yue, add a seat."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Then, I don't know whether it was planned or intentional, in full view of everyone, he actually added a seat on the empty space on the right.
Seeing that the table was already brought over, how could Zhang Jinyu refuse?
"Thank you, Your Highness."

So, he went to the futon, sat cross-legged, and twisted his buttocks. He felt a little uncomfortable. This action was seen by many people in the field, and they were all a little surprised. They didn't expect that Luo Yunhou was so "vulgar" today.

But the faces of several princes were a little strange. Why did this master come? When they saw Luo Yunhou looking over, they all clasped their fists and greeted him.

Zhang Jinyu was helpless. He just wanted to see who was coming. When he saw someone greet him, he had to return the greeting. This time it didn't matter. The people in the front row saw that several princes had greeted Luo Yunhou, so they didn't fall behind and followed suit.
This time, his hands were sore from waving. Seeing this, the eldest son Li Chaosheng on the opposite side smiled faintly. Everyone was bored, except Marquis Luo Yun. It seemed that it didn't matter to him whether he came or not, but since His Highness had invited him, he really couldn't refuse.

Seeing that Luo Yunhou was uncomfortable, an idea suddenly came to his mind. He picked up the wine pot and poured a bowl of wine, held it up, and said;

"I didn't expect the Marquis to come here. This is the grand event of today's poetry gathering. I would like to take this opportunity to toast the Marquis!"

Looking at the smiling eldest son, Zhang Jinyu felt a little surprised. Why would the eldest son come to a poetry gathering? Could he be here to provide support? Thinking of what the eldest princess had said a few days ago, he realized that he was the one invited.

as a last resort,
Then he picked up the wine cup and glanced at His Highness, especially when his eyes fell on the back of the table. Sure enough, His Highness also imitated him, sitting cross-legged instead of kneeling. He really knew how to put his learning into practice.
"I am deeply grateful for your hospitality, Your Highness. In this case, my Lord, let's drink together."

He raised his head and drank it all.

These actions naturally fell into Zhou Xiangxue's eyes, especially when Luo Yunhou stole a glance at her, there was something unnatural between her legs.

"Well, now that everyone is here, I will announce that this is a poetry gathering."

"Oh, my dear sister, why didn't you tell me about such a lively poetry gathering? Why are you in such a hurry?"

suddenly,
A charming voice broke the joyful sounds in the hall. Everyone was stunned and looked towards the stairs.

See!

A graceful figure walked over from the high platform. It could be said that she was very charming. Although she was wearing brocade clothes, dark palace clothes, and a dress with a golden skirt, her delicate face was smiling. Her fair skin and dark clothes complemented each other. With a black veil, she looked even more pretty and majestic.

This is?

Princess Yongcheng!

Instantly, the hall became a little cold. The two princesses were at odds with each other. As early as the time of the retired emperor, everyone in the capital knew about this. Now that the two princesses were together, could this poetry gathering still be held?

Zhang Jinyu even picked up the tea bowl by himself and took a sip slowly. This scene was rare to see.
"What are you talking about, little sister? How could I forget about you? Since you are here, sit with me."

Perhaps he had thought of this long ago. A cushion had been prepared beside the princess, as if he had anticipated this.
"In that case, my sister would be more respectful than to obey your orders."

She moved slowly and walked over with her maid. When she passed by Luo Yunhou's table, she stopped for a moment, smiled slightly, and moved again, sitting down next to the eldest princess.

As if stealing the show, he spoke first.

"I arrived a little late for today's event, but on my way here, I heard that the three major academies in the capital and the three major academies in Jiangnan had made a bet. In the end, Marquis Luo Yun even raised the stakes. It's 600 million taels of silver. Whoever can match the number will win. I don't know who made the absolute number, but I don't know if this absolute number can be matched. I also want to show off my face and take a look."

The tone was ups and downs, very charming, and everyone present was shocked after hearing it.
It was clearly a poetry gathering, but it turned out to be about writing couplets. The people in the front row all looked unhappy, but the people below were full of excitement. Was six hundred thousand taels of silver real or fake? There was actually such a thing. They were discussing it with each other. After all, some students came early and didn't know about it.
Everyone who knew about it started showing off, and for a moment the place was in chaos.

Even the people in the academy looked a little embarrassed, but seeing what Princess Yongcheng asked, they had to answer. Gong Huaiyu didn't care, but he didn't believe that anyone could answer it, so he stood up and clasped his fists.

"Your Highness is right. This is true. This question was asked by Qinglian Academy. The question is "Qinse Pipa, Eight Great Kings, Same Headgear", and the bet is 300,000 taels. Marquis Luo Yun changed it to "Qinse Pipa, Eight Great Kings, King after King", and the bet is also 300,000 taels of silver. If they all get it right, 600,000 taels of silver will belong to them. Your Majesty, it's OK."

After the Western Prince Gong Huaiyu finished speaking, he asked Luo Yunhou a question. Everyone in the venue stared at him with wide eyes. The stakes were too high.

Even the noble families didn't have such a big hand, which showed the terrifying background of the princes. Even the arrogant sons of the barons' mansions, as well as Yang Mingan and others, looked at the person in front of them in disbelief. Six hundred thousand taels of silver, was it true?

Seeing that the trouble was coming to him, Zhang Jinyu put down the tea bowl and nodded.

"Your Highness is absolutely right, that's it. However, the person who can come up with such an absolute answer is not an ordinary person. Since Qinglian Academy came up with the question first, I wonder who came up with this absolute answer?"

"Don't worry about this, my Lord."

Gong Huaiyu smiled slightly and sat down.
Inside the venue, the scene that had just quieted down began to be discussed again.

Seeing that things had changed, Zhou Xiangxue smiled slightly.
"In that case, my sister is right. Someone, come and light a stick of incense. If no one can match the answer within a stick of incense, then the case is a draw."

"Yes, Your Highness,"

Liu Yue replied and ordered the guards to bring up an incense burner, place it in the center and light it. This made time seem even more urgent.

Especially the princes of several vassal states, all of them looked at each other with doubts in their eyes. Zhou Yewen couldn't help but asked;
"My dear brothers, this couple is simply impossible to match. Even if you were to pay a million taels of silver, it would be useless. Even the one who set the question would probably not be able to answer it."

"Yes, Brother Shi is right. I have heard about what happened before. The three major academies in the capital set a trap and trapped me. It's really true."

Zhou Lianghao was eating cakes with a look of disbelief. They were all fooled. Everyone had a mouth. But when he saw the prince of Zheng, Zhou Zhengbai, looking at the people in front of him with a serious face, the West Palace, the South Palace, Luo Yunhou, and several young masters from Jiangnan, they really had a deep foundation. They took out all this silver without blinking an eye.
"Everyone, don't you think these people don't need the money at all?"

"Ugh. What!"

The city of Jinling in the south of the Yangtze River,

The Xinbei Grand Canal embankment, for some reason, had a small gap that had now washed away the entire embankment, and the gates on both sides of the Jiangnan and Jiangbei rivers had already been destroyed by the flood. Not only the four counties in the Jiangnan region, but also the prefectures and counties in the Jiangbei region had nowhere to hide. Even the prisoners sent to the Jiangbei region suffered heavy casualties due to the flood. The water in the Jiangnan region had already flooded several large counties in Jinling, and there was a faint swamp in the city of Jinling. You know, Jinling was built on a high place. At this time, in the Jinling government office, Jia Yucun's face was pale. Just now, his men reported that Ma Tongpan had actually blown up the embankment, and nine counties were affected by the disaster. In addition, the number of acres of land that he and Hu Wenxuan had secretly counted was not missing, and all were flooded. This!

Didn’t you say to dig a small hole?
"Do you know where Judge Ma went?"

"Your Excellency the Prefect, Judge Ma just took a carriage to where Eunuch Yang lives."

The trusted servant beside him replied immediately, with some fear in his voice. After all, fire and water are merciless. This time the flood is so serious that he doesn't know if he can escape it. I heard that the price of rice outside has risen again. Fortunately, he got up early and bought some more and sent it back to the rice jar at home. When he went back again, the price had tripled.
"Master, when I went to buy rice this morning, the price was still the same as before, but after the flood, the price of rice in that grain shop has tripled. If it continues to rise, I'm afraid there will be problems."

After thinking about it, he thought that since the prefect had treated him well, he should still speak up. But after hearing what he had said, Jia Yucun turned pale and collapsed in his seat. Not to mention the price of rice, there was not much food in the government treasury for disaster relief, unless the government warehouse was used. However, the government warehouse belonged to the Ministry of Revenue, and without the imperial documents from the Ministry of Revenue, who dared to open the warehouse? So how could he dare to speak up about the disaster?

At this moment,

In front of the gate, a group of policemen came running back in panic in a carriage. The leader was the patrolman on duty today. Jia Yucun was furious and scolded him loudly.
"Why are you panicking? Don't you have any rules?"

The police officer knelt down immediately, followed by many yamen runners, who looked flustered and explained immediately;
"Sir, it was the thieves who dug up the Xinbei dike that caused the flood. The ones who did it were the patrolmen recruited by Ma Tongpan. The people in the government army all knew about it and are spreading rumors and cursing."

Those policemen had long been a thorn in their eyes and flesh, stealing their jobs, so how could they not bear a grudge? They all wanted to find out their mistakes, so they kept a close eye on them, and as soon as they got any news, they would come back to complain, which led to this scene.
In fact, it was only the captain of the government army and the soldiers who followed him. Although they were finishing up for Ma Tongpan, they were afraid that such a big matter could not be concealed, so they changed the story and said that those bandits secretly dug it out because they hated Lord Ma in private. Now that they had escaped, there would be no evidence, so who would investigate? So after they came back, they spread the news. When Ma Guangcheng knew about it, he was panicked, but he still forced himself to be calm and went to find Eunuch Yang.

But if this happens, the Jinling prefectural government office will become a place of trouble. If things go wrong, his career as an official will end. I wonder what will happen to Eunuch Yang?

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Jiangnanchun Restaurant,
Shen Wanhe has come here to serve Eunuch Yang. They are the only people in the whole restaurant.

suddenly,

There are subordinates reporting outside the door.
"Sir, the tip outside the city reported that Ma Guangcheng has come here, and a patrolman from the prefectural government has led his men to dig up the Xinbei dike, causing flooding. A captain of the prefectural army saw it with his own eyes, and when he came back, he was still shouting in the barracks!"

"Oh, so fast. How could he be so stupid as to use the people from the government office? And how did the people from the government army know about it?"

Shen Wanhe looked surprised, but more puzzled. Even if Ma Tongpan wanted to make a contribution, it was too obvious.
"Master, those patrolmen are the pirates who surrendered before. Everyone knows it."

The housekeeper Si Yujin quietly added a sentence, and Shen Wanhe suddenly realized it. Tsk tsk, it's really a good trick. He pushed it aside and ended up with the crime of dereliction of duty. However, if the policy of converting farmland into mulberry trees is implemented, Eunuch Yang and Lord Jing will protect him. In this way, the crime will be lightened, but it will only be a reprimand. It's a good trick, but how serious is the flood?

"Send someone to monitor and see how serious the flood is. Although the rain is heavy, it won't last long. If the gap can be plugged, it won't be a big problem. If it can't be plugged, it will be troublesome."

This is what Shen Wanhe is worried about. Although there is a lot of food in stock, if there are too many people, it will definitely not be enough. I think the governor will have a headache.
"Yes, sir."

Just as the two of them were talking, Xiao Dongzi upstairs hurriedly shouted;
"Master Shen, godfather invites you in."

"Yes, Eunuch Dong, I will come in right away."

Shen Wanhe replied, waving his hands. When the housekeeper saw this, he quickly lowered his head and retreated. Now, the master is also a person of status.

at the same time,

At the residence of Lord Zhuang, the governor of Jiangnan, the steward Ding Pu and Zuo Sangui, the commander of the official granary, hurried back. Zuo Sangui, who was following behind, had a strange look on his face. There was already a layer of water on the ground in the city, and no one knew when it would recede. The gap in the Xinbei dike outside the city had actually been dug up by someone. How dare they do that!

"Master, Lord Zuo is here."

"come in,"

"Yes, sir."

Inside the house, the voice of the governor Zhuang was heard, but there was no sound of joy or anger. Zuo Sangui felt a little uneasy, so he nodded to the housekeeper and pushed the door open. As soon as he entered, he saw Zhuang sitting behind the desk, flipping through a memorial in his hand, with a smile on his face.

Your Excellency is still in the mood to read the memorials. Right now the outside world is in chaos, with floods raging and victims everywhere. If there is a chaos at that time, the court will know about it, and this official will still be able to keep his seat.

I looked up secretly and took a look.
The smile on the adults' lips was clear, but I didn't understand what it meant. Could it be that the adults had been waiting for me, yawning, and bowing?
"Sangui, pay your respects to the Lord!"

The voice is loud and confident.

Zhuang Shouzhi raised his head, closed the folder in his hand, pointed to the chair in front of the table, and said;
"It's Sangui who's here. Sit down and talk."

"Thank you, sir,"

Zuo Sangui calmed down and calmed down his anxious mood. He was worried about the people outside the city. After all, he had been the magistrate of Chunyang County for three years. It would be a lie to say that he had no feelings. The money he had embezzled over the years was also provided by the people of Chunyang County.

After taking a seat, he clasped his fists and bowed;
"Sir, I have an urgent matter to report. The patrol officers of the Jinling prefectural government have actually dug up the land of Xinbei. The canal has burst and the flood has reached the Jinling County City. I'm afraid that the four counties in the north are no longer safe. This matter has spread among the prefectural army, and a lieutenant has seen it with his own eyes."

What happened to the government army was not only known to the officials, but also to many common people. They all cursed in secret, but cursing was useless. It was done.

Who knows,

Mr. Zhuang ignored the matter and pointed to the memorial on the table.
"Sangui, I say the same thing again. Just keep an eye on the government warehouse. What happened outside the city was just something Lord Jing and his men had discussed. You said those people from the government office didn't go earlier or later, but now it has happened. I have heard that those patrolmen were the bandits on the canal back then. They were granted amnesty because of Lord Ma's family. So, since they dared to do this, they must have thought of the consequences. I can only report the matter to the court truthfully first. As for what happens next, I will not interfere."

As soon as these words were spoken,

Zuo Sangui was horrified and asked;

"Sir, why don't you intervene?"

Zhuang Shouzhi sighed, stroked his beard, pointed to the north, and replied;

"Once the Xinbei levee breaks, the sluice gates blocking the north of the river will inevitably be destroyed. In this case, it will not only be our four counties that will be affected. Although Jiangbei is poor, there are five counties along the river, which means nine counties will be flooded. Calculate how many people are waiting for disaster relief. Don't even mention converting fields into mulberry trees. Even for disaster relief, where will the food come from and who will pay for it? The court is now focusing on suppressing the rebellion in southern Beijing. This money, "

It is not too much to say that the money from the imperial court can only be used to quell the rebellion in the south of Beijing. Jiangnan is the place that provides food and wages. Whenever something goes wrong, someone has to take the blame. Thinking of the memorial on the table, he said;
"The memorial on the table is from the Ministry of Personnel. It shows that there are some vacancies for county magistrates in several counties in the south of the Yangtze River. Lord Nan and the students of Marquis Luo Yun will be appointed here. They will be the top three in the provincial examination. It is no longer our turn to manage this area of ​​Jiangnan."

After saying this, he laughed at himself and seemed a little lonely.

Only Zuo Sangui seemed a little stunned. How could he appoint officials at this time? Moreover, the disaster would tie up the prefectural government, and Lord Jing, the inspector, and Eunuch Yang, how would it end? Lord Zhuang was smiling, and it was obvious that he was just sitting back and watching the situation. In the end, Lord Governor was still one step ahead. Marquis Luo Yun and Lord Nan, the Grand Secretary of Wuying Palace, were not easy to fool.

"Sir, if this happens, more people will intervene in Jiangnan, and it will become even more chaotic. How can the court's policies be implemented?"

Zuo Sangui was not opposed to the court's policy, but he could not accept the criticism without getting any benefits!
"Huh, what a joke!"

(End of this chapter)