I was the emperor in the Ming Dynasty

Chapter 139
Different from the cheerful atmosphere in Meng Xianying's mansion in Mingshifang, in Yang Shiqi's private house in Shiyongfang, the air seemed to have entered winter and was too frozen to move.

The oppressive atmosphere, like the overwhelming cloud before the storm, is suffocating.

The stern face of Yang Shiqi, with his old eyes like two hooks, viciously gouged out his eldest son Yang Su who was kneeling in front of him.

"Tell me! Did you know about your second brother smuggling tea horses in Sichuan?"

Yang Su just entered Beijing today, and in his memory, his father seemed to have never been so angry.

Ten days ago, at his hometown in Ji'an, Jiangxi, he learned that the late emperor had passed away, and that his own father had been promoted to be a scholar of Hua Gai Dian, and even became the chief assistant.

With the sincere intention of congratulating his father and earning a job as an official, on the day he got the news, he boarded the boat heading north.

It is four thousand miles from Ji'an to Beijing, but fortunately, Jishui is connected to Zhangjiang River, and Zhangjiang River is connected to Poyang Lake. After passing Poyang Lake, you can take the Yangtze River and enter the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal.

So it took him only ten days to complete the 20-day journey on land.

Originally, he thought that when he arrived in the capital just in time for the Mid-Autumn Festival, he would be able to reunite with his father and son to enjoy the full moon, but what Yang Su never expected was that he knelt on the cold ground less than two hours after he arrived.

"Yang Su, your father, I asked you something, but you are deaf, can't you hear?"

Yang Su was so frightened by Yang Shiqi's anger that he trembled all over, but he was still very worried about his father's body, so he made a gesture to get up and help him:

"Father, calm down, don't be so angry, you blame your son for being unfilial, not taking good care of Dao'er, and letting Dao'er go on a crooked path."

"Kneel down for me."

Seeing that Yang Su was about to get up, Yang Shiqi raised his magic stick and hit him hard on the back.

"Okay, daddy, I'm just kneeling." Seeing his father blowing his beard and staring angrily, Yang Su couldn't stand still, Yang Su hurriedly lowered his hands and knelt down again:

"When my son came, my mother was worried about my father's health. Daddy, you must not get angry anymore. If you lose your temper, my son will not be able to explain to my mother."

Yang Shiqi couldn't listen to Yang Su's heart-warming words about his old father's health.

At this moment, all he could think about was the tea leaves all over the mountains and plains, which were smuggled to Fanren by that rebellious son.

Holding his anger, Yang Shiqi threw away the family stick in his hand, squatted on the ground and looked at Yang Su, heartbroken, and said angrily:
"Does that rebellious son know what his father does? His father is the chief assistant of the cabinet, his father is the prince and grand teacher, his father is the minister of Gu Ming. Anyone in the whole Ming Dynasty can be greedy, but he can't be greedy. He doesn't understand ?"

"Father, it's not necessarily that Dao'er wants to be greedy, maybe it's because he accidentally made friends and was bewitched by villains."

It was good that Yang Su didn't speak, but when he pleaded with Yang Dao, Yang Shiqi became furious, he couldn't help but gasp for breath, and felt his eyes darken.

Holding his forehead to gather himself, Yang Shiqi took out Meng Xianying's secret letter from his sleeve, and slapped it fiercely into Yang Su's hand, almost gritted his teeth and said:
"Look, take a good look at how the Godfather, a bewitched fool, smuggled out 30 catties of tea."

"what."

Yang Su exclaimed when he heard the words, his hands trembled uncontrollably, and Meng Xianying's secret letter fell to the ground.

Licking his dry lips, Yang Su opened the secret letter in a panic, sweating profusely on his forehead.

He glanced hastily, only to feel that his ears were ringing, his eyes were dark, and there was no place on his body that did not break out in cold sweat.

With 30 catties of tea leaves, how could Yang Dao have such guts? This is stealing meat from the imperial court.

When he came back to his senses, Yang Su hurriedly hugged Yang Shiqi's thigh, and howled with absent-minded eyes:

"Father, save Dao'er. Dao'er is still young, and he just took a detour for a while, and he will definitely change it. Dad, you are the chief assistant of the cabinet, so you must have a way, right?"

Yang Shiqi is already 60 years younger this year, so he is by no means young. Coupled with the fact that he has been working hard all day with paperwork and eroding his energy, he looks no different from his seventies.

Yang Su was born by Yang Shiqi at the age of 29. In the ancient times when he could call himself an old man in his 40s, he can already be said to be a middle-aged child.

As for Yang Dao, it was Yang Shiqi who was born at the age of 39. He was a child of old age, an accident among accidents.

At the age of 38, he was promoted to Donggong Zuo Zhongyun, and at the age of 39, he got a son.

Yang Shiqi always felt that Yang Dao was a gift from heaven to him, so since Yang Dao was born, he doted on him and responded to every request.

Even though Yang Dao has reached the age of Guan, in Yang Shiqi's heart, he is still his little toddler, babbling.

Seeing Yang Su wailing, Yang Shiqi heaved a long sigh, looking as if he had aged several years.

"Son, Dao'er has hurt your father."

Yang Shiqi, who deeply felt that he was incapable of teaching his son, took off his mature and prudent mask in front of his son for the first time, expressing his most straightforward emotions.

Yang Su was an eye-opener today, seeing his father furious for the first time, and seeing his father downcast for the first time.

Wiping away his tears very uncomfortable, Yang Su let go of his hand, kowtowed three times to Yang Shiqi, choked up and said:
"It's all because of my unfilial piety."

Staring blankly at his son kowtowing, Yang Shiqi wiped away the two tears falling from the corners of his eyes, waved his hands to signal Yang Su to get up and said:

"Don't hit it, you won't be able to save that bastard even if you smash your head."

In fact, what Yang Shiqi hates the most is not Yang Dao's smuggling of tea, but Yang Dao's actions, which are very likely to cause him to quit the cabinet early.

He is not greedy for power and position. After all, being an official is not as important as having a son. He is just unwilling to leave the center of reform and innovation like this.

In the majestic and prosperous world depicted by the emperor, if Yang Shiqi didn't have his colorful strokes, then he would be nothing more than a chief assistant.

Taking a deep breath, Yang Shiqi's old eyes gradually gathered light, and the power belonging to the chief minister of the cabinet returned to him. He shook his sleeve robe angrily, looked at Yang Su and said in a deep voice:
"The Marquis of Baoding will be demoted from the capital soon. Don't wait to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival with your father. Tomorrow, I will ask the Ministry of War to issue you an urgent order for six hundred miles. You should immediately go to Sichuan and bring that beast back."

Although Yang Su has never been an official, he also knows that the Six Hundred Li Urgent Order of the Ministry of War is the fastest long-distance document except for the eight hundred Li Urgent Order of the border military situation.

Holding an emergency order of six hundred miles, you will receive the highest reception from each station along the way, and you can even exchange a horse for each station.

Thinking of the long-distance raid of six hundred miles a day, Yang Su subconsciously touched the root of his thigh, bit his back molars and said:

"Father, don't worry, within twenty days, I will definitely bring Dao'er back no matter what."

"Twenty days, I hope there is still time."

Yang Shiqi murmured as he looked out of the ancestral hall with his old eyes empty.

(End of this chapter)