Chapter 2610 Returning Home

Governor Yu escorted them out of the city. Bai Shan was eager to return home, and these gentlemen were not the type to say goodbye reluctantly. The main reason was that the capital and Qizhou were too close, and it was not the kind of farewell that might be forever. So they bowed to each other and mounted their horses to leave.

Bai Shan and Lord Tang rode in the front. Governor Yu watched them gallop away, their sleeves fluttering, and stroked his beard, saying, "What a pity."

The deputy general asked, "What's the pity?"

"It's a pity we can't snatch them away." Governor Yu glanced at him and said, "If you had even a third of Lord Bai's intelligence, I wouldn't be saying this."

The deputy general said: "...If I had a position, I wouldn't have joined the army. I would have gone straight to studying for the imperial examinations. It wouldn't be a loss if I passed the imperial examination in my thirties or forties."

Yu Zhishi: "You still have the nerve to say that."

He turned around and said, "Let's go back."

After taking two steps, he suddenly remembered something and turned to the Chief Secretary. "I've been looking through the household registers these past two days and found that many adults haven't received any land in the past two years. Ask each county to compile a list and report it. Those adults who haven't received any permanent land in the past three years will receive replacement land."

The Chief Secretary was stunned for a moment and then asked, "Sir, should the land be distributed from the redeemed land, or from other government lands?"

Governor Yu waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "It's nearby. Wherever their families are, we'll divide the land among them. However, the crops have already been planted this year, so we'll divide them up in the fall. Now, we'll count them first. Then, I'll collect the planned land and the names of the people who will be divided. I want to review them personally."

The Chief Secretary agreed, then hesitated to speak.

Governor Yu glanced at him, wanting to act as imposingly as he had in Yunzhou. But remembering this was Qizhou, not Yunzhou, where bandits were rampant, he suppressed his anger, forced a stiff smile, and said, "Chief Secretary, please speak up if you have anything to say."

"Sir, we can only divide the permanent land from other official lands, because the land deeds for the land we just redeemed have been taken away by Lord Tang."

"They will send it back after they get it from the Ministry of Revenue for verification."

The Chief Secretary remained silent.

Qizhou is not far from the capital. Due to its geographical location, the Ministry of Revenue often contacts Qizhou and wants to allocate some official fields in Qizhou.

The official fields in the capital and Yongzhou areas were almost saturated. Although the emperor did not lose a lot of land, there was still embezzlement, just like cannibalization, a little bit every year, and over time the official fields were not enough.

Therefore, the officials in Qizhou had more opportunities to deal with the Ministry of Revenue. Shangshu Liu, who had been in the position of Minister of Revenue for nearly ten years, was a very lucky person. How could it be possible that three boxes of land deeds were sent back without any fuss?

Seeing his expression, Governor Yu couldn't help but stop in his tracks. It took him a while to react and he couldn't help but stamp his feet, "Oh, what a mistake—"

He immediately turned to see the convoy had disappeared.

The deputy general also became anxious and asked, "Sir, do you want to chase them?"

Governor Yu turned around twice, and finally had to stamp his feet fiercely, "If we chase them now, we'll lose our friendship, and we may not even be able to get them back."

The Chief Secretary was also worried about a conflict between the Governor and the imperial officials, so he quickly said, "Yes, perhaps we are overthinking it. Minister Liu will return the land deed after reviewing it. Otherwise, should we go to the official document and urge them to do so in a few days?"

Governor Yu could only nod and say, "Tell each county to quickly compile a list and tell the Ministry of Revenue that we are in a hurry to use the land to distribute permanent farmland."

The Chief Secretary agreed.

It was impossible to send it back on his own initiative. Minister Liu walked around the three large boxes with his hands behind his back. He was very happy and waved his hand, saying, "Send a few experienced people over and have them check the accounts. If there is no problem with the accounts, then sign the bill for them."

Lord Tang handed the land deed to the Ministry of Revenue and turned to go to the palace to report. Then he thought of something and turned to Bai Shan, "Let's go to the palace together."

Bai Shan followed him, but reporting was the chief officer's job, so he didn't go to Taiji Hall, but instead wandered over to the Imperial Hospital.

The doctors at the Imperial Hospital smiled when they saw him, bowed, and said, "Master Bai is back?"

Bai Shan smiled and nodded, his eyes swept around the lobby, and he looked towards the office in the back and asked, "It's so hot in summer, the imperial doctors must be very busy lately, right?"

Doctor Zheng saw that he kept glancing back, so he suppressed his smile and nodded seriously, "Yes, with the arrival of summer heat, many people will get sick."

"Then the imperial doctors must be more careful and beware of epidemics."

Doctor Zheng nodded repeatedly, "Don't worry, Lord Bai, we have been very careful."

Bai Shan was speechless. He had been standing here talking for a long time, why didn’t Manbao come out yet?

That is...

Bai Shan glanced inside again and couldn't help asking, "Isn't Master Zhou in the Imperial Hospital?"

"Oh, so Lord Bai is here to see Imperial Physician Zhou," Imperial Physician Zheng said with a smile, "Imperial Physician Zhou is out on a medical trip and probably won't be back until the afternoon. Would you like to sit and wait for him, Lord Bai?"

"No, no need," Bai Shan said with a smile, "I'm here to ask for a bottle of pills to cool down and strengthen my stomach."

Imperial Physician Zheng went to get it for him with a smile, and Bai Shan left under the smiling gazes of the imperial physicians.

After leaving the Imperial Hospital, he breathed a sigh of relief, thought for a while, and then went to the Secretariat for a stroll. After completing his task, he left the palace and went home.

Since Manbao went out for medical consultation in the morning, he must go home for lunch and rest.

Bai Shan took Daji and a guard home. As soon as he got off his horse, a man ran out from the door.

When the two met, their eyes lit up. Bai Shan threw the reins to Daji and ran forward, "Are you going out?"

Zhou Man's eyes sparkled as he shook his head, tilting his head to look at him. "No, I heard from the guards that you're back. Did you finish your mission?"

She thought he was working in the palace at the moment, so she wanted to go in and take a look, but she didn't expect that he had also returned home.

Bai Shan took her hand and turned to walk in, smiling, "I just came out of the palace. I just need to report to the Secretariat. His Majesty has Brother Tang Xue and Censor Liang to report to."

The two walked back happily hand in hand.

After having a long conversation with the emperor for half an hour and having been delayed in the palace for an hour because of Liang Yushi's complaint, Lord Tang was already starving when he left the palace.

He stood at the palace gate and then remembered, "Dad, Bai Shan is also in the palace. I forgot to ask him to come out."

Originally, he wanted Bai Shan to wait in the side hall of Taiji Hall so that he could show up in case the emperor summoned him. However, who knew that Censor Liang disliked Governor Yu so much that he complained to him right after he finished reporting on his work.

The guard guarding the palace gate kindly said, "Master Tang, Master Bai left the palace more than an hour ago."

Lord Tang: ...

Old Master Tang glanced at him and turned around and said, "Let's go. Your wife is waiting for you at home. You've only been away on business for a short time, and you look so slovenly. You didn't even bother to clean yourself up before entering the palace to see the emperor."

Lord Tang followed silently.

See you at 6pm

(End of this chapter)