363, New Year

363, New Year

"Bow to Heaven and Earth——"

"Two bows to the parents—"

"Husband and wife bow to each other—"

On the 28th day of the 12th lunar month, they held a collective wedding at the gate of the government office. Lu Mingfei, the master of ceremonies, sat in the main seat and accepted the kowtows of the newlyweds.

He found it a bit funny to see these subordinates grinning and looking worthless.

However, he could also somewhat understand the brothers' joy. If he and Zhao Lang were to get married in front of so many people today, they would probably laugh even more frivolously.

[…Marry Zhao Lang?] Realizing that he actually had such thoughts, Lu Mingfei felt a little amused.

How could the two of them possibly have a wedding?

It was unclear whether they could overcome the difficulties that now lay before them. Princess Ding and Prince Ding alone might not agree so easily.

As for his family, it was easy to deal with. However, if his family knew about his relationship with Zhao Lang, they would inevitably be sad.

He himself was not even sure that if Zhao Lang could really reach the highest position, he would still be the one standing next to Zhao Lang.

So, sometimes, betting on a person's conscience is really the biggest gamble. And behind it is the life of the person, his family, and his clan.

For a moment, Lu Mingfei's heart was even a little shaken. But when he thought about the lives of the people outside, his heart, which had wavered for a moment, became firm again.

There is no construction without destruction. They need to break the existing order and re-establish a new order so that the people here can live a good life.

The situation outside was such that the imperial court couldn't hold out for much longer. Rather than letting someone else take that position, it would be better for them to push someone up to stabilize the situation.

Looking at the newcomer in front of him, his mind was occupied with other things.

After the wedding ceremony, they held a banquet in the largest restaurant in the city, and everyone moved there.

"Sir, this is a toast to you."

"Sir, I offer you a toast..."

“…”

That day, Lu Mingfei accepted almost everyone who came to toast him, and the end result was that he got himself drunk.

When he was sent back to his residence, his mind was in a mess.

However, he did not forget that today was his brothers' wedding day, and he did not want them to stay here and watch over him on their wedding night, so he reached out and pushed away the hand that was supporting him and said, "You... go back and stay with your wife."

"Sir, please have a good sleep here. I will guard outside." After Guard Ma covered their lord with a quilt, he went out.

He stayed with their adults for the first half of the night, and only went back to be with his new wife in the second half when another brother came to take his place.

***

The third day after the group wedding is the New Year.

The yamen was closed for holiday a few days ago, so Lu Mingfei, the county magistrate, was in a half-work and half-rest state. He would rest when there was nothing to do at the yamen, and he had to deal with it if there was anything.

This year during the Spring Festival, he stayed in Li County and celebrated the New Year with the local people.

His family was in Tong County for the New Year. The roads were difficult to navigate in winter, and the weather outside wasn't peaceful, so he didn't invite them to spend the New Year with him. He had a lot going on in Li County, and he couldn't leave, so he didn't go to Tong County to spend the New Year with his family either.

Although his family did not come to spend the New Year with him, they did send him a lot of New Year gifts.

This year, Zhao Langren was also away from home and could not return to Beijun, nor could he come to Li County to celebrate the New Year with him.

At the end of December, when the caravan arrived, they brought him several carts of New Year gifts, all of which were prepared by Zhao Lang. Along with them, there was also a letter from Zhao Lang.

From the letter he learned about the situation outside and what Zhao Lang was doing.

If he hadn't been unable to leave Li County, he would have wanted to go find Zhao Lang.

But in the end, the two of them spent the New Year separately in two different places.

“Crackle—”

On the first day of the new year, firecrackers were heard outside.

That morning, Lu Mingfei was awakened by the sound of firecrackers. He wrapped himself in thick clothes and stood at the door of his house, asking the guards to light their firecrackers.

"Sir, please cover your ears. I'm going to light the firecrackers."

"Okay! Hurry up!"

Seeing their adult standing there urging him, Guard Ma lit one end of the firecracker with the fire starter in his hand.

As the fire was lit, sparks flew and firecrackers crackled.

Watching the firecrackers explode, Lu Mingfei smiled, "Another year has passed, how wonderful!"

"Happy New Year, sir."

"Happy New Year."

On this day, he gave each of his subordinates a big red envelope and invited everyone to dinner at a restaurant in the city.

This winter, the small county town in Beijun where they lived seemed isolated from the world.

However, they live a very busy life here every day.

Although there were few days of work during the winter, their city walls continued to grow higher. The output from the workshops continued, and most of this output was used to help the local people, supplementing their local material needs.

After discussion, everyone gathered the elderly people in the city together and let them participate in handicrafts, picking wool, spinning yarn, knitting sweaters, etc.

As long as you can move your hands and work, you will have food to eat.

For elderly people who were unable to work, the government had no choice but to hire doctors to treat them regularly. The clinic did not charge for consultations, but they had to pay for the medicine, which was paid from the government's account.

After the shops in the city started to make money, their government office also began to see some income. Lu Mingfei used all of this money for the people and did not take a single copper coin for himself.

As for the debt owed to him by the government, he was not in a hurry to get it back.

Before the first month of the lunar year was over, Lu Mingfei was already thinking about spring plowing.

However, there is a more troublesome matter right now, which is related to the land outside the city.

Although those lands were wasteland, they were owned by someone, and even he, the county magistrate, did not have the right to use them at will.

In the two months before the New Year, they planted vegetables. They were afraid that others didn't know, or even if they knew, they wouldn't care about the few vegetables they planted, so no one came to ask for their land or their vegetables.

But if they planted crops for a whole season, they would be afraid that after they planted them, when the harvest came, the owner of the land would come and claim that the crops were theirs. In that case, their entire year's work would have been in vain.

Free labor is one thing, but this concerns the food supply of the people in their city.

If he worked hard for a year and got nothing in return, not only would the people be devastated, but even he, the county magistrate, would commit suicide to atone for his sin.

Finally, after discussing with everyone, Lu Mingfei personally went to Pingzhou City, met with his immediate superior, and told him about this matter. However, his immediate superior told him that the land belonged to the generals in the army, and he, as a prefect, had no right to control or use it.

"Sir, is there no other way?" he asked anxiously in his heart.

"There is a way, unless you can get the prince's consent." said Li Zhifu.

Should he go see Prince Ding? Lu Mingfei pondered this in his mind. He still had the jade pendant Zhao Lang had given him in his hand. It wouldn't be difficult for him to see Prince Ding. However, if he did that, his relationship with Zhao Lang would be exposed to Prince Ding.

Forget it, never mind, let’s deal with the current problem first.

"Thank you for your advice, sir. I have other things to do today, so I will take my leave first." Seeing that Magistrate Li could not help with this issue, Lu Mingfei stood up and said goodbye.

After getting the superior's nod, he turned and walked out.

On his way out, he met a beautiful girl with a maid. Guessing that she must be the daughter of Magistrate Li, he stood aside and waited for her to pass by.

When Miss Li San passed by, she glanced at the young man standing on the side of the road, then walked away with her maid.

After the two men left, Lu Mingfei also left with the guards behind him.

Miss Li San came to her father's study and bowed to him who was sitting at the desk. She said, "My child greets you, father."

"Get up, Xin'er, why are you here?" asked Magistrate Li.

He had high hopes for his legitimate daughter, hoping that she could marry the Crown Prince and become his consort. Unfortunately, the Crown Prince was away from home all year round and rarely came back to Pingzhou. He had no chance to marry his daughter to the Crown Prince.

"Mother said you've had a cough recently, so she asked me to bring you a bowl of bird's nest soup." Miss Li San asked the maid to give her the food box. She put the food box on the table, opened it, took out a bowl of hot bird's nest soup from it, and handed it to her father.

Magistrate Li knew very well that his daughter might have noticed his cough, so she asked the kitchen to prepare bird's nest soup for him. However, for the sake of harmony between him and his wife, he deliberately said that it was prepared by his wife.

"Father, when I came in just now, I met a young man. Who is he?" Miss Li San asked casually.

"He is just a small county magistrate." Li Zhifu replied casually.

"Ask your mother to pass the invitation to the princess and ask her to visit the palace more often." He was still thinking about letting his daughter marry into the palace and become the prince's consort.

"Okay, I understand. I'll go back and tell Mother about this." Miss Li San also wanted to be the Crown Prince's consort. However, during her visit to the palace, she saw that the Crown Prince had no interest in her and even disliked her somewhat.

As a daughter of a prefectural governor, why should she beg others to marry her? However, her parents wanted her to marry into a prince's palace and become his consort, which was the best family she could marry into at the moment.

After giving her father the bird's nest soup, she bowed slightly and turned to walk out.

The maid outside saw their young lady coming out and followed her, and the master and servant left together.