Chapter 164: A sharp sword is forged from grinding

Ouyang Ye was startled and was about to speak, but Yan Yuze made a gesture to keep quiet. After making sure that there was no one behind him, he went into the room and closed the door.

"Your Highness, you are here." Ouyang Ye said.

Song Mian in the kitchen heard this and came out to greet Yan Yuze:

"Your humble servant, Song Mian, a doctor of the Water Department, pays respect to His Majesty the Prince."

"Master Song, please stand up."

Yan Yuze sat down on the chair and looked at the two people in front of him. "Did your trip go smoothly, Lord Song?"

Song Mian and Ouyang Ye smiled at each other, took out the book "Yi Shen's Poems" and handed it to Yan Yuze.

"The account book was hidden in this book. I think the assassins who were sent to kill Magistrate Li were in a hurry and didn't have time to check it carefully, so they didn't find it."

"Yes." Yan Yuze nodded, "If he had found it, the Third Brother wouldn't have specifically asked you to come and look for it."

After saying that, he used the light of the oil lamp and indeed saw other words mixed in between the pages of the book.

"The female student named Zhu Lan came here just now, and she actually found out that Magistrate Li did not commit suicide, and she also discovered this account book. And from her tone, I can tell that this is a fake account book." Song Mian raised his eyes to observe Yan Yuze's expression, carefully choosing his words.

Yan Yuze smiled but said nothing. This might not necessarily be a false account.

Maybe, it's more real than the real account.

Song Mian: "She is just an ordinary student, will she leak the news?"

There was a hint of helplessness in Yan Yuze's smile. His royal brother needed to get to the bottom of Prince Qi's affairs, but he didn't want to get to the bottom of it too thoroughly, which was why he asked him to take the lead in the matter.

The original intention of letting these students be my subordinates was to not push the case too fast, and to let myself control the balance. But who would have thought that these students would push the case to this point right from the start, and even faster than myself.

It's both gratifying and a headache.

"I will bring this account book back to the capital tomorrow and hand it over to His Majesty for disposal." Yan Yuze looked at Song Mian, "But, Sir Song, have you thought about how to explain this to Prince Qi?"

"Just say...I was busy dealing with the flood and haven't had time to investigate this matter?"

Yan Yuze shook his head. "That would make it seem like Lord Song is not loyal enough. You need to tell the truth."

Song Mian was stunned.

"Master Song, do you know why King Qi immediately promoted you to the position of Water Department Doctor after the dam breach occurred?"

Song Mian shook his head. He was originally a man hidden by the Sixth Prince in the Ministry of Works, and later pretended to surrender to the Third Prince, Prince Qi. This was the first time he was entrusted with an important task.

"Song, as an official in the capital, has no dealings with the Jiangzhou clique. The fact that the prince promoted Song to be the water minister and sent him to Jiangzhou to deal with the dam breach shows that he and the Jiangzhou clique have had a rift.

At this critical moment, if Lord Song searched the entire Long'an County Office and still couldn't find the account book, when Prince Qi knew about it, he might think that Lord Song was not doing his job well. Wouldn't he suspect that the account book had actually been found by Jiangzhou officials, but they were reluctant to hand it over? "

Song Mian thought for a moment before he suddenly realized, "Your Majesty is wise!"

"Then do it. In addition, the disaster in Long'an County is serious. As a doctor in the Ministry of Water Resources, Mr. Song, please dredge the river as soon as possible and drain the flood.

I have heard that the Eastern Palace has raised another three thousand taels from the people and is purchasing supplies for repairing the dam, which will be delivered to Long'an soon.

The people of Long'an are suffering because of the breach of the dike. Please take the trouble to supervise the reconstruction of the dike. The stability of the people of Long'an for the next ten years depends entirely on you, Lord Song."

Yan Yuze bowed solemnly to Song Mian, who hurriedly bent even lower, "Your Highness, your words are serious. This is my duty, and I will do it now."

After Song Mian said goodbye and left, only Ouyang Ye and Yan Yuze were left in the room.

Ouyang Ye's eyebrows were tightly knitted together, and Yan Yuze asked him what he was thinking about.

Ouyang Ye looked worried, "Your Majesty, the trip to Long'an is dangerous after all. Do you think we should let the children in the academy go back first? They are young and don't know how high the sky is or how deep the earth is..."

What Zhu Lan had just said was beyond his expectations and also filled him with deep worry.

The affairs of the court were full of twists and turns, and could be described as extremely dangerous. As the dean of the academy, he had watched these children grow up, and now that they were involved in these affairs, it was really disturbing.

Yan Yuze sighed, "You are cold-faced but soft-hearted. But Zhu Lan is not stupid. She was able to write such an essay and become the first in the provincial examination. Do you think she doesn't know the danger behind Li Yishen's case?"

"Precisely because it is dangerous, we shouldn't let them come..." Ouyang Ye frowned.

"'A sword is sharpened by grinding, and the fragrance of plum blossoms comes from the bitter cold.' They will all be the pillars of our dynasty in the future, and will eventually stand in the court. What they will have to face then will be more than just the little storms they have now.

The talents we need in Daliang are not those who can only sit and talk and boast. "

Yan Yuze looked outside the door, his eyes darkened, "Since she dared to come to you, she wants to tell us that she intends to get involved.

If a student can have such a heart, how can we, as teachers, not lend a hand? "

Ouyang Ye still had concerns, "But the old scholar from the Zhu family just passed away not long ago. According to the regulations, she cannot take the imperial examination within the next three years. Will the prince be a little anxious?"

Yan Yuze shook his head slightly.

"Why do you think I must bring them out? The court is in need of talents right now. With this child's talent, how can it not be a loss for the court if he is delayed for four years?

Don't worry, once the matter in Long'an County is resolved smoothly, Your Majesty and I will make our own arrangements."

…

In Jiangzhou City, Mr. Xiao was wearing an official robe and riding on a tall horse. On both sides of him were people lining the streets to welcome him, holding flowers and fruits in their hands, their eyes full of admiration and love.

"Master Xiao, you are truly our parent official!"

"I wish Mr. Xiao a long life and a prosperous career!"

"Congratulations to Mr. Xiao on his promotion!"

Master Xiao lost himself in the cheers and applause. Suddenly, the person leading the way in front of him slammed the gong in his hand.

"clang!!"

Mr. Xiao was startled by the sound. He sat up suddenly and found that everything around him was in darkness.

There were no more common people kneeling down to kowtow, and no more officials coming to the Daohe Council.

His official robes were also gone.

He looked at everything around him in a trance. This was his familiar bedroom, with his wife lying beside him. Nothing seemed to have changed.

It turned out to be another dream...

Mr. Xiao was stunned for a long time, feeling lost and empty inside.

He remembered that three months ago, he met a friend by chance at the market. That man was Liu Yan, an ordinary official from the Ministry of Personnel, who had returned to Jiangzhou City to visit his relatives.

The two chatted for a few sentences, and Liu Yan mentioned that there seemed to be a vacancy in a remote county. According to the court system, the vacancy should be filled by an experienced old scholar.

Mr. Xiao was also a juren, and he was overjoyed when he heard the news. He immediately asked his friend to help him inquire about it and gave him many gifts. It would be great if he could help fill the vacancy.

At that time, Liu Yan readily agreed and asked him to wait for news at home.

Unexpectedly, this wait lasted for three months. During this period, Mr. Xiao asked people to send letters to the capital several times to inquire, but there was no reply.

It was just daybreak. Manager Zhao, who ran a horse and carriage business, had just moved open the door when he saw a man standing at the door.

"Hey, Master Xiao, why are you here?"

Mr. Xiao took out a letter and a few dozen copper coins and put them in the hands of Manager Zhao.

Shopkeeper Zhao traveled between the capital and Jiangzhou all year round for business, and earned some extra money by selling letters for others.

"What? You want to bring it to Master Liu Yan? The Master Liu Yan from the Ministry of Personnel?"

"Exactly."

Shopkeeper Zhao scratched his chin and thought for a long time, "Hiss... I heard that a senior official in the Ministry of Personnel died of illness some time ago. It seems, it seems that his name is Liu Yan."