Chapter 111: Plum Blossoms 21 Jiang Tingyuan is the concubine, Tingyan is the main wife...

Song Yanze was thinking of a solution all the way back. Jiang Tingyuan didn't disturb him but just stayed by his side.

At this time, he was no longer petty, because the serious little Master Song particularly moved him.

Because he was with him, Song Yanze was not afraid at all when walking home on the suburban road at night. Instead, he had more time to think about countermeasures.

The government's grain supply was blocked by the three departments. No matter how hard he tried, he could only raise less than half a month's worth of grain according to a rough calculation. Now the remaining grain was only enough for less than half a month.

He could only think of ways to extort grain from the landlords and the wealthy merchants. He could use tough measures, but he had no troops or backing. Moreover, Governor Yu Ying was watching his mistakes, so he could only think of ways to start from the market.

He rubbed his forehead. He was really tired after running around all day, but he couldn't stop.

These days, not only do I have to deal with all kinds of affairs, I also have to pay attention to what's happening in the prison, and be alert to when Yu Ying might make trouble.

If Fang Yifeng hadn't secretly held him back, Ji Bai would have been thrown into prison and become a scapegoat, and the clues of the dam's destruction would have been destroyed.

Thinking of this, Song Yanze couldn't help but look at Jiang Tingyuan who insisted on riding his horse close to him. He wanted to ask him how the investigation was going, but this guy was now "Escort Master Tingyan".

How would I know about Commander Jiang?

Song Yanze got a little angry when he thought of this. He snorted softly and quickened his horse's pace.

Jiang Tingyuan naturally wanted to stick close to him and watch his expression in the bright and cold moonlight, worried that he was too worried and feeling depressed.

"Take your time to think about it. Don't be anxious. Go back and rest first. You've lost a lot of weight."

"We'll only be seeing each other for a few days, how do you know I've lost weight?"

Song Yanze turned to look at him and questioned him lightly.

"...I just know it." Jiang Tingyuan's Adam's apple rolled as he uttered these words.

Song Yanze was in a good mood and couldn't help laughing. Then, looking at his current outfit, he couldn't help shaking his head and laughing.

His half-grown beard was casually attached, and his scar was realistic, making him look like a sloppy and rough bandit. However, his deep and bright eyes under his eye sockets had never changed.

It looks a little better, but still ugly.

Jiang Tingyuan met his focused gaze and felt that he was looking at him. The moonlight was as clear and cold as a silver thread, but he smiled softly, his long eyelashes half-covered and the corners of his lips slightly raised, looking a little indulgent.

It's like watching a beloved dog that's out having some fun and getting itself dirty.

Jiang Tingyuan felt jealous at that moment. This ugly brother Xiaoyan actually outshined him.

He had never been treated like this before.

"You've been looking at me for so long, are you disgusted by my ugly appearance now?"

Say you dislike it now.

"How could that be? In my heart, you are still that handsome and dashing Brother Xiaoyan no matter what you are like."

Song Yanze smiled, accurately grasping Jiang Tingyuan's narrow-mindedness.

He wanted to be proud, but couldn't laugh.

"You don't mind the scars on my face? You don't mind that I don't shave or keep my beard clean?"

Song Yanze turned his head away without looking at him, and just said in a deep voice: "No matter who you are or what you look like, you are you, the you that I like."

Song Yanze heaved a sigh of relief after he finished speaking, blushed, and avoided his gaze. This time he had made his heart clear, so it should be all right, right?

At least we should stop worrying about such meaningless questions as whether he likes Tingyan or Jiang Tingyuan.

It's time to confess to him.

Jiang Tingyuan's ears were buzzing, and something in his heart suddenly collapsed. He held the reins tightly and tried his best to calm himself.

The excitement passed quickly, and then there was another wave of regret and pain that almost drowned him.

It turns out that Brother Xiaoyan can also be a husband. After seven years of going around in circles, it turns out that I can take a shortcut by relying on his favor.

But now, he has done what he did and succeeded in cheating on himself.

He confessed his love to Tingyan, regardless of the fact that he already had Jiang Tingyuan at home.

Jiang Tingyuan became a concubine, and brother Xiaoyan was the principal wife.

He knew long ago that Ting Yan was the white moonlight that he couldn't get around.

Song Yanze waited for a long time, but he didn't get this guy to confess, and he was ready for him to jump over and hug him. But there was no movement behind him, so he sighed and looked back at Jiang Tingyuan.

But I only saw his face was livid and he looked distraught. The look in my eyes was wet with grievance, yet also concealed with surging love.

Song Yanze was helpless. He thought he understood his pettiness well enough, but he obviously underestimated his extent.

He was also angry. This guy said nothing. He left without a word seven years ago, and hid his identity seven years later. Now that they are together, he is still not honest.

She didn't say a word about the insecurity in her heart, but had to put on a brave face and do her best to make him feel that she was strong, reliable and emotionally stable.

Song Yanze was so angry that his teeth were itching, and he really wanted to sit on his neck and slap him.

If you are willing to torture yourself, then go ahead. It depends on how long you can hold it in.

Song Yanze urged his horse into the posthouse without saying a word. They hurried back and it was already past midnight. He had to visit a few grain merchants tomorrow and then visit the victims.

He thought about what he had to do one by one, and soon he would forget about the irritating Jiang Tingyuan. Song Yanze ignored him, called for water, went into the hall and went upstairs alone, without even looking at the person standing pitifully by the stable looking at him.

Jiang Tingyuan thought for a while, but in the end he couldn't find any way to make "Tingyan" refuse or keep a distance from his Master Xiao Song.

Jiang Tingyuan took the hot water from the mistress and walked into Song Yanze's room openly.

Song Yanze did not even raise his head, flipping through the documents in his hand, and said softly, "Thank you for your help." However, he did not hear a reply, only the sound of footsteps coming towards him.

As soon as I put down the documents in my hand, someone hugged me from behind.

Jiang Tingyuan didn't care about anything else. He held his waist tightly and lowered his head to his profile. The candlelight flickered for a moment, and his tall figure covered his.

"Can I have a candlelight chat and sleep with you tonight?"

Song Yanze agreed without any hesitation. If he didn't agree, would he let him come over again in the middle of the night?

Jiang Tingyuan looked at him with a face full of resentment again, and endured it again and again, and finally asked in his ear: "Are you really happy with me? The kind of happiness that you treat me as your husband?"

"What about your sweetheart?"

Song Yanze really wanted to turn around and twist his ears off, so he slowly exhaled and asked him back in a calm and nonchalant tone.

"Why do you care so much about what he does? It doesn't matter."

"Nothing wrong?"

Jiang Tingyuan was shocked, and Song Yanze took the opportunity to break free from his arms, walked to the side, and simply washed and undressed, without avoiding him at all.

Song Yanze sat on the edge of the bed with his hair loose, the candlelight flickered. He looked straight at him, his red lips opening and closing, urging him intimately.

"Come up quickly, it's getting late."

Jiang Tingyuan gnashed his teeth and was furious for a while, making a lot of clanging noises while scrubbing, then he crawled into Mr. Xiao Song's bed in a cowardly manner.

Song Yanze turned sideways to face him, looked at him, stood up and walked over him to lower the gauze curtain, her black hair brushed against his skin, and the light Mu Xiangxiang scent was like a silk net, soft but impossible to escape from.

The gauze curtain made the candlelight dim. Song Yanze did not rush to leave. Instead, he leaned on his arms and looked down at Jiang Tingyuan who was standing straight.

Jiang Tingyuan grabbed his slender waist, and it was unclear whether he was going to push him away or hold him down tightly to prevent him from leaving.

His Adam's apple trembled, and he seemed to chuckle when he saw Song Yanze.

Song Yanze stretched out his hand and stroked from the scar on his cheek to his chin. His fingertips were soft and had no calluses. He then stretched out his fingers and slid from his forehead along his high nose bridge to the tip of his nose.

Regardless of the fact that his breathing was getting heavier, her hands tightened around his waist.

The gentle touch did not end with a kiss. Song Yanze suddenly grabbed a beard, but let go before he could pull it off.

Jiang Tingyuan didn't care about so many things. After being a vegetarian for so many days, he felt that he would become a Buddha as soon as he shaved his head.

The world was spinning, Song Yanze lay on his back on the bed, looked up at his forbearing expression, put his palm on his cheek, and then withdrew his hand with a frown.

"difficult to handle."

Jiang Tingyuan lowered his head and kissed his cheek, stopping all the way until his red lips touched hers. He couldn't help but ask him, "Why don't you push me away?"

Song Yanze touched his fake beard, hooked his neck, lowered his eyes and tilted his head slightly to kiss his lips, lightly touching his lips with the tip of his tongue, teasing him gently.

Jiang Tingyuan's eyes turned red, and he asked him in a hoarse voice: "Don't you mind the pricking?"

"I said it." Song Yanze separated from him, and his tongue extended a little and then retracted. When a gentleman of integrity and elegance does such a thing, the temptation is doubled.

"No matter what you look like, I like you and I accept you."

"You don't believe it?"

Jiang Tingyuan fell into the crook of his neck and kissed his neck fiercely with a muffled sound. He wanted to bite it to ease the numbness in his heart, but he couldn't bear to do it.

"What about your sweetheart? Why are you like this..."

Song Yanze gritted his teeth and suddenly closed his eyes. His chest heaved violently, and finally he kicked him aside.

I gave you a chance, but you didn't seize it at all.

Jiang Tingyuan looked at him in confusion. He was tall, wearing only his underwear, kneeling beside the bed, pinching the corner of the quilt, like a mountain.

Song Yanze turned over, wrapped himself in the quilt, and turned his back to him, saying coldly.

"If you're going to argue with me about this, get out of here now."

Quite heartless and unfaithful words.

Jiang Tingyuan was really angry and wanted to pull him up to have a quarrel, but he was not even in the right to quarrel with him. He was so angry that he wanted to pound the bed, but he was afraid of waking him up.

In the end, he lay back down courageously with his back to him and without covering himself with the quilt, as a punishment for Master Xiao Song to cover himself with the quilt alone without anyone to help him cover himself with the blanket.

Because he had to check the granary today and come up with a plan, Song Yanze got up early.

The first thing he did after waking up was to tear off the person who was sticking to him. Song Yanze rubbed his head, thought about what happened last night, and was so angry that he kicked him before getting out of bed.

Song Yanze was smart, but always clumsy, and his hair was still tied tightly. Jiang Tingyuan had always tied it for him before, and he knew a few hairpins better than he did.

Song Yanze was going to meet a wealthy businessman today, so naturally he had to wear an official robe. He was just lowering his head to fasten the buckle when someone came over and tied his hair.

In the bronze mirror, Jiang Tingyuan had a cold face, and he was about to draw his knife and chop someone in the next second, but his fingers were nimbly combing his hair, and he was gentle so as not to hurt him.

Song Yanze just looked at the angry Jiang Tingyuan in the mirror and decided to add fuel to the fire.

"What are you doing here again? Don't you mind now?"

Jiang Tingyuan put on the wooden hairpin in silence, with a cold face and no words, but that gaze as if it were real was fixed on him.

Song Yanze straightened his sleeves, like a lord who had slept with someone and was not happy with the result. He turned around and was about to leave, holding his official hat, without even looking back, leaving behind a word.

"Would you mind just going back to your room tonight? You don't have to come here anymore."

Quite cold and heartless.

Jiang Tingyuan smashed two cups in a cowardly manner and cleaned them up himself, fearing that he would get stabbed again when he came back.

*

Song Yanze had a general idea, but he still needed to consider the specific rules carefully. Besides, this move was risky and he was not completely sure.

But if he hesitates any longer, Fang Yifeng will sooner or later be unable to withstand the pressure. Once he lets go and Yu Ying takes over, the remaining half month's food will probably be gone.

He could only take a risky move and give it a try.

Of course Jiang Tingyuan really had something important to do. Yesterday he was worried about him running so far alone, but today the person was right under his nose, so he had to go and do his work.

Song Yanze's guess was correct. He had indeed followed the case of the destroyed dam all the way to Zhaojia Village, and also went to find Wang Er's wife and children and asked them some questions.

The dam, which shouldn't have cracked, was now leaking water everywhere like tofu paste. The anxious Sansi Yamen kept hinting that the dam did not burst naturally.

If that’s the case…

We will definitely find some clues at the dam, and we have to bring along Wang Er who knows the business. Jiang Tingyuan took off his disguise and changed into the red-lined black robe he usually wore when handling cases.

He thought about it and changed the hairpin on his head to avoid being exposed in front of Song Yanze.

Jiang Tingyuan was naturally qualified to recommend someone with the imperial commander badge, but it was inevitable to alert Song Yanze. Jiang Tingyuan sat in the yamen drinking tea, and the officials of the yamen, big and small, served him respectfully.

Jiang Tingyuan was wondering in his heart whether Song Yanze would feel guilty later.

This enemy, he is not this kind of person in normal times, I don’t know what happened to him.

After waiting for a long while, the only person who came back to report was someone else.

"Master Xiao Song said that Commander Jiang can bring the person back, but he must be sent back in the same condition as before."

Jiang Tingyuan was unhappy and seemed not to miss him at all.

Business was important, so he took the people away from the Neisi Yamen with great fanfare, without hiding his whereabouts. The imperial eunuchs in black robes and red shirts lined up at the door and went up to the embankment in a mighty manner.

Qiu Yi saw him off with a pale face, and then he smashed a teacup when he returned to the lobby. He was not angry, but panicked. He immediately got up to find Fang Yifeng and went to the Governor's Mansion with him.

Yu Ying frowned. Why did Jiang Tingyuan come in person? There was no reason for the emperor to conduct a thorough investigation... The emperor wanted to confiscate the property and convict him. In order to balance the issue, he wanted to convict the prince's party member, the Minister of Works.

For the sake of balance, I won't pursue this any further. Whose idea was this?

The affairs of the court are always about power. No one has clean hands, but when it comes to punishing someone, it is never about justice, it is all about interests.

Fang Yifeng watched them coldly as they thought anxiously and panicked, without saying a word.

They all deserve to die, all equally.

"Don't panic yet. Jiang Tingyuan's mention of Wang Er may not be our business. It is more likely that he wants to get the Minister of Works."

"We should thank Song Yanze. He copied the Minister of Revenue, Li Gelao's men. In this round, we are safe. The emperor will not slap Li Gelao in the face again."

"Even if Jiang Tingyuan finds out something, he will be suppressed if he reports it. Elder Li has thought about it, so we should not panic."

This is exactly what gives them the confidence to do what they do, and their political sense is correct.

Jiang Tingyuan took Wang Er to carefully inspect the levee one by one. There was still danger of collapse in many places. Without Jiang Tingyuan, how could Wang Er be so close to check it out.

The Imperial Envoy took over the entire Sanjiang Dam. Jiang Tingyuan built the three dams in a grand manner, attracting many people to watch. The Imperial Envoy imposed martial law, but did not drive people away.

Shi Yucheng and Ji Bai saw this from afar, and Shi Yucheng even muttered, "Will this not be known to everyone?"

Ji Bai also found it strange to hear him say this. He was a Beijing official and knew that the imperial envoys usually spoke in a low voice.

I don’t know why this is intended.

From afar, they saw a tall figure standing by the riverbank, with a knife on his waist, listening with a serious face to his subordinates' reports on the situation.

A middle-aged man with a dusty face and a grim expression crawled up to him, knelt down, and said something.

The people in front only saw the leading man frown and immediately stopped him from talking.

After a while, the first half of the sentence was known to the people. Ji Bai and Shi Yucheng were both shocked and shuddered after hearing it.

"Traces of damage from the explosion..."

Could it be that the dam was blown up by someone? !

Jiang Tingyuan waved his hand, and someone came up and took Wang Er away, heading back to the Neisi Yamen.

Shi Yucheng suddenly met the commander's gaze and trembled all over. There was such a strong murderous aura that he looked even scarier than the bandit Ting Yan.

Before he could react, he heard a discussion. "What damage? You mean the dam..."

"You're asking for your life! How dare you say that!"

"Are they going to take that man to the Neisi Yamen prison?"

Ji Bai frowned, a trace of doubt flashed through his mind, but he quickly let it go. They still had to do their job well. They had to dredge the river and release the flood water so as not to delay the autumn harvest.

"Master Xiao Song, are you still going to borrow grain today?"

Ji Bai asked casually, and Shi Yucheng sighed: "He couldn't borrow it. He just said he was going to find a way and told us not to worry."

Jiang Tingyuan sent the man back to the prison, whispered a few words to Wang Er, and assured him that his family had been protected.

Everything was settled and it was almost time for dinner, but his Lord Xiao Song was not in the government office, nor on the dike, nor in the granary, nor had he returned to the posthouse.

Xuanqing reported once that he had returned to the posthouse to change out of his official robes, and then went out.

Jiang Tingyuan was still waiting for Master Xiao Song to come back and have a quarrel, to discuss the question of how many husbands a person could have. He immediately found Xuan Qing and asked him where he was.

"Master Xiao Song went to Yixiang Pavilion."

Xuan Qing was afraid that his master was not being fussy enough, so he added: "It seems to be a brothel."

Jiang Tingyuan slammed the table and the person left.