Chapter 57: Commendation
After saying that, he gestured for the carriage to move forward.
At this point, Baili Yunzhou did not force it, but was a little puzzled by his last words. He asked the servant beside him, "Did Lord Zhao just say that he and Huatang were old friends?"
The servant replied, "Yes, that's what Lord Zhao said."
Baili was puzzled. "But I've never heard Huatang say that. Could it be that Lord Zhao just spoke too hastily and made a mistake?"
The servant said, "That's possible."
Baili Yunzhou felt a little depressed. After thinking about it, he felt that Zhao Yan might have been wrong. He didn't want to dwell on this matter anymore and returned to the shop.
In the carriage, Zhao Yan ordered Wang Zhubu to write commendations for all the meritorious personnel involved in this pirate case and paste them in various places.
Wang Zhubu asked, "Should we write a separate chapter for Madam Qiaodeng?"
Zhao Yan nodded. "Of course, if there were no Fire Thunder Lanterns this time, there would be no so-called Fire Thunder Victory. His Majesty would not have rewarded us. Miss Yu's merit should be the primary merit."
Wang Zhubu was surprised. It was considered good of ordinary officials to show a little favor to their subordinates and those who contributed. There were almost no officials like Lord Zhao who gave the primary credit to a woman. This was not because of Miss Yu's merits, but because ordinary officials wanted to be promoted.
I just heard Lord Zhao say that he and Yu Hu Niang are old friends. It's rare that Miss Yu knows Lord Zhao, but there's no sign of any affair between the two of them.
After thinking about it, Wang Zhubu was clueless and said, "Then do as your Excellency said. I will have someone write a document when I get back. It would be best if the words are simple so that everyone knows Miss Yu's contribution."
At this point, the pirate case was finally concluded. At this point, Wang Zhubu asked again, "Sir, Governor Xu has returned from the capital. He said he was grateful to you for allowing him to participate in the Jiang Huaxiang case and wanted to have dinner with you."
The former Fuzhou governor Jiang Huaxiang was handed over to the Dali Temple for investigation a month ago, and his guilt was confirmed. He has now been imprisoned and will be exiled three thousand miles away next spring.
Zhao Yan was silent for a moment. "There's no time now. Please ask the governor to stay for a few more days. I'll visit him in person later."
He knew clearly what Jiedushi Xu wanted to do. It was nothing more than that Xu Tongren was rewarded for being on a ship.
Naturally, I want to be closer to him, because his father is the Left Prime Minister.
He originally didn't want to have too much private contact with these officials, but Jiedushi Xu did help at a critical moment, so he couldn't avoid seeing him for both moral and logical reasons.
At this time, Wang Zhubu said, "Do you remember those civilian ships from before? They all returned successfully, and the people of Gejia Village have always been grateful. Coincidentally, tomorrow is this year's winter wind prayer ceremony, and their mayor has invited you to participate."
Zhao Yan listened carefully as Wang Zhubu continued to explain, "Every year, April in summer and October in winter are the days fishermen look forward to most. Fishermen rely on the sea for their livelihood, and their voyages depend entirely on the monsoon. Therefore, every October, the people of Gejia Village come to Zhaohui Temple to pray to the sea god, 'Tongyuan Wang,' enshrined there, for favorable winds."
Zhao Yan knew that Quanzhou had been engaged in overseas trade for generations and the people relied on the sea for their livelihood, so the way people here prayed to gods and Buddhas was different from that in the north.
Since it is such a grand event, Huatang also contributed last time, so I think she will be invited as well.
He said, "Okay, after you finish today's business trip, go back and tell Gejia Village, and I'll go join in the fun."
Meanwhile, Yu Huatang also received an invitation from Gejia Village at the Dengshi Hall. Actually, everyone could attend this grand event, but some people came from different villages, and some customs might differ. When one village held a ceremony, another village might also be holding one at the same time.
This resulted in everyone returning to their respective villages.
On this day, Yu Huatang woke up early. The weather at the seaside was even colder. She put on a cloak when she went out. After taking a few steps, she heard someone calling her from behind, "Miss Yu..."
She turned around and saw Zhao Yan, followed by a carriage behind him.
Zhao Yan stepped forward and said, "Miss Yu, are you going to Gejia Village as well? I just happened to be invited too. How about we go together?"
Yu Huatang was surprised. "Are you really going to attend this kind of ceremony?"
It’s not about the ceremony, but in her impression, he doesn’t like to join in such fun.
Zhao Yan said, "Since we're here, we must have fun with the people. Besides, they invited us so kindly, so I'm willing to join in the fun."
Yu Huatang chuckled, "Master Zhao has changed a lot compared to before, and has become more harmonious. When Master Zhao first came, he really didn't like this place very much."
Zhao Yan was not annoyed by her mentioning the past, but just smiled, "Really? That might be because I didn't have good judgment before. Now I think the mountains, water and people here are beautiful."
It was rare to hear him speak ill of her like that, and Yu Huatang was a little surprised for a moment.
At this time, Zhao Yan said, "The weather is too cold. If you walk over there, you might catch a cold. Miss Yu, why don't you come up with us..."
Yu Huatang wanted to refuse, but Zhao Yan stepped in front of her. Their eyes met, and she was speechless. In the end, she only said, "Thank you, sir."
The two men got into the carriage and sat on each side.
For a moment, the car was extremely quiet. Yu Huatang turned his head to look out the window. At this time, the pine trees on the roadside had exposed their bare branches, stretching towards the blue sky, which gave people a sense of strong power.
Zhao Yan followed her gaze and said, "There are many pine trees planted along the path here, which is very different from the capital."
Yu Huatang smiled and continued to look outside.
Zhao Yan said, "I heard that Wang Yanche, a native of Jinjiang, ordered the planting of these pines, starting in Zhangzhou and ending in Quanzhou. It took a lot of effort. Later, our ancestor Cai Xiang continued the work, and now it stretches for 700 miles, forming a tree-lined avenue from Dayi Ferry in Fuzhou to Quanzhou and other places."
"I think it's because of the outstanding people and beautiful scenery of Quanzhou that we can produce such talents who benefit the people. We, the descendants, also benefit from it. Miss Yu was born in Quanzhou and is also very skillful and admirable."
Yu Huatang smiled and said, "I am just a craftsman. I dare not be compared with these people. Your Excellency is too kind."
Perhaps seeing that she was reluctant to talk, he changed the subject. "We'll have a banquet later, and I don't know which local dishes are good. Miss Yu, would you be willing to introduce some so I can say some nice things."
Yu Huatang thought for a moment and said, "A peasant banquet might not have any rare dishes. But we do have ginger duck, scallion-fried pig's trotter tendons, and oil-baked red crabs. If you'd like to try some more authentic snacks, why not try noodle soup, fried oysters, or spring rolls?"
"But I don't know whether the host family prepared these snacks."
When Zhao Yan heard her talk about the following snacks, he remembered that she had prepared runbing for him before, which was also called runcaibing at that time.
"Hearing what you said, I'd like to try something else today. Speaking of spring rolls, Lord Yan also ordered them at Baoxianglou before, and they were indeed good. But in terms of taste, I think the one I had at the Ministry of Industry before was the best."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
