"I bought 'Drunk Under the Moon' because I heard my second brother wanted to drink it."
Ye Erniu's eyes widened. He picked up the wine pot and examined it carefully. He then brought it closer to smell it, and in a very professional manner, he picked up the wine cup, swirled it, and took a small sip.
"Indeed, you'll regret it for the rest of your life if you don't drink this wine!"
He looked at Ye Panjiu with delight; his little sister was so good to him!
Ye Panjiu lowered her head to hide her smile, wondering if her second brother would still feel the same way when she gave him even better wine in the future.
Ye Taohua and Ye Guihua were drinking peach blossom wine that Ye Panjiu had bought; it was sweet and had a very low alcohol content.
Old Man Ye tapped his bowl with his chopsticks, picked up his wine glass, and stood up.
The Ye family members all quieted down and looked at him.
"Our Ye family is finally debt-free, and life is getting better and better. We must never forget that the most important thing is that we are all together as a family. Money is never as important as family."
Ye Panjiu agreed with this statement. Money may come and go like water, but feelings are different.
She picked up her wine glass and stood up, saying, "Father is right."
Everyone else stood up, holding their wine glasses, saying, "The Ye family will always be of one mind."
Ten wine glasses clinked together, the full moon shone brightly in the sky, and hearts swelled with emotion on the ground.
Ye Panjiu was very happy that night.
Madam Sun sighed, "I'm just missing Ming'er. I haven't seen him for half a month. I really miss my son. He's never been away from home for so long before."
Ye Erniu patted her hand; he also missed his son.
Ye Panjiu thought for a moment and said, "Although the headmaster said that tuition is waived, we can afford it now. Why don't we buy some writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones for Ming'er tomorrow and send them over, and also buy some gifts for the headmaster?"
Madam Sun's eyes lit up. "Little sister is right. This way we can also check on Ming'er, see if he's lost weight, and whether he's happy at the academy. But what should we send to the headmaster?"
Ye Panjiu recalled the scene at Bailu Academy that day. With a top disciple like Su Yan, the academy must not lack money, nor would it lack writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.
"Since Second Sister-in-law is worried about whether we'll have enough to eat tomorrow, why don't we send a bucket of our homemade braised food to the academy, and also buy some Zhuangyuanhong wine, which has auspicious connotations?"
Old Man Ye agreed wholeheartedly, “Jiu’er is right. Giving gifts is all about good luck. Zhuangyuan Hong (状元红) sounds auspicious.”
Upon hearing what Old Man Ye said, Madam Sun nodded repeatedly, "Then let's do it that way. After setting up the stall tomorrow, we'll buy the meat, cook it in the afternoon, and then go to the academy."
She was very anxious and couldn't wait even a day to see her son.
The moon gradually climbed higher in the sky.
Ye Erniu, overestimating his abilities, kept toasting Liu Shi, only to end up getting drunk and collapsing on the table himself.
Grandma Ye yawned, her eyes half-closed; she was getting sleepy as she got older.
Old Man Ye stepped forward and helped Old Woman Ye into the house. "Alright, it's getting late, go to sleep."
Ye Lei grabbed Ye Daniu's sleeve, "Uncle."
Liu looked at Ye Lei and, being very understanding, went back to her room first.
"What's wrong?" Ye Daniu looked at him with a kind expression.
Unlike the second wife, the first wife had no sons. In his heart, Ming'er and Lei'er were like his own children, and he would rely on them to help his two daughters in the future.
"I want to switch places with my uncle and set up a stall in town," Ye Lei said, scratching his head.
Ye Daniu nodded without much hesitation, "Okay."
Ye Lei's eyes lit up with excitement. "Thank you so much, Uncle! I won't disturb your sleep any longer!"
He sets up a stall in town, which means he can go to the meat stall twice a day, and maybe he can see Wang Jiao twice a day!
Ye Daniu shook his head as he watched his retreating figure. Ah, youth, how wonderful.
...
The Imperial Palace of the Great Liang Dynasty, the Imperial Study.
Dozens of candles flickered, illuminating the room brightly.
Su Yan, dressed in a purple, floor-length robe, with a jade belt around his waist, a gold fish pouch, and a seven-beam crown, stood tall and said, “Your Majesty, the matter of the gold mine was proposed by the Second Prince in court. During this inspection, I also saw that the Second Prince had secretly hoarded nearly a thousand taels of gold from the mine.”
Emperor Liang Qing, Ning Xuan, pressed the vermilion brush in his hand forcefully onto the memorial. "What do you mean, my dear minister?"
Su Yan extended a hand, then lowered his thumb. "The gold mine in Qingshui County stretches for dozens of miles and occupies the eastern part of the area. It is the largest in scale. I have discovered that the leader of the mine has a very close personal relationship with the brother-in-law of the Third Prince's advisor."
He then lowered his index finger. "The reclamation in the west is even more well hidden. I spent some time investigating and found that the people responsible for the reclamation were from the Wang family of Qingshui County. They were in cahoots with the magistrate of Qingshui County through the county clerk."
The Wang family is naturally inextricably linked to the Sixth Prince.
Ning Xuan's face was so dark it could drip ink. "My teachings have not been in vain."
He would take money from his pocket and then use that money to plot his throne.
Good, excellent.
Ning Xuan changed the subject, "My dear minister, what do you think is the proper way to punish this matter?"
Su Yan looked at him with a forced smile, "Naturally, a prince who breaks the law should be punished the same as a commoner. According to the laws of Liang, stealing from a gold mine is punishable by..."
Ning Xuan quickly interrupted him, "Alright, my dear minister, you've worked hard. Is there anything you want?"
Su Yan was about to shake his head, but then a thought struck him and he said, “Let’s repair the road between the capital and Qingshui County. This road is long and difficult to travel. I’m getting old, and I almost lost half my life because of it.”
"Reward, step down." Ning Xuan, provoked by the word "old," looked down at the memorial, the large red dot on it quite jarring.
If someone is considered old in their early thirties, then what about someone who's almost fifty?
Su Yan bowed deeply and said, “Your Majesty, please do not overwork yourself. It would be very serious if you were to harm your health. I will take my leave now.”
Then he respectfully withdrew.
Ning Xuan smiled, clearly pleased.
Although Su Xiang was sometimes arrogant, he was genuinely respectful and caring towards him.
The crimson words appeared one by one: "The magistrate of Qingshui County has been executed for stealing gold from a mine. His male relatives will be sent to the army, and his female relatives will be exiled. The clerk of Qingshui County will have his entire family executed."
A gust of cold wind swept by, and the eunuch standing in the shadows was covered in cold sweat on his back.
Su Yan walked out of the palace step by step. The red walls and black tiles made the palace at night seem like an unseen behemoth lurking in the night.
He walked each step lightly and slowly.
He traveled day and night from Qingshui County back to the capital without stopping. No matter that it was already past midnight, he immediately went to the palace to meet the emperor, not daring to delay even for a moment.
Thankfully, we've finally gotten rid of this mess.
The next day arrived in the blink of an eye.
Ye Panjiu noticed that Ye Daniu and Ye Lei had switched places, but she understood and didn't ask any further questions.
After selling out of braised food, the five people packed up their stall.
Ye Panjiu said, "I want to buy a shop in the county."
Grandma Ye turned her head blankly, looking at the shops in the county that were all made of blue bricks and tiled roofs. "Can we afford these?"
Ye Panjiu shook her head. "I need to go see Ya Zi first."
"Let's go, it'll be more thorough if the five of us think it through together." Ye Erniu was very enthusiastic.
He will soon have a place to settle down in the county.
Tsk tsk tsk, just thinking about it makes him excited.
Ye Panjiu asked in confusion, "Second Brother knows where Ya Zi is?"
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