One hundred and sixty-eight
When Prince Zhou came out of his father's study, it was already the end of the hour of the Ox.
As soon as I walked out of the study, I saw a light snow falling outside. I stopped for a moment and looked up at the falling snow outside in the corridor.
In previous years, Yuzhang usually had snow before the New Year, and at most one or two snowfalls after the New Year. But now it is almost the end of February and there is still frequent snowfall.
Standing quietly beside the pillar, staring at the slowly falling snowflakes in a trance.
He recalled the conversation he had just had with his father in the study.
He had already prepared a lot of excuses to clear himself of suspicion, but his father did not mention a word about the military pay that year. In the end, he did not get the chance to say anything.
My father talked about current affairs in the court and how the major families were suspected by the emperor and powerful officials.
Many noble families have been stripped of their titles or had their property confiscated due to various crimes, and the Zhou family is now in a precarious situation.
In addition, there were severe snow disasters in Shu County and other places, and civil unrest broke out one after another. Several counties in Shu County were captured by refugees, and a war would soon begin. If the rebellion could not be suppressed in time, the Zhou family would definitely send troops to quell it.
Prince Zhou was very surprised: "Why didn't I hear any news?"
"Refugees have seized the county government office, and the imperial court has come to investigate. The Shu prefect has no choice but to pay with his own head. How could he dare report this?"
"But if we keep it secret, the news will eventually reach the capital, and the result will be the same."
Sect Leader Zhou glanced at him and then said, "Don't you think the Shu Commandery Governor knows that truth cannot be hidden?"
Prince Zhou keenly sensed the hidden meaning in his father's words.
Sect Master Zhou looked at his eldest son and continued, "Even though everything will be exposed in the end, he can only focus on the present. How can he think about the future?"
Prince Zhou felt that when his father said this to him, his eyes seemed to be able to see through all his thoughts. In the cold weather, a layer of cold sweat broke out on his back.
"Among your generation, Erlang is the most outstanding at marching and fighting. So, it won't be long before I arrange for him to return from Lingnan, to the Zhou family, and to the county seat. I asked you to come here to discuss this matter with you and to ask for your opinion."
"What do you think?"
Prince Zhou's little finger trembled slightly, and he lowered his gaze and replied, "Father must have made this decision after careful consideration. I have no objection."
She said she was asking for his opinion, but she made it clear that he couldn't express any objection.
Sect Leader Zhou nodded and said meaningfully, "That's great. If he can't even tolerate a capable brother, who else can he tolerate in the future? You can't just drive away all the capable people around you and leave behind some mediocre people, right?"
Prince Zhou understood the veiled meaning in these words and replied, "Father, you are absolutely right."
"You will take over the Zhou family in the future, so you must be tolerant. If you do, I won't be able to leave the Zhou family in your hands in the future."
Sect Master Zhou stared at his son, who dared not look him in the eye. After a pause, he asked, "If the world were truly in chaos, would you be able to personally lead the troops to quell the rebellion?"
"When the Zhou family is in trouble, I will do my best to help them."
"I will definitely do whatever it takes..." Sect Master Zhou repeated this, then smiled. "Sanlang, remember, just being willing to do whatever it takes is not enough. If you really think that's enough, it means you're not mature enough and your vision isn't far-sighted enough."
Prince Zhou lowered his head and said, "Father, I will keep your words in mind every day."
Sect Master Zhou nodded and said, "Go back. Go talk to your second brother tomorrow. You've been back for so long, it's time to go see your nephews and nieces. As their third uncle, you should prepare two generous gifts."
His father's implication was that he should put aside his status as the crown prince and take the initiative to get close to the illegitimate son.
The deeper meaning is to ask him to apologize.
There is no definite evidence now, so his father will not convict him, but he is already convinced that he is the one who framed Zhou Yi.
"I'm sorry for my negligence. I will prepare two generous gifts tomorrow and personally deliver them to Lan Jie'er and Ming'er."
"The current situation is turbulent. I don't want our Zhou family to start internal strife when we are facing external troubles, giving others an opportunity to take advantage and causing the Zhou family... to be destroyed in my hands."
Prince Zhou suddenly looked up at his father in surprise: "Father, are you saying that someone is going to attack our Zhou family?"
Sect Leader Zhou's face was solemn as he said, "After your grandfather was buried, Magistrate Huo from Wuling came to visit and brought me a letter from the Grand Marshal."
The Grand Marshal is the brother of the emperor's favorite concubine and holds all the power in the court. "Why would the Grand Marshal give a letter to my father?"
"I won't go into too much detail about the content, but what I want to tell you is, do you really want to achieve great things, or are you afraid of your position being shaken, and so you spend all day calculating and scheming?"
It's clear enough, this is the last chance.
Prince Zhou didn't dare reveal any clues.
"Think about it yourself, and then choose a path to follow. Whichever path you take, I hope you won't regret it, and you won't blame anyone."
Prince Zhou was standing in the corridor, thinking about what his father had just said. At this moment, his men hurried over with umbrellas, shielding him from the falling snow, and whispered, "Prince, are you all right?"
Prince Zhou didn't look at him. He walked out of the corridor and silently walked out of the yard. When he reached a fork in the road, he paused and turned to look at the alley behind him.
"What is the prince looking at?"
Prince Zhou withdrew his gaze, said "go back" and said no more, but returned to Qingyu Courtyard.
As soon as he returned to the yard, he heard the servants say that his mother was waiting for him in the hall.
When Prince Zhou entered the hall, he saw his mother sitting there with a serious expression.
"Why is mother here so late?"
Hearing the noise, Madam Gu, the mistress of the Zhou family, saw him coming in and dismissed everyone else. She then hurried over, pulled him over to sit down, and asked, "I heard that they captured someone and brought him back home. Why did Zhou Yi call you over half an hour later?"
"After talking about the current situation, mother doesn't need to worry too much."
Madam Gu frowned and said, "How can I not be worried? Zhou Yi, who should have returned to Cangwu, stayed in Yuzhang for no reason. I tried to test your father, but he refused to say a word."
"Not only did your father let him stay, he also gave him the Twelve Guards. Did he know that he was wrongly accused, so he kept him here, or did he suspect you?!"
Prince Zhou sighed and lied helplessly, "Father didn't doubt me, it's just that the situation is unstable, so he discussed with me to arrange for my second brother to return to Yuzhang and let him come back to help."
"Help?! Is there no one left in the Zhou family? Is there no one left in your maternal grandparents' family too? Does it have to be Zhou Yi who comes back to help?"
"Mother, Zhou Yi is your son. Naturally, you trust him more than your cousins."
Upon hearing this, Madam Gu's face darkened slightly, and she said in a serious tone, "Your maternal cousins won't threaten your position as Crown Prince, but Zhou Yi can!"
"If Zhou Yi were to return, your father would only appreciate him more and more. Once he is given important positions in the army, his reputation within the Zhou family army would rise even higher. By then, only the Second Son of the Zhou family would be known, and who would respect you, the eldest son of the Zhou family?"
Prince Zhou was silent, and Madam Gu continued, "I failed to protect your eldest brother, and then your daughter. I was always wary of the concubines in the harem, but I didn't expect them to give birth to Zhou Yi. He's a few years older than you, and he's been valued by your father and grandfather. It took a lot of effort to make his biological mother make a mistake, which made your father dislike him. All of this was planned by your mother for you."
I originally planned to raise Zhou Yi under my wing, but I didn't expect that he would be taken away by the old man, so I couldn't reach out to him.
"The Zhou family's inheritance of titles is not comparable to other aristocratic families. Your grandfather was born a bastard, and your father, under his influence, appreciates capable people. If Zhou Yi surpasses you by a large margin, you may not be able to hold on to your position as the crown prince!"
Mrs. Gu pressed on with every word, and would not tolerate Zhou Yi's presence at all.
After a long silence, Prince Zhou finally spoke: "I will not lose to Zhou Yi. Mother, please trust me for once."
"It's not that mother doesn't believe you, but we can't turn back. If Zhou Yi comes back, your father will probably find out at any time that mother and your uncle embezzled military funds to frame Zhou Yi. By then..."
"Father has already decided that I did it, and he won't implicate Mother and Uncle."
Upon hearing this, Madam Gu's voice stopped abruptly. After a moment of shock, she reacted and her pupils trembled: "Your father suspects you, didn't you just say that your father didn't suspect you!"
"Mother……"
Mrs. Gu's emotions, which were originally out of control, came back to her senses after hearing the word "mother". She took a moment to calm down.
"So what does your father mean now?"
"External worries and internal troubles, let me choose a path. Even so, I only give me one path. If it is the former, I will rely on my ability. If it is the latter, once I am discovered, I will lose my chance of becoming a noble."
Madam Gu frowned and pursed her lips in thought. After a moment, she spoke, "Zhou Yi cannot be kept. You don't need to do this. Mother can do it."
Hearing his mother's words, Zhou Yi's face darkened and he called out in a deep voice, "Mother!"
"Why, do you still have a brotherly affection for Zhou Yi and can't bear to let him go?"
Prince Zhou shook his head and explained, "Whether it was done by mother or me, the consequences would be the same if discovered in the future. That's why I helped mother and uncle conceal the embezzlement of military funds and the frame-up."
He was also afraid of Zhou Yi, so he acquiesced to his mother and uncle's frame-up.
"Mother, how could you not understand? Father has already determined that I was the one who framed Zhou Yi. No matter what happens to Zhou Yi in the future, he will first suspect me. Over time, the throne of the crown prince may not be Zhou Yi's, but it may not be mine either."
Mrs. Gu was silent. Her husband was guarding against Sanlang, and also against her.
"Mother, I have the advantage of being the legitimate son and the designated heir. As long as I don't make any major mistakes and have the ability, it won't matter if Zhou Yi is slightly better than me. Moreover, four years have passed, and I may not be worse than him now."
Even after hearing what her son said, Mrs. Gu still frowned.
After a long pause, he spoke helplessly, "After all, he doesn't have the reliability of his mother's family, and he's been away from Yuzhang for four years. For four years, he's been a useless little magistrate. Not to mention whether his character has declined, even the old people who used to look up to him may not look up to him anymore."
Mrs. Gu was comforting her son and also convincing herself.
Madam Gu raised her hand and patted the fine snow on her son's fox fur coat. She said gently, "My son is naturally outstanding. He is the legitimate legitimate son and is naturally respected. The illegitimate son is just lucky to be born into the Zhou family, so he has the opportunity to compete. But without any background support, it is just a fruitless opportunity."
"Don't worry, mother. Even if he really has this opportunity, his grandfather and uncle won't agree to it, and father will have his own judgment."
Just now in the study, Prince Zhou also listened to his father's knocking and reminders.
yes.
He was unconsciously influenced by the rules of his ancestors and was always afraid that one of his brothers was better than him and would be looked up to by his father.
Ever since he was old enough to understand, he knew that he had an older brother.
Because his brother was not valued by his father in the Zhou family, he did not pay much attention to him before he was ten years old.
But since Zhou Yi was fifteen years old, his father praised him for his excellent riding, archery, boxing and spear skills, so he asked him to join the army and personally teach him.
As the legitimate son, he was taught by his father.
Because of this, he always wondered if he was no match for Zhou Yi, and that was why his father did not come to guide him personally.
This knot in his heart has always been with him.
His father's words today made him suddenly wake up.
Zhou Yi is a stumbling block, but also a good blade.
Before he succeeds to the throne, he must treat him as an opponent and be wary of him at all times.
But when someone wants to harm the Zhou family, this prejudice must be put aside first.
First worry about the outside, then settle the inside.
*
After noon, Yu Ying came out of the clinic carrying a basket of herbs that she had just picked, preparing to go to the medical school to give lectures. Just as she got outside the clinic, a cold and damp wind accompanied by drizzle blew towards her, making her shiver.
She turned around and asked her female apprentice to get an umbrella. While waiting for the umbrella, she looked at the overcast and rainy weather outside.
In early February, the temperature in Cangwu should have turned warmer, but this year it has been cloudy and rainy since the beginning of spring, and the weather is even worse than last year.
The weather in Lingnan, where it is warm like spring all year round, is like this, let alone other places.
Excessively cold weather hinders the growth of crops, delaying planting and resulting in a late harvest, but taxes will not be delayed.
This is not the point.
Even the warm Cangwu is so cold. The further north you go south, the colder it gets, and the possibility of a snowstorm is greater.
When natural disasters strike and the government does nothing, who knows how many people will die.
Even though they were far away, Yu Ying still felt depressed when she thought about this situation.
"Director, your umbrella."
The voice of her female disciple came from behind, and Yu Ying came back to her senses. She took the umbrella and instructed, "Watch the clinic. If there are any patients coming to see a doctor, serve them a cup of hot tea and ask them to wait for half an hour."
The medical school is close, just across an alley from the clinic, but if classes are always interrupted, it will also affect teaching, so Yu Ying only teaches for half an hour. After each class, she takes a short break and can come back to sit for a consultation.
There are two classes in the morning and two in the afternoon.
Yu Ying held an umbrella and headed towards the private school with the five female students who lived in the clinic.
On the way, he met Huo Yachai, a patrol officer, and greeted him. Then he asked in confusion, "It seems like the patrols have been more frequent recently?"
I have seen the yamen runners passing by the clinic twice today, and this is the third time.
Huo Yachai paused and replied, "I heard that it has been snowing in the north and the south since November last year. It snowed heavily for months and many people were frozen to death. Even the crops in the fields were frozen to death. Not only did they have to pay taxes..." At this point, Huo Yachai realized that he had touched on a sensitive point and quickly changed the subject.
"After all, there are many people coming from other places who steal chickens and dogs. Thefts and robberies are happening frequently, so the government has no choice but to increase patrols."
No wonder Yu Ying felt that there seemed to be more strangers in the county.
Huo Yacha reminded: "There are many robbers, Madam Yu should be careful."
They are called robbers, but in fact, most of them are ordinary people who have been forced into desperation by life, so they have taken the wrong path and become robbers.
Yu Ying nodded, said "thank you for the reminder", and then parted ways with Huo Yachai.
The medical school was very quiet. While waiting for class, several students were tidying up the herbs in the corridor for ventilation, and taking the opportunity to test each other's names and medicinal properties of the herbs. There were also groups of three or four learning to sew.
Most of them were born in poverty, and they all knew that learning a skill was important, so they dared not slack off at all. After class, they would spend most of their free time reviewing.
Seeing Yu Ying coming, the students all stood up and respectfully called out, "Doctor Yu."
Yu Ying smiled slightly and nodded, then entered the main hall where class was held.
Needless to say, all the students entered the main hall and sat down, men on the left and women on the right, from lowest to highest. The oldest student, Chen Minglang, and the female apprentice accepted last year stood on both sides, assisting Yu Ying while listening to the class.
After the first class, Yu Ying called Chen Minglang over and said, "I'm going to the county seat of Liuqi tomorrow. You should prepare today and go with me tomorrow."
Yu Ying also took Huo Yacha's words to heart.
Originally, she had decided not to go to the county seat starting in March because the world was becoming increasingly unsettled. But this month, she had no choice but to go and get everything sorted out so she could deal with what was to come.
We can only bring more people with us to ensure their safety.
If Fu Zhen doesn't leave, there will be only women and children in the house besides him. Now the thieves have broken into the yard to steal, and it is not safe to leave them alone.
Yu Ying invited the young men she knew, the He brothers, and people from Lingshui Village, and added Chen Minglang, which would be safer.
Yu Ying returned to the clinic. There were not many patients. When she was about to go home, Fu Wei's letter happened to arrive.
Fu Wei has been away for more than a month. According to normal schedule, he should have returned now.
This is the second letter.
A few days ago, Fu Wei wrote to me for the first time, and it was just one letter, but now there are four replies.
Yu Ying opened the letter addressed to herself and read it.
Fu Wei's letter vaguely mentioned that Sect Leader Zhou was in trouble and needed to stay in Yuzhang to resolve it before returning.
As for what was difficult, Yu Ying had long forgotten, but she knew that they were successful.
After reading the letter, Yu Ying took a few letters home.
The letter was given to An An, Ning Ning, and Luo respectively. They were all very happy when they received the letter, but when Yu Ying came out of the house to pack up her things, they all became depressed again.
They probably all saw Fu Weixin's explanation that he wouldn't be back so soon.
I had expected this, so I wasn't that disappointed.
The next morning, the hired person, Chen Minglang from the clinic, and two female apprentices all arrived, and two carriages went to the county seat together.
When she was in Yu County, Yu Ying could clearly feel that the world was not peaceful anymore, and it became even more obvious after she left Yu County.
Taxes were already heavy, and in addition to the heaviest taxes every year, there were also some small taxes that made the people breathless. Therefore, after only one year of reform, they were like a seriously ill person who was on the verge of death and was only hanging on for one breath.
There were many beggars on the road, both men and women, old and young, all of them were skinny, with hollow eyes, and they were so hungry that they looked like zombies. They stared at the passing pedestrians and carriages with eager eyes.
It looks both pitiful and creepy.
Yu Ying suspected that if she had not brought five strong men with her on this trip, two of whom were carrying knives, these people would really rush up and steal all the edible and valuable things.
Yu Ying spent a few taels of silver to buy the knife just to intimidate people.
There were a few skinny, rickety children who didn't seem to be afraid, or perhaps they were ordered by adults. They followed the carriage all the way, shivering and shouting that they were hungry, and asked for some food.
The accent is from another place, not Lingnan.
As a modern person, Yu Ying was well aware, influenced by the knowledge gained from various movies, TV dramas and novels, that a momentary kindness would only bring disaster. She called He Jia Dalang over and asked him to remind everyone not to be soft-hearted, and also explained the interests involved.
Being soft-hearted once will only bring disaster.
There was a person who was soft-hearted and wanted to give each of them half a steamed bun, but after hearing the reminder, he couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
Think about it carefully. These children are not from Lingnan. If they were not looked after by adults, how could they have traveled across mountains and rivers safely to Lingnan?
I was afraid that once he gave it, a group of people would rush over.
The beggars on the street were so hungry that they were out of their minds and only wanted to fill their stomachs.
I am not afraid of crowds, I am afraid of crowds and not afraid of death.
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