Chapter 90 Flirting with Him
Since Yang's father was promoted to the position of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue last year, he has been sent out of the capital to survey all arable land in Zhili. At the beginning of this year, he began to experiment with the implementation of his tax reform in Jizhou.
"Father, he..." Yang Manyan suddenly thought of a possibility, and the blood immediately drained from his face.
The land-based tax reform my father promoted was bound to affect the interests of the nobles and powerful. Could it be that my father met with an accident or even died in Jizhou?
Just then, a muffled thunder exploded in the sky, and a sudden spring rain fell like a torrential rain.
Dark clouds covered the sky and a thin rain curtain hung under the eaves. The light in the hall suddenly dimmed and became gray.
The window was slightly open, and a light breeze mixed with rain blew into the hall, ruffling the strands of hair on Yang Manyan's forehead.
Xiao Yan hugged her tighter and coaxed her gently, "Don't be afraid, Yuanyuan, your father-in-law is fine now."
Yang Manyan became more and more anxious. He struggled to sit up and look him in the face. "Tell me, what happened?"
After thinking for a while, Xiao Yan said slowly, "My father-in-law encountered some trouble in Jizhou the day before yesterday. The local gentry deliberately incited the people to gather and cause trouble in order to resist the reform."
"The officials in the court also used this incident to impeach my father-in-law and tried to stop the reform."
Yang Manyan managed to calm down and continued to ask, "Is Dad injured?"
Xiao Yan gently patted the back of her hand, "Don't worry, father-in-law is not injured."
Yang's father was indeed not injured, but he was thrown some vegetable leaves and rotten eggs when he was out. However, he did not want to say these things, lest Yang Manyan would feel uncomfortable after hearing them.
"I'm glad you're not hurt." Yang Manyan breathed a sigh of relief.
She buried herself in the man's arms again and murmured softly, "In fact, my father had long anticipated that we would encounter such a predicament. Since ancient times, no reform has ever been smooth sailing..."
Xiao Yan hugged her tightly and asked in a low voice: "Did father-in-law talk to Yuanyuan about his reforms before?"
Yang Manyan nodded, "Yes, Dad is not a pedantic and conservative person. He will discuss many things with the family."
The former residence of the Yang family is in the countryside of the county town. They deeply understand what it means that "the rich have fields stretching for miles, while the poor have no place to stand."
The poor peasants worked diligently, but once they turned the wasteland in the mountains into fertile farmland, they would be wantonly invaded and plundered by the powerful landlords.
The poor peasants could only continue to reclaim new wasteland, which was once again taken over by the wealthy and powerful families, and the cycle continued over and over again.
Their only way out was to become tenant farmers of the landlords, working hard with slash-and-burn farming but still struggling to even get enough food and clothing.
Not only that, poor farmers had to bear heavy corvee and taxes, while gentry and landlords could be exempted from all taxes by virtue of their own achievements.
The tax reform implemented by Yang Qianxing no longer levied taxes based on the number of people, but on the land, in order to reduce the burden on ordinary people and then collect taxes from the powerful landlords who occupied the majority of the land.
This move offended all the gentry and nobles in the world.
If the eldest daughter had not jumped into the East Palace, Yang Qianxing would probably have found it difficult to leave the capital alive, let alone implement reforms in the local areas.
Precisely because of this premise, all the preferential treatment that the emperor showed to Yang Manyan on weekdays was seen by many court officials as his efforts to protect Yang Qianxing's reforms.
Xiao Yu added, "Yuanyuan, don't worry about your father-in-law. Huang Dacheng, the governor of Jizhou, was originally employed in Zhuozhou. I had contact with him when I went to Zhuozhou for disaster relief last year. He is a trustworthy person. I will also place people around him later. With the guards sent by my father, your father-in-law will be safe and sound."
Yang Manyan hummed lightly, staring absentmindedly at the drizzling rain outside the window, feeling melancholy.
All things are difficult at the beginning, but my father ran into trouble just as he started the pilot reform in Jizhou, which was really not a good sign.
Ever since she married into the Eastern Palace, she has been deeply involved in love between men and women, and this incident made her feel like she had just woken up from a dream.
Looking at history, how many of those who initiated reforms in various dynasties were able to have a good ending?
The Yang family is weak and has no roots in the capital. Once they lose the emperor's favor, they will be like meat on the chopping board, at the mercy of others.
She knew that the emperor and the prince's love for her was genuine, but when she grew old, how much of this love would be left?
Seeing her staring at the rain in a daze, Xiao Yan's eyes dimmed and he was silent for a long time. He picked up the teacup on the table and fed her some to moisten her throat.
He is clearly a handsome man with a cool demeanor, and his current look of deep emotion is truly eye-catching.
Yang Manyan wanted to tease him more and more.
The man's eyes were dim, and his voice was hoarse and tight, "Yuanyuan, are you sure you want to continue?"
After hearing this, Yang Manyan immediately became timid.
After a moment's silence, she turned over and lay on top of Xiao Yan, burying her face in his neck, and said softly, "I'll give it to you tonight, okay?"
Xiao Yan couldn't help but laugh, "Silly Yuanyuan, love is something that happens naturally when love is strong, how can it be made up?"
Afterwards, the two of them sat on the couch, each busy with their own things, occasionally exchanging a sentence or two.
As it grew darker, the rain did not stop, and the drops of water hit the golden glazed tiles of the temple, making a tinkling sound.
After dinner, Tong Lin presented a secret report. It was a secret he had discovered when he ordered people to investigate Su Qinglan's life experience. All of the secrets happened during the Yongshun period.
Xiao Yan did not deliberately avoid Yang Manyan, but looked through the secret report with her.
Su Jingyi, the governor of Nanyuan, was not only the late emperor's tutor, but also Su Qinglan's adoptive father. He must know a lot of inside information. Tong Lin and others started their investigation from the Su family.
After reading the entire secret report quickly, Yang Manyan could not hide his shock, "The Su family secretly hid a large number of the late emperor's belongings in the basement of the mansion?"
Privately keeping imperial items is a capital crime. Although the Su family has made great contributions in raising the princess, it is difficult to atone for the crime.
Xiao Qi frowned slightly, and vaguely guessed something in his heart.
Before he could speak, Yang Manyan could not help but ask in a low voice: "By the way, Zi'an, why did the late emperor die?"
The late Emperor Yongshun died suddenly at the age of 22. On the surface, it was said to be a sudden acute illness, but Yang Manyan always felt that there was another hidden story.
Xiao Yan was silent for a moment, then he lowered his voice and said, "I wish so, this is a long story."
"It's okay, just keep it short." Yang Manyan hugged his arm and looked up at him slightly.
The hall was brightly lit with candles, and the flickering candlelight was reflected in her clear eyes, with dots of light dancing.
Xiao Yan was both amused and annoyed, and couldn't help but lower his head and kiss her between the eyebrows.
"The death of the late emperor was indeed somewhat embarrassing..." When he said this, his eyes flickered and his expression became a little strange, "The late emperor died of a stroke while riding a horse."
Yang Manyan was stunned for a moment, then her eyes widened in shock.
For a moment, the two sat facing each other on the bed in silence. It was so quiet that the only sound was the rising and falling rhythm of their breathing.
After a while, Yang Manyan asked in a very low voice: "Then, did the late emperor take any elixir before he died?"
Most of the emperors who died of horse-borne stroke in history books had taken elixirs during their lifetime, and in fact, it was those elixirs that really caused their deaths.
Xiao Yan shook his head, "I haven't heard whether the late emperor took the elixir, but a lot of warm incense was lit in the west hall of Xianfu Palace where the incident occurred."
"Warm fragrance?" Yang Manyan's eyelids twitched.
She inexplicably recalled that when she entered the palace to be selected last year, the eunuch from Renshou Palace took her for a detour in the imperial garden and sprinkled a handful of fragrant powder on her face...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
