Lou Yunchun's eyes were dark. "Maybe they are talking about the same thing I'm investigating." Then he said to Xu Jiang, "You tell me."
"Some villagers say this flood was not only a natural disaster, but also a man-made one. The Leyou River is blocked because someone illegally quarried rocks, causing a landslide that blocked the river."
"As expected," Lou Yunchun said, "I entered the Liu Garden this time because I received news that the Liu family had colluded with other officials to embezzle farmland and privately expand the garden. They must have been quarrying stones for this purpose."
This is just the surface. What Lou Yunchun really wants to investigate when he enters Liuyuan is the secret collusion between the five aristocratic families of Liu, Wang, Dou, Luo, and Wei and the old members of the Jiang family, especially the secret dealings with Guo Yuanzhen, the governor of Beiting.
When the Liuyuan Bookworm Elegant Party was held, there was a rumor that one of Guo Yuanzhen's deputy envoys had secretly returned to the capital, so he went to find out what was going on.
I didn't expect to encounter floods.
Yesterday, he took advantage of the opportunity when the county government came to borrow manpower and personally led the team back to Leyou Township, not only to help with disaster relief, but also to explore Liuyuan again. This exploration revealed the cause of the sudden flood.
No wonder Qian Yi was determined to clear the silt regardless of the officials' lives, because he was afraid that someone would find out the reason and he would lose his life.
"For his own selfish reasons, he disregards the lives of the people. Is such a person worthy of tribute and of being an official?" Xu Jiang sneered.
"The aristocratic families vie for official positions not to serve the country or the people, but to consolidate their power and preserve their family's prosperity." Lou Yunchun held her hand and patted it soothingly. "The late emperor recognized this and pushed for reforms to the imperial examination system to reduce their influence. The current emperor, upholding the late emperor's will, will not allow them to act recklessly."
Moreover, if the aristocratic families are not suppressed, once they develop the power of tigers and wolves, even the royal family will not take them seriously. For the sake of both the people and themselves, even saints will not sit idly by.
"They cannot escape responsibility for this flood."
Hearing his words, Xu Jiang's anger subsided a little, and she sighed for the villagers, "We were just about to harvest the wheat and plant the rice, but this flood has turned everything into mud."
Lou Yunchun also felt uncomfortable. This was the second time he felt compassion and sympathy for the people. The first time was the snow disaster before the New Year.
In previous years, when natural disasters occurred, he handled them diligently and conscientiously, but that was just doing his job. However, these two times, he was able to sympathize with the people and worry about their worries, and no longer stayed out of the matter. This was because Xu Jiang made him become more like a "human being".
"Don't worry, the court will allocate funds for disaster relief and will also open granaries to provide seeds to the affected villages." His tone turned cold as he spoke. "Also, these nobles who are supported by the people have become too rich. It's time to sacrifice some blood to pay tribute to their parents who feed and clothe them."
"Yes." Xu Jiang held his hand back, hoping that this pair of strong hands could give justice to the people.
"Boss, are you okay..." Liang Mo came to work, but when he entered the door, he saw the two of them holding hands and looking at each other. The words he wanted to say were stuck in his throat, and he hurried out of the shop.
Xu Jiang let go and hurriedly cleaned up the dishes with Lou Yunchun.
Only after hearing someone go to the kitchen did Liang Mo enter the bookstore and start his daily sweeping and tidying up.
With four hands, the two of them quickly washed and put the few dishes in order. Xu Jiang saw that Lou Yunchun's hair was still loose, so she pulled him into the house and tied his hair into a bun.
This was the first time Xu Jiang did this and she found it very novel, so Lou Yunchun let her do it.
"It's done." Xu Jiang looked at his masterpiece and was very satisfied.
Lou Yunchun didn't even look in the mirror. She just said it was fine.
Xu Jiang went out to let him change his clothes. When he came out after changing his clothes, he looked even more majestic.
Xu Jiang praised it, saying, "It has quite a bit of the style left over from the early Zhou Dynasty."
Lou Yunchun couldn't stand her praise the most. After saying goodbye to her softly, he stepped on the soft clouds and floated to the imperial city to report.
Liang Mo watched him walk away with his crooked bun, and was stunned for a long time.
Because many court officials took leave, the emperor adjourned court today. Upon learning that Lou Yunchun wanted to see him, he hurriedly asked the eunuch to summon him in.
Lou Yunchun entered the temple and paid his respects. He then presented the results of his investigation and the flood incident one by one. He spoke for a long time, but the sage remained silent. He looked up in confusion, only to find that the sage was staring at his head.
"Your Majesty, is there anything wrong with what I just said?"
"No, I just think that Lou Shaoqing's hair bun today is very unique."
Lou Yunchun apologized, "I entered the palace in a hurry and did not have time to put on my crown and clothes. I beg Your Majesty to forgive me."
"Hey, this is not the court, my dear, you don't have to be so formal. I just think that your hairstyle today is quite Zhou style, very elegant." If the sage and Xu Jiang became familiar with each other, they would surely become close friends.
Lou Yunchun was pleased with himself and said, "Thank you for the compliment, Your Majesty."
The sage rubbed his head, intending to have the eunuch change his bun later. "Where were you just now, my dear? Continue, continue."
From then on, many men became interested in saints and started a trend of wearing side buns, imitating the style of their ancestors, but that is a story for later.
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