Chapter 184
Shi'an and Qin Mianmian are going to the palace today, so Jiaojiao got up early and stood at the door looking forward to it.
As soon as Shi'an and Qin Mianmian stepped into the gate of Fu'an Palace, he let go and rushed over with his short legs, shouting in a small voice from a distance: "Brother Shi'an, Brother Mianmian."
Hearing the voice, Shi'an and Qin Mianmian looked up and saw Jiaojiao running towards them with her arms outstretched and her short legs.
Seeing that Jiaojiao was about to throw herself into Qin Mianmian's arms, Shi'an suddenly took two quick steps, walked over Qin Mianmian, bent down and hugged Jiaojiao who was rushing towards her.
Qin Mianmian stretched out her hand, ready to catch Jiaojiao: "......?"
Isn't he blind?
"Brother Shi'an." Jiaojiao, who fell into Shi'an's arms, coquettishly buried her head in his arms and rubbed it, her small voice full of joy: "Jiaojiao misses Shi'an, I miss him so much."
Shi'an couldn't see clearly, but he still looked down at Jiaojiao, hugged Jiaojiao tightly, and said seriously: "I miss Jiaojiao too."
Qin Mianmian came forward, waved her hand in front of Shi'an with a hint of doubt, raised three fingers and said, "Can you see how many fingers I raised?"
"?" Shi'an tilted his head in confusion, with a hint of confusion in his gray eyes.
Seeing his expression, Qin Mianmian doubtfully withdrew her hand, but she didn't bother to figure out whether he could see clearly or not. Instead, she turned around and hugged Jiaojiao: "Did you miss me?"
"I want to!" Jiaojiao said crisply.
Yoyo also came up and rubbed Jiaojiao with her head: "Yoyo~"
Jiaojiao held Youyou's head and said, "I miss Youyou too."
After the few people and the deer reunited, Jiaojiao held Qin Mianmian's left hand and Shi'an's right hand, jumping and skipping all the way, smiling so hard that her teeth were showing.
Emperor Yongzheng, who had seen Jiaojiao like this from afar, walked over and slowly put his index finger on Jiaojiao's forehead, glancing at her and smiling: "Whose little rabbit has run into the palace?"
"It's not a rabbit." Jiaojiao held Emperor Yongzheng's hand with her backhand, looked up and asked expectantly, "Is my uncle done with his work?"
"Not yet. Come over to see if you're crying?"
"Jiaojiao won't cry."
Emperor Yongzheng rubbed Jiaojiao's furry head and his eyes fell on Shi'an and Qin Mianmian who wrapped themselves tightly.
Qin Mianmian and Shi'an subconsciously held their breath and saluted with such nervousness that their hands and feet were a little stiff.
"No need to be so polite. I called you in to play with Jiaojiao. Don't be too restrained." Emperor Yongzheng said, his gaze lingering on Shi'an for a moment, and he gave them a few more instructions before turning and leaving.
Seeing Emperor Yongzheng leave, Shi'an and Qin Mianmian both breathed a sigh of relief.
The two, feeling much more relaxed, quickly pulled Jiaojiao aside and asked him if anyone had bullied him during his time in the palace, and if Emperor Yongzheng had punished or beaten him.
"No one bullied her. Uncle didn't punish Jiaojiao or hit her. Uncle is nice."
Jiaojiao said as she pulled them towards where the toys were kept.
How is uncle?
Qin Mianmian didn't know, but he had been a little afraid of his uncle Emperor Yongzheng since he was a child. He could act like a spoiled child in front of the Royal Grandmother, but he would never dare to do so in front of his uncle, so he admired Jiaojiao for daring to act like a spoiled child in front of his uncle.
Shi'an also didn't believe that Emperor Yongzheng was a kind person. He pulled Jiaojiao closer to take a closer look, and even pinched her. He was relieved when he found that Jiaojiao really hadn't lost weight.
He has been thinking about Jiaojiao every day since she was brought into the palace. After not seeing her for a long time, Jiaojiao has stopped eating much and has lost a lot of weight.
Shi'an, who had also lost a lot of weight, asked a lot of questions and found that Jiaojiao was doing well recently except that she missed Uncle Yin very much.
She had enough to eat and wear, and the palace maids and nannies who served her also took good care of her. This made Shi'an confused as to why His Majesty brought Jiaojiao into the palace?
It's not possible that you want to take Jiaojiao back to the palace to raise her just because she's well-behaved and cute, right?
But His Majesty has no shortage of sons!
However, no child can compare to Jiaojiao in terms of appearance, intelligence or personality.
If His Majesty was jealous of Jiaojiao and wanted to take her to the palace to raise her, it didn't seem impossible. After all, Uncle Xie had been thinking all day about how to convince Uncle Yin to take Jiaojiao back to the Xie Mansion to live for a few days.
Shi'an thought with a little pride.
Although Youyou lost a lot of weight because she missed Jiaojiao, she gained weight again within half a month after coming to the palace.
Nowadays, Yoyo is frighteningly large, twice the size of an ordinary horse and much stronger than a blue ox, giving people the feeling of a giant beast. The palace servants in Fu'an Palace who are responsible for feeding it were very scared at first, but fortunately, Yoyo has always been gentle and never attacks people. Gradually, the palace servants in Fu'an Palace and Chongde Hall are not so afraid of Yoyo anymore, and they are used to it strolling around between Chongde Hall and Fu'an Palace. They will boldly touch it when they meet it from time to time.
That day, Emperor Yongzheng came in and threw a horsewhip to Jiaojiao. Then he picked him up and put it under his arm and said, "Come on, change your clothes and take you riding."
The handle of the horsewhip was made of twisted gold and inlaid with scattered bright red rubies, which looked very beautiful. Jiaojiao waved it gently and let out a low and joyful "oh".
Jiaojiao, wearing riding clothes, imitated Qin Mianmian and stood upright. If you ignore her little face that was trying hard to be tense, at first glance her back does look a bit heroic.
Emperor Yongzheng raised his eyebrows slightly and reached out to poke Jiaojiao's chubby little face. As a habit formed over a long period of time, Jiaojiao subconsciously moved her other cheek closer after he poked her, and even subconsciously rubbed his hand.
With this rub, the deliberately stern face disappeared and it immediately turned into a soft and sticky little ball.
Seeing this, Emperor Yongzheng couldn't help but sneer, and rubbed Jiaojiao's soft face again. He picked him up and strode out. Qin Mianmian and Shi'an, who had also changed into riding clothes, hurriedly followed, and Youyou also followed behind consciously.
The group, along with a deer, went to the royal racecourse outside Beijing. As soon as they entered the racecourse, Jiaojiao saw Xie Shuyu standing not far away with a foal.
"Uncle Huaizhi!" Jiaojiao shouted in surprise and ran over with her short legs.
Xie Shuyu picked up the little boy who ran to him and looked him over. Noticing that he hadn't lost weight, he rubbed his furry head and looked at the red pony beside him. "This is a pony specially prepared for you. It hasn't been named yet. Jiaojiao, give it a name yourself."
Ever since he discovered that Jiaojiao was too quiet when he was alone, Emperor Yongzheng intended to take him out to play more. Today, when he went out for a horse race, he also called all the people Jiaojiao knew, including Xie Shuyu and Liu Xingzhi.
Jiaojiao, who was lying in Xie Shuyu's arms, poked her head out and happily waved her little paws to greet Liu Xingzhi who was standing beside her: "Hello, Uncle Xingzhi."
Liu Xingzhi held Jiaojiao's little hand and squeezed it, and found that it was as fat as before, so he said "hmm".
After greeting Uncle Xingzhi, Jiaojiao lowered her head and looked at the foal curiously.
"Can I touch it?" Jiaojiao asked, tilting her fair and tender little face.
"Can."
Jiaojiao reached out her hand and touched it carefully, then withdrew her hand quickly. Seeing that the foal didn't react, she tried to touch it again.
Seeing his curious yet slightly frightened expression, Emperor Yongzheng walked over and took him from Xie Shuyu's arms and placed him on the pony's back. "This horse was specially selected to have the most docile temperament. Just ride it without worry."
Jiaojiao sat on the pony and followed Emperor Yongzheng's instructions, trying to take two steps forward. She couldn't help but pursed her lips and smiled happily: "Uncle, look, Jiaojiao can ride a horse now!"
Emperor Yongzheng chuckled lightly but didn't say anything else.
Yoyo, who was standing by, became unhappy when he saw this. He dug the ground with his hooves, snorted in dissatisfaction, and walked forward to nudge Jiaojiao with his head.
Jiaojiao giggled as she was pushed around, and finally Yoyo managed to drag her from the foal's back to its back.
Youyou, who had successfully carried Jiaojiao on his back, grinned widely and ran around the horse farm with small steps in joy. The exquisite and luxurious whip in Jiaojiao's hand was of no use at all.
Qin Mianmian was riding his usual pony, and since Shi'an didn't know how to ride, he patiently taught him how. Of course, his riding skills weren't as exaggerated as his chess lessons, and Shi'an quickly grasped the key points, swaying on the pony and taking two laps.
Emperor Yongzheng also turned over and rode on his own mount. When he was interested, he even had a horse race with Xie Shuyu and Liu Xingzhi.
After having a great time, he reached out and grabbed Jiaojiao from Yoyo's back when he passed by it on his horse, then he galloped away silently into the distance.
Unaware that Jiaojiao was gone from his back, Youyou was still strolling leisurely, occasionally glancing at the pony that Jiaojiao had ridden earlier, breathing in a mocking manner from his nose.
The long wind blew across the vast grassland, the sound of horse hooves flew in the air, and the bright and tender cries of surprise echoed over the horse farm. Yoyo, who had reacted, widened his eyes in horror and turned his head to look at his empty back. The next moment, he raised his hooves and chased after him, making anxious "Yoyo--" sounds continuously from his mouth.
Emperor Yongzheng turned his head to look at the stupid deer, sneered, and increased his speed. The anxious calls of the deer gradually became a little angry, and even sounded like a curse.
Xie Shuyu, Liu Xingzhi and Qin Mianmian pulled the reins and stopped, looking at the scene in front of them with indescribable expressions.
Before this, it was hard for them to imagine that Emperor Yongzheng, a cruel emperor, would be so childish.
Shi'an, who was unaware of the situation, was riding his horse slowly and carefully.
An eagle soared across the sky, and the mountains in the distance looked down at the scene.
Half a year passed in the blink of an eye. During this half year, some families declined one after another. Most of these families were those who held the recipe for the elixir of immortality. Although most of them were eliminated, there were still a few who were difficult to deal with. Among them was the Gu family of the Zhongyuan Marquis Mansion.
A family like the Gu family, which has been a meritorious family for three dynasties, has a long history of nobility and a deep foundation spanning hundreds of years, cannot be easily brought down or killed.
Moreover, the noble families have been intermarrying for generations, which has led to their complicated connections. For example, the third prince's mother's family is actually related to the Gu family through marriage. This means that when the princes want to deal with them, they will face many internal and external obstacles and pressures.
However, just by holding the recipe for the elixir of immortality, they have already completely offended all the princes. What's more, Emperor Yongzheng is secretly pushing this matter forward. Although it will be difficult to kill these families, it is only a matter of time. It just takes a little time.
"boom!"
There was a sudden sound of thunder, and the sound of thunder and rain became louder. Lianxiang, who was worried that Jiaojiao would be woken up, lifted the curtain to take a look. Seeing that Jiaojiao was sleeping soundly and showed no signs of being woken up, she lowered the curtain with relief. As soon as she walked to the outer room, she saw Emperor Yongzheng who hurriedly walked in with his outer clothes on.
Lianxiang hurriedly saluted: "Your Majesty..."
Just as he opened his mouth, he was interrupted by Emperor Yongzheng with a wave of his hand. He walked into the inner room, lifted the curtain and looked inside. Seeing that Jiaojiao was not awakened, he sat by the bed and looked at Jiaojiao for a while.
Jiaojiao, who is already seven years old, still has baby fat on his face. In order not to appear too childish, he often purses his lips and looks serious. Little does he know that his pretending to be mature makes him look even more childish, making people want to rub his soft little face.
Among them, Emperor Yongzheng was the most excessive. Regardless of whether Jiaojiao was willing or not, he would rub her hard, often rubbing both sides of Jiaojiao's face red.
Actually, this is not the fault of Emperor Yongzheng. Even if Jiaojiao didn't want to, she wouldn't run away. She just stood there with her fair and tender face raised, trying to negotiate with you. When she couldn't reach an agreement, she would reluctantly move her face closer and whisper, "Be gentle!"
Seeing this, Emperor Yongzheng, who was already eager to make a move, would not let go of the face that came towards him, and started rubbing it.
"boom!"
The thunder brought the dazed Emperor Yongzheng back to life. He poked Jiaojiao's soft face, tucked the quilt in for her, and left while covering his mouth and coughing softly.
Emperor Yongzheng walked out of the door, glaring at the rain outside the corridor and asked, "How long has this rain been falling?"
Jiang Haifu leaned forward and said, "Your Majesty, it has been four or five hours."
Emperor Yongzheng's eyes fell on the ground where boiling water had accumulated. This rain was not normal. Usually, in late summer, there were sudden downpours and short rainstorms. It was rare for a rainstorm to last so long.
"Your Majesty, are you worried about this year's summer floods?"
Emperor Yongzheng glanced at Jiang Haifu without saying anything.
Although the Ministry of Water Conservancy, the local government offices of the Capital Water Conservancy Bureau and the river engineers stationed on the river survey and record the water level of the Yellow River at least dozens of times a year, the effect is still not significant. The annual summer and autumn floods are still the most troublesome problem for the court and officials.
Moreover, the rainfall this year is too abnormal. Judging from the memorials submitted by local officials, there is a high possibility that the Yellow River will burst its banks this year.
The next day, the Ministry of Revenue allocated a large sum of money for repairing the river embankment, and people from the Ministry of Works and other departments that were good at water conservancy were also sent to the Lianghuai area and other areas.
Mid-July.
Amidst the crackling thunderstorm, County Magistrate Xu Mingxi, clad in a straw raincoat, stood on the higher reaches of the river, gazing at the surging waters below. He shouted to the experienced river workers, "It's pouring rain, and the water's rising. At this rate, can the riverbank hold up?"
The river engineer replied in a loud voice, "Sir, the Sishui River isn't the only route the Yellow River takes to the sea. Logically, even if it rains heavily, nothing will happen to us. But just in case, we've sent people down to fill the river with sandbags and gravel."
Xu Mingxi looked worriedly at the surging river, then at the sky that seemed to have a hole in it and was raining non-stop. After tossing and turning in his sleep in his residence, he finally stood up, gritted his teeth, and ordered the people of Sishui County to move to higher ground as a precaution.
At noon the next day, it rained heavily and thundered loudly. The people of Sishui, who had been in a turmoil all day, finally had to move to the mountains under the government's coercion, wearing straw raincoats, carrying bags of belongings, leading livestock, and crying under the leadership of the officials.
The rain was getting heavier and heavier, like a curtain of water blocking people's sight, making it impossible to see things more than one meter away. The people of Sishui County carried their bags and belongings, led their livestock, and tried their best to walk up the mountain, crying and cursing the county magistrate Xu Mingxi as they walked.
Suddenly, a loud thunder exploded in the air, causing many people to slip and fall to the ground. When they came to their senses, they felt a buzzing in their ears and heads, and their hearts and lungs were trembling.
Standing on the top of the mountain, Xu Mingxi looked back and seemed to see the surging river water flooding towards him.
"Have you heard?"
"What did you hear?"
"The incident in Sishui County."
"Of course I've heard of it, but..."
The two people who were chatting excitedly suddenly heard the servant at the door cough lightly, and they hurriedly sat up straight.
As soon as the two of them sat down, they saw Master Xue walk in. The whispers in the room gradually disappeared with the master's entry.
Qin Mianmian listened to these people's discussions and couldn't help but think of the news she heard yesterday, which was nothing more than the news that the river water in Sishui County was flowing backwards.
It is said that on that night, the Yellow River changed its course and flowed into the Huai River through the Sishui River. However, the surging waves suddenly stopped when they were about to break through the riverbank and submerge the Sishui County, as if they were stopped in mid-air by some invisible existence. After a while, the river water actually flowed back.
It is said that the people of Sishui saw this scene from afar, and they all knelt on the ground and kowtowed continuously, chanting the names of various water gods. Even Xu Mingxi, who did not believe in ghosts and gods, bowed down solemnly to worship.
However, what no one knew was that it was not the water god who was there at the time, but the spiritual power that was as overwhelming as a fine spider web.
Ever since her father left, Jiaojiao would use her mental power to "see" her father every night before falling asleep. At this time, some of the mental power that Jiaojiao could not fully control would leak out, and sometimes Jiaojiao would inevitably see that there was trouble or something happened somewhere. At this time, Jiaojiao would ask the leaked mental power to help.
Of course, Jiaojiao was very smart and kept all of this secret, planning to wait until her father came back to tell her father and uncle and give them a big surprise.
That day, when Jiaojiao's spiritual power floated out and saw the situation of Sishui, it rushed up and attached itself to the riverbank, preparing to strengthen the riverbank. However, the spiritual power that overflowed was too little, and unsurprisingly, the riverbank was finally broken.
Jiaojiao, who had originally not paid attention here, was alarmed by this. Seeing that the water had destroyed several villages, he quickly mobilized all his mental power to rush to Sishui County, and then the overwhelming mental power locked the river water.
Gods are always special, especially the little gods who are favored by the consciousness of their own world.
The river water flowed back obediently and stopped making noise.
The use of a large amount of mental energy has made Jiaojiao feel listless and sleepy recently. She fell asleep while the teacher was lecturing, and was then called outside to stand and wake up.
Jiaojiao stood outside the door holding a book, pursed her lips, and felt very sorry for the teacher.
Qin Mianmian also pretended to doze off, and then was called out as expected.
He stood beside Jiaojiao holding a book, his eyes filled with worry: "Jiaojiao, have you been sick recently? Why are you always sleepy?"
She was so sleepy that she couldn't even open her eyes, but she still stubbornly fought against herself and shook her head: "I'm not sick. My uncle asked the imperial physician to check it out. I'm just sleepy."
Qin Mianmian sighed, took two steps to the side, and moved her shoulders: "Come closer, I'll help you keep an eye on the teacher."
Although she felt that this was not a good idea, Jiaojiao, unable to resist her sleepiness, leaned over and fell into a deep sleep the moment she leaned over.
Inside the Chongde Hall, Emperor Yongzheng glanced at the memorial in his hand, thinking that the army was about to return to the capital, and it was also a good time to thoroughly deal with the matter of the elixir of immortality recipe which was already nearing its end.
But should I tell Jiaojiao that his father is coming back?
How fast can a person be promoted with the help of the well-established Xie family, the Minister of History Qin Shangshu and the current emperor?
That is of course much faster than ordinary people can even begin to compare to.
Not to mention that Yin Zheng himself is extraordinary. He has made many outstanding achievements since he went to the battlefield. The so-called help from Xie Shuyu and others is just to prevent Yin Zheng's achievements from being embezzled or covered up by others.
Emperor Yongzheng simply did not appreciate Yin Zheng's qualifications and rewarded him according to his merits. Now he is the General of the Zhenjun Army. This time he defeated the coalition forces of the Turks, Western Qiang and Northern Di, and chased them all the way to the Turkic royal court. Yin Zheng was the chief contributor, and he will probably be given another rank when he returns.
But should I tell Jiaojiao that Yin Zheng is coming back?
Emperor Yongzheng closed the memorial in his hand and threw it aside.
In the past three years, Jiaojiao has been talking about his father every day and writing letters almost every other day. When he learned that Yin Zheng was coming back, Jiaojiao, who had always had a stern face and acted like an adult, would probably jump for joy on the spot, right?
Although he really wanted to see this scene, he still didn't want to tell Jiaojiao in advance that Yin Zheng was coming back.
Tsk, the cub I raised will soon belong to someone else!
When Emperor Yongzheng thought of this, he became very unhappy, and then he turned around and took out his anger on those who had been secretly spying on Jiaojiao.
Only three hundred left to reach six thousand!!!
Next time I'll write 300 more, so today's chapters will count as two, okay?
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