Chapter 114
When night fell, a beautiful spot in Baiyu Lake had been arranged. All the weeds and trees that were waist-high had been cleared to ensure that no one could hide and that the sight was clear. The place where His Highness stayed at night was far from the lake, the ground had been cleaned, and there was a bed.
After being rejected, several masters in the town boldly formed a group and carried their furniture to come again to ask for a meeting.
After Chief Steward Wang inspected them in a pretentious manner, he acquiesced. They were just a few pieces of furniture, and it was a blessing for His Highness to use them. If they were in cahoots with the bully named Xu, then giving them a bed would be nothing, and His Highness would not show leniency.
Whatever shall be done shall be done.
The masters didn't even see His Highness, and they just kowtowed in the direction from a distance.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has a bed, a curtain, a table and chairs for sleeping. It is simple and the layout is very interesting, just like an outdoor outing.
The nearby villagers spontaneously brought vegetables, pigs, chickens, ducks, etc. to present to His Highness - Chief Steward Wang accepted them, but paid them silver at a price 20% to 30% higher than the market price.
Your Highness has been like this all the way throughout his southern tour.
Ordinary people can accept gifts such as food and drinks, but they have to pay for them, and they have to pay more. If a big businessman brings something, it depends on the situation whether to accept it or not. Most of the time, if you accept it, it is to give the businessman face.
Merchants have money and don’t care about it, but they lack status and face.
Take Boss Pang for example. He was willing to use his house to receive His Highness that day. He never expected that His Highness would invite him to attend the banquet hosted by local officials to receive His Highness - that was something he had never expected and a huge honor.
Those sitting at the same table were officials whom he could not curry favor with, including the chief political envoy and the military commander.
"The wind is strong, let's go back early." Manager Wang said to the villagers.
The villagers here are extremely welcoming. Perhaps they know that Your Highness is here to deal with bullies, so they gave him rice, vegetables, chickens and ducks and refused to leave. They also want to stay here to protect Your Highness' safety.
Steward Wang was still somewhat moved.
The people dispersed, but did not go back. Instead, they walked farther away and silently guarded the place. Wang Yuanyuan saw this and had no choice but to tell the soldiers, "Then don't chase them away. When it gets dark at night, let them stay closer so that nothing goes wrong."
The personal soldiers should be.
That night, the meal was very sumptuous. The people were so enthusiastic that General Manager Wang bought all the food. Even though there were more than 30 people, they couldn't finish it. Fortunately, the temperature was cooler at night and the food could still be left. The inn's chef assisted the royal chef, and Master Liu gave him some pointers. The inn's chefs were very happy and kept praising Master Liu for his superb cooking skills.
This is the imperial chef in the palace!
The situation was relatively stable, except that more and more people were watching - from the town and the villages. There was nothing they could do, so General Wang Yuansun finally drove them back and they had to stay there for long.
Because of the shortage of manpower, too many people will cause chaos.
Xuanyun Fu knew that Wang Yuansun and Lin Zheng were responsible for his safety with their lives. Now that his identity was exposed, he listened to them and stayed in his "nest" and did not go anywhere. During the day, he chatted with Xiao Hai and his mother, met with the village chiefs of the three nearby villages, asked about some situations, but did not meet the masters in the town yet.
Let’s talk about it tomorrow.
It was evening, the sun had set, the sky was dark, and he lit a torch.
Xuanyu Fu and Yan Huaijin, who were sitting at the same table, had just finished their meal and had nothing to do, so he didn't bring flying chess to play with - he wanted to go out for some fun, so why would he bring this thing? He was very bored at the moment, and he couldn't be intimate with Yan Jinjin outdoors.
"Shall I recite an article to you to help you fall asleep?" Yan Huaijin suggested.
Many blessings: ...
The Crown Princess looked at him with a dull look.
Yan Huaijin started laughing, and Xuan Duofu snorted when he saw it: "Are you teasing me? Yan Jinjin, you are getting bolder and bolder now——"
"Xu Xuanfu, can you teach me how to play catching stones?" Yan Huaijin suddenly said.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was originally going to teach the Crown Princess a lesson, but he immediately forgot about it. His eyes lit up, and he took Yan Jinjin's hand and said, "Okay, why didn't I think of that."
"Then let's go find some stones first. You said in your letter before that the stones I found are very suitable for playing stone catching. I know the size..."
The Crown Prince was so moved by what he heard that he reflected for a second that he shouldn't have taught the Crown Princess a lesson for being so audacious and deliberately teasing him. What's wrong with teasing him? His Yan Jinjin, he dotes on her!
This is their husband-husband interest.
The two of them picked up stones along the lakeside and started playing. They pulled Liu Qiang over. After Yan Jinjin did the trick many times, he quickly learned it. But Liu Qiang couldn't do it. After throwing the stone up, he forgot to grab the stone below, and the stone on top fell down and hit Liu Qiang on the back of his hand.
"Liu Qiang, go on patrol!"
When teaching for the fifth time, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince became angry and thought that Liu Qiang was a pig pretending to be him again, so he drove him away.
Liu Qiang was eager to go on patrol, only little kids were playing with stones.
Xuanyunfu narrowed his eyes, and he was possessed by the detective with his fiery eyes: "Are you saying bad things about me in your mind?"
"Who said that!" Liu Qiang refused to admit it and ran away quickly.
Many people watched Liu Qiang leave with great joy, and turned to Yan Jinjin and said, "He really forgot his friends when he saw a beautiful woman, and forgot his brothers when he got a wife."
Yan Huaijin played with the stone in his hand and said, "Don't worry, Duofu. We grew up together and are both brothers and husband and wife..." He threw the stone in his hand, then deftly took it and opened his palm, "Brother Duofu, it's your turn."
Aaaaaaaaah!!!
The light from the campfire by the lake was flickering in the evening breeze, making Yan Huaijin's skin look like warm jade. His expression was a sharp contrast to the serious scholar he had before, and now it was a little naughty. When he called him Brother Duofu, it seemed as if his heart was hit. He was speechless for a long time, then his face slowly turned red and he became shy.
He was rarely shy, except for that time when he drank spiked wine. When Yan Huaijin helped him to relieve himself, he felt weak, restless and shy all over - Xuanyufu attributed this to the drug he had taken.
When you kiss, there is also an electric current.
But the impact was as great as today's, his heart was stunned and beating rapidly. It was the first time for Xuanyuefu to confirm again and again that he really liked Yan Jinjin.
He is a bit shy!!!
So strange.
"Brother Duofu?" Yan Huaijin's tone was slightly sticky. He held a stone in his hand and touched Duofu's hand, then placed the slightly warmed stone in Duofu's palm.
Many lucky hands seemed to be on fire, stammering, "Don't, don't call me that."
"You don't like it? I thought you liked it very much."
"...I like it, you can call me later, or you can stop calling me, just call me occasionally..." Xuanyu Fu, what are you talking about!
Seeing Xuanyifu's shy expression, Yan Huaijin liked her very much in his heart. His throat became a little dry. His eyes fell on Xuanyifu's lips, then he looked away. People were coming and going around him, so he didn't move or say anything else.
After a long while, both of them recovered.
Manyu Fu held the stone in his hand, not daring to look at Yan Jinjin. He was playing with the stone, catching it, and humming, "When you were little, you always called me by my full name."
"I think calling you by your full name makes me seem particularly special," Yan Huaijin said at this time.
Many blessings:?
"Why would you think the other way around? It's special that everyone calls people by their nicknames."
Yan Huaijin shook his head. "You are different. Before you became the crown prince, you were only acquainted with Li Ang and Zhou Quan. Later, when you became the crown prince, everyone in the class called you Your Highness. You no longer used the last name Xu, at least on the surface. I called you Xuanfu with both your full name, and you were very happy, as if nothing had changed."
"You are sentimental and soft-hearted. You don't want your identity to change everything around you. No one dares to call you that. I call you that to show that I am very important to you and your best friend." Yan Huaijin said this and looked at Xuan Duofu, "I have always wanted to be your most special person."
When I was little, I wanted to be his best friend. Now, I am both his only companion and his best friend.
Yan Huaijin thought about this and smiled, "I seem to have a strong possessiveness."
"Would you hate my possessiveness, Brother Duofu?"
Manyufu: ...Ahhhhh!
Seeing Xuanfu blushing again, Yan Huaijin laughed out loud and said seriously, "Okay, I learned it. When do we officially start the competition? What shall we compete in?"
"Let me think about it." Xuanyu Fu's mind is now full of 'yellow garbage', things like taking off clothes, kissing, ahhhh it's all Yan Jinjin's fault, damn it. Of course he can't blame his Crown Princess too much, the Crown Princess just loves the Crown Prince too much, there's nothing wrong with that.
Seeing that Xuanfu was distracted again, Yan Huaijin said, "Let's bet on copper coins, jingling and clanging."
"OK."
When Fu and his friends play flying chess, they usually don't gamble with money. They just gamble on cakes and food. Later, when betting on these things became boring, they started playing Truth or Dare. It was a rare opportunity to gamble with money, so it was quite novel.
They had coins, and to be fair, each person was paid 30 coins, and the winnings were based on how many stones they grabbed. Soon, many coins were placed in the box next to Duoduofu. Duoduofu smiled and said, "Good luck, little classmate Yan Jinjin."
"I understand, Brother Duofu."
Many blessings: ...
That night, Duofu slept on the soft couch, and Yan Jinjin slept with him. In his dream, he was muttering "Brother Duofu". No one knew what he was dreaming about, but his face was always full of smiles.
Hehe, hehehe, hehehehe.
After hearing this, Yan Huaijin lay straight, looking at the bright starry sky, with a smile on his face, "What a loser, my brother Duofu."
His face was also full of smiles.
These two have no future together!
Yan Huaijin was well-educated, but had little interest in a career in politics. He had been at home in mourning before, and his uncle always felt sorry for him when he saw him. He also comforted him and told him not to worry, saying that with his knowledge he would definitely pass the imperial examination a few years later.
In fact, Yan Huaijin never told his uncle that he had no lofty ambitions to become an official, nor had he thought about how big or high a position he wanted to hold. The people of the world were not his responsibility. He just wanted to worry about one person and be happy for one person. Since Yan Huaijin shouldered the responsibility of the people of the world, he was willing to share some of the worries for him.
The only aspiration in this life is to have many blessings.
The next morning, Xuanyifu woke up early after sleeping soundly outside the night before. He first found a place to relieve himself, washed his hands and brushed his teeth, then pulled Yan Jinjin to do a set of boxing, and then waited for breakfast.
The people left last night and came back early in the morning with things in their arms.
Just as Chief Steward Wang was about to go shopping, he saw his personal soldiers quickly narrowing the circle and moving closer to His Highness. The people around him didn't know what was going on and looked a little bewildered.
"I'll go and take a look." Wang Yuansun turned over and rode his horse.
Liu Qiang followed closely behind. Wang Yuansun said, "It's probably a large force." There's no danger.
"Then I'll go with you." Even if there's no danger, we'll go together just in case there is danger.
The two of them exchanged a few words, neither trying to persuade the other, and whipped their whips to see what was going on. The guards surrounded His Highness, and soon the shaking of the ground became more and more obvious, and a group of cavalry came roaring in.
Five thousand cavalrymen dismounted and knelt to pay their respects to His Highness.
The people watching from afar were so shocked by this scene that they could not recover for a long time. They knew yesterday that His Highness was of noble status and everyone was afraid and in awe of him, even the masters in the town were courteous to him, but they did not know how noble his status was and had no clear understanding of it. Now they know.
A descendant of a royal family, the future emperor of Great Sheng.
As soon as the personal guards arrived, even Lin Zheng breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the people were here, things would be much simpler after that. They could just set up camp on the spot.
"Your Highness, are you going to the town or staying here?" Lin Zheng came forward to ask.
Xuanyuefu: "Let's just stay here. Don't bother. We'll be leaving in a few days." He was quite happy to sleep outdoors last night. There were many stars at night, and lying with Yan Jinjin was like going back to the days when he was in elementary school and going on a picnic in the wild.
At noon, not only did His Highness's ceremonial convoy arrive, but Magistrate Ma from the prefecture and county also arrived.
Magistrate Ma did not know what had happened between His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and Boss Xu, but five thousand cavalrymen rushed to Baihu Town overnight. Unless Magistrate Ma was completely stupid, he would naturally know where His Royal Highness was.
As Magistrate Ma hurried on his way, he was still thinking: Don't offend His Highness here. But he actually had a bad feeling in his heart. If nothing had happened, why would His Highness make such a fuss and call his personal soldiers over?
Sure enough, County Magistrate Ma hurried to Luoma, and seeing that his personal soldiers were stationed there, the tents for His Highness's ceremonial motorcade had been set up, and the atmosphere was majestic, he wiped the sweat from his forehead, straightened his clothes, and stepped forward to introduce himself.
"Wait." The personal soldier said and went to pass on the message.
Xuanyu Fu: "Is Magistrate Ma here? Then let him in."
Magistrate Ma entered the main tent of His Highness in a trembling manner, and knelt down and kowtowed. When Xuan Fu saw him, he stood there without shouting, but said: "It seems that you know it well, and you also know that there are bullies here who oppress the people."
“Your humble servant—” Magistrate Ma had so much to say that he couldn’t defend himself.
He did know, but he didn't dare to do anything.
Manyu Fu: "Tell me everything."
Magistrate Ma's forehead was covered with sweat, and he didn't know how to speak for a long time, or he didn't dare to speak. Seeing this, Xuan Fu laughed in disbelief and said, "This Dasheng has my father above him. Besides, who else should I be afraid of?" He is afraid of his father, but his father is the second best to him in the world and will not beat him. He is his father's treasure.
Give his father face and be afraid of the emperor for now!
Xuanyu Fu's voice turned cold. "If you still don't tell me, I will punish you and your whole family. Who do you want to take the blame for?"
Magistrate Ma was so frightened that he kowtowed and then told everything in a trembling voice. After listening to it, Xuan Fu's expression changed from "sneer of anger" to "bewilderment" and finally "furious".
"You mean, this Xu Tiancheng, the elder Xu, is a relative of the current 9,000-year-old Queen Xu?"
Xuan Fu's face was so gloomy that it looked like water could drip from it. "Who told you that? Do you have any evidence?"
Magistrate Ma was in a trance for a moment, and instantly realized that he had been deceived, and Xu Tiancheng must be a fake, but - "I am innocent. I heard what Lord Zhang said. No, Lord Zhang did not say it explicitly, but hinted at me..."
Magistrate Ma has been in office here for more than ten years. In the past, the local economy was prosperous and there was competition among merchants trading in pearl lotus root powder, but it was all healthy competition. Villagers from various villages were employed, and although it was hard work, they made real money.
Only in the past two years, the bosses who used to pay generously in Xiaohaikou have "left", and have been replaced by a few companies now, and the money for catching clams has gradually decreased - several companies offer the same price, and if you don't do it, there will be no work.
This means that the person behind Xu Tiancheng was transferred here in the past two years. Xuan Fu and Yan Huaijin had previously speculated this.
"Is he stupid? My father has been the queen for so many years. If there really is a relative from my uncle's family, why didn't he come out earlier? When my father was the governor, he was also very powerful. So many years have passed, and now someone comes out to impersonate me—"
"Okay, okay, why don't you just say it directly? People just gave vague hints and Ma got scared and believed it. What's wrong with his brain?"
I had to complain about many of my blessings to Yan Jinjin in the tent.
Magistrate Ma was first taken out and detained aside, waiting for Zhang Zhengshi and Zuo Ling of Jiangnan Road to come and confront them.
Yan Huaijin poured hot tea and handed it to Xuanyunfu, saying, "It has nothing to do with Uncle Xu. County Magistrate Ma is afraid that the government envoy will go to the top, so he deliberately tries to please him. Xu Tiancheng is his lackey. If we trace back to the source, Government Envoy Zhang is the mastermind."
Xuan Fu drank a sip of tea, his anger subsided, and he said, "I'm wasting my breath scolding him. You're right. Believe it or not, Zhang Zhengshi will not admit it at all. He let Zuo Ling hint vaguely. He said nothing but false evidence, and then he turned the tables and said that he thought so—"
"But this matter cannot be let go like this. We must investigate and deal with it strictly. My father's reputation cannot be ruined by these rats."
Many of Fu's expressions were extremely serious.
"I'm going to write a letter."
Yan Huaijin hesitated, "Do you want to wait for His Majesty's decision?"
"No, I'll do it first and report later." Xuan Fu took the paper and pen without even raising his head.
Yan Huaijin nodded when he heard this, and his idea coincided with many other people's. He went over and lifted his sleeves to grind ink, saying, "This case must be severely punished to serve as a warning to others, and it must also be announced to the world to restore Uncle Xu's reputation."
"Yes." Xuanyi Fu wrote quickly and simply and straightforwardly. For the first time, he used expedited delivery and asked his personal soldiers to deliver the message to Shengdu City.
The Jiangnan Road is very close to Shengdu City, and it can be reached in seven days by riding at full speed.
After the letter was sent out, Xuanyu Fu looked at Yan Jinjin and said, "I know he is definitely not the one. Why do you trust him so much——"
"Uncle Xu raised you, and I know your character very well. Naturally, I don't believe that Xu Tiancheng is a relative of the Xu family." Yan Huaijin continued, and added for the sake of rigor: "Even if good bamboo shoots turn out bad, Uncle Xu has been in charge of the East Factory for many years. As you said, when it was at its peak, the East Factory was never caught in a serious mistake. It can be seen that Uncle Xu is a very cautious person."
Being an empress and having a good relationship with Emperor Ningwu is one thing, being an official in charge of the Eastern Depot and having such great power is another thing. Xu Xiaoman has her own ability to do things, and it is not just relying on Zhong Yun's protection that she has been able to sit in the position of governor for many years.
Xuanyunfu felt better after hearing Yan Jinjin praise his father. He said, "I'll tell you a secret. My father and I's relatives have long since changed their surnames and moved to another place. No one knows about it, and I've never seen them. My father said that they are honest and soft-hearted, and it's easy for people to take advantage of them. It's better for them to live a simple life."
Power is not for some people.
Yan Huaijin: "Uncle Xu is very far-sighted."
"Of course."
Two days later, Jiangnan Dao Zhengshi Zhang arrived with his left and right commanders. Naturally, they spoke in official language and refused to admit that he was the instigator and mastermind of the bully Xu Tiancheng and the fact that he carried weapons. The left commander stood up and cried bitterly, saying that the bully was blinded by money and did something behind the Zhengshi's back.
True and false, the play was performed very realistically, and the political envoy even knelt down and took the blame, saying that it was his negligence - he did not manage Zuo Ling's subordinates well.
Compared with the crime of oppressing the people and impersonating the queen's relatives, the responsibility of negligence is really a small matter.
Xu Xuanfu smiled coldly, "Do you really think I'm made of dough?"
The envoy decided to commit suicide to prove his innocence.
"Since you are so wise and willing to die, then I'll chop you off." Xuanyifu said in a deep voice.
The political envoy was so frightened that he stood there in a daze. He was really panicking at this moment. He said that he was an official appointed by the court. His Highness had no evidence. Could he force him to confess?
"I will kill you today. Do you think my father wants to exchange my life for yours?" Xuanyu Fu asked.
Then it was a mess.
The Minister of State Affairs did not mean to let Zuo Ling to get close to the Queen. He was unaware of this idea. It was Zuo Ling who hinted at doing so. He just accepted the tribute money from his subordinates - County Magistrate Ma was not a good person either. County Magistrate Ma took the initiative to give the tribute and indulged Zuo Ling in doing things here.
They are all from the same group and are blaming each other. No one can be clean, including the masters in this town.
Xuanyu Fu: "Take them all away. Lin Zhengxu and Mu Yu, you two will interrogate them."
Hand it over to the East Factory, and they will be tortured if necessary. Lin Zheng understood and bowed to receive the order and left, while Xu Muyu recorded the confession and sorted out the files to present to the emperor.
It was already five days later when he finished all this. Xuan Fu was planning to set off - the governor of Jiangnan Province had been captured by him, and the local county magistrate was also detained here. If the matter became a big deal, the entire Jiangnan Province and the local prefectures and counties would probably be in chaos for some time.
Xuan Fu asked Zhou Quan and Xu Muyu to take charge temporarily.
Several masters in Baihu Town colluded with Magistrate Ma. Those who deserved to be imprisoned were imprisoned, and those who deserved to be imprisoned had their properties confiscated. Magistrate Ma was detained and demoted, or imprisoned. What about Zuo Ling, the governor of Jiangnan, and his gang - this man was the mastermind, and his crime must be serious.
Those thugs, especially Xu Tiancheng, will definitely be executed.
Many people think so.
When his convoy moved from here to the boat and took the Fujiang River route - before leaving, the villagers of the seven villages of Baiyu Lake came to see him off, and were deeply moved. They knelt down and shouted "Long Live the Emperor". Xiao Hai also gave the rare pearl to His Highness.
Xuan Fu thought about it and asked for the pearl, but gave Xiao Hai some silver.
This pearl was rare and had caused a lot of controversy and was known to everyone. If it stayed at Xiao Hai's house, there would probably be trouble once he left - for example, merchants would come to buy it at a high price, some soft nail traps would be set, or nearby thieves would steal it.
"Just tell others that the pearl was given to me, and use the money to buy land and build a house. Just keep some of the money as a surplus at home." Xuanyu Fu said.
Xiao Hai seemed to understand, "Thank you, Your Highness."
When Xuan Fu was sitting on the big boat, the story of the Crown Prince beheading corrupt officials because of the clam-catching boy in Baihu Town was also spreading widely.
The imperial edict announced to the world that Empress Xu was an orphan and her family had died early.
The Jiangnan Dao Zhang Zhengshi, Ma Xianling, and Zuo Ling, who were involved in the case of impersonating the Queen's relatives, had their property confiscated and their entire clans, including Xu Tiancheng, executed. The local accomplices were exiled...
This result can be said to be very serious.
It was Queen Xu who pleaded for mercy, and the limit was reduced from nine clans to three clans. The people praised the queen for her kindness. However, the people of Jiangnan Road missed the point.
"The young man who fished for clams was fifteen years old. He just came out of the water. He had a beautiful face and a beautiful body. I felt pity for him..."
"His Highness held the hand of the pearl boy and said that this black pearl is not as good as yours."
"Our Highness has a kind heart and is helping the people get rid of harm—"
When Xuanyunfu heard this, he thought: Finally, there is a storyteller who can tell stories like Master Qingtang!!! Storytellers in other teahouses would make up gossips about him all day to attract customers.
"Your Highness is the first to eliminate harm for the people, but His Highness is also attracted to the young Pearl Boy. Unfortunately, His Highness has responsibilities. The prodigy Zhao Mu was there first, and now there is another young Pearl Boy. Since ancient times, it has been difficult to be both loyal and beautiful."
Many blessings: ???
Meow meow meow, do you want to listen to what you are talking about!
Still loyal?!
You are also illiterate!
The author has something to say:
Your Highness Duozai: My reputation, my reputation, woo woo woo
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