The banquet was held in a restaurant. The provincial government had one prefect, two associate prefects, one assistant prefect, one prosecutor, and one clerk to assist Wang Yu in handling government affairs. There were also some other personnel under him, such as prison wardens, yamen runners, clerks, etc., with varying numbers.
There were only five people dining together at this time. All the officials of high rank had come. Gao Feng and his companions led Wang Yu to sit down. "Your Excellency has come from the capital. Please try some of our Dingzhou specialties. I wonder if you are used to eating them."
Wang Yu sat down and said with a smile: "Then let's try it. I haven't eaten Dingzhou cuisine yet. You guys sit down too. Don't be shy."
During the meal, everyone was playing Tai Chi with each other, trying to flatter Wang Yu. Wang Yu found it boring, so he finished eating early and left.
On the way back, I couldn't help but wonder why that guy surnamed Gao was secretly trying to find out what I was doing here, what his reason was, and what he could possibly be doing here.
Wang Yu thought, isn't it just taking office in Dingzhou to prepare for the subsequent attack on the Dongyi? These are not secrets in the court, so why bother to inquire? He also thought about Ling Xiao saying when he went out before that the person who followed him had not left.
Wang Yu drank some wine and his mind was a little confused. He pinched his eyebrows and felt that he seemed to be involved in a conspiracy. Things might not be that simple.
Wang Yu was attending a banquet, and Cheng Chen was arranging other matters after putting his second child to sleep. Although the backyard of the provincial government had everything, it was a new place after all, and some things still needed to be purchased, so he arranged for the servants in the government to go and buy them.
There are several courtyards in the backyard. Ling Xiao and his friends live in the main courtyard. My husband said that the others should be arranged in other courtyards, so he summoned all the servants, rearranged them, and explained the rules to the maids and servants.
"I like the quietness of the main courtyard. If you have nothing to do on weekdays, please don't come in."
Although the servants were a little puzzled that Cheng Chen didn't need anyone to serve him, since the master had spoken, they still had to listen, "Yes, Zhengfu."
After giving instructions to the servants, Cheng Chen went into the house. Erbao was playing alone on the bed. Not long after dinner, Wang Yu came back.
Cheng Chen had just finished bathing Erbao and was wiping his hair. "Husband, have you finished eating?"
Wang Yu nodded: "Yeah, it's very boring."
Seeing that Wang Yu looked a little tired, Cheng Chen walked over to rub Wang Yu's head and said softly, "Then go to bed early."
"Well, have all the things in the mansion been arranged?" Wang Yu asked, pulling Cheng Chen's hand.
"It's been arranged. The others will be arranged to live in other courtyards. I'll ask them to stay away from the main courtyard."
Wang Yu thought about what had just happened at the dinner table, and was afraid that some of the servants in this courtyard might have ulterior motives.
Then he called the two siblings of the Ling family and told them not to wander around without permission, as this would expose their identities. He also asked them to be careful in front of the servants in the mansion.
On the second day, Wang Yu went to the yamen to take over the internal affairs of the state yamen. Dingzhou was not big and only governed one county, so there was not much to do. He was mainly responsible for managing administrative, judicial, tax and other matters. Today he planned to take a look at the tax accounts of the state yamen first. As for the matter of the warships, he would wait until he had sorted out the affairs of the state yamen before going there.
He first went to the storehouse and granary to check. After counting the number, he found that the inventory of the provincial government was in good condition and any emergency could be dealt with in time. He also asked someone to bring the accounts for checking. The grain tax, commercial tax and customs tax in the past two years seemed to be in good condition.
Wang Yu put down the account book and rubbed his brows, but these neat and uniform numbers were all fooling him. If it weren't for his good memory and sensitivity to numbers, he wouldn't have noticed that many numbers were the same in two years.
The repetition rate is too high, how is this possible? Wang Yu couldn't help but sneer. It seems that these things are all done for him to see.
Wang Yu leaned back in his chair and couldn't help but recall that when he went out in the morning, Ling Shuang said that there was more than one person watching near the provincial government office. It seemed that someone had been watching him since he came to Dingzhou. This was probably not just targeting Ling Xiao and the others, but also because they were afraid that he would find out something and kill them to silence them.
Thinking about what Ling Xiao had said to him before, heavy taxes and forced slavery, since Wuzhou and Dingzhou have it, I'm afraid the whole Huaining has it. This matter has not been reported to the capital, I'm afraid someone must have stopped it, and the only person who has such great ability to deceive his superiors and hide the truth from his subordinates is probably the prefect.
Wang Yu closed his eyes and wondered what the emperor had arranged for him. If he had known earlier, he would never have brought Cheng Chen with him. Dingzhou must be a dangerous place.
However, Wang Yu was not the kind of person who would sit and wait for death. Since everything in the provincial government office was made for him to see, there was no need to investigate further. He should find out what Ling Xiao had said, including what kinds of exorbitant taxes were imposed and where the slaves that were bought and sold went.
However, I'm afraid that none of the people in the provincial government can be used, and he can't do anything even if someone is watching him. Ling Xiao and the others can't do it either. He doesn't have anyone to check these things. This time he thought it was just a simple appointment, so he brought Zheng Shu alone. Wang Yu shook his head and smiled bitterly.
Since he couldn't find anything in the provincial government, Wang Yu planned to go back. Although they were all fake, he had been looking at them for two days and was tired.
Seeing Wang Yu coming out, Gao Feng and the other man came up to him and asked how the accounts were. Wang Yu glanced at them and just shook his head to indicate that there was no problem. He was tired these two days, so he went back to rest if there was nothing else to do.
Gao Feng had been worried for two days, and when he heard Wang Yu say that there was no problem, he breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, "Then your Excellency, please go back early. We still have the affairs of the state government to deal with."
Wang Yu patted his shoulder and said, "Thank you for your hard work. I'll take a look at the case file tomorrow."
If you want to do it, you have to do it completely. You still have to do what he should do. You can't just not do it because you are doing it for him to see. You still have to follow the process.
"Yes, sir, I will put it in your study tomorrow."
Wang Yu nodded and went back directly. After entering the backyard, his tired spirit relaxed. Cheng Chen was coaxing Erbao to sleep. Wang Yu walked over with light steps to check. Erbao might have been having some difficulty acclimatizing to the local climate these days and his appetite was not very good. Fortunately, after seeing the doctor, it turned out that there was nothing serious. The doctor prescribed some medicine and he would be fine after taking it in two days.
After Erbao fell asleep, Wang Yu asked, "How was Erbao's lunch?"
"The food was good today and he's in good spirits." Cheng Chen said while looking at the sleeping Erbao.
It took a lot of effort to feed the second baby medicine these two days. Children's medicine is more or less sweet, but medicine is bitter after all. Fortunately, the second baby has recovered and no longer needs to take medicine. He is relieved. Turning around and seeing Wang Yu looking a little tired, he walked over and pressed his temples.
Wang Yu leaned against him and closed his eyes to enjoy it for a while, then took his hand and asked him to sit next to him, "Thank you for your hard work these two days."
Cheng Chen shook his head and said, "It's not hard. Erbao is very obedient."
"Well, are the servants in the mansion easy to manage?" Wang Yu was afraid that some of the servants in the mansion had ulterior motives.
Cheng Chen smiled and said, "You are the adult, and I am the legal husband. How can we not obey? We all follow the rules."
"Okay, tell me if you have anything to say."
Cheng Chen knew that because of the Ling Xiao siblings’ incident, there were people outside the state government office watching them. Her husband was worried that something might happen to him and Erbao. “I know, don’t worry, I’ll be careful too.”
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