Chapter 176 Onions and Apples “That’s it.” …
"That's it."
As the Minister of Justice said this, the emergency high-level meeting of the Ministry of Justice came to an end. The participants dispersed silently without anyone speaking.
Yinzhen stayed behind and clearly saw several Han officials who had poor expression control, with resentment and heartache revealed in the corners of their eyebrows and eyes.
"Your Highness, would you please come and sit with me?" The Minister of Justice invited politely.
Yinzhen stood up and said, "No, it's getting late. I'll return home first. Please send someone to inform me when you have any results from the investigation."
The Minister of Justice agreed readily: "No problem."
Seeing the lanterns hanging in his own mansion from afar, a hint of warmth appeared on Yinzhen's cold expression. No matter what, there was always someone here waiting for him to come back.
"You're back." A familiar smiling face came up to him, and she took his hand and walked inside. "Are you tired? Are you hungry? There's food in the kitchen. Can you bring some?"
Without waiting for his reply, she immediately ordered, "Tell the kitchen to bring over the prepared food."
She helped him sit down, took the tea bowl brought by the servant and put it in his hand, then sat down on the other side of the table. She put her arm on the table, supported her chin with her hand, and looked at him. She asked, "What case is it? Why did it take so long? Is there any conclusion?"
Yinzhen's whole heart seemed to be soaked in a hot spring, so warm that he didn't want to move. There was no need to answer her in a hurry at this time. She would be happier if he picked up the tea bowl and drank the hot milk in it in one breath.
He put down the tea bowl, took the handkerchief she offered, wiped the corners of his mouth, and now he could speak: "The Left Censor-in-Chief impeached the editor of the Hanlin Academy. Today we just held a meeting, and the investigation has not yet begun."
Qi Buchen was slightly surprised: "Editor of the Hanlin Academy? Do we need to ask you for this?"
It's not that she looks down on the editors of the Hanlin Academy, but there is a division of labor within the Ministry of Justice. For someone like Yinzhen in his current position, he basically handles cases related to the royal family while serving in the Ministry of Justice. After all, his status allows him to suppress the situation.
Yinzhen's face was solemn. "There's more to this than meets the eye. The Minister of Justice must be worried he can't handle it, so he called a meeting of all the people in the Ministry of Justice to discuss it."
Qi Buchen could only think of one possible explanation for the rather complicated case involving the Hanlin Academy editor: "Cheating in the Autumn Examination?"
Yinzhen shook his head: "No." But he did not explain what the case was, only saying, "Everything is still uncertain at this moment. It depends on what we can find out."
The Ministry of Justice investigated, but didn't find any results until the end of the year. Qi Buchen was curious: "Is it difficult to investigate?"
Yinzhen said, "It's hard to say whether it's difficult to find out, but there must be someone who doesn't want it to be found so easily."
"Accomplice?" Qi Buchen guessed.
Yinzhen's answer was as if he was joking: "Maybe the neighbors too."
Qi Buchen had a speechless expression on his face.
Yinzhen smiled but said nothing, but he kept repeating four words in his heart: If the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold.
On the eighteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, Xie Hanshan rushed back from Guangdong. Qi Buchen almost didn't recognize him at first sight.
"They say the climate and soil of the capital nourish people, but I think Guangdong is more nourishing." Qi Buchen's eyes never stopped sizing up Xie Hanshan. "Look at our eunuch Xie. He was as thin as a stick when he was in the capital, but he has been in Guangdong for a few years and has become very lucky."
The servants in the room all laughed.
Baozhu added, "That's right. If someone who didn't know the situation saw this, they would think you, the wife, couldn't even bear to give Eunuch Xie a meal."
Xie Hanshan, who was now twice as fat as before, bowed and begged for mercy: "I dare not say that. I beg the steward Baozhu to spare our family."
Baozhu dodged with a smile: "Oh, I dare not be called a big steward by Eunuch Xie. We are nothing. How can we be as capable as Eunuch Xie."
Xie Hanshan didn't dare to continue the conversation, and said to Qi Buchen, "Fujin, you have to save me."
After laughing for a while, Qi Buchen stood up and said, "Okay, let's go to the study."
After entering the study and when they were the only two left, Xie Hanshan lost all his playful smile and became a steady and reliable butler.
"Fujin, this is this year's account book." Although he did not return to Beijing every year, he would always send the account book back.
Qi Buchen flipped through it briefly and put it aside: "I'll look at this later. Tell me what you've gained, is there anything new? And what about what I want you to find, do you have any clues?"
"Yes, I found a few things I haven't seen before." Xie Hanshan began to report, "I brought some back. Can you show them to me now?"
Yes, it’s hard to explain it simply, and at this time the newly discovered things don’t have a unified name.
Xie Hanshan went out and had someone bring in a box. After opening it, he took out a round object. "I traded this with a European. He said it can be eaten raw. I tried it. It tastes spicy and pungent when raw, but it's lighter after stir-frying."
Isn't this an onion?
"Does it have a name?" Qi Buchen asked.
Xie Hanshan hesitated a bit: "That European said, they called... called..." He opened and closed his mouth several times before he could barely utter two syllables, "Ah... Ni..."
After saying this, he was very ashamed: "I have tried to learn their language, but their pronunciation is very strange. I have studied for a long time but still cannot master it. Please punish me, Madam."
There is no need, no need. As someone who went to school in the 21st century, how could Qi Buchen not understand the pain of English? What's more, Xie Hanshan was an ancient man and could not read well before. It's good that he is willing to learn, and it's not his fault if he can't learn it.
"That's fine." Qi Buchen pondered for a moment, pretending to think of a name. "From what you said, this thing is similar to onion, and it comes from the West, so let's just call it onion."
He waved his hand to stop Xie Hanshan from flattering him before he could say anything: "Continue."
"yes."
Xie Hanshan started to introduce other things. Qi Buchen didn't ask him if he knew the Western name, but directly gave him the Chinese name.
“This is called cauliflower.”
"Call me Apple."
There are only three things in total, which is a good harvest. Qi Buchen didn't expect that there were apples. You know, in the future, apples will almost be the most popular fruit.
Qi Buchen called Baozhu over and said, "Send all of these to the farm. This apple is a fruit. Peel off the skin and remove the outer flesh and send it to the brothers. Send the seeds inside to the farm. The main thing is to cultivate it."
He then instructed Xie Hanshan: "Pay attention to this later. It's better to get more seedlings back. If you only use seeds, it will take a long time and the survival rate will not be high."
The two of them agreed in unison. Baozhu took the things out and Xie Hanshan began to report other things. The news was not good.
"Of the things you asked me to find, I only managed to find information about one, and nothing about the others."
Qi Buchen perked up: "Which one?"
"The one that oozes a gelatinous substance when you cut its bark," Xie Hanshan said. "In May, I found a Frenchman. He told me he had a relative who once crossed the ocean on a ship and traveled to South America. They strayed into a vast jungle and only saw the light of day after capturing a savage. They later taught the savage to speak, hoping to find out if there were any good things in the jungle, and he mentioned this tree."
"But they didn't think the tree was worth anything, so they didn't look for it."
Xie Hanshan was once illiterate, but over the years, his understanding of the world, to a certain extent, even far exceeds that of some top scholars who only studied hard.
But even so, Xie Hanshan was skeptical when he spoke of this news: "That Frenchman said that when his relative told them about this, they all thought he was just bragging and no one believed him."
He glanced at Qi Buchen hesitantly and couldn't help asking, "Where did Fu Jin know about this tree?"
"Ah." Qi Buchen spoke without hesitation, "I found it while reading a travelogue about the West. The author only mentioned the existence of this tree but didn't mention where it was found. That's why I asked you to find out."
Upon hearing this, Xie Hanshan's doubts about the tree's existence were instantly dispelled. He had an inexplicable trust in intellectuals. In his opinion, anyone who could write travelogues and publish books wouldn't need to fabricate such stories to deceive others. Even though this intellectual was a Westerner, he could still trust him even if he gave them a half-hearted discount.
"So that's how it is! Madam is really knowledgeable. Don't worry, I have already asked that Frenchman to ask him to ask his relative in detail when he returns next year. If there is any new news, he will report it to you as soon as possible." Xie Hanshan expressed his determination with high spirits.
Qi Buchen, on the other hand, was not as confident as him. What could South America, jungle, and savages remind her of? She could only think of the rainforest! If the rubber was really in the rainforest, how many people would have to fill it to find it?
Moreover, given the Qing Dynasty's current restrictions on the size of seagoing vessels, they simply could not cross the Pacific Ocean to reach South America.
Qi Buchen felt discouraged just thinking about it, and waved his hand listlessly: "That's it, let's get the news first, but don't act on your own."
It cost her a lot of money to build up the fleet now. If Xie Hanshan was eager to make a contribution and secretly went out to sea to look for her without telling her, and their entire army was wiped out, she wouldn't even be able to cry.
"Yes, I obey your command."
After talking about the new species, let’s talk about the progress of abducting people and books from foreign countries.
"This time, I brought back a total of 213 books, all unique from previous ones, and half of them are in English. There are also two Westerners, one is the chemist you mentioned, and the other claims to be a philosopher." Xie Hanshan felt a little guilty. "I don't know what a philosopher is, but I heard from the ship's crew that this person is quite influential in the local area, but he offended a big shot and was forced to take refuge at sea."
"A philosopher." Qi Buchen thought for a moment and explained to him, "Zhuangzi would probably be called a great philosopher over there."
"I will definitely take good care of this philosopher." Xie Hanshan was immediately filled with respect and explained, "They both left the ship in September, but they both fell ill on board. After leaving, they couldn't acclimate to the climate. When I left, they were unable to move, so I didn't bring them back this time."
"There's no need to take it too seriously. Just be polite." Qi Buchen corrected his attitude. "Since he's sick, you should get well first. You should also observe their character. If their character is not good, no matter how knowledgeable they are, it won't work."
"Yes, I obey your command."
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