Chapter 434: The more you try to hide, the more obvious it becomes
Upon hearing this, Shen Wanxiong's face suddenly changed. He hurriedly stepped forward, knelt on the ground, and explained anxiously:
"Your Excellency, you have misunderstood me! Although I run a winery and was able to make a living during the famine in Qingzhou, that was my own grain reserve!"
Moreover, when the people were suffering from the disaster, I also donated money and effort to help Mr. Shi to provide relief to the victims..."
"Yes, Your Excellency the Imperial Envoy." Shi Yuanzhong followed closely and quickly echoed.
"The porridge stalls in Qingzhou City were all set up by Mr. Shen. They were a great help to our government at that time!"
"Master Shen, what are you doing? Please stand up quickly." Zhu Lan said to Shen Wanxiong with a smile, "I was just joking. I didn't mean any other thing. Master Shen, please don't take it seriously."
Shen Wanxiong slowly stood up with the help of Shi Yuanzhong, and then heard Zhu Lan say:
"However, I feel that distributing porridge only within the city may not be enough. What about the people outside the city?"
When Shen Wanxiong heard this, he immediately nodded like pounding garlic.
"Your Excellency, the Imperial Envoy has been very thoughtful. When I return, I will arrange for people to set up porridge stalls outside the city so that more people can feel the Imperial Envoy's grace!"
"Mr. Shen has contributed money and effort, and I am just borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha and going with the flow." Zhu Lan smiled slightly and raised his glass to greet Shen Wanxiong.
Shen Wanxiong returned to his seat, and Shi Yuanzhong walked up to Zhu Lan again and asked carefully:
"Your Excellency, you have seen that although the disaster in Qingzhou has basically stabilized, the remaining food in the city is only enough for the people to barely survive. It is still a bit difficult to feed everyone. Therefore, the food you brought..."
"Don't worry, Lord Shi. Since the food has been delivered, there is no reason to take it back. Since the disaster in Qingzhou is not serious, Your Majesty can rest assured. A mere dozen carts of food are not worth mentioning."
"That's great, that's great, your Majesty is wise, and the imperial envoy is wise!" Shi Yuanzhong was very happy and drank several glasses of wine.
Li Moxu said at this time: "Since the rumors that the people in Qingzhou starved to death are pure nonsense, Your Excellency, should we prepare to return to the capital to report?"
As soon as these words came out, more than a dozen pairs of eyes at the banquet turned to Zhu Lan, and there seemed to be some kind of hidden expectation hidden in those gazes.
"This..." Zhu Lan picked up the wine glass and glanced at Zhu Qingyan as if seeking his opinion.
Zhu Qingyan immediately understood, sat upright and said:
"I don't think there's any need to be too anxious. The scenery in Qingzhou is very different from that in the capital. Didn't Lord Li just say that he had longed to visit Qingzhou?
Your Majesty has not given us a deadline to report back, so we might as well stay for a few more days."
Zhu Qingyan looked at Shi Yuanzhong and asked with a smile, "Master Shi, you won't reject us, will you?"
"You are joking, sir! It is a blessing for Qingzhou that you two can come to Qingzhou!"
Shi Yuanzhong seemed very happy, his eyes casually swept across Li Moxu's face. After their eyes met briefly, they quickly looked away.
…
The welcoming banquet lasted until late at night and everyone went home with great pleasure.
Zhu Lan and his party were arranged to live in a separate courtyard of the government office, and Zhu Lan and Zhu Qingyan lived in the same room.
After they washed up, Zhu Qingyan went out for a walk again to make sure that no one was following them near the villa before returning to the house.
After she closed the door, Zhu Lan asked, "What did you want to say to me at the banquet just now?"
Zhu Qingyan walked to the table and sat down, and said to Zhu Lan anxiously:
“There’s something wrong between Shi Yuanzhong and Li Moxu.
I suspect that our itinerary this time was probably revealed to the people in Qingzhou by Li Moxu in advance."
Zhu Lan's eyes narrowed slightly. Just now at the table, she only vaguely felt that the atmosphere between Shi Yuanzhong and Li Moxu was a little strange, but she couldn't tell the specific reason, so she asked Zhu Qingyan to explain in detail.
"You have been in the Censorate for the past few years, so there are some things you may not be clear about." Zhu Qingyan said seriously.
"Two years ago, the Hanlin Academy sorted out the memorials from ministers from all over the country. I remember one of them was full of praise for Qingzhou prefect Shi Yuanzhong, with a hint of recommendation.
However, most of the content in the table was empty praise and lacked any real evidence, so Your Majesty put it aside after reading it.
And the letter of recommendation was written by Li Moxu."
Zhu Lan frowned and thought, "So, the two of them have known each other for a long time, and they have a close relationship?"
"Yes." Zhu Qingyan nodded.
"Moreover, Li Moxu is a Beijing official, and has nothing to do with the Qingzhou prefect. If he had never been to Qingzhou, how could he have praised Shi Yuanzhong like that?
But did you hear their conversation just now? Li Moxu not only hinted that he had never been to Qingzhou, but also that he had never met Shi Yuanzhong before.
When talking about his family, Shi Yuanzhong also acted as if he knew nothing about Li Moxu, as if...he was telling us this on purpose."
"You're right." Zhu Lan said in a deep voice.
"This is just an attempt to cover up the truth."
The two were silent for a while, and Zhu Lan looked at Zhu Qingyan and said:
“By the way, today we mentioned that Lu Tongpan, it seems that he doesn’t have a good relationship with other officials in Qingzhou.
Perhaps we should go meet him.”
Zhu Qingyan had the same idea, so he stood up and went to get his cloak.
"It's better to do it today than to wait for a day. It's a dark and windy night, a good time to climb over the wall and climb a tree.
You wait for me here, don't go to sleep first!"
Zhu Lan opened the door for her with a smile, "Master Xuezheng is so righteous, Master Xuezheng has worked so hard!"
Soon, the candles in the courtyard were extinguished, and a slender and agile figure silently jumped out of the wall of the government office.
…
On a snowy night, a faint candlelight was emitted from a side hall in the inner courtyard of the government office.
"Sir, the people are coming."
After the servant finished speaking, he tactfully retreated and closed the door.
Shi Yuanzhong raised his head and saw two people wearing large black cloaks pulling down their hoods, revealing their true faces. They were Li Moxu and Shen Wanxiong.
The three of them sat down around the round table and without further ado, got straight to the point.
Shi Yuanzhong looked worried and asked Li Moxu:
"Lord Li, if we forcibly gather the hungry people outside the city, I'm afraid it won't last long.
When do the two imperial envoys plan to leave Qingzhou?"
Li Moxu curled his lips, "How should I know? He is a superior. Can I make the decision whether he wants to leave or stay?"
The two looked at each other and sighed.
Shen Wanxiong on the side laughed “haha” and poured tea for the two of them personally.
"They are just two imperial envoys. It's not like there haven't been imperial envoys here before. Didn't we just deal with them and send them away safely? Why are you two adults so worried?
In my opinion, we can just copy what happened in the past and do it again.
In this world, any problem that can be solved with money is not a problem. "
Li Moxu knocked on the table irritably and said unhappily:
"You don't know these two gentlemen. I have been testing them all the way, and they are really impervious to any temptation.
I'm afraid your skill in using money has met its nemesis this time."
The candlelight flickered, but Shen Wanxiong's smile remained unchanged.
"Master Li is wrong. I, Shen Wanxiong, have lived to such an old age, and I have only seen money that was not used in the right place, but I have never seen anyone who could not be dealt with by money."
Li Moxu frowned and waved his hands, "Giving them money is useless!"
“A straight hook naturally can’t catch fish.” Shen Wanxiong smiled slightly.
He stood up and clasped his fists towards the two of them and said:
"My Lords, you just need to cooperate well. I, Old Shen, will take action and make sure these two imperial envoys know -
What is heaven on earth? "
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