Chapter 112: Plum Blossoms 22 plus more, let me ride you back
Before Song Yanze came to visit these rice and grain tycoons, all the wealthy merchants had handed him a letter of courtesy. However, they had many contacts with the three divisions and knew what kind of people this young Master Song was, so they didn't think of getting close to him.
At this time, the merchants saw him in a scarlet official robe and gathered them together in a friendly manner. They all looked sad and thought that he was going to find a way to take action against them.
But they had also been warned by the Three Divisions, so how could they dare to provide food?
Besides, the government’s business is not doing well right now, so it’s better to stock up first and not act rashly.
But no one expected that Song Yanze didn't mention anything at all, neither about buying grain, nor about the soaring grain prices, let alone the fact that grain stores are not selling rice now.
The young official in scarlet robes sat in the first seat, served tea with a smile, and waved his hand to let all the gentlemen have a taste of the tea.
There are hundreds of thousands of disaster victims outside, but Lord Song is no longer in a hurry and even has the leisure to drink tea?
These people were confused, but as soon as they picked up the teacup, they smelled the extremely elegant tea fragrance. Several wealthy businessmen who were well versed in this raised their eyebrows and lowered their heads to look at the tea soup carefully.
It is transparent and bright, without any dark color. When you take a sip, the bitterness dissipates quickly and the taste is rich in layers.
"Good tea. The tea here is really the best."
Song Yanze smiled, looked over, agreed, nodded, and said a few humble words. After that, he called someone up to set up the table and put out the tea-making utensils one by one.
Making tea and snacks are both elegant pursuits of literati, but tea leaves are precious, and who among the wealthy wouldn't want to share in this elegance?
Incense sticks were burning in the hall, the scent was elegant, with a faint hint of the fragrance of cold plum blossoms in the snow.
Song Yanze lifted his robe and sat down at the table leisurely, and asked several people to take seats one by one. They were still worried, but they couldn't understand what he was talking about.
They had heard of Song Yanze's background before. He was an elegant gentleman raised by the Song family in Huizhou. He was proficient in calligraphy, painting, music and chess. Although he was a concubine's son, he was also the top student in the Song family school.
He is the leader of this generation of Jiangnan culture.
At this moment, he just quietly put his sleeves down and concentrated on warming the cup, then picked up the small teapot and slowly poured the soup in. Some people who knew about it had secretly called out, and after the soup was boiled, they whisked it again and poured more soup.
Gradually, thick and dense milky white foam appeared on the tea. His movements were neither hurried nor slow, but orderly. No step was unnecessary, and only the faint rustling sound of the tea whisk could be heard.
They were all flattered by Song Yanze's move. This was the real No. 1 tea-making skill. He dipped the tea in tea powder and wiped it with the thin bamboo stick with his slender fingers.
The snow-white soup flowers rise up like distant mountain peaks, outlined by a touch of green, a painting in the water, and distant mountains in the water.
Song Yanze pushed the teacup towards them, frowned and smiled, allowing them to watch.
"how?"
Everyone praised him sincerely. Song Yanze glanced at him and sighed slowly.
"My Jiangnan region is a place rich in tea, but it's a pity that this elegance of tea has never flourished. You all have tea gardens, but have you never thought about this elegance?"
When they heard that Song Yanze didn't talk to them about food, they immediately became lively and chatted about everything from the tea business to the elegance of making tea. Some people also talked about teahouses and the tradition of tea-tea competitions, and there was a lot of regret in their words.
Song Yanze would interject from time to time and actually got along well with them.
After a while, he looked at one of the wealthy merchants with regret and asked him, "During the Dragon Boat Festival, there were no dragon boat races or banquets? In the past, the candidates had banquets and boating on the lake, which was very elegant and interesting. Thank you for your care. I am also one of the candidates who attended the banquet."
The man was surprised and delighted. He had not expected that he could still establish this relationship at this time. He chatted with him about banquet attire, and complained about the flood this year so he could not have a big banquet.
Song Yanze raised his eyebrows: "When did the three officials tell you?"
Everyone was embarrassed. There was a great disaster in the south of the Yangtze River, and they didn't have the courage to hold a banquet, tea-drinking competition or dragon boat racing.
Song Yanze slammed the table and said disapprovingly: "Why don't the three states affected by the disaster have such magnanimity? This is why people are so panicked."
Song Yanze's words touched their hearts. Song Yanze glanced at their expressions, agreed on a date for the banquet, and confirmed that he would be there to show his support.
When others saw that he wanted to get close to the imperial envoy, they immediately said they wanted to open a teahouse and hold a tea competition. Others said they wanted to hold a dragon boat race in a peaceful river that was not affected by the disaster, and they all invited him.
Song Yanze accepted it all with a smile.
The rich men went in with sad faces, but all came out in high spirits. They suddenly felt that being an official was nothing but for a little worldly enjoyment.
No matter how pure your heart or how graceful your figure, or how beautiful your appearance, aren't you still just a mortal?
They wanted to strike while the iron was hot, so they immediately invited Xiaosong to Yixiang Pavilion to listen to the flute. Song Yanze actually went there, and after a glance, they were finally relieved.
The lanterns in Yixiang Pavilion illuminate the room brightly at night. There is not a trace of frivolous cosmetics or vulgarity. Instead, the room is exquisitely designed and every step you take brings you a different view, like a large mansion.
There is no noisy place like the hall. You can faintly hear the elegant sound of stringed instruments and smell the subtle fragrance of flowers.
"Yixiang Pavilion is the place that serves the most beautiful dishes in the entire provincial capital. The dishes are exquisite and the green plum wine is refreshing. My Lord was busy with official duties before and couldn't invite you. Today I finally have the chance."
Song Yanze returned to the inn and changed his clothes. He wore an indigo brocade robe with flowing cloud and pine branch patterns embroidered on it. He looked elegant and one could tell at a glance that he was a nobleman from a large family.
He smiled faintly, as if appreciating the scenery, and occasionally agreed with them. Several people sat in a small pavilion in the middle of the lake, with gauze curtains fluttering around them. When they were drunk, a small boat with a small lantern shining in the moonlight waded over not far away.
Along with it came the elegant fragrance and the faint sound of a flute. Song Yanze was still drinking green plum wine, but his hand paused for a moment, and he turned his head to look, only to see a woman with a veil standing at the bow of the boat.
The person who organized the party was about to speak, but Song Yanze raised his hand to stop him. The man did not get angry, but instead smiled ambiguously.
Song Yanze listened to the song with his ears attentively, and the boat approached here.
"The girl's flute sound is soft and melodious, but there is also sadness and resentment in it. The last section should be smooth and uplifting, but the girl's flute sound is like sobbing."
When the woman raised her head, the wind on the lake surface blew and her veil was blown away, revealing a face of a woman with simple makeup and elegant features. Her eyes were filled with spring water, reflecting the sparkling water surface, and one glance seemed to speak a thousand words.
"This girl is my cousin's niece. Her family members died and I raised her. She is well versed in poetry and music. When I heard that Master Xiao Song was coming, I wanted to give her a song."
Song Yanze smiled and said in an ambiguous tone, "Really?"
"Thank you very much for your guidance."
Song Yanze drank a lot of green plum wine. He propped up his head and looked at the woman with drunken eyes, ruthless but affectionate.
It was at this time that Jiang Tingyuan rushed in with a knife.
Who dared to stop Jiang Tingyuan? Jiang Tingyuan was a man of quick feet, so he immediately drew his sword and cut the gauze curtain to the ground. The wealthy businessmen at the table were all shocked and confused, and when they saw that it was the imperial envoy in red shirt and black clothes, they all smashed their wine glasses.
Song Yanze turned his head, his cheeks and ears were red from the alcohol, his eyes were shrewd and calculating, and the corners of his mouth were smiling, as if Jiang Tingyuan was doing something naughty.
He looked up and saw Jiang Tingyuan striding towards him and handing him the wine glass.
"Would you like to drink?"
Jiang Tingyuan drew the goose feather in his hand, the sharp blade gleamed coldly, his face was filled with suppressed anger, he took the wine glass with his other hand and drank it all.
"I'm going back."
His voice was soaked in wine, low and hoarse, and his eyes were hidden in the shadows under his eye sockets, with an amazing aura.
But he didn't do anything out of the ordinary and asked him patiently. Song Yanze stood up, straightened his robe, bowed to them, and smiled as he accurately pointed out the banquets that each of them wanted to hold.
"You are all lucky. The price of hired labor is low these days, so I can help you save a lot of money."
These words made them feel excited. Song Yanze ignored them, bowed to them, made an appointment to attend the banquet, and walked out beside Jiang Tingyuan.
"You want to have a good relationship with them?" Jiang Tingyuan was of course unhappy. This was a secret brothel. His husband had both new and old loves on his side, and that was not enough. He even went out to have fun and have fun.
No matter how elegant and clean this is, it is still a feast for the prostitutes.
But how could he not trust his Lord Xiao Song? He knew that he was probably up to something, but he couldn't figure out what he was doing for the time being.
Song Yanze shook his head: "They are all very smart. No matter how good the relationship is, once the Third Division speaks, everything will be bullshit."
Jiang Tingyuan raised his eyebrows and looked down at him. He saw that he was walking a little unsteadily, but he was generally conscious. But the word "shit" was something that the gentleman Xiao Song would never say.
"Then I really don't understand what you are going to do."
How could Jiang Tingyuan let him ride a horse? So he carried him onto the horse, let him nestle in his arms, and rode the horse slowly back.
Song Yanze grabbed his arm and kept getting closer to his arms, lowered his head to smell the scent of soapberries on his body, and pinched his hard muscles, as if he was sure that he was sticking to him.
"I won't tell you." He laughed, swaying in the night breeze to smooth Jiang Tingyuan's wrinkled heart.
"Jiang Tingyuan." He leaned back in his arms and bumped him two or three times with the back of his head. His voice was a little low and sounded a little aggrieved.
"You make me very unhappy."
"You don't like me at all."
Jiang Tingyuan suddenly grabbed him in his arms, bent down and kissed his cheek hard, then sucked his earlobe and licked it back and forth with the tip of his tongue.
"The wicked are the first to complain." Jiang Tingyuan gritted his teeth secretly, then gave two loud kisses in dissatisfaction.
"I don't like you enough? Huh? I'm almost kneeling down to let you ride me."
Song Yanze hummed and said, "That's good. Let me ride it when we get back."
The riding he mentioned must have only meant riding, but the riding Jiang Tingyuan had in mind must be more than just riding.
"What about Lord Xiao Song?" Jiang Tingyuan bent over, put his chin on top of his head, and asked him in a low voice.
"Do you only like Jiang Tingyuan? Do you only recognize him as your husband?"
Song Yanze fell asleep in his arms, holding his robe tightly, his face full of fatigue, and muttered softly.
“Don’t go…”
Jiang Tingyuan lowered his eyes, sighed deeply, and rubbed his hair.
"It's not like you can't regret it. Dirty people are always unreasonable."
For several days in a row, Song Yanze was either on his way to a banquet, or was invited to help guide this or that official to renovate a villa, hold poetry gatherings, or organize tea competitions in a teahouse.
In Jiangnan Province, nine states, twenty-three counties, and three prefectures were affected. If you look at the bigger picture, some people actually don't care at all.
No matter what the disaster is, nothing else is important.
In the past few days, Song Yanze went to the most famous teahouse in the provincial capital to order tea almost every day. It was not that no one else knew how to do it. Some people even came forward with great enthusiasm to compete in tea-drinking, but they also returned empty-handed.
Song Yanze let people see and talk about it, regardless of some vague rumors, or even raised them.
If someone beat him in tea-drinking, he would personally present a piece of calligraphy to that person. His calligraphy was famous, and he was the top scholar in the imperial examination. For a time, the tea ceremony was very popular, and some people came to compete with Master Xiao Song.
In contrast, there was a shortage of people in the workshops for building tea houses, planting and picking tea, making tea tools, grinding tea powder, etc., and some wealthy families had plenty of money, so they hired a large group of workers to repair the embroidery building and build racing boats.
There were also people coming from all over to join in the fun. The states in the south of the Yangtze River had never been so lively.
Jiang Tingyuan couldn't stay for long, so naturally he only stayed as Jiang Tingyuan for one night. Song Yanze clung to him tightly before falling asleep, curled up in his arms, frowning tightly, and patting him before he relaxed.
The next morning, he showed up in the same outfit again. Song Yanze's face suddenly turned cold. He didn't want to talk to him when he came in and out these days.
When we went to a banquet or ordered tea, he would follow us, but we didn't call him.
Jiang Tingyuan roughly realized what he wanted to do. However, stimulating consumption among wealthy households and increasing employment would not increase the actual amount of rice.
He believed that Song Yanze had an idea, but he was not sure what it was. The only thing he knew was that he frequently wrote letters to several states that were not affected by the disaster and went to the dock every day.
*
Inside the Governor's Office, Yu Ying sat in the first seat, Qiu Yi and Fang Yifeng sat at the bottom, and they listened to their subordinates reporting one by one what Song Yanze had done in recent days.
Fang Yifeng frowned at first, then thought for a while and relaxed his brows. Qiu Yi and Yu Ying looked confused, not knowing what he was trying to do.
"Is he desperate? What he lacks now is not money, but food. He has done these to relieve the pressure of the refugees, but the hungry people still have no food to eat."
Yu Ying frowned, waved his hand, looked at Fang Yifeng, and looked away unhappily.
"Okay, let him do it first."
He took out a piece of paper and said calmly, "The elder is here to urge us. Here is an official letter. We need to find a way to get Song Yanze to sign it."
Qiu Yi took it and scanned the whole page, then handed it to Fang Yifeng. Fang Yifeng frowned, moved her lips slightly, and returned the paper to Yu Ying.
This was an official decree that proposed that the government regulate land prices, encourage wealthy households to buy land, and hire farmers originally on the land to become tenants.
It looked like a win-win solution, but the price of the land was set at 20 dan of rice per mu of dry land and 25 dan of rice per mu of paddy land, which was still a low price, but not so obvious. Hiring tenants would force farmers into the farm and deprive them of their freedom.
This is certainly good news for the powerful, but for the common people, no one knows what the next year will be like.
Lord Li wants to make profits in Jiangnan, and they want to too. This document must be signed by Song Yanze.
Qiu Yi knew the interests involved and wanted to show his face to the elder. He immediately took the document, bowed and said, "We don't need to show up for this matter. In three days, the governor will wait for good news from me."
Fang Yifeng lowered his brows and thought, his hands gradually clenched under the wide sleeves of his robe.
*
This is the ninth day, and no one has defeated Song Yanze yet. Jiang Tingyuan loves to see him calmly and calmly crush others. Only he can see the little pride beneath the gentleman's skin.
This evening, the rich family invited him, but this time they did not invite him to the Yixiang Pavilion, but to another garden, saying that they were going to listen to music.
Jiang Tingyuan was about to follow to the other side of the embankment, not knowing that his Master Xiao Song had gone to listen to music.
Before Song Yanze even stepped into the garden, he turned around and looked at Xuan Qing, and whispered, "Please go back and tell my brother that I won't be coming back today."
Xuan Qing raised his eyelids, concealed the expression in his eyes, and left.
The rich businessman led him in with a smile. "After we parted last time, my cousin niece has been missing you."
"I practice the flute at home non-stop, hoping that adults can give me some pointers."
Song Yanze looked around and said in a low voice: "I don't deserve it."
He was also a smart guy, so he went to the room with him. Behind a thick gauze curtain, the woman was sitting by the window, and smoke from the incense burner was curling in the room. He brought a bottle of green plum wine and poured it for Song Yanze one cup at a time.
Song Yanze raised his sleeves and showed him the empty cup again.
The man smiled heartily and asked her to start playing.
Song Yanze closed his eyes and listened, but his head gradually became heavy, little by little. The man did not remind him, but curled his lips slightly, glanced at the woman behind the gauze curtain, and slowly stood up and left.
Song Yanze was unaware of anything and fell on the table with a thud.
The sound of the flute stopped, and the woman lifted the veil, looked at Song Yanze for a long time, bit her lip and whispered, "I'm sorry."
“But I had to do it.”
As she spoke, she reached out to unbutton Song Yanze's robe, but the next second her wrist was grabbed. Song Yanze sat up and looked at her with clear eyes.
"Who ordered you to do that?"
The woman was about to scream in panic, but Song Yanze just kept looking at her: "The song you just played was about the fairy in the clouds being free and at ease, without a single wrong note. Are you going to do such a dirty thing now?"
"Your master drugged my wine. What did he tell you? Just pretend so you won't really suffer any harm?"
"Are you still going to work for him foolishly?"
The woman knelt on the ground, holding back her tears. Song Yanze rubbed his head and listened to her constant confession.
Song Yanze reached out to help her, but the next second the door burst open and someone flew in.
Jiang Tingyuan looked around, pulled Song Yanze up and left without saying a word.
Song Yanze could hardly keep up with his pace, and said anxiously: "We need to take them both into custody and ask the mastermind behind this..."
Jiang Tingyuan said coldly: "Shut up."
Song Yanze had never heard him speak like this before and was stunned for a moment.
"Are you angry? Don't you know I wouldn't be that…"
Song Yanze's legs went weak, and suddenly his sleeve was pulled, his whole body became hot, and he almost fell to the ground.
"Wait... I seem to be a little..." Song Yanze leaned on him, shuddered, and couldn't help but stick to him.
“It’s a bit hot…”
Jiang Tingyuan held him in his arms, looked down at him for a while with a cold face, then suddenly forced him onto the horse and rode towards the posthouse.
"You deserve to be fucked this time, Song Yanze."
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