Chapter 99: Plum blossoms 9: Such a heartless and unfaithful man
"What? You don't even want to eat?"
Jiang Tingyuan had just finished his shift at the Imperial Court, with the goose feather still on his waist. He strode from the front hall to the back through the corridor, listening to Lianxin complaining to him.
"After reading the letter in the afternoon, I stayed in my room and refused to be disturbed. I didn't even need dinner. No one could stop me."
Lianxin now looked like a complete traitor, leading the way with a lantern in hand, just like a servant leading his master back to his room to see his mistress who was in a bad mood.
Jiang Tingyuan frowned and asked him, "What letter?"
"It's from Huizhou. One letter is from an old lady. There's another letter inside, but I don't know who it's from."
When Jiang Tingyuan heard the three words "old lady", he paused.
The lights in the corridor were dim. Under the pale yellow light, I could only see him pursing his lips and tightening his hand holding the red spike.
Lianxin was sent to the courtyard. Jiang Tingyuan stood in the yard and saw a silhouette on the window paper. He could move around in the house recently.
Jiang Tingyuan stood there and watched for a while. Just as he was about to go in, he turned his head and saw the plum tree in front of the courtyard.
The fragrance of red plum blossoms spreads in the cold night, and the flowers are in full bloom, which is particularly interesting under the dim light of the corridor.
Jiang Tingyuan couldn't think of any literary taste, so he reached out and picked a branch with the most flowers and stroked it.
The tree was shaking, and the flowers were falling down. The flower lover was not aware of it at all. He turned the branch in his hand and felt slightly satisfied.
"What are you doing lying there alone? Who made you angry?"
As soon as Jiang Tingyuan came in, he saw him half lying on the couch, with his clothes on, in a daze, with a frown on his brows.
Song Yanze smelled the fragrance of plum blossoms. He turned around and saw the red plum blossoms in his arms. He stretched out his hands to support himself and sat up.
"Put it in a bottle for you?"
When Jiang Tingyuan saw the corner of his mouth curl up, he knew that he had done the right thing. He turned around, found a bottle, filled it with water, plugged it in, and then handed it to him.
There were a few pages of paper scattered on the table above the couch. The light from the lamp shone through the pale yellow oil paper and fell on his face. His complexion was as white as jade, his drooping eyelashes were shining, and he was holding the vase and looking at the plum blossom.
"It is full of fragrance and elegance, without any vulgarity or noise."
Song Yanze smiled and moved closer to smell the cool fragrance of the night.
Jiang Tingyuan, however, brought a bag of cakes and placed them on the table while listening to him recite sad poems.
"What are you talking about? I don't understand."
Song Yanze couldn't help but curl his lips and chuckled, propping up his head to look at him: "Master Jiang, when you have nothing to do, don't you read a book?"
Jiang Tingyuan opened the oil paper package, poured a cup of tea and placed it next to him.
"What a heartless and unfaithful man. You take care of everything for your paralytic husband every day, and now you look down on others."
Song Yanze was choked for a moment, mainly because the pastries and tea at hand were all bought and placed by others, and there was also clean oil paper placed at hand as he had expected, leaving it for him to wrap.
"I...I don't dislike you."
Jiang Tingyuan was busy filtering the medicine residue for him at the table. He held such a heavy medicine jar incredibly steadily with one hand, and the sour and bitter medicine juice evenly filled the white porcelain bowl.
He didn't say anything, he was just busy. After filtering, he stirred it with a spoon so that it would cool faster.
"You...I'm sorry, are you angry?"
He was a powerful official who was feared by everyone in the court and the country, and he was busy running around every day.
Her hands were a little rough, but they were all very delicate. She knew his spoiled habits and indulged him without saying a word.
Moreover, he must have had a very hard life when he was young, so he had no chance to study peacefully in the study like me. I really shouldn't have said that...
Jiang Tingyuan placed the medicine bowl in front of him and reached out to lift the black hair from his cheek.
The light burst open, and suddenly became bright for a moment. Song Yanze saw the smirk on his face, and his black eyes were filled with soft light.
"Such a soft heart."
Song Yanze held his breath as he got closer and closer, his sight sliding from his eyes to his lips. He lowered his eyes and only saw his Adam's apple move and he chuckled.
"Then as compensation, just finish your medicine and eat all the cakes today."
Jiang Tingyuan stood up again, reached out and picked him up, sat beside him and lifted his arm to check it.
Song Yanze let out a breath slowly, then picked up the medicine and drank it all in one gulp as if to cover up his mistake. He drank it too quickly and felt nauseous after finishing it.
Jiang Tingyuan stuffed a piece of maltose into his mouth, pinched his burning ear, and glanced at the scattered letters.
"I received a letter from home, why are you not happy?"
Upon hearing this, Song Yanze picked out a piece of letter paper, held the maltose in his mouth for a while, then found it too sweet, so he bit his cheek.
"Along with the letter, there is also a letter from my good friend from the same hometown. His name is Shi Yucheng, and he comes from a family of merchants in Huizhou."
When Jiang Tingyuan heard the man's name, his eyebrows raised and his arm naturally wrapped around his waist. Song Yanze had been moved around by him for so many days that he didn't realize that he was no longer sensitive to his touch.
"Yucheng wrote to say that he passed through Anjiang and Lingjiang at the end of last month and walked past the dike. He saw that half of the dike had been demolished and only the other half had been rebuilt."
Song Yanze frowned again as he spoke.
"The Huai River is a big river. It's within my jurisdiction. I can't interfere with the construction of the dam, but at least I'm keeping a close eye on it. I went to see it before I left, and it looked like it was finished."
"But Yucheng said that he heard me mention it to him, so he made a detour to the Huaijiang River dam to take a look. Before the flood season, he saw cracks on the dam and serious water seepage."
Jiang Tingyuan frowned and thought for a while, then said softly, "Minister of Works Qian Huan, he is the prince's man."
Song Yanze rubbed his eyebrows regretfully and pulled the wound on his head.
"The Dragon Boat Festival flood season is less than two months away. Recently, it has been raining all over Jiangnan and the upper reaches of the Three Rivers since the beginning of spring."
"It's too late. It's too late."
Song Yanze blamed himself even more for his negligence. He was no longer the official in charge of Huaizhou, but how could he just stand by and watch?
But at this critical juncture, the Ministry of Revenue’s affairs have not yet been resolved.
Jiang Tingyuan took the letter from him, put it on the table, and said in a deep voice: "Don't be anxious, do things one by one, and eat one bite at a time."
Song Yanze's anxious mood after the whole afternoon inexplicably calmed down. He then felt that it was not good for him to behave like this, so he subconsciously told him everything.
I don't know what role he plays among the factions in the court, so why did they tell him everything?
Song Yanze looked at the plum blossoms in the vase, the fragrance lingering in his nose. He turned his head away from his sight and looked at the petals.
"Yeah, I understand."
"It's no use talking to the Ministry of Revenue now. The treasury is empty. It's better to settle the case with the Ministry of Revenue quickly. Once we have the money, everything will be fine."
Jiang Tingyuan was impatient with his hiding, so he reached out and held his hand on the bottle, then lowered his head and leaned on his shoulder.
"Read me two more lines of sour poetry."
You just read it when I ask you to. What does that mean? Song Yanze snorted and turned the bottle around, ignoring him.
"I have never been to elementary school. When I was in the mansion, I hid outside the room to eavesdrop when I wanted to listen to the teacher reading poetry. If I was discovered, I would be beaten."
The pretending to be pitiful was a little awkward, but it sounded very real.
Song Yanze was stunned for a moment, then muttered, "They have bad character and can't even cultivate themselves, so it's useless for them to learn more."
Jiang Tingyuan leaned against his neck and sniffed his scent, which was warm and had the fragrance of plum blossoms. The corners of his lips were curled up.
"I am afraid that I will bother you with my sweet dreams by the night window, so I quickly cut the cold branches and soak them in the jade pot."
Song Yanze recited slowly and in a low voice, his tone was clear and gentle, and he could understand every word.
Jiang Tingyuan couldn't help but sigh softly and closed his eyes to listen to him.
"This poem is about you. You cut a plum branch and gave it to me, which gave me a peaceful night's sleep."
The tighter Jiang Tingyuan's arms tightened, the more his heart pounded, and he tried his best to endure the insane pain.
The vase of plum blossoms was placed on the table beside the bed, and the fragrance filled the room. The lights went out, and the moonlight streamed all over the ground. The vague outline of the plum blossoms became a blurred silhouette.
Song Yanze looked through the lowered gauze curtain, and his heart calmed down. He was about to close his eyes peacefully, but suddenly he remembered something and opened his eyes abruptly.
"Jiang Tingyuan, where did you get the plum branches?"
"It's the one in the yard. It looks too thin. I spent a long time choosing a big one for you."
Jiang Tingyuan patted him on the back, inadvertently showing his sincerity.
"What!!"
The plum tree was thin and looked difficult to survive, so Song Yanze spent a lot of time and effort to maintain it and never allowed anyone to touch it.
Jiang Tingyuan sighed softly and said in a low voice: "You know, I have been..."
"roll!"
*
Song Yanze was concerned about the Ministry of Revenue's closing of cases, so he went to work as soon as he was able to walk on his own. During this period, he also met the emperor several times and received many rewards.
Because he came back to take over the paperwork and trial, and had colleagues from the Dali Temple and the Ministry of Justice, Jiang Tingyuan was under a lot less pressure. At least he didn't have to be busy confiscating property and counting inventory at the same time.
This is a major case for the Ministry of Revenue. There are two vice ministers and one minister involved, so the process is more complicated and needs to be discussed in the court.
But apart from them, the property and land holdings of all officials in the Ministry of Revenue had already amounted to a considerable sum.
In recent days, the imperial envoys in red shirts and black clothes can often be seen lined up on the streets of Kyoto, and the common people also gather to watch the fun.
Soon, Song Yanze was also awarded a nickname "The Imperial Censor of Property Confiscation", which was more positive than Jiang Tingyuan's "Jade-faced Rakshasa", but it didn't sound much better.
The day of the court meeting finally arrived. Song Yanze had been counting the days until the Dragon Boat Festival flood season. He always wanted to send money to various places before the flood season and instruct them to repair the dams.
Three rivers, the entire Jiangnan Province, twenty-three counties, hundreds of thousands of people in total. Whenever Song Yanze thought of it, cold sweat broke out on his back.
Song Yanze entered the palace holding a tablet and wearing a crimson official robe. Beside him was Jiang Tingyuan, who supported his elbow and kept an eye on him at all times.
The time is too short and I still can’t walk properly. If I walk for too long it will hurt and my left arm won’t feel as good as before.
When he was about to enter the hall, a man came up from behind him with his hands behind his back.
Hu Zhong is over fifty years old. He has been the Minister of Revenue for almost eight years. He has been involved in the turbulent court for half his life and has risen step by step from a commoner to a second-rank official.
Today is also his end.
Hu Zhong was unusually peaceful today. During this period of time, he couldn't sleep day or night. Every night he dreamed that someone broke in and killed his whole family, confiscated their property and wiped out their clan.
He knew it in his heart, but he never turned back.
Song Yanze had difficulty walking up the white marble steps in front of the hall, but Hu Zhong stepped forward, held his arm, and followed them up step by step.
"pity."
Hu Zhong chuckled softly, his expression calm and peaceful.
"I can still let you come back alive." Without waiting for him to speak, he shook his head again: "Forget it, it's not a bad thing for you."
"If it wasn't you, there would be someone else. It's you that makes me realize how formidable the young are."
"Sir Hu, in five years, 23 million dan of grain, 6 million taels of banknotes, gold and silver, the people of Linping Province, Fukou Province, Jiangnan Province, and Dongxiang Province paid grain taxes, and each province had to pay an extra four copper coins in the name of loading and unloading grain in bamboo baskets."
"Inner Hall of the Ministry of Revenue, your clerk at the yamen."
"Who am I sitting with? The bright moon and the cool breeze."
Song Yanze spoke slowly and calmly while Hu Zhong stood in the corridor in front of the main hall and looked at the blue sky. He shook his head and laughed when he heard the last sentence.
"Master Xiao Song, do you know that the word 'official' has two parts?"
"When those above don't have enough to eat, they ask those below for more. This is exactly why I'm in trouble today."
Hu Zhong waved his sleeves and said, "It's not because of the bright moon and fresh breeze you mentioned."
After saying this, he stood in front of the hall, straightened his clothes and hat, but it still seemed a little crooked. He simply let go and strode into the hall.
In the court, Song Yanze stated the charges one by one, including the amount of embezzlement, the several warehouses where grain was stolen and sold, and submitted the documents, evidence, and confession to the emperor one by one.
The emperor flipped through the memorial in his hand and threw it into the hall.
"Look for yourself!"
The Hu people knelt down and shouted: "I am guilty! I only ask that you spare my life for my many years of hard work!"
"Toil? Busy digging a hole in the treasury?"
The Minister of Works Qian Huan snorted coldly.
Minister Shi has been imprisoned in the imperial prison. It is said that he has become mentally ill and is unable to appear before the emperor.
The emperor finally spared the nine clans of the Hu people from being executed, but the three heads of the Ministry of Revenue were executed in the autumn, their homes were searched, and all their property was confiscated. The rest of the people were executed, their homes were searched, and they were exiled according to the law.
Hu Zhong bowed calmly to thank the emperor for his grace, but Li Heng kept his eyes half closed and didn't look at him.
This time, more than half of the vacancies in the entire Ministry of Revenue were vacant.
The princelings naturally became more active. The Ministry of Revenue was dangerous, but it was a real money bag.
Song Yanze listened to the court officials echoing each other and the prince's party's positive attitude, and suddenly felt disappointed.
Replace the princeling, or replace the official who was corrupt even when building the dam?
Jiang Tingyuan turned his head to look at him, and pinched his fingers under the wide sleeves. They were warm, rough, and a little hard, but he felt a little more at ease.
"I, your Majesty, would like to recommend a candidate."
Song Yanze saw his immediate superior, a seventy-year-old man, Yu Zhu, the Right Censor-in-Chief of the Second Rank, step out.
"It's better to be His Royal Highness Prince Xuan."
The hall suddenly fell silent. Li Heng's eyebrows jumped, and the prince's eyes also narrowed slightly.
Song Yanze's mind suddenly jumped, he tightened his fingers around Jiang Tingyuan's, and turned to look at him.
Jiang Tingyuan looked calm, not at all surprised, and rubbed the back of his hand soothingly.
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