Chapter 104: Plum Blossoms 14 My grandson has made up his mind, and there is no one else...
Jiang Tingyuan also had a serious expression on his face, and the surprise on his face could not be faked.
"What's the report for the express delivery from Jiangnan Province?"
Song Yanze looked at him anxiously, his Adam's apple moved twice, and he suppressed his emotions and answered him in a hoarse voice.
"It's a natural disaster."
Jiang Tingyuan reached out to him, looked at his expression with worry and heartache, and grabbed his cold hand.
Song Yanze handed the official letter to Jiang Tingyuan and looked at the wormwood hanging in the yard with a dazed look.
Lianxin had already run out to the government office to wait for the official announcement for him. She must have been very panicked, and the door of her room was not closed.
Besides the crisp sound of Jiang Tingyuan shaking the paper, I could also hear the faint sounds of laughter not far away.
Jade dumplings are fragrant and thousands of boats are competing, mugwort and yellow wine can drive away evil spirits. Fathers and children ride on their backs wearing sachets, and pretty daughters-in-law capture the scene. Note 1
But during the Dragon Boat Festival flood, the three river embankments were destroyed, and the rice seedlings, farmland, and small towns...
"There are three dams on the Sanjiang River. Are they all breached?"
Jiang Tingyuan quickly finished reading the official letter.
"A natural disaster?"
Song Yanze grabbed Jiang Tingyuan's hand and couldn't control his trembling hands.
"Aren't they all repaired? The three rivers meet at different places, but it's impossible for all of them to burst their banks."
Jiang Tingyuan firmly grasped his arm, asked him to look at him, took a deep breath and whispered to comfort him: "Yes, there is something strange."
After saying that, he looked at his pale face and said to him in a deep voice: "I'm sorry. But it's not me..."
"Hmm."
Song Yanze suddenly grabbed his hand and interrupted him.
"I know. I believe you."
Jiang Tingyuan's uneasy heart was calmed down by him lightly. If Song Yanze suspected that he and King Xuan did it on purpose, he would not subconsciously rely on him and hold his hand.
Jiang Tingyuan pulled him into his arms, hugged him tightly, and let out a long sigh, feeling indescribably relieved. Song Yanze hugged him back, resting his head on his shoulder.
"Yucheng's letter also said that he personally checked it and hired craftsmen, so it should be foolproof. Even if something went wrong, it shouldn't have happened to all three dikes."
Song Yanze has calmed down and is thinking carefully about what is wrong.
Jiang Tingyuan knew that he shouldn't be jealous at this time, but...
Yucheng, why not call him Shi Yucheng? I used to love hanging out with him. Yucheng, it's so intimate. That Shi Yucheng is also not good at calling people nicely. He always calls me "Meiyuan" "Meiyuan" in a letter.
Really not shy.
"There must be something wrong, but who could it be and what did they do?"
Song Yanze raised his head suddenly, his eyelashes fluttering, his eyes showing pure trust. Jiang Tingyuan immediately suppressed his shameful thoughts.
With his progress and status, he is obviously the eldest wife, and he cannot always act like a jealous mistress.
"It's hard to say, who are the three officials in the Jiangnan Provincial Government?"
Song Yanze did not let go of his hand, but kept holding it tightly, lowering his head and thinking for a while.
"The governor of the Governor's Office is Yu Ying, the governor of the Fansi Yamen is Fang Yifeng, the governor of the Neishi Yamen is Qiu Yi, and the governor is Ning Yu. The governor should still be He Cheng."
"Almost half of them are Li Heng's party and half are the prince's party."
Jiang Tingyuan knew the forces behind these people better than he did, but more specific details still needed to be investigated in detail, including the Hedao Yamen.
The River Channel Office belonged to the Du Shui Qing Li Si under the Ministry of Works, and the Ministry of Works was headed by Qian Huan.
"In the princeling party, Qian Huan and Yi Bing don't have a good relationship, and there is a conflict of interest between them."
"The power dynamics in Jiangnan Province's officialdom are complicated, and anyone in the court could cause trouble."
Seeing that his face was becoming increasingly ugly and he could not eat a single bite of food, Jiang Tingyuan said no more and just rubbed his hands.
"Fortunately, the imperial censor Xiao Song found a lot of silver during the confiscation of property. The national treasury has money and grain, so the worst situation has not yet occurred."
"Tomorrow, when the holiday is over, I think we will discuss this matter during the morning court session. You must be patient and don't rush into anything."
"The emperor knew about Qian Huan's work on the dike reinforcement, and he had turned a blind eye to it. Now someone has stirred up trouble again, and the emperor will not let him off."
Song Yanze exhaled slowly and responded in a deep voice. Waiting was really unbearable, so he stood up and took him to the desk to write a letter home.
Jiang Tingyuan stood beside him consciously grinding ink and watched him write a letter to his grandmother. At the end of the letter, he paused and turned to look at Jiang Tingyuan.
"I have something very important to tell you, Grandmother, but the few words in this letter are a bit careless. I will meet you some other day to tell you in person."
Jiang Tingyuan paused, and inexplicably had a premonition, and watched him continue writing.
"Grandma, please don't bother looking for a girl for your grandson..."
Jiang Tingyuan put down the ink stick and stared at the tip of his pen.
"My grandson has made up his mind. No one else will care. No matter how many difficulties and obstacles there are, it will be as firm as a rock and cannot be changed."
Song Yanze knew he was watching, so he wrote the last word and put it aside to dry the ink, not daring to look at the people around him. Jiang Tingyuan didn't say anything, his breathing became much lighter, and he looked at his red ears.
"Here..." He suddenly spoke, and Song Yanze was startled and his pen became dizzy.
"What?"
“This is wrong.”
Song Yanze didn't look at him. He took a look at the letter paper. He clearly only had time to write the beginning and had just written the two words "Yucheng". What was wrong with that?
Jiang Tingyuan approached him, leaned over and put his hand on his shoulder, and gently pressed his lips against his hot ear.
"Write his full name, and write Shi Yucheng. Don't be so intimate."
He is the eldest son now, so he can deal with other messy people.
Song Yanze pushed him, and the ink splashed onto his hands, and he lowered his head without looking at him.
"What nonsense are you talking about."
But when he picked up a new piece of letter paper and wrote, he changed Yucheng to sworn brother. It was impolite to call someone by his full name, so he should be satisfied this way.
Jiang Tingyuan lowered his eyes and looked at the word "brother". His heart was stabbed by the old memories. He couldn't help but hug his waist tightly from behind.
Fortunately, fortunately.
He would not be the sworn brother he described.
As expected, the focus of the next morning's court session was on the Sanjiang dam issue in Jiangnan Province.
Qian Huan cried bitterly and made a vow to the sky.
"There will be no problem with the Sanjiang Dam! We use only the best stones! If there is any problem, I, Qian Huan, will be struck by lightning in broad daylight and die a miserable death!"
He was absolutely sincere enough. After crying, he angrily knelt before the emperor and demanded a thorough investigation.
"Your Majesty, the most urgent task is to plug the breach, provide disaster relief, and appease the people, not to pay back the money and clear your name."
The Minister of Personnel Liu Yi bowed and stepped out. His words were reasonable, calm and moderate. He did not take this opportunity to suppress the other party.
The officials who held moderate views and Li Heng's party all echoed in agreement.
The national treasury currently still has a surplus of money and grain, and Prince Xuan also stood up, bowed and reported to the emperor in a deep voice the current situation of the national treasury in detail.
Song Yanze secretly breathed a sigh of relief, as disaster relief is like putting out a fire.
If the situation can be stabilized quickly and handled properly, the damaged seedlings can still be planted on time and there will be no total loss in the autumn harvest.
Fortunately, it did not end up like this, with the court officials quarreling for a few days, then arguing and buck-passing for a few days, and finally each party struggling for a few days over the selection of candidates for the office due to their own ideas.
"Disaster relief must be provided, and crimes must also be investigated."
The emperor slammed the table and made the final decision. As expected, the emperor is the father of all people, and this father may love his people like his own children.
But isn’t there also a father like Song An?
Song Yanze wanted to volunteer, but he also knew that he couldn't go even if he wanted to.
The prince's party made a mistake and Li Heng's party gained the upper hand. He had just offended Li Heng's party, so the emperor would not let him go.
Checks and balances, that's how the officialdom works. Not only the court officials are scheming, but the emperor is also scheming.
As expected, the emperor personally selected a person from the Hanlin Academy, who was the runner-up in this subject, Liu Yi's student, Ji Bai.
After the morning court session, Song Yanze was still a little absent-minded, always worried about the disaster situation in Jiangnan.
Jiang Tingyuan was kept by the emperor for a secret talk. After a long time, he was walking alone on the official road.
"Master Xiao Song is from Huizhou, and he is also a local official in Huaizhou. I'm sure he is worried, right?"
Song Yanze came back to his senses, turned around and saw Prince Xuan in royal robes, walking slowly towards him and speaking softly.
Song Yanze immediately bowed and saluted, never expecting that King Xuan would come to see him.
"Hi, Your Highness Prince Xuan, I have been unable to sleep or eat since I heard the news yesterday."
Prince Xuan was only about thirty-one or thirty-two years old, and he looked clear-headed and unconcerned. If he hadn't known the inside story, he would never have thought that Prince Xuan was plotting to take the throne.
“It’s human nature.”
Prince Xuan smiled and said calmly, "My father personally selected Ji Bai. He comes from a prominent family and has been a disciple of Liu Yi for a long time. He is a good person, writes well, has elegant tastes, and is a refined person."
Song Yanze looked at Prince Xuan, and Prince Xuan smiled at him: "Master Xiao Song, what's wrong?"
Song Yanze pursed his lips, shook his head and said nothing.
A prominent family, a student of Liu Yi, and a scholar who writes articles in his study. Prince Xuan was telling him that if Ji Bai went there, it would probably not be of much benefit to Jiangnan Province.
"Master Xiao Song is a man who is down-to-earth. He cares about the people and sees their suffering."
Prince Xuan bowed. "I respect you in my heart. But we all know that being a minister like this is difficult and you are constrained by others."
The two of them had already walked out of the palace, and it was quiet here, with no one around. The gentle Prince Xuan looked up at him, not disguising his aura as a descendant of the emperor.
"It is better to choose a good master."
Song Yanze hesitated for a moment. He didn't expect King Xuan to be so direct.
"I have a hundred reasons to destroy the dikes of the Three Rivers. But for the sake of the people, I will never do that."
Under the broad daylight, Song Yanze broke out in a cold sweat on his back.
King Xuan said "destroy the dam", and he meant it with certainty, showing his love for the people and hinting at his power.
"Your Highness Prince Xuan." Song Yanze calmed down, looked at him and spoke slowly.
"As long as Your Highness always remembers these four words you said, we will never be enemies."
Prince Xuan smiled with admiration in his eyes, and looked behind him.
"Then it seems that we are friends. You should always trust Commander Jiang's judgment. For your sake, he will not make the wrong choice."
Song Yanze didn't understand what he meant. What did it mean for him? What did Jiang Tingyuan's choice of Prince Xuan to support have to do with him?
Before he could ask clearly, King Xuan said goodbye. Jiang Tingyuan pulled his belt from behind, bringing him back to his senses.
Jiang Tingyuan liked to pull his belt, which was very inappropriate. It was a quiet place with no one around, but it was still on the long street. The two of them were still wearing official uniforms, what a mess.
"Come on, don't do this outside."
Jiang Tingyuan let go of his hand, sighed, and without asking any more questions about the conversation between him and King Xuan, he just bent down and kissed his cheek.
Song Yanze almost jumped up and hit him, he was very nervous.
Too reckless.
"It will be very busy today, remember to leave the door open for me at night."
Song Yanze's heart was pounding, and he always felt that what he said this time was a little unusual.
"Don't worry, I have an imperial decree to keep an eye on that place at all times. I will let you know any news as soon as possible."
Song Yanze felt warm in his heart, looked around and saw that there was no one around, so he pulled his hand tightly and smiled at him.
"Thank you very much."
"What do I have to thank my husband for?"
Song Yanze was stunned on the spot. He looked at him, smiled, pinched his face, and turned away.
The appointed Ji Bai was ordered to set off on the same day. He rode at full speed, and with the Imperial City's military escort and clearing the way, he arrived in four or five days.
As soon as Ji Bai arrived in the province, he asked people to count the actual disaster situation in an orderly manner. It is said that he went to the dam in person and ordered the soldiers of the commander to block the breach.
As news came in frequently, Song Yanze breathed a sigh of relief.
At night, Song Yanze sat on the couch by the small window with his hair loose and wearing an outer robe. A lamp was lit and he was carefully flipping through the book in his hands, absorbed in the reading.
The door creaked open, Jiang Tingyuan pushed it open, turned around and locked the door.
He took off the goose feather, grabbed the tassel and put it on the table, looking very careful. Song Yanze raised his eyes to look at him, and before he looked back, he lowered his head and continued reading.
"Master Xiao Song, have you been waiting for a long time?"
"No." Song Yanze turned a page and shook the pages in his hand.
"I'm reading."
Jiang Tingyuan stood beside the screen, taking off his outer robe and changing into inner clothes. Everyone else was behind the screen, but he insisted on standing outside the screen, staring straight at Lord Xiao Song on the couch.
Song Yanze clicked his tongue and looked up to see that he was half naked. Under the light, the lines of his well-developed muscles were clearly visible. He had broad shoulders and a narrow waist. He had a body that was born from hard work, not just practiced for show.
He just put on his inner garment and changed his pants.
Song Yanze looked away speechlessly, and suddenly saw the dormant piece of his body, which looked scary. His face turned pale and he quickly covered his face with a book.
You are so shameless. What will happen if you just avoid me?
Jiang Tingyuan refused. His spring clothes were thin and he was not dressed solemnly. He washed himself in a few steps and ran to him, throwing the book in his hand.
"Bedtime, sir?"
Song Yanze was held tightly by him and placed on the bed. He also let go of the gauze curtain. When Song Yanze saw the gauze curtain being put down, his heart started beating faster.
"Wait, wait... um..."
The spring shirt was thin and could not withstand being rubbed. Song Yanze opened his collar and saw the ugly thing whose outline he had just seen in the dim candlelight.
His face turned pale and he immediately struggled to hold his arms, twisting his legs together.
"No, no, it really can't be done."
Jiang Tingyuan smiled, staring at him with his black eyes, lowered his head and gently lifted the black hair from his cheek, and pinched his ear.
"Everything depends on hard work."
Song Yanze tried hard but failed. Jiang Tingyuan hadn't planned to be so anxious. He had been worried about her day and night recently, and his letters were blocked. Although everything was good news, he was still uneasy.
He just wanted to give him a fight and taste the meat.
Song Yanze was covered in sweat, his eyes half closed, his arms exposed from his wrinkled spring shirt, wrapped around his neck, his eyes red.
"It's just not possible today."
Jiang Tingyuan lowered his head to touch his eyelashes, and his rough fingers rubbed the corners of his eyes gently, and threw the small metal box aside.
Only when Song Yanze heard the voice did his back relax, and he fell asleep in his arms.
"Will the reply arrive tomorrow?"
Jiang Tingyuan patted his back and whispered comfortingly: "Yes."
On the second day, the long-delayed letter finally arrived, except for Shi Yucheng's letter. After all, he was an imperial merchant, so his letter would arrive faster.
"The powerful seized land, sold it at a low price, and drove up grain prices..."
The more Song Yanze read, the more frightened he became. Before he had finished reading, a burst of rapid drumbeats rang out.
Colleagues looked at each other in surprise.
"Dengwen drum?!"
“Someone went to the capital to beat the drum to appeal for justice?!”
Song Yanze stood up suddenly and walked out of the yamen quickly. The Censorate was responsible for supervisory duties, and the drum for reporting was just outside the Censorate.
A woman in common clothes was beating the drum with all her might. When she saw Song Yanze coming out, her eyes suddenly widened and tears streamed down her face.
"Master Xiao Song! Help!"
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