An Rong lowered her head and chest as she was led in by the Palace Secretary. She knelt on her knees and bowed deeply to Jiang Kunjun. She handed the petition with the bloody handprint to the Palace Secretary, who then handed it to the emperor.
An Rong was just a commoner and could not look the emperor directly in the eye. With her head lowered, she repeated to Jiang Kunjun what she had said to Wei Min, but her emphasis was more on the fact that the Duke of Huai used his official power to invade Chenzhou.
Before An Rong entered the palace, Wei Min once told her that the emperor would not care how many people in the An family died. What she cared about was how much land the Duke of Huai had occupied and how much tax would be levied after the occupation of the land.
If this matter expands, the people will be displaced, taxes will be low, the treasury will be empty, and the imperial power of the Jiang family will be endangered.
The Duke of Huai holds military power. She wants so much land and has so much money. Does she plan to use it to support the army or to grow vegetables?
This choice was presented to Jiang Kunjun. As a petty-minded and suspicious emperor, she only saw the former.
As expected, after seeing the many handprints on the paper in his hand, Jiang Kunjun's first thought was that most of the land in Chenzhou was now in the hands of Duke Huai. He was so angry that he crumpled the paper, his facial muscles tensed, and he said angrily: "Duke Huai actually did such a thing to deceive the people behind my back!"
Wei Min spoke at the right time: "Your Majesty, the Duke of Huai is a duke. He has land but does not pay taxes. The poor people are burdened with taxes. When the time comes, the poor people will flee and the country will be impoverished."
Wei Min only mentioned the national treasury and did not mention at all that the Duke might have rebellious intentions by invading the land, so as to avoid people thinking that she had just returned to the court and was slandering the emperor.
Just because she didn't say it doesn't mean Jiang Kunjun wouldn't think about it.
Jiang Kunjun slammed the petition on the dragon chair and said angrily: "Great Jiang, you don't know how many people like the Duke of Huai there are!"
Fortunately, there has been no war with Chiang Kai-shek in the past two years. Otherwise, if she had imposed additional taxes because of the war without knowing about it, there would have been a civil uprising, and the imperial power would have been unstable.
Wei Min raised his hand and said, "During the three years I have been away from the capital, I have discovered that some gentry landlords or officials are hiding their land and evading taxes. There are quite a few people like the Duke who have occupied land, but they only pay very little tax to the court and keep more for themselves."
These are the nobles she protects, amassing wealth and seizing land where she can't see, destroying the foundation of her country!
Jiang Kunjun was furious. He looked at Wei Min intently and said in a deep voice, "Wei Qing, as the Minister of the Dali Temple, you are fully responsible for this matter. Investigate it for me! Investigate it carefully! If anyone is against you or uses the power of the official to speak, then you can bring me up and I will support you!"
Bianjiang Lao just wrote to me a few days ago, saying that the Great Jin has been making small moves frequently in the past two years, and there may be war in the next few years. Now is the time when the national treasury needs money to prepare for an emergency, but this group of people is still invading the land and making money!
Jiang Kunjun asked the Palace Province to study the matter on the spot. She wrote the imperial edict and handed the matter over to Wei Min. As for An Rong, she just said a few words to comfort her and told her not to worry, the court would make the decision for her.
Wei Min came out of Yingwu Hall and walked to the Nei Jinshui River again. In front of this bow-like river that divides heaven and earth, he stopped for a moment with the imperial edict in his hand, put his hands behind his back, lowered his eyes and smiled, then stepped onto this bridge that belonged to civil officials again.
Three years ago, she had just won the title of top scholar, but received an imperial decree of exile. She stopped in front of the Neijinshui River, thinking about how to tell A'ruan about going to Zhucheng when she returned. She also took this road at that time.
Three years later, she was still holding an imperial edict in her hand. The surrounding scenery was almost the same as three years ago, and she was still walking on the same bridge.
As time goes by, things and people remain the same; the only things that have changed are the state of mind and the content of the imperial edict.
After the An family mother and daughter filed a complaint to the emperor, it was meaningless for Duke Huai to kill people to silence them, so he had to stop and go to the palace every day to cry and express his loyalty to the emperor.
Whenever Jiang Kunjun saw the Duke of Huai, he would remember the reason why his treasury was empty. He was extremely disgusted with her. He did not allow her to enter the palace for the second time and asked her to cooperate with Wei Min to investigate the land encroachment case.
Duke Huai had no choice but to ask the princess for help.
"Your Highness, please save me!" Duke Huai knelt on the ground and cried to Jiang Wuyong, "How dare I be disloyal? To Your Majesty, and to you too! The last incident was all a plot by that envoy Wei Min to sow discord. I sent people to kill the mother and daughter of the An family."
When mentioning this fourth-rank Dali Temple Minister, the Duke of Huai felt so angry that he wanted to bite her to death and gnaw her flesh and chew her bones to vent his anger!
Jiang Wuyong also frowned and glanced at the Duke of Huai. "This is your own fault. Chenzhou is completely under your control. Now two living people have walked out of your hands and ran to the Queen Mother to file a complaint. What do you want me to do?"
What is involved this time is the land treasury. The emperor is now disgusted with the Duke of Huai. If she helps too obviously, it will definitely arouse suspicion.
The Queen Mother is too suspicious. She will definitely think that Duke Huai's money is all used to support her. She will think that the nobles are supporting her, the Crown Princess, to ascend the throne and force her, the Emperor, to abdicate!
Jiang Wuyong felt upset when he saw the Duke of Huai kneeling on the ground and crying to her despite his age. He raised his hand to help her up and snorted coldly, "Wei Min made your life difficult, so I will make her life difficult too."
…
Wei Min is now a fourth-rank official at the Dali Temple. The second courtyard is too small for the emperor, but for the few people who have lived in the courtyard for three years, it is already a decent courtyard.
Before Eighteen, he had only bought some large pieces of furniture and supplies, and the rest would wait for A'ruan to return to Beijing, when he would personally select some small items and decorations for the decoration.
Wei Min was too busy these two days, so A'ruan didn't let her accompany her and only took Erjiu and Shiba to the street to buy things.
The secret guards that Wei Min hired in Zhucheng have now become guards and servants in the Wei Mansion. In addition, he has recruited some new servants.
Eighteen usually follows Wei Min, but after returning to Beijing, he temporarily follows A Ruan, especially when he goes out.
The first time Erjiu traveled far away in his life was when he followed Aruan to a big city like the capital. When he went out onto the street, he felt that there were so many shops and stalls that he couldn't see them all. It was much more lively and prosperous than Zhucheng.
He had a basket on his arm, which contained the pastries that Ah Ruan had just picked out from the pastry shop. He was now following his master to buy other things.
Erjiu was still young, and it was his first time in such a busy place. He couldn't help but look around, extremely curious.
Eighteen was afraid that Erjiu would get lost, so he took his hand and led him to follow behind A'ruan.
Seeing a stall nearby selling small ornaments, A'ruan became interested and turned to wave at Erjiu, asking him to follow.
The shop selling small ornaments is next to a herbal tea shop. The shop has a medium-sized awning supported by four wooden sticks.
A Ruan was standing under the wooden stick near the ornament shop.
The stick had been breaking for a long time, and just when A Ruan turned around, it made a "crack" sound and broke into two pieces at the waist.
If the wooden stick fell like this, it would hit A Ruan's back of the head.
When Eighteen looked up, he happened to see this scene. He was so scared that he immediately reached out to pull A'ruan's arm.
"Master!"
"careful!"
Two different voices sounded, one female and one male.
Shiba first grabbed A'ruan's arm and was about to pull him to the side to avoid the falling stick, but the next moment, a figure suddenly jumped out from nowhere and pounced on him.
It happened to fall right on A'ruan's back, pushing him forward and causing him to fall.
Eighteen reacted very quickly. He half squatted down and supported A'ruan's elbows to support his upper body to prevent his forehead from hitting the ground. However, as his legs were pinned down by the people behind him, A'ruan's knees fell to the ground. He bit his lip and groaned in pain.
At the same time, the person who pounced on Aruan, the wooden stick came down and hit his calf.
This scene was too sudden, Erjiu was shocked, and after reacting, he ran over and pushed away the person who was pressing on Aruan, put the basket aside, half-knelt down, supported his arm, and asked hurriedly: "Master, did you bump into anything?"
Ah Ruan sat on the ground, pursed her light-colored lips, and frowned in pain. My knee is burning with pain, and I'm afraid it's broken and bleeding.
Summer clothes are made of thin materials to begin with, and if you kneel down like this, they will hit the gravel on the ground and it would be strange if they didn't break.
The wooden sticks broke and the awning collapsed. Everyone, whether they were drinking tea in the awning or walking on the street outside, were startled. They patted their chests, pointed, and gathered around to watch the excitement.
Erjiu naturally would not lift Aruan's skirt to look at his knees at this time, but when he saw that his master's hands were always on his legs, he knew that he was afraid of bleeding.
"What's wrong with you?" Erjiu turned around and questioned the person who had just jumped on him in a bad tone, "Did you do it on purpose?"
He saw clearly from the side that when the wooden stick broke, Eighteen reacted quickly and basically pulled the master aside. If this man hadn't pounced on him and pulled the master hard, he wouldn't have been kneeling on the ground like this.
The man who rushed over was a handsome man with slender eyes and a clear and handsome face. From the side, he looked somewhat similar to A Ruan.
Erjiu caught a glimpse of his profile and was stunned.
The man was still carrying a bag, and when Erjiu yelled at him, he immediately bowed his head with an apologetic look on his face and said in a low voice: "I thought he couldn't get away, so I rushed over. I'm sorry."
Erjiu's words just now were very aggressive, but the man's attitude was gentle and his voice was soft, which caused dissatisfaction among passers-by.
I don't know who in the crowd spoke first, "Hey, people helped me out of kindness, but you treated me like a donkey. Not only did you not thank them, but now you blame others. How can you be such an unreasonable and bullying slave?"
"Yes. I see your master is fine, but the man has sprained his foot."
After hearing this, everyone noticed that the man's hands were always on his ankles.
When Erjiu saw the man with drooping eyebrows and silent, he felt that he was somewhat similar to his master. Suddenly, alarm bells went off in his heart. He doubted this coincidence and inexplicably disliked him.
Ah Ruan also frowned, but seeing everyone pointing and talking, he raised his hand and tugged at Erjiu's sleeve, shaking his head slightly:
——He didn't mean it, you can take him to the clinic.
Eighteen didn't say anything, but just looked up at the broken stick. The cracks on it were half jagged and half neat. It didn't look like it was broken by itself due to rot, but rather like someone had broken it in half in advance.
Eighteen seemed to be thinking about something, then turned his head to look at the people around him who were pointing and talking. He glanced around and listened carefully again, but he did not hear the two voices that had just come out.
Logically speaking, someone who stands up for the man would definitely stand up first, instead of just walking away after speaking.
Eighteen rubbed his ankle again, looking at the man with a wronged and self-blaming expression, and then looked at Erjiu who was so angry that he was breathing heavily. He immediately had an idea and said, "Young Master was injured while saving our master. We are very grateful. If you don't mind, why don't you go back with us to get the bandages?"
Erjiu's eyes widened when he heard that and he stared at Shiba.
Eighteen blinked at him, signaling him to be patient and not to get angry just yet.
Erjiu snorted and puffed up his cheeks, picked up the basket on the ground and stuffed it into Shiba's arms, bent down with his back to Aruan, and said, "I will carry the master back first."
Erjiu was small but strong, so it was no problem for him to carry a skinny A'ruan. Before he left, he glared at Shiba and said through gritted teeth, "Don't touch him!"
A Ruan was afraid that Erjiu would get sick from being angry, so she raised her hand and touched his head, signaling him not to feel aggrieved. Eighteen was not a nosy person, and she must have a reason for doing this.
When Eighteen blinked at him, Erjiu knew it, but seeing that this man looked like his master made him feel uncomfortable from the bottom of his heart!
After the two men left, Eighteen retracted his gaze, raised his index finger and rubbed the tip of his nose, half squatted down and smiled at the man on the ground, saying: "As a married woman, it is not easy for me to carry you. I will find someone to take you back."
The man nodded naturally and thanked him gently.
Eighteen remembered something and asked the man, "What's your name?"
The man lowered his eyes and said, "Wang Baiyue."
The author has something to say: Small theater
18: So do you have a younger brother named Wang Baiyun? (Biyun)
Bi Yue:! ! !
Biyun: I haven’t appeared yet, how did you know?
Wei Min: (smiles) Because your fate is worse than your brother’s.
Don't worry, I'm your biological mother (/▽╲)
————
Well, in mid-December, I plan to write a short story about contemporary female dominance to practice my skills. Also, I want to ask for another collection for Jie Zhan Pao [clasping hands]
Female Supreme's Battle Robe
The Feng family has been generals for generations, but unfortunately there is no daughter in this generation. The legitimate son Feng Yu took up the banner of the expedition and became the male general that Da Jiang could not marry.
Feng Yu was used to living in the frontier, and originally planned to find a wife to marry into his family, but he unexpectedly received an imperial decree granting marriage.
From then on, the cold-faced and clumsy young general had a weak and black-hearted wife by his side. She followed him wherever he went.
His wife didn't mind him at all because he had blood on his hands and didn't know how to be romantic, and she even helped him to the position of queen.
Jiang Wuque: The reason why I must sit on that throne is because I am afraid that when the new emperor ascends the throne, you will end up like a cunning rabbit dying and the running dog being cooked.
As long as I live, I will protect you
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