"Uh..." Young Master Zhao blinked. He didn't expect his godmother to refuse so straightforwardly. "This is a great thing that benefits the country and the people."

"But it's not good for mother." Ning An snorted and muttered depressedly: "There's no need to go back to Beijing in the first place."

"Your Majesty is angry. Do you still want to come out again?" Zhao Hao advised carefully.

"We'll talk about it when the time comes." The eldest princess crossed her arms.

"My father has made some achievements in politics, so he can be transferred back to Beijing earlier..." Young Master Zhao advised from a different angle.

"What's the good of going back to Beijing? It's better to be free outside." Ning An still shook his head.

"Uh..." Zhao Hao thought to himself that this was true. This cousin trick was only useful in Jiangnan. It wouldn't work when they returned to Beijing.

“Then, you will be at ease in Kunshan?” Young Master Zhao could only use his ultimate move.

"Alas..." Ning An said with some regret, "I am not comfortable either, with that old...your grandfather around, it's like a thorn in my throat and a thorn in my back."

"How about my son pull out this thorn for me?" Zhao Hao asked sinisterly.

Old Zhao next door sneezed twice in a row.

"Oh?" The princess became interested and asked with shining eyes, "How do I pull it out?"

In fact, she had tried very hard, giving Zhao Liben gifts and snacks, and even humbled herself by serving tea and water to the stinky old man. Unfortunately, Zhao Liben was very firm in his position, and he had no right to interfere with her and Zhao Lang's secret affairs. But if she wanted to be open and aboveboard and go out together, she had better give up the idea as soon as possible.

Now that she heard from her husband that there was a way to deal with Zhao Liben, how could she not be excited?

"Don't look at my grandfather like that. He actually has a good sense of the overall situation." Zhao Hao began to talk nonsense seriously. "For the welfare of the people in Jiangnan and for the long-term stability of the court, he is willing to sacrifice everything. Not to mention a mere son."

"You make it sound like your father sacrificed himself to feed the tiger." The princess glared at Zhao Hao. "Is mother a tigress?"

Jade Face couldn't help but smile, and quickly covered her mouth with the back of her hand. "Can he really stop getting in the way?"

"Yes, it's so good, it's like the power of the sun." Young Master Zhao patted his chest and said, "When godmother comes to celebrate the New Year again, if my grandfather comes to get in the way again, I will kill him for the sake of justice!"

For the sake of the people of Jiangnan, Master Zhao has turned his back on his relatives.

"That's not the case." Ning An waved his hand and said with a smile: "Even if you tie him up, you don't have to throw him into Yangcheng Lake. Just take him far away."

"So, godmother agrees?" Zhao Hao was overjoyed.

"I agree." Ning An smiled kindly, "When has godmother ever disobeyed my son?"

"Mother, you are so kind." Young Master Zhao flattered her with a look of admiration. He also agreed with the eldest princess on the time of departure.

He had planned to leave the day after tomorrow, but Ning An insisted on staying for another three days and three nights, and, you know...

Zhao Hao naturally agreed and went back to the yamen to prepare to clean Mr. Zhao and send him over.

After walking out of Jinfeng Garden and entering the back door of the county government office, he suddenly came to his senses.

Princess Ning An is not such an ignorant woman. She is the chairman of Xishan Company, which has been in charge of the royal property for more than ten years.

How could they not know that the siltation of the canal and the interruption of water transport were equivalent to cutting off the food supply of the Ming Dynasty?

How could I not know that I returned to Kunshan yesterday?

How could they not know that if this could succeed, the royal family, the imperial court, and the Xishan Company would all receive enormous benefits?

Besides, they have been together for several months, aren’t they tired of it?

I'm afraid my godmother was planning to go back to Beijing. The reason why she pretended not to go back and rushed me to the door to beat the stick was to make me beg her to help her solve the big problem of the old man.

"Alas, how could I be fooled so easily by my godmother?" Young Master Zhao stroked his chin. It was too difficult to guess a woman's mind, let alone one of my godmother's rank. "Never mind. It's just an extra little brother. It's no big deal."

~~

When I entered the magistrate's residence, I ran into Zhao Shouzheng coming back from the front wearing his official robes.

"Son, son, you're finally back. I missed you so much." Having not seen him for many days, Master Zhao naturally missed him very much. He ran over happily and wanted to hug his son.

"Sir Zhao, please be polite." Young Master Zhao dodged with a look of disgust.

"It's okay, Dad doesn't care."

"I care." Young Master Zhao rolled his eyes.

Zhao Shouzheng had no choice but to stop and mutter something depressed, such as "My son has grown up and is not close to me anymore."

Zhao Hao also shook his head in frustration. Mr. Zhao had nothing to do this year and didn't look as cute as he did last year.

"Son, son." Zhao Shouzheng adjusted his mood in an instant, followed up and asked, "How was your meeting? What tasks did you assign to me? Don't worry, no matter how difficult the task is, I will definitely complete it and will not embarrass you!"

"Yeah." Zhao Hao stopped and looked at his father who was getting thinner and thinner. He felt a little reluctant. But for the sake of the overall situation, he hardened his heart and said, "Father, I do have a difficult task for you!"

"Speak!" Zhao Shouzheng was full of energy. The whole county was busy, but he, the eldest master, was bored to death.

"Put aside all the work at hand." Young Master Zhao said solemnly, "Run to Jinfeng Garden immediately to report. From now until the dawn of February 23, you are not allowed to leave!"

"Well..." Mr. Zhao's face turned red and he whispered, "Your grandfather will be angry."

"Don't worry, I'm here for you." Young Master Zhao said earnestly, "This concerns the happiness of the people in Jiangnan, so you must not slack off, father!"

After saying that, he left Zhao Shouzheng, whose hair was disheveled in the wind, and went into the house alone.

After Zhao Hao went in, Fan Datong came over with a soup bowl, looked at Mr. Zhao with sympathy and said, "Drink it, brother. This is Wan Mi Zhai's prescription, Li Shizhen's medicine, I guarantee it will work."

"I don't need it!" Mr. Zhao frowned, as if he was despised. But just as Fan Datong was about to take it away, Zhao Shouzheng stopped him and said, "Forget it, I can't let your efforts go to waste..."

~~

In the hall, the communication between Zhao Hao and Zhao Liben was much smoother.

The plan was finalized by the father and son together, so Zhao Liben was naturally in control of everything. The old man had even packed his luggage and was ready to go to Beijing.

"Well, it will take a few more days before we can set off..." Seeing the old man's impatient look, Master Zhao said embarrassedly.

"Is there anything else? Isn't everything arranged?" Zhao Liben asked curiously.

"I still have to meet with Zhongcheng Hai and say goodbye to Zhongcheng Lin. And I have to have a good talk with Zhongcheng Pan as well." Zhao Hao's reasons were quite sufficient.

"Is it that woman who doesn't want to leave right away?" Unfortunately, he couldn't fool the old man.

"That's also the reason." Zhao Hao scratched his cheek and whispered, "Godmother has a condition. Grandpa should not interfere in her and my father's affairs anymore."

"Don't even think about it!" Zhao Liben jumped up immediately.

"Otherwise, she won't cooperate with us." Zhao Hao smiled bitterly and said, "We'll have to rely on her a lot when we get to Beijing."

"Hmm..." Zhao Liben naturally understood what it meant that the situation was stronger than the person. He pulled his beard and felt depressed. He ate the fly and said, "Okay. If this is done, I will just pretend that I never gave birth to that son!"

Mr. Zhao thought, what am I? But it's good that the old man can agree, what else do you want a bicycle for?

ps. This is the first of four consecutive updates. Please give me your monthly votes!