Chapter 040 The Little Mermaid is a Cool Baby
Today we go to Hejia Restaurant, tomorrow we go to Hejia Cake Shop, and the day after tomorrow we go to the tea shop...
He asked for money when he went there, and if he was not given money, he would fall to the ground and scatter it, attracting onlookers.
Anyway, with the He family backing them up, they would not be discovered by the emperor no matter how much trouble they did, and the He family would not dare to touch them.
This kind of life is much more comfortable than hiding in the slums before. Qin Shan feels that even the emperor in the palace may not live as well as he does.
They felt relieved, but He Yan was so angry that he almost vomited blood when he saw the large sums of money he was forced to pay out every day.
But no matter how angry he was, He Yan really couldn't do anything about these people.
When his father found out that he had sent people to teach Qin Shan and others a lesson, he called him in and scolded him severely, blaming him for not handling the relationship with the rest of the party well, which led to them being manipulated.
He Yan felt wronged: "Who knows why they suddenly became smart?"
The manager had clearly told him that Qin Shan and the others were a bunch of cowards who would run away when frightened. He never expected that they would come up with such a way to retaliate.
The head of the He family sighed: "Don't underestimate anyone."
He Yan responded in a low voice.
The He family's misfortune was naturally seen by the other three families. As companions, they not only did not offer any advice or help, but also ridiculed them behind their backs.
"He Yan is such a useless guy. Once his father dies, the He family will probably fall into ruin."
If the He family falls into poverty, they can divide up the He family's property.
Although the four companies seem to be very united, they are actually competing with each other internally. The losers can only become the feeder of the winners to strengthen their own forces. After all, who would think that they have enough money and power?
If it weren't for the pressure from Zong Zhengxiao, they would have fought each other long ago.
Patriarch Li poured tea for Patriarch Cui and said with a flattering smile, "Among the children of this generation, your Silang is the most promising, otherwise how could he be accepted as a disciple by Elder Baishan?"
Old Man Baishan was a famous scholar of the time. He never participated in party struggles. After resigning from office many years ago, he traveled around giving lectures. Even the rebels had to address him as "Sir" when they saw him.
Two years ago, he returned to Beijing and took a liking to Cui Xin, the youngest son of the Cui family. He asked him to be his teacher and took him on the journey of studying abroad again.
Walking outside all year round without anyone to protect them, it is easy to encounter danger. Cui's parents were reluctant to let their child suffer, but thinking of the reputation of Mr. Baishan, they had to reluctantly separate their own flesh and blood.
As long as Cui Xin returns after completing his studies, whether he enters officialdom or not, the Cui family's reputation will be elevated to a higher level.
The last time I heard from the two of them was half a year ago.
Now, when Patriarch Li praised and criticized his youngest son, Patriarch Cui's expression did not change at all. He just said, "Xin'er is still young. He won't achieve much."
"Indeed, the child still needs to grow up." The head of the Li family agreed on the surface, but he curled his lips in disdain in his heart.
Everyone knows that when Cui Xin first became the disciple of Elder Baishan, the Cui family held banquets for several days in a row to celebrate. Whenever the women in the Cui family's backyard gathered with other officials' wives, they would mention their own Cui Xin.
Who doesn't know how happy you are? Yet you're pretending in front of me.
Patriarch Cui was very clear-headed and could see the sourness of Patriarch Li, so he changed the subject and said, "The He family really didn't do things cleanly this time. They couldn't even handle a few hooligans. They are really getting worse every year."
Patriarch Li listened quietly. Patriarch Cui paused for a few seconds after he finished speaking, and then asked, "Did the little emperor find any clues?"
The head of the Li family said: "The He family responded promptly and attributed the cause of the trouble to a personal conflict. The little emperor has been keeping an eye on us, so he naturally sent people to investigate, but they were all blocked by the He family, so they probably didn't find anything."
Patriarch Cui looked cold and said, "If you keep doing this, it will only arouse suspicion. Talk to the He family and ask them to stop causing this kind of trouble."
Patriarch Li nodded in agreement and started chatting with Patriarch Cui about other things.
As for Zong Zhengxiao, he naturally knew what Qin Shan and others had done, because Hong'er had long been bribed by his people and was under his instructions.
Even the woman who just moved in next door to the Qin family is one of theirs.
The entire Shijing Street was under their surveillance, and he knew everything that the He family, Qin Shan and others did.
The letter to my younger sister should have reached Yingzhou. The net he had laid was tightening step by step, and the prey was doomed to fail.
It was a clear, warm day with no wind and a calm sky.
There was an archery target outside the pavilion in Yinjiao Garden. Zong Zhengxiao took off his complicated robe, put on a black suit, held the bow and arrow, and prepared to practice archery.
After ten years of fighting on the battlefield, Zong Zhengxiao was still able to sit on the throne unscathed. This was not only due to luck, but also to his absolute strength.
The brothers and sisters of the Zong Zheng family were all brave and good at fighting. Even the youngest sister, who was not convenient to go to the battlefield, had learned good marksmanship and often wanted to challenge her brothers.
As an emperor, he has to deal with more people and things. Compared to when he was in the barracks, Zong Zhengxiao is really neglecting exercise now. He can feel that his physical strength in all aspects has obviously declined.
As he happened to have nothing to do today, he decided to practice archery first.
After warming up, Zong Zheng swiftly drew his bow and shot an arrow. With a whoosh, the long arrow hit the target, and the tail feathers were still trembling for a long time.
Rong Yin, who was sitting next to him, took a look and saw that the arrow seemed to be nailed on the eight rings. Then he looked at Zong Zheng Xiao, whose thin lips were tightly pursed and his brows were wrinkled.
Zong Zhengxiao was naturally dissatisfied. In the past, his archery skills were considered outstanding among the outstanding brothers and sisters. Although he could not shoot an arrow through a target from a hundred paces away, he could still hit the target with every arrow. How could he have been as unsightly as he was now?
He rubbed his wrist and adjusted his bow, trying to regain his old feeling.
The second time, probably at the Jiuhuan area.
The third time, it hit the bull’s eye.
The fourth time, the arrow broke through the third arrow and took its place.
"Ah!" Seeing Zong Zheng Xiao's brows relax, Rong Yin immediately clapped his hands. Influenced by him, other palace maids also clapped their hands. Then they quickly realized that this was not in accordance with the rules and stopped immediately.
Zong Zheng Xiao didn't care about their inappropriate behavior. He smiled at Rong Yin and continued shooting arrows until his arms were numb. He realized it was time to rest, so he handed the bow and arrow to Si Xi and turned to walk towards Rong Yin.
Zong Zhengxiao was sweating after finishing his workout, even in the cool autumn weather.
Lu'e poured tea, Zong Zhengxiao took a sip, and then Rong Yin picked up the handkerchief to wipe his sweat.
Rong Yin had a low body temperature, so after wiping the sweat off his face, she put her hands on his flushed face to cool him down.
"Ah!" Rong Yin looked at Zong Zhengxiao proudly, thinking: It's comfortable, others are warm babies, but I am a cool baby.
Zong Zhengxiao didn't know that the "warm baby" that Rong Yin was talking about was the name of an object, and thought that he was acting coquettishly unconsciously again. Looking at his sparkling eyes, he couldn't help but raise the corners of his lips.
The two of them faced each other, and Zong Zheng Xiao's smile naturally caught Rong Yin's eyes, causing his heart to skip a beat.
Zong Zhengxiao tied her hair into a high ponytail today, and paired it with a simple waist-hugging outfit. She looked several years younger than before, and more vigorous and energetic.
He is a bit like a handsome gym student. He is lively and energetic when exercising, and his whole body exudes the scent of sunshine.
Rong Yin thought: If Zong Zheng Xiao were in my world, he would have to attract a lot of girls and boys.
Hearing this, Zong Zhengxiao raised his eyebrows slightly.
He really wanted to ask: Does this little boy include you?
But meeting Rong Yin's eyes that contained no evil thoughts, Zong Zheng Xiao had no choice but to give up.
Is it because he is not seductive enough, or is it that Rong Yin is just a dullard?
Zong Zheng Xiao sighed silently in his heart.
After resting, Zong Zhengxiao practiced for another half an hour. Feeling that he had practiced enough for today, he took a shower and changed clothes. Then, he returned to Rong Yin with a fragrant smell and wet hair.
Rong Yin took the clean towel handed to her by Lu'e and wiped Zong Zhengxiao's hair under the sun.
Zong Zhengxiao's hair was not as long as Rong Yin's, nor as black as his, but its texture was harder and coarser.
At the beginning, Rong Yin carefully rubbed and absorbed the water from Zong Zhengxiao's hair bit by bit, but after doing it for a long time, her patience ran out, and as she had evil thoughts in her mind, she gradually became bolder.
He directly covered Zong Zhengxiao's head with the towel and rubbed it with both hands, as roughly as he would wipe his own short hair in modern times. Zong Zhengxiao's head was shaken by him.
Si Xi and Lu'e were both stunned. Although it was true that His Majesty doted on the master, was it really okay for him to do this?
Zong Zhengxiao's originally smooth hair was tangled into a mess. He grabbed Rong Yin's wrist to stop him, turned his head to look at him, and asked in a tone of admonishing a naughty child: "Do you want to be punished?"
He originally thought that it was a very heartwarming scene to see Rong Yin slowly brushing his hair, just like a loving couple, but who knew that the little guy would act naughty again this time.
"Ah!" Rong Yin withdrew his hand, lowered his eyes, and looked like he knew he was wrong.
But only Zong Zheng Xiao knew that he was already smiling in his heart.
Rong Yin: Hahahaha, I don’t want to laugh, but Zong Zheng Xiao looks like a savage.
Zong Zhengxiao: “…”
He raised his hand and clamped Rong Yin's jaw, staring into Rong Yin's eyes, leaving him with no way to avoid it but to look at himself.
Rong Yin glanced at Zong Zhengxiao's afro, and the pretended guilt on his face disappeared, and his expression gradually distorted.
Rongyin: hold back laughter.jpg
Half a minute, one minute, one and a half minutes passed...
"Pfft!" Rong Yin finally couldn't hold back her laughter, and Zong Zheng Xiao successfully caught her.
Zong Zhengxiao's expression was hard to tell whether he was happy or angry, and the palace servants all lowered their heads, fearing that they would be killed to silence them if they saw this scene.
"It's funny, isn't it?" Zong Zhengxiao asked with a smile.
Rong Yin shook his head to show that it was not funny, but he couldn't suppress the upturned corners of his mouth.
“行。”宗政逍話音未落，伸手将戎音攬進懷裏，再撿起落在毯子上的布巾按到戎音頭發上，随手幾下就把戎音的頭發也揉亂了。
還沒完全反應過來的戎音一臉迷茫地看着宗政逍，宗政逍眯眼微笑，“還覺得好笑嗎？”
戎音從宗政逍眼睛裏看見了自己此刻的形象，綠娥今早才給他做的新發式，被揉成了亂七八糟的一團。
戎音：“……”
戎音：大意了，忘記宗政逍要是不高興會很可怕了……不過，我現在的發型，好像一坨粑粑呀。
“……”
“噗！”這是戎音。
“噗嗤。”這是聽見戎音心聲的宗政逍。
這是不明所以的宮人：啊？
眼看着火就要燒起來了，結果又莫名其妙地自己滅了，宮人們只能感嘆：主子們的心思果真千變萬化。
宗政逍和戎音都看着自己和對方的亂發笑個不停，宗政逍好面子，還算克制些，戎音則直接笑得眼淚花都冒出來了，還露出一口尖牙。
看上去可愛中帶着點恐怖。
之後兩人互相幫對方把頭發梳順了，宗政逍曬着太陽，困意襲來，也不回屋裏去睡，枕着戎音的尾巴就安心地閉上了眼睛。
宗政逍也經常借腿給戎音當枕頭，所以戎音不介意他這麽做，還特地側過身子，替他擋住射向眼睛處的陽光。
因為發尾還未幹，宗政逍的頭發并未束起，而是披散着，如裙擺般散落在戎音的尾巴上。
宗政逍仰躺着，微微側頭，因着眼眸阖上，叫人有了敢審視他臉龐的勇氣，也是這時才發現，他五官是真的優越得過分。
如果說戎音是精致的漂亮，如同畫師一筆一劃盡心描繪的美人圖，那宗政逍就是由武将随意刀削而成的石像，深刻中帶着淩厲之氣。
戎音擡起手，淩空對着宗政逍的臉比劃，先是游過他的眉骨，接着是眼窩、高挺的鼻梁，線條分明的薄唇……
而睡着的宗政逍似乎也感受到了戎音無形的觸摸，眼睫時不時輕顫幾下，像是羞澀，又像是大膽的回應。
綠娥在旁看着，總覺得主子此刻盯着陛下的眼神有點奇怪，怎麽說呢，溫柔得像是要滴出水來似的。
她不懂這種眼神意味着什麽，反正主子從來沒有這麽看過她和其他人。
直到許久以後，天天看見兩個主子卿卿我我的綠娥回想起今天的這一幕，才恍然大悟，這種她不明白的溫柔，叫做喜歡。
晚秋的風，吹過京城，也吹到了颍州。
宗政惜收到宗政逍送來的密信時，說不驚訝是假的。
當年正逢父親離世，幾個哥哥又為了皇位鬥得你死我活，宗政惜被夾在中間左右為難，只能眼睜睜目睹事态朝着不可預估的方向發展，直至塵埃落定。
二哥死在四哥宗政逍手裏，可她無法對宗政逍說出一句苛責的話，因為宗政逍沒有哪一點對不起她。
争奪皇位時，沒有強行要求她站隊。
後來作為大晟第一個公主，她得到了最多的優待，即便她執着于返回老家，宗政逍也沒有阻止，還專門命人為她修了公主府。
在朝中，宗政逍也給她面子，很是重用驸馬的家裏人。
這幾年她一視同仁地對待剩下的幾個哥哥，包括當初跟宗政逍搶皇位的三哥，可宗政逍待她還是一如既往地好。
前段時間她收到消息，說是三哥不知怎麽得罪了宗政逍，可能命不久矣。
宗政惜雖然傷心，但也沒有進京勸阻，因為她清楚四哥如今坐在那個位置上，需要考慮顧及的東西太多了。
幸運的是，三哥最後并沒有死，只是落了個殘廢的結局。
宗政惜清楚，這是宗政逍手下留情了，其中或許有她的原因，因為宗政逍清楚她不想再看見兄弟相殘的事情了。
這次收到宗政逍的密信，說是請她幫忙去趟北江，其中還涉及到社稷安危。
既是出于兄妹之情，也是因為她公主的身份，這個忙，宗政惜絕對要幫。
宗政惜把驸馬叫了過來，跟他說了宗政逍的謀劃，身為宗政惜最信任的人，驸馬當然也是義不容辭的。
“正巧，我在北江那邊有人，可以讓他先去探探風，不然我們貿然行動，可能會打草驚蛇。”驸馬道。
“嗯。”宗政惜認同地點頭，“這事兒我們得給陛下辦得妥妥帖帖的，這天下才安穩了幾年，要是再起戰火，百姓們哪裏還活得下去。”
誰能想到，在看似和平安穩的表面下，居然隐藏着這麽大一個毒瘤。
夫妻倆說定後，就整合了各自的人馬，配合着朝北江疾馳而去。
在初冬即将來臨之際，有關北江的消息被接連不斷地送進公主府，看着方臨案為造反而做的準備，公主忍不住暗罵，這是在偷他們宗政家的錢養兵，來造他們宗政家的反。
北江海運、漕運發達，方臨案從中撈了不少油水，還有幾座礦山，除了用來私造盔甲武器外，還通過各種渠道賣向大晟之外的地方，從而獲取高額利潤。
說實話，可能國庫都沒有方臨案的錢袋子充裕。
可方臨案位高權重，又怎麽會不明白，這些礦産流向其它國家，未來說不定會成為斬向大晟邊關兒郎的刀劍，這和私通外敵有什麽區別？
只顧着自己的造反計劃，完全不把國家的未來放在眼底，這種家夥，也配當皇帝？
宗政惜收好證據，看向身旁的驸馬：“夫君，該我們倆出手了。”
第二天，公主府就傳出公主抱恙，驸馬貼身照顧公主，兩人未來很長一段時間都不會接見外客的消息。
在衆人疑惑公主到底生了什麽病時，夫妻倆已經出了颍州，朝北江出發了。
北江本就是富庶之地，雖然曾經遭受過戰火洗禮，但經過這三年的休養生息，已然恢複了不少元氣。
公主夫妻以富商的身份進城，正逢北江知府孫兒的滿月宴，喬裝打扮的兩人送上厚禮，在宴席上見到了年過半百的知府大人。
知府姓趙，京中派下來的，是功臣集團裏的人。
宗政逍怕方臨案一人獨大，特地讓姓趙的來制衡方臨案，順便替他管理北江。
但方臨案在北江搞出這麽多事，趙知府卻像什麽都不知道一般，從未向上面報告過。
後來宗政惜查到，一開始趙知府的确是不知情，可方臨案在他眼皮子底下又是挖礦又是練兵、私造武器，趙知府哪怕再遲鈍，也有所察覺了。
但還不等他跟宗政逍告狀，方臨案就帶着大筆趙知府拒絕不了的銀錢上門來，同時威脅趙知府，如果敢讓宗政逍知道北江一丁點真實的消息，他們一家都別想活着離開。
趙知府收下了方臨案的錢和威脅，從此當起了聾子瞎子。
“趙大人，恭喜恭喜，府上又添新丁。”驸馬同其他想要巴結趙家的商戶一起，上前給趙知府賀喜。
趙知府不太看得起這些商人，本想随意應付過去，卻在對上驸馬的眼睛時猛然僵住了身體。
不過一盞茶的功夫，宗政惜和驸馬就被請進了趙家的書房中，趙知府噗通一聲就跪在了兩人面前，當然，主要跪的是宗政惜。
“微臣趙令拜見公主殿下！”趙令匍匐在地，身體抖如糠篩，額頭上已經冒出了冷汗。
宗政惜冷漠地垂眸俯視他，“看你這副樣子，應該猜出本公主是為何前來了吧？”
趙令咽了咽口水，顫聲回複：“下、下官知道。”
北江除了方臨案，還有什麽值得一國公主僞裝身份前來。
況且人家既然敢來，肯定是留有後手，即便他和方臨案聯合殺了公主和驸馬，怕也于事無補了。
宗政惜道：“方臨案的所作所為，陛下早就知曉，并且已經收集完了證據，趙大人你可清楚，造反這麽嚴重的事，隐瞞不報，可以視為同夥，你說說，如果方臨案被判誅九族，你又會是什麽下場？”
趙令這會兒沒空害怕了，他跪行上前，哀求道：“求陛下和公主饒過趙家，隐瞞方臨案造反并非下官所願，方臨案說了，下官要是敢說出去，他就殺了下官全家，殿下，下官上有老母下有小兒，迫于無奈，只能答應啊。”
宗政惜：“哦，原來你是被迫的。”
“對對對，謝殿□□諒。”
趙令話音未落，宗政惜又道：“那我查到你收了方臨案幾萬兩白銀，也是被迫的嗎？”
趙令卡殼，無從狡辯。
“你這些話騙騙自己就得了。”宗政惜眉頭緊蹙，“你跟過父皇五年，為其出謀劃策，沒有功勞也有苦勞，陛下信任你，才派你來這富庶的北江享福，本以為你會盡職盡責為陛下管理好北江，卻沒想到……”
趙令眼圈泛紅，面露痛苦愧疚之色，只是不知是真的還是在假裝。
他磕了個頭，哽咽着道：“趙令愧對先皇和陛下，罪該萬死。”
Seeing that the stick had hit the real target, Zhao Ling knew that he was afraid that he would regret it. Zong Zheng Xicai said again: "If you don't pay for the sins you have committed, what's the point of dying a thousand times? Since you value your relatives so much, do you really want them to be beheaded with you?"
Zhao Ling suddenly raised his head and looked at Zong Zhengxi expectantly: "What does your highness mean?"
"You can at least save your family's lives by making up for your mistakes. I don't need this princess to teach you how to do it, right?"
Zhao Ling understood that this meant that he was asked to help solve Fang Lin's case so as to seek a glimmer of hope from the emperor.
"I will do my best." Zhao Ling kowtowed again, but this time he was not filled with sorrow, but with hope.
In fact, he hated Fang Lin'an in his heart. It was his good luck to come to Beijiang to be the prefect. If Fang Lin'an had been honest in being his own governor, they would have each done their job, and there would be no doubt that they could enjoy their old age in peace and leave a good reputation in history.
But this bastard not only wanted to rebel, but also dragged him into the water. All the achievements he had worked hard for half his life were destroyed in the hands of Fang Lin'an. How could he swallow this!