After leaving Gu Tang, Shen Qingqiu planned to go to the textile factory. Since the previous corruption case in Hangzhou County was a big deal, Gu Yanwei also wanted to take this opportunity to inspect it again, so he went to the local government office first and made plans after settling down.
But I didn't expect to meet an acquaintance on the first day.
"Master Lin!" Shen Qingqiu looked at the man in front of him in surprise, "Why are you here?"
Lin Xuanfeng was naturally surprised when he saw Shen Qingqiu, "Emperor..." They met on the street, so it was not easy to call out her identity directly. After thinking it over again, Lin Xuanfeng bowed to her, "Miss Shen, I have come to Hangzhou County to arrest the criminal!"
Gu Yanwei also got off the sedan chair and his eyes fell gently on Lin Xuanfeng. Lin Xuanfeng was about to salute, but stopped after seeing his gaze.
"Thank you for your hard work, Lord Lin." Shen Qingqiu said.
Lin Xuanfeng's eyes fell on Shen Qingqiu's face... It was not hard at all. He came to Hangzhou County on purpose. It was because the person in his heart married someone else. Lin Xuanfeng thought that he could hide outside and not see, licking his emotional wounds alone, and then go back after his heart recovered, but he didn't expect to meet her here.
Seeing her stunned, Shen Qingqiu reminded her, "Master Lin."
Lin Xuanfeng then saluted and said, "This is my duty." Lin Xuanfeng did not dare to delay any longer, fearing that he would reveal something he should not, so he said, "I have something important to deal with, so I will not stay here with you two."
Shen Qingqiu nodded, and Gu Yanwei also signaled him to leave.
It was naturally not appropriate to greet each other on the street, so Lin Xuanfeng nodded to the two of them and quickly left with his men.
Gu Yanwei saw that Shen Qingqiu's eyes were still on the man who had already left, and couldn't help but put away his fan, "Still looking, the man has already gone far away."
Shen Qingqiu was a little slow in emotions, so he said, "People like Lord Lin are rare." Lin Xuanfeng was very similar to his grandfather, Master Lin, but they were also different in some ways.
Although Master Lin is upright, he is pedantic and will not change his mind once he sets a goal.
In comparison, although Lin Xuanfeng is upright, he is flexible. What remains unchanged from Lin Taifu is their integrity. Both of them are good officials with sincere hearts. What is even more rare is that someone with Lin Xuanfeng's background can understand the hardships of the people's livelihood, which is indeed not easy.
Gu Yanwei only heard the admiration in Shen Qingqiu's words, and sneered: "Yes, Lin Xuanfeng is good in everything, even his appearance is excellent."
Shen Qingqiu realized something was wrong when he heard this, "What are you talking about?"
Gu Yanwei turned his head and said, "I am talking about whatever you are thinking about."
Shen Qingqiu: ...
Who would still try to comfort him after leaving the palace? Shen Qingqiu was too lazy to pay attention to him and continued walking forward. Gu Yanwei wanted to listen to her explanation, but she ignored him. He closed his fan, feeling embarrassed and a little wronged.
Not long after he met her, he treasured her in his heart. At first, he did not dare to propose to her because of his illness.
After he recovered from his illness, he dared to express his true feelings to her, but he knew that she did not know what love was yet.
Even after they got married and she became his wife... he still didn't know whether she had him in her heart. Gu Yanwei looked at the sky, feeling frustrated.
He was able to gain the world through scheming, but people's hearts and feelings are the only things that cannot be calculated.
——
"Your humble servant greets His Majesty. Long live the emperor!"
The local governor, Lord Cheng, and his family came to pay a visit to Gu Yanwei.
Gu Yanwei glanced at the people below, "Everyone, get up."
He also instructed: "I am only going on a tour to the south for fun, there is no need to go to such great lengths." Gu Yanwei had been a prince in the past, so he naturally knew how much work the people under him had to do when the emperor went on a secret visit, so he repeatedly instructed: "Don't waste people's time and money."
Of course, the governor below nodded in agreement.
Shen Qingqiu was supposed to accompany Gu Yanwei to meet the local officials, but the two of them were a little unhappy because of meeting Lin Xuanfeng. Shen Qingqiu was too lazy to look at his weird face, and as soon as he arrived, he asked the maid to tidy up a room for him and rested in it.
And when Gu Yanwei saw that she was unwilling to go out with him and seemed to be in a bad mood, he naturally felt even more unhappy.
Therefore, when the local prefect, Lord Cheng, said that a welcoming banquet had been specially prepared for him, he went without thinking.
Hangzhou County is a place of great beauty and talented people. The prefect, Lord Cheng, specially hired several pleasure boats on the riverside. Because Gu Yanwei had originally instructed that the lives of the surrounding people should not be disturbed, many traces of people's lives can be seen around the pleasure boats.
There were people hawking things, doing jugglers, all kinds of things.
"Yes, the people here live and work in peace and contentment, and this is all thanks to you." Gu Yanwei said.
"I dare not." Cheng Futai hurriedly bowed and said a long string of flattering words.
Gu Yanwei didn't want to listen to his flattery. His eyes fell on the pleasure boat outside. There were many boats on the river, and soon an especially exquisite pleasure boat floated towards the center of the river. Gu Yanwei looked over and saw that the pleasure boat was slightly swaying in the wind, and then a melodious piano sound came out.
The piano music by the riverside more or less contains some sentiments about love between men and women, and these are what Gu Yanwei is worried about now. Listening to such soft music, he inevitably fell into deep thought.
Lord Cheng, who was drinking from a glass of wine, couldn't help but curl his lips slightly when he saw him lower his head with such an expression: So it is said that there is no man in this world who doesn't like new things, even the true dragon emperor is the same.
Seeing that Gu Yanwei seemed to be hooked by the song, Lord Cheng stepped out of the cabin a little. After leaving, he waved his hand and called the servant over.
"Who arranged the pleasure boat?" he asked.
Ordinary people didn't know that the emperor was coming today, but the officials of Hangzhou County knew it clearly. Although the river surface and the surrounding areas looked peaceful, some of the people inside were disguised as officials, just in case something went wrong when the emperor came.
How could a ship just float in a houseboat that was surrounded like an iron barrel for no reason?
Soon, an official in civilian clothes came up and bowed, "Your humble servant greets the governor."
"No thanks." Cheng Futai looked down at the man, "You are..."
"I am the newly appointed local county magistrate." The county magistrate said with a smile, "I just came here in March this year. It is normal for you to find me unfamiliar."
Cheng Futai nodded, "You did a good job. Where are those people on the painting boat from?" He thought of something else, "I hope you didn't bring a few people from some brothel?" Thinking of the lewd music just now, Cheng Futai became afraid again.
If they were really found in the brothel, the emperor is so fascinated that he doesn't bother with them. If the news spreads to the people in the future, it will be all their trouble. If this matter gets out of hand and damages the reputation of the royal family, they may be asked to die! The county magistrate shook his head hurriedly, "Master, please be wise, how dare I do that!"
There was a precedent for entertaining the emperor with prostitutes. To put it bluntly, the emperor was also a man, and he was used to seeing decent women, so sometimes he would like those who were not so dignified. But if something went wrong, the emperor would be fine, but these filial people would be in trouble.
"That piece of music is not something that an ordinary decent girl can play. Please don't try to deceive me," said Cheng Futai.
"How dare I? The girl who is playing the piano right now is my concubine's daughter. Her family background is absolutely clean."
After hearing what he said, Cheng Futai finally felt relieved and turned to look at the county magistrate again. To be able to train a good official girl to be like this, it seems that he has put a lot of effort in it. "You are really good at research."
"I dare not."
Cheng Futai smiled and said, "Why not? It's all for the sake of making His Majesty happy."
The woman had no identity issues, so Cheng Futai said, "Tell your daughter to come on this ship later..." He patted her shoulder again, "As for whether she will have great luck in the future, that depends on her."
The county magistrate was delighted and bowed his head hurriedly, "Thank you, sir. I will go right away."
Gu Yanwei was drinking while listening to the music coming from the opposite pleasure boat, but the music suddenly stopped. He put down his wine glass and opened his slightly intoxicated eyes, "What's going on?"
"Your Majesty, you are a little drunk. I will ask someone to ventilate the place." said Cheng Futai.
Having drunk a lot of wine since getting on the boat, Gu Yanwei did feel a little headache at the moment and just nodded.
Cheng Futai waved his hand and asked the people in the boat to open the curtains around them. After a while, everyone in the boat retreated. Cheng Futai said, "I see that you seem to be a little sleepy now. Why don't you take a rest now?"
Gu Yanwei nodded, leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes.
Cheng Futai asked people to turn off one or two more lights before going out.
The watery moonlight sprinkled on the lake, and a woman wearing a lake blue water pattern skirt, holding a long skirt, walked in with the servants on the boat. The servants helped her put the piano away gently, and then quickly left.
She took a deep breath, looked at the man who was pretending to sleep with his eyes closed, and gently plucking the strings of the piano with her fingers. Suddenly, smooth piano music rang out in the cabin.
Gu Yanwei had heard her when she boarded the boat. He was also aware of the actions of his subordinates and was about to scold the woman and ask her to leave. But the sound of the piano suddenly came out and occupied all his thoughts.
The sound of the piano just now actually brought out a lot of sorrow and helplessness.
Gu Yanwei was a person in the song and understood the meaning of the song, so he lowered his head and looked at the person playing the piano. She just lowered her head and played without looking up for a moment. He closed his eyes and just enjoyed the beautiful sound of the piano.
The sound of the piano continued in the house. Cheng Futai, who was outside the house, also glanced at the county magistrate and praised him: "You play the piano very well, a rich man!"
The county magistrate waved his hands and said, "Your Excellency, the prefect is too kind to praise me. It is just a trifle. It is just a trifle."
Cheng Futai smiled and said, "It's not just a trifle. I'm afraid that with such a skill, I will have to call you sir from now on!"
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