Chapter 239 When the snipe and the clam fight, the Lady of the County benefits...
Du Min walked out of the Prime Minister's residence. Only Meng Qing, Du Li, and Madam Yin with their three children were waiting outside. Vice Minister Yin had also gone to the palace for a banquet. On the other side were some scions of noble families without official positions.
"Let's go home." Du Min was eager to get back to treat his injuries.
"Are you alright?" Du Li asked.
"It's nothing." Du Min glanced at the young noblemen beside him and said, "The doctor has examined them; they're all minor injuries. The medicine has already been applied. Let's go watch the dragon boat races."
As soon as he finished speaking, Prime Minister Zheng's carriage came out. Du Min saw a face with a half-smile through the open carriage window, and his face stiffened for a moment.
"Let's go." Meng Qing saw that the bloodstains on Du Min's back were spreading, and knew that the situation was definitely not as he had said.
The family retraced their steps and walked out of Quanshanfang. The people scattered outside the neighborhood saw him and gathered around, asking if Prime Minister Zheng had forgiven him.
"I forgive you. I've reconciled with Prime Minister Zheng," Du Min boasted shamelessly.
The people heard the ending of the story with their own ears and left satisfied.
The story of Du Min apologizing along the way came to an end. By the time he returned to the Yin residence, his clothes had already dried on his wounds.
Mother Yin was about to send a servant to fetch a doctor, but Du Min stopped her, saying, "I can't let outsiders see the injury on my back. Mother, just find me a bottle of medicine for external injuries, and I'll have my second brother apply it to me."
Wang Zhou brought over a teapot and cups. "Third Uncle, have some water. Your lips are so dry they're turning white."
"It's rare to see you so considerate." Du Min took the cup and drank some water.
"The medicine is here, lie down." Du Li walked in.
"I'll wait outside." Meng Qing pulled Wang Chuan and Xi Mei away.
As Xi Mei walked, she kept turning back, asking, "Dad, are you in a lot of pain?"
"Only a little bit."
"But you lost so much blood." Before the words were even finished, a sob came out, and Ximei burst into tears.
“Your father is big and has a lot of blood, so he’s not afraid of bleeding. He can make up for it by eating a couple more bowls of meat.” Meng Qing bent down, picked up Xi Mei, and walked out.
Upon hearing the noise, Yin's mother came over and took Ximei from her. She said with heartache, "Were you frightened? I told you I shouldn't have taken you there."
Meng Qing did not respond.
After crying for a while, Ximei walked away from Mother Yin's arms and sat down next to Wangchuan.
"Little sister, are you frightened?" Wangchuan asked.
Xi Mei shook her head. "I'm not happy. My father is injured, and I'm sad."
“Me too.” Wang Chuan sighed, then said admiringly, “Third Uncle is really amazing. He didn’t cry even after bleeding so much.”
Xi Mei realized what was happening, and she nodded with wide eyes, "My dad is amazing."
Meng Qing smiled upon hearing this.
After whispering amongst themselves for a while, the brother and sister slipped out to go see Du Min change his bandages.
Meng Qing stopped them, telling them to tell the cook to add two more blood-nourishing dishes to lunch.
After a while, Du Li and Wang Zhou came out. Wang Zhou's eyes were red, and it was obvious that he had been crying.
"The third brother has gone to sleep," Du Li said. "Aunt Yin, you should go back to your room and rest too. You must be tired from walking around all day."
"How badly are his injuries?" asked Madam Yin. "After he went inside, did Prime Minister Zheng attack him?"
Du Li nodded, not hiding anything, "From my shoulder to my waist, it's all bloody holes."
Mother Yin was anxious. "He's such an ungrateful wretch! He clearly got something good out of him, yet he still had to be so cruel."
None of the three people in the room dared to respond. Even Wang Zhou didn't have the confidence to speak up for his third uncle. In truth, the one who didn't know what was good for him was the one lying on the bed. Prime Minister Zheng had been terribly wronged by him.
*
Having been thoroughly tricked, Prime Minister Zheng was scrutinized by civil and military officials at a banquet in the palace. He pretended to be nonchalant as he savored the fine wine, while secretly plotting how to retaliate. He was determined to teach Du Min a lesson, otherwise Du Min would continue to act arrogantly in front of him without any restraint.
"Prime Minister Zheng, the Empress Dowager is calling you," the Minister of Personnel, sitting below Prime Minister Zheng, reminded him.
Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Zheng looked up and saw the Empress Dowager looking at him. He stood up and apologized, saying, "Please forgive me, Your Majesty. I was a little drunk and did not hear your instructions."
"I didn't give any orders. I saw that Minister Zheng had been drinking by himself and was afraid that you were drunk, so I called out to you," the female saint said. "Why did you keep your cup in your hand? Are you happy? His Majesty and I heard a wonderful story today, and Minister Zheng was the main character in it."
Prime Minister Zheng smiled demurely, "It's Governor Du's many tricks that have caused such a commotion over such a small matter."
"Is Prime Minister Zheng complaining even though he's received a good thing?" asked Vice Minister Yin.
Prime Minister Zheng looked over and said, "How dare I? If I were to look down on this, wouldn't I be ungrateful?"
"Minister Du was once a protégé of Minister Zheng. Your promotions were inseparable from each other's support. It is truly a remarkable story that a humble official was valued by a powerful prime minister. Last year, you two parted ways, which was a pity for both His Majesty and me. Now that Minister Du has made this statement, Minister Zheng, please do not make things too difficult for him. We hope you can reconcile as soon as possible." The female sage helped to mediate.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I have already made peace with Governor Du." Prime Minister Zheng stated, suppressing his unease. At this point, he had no way out. Just as Du Min had said, he was a sacrifice to the river god, and the people on the shore believed he would never return to this world. Yet he had returned alive and well. How would his former relatives and neighbors view him? Was he human or a ghost? There was no need to guess; he knew the answer himself. If he were in his shoes, he would certainly be suspicious.
The female saint was quite satisfied with this answer.
After the banquet, Prime Minister Zheng was surrounded as soon as he stepped out of the palace. Before he could speak, a eunuch called him away.
Prime Minister Zheng followed the eunuch to the Hall of State Affairs, and after waiting for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the female sage arrived.
"minister……"
"No need for formalities." The female saint took her seat. "What are your plans for the future, Minister Zheng?"
"What does 'sage' refer to?" Prime Minister Zheng feigned ignorance.
The female saint picked up a memorial and put it down, saying, "Does Minister Zheng think I don't know what you're thinking? Two months ago, I thought Minister Zheng had already figured it out."
Prime Minister Zheng picked up the memorial and opened it. It stated that the Zheng family had sold off a total of 828 hectares of land, belonging to 32 households, with the names of the heads of households clearly listed. At the end, the names of twelve estates and twelve estate managers were also listed, eight of whom had just been freed from slavery last month.
"How much of the 100,000 hectares of land have you raised?" the female saint asked.
Prime Minister Zheng remained silent for a few moments before replying, "More than 12,000 hectares."
"Didn't Governor Du claim it was 65,000 hectares for you? Did he lie? I'll teach him a lesson for his disrespect."
"Perhaps my words misled him, causing him to include the land redeemed by merchants in the calculations," Prime Minister Zheng replied.
"How much sweet talk did Zheng Qing give him? He either did everything he could to help you get promoted or rescued you from the mire at the crucial moment." The female saint pointed to the memorial in his hand. "I received this memorial only two days ago, and he came to Luoyang. I was just thinking about whether to punish your Zheng family, and he came here to apologize and make a name for you. It really puts me in a dilemma."
Prime Minister Zheng believed that her words about punishing him were true, and he broke out in a cold sweat. It seemed that Du Min had really saved him by accident.
"Your Majesty, I am unworthy of such a great reputation. I am not worthy of the honor of serving the public good, nor am I worthy of the respect of the people. But since the reputation is already established, I beg Your Majesty to grant me a chance to make amends. I request to be appointed as the governor to inspect the land ownership situation in various prefectures and counties." Prime Minister Zheng was considering leaving the court. He had been forced to betray the government and could not give the powerful families a reasonable explanation, so he decided to leave for the time being.
The female saint remained silent.
"There are only five months left until October. The decree to remeasure the land needs a supervisor. I request to serve as that supervisor," Prime Minister Zheng said, adding his own incentive.
"Very well, Zheng Qing should supervise the implementation of the policies he himself formulated." The female saint let him off the hook; if he didn't want to be a powerful minister, he could be a capable one.
"Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty." Prime Minister Zheng kowtowed in gratitude. "I dare to ask Your Majesty for a helper. Four years have passed since the establishment of the free schools. We need to send people to inspect the situation in various places. I think Governor Du is very suitable. He can go to various prefectures and counties under the pretext of inspecting the free schools, and at the same time, he can secretly investigate the situation of land ownership and send letters to me."
"We need to find someone else. The situation in Huaizhou has just started to improve, and we still can't do without him."
“Prefect Du knows the situation in Huaizhou best. If he has capable subordinates, he can command through letters even if he is not physically present in Huaizhou. Besides, Lady Wu is there to oversee things for him.” Prime Minister Zheng was determined to drag Du Min into this mess. “Perhaps Prefect Du is willing.”
The female sage became interested. "Does Minister Zheng mean to let Lady Wu of Wu County oversee the government in place of Governor Du? I did not know that Minister Zheng had become so enlightened."
Prime Minister Zheng looked up at the person at the head of the table, his meaning clear: he had already pledged his allegiance to her, wasn't this action enlightened enough?
"Very well, I will send someone to summon Governor Du to the palace."
"Let me go on your behalf."
"Can."
Prime Minister Zheng rose and left the palace.
This delay meant there were still people waiting outside the palace, and Prime Minister Zheng was stopped as he was about to get into his carriage.
"Prime Minister Zheng, when will your decrees be repealed?" General Wang asked.
"It will not be abolished." Prime Minister Zheng got into the carriage and instructed, "Go to Vice Minister Yin's residence. I am going to visit Governor Du."
"Zheng Yu!" General Wang shouted, "Are you playing us?"
Prime Minister Zheng did not answer, and the carriage drove away.
*
"Master, Prime Minister Zheng has come to visit, specifically requesting to see the son-in-law and the Lady of the County." A servant came to the backyard to report to Vice Minister Yin.
Meng Qing and Du Min were all present. Upon hearing this, Du Min and Meng Qing got up and left.
Prime Minister Zheng was standing in the courtyard when he heard footsteps and looked over.
"Prime Minister, have you come to settle accounts with me?" Du Min asked.
Meng Qing glared at him.
Prime Minister Zheng looked at Meng Qing and asked, "Madam, do you know Master Konghui?"
Meng Qing's expression changed. "Prime Minister Zheng, what are you doing?"
"Don't get agitated. I didn't intend to do anything to him. I just suddenly realized you might not know his whereabouts, so I came to deliver a message. Five years ago, a monk of unknown origin entered the inner palace. Later, he gained the favor of two emperors and settled in Ci'en Temple. Last year, he followed the emperor to Luoyang to participate in the construction of the Longmen Grottoes. I encountered him in the palace and found that his accent was the same as yours, so I sent people to Wu County to investigate."
Upon hearing this, Du Min felt a sense of foreboding.
"Lord Du has a very good reputation in Wu County. My men heard some news about you. I didn't believe it at first, but then I realized it wasn't unfounded." Prime Minister Zheng stopped the conversation at the right time. "I reminded you before, but you didn't notice and kept trying to take action against me, forcing me to confront you head-on."
Du Min couldn't recall when he had reminded him, so he forced himself to remain calm and asked, "What news?"
"Lord Du has been an official for eight years and has reached the highest position. Why not send someone to bring your parents here to reunite with you?" Prime Minister Zheng asked. "If you do not have any capable people, I can do it for you."
"The two elders are old. If they die from exhaustion on the way, I will fight the Prime Minister to the death," Du Min threatened.
"Prime Minister Zheng, just tell me frankly, what do you want Du Min to do for you?" Meng Qing asked.
"I have petitioned the Empress Dowager to concurrently serve as the Governor to investigate the land survey situation in various places and to supervise the re-measurement of land in various prefectures and counties. I need an assistant, so I recommended Prefect Du." Prime Minister Zheng instructed, "You will be in charge of inspecting the situation of free schools and academies in various places on the surface, and secretly pass on information to me."
Du Min was furious. He shouldn't have dragged Prime Minister Zheng into this mess; he should have brought him down. He gritted his teeth, filled with regret.
Prime Minister Zheng looked at Meng Qing and said, "I recommend to the Empress Dowager that the Lady of the Prefecture take over from Governor Du in Huai Prefecture, assist in managing Huai Prefecture's affairs, and be responsible for relaying messages to Governor Du."
Meng Qing was overjoyed and couldn't help but smile.
Prime Minister Zheng smiled and said, "The Empress has already agreed; it's just a matter of whether Governor Du will agree."
Du Min remained silent.
“Prefect Du is young and strong, don’t be greedy for comfort. You have lofty ambitions and want to be a famous minister who loves the people like his own children. What is governing Huai Prefecture? All the people of the Tang Dynasty have benefited from your kindness. That is true righteousness and public service.” Prime Minister Zheng returned Du Min’s sarcastic words with a sarcastic tone. “The Empress is still waiting for your reply. Don’t keep her waiting.”
After saying this, Prime Minister Zheng strode away.
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