Chapter 110 The Song of the Giant Rat, Sweet Dew Sprinkled at Miaoxiang Tea House
The next day, the two packed their belongings at the shop.
"I can't sort this out no matter what I do, I'm not going to bother anymore." Li Yang muttered as he came downstairs.
Chen Junbo was leaning against the counter looking at Bi Fang's letter. Seeing that there was nothing important in the letter, he was about to put it away when he said, "Just leave it there, I'll tidy it up in a bit."
Li Yang: "No, how are we going to pack all this? There's so much stuff. Mother bought way too much."
The man simply lowered his head and remained silent, leading her to the woodworking shop.
The two men picked out a few wooden crates in the shop. Li Yang asked, "Shopkeeper, are these crates in stock?"
“Madam, these are the items displayed in the shop. The goods you ordered will be delivered to your residence within ten days.”
"The sun blazes fiercely, the people suffer terribly, folding fans flutter, howls fill the air, red ribbons adorn their bellies. At Daqing Palace, ice is served, at Miaoxiang Pavilion, sweet dew is sprinkled, Guanyin Bodhisattva descends to earth..."
The two turned around, and several children ran past on the street.
Li Yang suddenly chased after him, "Kid, what were you singing just now?"
Little boy: "The Song of the Big Rat".
Sing it again!
The child burst into tears.
Chen Junbo rushed to their side and whispered, "Sing it again, and use this money to buy candy."
The boy glanced at the loose silver in Chen Junbai's hand, then looked at his companion, stared into Chen Junbai's eyes, and took the copper coins. As soon as they had the silver, the two turned and ran, singing loudly as they went, "The sun is scorching hot..."
Li Yang slowly stood up and looked at the person beside her, who was also squinting at her.
Did I cause this trouble?
There was once a song about tea maidens, which was heard everywhere in the streets and alleys. I heard Zhuang Jieling mention it once. Now everyone in Beijing praises the merits of the tea maidens at Miaoxiang Tea House.
Everyone took it seriously, but now, there's even a "Song of the Big Rat" pointing directly at that person in the Qing Palace.
Chen Junbo hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'm not sure. Things might not be peaceful lately." He led her slowly back.
Seeing Li Yang's worry, he patiently explained: "In the early years of this dynasty, there was a scholar who collected poems that were scattered among the people. At that time, a salt merchant, in order to please a salt official who loved poetry and literature, paid out of his own pocket to publish this collection."
Li Yang stared intently at Chen Junbo.
He continued, "Some people with ulterior motives found some words representing the previous dynasty in the book, and then this official, as well as the salt merchant, were investigated and their property confiscated."
"Searching their property?!" Li Yang stopped in his tracks.
Chen Junbo didn't speak, he just looked at her.
“Then…” Li Yang dared not speak; this “Song of the Big Rat” was practically a direct insult to the emperor…
"Let's see, maybe it's not so bad."
Li Yang squatted down, picked up a pebble from the roadside, and played with it in his palm. His voice came from the bottom of his heart, with a muffled tone, "Have I caused you any trouble?"
The man chuckled and helped her up, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Don't worry."
He seemed very confident, and this confidence was like a crutch, giving Li Yang a sense of security amidst his inner turmoil, allowing him to slowly get up with the help of the crutch.
"Hmm." The word fell softly, yet carried immense weight.
After saying that, she turned to look at Chen Junbo, "It's already like this, let's just wait and see, right?" Then she grinned.
Within two days, the streets and alleys of the capital were filled with children singing the "Big Rat Song," and even the customers in teahouses would talk about the song in their spare time.
Tianxiang Tower, the Emperor's Room.
Xuan Ying reported the matter of the "Song of the Big Rat" to Li Zhen, who then tapped his knuckles on the table and muttered incantations.
After a long pause, he spoke coldly, "Where did this come from?"
Xuan Ying dared not conceal the truth, "It seems to be related to the Fourth Prince."
"Seems so?" Li Zhen's eyes were filled with sarcasm. "Xuanying, you're doing your job more and more carelessly."
Xuan Ying was sweating profusely. The Second Prince was in a bad mood today and had taken it out on him again. "Master, our people have found that this nursery rhyme originated from the Jingbei Camp. Someone saw someone close to the Fourth Prince who recently visited the camp there. However, because the children in the northern suburbs cannot be identified as to who taught the nursery rhyme, we cannot confirm it."
Li Zhen chuckled, "Who else could it be? Has that woman from the Zhang family made any moves lately?"
Upon hearing this question, Xuan Ying seemed to understand, inwardly cursing herself for being stupid. "Master, Madam Zhang and Madam Ji went to the palace to see Consort Li that day. The next day, the Fourth Prince went to Lord Zhuang's residence."
Li Zhen gently sat up from his chair, took out a black jade chess piece from the chess box, glanced at the chessboard, and slowly placed the black piece in his hand, creating a gap in the opponent's encirclement.
He stood up from the table, broadened his chest and shoulders, and said, "I should also go to my mother's palace to pay my respects."
As he spoke, he walked towards the door, but stopped just inside and said to the guard behind him, "The hibiscus cake on the table is too greasy, I don't like it, you can have it."
With that, he curled his lips into a smile and stepped across the threshold.
Behind him, a shadowy figure swiftly reached the table, grabbed the hibiscus cake and its package, and leaped out of the window, disappearing into a tall sycamore tree in a few quick steps.
He ate them one after another, and the hibiscus cakes were quickly gone.
Li Zhen listened to the voice and chuckled to himself. This Xuan Ying was so tall and big, yet he loved to eat girls' snacks.
He was in high spirits and entered Consort Gao's Hibiscus Palace with a hearty laugh.
Consort Gao was boiling water and making tea when she saw her son arrive. Too lazy to get up, she simply raised her head and said, "What wind blew my good son into the Hibiscus Palace today?"
"Mother," Li Zhen said, sitting cross-legged in a good mood, "the tea here is excellent, and I have missed it very much."
"You were thinking of having me make you some tea, weren't you?" Consort Gao was quick to speak her mind and actually brewed him a cup of water, handing it to him. "This is the Kuilong Pearl you brought last time. It's quite interesting. Try it."
Upon hearing this, Li Zhen grinned, "My mother is incredibly insightful."
He accepted the tea but didn't rush to drink it. Instead, he told Consort Gao in detail about the "Song of the Big Rat," how Lady Zhang Youdao had paid her respects to Consort Li, and how Li Zhao had visited Zhuang Ziyang.
"So the tea lady is Zhuang Shutong's daughter?" Consort Gao asked in surprise, stopping what she was doing and looking at her son.
Li Zhen: "That's right. Li Lang and Zhuang Shutong hid in Songshan Town and had a daughter. Later, they were both captured and taken to the capital, leaving behind their young daughter. By some unknown coincidence, this daughter married into the Chen family."
A few days ago, Xuan Ying went to keep an eye on the Zhuang residence. Chen Junbai and Tea Lady went to the Zhuang family almost every day, and Zhuang Shutong even took Tea Lady shopping in the street several times.
"That's quite strange," Consort Gao said, putting down her tea. "Back in the capital, Zhuang Shutong was incredibly powerful and influential, ruling over all sorts of prestigious families. In the end, he ended up following your guard and hiding in the mountains. Now he can only live in the backyard of the Zhuang mansion, pretending to be ill."
Seemingly regretful, she then asked, "I thought she was clever, but it turns out she's like this. Do you know where Li Lang is now?"
Li Zhen didn't seem to care. "Marrying into a wealthy family doesn't mean you'll still live in the inner quarters. She's doing just as well as she should in the Zhuang family's backyard." She shook her head, adding, "Our people only found out that Fourth Brother's men went to Songshan Town first, and then the Zhuang family sent people to bring Zhuang Shutong back. As for where Lang Ge is now..."
Consort Gao sipped her drink and sighed softly: "No news is good news. You've sent so many people out to search for him all these years, you've done right by him."
The mother and son remained silent for a moment.
“Mother, it seems that this song about the big rat is also related to my fourth brother.” Li Zhenfu started the conversation again, “Could it be that they also know about the relationship between Tea Lady and the Zhuang family?”
Consort Gao: "Those people in that palace have been restless these past two days, with their families coming and going without any regard for propriety. But they haven't really been causing trouble in Songshan Town, so they must have just held a grudge against that salt merchant's family because of Zhang Youdao's affair, and that's why they came up with this underhanded method."
Li Zhen felt that his mother's analysis made sense. His fourth brother and his mother were like crazy chickens, scratching everywhere, but they could never get it clean.
They probably don't know about Li Yang's background yet.
Since only he knew that Li Yang was Zhuang Ziyang's granddaughter, he had gained the upper hand.
Thinking this, Fu said again, "Fourth brother went to the Zhuang residence a few days ago. Xuan Ying heard a lot of noise coming from the study. It must be that he tried to win him over but ended up making an enemy instead."
Consort Gao raised an eyebrow. "That mother and son have always been the type to get what they deserve. Prime Minister Zhuang is extremely upright and incorruptible; even your father, the Emperor, sometimes has a headache dealing with him. Naturally, they won't pledge allegiance to Li Zhao. This time, you're probably right; it seems they're about to become enemies."
Li Zhen: "Then?"
“This young lady is quite skilled at making tea, and she even spent money to help your father solve the problem of the refugees in the northern suburbs. I suppose your father is also wondering how to deal with this annoying nursery rhyme right now.” Consort Gao raised her cheeks. “This time, she’s trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead.”
"Zhen'er, it's time for you to learn to share your father's burdens."
When Consort Gao said those last words, Li Zhen suddenly understood.
I've become so attached to appearances, getting caught up in people's thoughts, that I've forgotten the most crucial point is still with my father.
The tea lady's disaster relief efforts were marred by a defamatory nursery rhyme created by malicious individuals. Ultimately, the matter depends on how the current emperor views it.
Thinking of this, he hurriedly got up to pay his respects to the emperor.
Consort Gao said unhappily, "What's with all this panic? Don't forget you're a prince. How could you lose your composure in something like this?"
Hearing his mother's reprimand, Li Zhenfu straightened his clothes, bowed to his mother in farewell, and then strode away.
Consort Gao watched his retreating figure, her brows furrowed tightly. Her son was usually so well-behaved, how could he have lost his composure like this today? Seeing 'Li Lang' had become a thorn in his side; whenever Li Lang was mentioned, Zhen'er would always lose his focus.
It's also my own fault for doing something wrong back then, insisting on arranging a marriage for Zhuang Shutong, marrying her to her cousin from her mother's side, who would have thought it would ruin this whole family.
At the same time, a minor incident also occurred in the imperial court.
The original policy, proposed by Prime Minister Zhuang, was to reform the disaster relief system. The existing policy of "local governments reporting disasters, the imperial court sending reports back to the local authorities for verification, and then the imperial court confirming the policy, reducing or exempting taxes, and distributing disaster relief funds" was to be adjusted to "disaster relief first, verification after relief, and severe punishment for any false reporting."
This was originally a reform plan discussed by Chen Junbo and Zhuang Xiang. On the one hand, it solved the problem of salt merchants in the Jiangnan region, which was prone to floods, constantly spending their own money. On the other hand, it could also provide quick relief to other regions in the event of a disaster.
Now, with a severe drought sweeping the land, the Shandong governor is falsely reporting a bumper harvest, claiming it's due to the people's voluntary donations... Zhuang Ziyang's faction immediately pointed out that this was illogical, and the emperor sent someone to Shandong to verify it. The person sent was none other than Zhuang Ziyang's protégé.
After verification, the problem was found; it was indeed fake.
After careful consideration, Zhuang Xiang did not immediately impeach the governor, but instead helped him solve the problem first.
Because this governor was the son of the emperor's wet nurse, he was impeachable, so the problem was solved first, and the personnel issue could be addressed later.
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