I am a Big Villain

"Why did you bring me here?"

After all, Zongzheng Qingqi was young. After getting rid of Yan Chu's anger for taking him out of the palace secretly, he was attracted by the lively and bustling scenes on both sides of the street.

Especially those stalls where people were making clay figurines and making kites. The dazzling array of items on them left Zongzheng Qingqi with nowhere to put his eyes.

There were also those hawkers selling candied haws on the streets, carrying targets covered with candied haws on their shoulders. The round and plump fruits were wrapped in bright red sugar coating on wooden skewers. Although he had not tasted the taste, he just looked at the tempting fruits. Looking at it, I couldn't help but salivate, and wanted to go buy a bunch and try it.

All this has always only lived in the ears of Zongzheng Qingqi.

Different from other royal brothers who have left the palace and opened a mansion, there is also an imperial brother who borrowed the honor of Concubine Jiang and the whole family was granted a virtual title with no real power. Zongzheng Qingqi's other relatives are far away in the northwest. They have never been out of the palace since they were young. They can only listen to these brothers and emperors who have been outside the palace and the maids and eunuchs who came in from outside the palace describe interesting things outside the palace.

Because he wanted to save face and was tight-lipped, Zongzheng Qingqi would always show disdain when listening to the emperor's younger brother telling stories outside the palace, but in fact, in his heart, he had long been dissatisfied with the other side of the imperial city. In the world on one side, curiosity and inquiry aroused.

This time Yan Chu took him out of the palace without any preparation and saw the scene he had imagined in his dream. When Zongzheng Qingqi turned to look at Yan Chu's face, he was also pleased with it. Quite a few.

But why didn't this carriage stop at the most prosperous and noisy market in the capital?

Zongzheng Qingqi looked at the scenery outside the car window becoming more and more monotonous, and the houses on both sides were getting older and older. Amid Zongzheng Qingqi's doubts, the carriage left the city gate and drove towards an unknown place. Gong Er's happy heart gradually sank, and the initial worries came to mind.

Especially at this moment when he was walking on the muddy road in the countryside, looking at the endless fields around him, there were only a few old farmers leading oxen to remove roots and loosen the soil from the newly harvested land, and a group of children playing happily on the ridges of the fields.

Zongzheng Qingqi looked at Yan Chu warily, wondering what he had brought him to this place for.

"Old man, how is the harvest in the fields this year?"

Yan Chu ignored Zong Zheng Qingqi's question, got off the carriage and walked straight towards the old farmer working in the nearest field.

"The harvest is good. The weather has been good in our area over the past few years. The harvest has been good every year. With the new emperor's accession to the throne, the tax has been reduced by 30%. We can have a prosperous year this year."

In Zongzheng Qingqi's eyes, the clothes Yan Chu and Zongzheng Qingqi were wearing today were shabby and rough, but in the eyes of the old farmer, the clean and decent brocade was more expensive than the expensive fabrics they rarely saw when they went to the cloth store in the city. Well, at first glance, they are the master and the young master from a wealthy family.

Therefore, when faced with Yan Chu's question, the old farmer smiled and answered.

Zongzheng Qingqi's originally calm expression cleared up after listening to the old farmer's words. He stepped forward with interest: "Old man, what do you think of the new emperor now?"

As he said that, he glanced at Yan Chu. This old man seemed to be sensible, and he must not understand the current situation of eunuchs in power in the court.

He wanted to see how Xiao Chu would feel when an old farmer pointed his nose at him and scolded him.

"I can't tell you. I can't tell you."

The old farmer waved his hands repeatedly, looking at Zongzheng Qingqi with an expression as if he was looking at something strange.

That's the emperor, the emperor who is so high and mighty. He talks nonsense about being the emperor, so why don't you give up your head?

This young master looks fair and smart, but why is he so stupid when asking questions?

"Master, don't be angry with me for talking too much. Your young master needs to be taught a lesson. How awesome are the guards in Dongchang now? There used to be a lazy man next door to our village. He got drunk and cursed the little emperor. Secondly, Tian was taken away by Jinyiwei's people." The old man had a hint of fear on his face, and his attitude of preaching to Yan Chu became more sincere.

"The young master is such a smart person. If he says something wrong, he will be punished."

It is said that if you enter Dongchang, you will have to shed your skin even if you don't die. In the hearts of ordinary people, that is a taboo, a place more terrifying than prison.

"What did that lazy man call the little emperor?"

Zongzheng Qingqi was so angry that he became a puffer fish. He had only been on the throne for a long time, and people were scolding him even before he took charge. Xiao Chu was clearly handling government affairs, so why should he scold him? Thinking about it, Zongzheng Qingqi felt a little aggrieved. He glared at Xiao Chu, blaming him.

"Why don't you, young master, listen to my advice?"

The old farmer got angry. The lazy man scolded the little emperor and was arrested by the Jin Yiwei. The young master in front of him asked him to repeat the lazy man's words. Didn't he want him to be arrested together?

The old farmer felt that the young man was a troublesome person, so he picked up the hoe and planned to plow the field on the other side, so as not to let the young man say something that he shouldn't have said and implicate him.

"Don't leave."

Zongzheng Qingqi searched all over his body but couldn't find anything valuable. Suddenly he thought that the jade ring on his hand had not been removed when he changed clothes. Without thinking, he pulled it off. The jade ring, and then handed it to the old farmer: "Can you talk now?"

The old farmer's behavior reminded him of the palace maids and eunuchs who dominated the palace. Some low-ranking concubines who were not favored wanted to have a better life in the palace, so they had to constantly use money to bribe the work department and the imperial chef. The slaves of the house, only in this way can they eat hot meals and wear beautiful clothes in season.

He thought that the old farmer was like this too. Because he had not received any benefits, he was unwilling to say those words to him.

"You little boy."

The old farmer sighed, not understanding why he wanted to break the casserole and ask about such a fatal matter.

"If you don't want to talk about the question I just asked you, then I'll ask you another question. As long as you answer it, this jade ring will be yours."

Zongzheng Qingqi glanced at Yan Chu and saw that the other party had no intention of stopping his behavior. He puffed up his chest and said to the old farmer with a hint of arrogance.

"This old man, our young master is naturally very curious. If he asks, please explain it carefully."

The guard who had been standing behind them took a step forward after receiving the signal from Yan Chu's eyes, and exchanged the jade ring in Zongzheng Qingqi's hand for an ingot of broken silver, which he estimated to be worth four or five coins. For farmers who depend on the weather for their livelihood, this is already a considerable amount.

"Of course, young master, you can just ask, but it's not easy for me to answer questions that are too difficult for me."

In the eyes of the old farmer, silver coins were much more valuable than the jade ring he had never seen before. Under the temptation of money, he hesitated for a moment, thinking about his newly born grandson at home, and plucked up the courage to agree.

"Old man, judging from your tone just now, are you afraid of Jin Yiwei?"

Zongzheng Qingqi also knew that the old farmer would not answer his previous question, so he simply put that question aside and planned to investigate the matter carefully when he returned to the palace. For him now, Xiao Chu's Face is more important.

"Afraid, who is not afraid of the Jin Yiwei?" Each of them looked fierce, just like the Lord of Hell. The old farmer trembled and said without thinking.

"If one day Jin Yiwei no longer exists, will you be happier?"

The Jin Yiwei are Xiao Chu's minions. Now the courtiers are afraid of Xiao Chu. A large part of the reason is that they are afraid of the Jin Yiwei behind him. If the Jin Yiwei disappears, Xiao Chu's strength will be reduced by half.

Zongzheng Qingqi seemed to have noticed that Xiao Chu looked down on him now and had no defense against him. He even indulged him intentionally or unintentionally without any intention of suppressing his growth.

He didn't know whether this was because the other party was confident or for some other reason, but it was also a good thing for him.

It was also because he had seen through this that he was no longer so reserved in front of Xiao Chu, but he was still a little wary occasionally.

"Why did the Jinyiwei disappear?" The old farmer was stunned after hearing Zongzheng Qingqi's words, and asked doubtfully, with a trace of sadness on his face.

Seeing the old farmer's expression, Zongzheng Qingqi's smile paused. He thought what he saw would be the old farmer's happy and relieved expression.

He turned to look at Xiao Chu, who had been silent for a long time. The other party seemed not surprised by the old farmer's reaction.

There wasn't even a trace of emotion in the other party's eyes, as if the questions he just asked were, in his eyes, just a child's ignorant play and would not have any impact on him.

"Aren't you afraid of the Jinyiwei?" Zongzheng Qingqi squeezed the jade ring in his hand and looked at the old farmer with his power as an emperor.

Just because of his young age and lack of momentum, in the eyes of others, he is a spoiled, somewhat arrogant young master.

Because I didn't get the answer I wanted, I lost my temper.

"It's true that I am afraid of Jin Yiwei, but since the arrival of Jin Yiwei, our life has been much better than before, so why should I be happy that Jin Yiwei disappears?"

The old farmer looked at Zong Zheng Qingqi and said: "In the past, in addition to paying taxes on the income from our fields, there were also various taxes set up by officials with clever names. When the county master gave birth to a baby, he had to pay taxes, and the prefect's family paid a small fee. Concubine, we also have to pay taxes. We are still at the foot of the imperial city. Those people are so bold, not to mention other places. The mountains are high and the emperor is far away. Life must be more difficult than us. But since the appearance of Jinyiwei, corrupt officials have been punished. If they are caught, taxes will be normalized, and our people can still have a surplus every year if they have enough to eat and drink. We are grateful to them before it is too late."

In the past, there was no Dongchang and no Jin Yiwei. The old emperor was ignorant and incompetent. He left his officials unchecked. Corrupt officials were rampant in the court. The people were in dire straits. Even if there were no natural disasters, life would be difficult.

No matter who is the emperor or who is in power, the common people only know that since the establishment of Dongchang, they have lived a good life. It does not matter that Xiao Chu, the governor of Dongchang, and his Jinyiwei are notorious, they will get benefits. really good.

"When the Jin Yiwei arrests people, they also arrest those who deserve to be arrested, such as that lazy man who told him to say things he shouldn't say. An old farmer like me is an honest man, living his own small life, regardless of the rights and wrongs of others, and being open-minded. , why would you want Jin Yiwei to disappear?"

The old farmer's words left Zongzheng Qingqi speechless. He looked at the old farmer who looked happy after receiving the silver ingot, and then at Xiao Chu.

A conspiracy, it must be a conspiracy. Xiao Chu brought him here just to make him listen to these words, so as to lower his vigilance against him.

As a wise and powerful emperor, he is not so easy to fool.

"If you have anything else to ask, hurry up and let's go back to the city."

Zongzheng Qingqi glared at Xiao Chu. He had to go back to the city and ask more people. He didn't believe it. Xiao Chu was so capable that he could bribe everyone in the world.

The author has something to say: I failed again, but the update time is earlier than the previous two days. I believe in taking it step by step and making a little progress every day. In a few days, I will succeed. Hold on.