Lei Yue Longmen

Facing the aggressiveness of the Tu family, two years ago Li Jingchen formally proposed to reconcile with the son-in-law.Not only did it discredit the Tu family, but it also caused quite a bit of controversy within the East Palace.However, unexpectedly, Taifu Tan, who has always advocated an alliance with the Tu family, did not object this time, and sent a message to Tu Yuanshan: "The problem this time does not lie in the East Palace."

Tu Yuanshan began to investigate from within the Tu family after careful consideration.In the end, it was found that the eldest son, Tu Yunkai, had kept a concubine privately outside, and this concubine was deliberately sent by the Dun Palace to separate the relationship between the son-in-law and the empress dowager.

Dingguo Hou was furious immediately, he rushed all the way back from northern Xinjiang, he personally came to kill the concubine with a knife, causing an uproar in the capital.After the incident, he tied Tu Yun and drove to the East Palace to admit his mistake, but was rejected.That Concubine Tu is also temperamental, unable to bear this humiliation, he returned to the army privately in a fit of anger, and said goodbye: "In this life, I will never die or return to the capital."

Tu Yuanshan only had this one son, so he was naturally reluctant to kill him.In addition, Mrs. Tu cried in front of him all day long, saying that the reason why her son went to find a concubine? It wasn't because the empress dowager kept him cold all the year round. Which of the other men didn't have three wives and four concubines? In addition to her main house, there are four or five small ones, so why let his son be a widow at such a young age?Tu Yuanshan was very angry, and said, "He can go to anyone, but he can't go to people from the Dun Palace! Dun Wang is now trying his best to drive a wedge between Beijiang and East Palace! He dares to do whatever he wants, and I will not kill him." Stupid stupid stuff!"

Mrs. Tu said in a hurry: "My son must have been framed by someone. You know, Mr. Yunkai, that Yun Kai has always been not good at women. Since he was a child, he has put his mind on the empress dowager. If he doesn't answer, why would he go to someone else for no reason?" Afterwards, she didn't know whether it was out of righteous indignation or a woman's intuition, and said bitterly: "Besides, she Donggong knew that Yun Kai was framed, so she should help It's just a cover-up, so as not to make the enemy look at the joke. But she's good, isn't it more embarrassing for us to propose a divorce at this time? I see that she clearly wanted to reconcile early in the morning, but she has never caught us. It's just a catch! Now that I finally caught Yun Kai's fault, why don't I just bite on it?"

Although her words were mostly motivated by emotion, it made Tu Yuanshan shudder, and also vaguely felt that Li Jingchen had this intention.Looking back on her indifference to the Tu family for no reason in the past two years, even her own son was able to ignore her all year round, she felt more and more that Donggong wanted to be separated for a long time.He went to Tan Xuanjing to test it out, but the latter only advised him to relax, the empress dowager was only out of anger, and there was still room for change when the anger subsided.Tu Yuanshan was worried, but there was no better way at the moment. He thought to himself that as long as the power of his Tu family was still there, he might not be afraid that Donggong would not come to ask them for help in the future. Look at it!

Because of Tan Xuanjing's mediation, the divorce matter has been postponed.However, no one expected that after Tu Yunkai returned to the army, he couldn't bear the ridicule from his subordinates behind his back, so he took advantage of his drunkenness and made a bet with his subordinates to "train his wife", wrote a letter of divorce overnight, and sent it back to the capital. .Coincidentally, the emperor visited the East Palace that day and saw Tu Consort's letter of divorce. He was furious on the spot and ordered Tu Yunkai to be arrested and sent to prison for punishment.This time even Mrs. Tu was frightened. Since Yurui was founded more than 400 years ago, no one has ever dared to write a letter of divorce to the princess, let alone the empress dowager. This is a crime of disrespect. The baby boy really lost his head this time.

She personally brought the little emperor's grandson to intercede with the empress dowager, saying that Tu Yunkai must have been instigated by the villain and did not intend to write a letter of divorce.Unexpectedly, Li Jingchen, who has always been with her and disliked each other, would be more united with her this time, helped her up, and said: "The son-in-law's handwriting is very scribbled, it doesn't look like what he did when he was sober. And the emperor never He came to my palace for no reason or reason, and the letter of divorce just arrived today, and it was sent directly to the emperor without my hand, there must be something hidden in it."

After conveying this important message, she solemnly said to Mrs. Tu: "Don't worry, Madam, no matter how angry the father is, I will enter the palace to intercede for the son-in-law, even if it means sacrificing the reserve position. We will always be one with the Tu family." Mrs. Tu was so touched that she didn't know what to do, she felt that she was wrong about her superior daughter-in-law before, and only at the critical moment could she show her "deep affection" for her son.

As a result of the final handling of this matter, because of the empress dowager's intercession, Tu Yunkai was spared the death penalty, but was still deposed as a son-in-law and sent to northern Xinjiang to serve three years of hard labor.But the relationship between the Tu family and the East Palace is actually closer than before. The little grandson was taken back to the East Palace half of the time to be raised, and half of the time remained in the Tu family.

Tu Yuanshan thoroughly investigated the incident of Tu Yunkai's "wife training" that day, and he found out that it was the Dun Palace's fault.Among the generals who instigated his son to gamble were spies sent by the Dun Palace.The Marquis of Dingguo has not shown any signs of expression yet, but he has held a grudge since then.

Although Tu Yunkai was sentenced to hard labor, the place he went to was within the jurisdiction of Northern Xinjiang. After all, the emperor saved Tu Yuanshan some face, which meant that his son taught himself a lesson.

And since the son-in-law was sent out of Beijing, the empress dowager invited orders to patrol the rivers all over the country, and the time she stayed in Beijing was very short every year, and every time she returned to Beijing, she would live in the son-in-law's mansion for a while.This was interpreted by interested people as a signal of "unfinished love" for the son-in-law.Even Mrs. Tu was moved.Both the East Palace and the Tu family looked forward to Tu Yunkai's return from hard labor as soon as possible, and to reconcile with His Royal Highness the Empress Dowager.

Only Yunzai and Yunzhong know why she has traveled all over the country these years.There are so many places to go in the capital, and why? Why do I have to live in the son-in-law's mansion every time I go back to Beijing.

"Because that's her home."

Once when His Highness was very drunk, Yun Zai overheard this sentence, and didn't understand what she meant, nor did he understand who the "she" was referring to.When he relayed it to his elder brother, he didn't realize what kind of storm these words set off in Yun Zhong's mind.

In short, it's hard to say.

Today, he finally understands the real reason why Li Jingchen spends so much time searching for those documents of the Ministry of Punishment that are dusty in the corner.

In fact, when Hua Qing entered the mansion for an assassination that day, he had doubts in his mind.The Prince Consort's Mansion has always been heavily guarded. If it is not someone who is familiar with the terrain to a certain extent, it is impossible to avoid the heavy guards and enter the Prince Consort's House in one fell swoop.Unless, she herself has a relationship with the Prince Consort's House.

In order to verify what he thought in his heart, he went to investigate the origin of the son-in-law's mansion.The conclusions reached are surprisingly consistent with their own guesses.

It really happened for a reason.

No wonder, she and His Highness know each other, but they are always in a difficult mood.

No wonder, when she saw Tu Yunkai in the East Palace, she had the urge to draw a knife to kill someone!

No wonder, after she resolutely left, she still wanted to leave behind that sentence that was enough to kill people's hearts, "Goodbye is the enemy!"

No wonder, she would burn down the "Mountain Resort" completely without leaving any traces.

Because the last owner of the garden was Cen Zhi, the Zuodu Yushi of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, who was ransacked and beheaded for impeaching the Tu family more than ten years ago.

And Cen Zhi is very likely to be Hua Qing's biological father.

When the Tu family married the East Palace back then, Tu Yun was rewarded with another son-in-law's mansion, but the Tu family took a fancy to this garden, and they would rather give up the big house and have this small house because they didn't want to spend money.

He still remembers the scene of the banquet at the consort's mansion that day.There was an endless stream of officials present, and there was a lot of toasting.I don't know when they competed to congratulate each other, did they remember that the previous owner of this garden was also famous for a while.

However, after killing the enemy and then seizing his homeland, this kind of arrogant behavior is indeed a blatant humiliation in the eyes of those who feel the pain!

Then, when she learned that Li Jingbai lived with other people in her former homeland and was pregnant with the flesh and blood of the enemy, how sad and embarrassing should she feel in her heart?It can also be explained.

(memory ends)

After eating half a cage of Longmen rice dumplings with vegetarian fillings and a small bowl of white rice porridge with sugar, Li Jingchen, accompanied by Mr. Jiang, went to inspect the paddy fields in the western suburbs of Longmen.

Master Jiang talked like a river, but the Crown Princess just kept silent.He has never received such an unsmiling, non-aggressive "man from above", and he almost froze to death during the dog days.

Recalling that when the county magistrate assigned him a task last night, he patted him on the shoulder hesitantly and told him to "be careful and wear more clothes". He still wondered what it meant. Foresight.

Fortunately, Mr. Cen came out of the field to rescue him halfway, so he hurriedly retreated to the side to avoid the cold.

Cen Zhu was wearing the coarse clothes from yesterday, wading through the paddy fields, and stepping barefoot on the ridge, as if he ran into them by chance.However, judging from her calmness when she put her fist to her lips and said, "Actually, I am most familiar with the paddy fields in Longmen County", the three of them had reason to believe that she came prepared.

Yun Zai thought to himself, what a scheming bitch!She was sure that His Highness would turn around and leave when he saw her the first time.So first send a talkative Mr. Jiang to lead the battle, and after wearing out His Highness's patience, he will come out to pick up the cheap, so he recommends himself.

At the beginning, she pretended to be the innocent and harmless Hua Qing to deceive them. Afterwards, she showed off to them how she jumped to the bottom of the wall with one foot, took off her shoes and wiped two strings of black mud on the wall, making It gave the illusion that the Qin official was climbing the wall, and then switched to the other foot, and jumped back with one foot, leaving a row of footprints on the ground running towards the corner of the wall.He fooled everyone including Li Jingchen.This kind of scheming is really unbearable for ordinary people.Fortunately, everyone has taken precautions and will not be fooled by her anymore.

Master Jiang had already left the stage, but seeing the embarrassing scene, he had no choice but to trot back and pretend to have a stomachache.Isn't this clumsy acting skill enough for the magistrate of the county?

Li Jingchen didn't give him a chance to make up nonsense, and said with a sneer, "Since Mr. Jiang is unwell, then come back when he's better, it's not too late."

Without even looking at the man, he turned around and left.Yun Zai followed the U-turn, caught a glimpse of the man's disappointed and regretful eyes from the corner of his eye, immediately felt relieved, and walked away like a rooster that had won a fight.

In the evening, Mr. Jiang saw the county magistrate sitting in front of the case flipping through the land property book. He sighed more in one night than he had seen in three years. "My lord? Did the imperial court raise taxes again this year?"

"No!" Cen Zhu closed the book and handed it to him, "Tomorrow you will continue to accompany the nobleman in the inn on the tour, and by the way, bring this book with you, as all the properties of our county are on it!"

Master Jiang took the notebook, "What about you, my lord?"

"I? I won't go, so as not to be annoying."

Master Jiang wanted to speak but stopped. Seeing her looking sleepy, he didn't dare to say more, so he got up and left.

The next day, she really didn't come.

"Since Mr. Cen took office, the rice fields in Longmen County have increased by 560 hectares to 860 hectares in total. The annual rice production has increased by 170 million shi, and the current annual output is 270 million shi. According to the current 18-year tax, the annual The tax payment is 20 shi. However, in order to respond to the call of the court, the magistrate of the county increased the tax to the following big gentry to 10 taxes, so he can receive about [-] shi tax grains throughout the year. According to the current market price, one stone of rice is Five hundred wen, equivalent to [-] taels of silver, counting the fire consumption is..."

While listening to Mr. Jiang's extravagant inventory, Li Jingchen flipped through the detailed and well-organized field tax book, with a deadpan expression on his face, without saying a word.

Looking at the chessboard-like pattern of paddy fields, Yun Zhong couldn't help being amazed.The paddy field is so neatly arranged next to the canal that it can be seen at a glance that it is newly cultivated.The total area is nearly a thousand acres, and many ordinary people with their trouser legs rolled up are bowing their waists to work in the rice fields, and the green seedlings take root in the water, forming a magnificent picture.Although this kind of scene is not unique on both sides of the flooded Zhuo River, it is rare to see it.

This is why His Highness is determined to control the Zhuohe River. If the Zhuohe River no longer floods, such scenes should be seen everywhere in Yurui, and the famine that has plagued the north for many years can't be alleviated.

Although Yun Zai had no idea what Master Rabbit Ya was talking about, they just came from Cao County downstream, and vaguely remembered that the magistrate of Cao County, who was known for his diligence, reported that the figures for the same position were less than Longmen half of the county.So it was easy to come to the conclusion that two county magistrates of Cao County were not worth one magistrate of Longmen County.She didn't find it strange, on the contrary, she felt it should be taken for granted.

"Longmen is a place heavily flooded. Who gave you the courage to open up wasteland on both sides of the Zhuo River on a large scale? Are you not afraid that the Zhuo River will flood the embankments and eventually lead to no crops? Harvest?

Li Jingchen closed the notebook with a "slap", and asked Master Jiang sharply.Master Jiang specially added an extra waistcoat inside today, even though his limbs are cold, his heart veins are still warm, and he can still deal with it calmly: "Reporting to my superior, three years ago, when Mr. Cen first took office, his subordinates also had the same doubts. , all advised her not to be greedy for merit? However, Mrs. Cen said that the Empress Dowager is patrolling rivers all over the country, and she will focus on treating the turbid river soon, and the flood of the turbid river will decrease year by year! To increase the population, we must find ways to open up wasteland for farming. It is a good way to replace fruit trees with rice. Although there were two floods in the first year, many rice fields were damaged, but since His Highness took control of the Zhuohe River, the floods have indeed decreased year by year. It is almost extinct this year! This is why Longmen County has a bumper harvest year after year. In fact, in the final analysis, this is all thanks to the great blessing of the emperor and the empress dowager!"

"..."

Li Jingbai's face was very ugly.Yun Zai knew that she was choked by a bone instead of being picky, and she and His Highness shared the same hatred.This Cen Zhu, knowing that His Highness is patrolling rivers all over the country, has been able to hide in Longmen County in silence for three years, it is really abhorrent!

She was thinking? She must help His Highness vent his anger and find out what's wrong with Cen Zhu.Yun Zhong persuaded her not to waste her efforts. Since becoming an official, Cen Zhuo has made outstanding achievements in governing Longmen County, and his official reputation is excellent, almost impeccable.Such a person will be reused by the imperial court sooner or later, and Donggong is now trying to win her over.

"What? What? Donggong wants to win her over? What? When did this happen?" Yun Zai found it inconceivable, and Yun Zhong said calmly, "Why did you come to Longmen County as His Highness? He will be promoted by the imperial court. Talents are rare, and everyone wants this piece of fat. Second, Taifu Tan strongly recommends him. As soon as we arrived in Cao County, Taifu Tan sent a letter, saying that Cao County is very close to Longmen, so His Highness must go to Longmen for a visit. Come on, win Cen Zhu over."

"Ah? I? Still? I thought His Highness came to Longmen to see the concubine for the second princess!" Yun Zai said dejectedly, "Then it's not possible to win over now? Not to mention that His Highness refuses, it's Sister Hua Qing, who stayed with her back then. Didn’t the phrase ‘goodbye, we’re enemies’ mean to make His Highness an enemy? I thought she was just saying it out of anger, and misunderstood that His Highness betrayed her. I didn’t expect...Brother, tell me, would she? Are you really going to turn the spearhead against His Highness?"

"Hard to say. I'm inclined not, though."

"why?"

Yun Zhong said calmly: "Do you know how difficult it is to place an undercover agent in the East Palace? With the relationship between her and His Highness back then, it would be easy to deal with her. But she chose to leave, it might be a kind of giving up."

Yun Zai's face darkened, "That's true." Maybe it's the best choice for the two of them to forget each other.Given His Highness's current situation, she cannot do without the support of the Tu family, and the deep blood feud between Hua Qing and the Tu family is bound to be difficult in the future.This relationship may have been wrong from the beginning.Although it hurts to stop the loss in time, it may be a relief.

What's more, this guy actually married a wife, which really made Yun Zai furious just thinking about it.

Comparing horizontally with the suffering His Highness has suffered in these years, she really wants to smash her flat with a mallet.

"Brother, why does Taifu Tan insist on wooing Cen Zhu? Is it really so good for this guy to be an official?"

"It's not a question of whether it's good or not. Right now, the East Palace and the major palaces are trying their best to recruit talents. Cen Zhu is the number one scholar, which has a certain symbolic meaning. Moreover, she is indeed a good official. This kind of young official who can do practical things? She has always been the key target of the Eastern Palace. Seeing that she is about to expire in three years, and there will be more competitors by then, Taifu Tan intends to let His Highness be close to the water first."

"..."

That night, it rained heavily, and when he heard the Longmen Ditch burst, Yun Zai really wanted to shout, "God has eyes! Give this guy a punishment from heaven!"

However, Li Jingchen quickly put on his clothes and got up, braved the rain and rushed to the Longmen Ditch in the western suburbs.On a rainy night, they couldn't see their fingers. The three of them wore coir raincoats and followed the sound of gongs and drums. They arrived at the scene of the incident half an hour later.

The dike was full of people, Mr. Jiang shouted to the team while beating the gong: "Everyone must keep up with the people in front, don't fall behind, pay attention to safety!"

Yun Zai recognized his accent and hurriedly pulled him over.

Master Jiang was dizzy from the raindrops.Very impatient, "What are you doing, what are you doing? Didn't you see that the big guy is busy? You don't go to the opposite side to carry sandbags, what are you doing here? Is it plausible?"

"It's me!" Li Jingchen said in a low voice.

"You? Who are you! You want me to call you mother, don't you?" Master Jiang became even more angry, good guy, and even put up a score in front of him.Just lift your leg and kick them.

At this time, a waterproof lantern that Yun Zai bought at the Longmen Night Market came in handy, and he hurriedly held it up in front of His Highness.Master Jiang almost fell to the ground when he saw it, "Oh, it's a business trip! Look at me? I'm so rude..."

"Stop rambling, what happened to the breach??"

"Oh, don't mention it, it's all caused by the grandchildren of Tianlei Village. Their village needs to plant rice seedlings and divert water to the ditch. After diverting, they even forgot to close the sluice gate. When it rained, his grandma's, even The embankment was blown away. You said, this is what people did? Son? The county magistrate was so anxious that he got angry! He called all the strong men from the nearby villages and blocked the breach overnight. Me? They all want to beat them to death!" Master Jiang looked really angry, not only did he speak out, but he even turned into a high-pitched tone.

"Is the magistrate also on the embankment?"

"Yes, yes, the county magistrate came an hour earlier, and he is commanding on the other side!"

"Take me there."

Li Jingchen followed the team onto the wooden bridge, Yun Zai heard the creaking sound of the wooden planks, and the surging river water under the wooden planks, his legs were so frightened that his legs went limp, and he wished he could crawl over on his knees.

After crossing the bridge, the old man heard Cen Zhu shouting from a distance: "All gather at one point and cast! Don't disperse!"

Master Jiang came back and reported: "It's not so good. My lord said that although the breach is getting smaller and smaller, the water at the breach has also become stronger. The sandbags are always washed away when I throw them. Let me make the sandbags bigger. Press more stones, I have to do it quickly!"

"Wait!" As soon as Li Jingchen uttered his voice, Yun Zhong grabbed Master Jiang's shoulder and cut him off.

The Crown Princess pondered for a moment, "Go and tell your county magistrates to dig two small openings in the newly blocked embankment, and then go to block the big opening."

The water on Mr. Jiang’s bamboo hat was like a waterfall, and he was puzzled: "This... is this okay? Is it a hole that was so hard to plug, and then? Digging it up, isn't it a waste of work?"

Li Jingchen didn't explain and let him do it like this.She was waiting for the news.

Yun Zai and Master Jiang had the same doubts, and quietly asked his elder brother, "What are you doing?"

Yun Zhong said: "You don't understand, this is splitting and descending, breaking down one by one. Your Highness learned it from Master Huang."

"Oh, that's how it is. Your Highness is indeed wise."

The dikes of this ditch are made of ordinary sandstone.Along the direction of the ditch, a short waterproof lamp was erected every fifty steps.Wrapped in heavy gauze, although the emitted light is weak, it is the only thing that can be seen in this black light.

Li Jingchen was waiting under this light, the rain kept hitting the bamboo hat, disturbing people's mind.The coir raincoat of decayed grass was soaked in water and stuck to the body, as if a heavy torture instrument had been added to someone, and he was about to be overwhelmed.

A dark shadow trudged towards her, from the silhouette, without any rain gear.With the help of the light, Li Jingzhu first saw her feet with rolled trouser legs, which were as white as lack of blood. They seemed very unsuited to the sand and gravel on the surface, and they were also arching restlessly when standing.

"Thank you for your advice. I will be able to plug the hole before dawn. Please rest assured. But it's raining heavily here, so let's go back quickly. Be careful of frostbite."

The last sentence was quite gentle, but the person in front of him was not moved at all, so Cen Zhu had no choice but to ask the Mu brothers and sisters for help.Yun Zai wanted to retreat a long time ago, and when he heard that he was fine, he immediately wanted to persuade His Highness to go back.

Unexpectedly, "What should Gu do? You don't need Mr. Cen to worry about it. It's your duty to plug the hole. Things you shouldn't care about? Don't worry about it!"

It was pretty merciless.

Cen Zhu's teeth were cold for a while, and he bowed in pain and said: "Yes, I sent two people to protect His Highness!"

"No need!"

Yun Zhong watched her leave coldly. Where will this struggle about power and feelings go in the future?Although he was uncertain, he had already smelled the tragic smell of gunpowder ahead of time!

When the sky was bright, the opening was finally blocked, and the rain stopped.The paddy fields in the west were all flooded, even the ridges were washed away. Fortunately, the water was just drawn, and most of the paddy fields were not planted in time, and the loss was not as large as expected.

The villagers who had been busy all night were all exhausted and slumped on the embankment.Yun Zai was also very tired, but Cen Zhu, a scheming bitch, insisted on occupying His Highness and refused to let him go on the grounds of discussing business matters.

Ask her about ditch grooming.

His Highness has never dared to ignore such a major matter of water control, isn't she getting tangled up in this?

Although the cause of the ditch burst was a few ignorant villagers, in the final analysis, it was because they drank too much turbid river water at once, which exceeded the carrying capacity of Linwei Lake and the ditch, causing the water surface to float. On the embankment, it was finally detonated by a downpour.

"What the superior officer said is very true. The lower official has previously advertised to recruit people capable of water control in order to solve this problem. I wonder if the superior officer can come up with a plan for the lower official?"

Seeing her businesslike posture, Yun Zai became angry.

Li Jingchen pondered for a while, "There is a small Cang River to the west of Linwei Lake. You repair this canal first, and I will report it to the imperial court in the future, and ask for a decree." After finishing speaking, he couldn't help coughing from his chest.

"What's wrong? Is it freezing?" Cen Zhu asked with concern, revealing his true nature in a hurry.Yun Zai took a stride and protected His Highness, "Don't worry about it!"

At this time, there was a thunderous movement from the other side, from far to near.It turned out that the women in the county came to deliver food to the villagers with their ox carts.

"Wait a minute, I? Let them make ginger soup and give His Highness a bowl to warm your body. I will personally take you back later."

After finishing speaking, he went to the other side to fill a bowl of ginger soup, and carefully carried it across the bridge, only to find that the three people had already walked away far away in the early morning clouds.

She took a step forward, but didn't chase after him.In order to conceal the moisture in the corners of the eyes, the spicy soup was poured into the lungs suddenly, it was really so spicy that the liver and intestines were broken, and it was unspeakably painful.