Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 307: Good article, just want to share

Hangzhou government office,

Zhao Deyong had reached a deal with the ronin and thought he still had a chance of survival. However, early in the morning, he learned the latest news from Suzhou, which was like a bolt from the blue.

Holding the urgent report from Suzhou, Zhao Deyong sat on the chair with a blank expression on his face. However, the coldness between his eyebrows made the servants feel as if it was the coldest time of winter, making them keep silent and lower their heads unconsciously.

Silence is the most terrible thing, proving that this news is definitely not good news.

The housekeeper and servants waiting in the hall bowed their heads, then slowly knelt on the ground, kowtowed and waited for orders.

My master, as the prime minister of a province, has been able to make everything happen with a wave of his hand for decades, but when he met a young boy like Yue Ling, he was forced into a desperate situation.

The prime minister of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, a wealthy region, possesses astonishingly great power. Who could have imagined that he would be in such a state of decline today.

Everyone underestimated Yue Ling's methods. They never thought that even the emperor would be willing to cooperate with him and hide his whereabouts, resulting in him having a thorough understanding of the situation in Suzhou within that one month.

Moreover, the entire interest group is too powerful to be eliminated, and their abilities vary. Once a loophole is discovered and becomes a breakthrough, it will be difficult to recover.

At least, the decision to destroy the dike and flood the fields was not made by Zhao Deyong.

Instead, Sun Yicai, Zhen Yingjia, and Xu Yaozu guessed his intention and took action on their own for the sake of immediate interests, trying to put the blame on the former prefect Zhu Huailin.

It was this incident that Yue Ling caught hold of, and it could no longer be undone, turning the originally flawless plan into a mess.

But what can we do today?

"One wrong move can ruin the whole game; one wrong move can ruin everything."

Zhao Deyong said this slowly, and then sighed: "Everyone is pinning their hopes on the ronin's business. As long as we can deliver 100,000 pieces of silk, that would be one million taels of silver. Emperor Longyou will definitely understand the value of this."

Zhao Deyong was talking to himself, and others couldn't hear him clearly. At the moment, he had no better solution and no way out.

Under his calm face, he was actually anxious and confused. He ordered his servants, "Go find that wanderer and ask him when the deal can be concluded. I have already reported this to His Majesty. When His Majesty agrees, we will exchange the money and the goods."

Zhao Deyong believed that as long as his letter could be delivered to the capital before Yue Ling's verdict, he would still have a chance of survival.

After hearing the order, the butler replied tremblingly: "Master, a few days ago a wanderer came, and when we asked, he was not one of the people who did business before. But at that time, the master was ill and refused all outsiders, so he did not let him in. Is there something strange about this?"

"Not the same person as before?"

Zhao Deyong frowned slightly, instinctively feeling that something was wrong.

"Then the one coming is from Shuangyu Island?"

The housekeeper said, "I didn't ask for details, but it looks like his skin is dry and yellowish, probably from being exposed to the sea breeze all year round."

"Send someone to Shuangyu Island to investigate, and report back if there is anything."

"Yes."

……

Fengqiao Posthouse, in the courtyard.

The maids gathered again under the stone pavilion and exchanged recent information with each other.

Ying'er was more like the leader. Everyone else was sitting on the stone pier, but she was the only one standing. She talked freely, "You don't know, the girl's drawer has not been locked recently, and the pamphlet that she often read is gone!"

The girls were stunned. Was this play going to end in such an unclear way?
Baozhu recalled that when she was cleaning the room this morning, she saw that the drawer in the room was locked. She didn't pay much attention to it, but when Ying'er mentioned this, she felt that something was unusual and suddenly interrupted, "In our room, my sister's drawer is locked."

Ying'er looked at Ruizhu and asked, "Really?"

Ruizhu also thought about it, and then nodded with certainty, "Really, it's better if you don't say it, but it's a bit strange. My sister never locked the door in the past, who would steal in the room? I'm afraid she is guarding against the two of us."

As soon as these words were spoken, all the girls were united in their hatred of the enemy. After all, they had all been ignored by their own girls recently, and it was not because they had done anything wrong, but it was just deliberately concealed.

In order not to be kept in the dark, Ying'er continued to coordinate, "It's a coincidence that every time Sister Keqing came, the young lady would send the two of us away. It seems that this matter must be related to the two of them."

Ying'er pinched her chin and considered it carefully. She looked up and saw Zijuan, who had come late, leading her in.

Zijuan didn't know what everyone was discussing. When Ying'er repeated it, she was guessing that Xue Baochai and Qin Keqing were doing something sneaky. Zijuan immediately thought of the official newspaper she saw today and suddenly had bad thoughts.

"Ah? Is this what they are doing? This is too embarrassing to talk about. Why would you want to write such embarrassing things?"

Zijuan couldn't even bear to read it carefully, let alone write it down.

Seeing Zijuan's face gradually turn red, Ying'er asked suspiciously: "Sister Zijuan, you don't know anything, do you?"

Zijuan was unwilling to expose other people's secrets behind their backs. Moreover, everything was just her speculation and there was no solid evidence. If she wrongly accused a good person, it would put her in a bad situation in the yard.

Thinking of this, Zijuan shook her head and said, "No, no, I just remembered some not-so-good things."

"Something not so good?"

All the girls looked at her, so Zijuan had to explain, "This morning I went to the market to help the girl buy things, and on the way back I met someone selling newspapers. Selling newspapers was a rare thing, so I bought one, but I didn't expect that the newspaper would contain such a story."

Although she was not sure whether the article was written by Qin Keqing, it would not be a mistake to let them take a look. Zijuan took the newspaper and spread it on the table for them to read.

However, not every maidservant could read, so Xiangling had to be chosen to read to them.

There was no problem at first. It just explained the time, place, characters, background, and a series of foreshadowing. But as it got to the middle, something seemed wrong. Xiangling also read haltingly and a blush appeared on her face.

When the vixen appeared, Xiangling could no longer read and had to run away covering her face.

At this moment, others only regretted that they had not learned more words from their girl, as they could not even read such an article.

Ying'er gritted her teeth and stepped forward, saying, "This useless little bitch, she's already been through sex, but she's still pretending to be innocent. Now that she's gone, I'm here to read. It's just some sex stuff, isn't there anything to be ashamed of?"

Then Ying'er took a deep breath and led the rest of the girls to appreciate the article together.

After the passion, the maids dispersed and returned to their rooms.

Nothing strange happened afterwards, but that day Yue Ling discovered that the maids were very diligent in washing clothes and taking baths, especially Ying'er who was the most diligent.

……

Kyoto, the Imperial City,
Zhao Deyong got what he wanted. The memorial he submitted was much earlier than Yue Ling's confession. Although Yue Ling's confession was delivered by express delivery, his memorial still reached the imperial city first.

Emperor Longyou, who was far away in the capital, was actually always worried about the situation in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

After all, at least a quarter of the world's taxes come from Jiangsu and Zhejiang. If Jiangsu and Zhejiang are in chaos, the foundation of the country will be shaken, and there is no room for loss.

Therefore, whenever there was an urgent report from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, it would be submitted to Emperor Longyou's desk as soon as possible. Emperor Longyou would put aside all the things in front of him and carefully consider the matters reported.

This day was no exception.

Emperor Longyou hurriedly unfolded the report, but found that it was not from Yue Ling and others, but from Zhao Deyong, the provincial prime minister who was still serving in Jiangsu and Zhejiang.

In his report, Zhao Deyong recounted the current difficulties in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, as well as the flood disasters suffered this year, which may result in the failure to pay taxes on time.

Therefore, he came up with an idea and started cooperating with the Japanese merchants who had been active recently, supplying all the raw silk before this winter to the weaving bureau and running all the looms to produce silk.

If we could collect all the raw silk from Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and get support from the Thirteen Factories in Guangzhou, we would still have a chance to produce 100,000 pieces of silk.

Although there was no national policy before the replacement of rice with mulberry, 500,000 horses could have solved the crisis of an empty treasury in one fell swoop, but it was also a good way to deal with the current situation.

One hundred thousand rolls of silk would bring in a profit of over one million taels, which would be used to restore the economy and people's livelihood in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and there would be no shortage of taxes next year. This is also what Zhao Deyong explained in his report.

Exchanging just a little bit of raw silk for one million taels of silver is indeed a good deal. Moreover, Dachang must accumulate wealth before it can further promote reforms.

Money is needed everywhere, and you have to be able to earn money first.

But in Emperor Longyou's heart, he no longer trusted these old men from the old dynasty.

There was no opportunity before, and no reason to take back his power to deal with the constant obstruction of the conservatives in the court, but now seems to be an opportunity.

When political considerations and economics were in conflict, Emperor Longyou was a little hesitant for a moment.

In Kunning Palace,

The queen accompanied him and saw that her husband was frowning, so she said to comfort him: "Over the years, the coast of Jiangsu and Zhejiang has dealt with the barbarians a lot, and has done a lot of business, but it has not made the country rich."

"Each time, it was just a little bit of immediate benefit, which satisfied the temporary fire-fighting situation, but it is far from a long-term solution. Your Majesty wants to create a prosperous era, so why are you going down this old path again?"

Emperor Longyou pondered for a moment and asked, "According to the Queen, should Zhao Deyong's memorial be rejected?"

The Queen continued, "Since Zhao Deyong has submitted a memorial, Yue Ling's memorial must also be on the way. Why not wait and see before making a decision?"

Emperor Longyou sighed, put his arm around the empress' waist, and felt comforted. "Okay, let's wait a little longer."

Before he had waited long, a eunuch came into the room.

Emperor Longyou perked up a bit and asked, "Is there any new news in Jiangsu and Zhejiang?"

The eunuch knelt down tremblingly and shook his head, saying, "Your Majesty, it is the Queen Mother who summoned you."

"The Queen Mother summoned you?"

Emperor Longyou was stunned for a moment after hearing this.

Since he ascended the throne, the relationship between mother and son continued to deteriorate every day, and finally even the morning and evening visits were omitted.

The Cining Palace was like a forbidden area in the imperial palace. Apart from the palace maids and eunuchs who served there, no one else would set foot there.

But at this moment, the Empress Dowager actually wanted to summon him. Emperor Longyou could not help but connect this with what he had recently heard from the Embroidered Uniform Guards about the Zhen family's entry into the capital.

In a flash, Emperor Longyou's brows furrowed deeply, and his face was filled with dark clouds.

The Queen asked worriedly, "Your Majesty, what about the Queen Mother?"

Emperor Longyou shook his head and stood up. "Since you have summoned me, I will go and take a look. Get ready."

Before they could do so, they arrived at the Cining Palace, the palace where Empress Dowager Sun lived.

There were no weeds growing in the gaps between the white marble pavement outside, and the branches in the garden looked like they had been trimmed recently. Only a few fallen leaves in the pond made the atmosphere even more desolate.

Emperor Longyou waved away his attendants, climbed the stone steps alone, and knocked lightly on the door.

A lazy woman's voice came from inside, which was both familiar and unfamiliar.

"Hong'er is here? Come in."

Emperor Longyou walked forward a few steps. As the emperor, he followed the filial piety of his descendants and bowed to the empress dowager's back.

"See Queen Mother."

The empress dowager was leaning on a pear wood crutch and her steps were trembling. She had sent the palace maids around her away long ago, leaving only the mother and son in the room.

Even if their relationship was not good, they were still mother and son. Emperor Longyou stood up and walked forward, helping the empress dowager to take a seat.

He immediately stood by and handed over honey water.

The empress dowager's expression relaxed and she smiled with relief.

This small gesture also indicated that the ice between the two had been broken. The Queen Mother was in a good mood, as this son finally recognized her.

Thinking of this, the Queen Mother couldn't help but burst into tears.

She started crying for no reason, and Emperor Longyou comforted her, "Mother, what's wrong?"

Wiping it with her sleeve, Queen Mother Sun sighed and said, "When you were young, I can still vividly remember the scene of you and your brother playing in the courtyard. But now it has become like this. You are all flesh and blood of mother."

Emperor Longyou's face darkened and he did not respond.

Empress Dowager Sun shook her head, motioned for Emperor Longyou to sit down, and said after a long breath, "Now that you have become the emperor, there is nothing to talk about the past. After taking charge of the court, mother has never interfered in the affairs of the court, but now I have to warn you a few words."

"Do you know how your father governed the world and brought peace to it?"

Emperor Longyou patiently responded, "Please teach me, mother."

Queen Mother Sun felt good about herself and continued to explain: "The imperial power does not extend to the county level. You alone cannot govern the vast territory. Taxation is the foundation of the country, and it requires talented people to manage it."

"Of course, there are those who are greedy, angry, and ignorant, but how many of them can be content with poverty and keep their original intentions?"

"What's more, Jiangnan is a prosperous place. When I went there with your father, I really saw the splendor. It was a place of decadence and luxury, and it was easy to dazzle the eyes. But if they can pay taxes to the treasury on time, they are good officials."

"If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. The officials can't even feed them. Do you still want the people to benefit from any new policies?"

"When we went south, your father and I took the old house of the Zhen family several times. The old lady of the Zhen family was called 'the old lady of our family' by your father. If you want to plunder the Zhen family, wouldn't it be that the royal family is ungrateful and want to be ridiculed by the world?"

"You are now fully grown, but if you are mean and ungrateful, you will naturally be deserted by your friends and relatives..."

Emperor Longyou frowned and said, "Mother, you don't know how great a sin they have committed. They are arrogant because of their favor. They are the first to be ungrateful."

Queen Mother Sun waved her hands and said, "Everyone makes mistakes sometimes. If the crime does not warrant the extermination of the whole family, you should at least give them a chance to live..."

Seeing that Emperor Longyou's body rose and fell with his heavy breathing, Empress Dowager Sun knew that her son was the most stubborn and once he made a decision, it was often difficult to change it.

He sighed and said, "Over the years, mother and son have been reunited, but they have quarreled because of differences. This is not what I want. I have never asked you for anything, and it is for your own good. The Zhen family and other noble families are all on the side of Your Majesty. How can you shake your own foundation?"

The Empress Dowager Sun called herself "Ai Jia" and also addressed him as "Your Majesty". This was the first time she did so in person, and it was also a recognition of Emperor Longyou from the bottom of her heart.

However, Emperor Longyou was unable to agree to the request for mercy for the Zhen family.

Emperor Longyou also didn't understand why his mother always stood against him. At that time, he listened to his mother and let his eldest brother go, but his eldest brother tried to kill him again and again.

A moment later, another eunuch knocked on the door.

The Queen Mother's face suddenly became gloomy, and she cursed angrily: "Where did this ignorant person come from? I am talking to Your Majesty, why are you knocking on the door?"

Outside the door, the eunuch fell to his knees with a thud.

If a servant like him offends his master, his life will be in vain.

But he was not without reason, and he raised his hands above his head and presented the document, saying, "Your Majesty, the report from Marquis Anjing has arrived."

Emperor Longyou stood up angrily, opened the two doors, strode out, took the letter from the eunuch, read it front and back, and saw Yue Ling's signature, he was very excited.

Standing outside the door, he bowed and saluted, then Emperor Longyou said, "Mother, I have a lot of official duties, please take a rest first..."

(End of this chapter)