Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 433: Different Interpretations (Additional chapter for Alliance Leader Yana)

Zhang Mi estimated that his coccyx was fractured and the pain was so severe that tears came to his eyes.

After suffering this loss, he became more suspicious that there was something unspeakable between Yang Yuan and Yan Ding.

I accidentally cut my lip while using a paper knife to open a briefcase.

Yan Ding has been an official for his entire life, and this is not the first time he has used a paper knife. How could he make such a low-level mistake?

However, he stared at Yan Ding and Yang Yuan, but still couldn't find anything wrong with them.

He watched for three days. Logically, Yan Tongpan should have gone to the Imperial College to take up his post by now.

However, Yan Ding, who had received a large number of "farewell gifts" from his colleagues, still did not leave. It was said that the handover matters had not yet been sorted out.

Zhang Mi felt that there must be something happening that he didn't understand.

However, Yang Yuan had just taken office. Even if there were any problems in the handover, the problem would most likely be with Yan Ding.

If he couldn't deal with Yang Yuan, then there was no need for him to keep holding on to this matter.

Why would I make enemies with Yan Ding for no reason?

Yan Ding had served in Lin'an Prefecture for many years, and had served three prefects, including Cao Yong.

Although he was not in good health and had limited responsibilities and power in the yamen, he always had a good relationship with people.

He had no grudge against him, and if he targeted Yan Tongpan who was about to be transferred, it would naturally be bad for his official reputation.

But Zhang Mi didn't want to miss this opportunity to punish Yang Yuan, so he could only continue to observe patiently.

Then, he waited for a document from the court:
In response to the request of Judge Yan, the imperial court approved Lin'an Prefecture's application to renovate the government office!

Of course, when Yan Tongpan was handling this matter, his position was transferred. In order to ensure that this matter could be carried out smoothly, he cordially invited his successor Yang Yuan to jointly apply.

Once the news spread, it immediately caused a sensation in the Lin'an government office.

The imperial court has allowed the Lin'an government office to be renovated!

This was the first time since the founding of the Song Dynasty. Officials and clerks were running around to tell each other and were overjoyed.

The reason why everyone was so excited was because the Song Dynasty court had a law: officials were not allowed to repair government offices.

If you ask your superiors for permission to renovate the Confucian Temple, schools, City God Temple, Buddhist temples, or build a embankment for the West Lake, or open a road next to the Imperial Street, that's easy!
The court approved it immediately!

money is not a problem!
But you want to renovate the government office?

impossible!
Even if this government office is already in disrepair, even leaking air and rain, and the walls are leaning and about to collapse, you can't even think of getting permission from the court to repair it.

In order to prevent officials from taking advantage of the opportunity of repairing government offices to embezzle...

It is strange what the officials who made this law were thinking. If officials wanted to embezzle, repair bridges and roads, and build schools and Confucian temples, couldn't they profit from it?

Anyway, for this reason, in the second year of Dazhong Xiangfu in the Northern Song Dynasty, the imperial court clearly formulated such a law:
Government offices at all levels are not allowed to repair government offices.

In the fourth year of Xining in the Northern Song Dynasty, that is, eighty-four years before Yang Yuan became the magistrate of Lin'an, Su Dongpo served as the magistrate of Lin'an.

After Su Tongpan took office, he saw that the official residence in Lin'an Prefecture was about to collapse, so he wrote to the court requesting repairs.

As a result, the court rejected the application.

A few years later, a house in the Lin'an government office really collapsed, crushing two clerks from Hangzhou to death.

Seeing that someone had died, Su Dongpo wrote again to the court requesting repairs, and also wrote about the collapse of the house and the death of someone.

The result is still: not allowed.

The Su Causeway on the West Lake was built under the supervision of Su Dongpo.

However, his request for repairs to his own office was never approved.

This is not just a problem in Hangzhou, it is the same throughout the Song Dynasty.

If it is a project related to people's livelihood, whether it is building roads and bridges, developing water conservancy projects, or cleaning up rivers and lakes, the Zhongshu Menxia will quickly approve it.

The only thing is that you want to renovate the government office. No matter how good your reasons are, it will be extremely difficult and you will not be allowed to do so.

Since the Song Dynasty, the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties have strictly followed this rule.

Only because of this, the court was able to respond to the request of Yan Tongpan and allow Lin'an Prefecture to repair the government office, which was truly remarkable.

You should know that among all the government offices in Lin'an, only the Lin'an Prefecture Yamen and the Lin'an County Yamen were the most dilapidated.

It was only after the Song Dynasty moved south that so many imperial government offices appeared in the local area.

It has only been more than 20 years since these government offices were built.

The house is more than 20 years old, so it’s not a big problem.

But how many years has the Lin'an government office been built?

It has been there since before the founding of the Song Dynasty!

From this you can imagine how dilapidated the Lin'an government office had become.

The court allowed the repairs, which would benefit all officials, clerks and even runners in the Lin'an government office.

Yan Tongpan was an official who had little presence in the Lin'an government office. How could he apply for approval to renovate the Lin'an government office when he was about to be transferred?
No one believes it.

Everyone realized that the newly appointed Tongpan Yang Yuan must have played a significant role here.

Yang Yuan knows how to take advantage of the situation.

Now the government favors him and the Goose King supports him.
Prime Ministers Shen Gai, Wei Liangchen, Tang Situi and others were somewhat framed because they had previously criticized his proposals for peace or war and had also repeatedly obstructed his appointment to remain in the capital.

It would be extremely unbecoming for a prime minister to keep targeting a minor official like a magistrate.

Therefore, faced with Yang Yuan's joint request to repair the government office, the prime ministers did not hesitate too much. Since it did not involve any issues of principle that must be upheld, they approved it!
The imperial system of the Song Dynasty: If a government office really needed to be repaired, the imperial court would approve the repair, with 70% of the funds allocated by the court and the local government would raise 30%.

This way, the small treasury of Lin'an Prefecture came in handy.

Every department, bureau, office, and squad in Lin'an Prefecture had to take out a portion of their own petty cash.

Of course, their small treasury must be used to subsidize their own official residences.

Therefore, with the arrival of Yang Yuan, Lin'an Prefecture began a vigorous renovation and improvement project.

Meng Huaiyin, the contractor and father of the unknown concubine of Goose King Zhao Yu, who had contracted the renovation of the Imperial Examination Hall and ensured the smooth progress of the Lin'an Imperial Examination, came again with a note approved by the Goose King.

He was not greedy and only wanted to be in charge of the South Hall project.

South Hall is Yan Ding's territory and will be Yang Yuan's territory in the future. Neither of them objects. Will Mr. Qiao object?

Since Mr. Qiao doesn't object, how can it cause any trouble to others?

Therefore, the engineering team successfully entered Lin'an Prefecture.

Wang Changsheng, Han Qianchen, and Xiao Qianyue, who was dragged into the "Youqiusi" unwillingly, mixed into the engineering team of their cheap father-in-law, the Goose King, and entered Lin'an Prefecture.

This is such a big project, and the construction team that renovated the South Hall was led by Yang Yuan's people. So who can find out how much money was spent from the South Hall's slush fund on the renovation?
The profit margin of engineering construction is inherently extremely flexible.

If the construction workers are willing to make concessions and find ways for you to purchase some high-quality and low-cost materials, and the construction result is no worse than other official residences, who can find fault with it?
Therefore, the deficit of Yan Tongpan was wiped out completely and seamlessly.

No matter who comes to investigate, they won’t be able to find any problems at all.

Not to mention this, before leaving, Yan Tongpan asked the entire Lin'an Prefecture to owe him a huge favor and remember his kindness.

Judge Yan was naturally very happy about this.

What is this? This is merit!
There will be a record of him in the annals of Lin'an Prefecture.

……

On the West Lake, a small pleasure boat was quietly moored on the water, with a half-drawn bamboo curtain blocking out the bright sunshine.

There is a chessboard by the window, and the slanting sunlight divides the chessboard vertically into two halves, yin and yang.

There is a person sitting on each side of the chessboard, both wearing Confucian robes.

The two men's robes were of similar colors, one was sky blue and the other was willow leaf green.

"Tian Shui Qing" said: "Don't pay attention to the handover between Yang Yuan and Yan Ding. If you make a fuss about this, you will become the public enemy of Lin'an Prefecture.

Besides, this incident happened to Yan Ding, and Yang Yuan cannot be harmed by this incident. Once it is known to others, it will only enhance his good reputation."

“Liu Yelu” said: “Brother, what you said is very true. After thinking about it again and again, I also think that we should wait and see how this matter develops.

Besides, if Yang Yuan wants to become the public's arch enemy, it will take at least 20 years, so there is no need to pay too much attention to him now."

"Tian Shui Qing" laughed and said, "It was supposed to be like this. I didn't take him seriously. I just thought that if I had the chance, I could just pull out a small thorn.

But now seeing his actions, I can see that he is very far-sighted. At such a young age, he has such a mind. I cannot help but look at him with new eyes. "

"Liu Yelu" said: "Yang Yuan's move is just because he was too popular before and attracted everyone's attention. He is afraid of making mistakes, so he is extra cautious. What is his foresight?"

"Tian Shuiqing" said: "No, no. This person's previous actions were too unsociable, which is a taboo for officials.

Even if he took over the small trouble left by Yan Ding, the loss would only be a thousand strings of cash.

As the magistrate of Lin'an Prefecture, is it difficult for me to make up this little money?
He made such a big fuss, and didn't take over the situation. He was just using this incident to "go with the flow"! "

"Liu Yelu" asked doubtfully, "Using this matter to 'go with the flow'? Please explain clearly, brother."

"Tian Shui Qing" said: "Yang Yuan used this incident that would not harm him even if he had an attack to dispel the vigilance of the three judges of the government and the various officials. Isn't this a clever move?"

"Hmm...After hearing what you said, this guy is indeed a bit sinister!"

"Not only that, he also used this incident to make his attitude clear to everyone in Lin'an Prefecture.

Yang Yuan doesn't tolerate any injustice. If you want to trick him or cheat him, it will never work."

"Liu Yelu" held the black piece in his hand and paused on the chessboard: "Yang Yuan is so young, but his mind is so deep?"

The "Tian Shui Qing" on the opposite side sneered and said, "That's not all. Through this incident, he not only implicated all the officials in Lin'an Prefecture, but also did a great favor to Yan Tongpan, demonstrating his official attitude of 'I will not offend others unless they offend me', and also showed off his power to everyone in a proper way."

"Demonstration? Why?"

"'Officials don't maintain their offices'! Have you forgotten? What Su Dongpo couldn't do, Yang Yuan accomplished with ease. Who in Lin'an Prefecture will dare to look down on this upstart?"

"Hiss~~, this boy is really insidious, he must not be allowed to stay!"

"It is true that we cannot keep him alive. If we have the chance, we should crush him as soon as possible.

Lest the scabies and ringworms become serious troubles!"

……

Renmeifang, where Shishi lived.

Shishi was lying on her side on the couch with a big belly.

Yang Yuan carefully touched her bulging belly, and suddenly said in surprise: "He moved, he moved, this kid is kicking me, so strong."

Li Shishi giggled: "This child is too restless. I said it should be a boy."

Yang Yuan said: "You will give birth in more than a month, so you need to be extra careful during this period.

Ask Chen Erniang to accompany you when you go for a walk. Just walk around the neighborhood, but don’t go too far.”

Li Shishi said: "Of course I don't care. By the way, why did you make such a big fuss about the handover between you and Yan Ding?

When I went for a walk by the river, I saw a constant stream of carts carrying soil, stones, bricks and wood on the opposite street.

Yang Yuan said: "I don't have any purpose. The main reason is that there are many people who want to use me as evidence. Even if it's a small evidence, I don't want to let others use it as an excuse."

Li Shishi laughed and said, "So that's how it is. In fact, he should have asked Yan Tongpan to make up for it privately. For him, the shortfall of just over a thousand guan is not a big deal. Why would he build such a large-scale project and make such a fuss?"

Yang Yuan laughed and said, "You don't know that outside the south hall of the Lin'an Prefecture Tongpan is a row of shops facing the street.

I bought the study supplies store next to my south gable, just across the street.

Now, taking the opportunity of renovating the official residence, I have renovated it so that it can be used as my shadow south hall in the future."

Shishi understood immediately and tapped his forehead with her finger, scolding him with a smile: "You little thief, you are always taking advantage of others!"

As the two of them were talking here, they heard Chen Erniang's voice coming from the yard downstairs: "Hey, Miss Yuye, you're here."

Yang Yuan raised his eyebrows and whispered, "Your goddaughter is here again. I'm leaving first and will come to see you tomorrow."

Yang Yuan climbed out of the back window with ease, crossed the wall covered with vines, and came to a quiet alley in the neighborhood.

Fei Yuye has already climbed the stairs.

Now that her father is far away in the north, Fei Yuye is bored and visits Li Shishi more frequently.

Li Shishi didn't avoid her. Fei Yuye had known that Li Shishi was pregnant more than three months ago.

However, no matter how much she asked, Li Shishi refused to tell her who fathered the baby in her belly.

Although Fei Yuye was curious, she didn't dare to ask any more questions.

As soon as she got upstairs, Fei Yuye immediately ran to the couch and repeated what Yang Yuan had just done with a look of curiosity on her face.

Fei Yuye never gets tired of listening to the heartbeat and feeling the fetal movement.

She carefully touched Li Shishi's belly and immediately felt a little foot kicking her a few times.

Fei Yuye couldn't help but smile: "This child is so interesting, he never suffers any loss."

Fei Yuye picked up a cherry from the plate of fruits beside the couch and put it into her mouth, sighing with emotion and saying, "When I first found out that my godmother was pregnant, I was really shocked.

Now that I think about it, I am a little envious of you, godmother."

Li Shishi smiled and said, "What's there to envy? When you get married, you can have children whenever you want, right?"

Fei Yuye shook her head and said, "No one is pleasing to the eye."

Li Shishi said: "If you set your sights too high, you will regret it in the future."

Fei Yuye thought for a while and said, "Let's wait a little longer. If I can't find someone I like, I'll just not get married.

I want to learn from my godmother and find a man I like, borrow a seed from him, and have my own child, and my life will be complete."

Li Shishi laughed and said, "You dare to do this, aren't you afraid that your father will be so angry that he will jump up and down?"

Fei Yuye held another cherry in her mouth and said proudly, "When I have a child, what if he gets angry? Can't he hit me?"

Li Shishi said angrily: "Don't let your imagination run wild, kid. You are only nineteen years old, it is still not too late for you to find a husband."

Fei Yuye pouted and said, "As for a child, I just want one. What's the point of having a man?"

Li Shishi chuckled and said with moving eyes: "Men are still somewhat useful."

Fei Yuye was about to open her mouth to refute, but suddenly thought of that summer night.

The scene under the moon that shocked her...

I thought of Li Shishi, who was holding the lotus pot and was so charming and graceful.

Fei Yuye couldn't help but blush, and spit at her softly, "Godmother, you are so indecent~~"

(End of this chapter)