The years I was in the human world

The noisy cicada sounds in summer gradually faded away with one rain after another. The rain fell from the eaves, wetting the green branches and leaves of the treetops. Then, as the days passed, Yi Yang City gradually took on the lonely background of autumn.

"Mianmian, the governor of Jiangzhou has passed away." Chu Zhaoli sat in the courtyard, watching the first dry leaf of early autumn fall, and felt a little emotional for no reason, "Life and death are all about the living. When that person died, apart from the people crying at his grave, everyone was eyeing his position as governor."

"Everyone is here for profit. Apart from his closest relatives, who cares whether he lives or dies?" Lu Zhouxue put a coat on Chu Zhaoli's shoulders. He couldn't interfere with the fate of the world at will, but for Chu Zhaoli, he had to be less cautious, but he had to pay a higher price. "If you want to go to Jiangzhou, I can make plans for you."

"You're talking nonsense again." Chu Zhaoli smiled and turned back, holding down Lu Zhouxue's hand on his shoulder, and said softly, "Everything has a price, I know that, Mianmian, you don't have to do this for me. After all, it's not something you have to fight for, just let it go."

"You're not in a hurry." Lu Zhouxue simply sat down next to Chu Zhaoli, leaning against his legs and sighing helplessly, "It makes me useless."

"How could that be." Chu Zhaoli chuckled. "It was already a blessing to have Mianmian accompany me before, how dare I be greedy for more."

"You can be greedy." Lu Zhouxue sighed, tilted her head and rubbed Chu Zhaoli's palm, then raised her eyes and looked at the latter sincerely, and said sincerely, "I am not the emperor, I will not be stingy in loving you."

"Really?" Chu Zhaoli tilted his head, looking a little cute, and then his eyes curved into crescents, and he said jokingly, "How about I ask my father for permission to marry you in a few days?"

"Nonsense!" Lu Zhouxue hit Chu Zhaoli on the leg with her backhand, but couldn't help laughing, "It's good enough that you and I understand each other. There's no rush to get married."

"I don't want to be the crown prince anymore." Chu Zhaoli curled his lips and acted like a rogue, "I can't even marry the person I like. I really want to leave the palace as soon as possible..."

Jiangzhou is rich, and the current governor's position has been vacant with the death of the current governor. The court is busy with thoughts. The Du family wants to continue to promote capable people from the clan to govern Jiangzhou. However, the younger generation mostly do not care about achievements. They look upright and righteous, but in fact they are useless. Prime Minister Du is really worried.

The emperor wanted to snatch Jiangzhou from the aristocratic families, but there was no one available. Xie had made outstanding military achievements, and the emperor did not dare to let him take charge of Jiangzhou for fear of raising another Du. But except for the Xie family, the other aristocratic families either did not have enough status or had other intentions, and could not be used by the emperor.

The aristocratic families and the court could never reach a consensus, and the argument dragged on until the Mid-Autumn Festival. Due to the poor harvest and defeat in the previous year, today's Mid-Autumn Palace Banquet was not extravagant. It was just ordinary dishes with a few pots of famous wine to liven up the atmosphere.

It was an ordinary banquet, but the excitement was extraordinary. Everyone was toasting each other, talking about high-sounding lies. After three rounds of drinking, the emperor, slightly tipsy, asked: "The prince is now eighteen years old. Which girl do you like?"

As soon as the words came out, the noise in the room suddenly quieted down. Chu Zhaoli did not dare to drink, so he was still sober. Hearing the words, he stood up and bowed and replied: "My father, I am still young and I am not in a hurry to get married."

This was one of the rare times he answered a question irrelevantly, and it was the greatest resistance he could do to the emperor. He didn't want to marry anyone else, and he didn't want to be a pawn in the hands of his emperor and father to balance power. If he got married, he would be tied up in Yiyang City for the rest of his life.

"Not young anymore. She will be of age in two years. When Prime Minister Du's eldest son is your age, he will already be able to speak." The emperor said with a hint of meaning, and then suddenly said, as if he had a sudden thought, "Hey Prime Minister Du, I remember that your youngest daughter should be sixteen this year. Is she married?"

Chu Zhaoli's heart sank. The emperor had indeed made up his mind to have him marry Du Qiao. The third prince, who was sitting below him, quietly clenched his fists and stared at Chu Zhaoli with resentment in his eyes.

Because he did not take the lead in Xie Fu's marriage, Xie Yang distanced herself from him when she came back and turned to get close to the prince. How could he not see that this was a sign that Xie had abandoned him? They only saw him retreating, but did not consider his situation at all. Marrying was a national disgrace, and he was not Chu Zhaoli, who had no reputation to speak of, so they approached him dryly.

And his father, the emperor, actually changed his attitude because of the prince's pretense and scolded him many times. Now he is even trying to promote Chu Zhaoli and ask Du Qiao to marry the prince, as if all his efforts over the years have become a joke.

While the Third Prince was jealous and angry, Prime Minister Du stood up and said, "Your Majesty, my daughter is not married yet. She is the youngest in the family and my wife has always loved her very much. She intends to keep her at home for a few more years and is not in a hurry to get married."

Prime Minister Du did not fall into the emperor's trap. He truly loved his little daughter, so he would not let her fall into Chu Zhaoli's fire pit - even if his daughter married the prince, it would temporarily dispel the emperor's fear of his Du family.

However, Prime Minister Du's words were euphemistic, but his refusal was extremely obvious. The emperor pretended not to understand and continued with a pleasant face: "Let's settle the marriage first. As for the Prime Minister's wife who loves her daughter, it's okay for her to stay for two more years. What do you think, Imperial Master?"

"The prince is honest and kind, and Miss Du is kind and intelligent. They are a perfect match made in heaven." Seeing that Xiao Ling, who was indifferent to worldly affairs, said a polite remark for the first time, the emperor was satisfied, and Prime Minister Du's face suddenly became gloomy.

Things have come to this point, with no room for maneuver. Chu Zhaoli slowly sat back in his seat, his eyes fixed on the wine glass, wondering what he was thinking; the third prince raised his head and drank a glass of wine, looking at Prime Minister Du with a gloomy face, and suddenly an idea came to his mind; Madam Du almost crushed the handkerchief in her hand and glared at Chu Zhaoli with resentment; Xiao Ling left the table quickly after saying that, as if what happened afterwards had nothing to do with him.

After the whole banquet, only the emperor and Du Qiao were happy. She really liked Chu Zhaoli. She loved his pure and innocent appearance. When the emperor said he wanted to betroth her to the prince, the little girl blushed and looked at the other end of the banquet from time to time, wondering if her lover was as excited as she was.

On the second day, an inconspicuous carriage quietly drove into the prime minister's residence through a side door.

"What a rare guest! Why did the Third Prince suddenly come to my residence?" Prime Minister Du was furious because the Emperor and the Imperial Preceptor were forcing him to marry his daughter to the Crown Prince. When he saw that the Third Prince's nose was not a nose and his eyes were not eyes, he naturally threw the etiquette between the monarch and his subjects to the wind.

Facing Prime Minister Du's attitude, the Third Prince was not annoyed. Instead, he smiled and said, "I came here today to help Prime Minister Du out of his predicament."

Prime Minister Du looked at him calmly without answering. The Third Prince did not feel embarrassed and continued to speak. Perhaps to show his sincerity, he spoke boldly: "Fifth brother is still in the imperial prison. He is already useless. Prime Minister Du, why don't you consider choosing another candidate? After all, the Du family has the ability and confidence, right?"

"If Your Highness only comes here to talk nonsense, then please go back. I have something important to do." As soon as Prime Minister Du heard this, he knew that the Third Prince was a smarty-pants man. He was trying to deceive him with his little tricks and try to get something for nothing. He was truly an arrogant child.

Prime Minister Du sneered and stood up to leave. Seeing that he was not going to listen, the Third Prince became anxious and said his purpose directly without beating around the bush: "Since the Du family wants to support the crown prince, why don't they choose me? As long as Prime Minister Du agrees to join forces, not to mention Miss Du's marriage, even Jiangzhou will still belong to the Du family."

"The Xie family is in charge of the army and their family background is also prominent. Your Highness, aren't you afraid of being in trouble if you try to play two games at the same time?" The conditions proposed by the third prince were enough to make Prime Minister Du stop, but they were not enough to make him agree to cooperate.

The Third Prince thought to himself that the old fox was here, and then he spoke up, finally confessing: "I have already separated from the Xie family because of Xie Fu's marriage. This is a crime committed by a branch of the Xie family, which is harmless, but it is enough to ruin the reputation of the Xie family."

As the Third Prince spoke, he placed a box in front of Prime Minister Du. The latter took a look at the box and then cast a complicated gaze on the Third Prince. Not surprisingly, he saw ambition and self-willedness in those eyes. Obviously, this was an ambitious, self-righteous fool.

And Prime Minister Du likes such fools, "Okay, Your Highness, why don't you tell me your plan..."

Unlike the crown prince, Chu Zhaoli may not be necessarily smart, but he is too insightful, so insightful that Prime Minister Du knows that he cannot control him, so he simply strangles him in the cradle and spreads rumors all over the capital, just to ensure that Chu Zhaoli will never be able to turn things around.

Chu Zhaoyun got his wish and became the governor of Jiangzhou. He went to Jiangzhou to preside over the autumn harvest in person, but he did not stay in office after the harvest. Instead, he returned to Beijing with his position and remotely controlled the financial power of Jiangzhou from the capital. Another descendant of the Du family was in charge of the local government office in Jiangzhou. This was considered a step back for the emperor and the Du family, with the former giving up administrative power and the latter giving up financial power.

Of course, this was also due to the conspiracy between Chu Zhaoyun and Prime Minister Du. After all, he was in charge of the finances, and a large part of Jiangzhou's taxes would quietly flow into Du's pocket.

This year was different from last year, when the continuous rain made people discouraged. Instead, it was a sunny autumn. The sun was high and hot, and the harvested grain was dried up in a few days. After paying the rent and taxes, there was still a lot left for the people. It was an unexpected bumper harvest. When the news reached the capital, the emperor was so happy that he didn't curse in the court. Even the fifth prince who was imprisoned in the Dali Temple was released.