Traveling through Du He, Li Chengqian's rebellion begins

Du He didn’t understand before why people still lacked firewood and charcoal when there were trees everywhere in the mountains.

But since he became the Minister of Works, he finally understood the reason for the shortage of firewood.

Firewood is one of the most important resources. It is not only needed for cooking, but also for smelting iron and other things.

However, there are not as many trees in the north as in the south, and the daily consumption of firewood is very high, which makes firewood a scarce resource in the north.

In addition to the normal demand for firewood by ordinary people, the demand for firewood by royal relatives and civil and military officials was also enormous.

For example, last year the imperial court asked the Ministry of Justice to prepare more than 7700 million jin of firewood and about 96 broken wooden stakes!

This year, because the army was conquering Goguryeo, the court transferred a large number of manpower to Liaodong, so it only provided 66 broken wooden stakes, leaving a shortage of 30.

In order to complete the task assigned by the court, Yu Chang, the Minister of Works, gave an order in advance, asking the Yu Department to use Artemisia roots and firewood instead.

Although the durability of Artemisia firewood is much lower, it still completes the task.

Du He thought to himself: "When the people prosper, they suffer; when the people perish, they suffer!"

Although he knew that the people of the Tang Dynasty lived in hardship, Du He did not have much idea at the moment to make the people of the Tang Dynasty rich quickly.

He could only sort out all these problems and then report them to Li Shimin at the right time.

Du He sighed in his heart, then waved his hand and said to the guards.

"You guys go eat something first, and then go back and rest."

"Du Wu and Zhang Shizheng, after you finish your meal, follow me to the study."

Princess Chengyang’s mansion treated servants very well. They used to provide two meals a day, but later Du He changed it to three meals a day.

Although it is not possible to eat meat every meal, there is meat in the evening meal.

The princess's mansion provides a lot of meals for each servant. If the servants cannot finish the food or are reluctant to eat it, they can take it home to feed their wives, children and parents.

When the guards heard Du He ask them to go back and rest after their meal, they also knew that Du He would not go out at night.

Their faces lit up with joy, and then they all bowed and saluted.

"As ordered!"

After Du He got off the carriage and stepped into the lobby, the guards trotted to the left.

In the lobby.

When Li Yi saw Du He come in, a smile immediately appeared on her face.

She came up holding Du Ping'an, and while handing Du Ping'an to Du He, she asked with a smile.

"Husband, what are you talking about in the front yard?"

"I could hear your voices in the lobby, as if you were complaining."

Du He held the chubby Du Ping'an in his arms, and then told Li Yi what had just happened.

Li Yi covered her mouth and laughed, "My husband, since you became the Minister of Industry, you have also become concerned about the country and the people."

"If the emperor knew that you were still worried about the heating of the people after you got off duty, he would definitely be very happy."

Her husband has changed so much. In the past, he didn't care about the country and the people, but it was a great thing that he didn't go out to harm the people.

Du He smiled and said, "Yier, you should do your job well. Since Your Majesty has appointed me as the Minister of Works, I should naturally think more about the people."

The six ministries have different responsibilities, and only the Ministry of Works serves the people.

As the Minister of Works who replaced Du Chuke, he naturally could not live in a muddle-headed manner as before and had to make some achievements.

If he continued to live his life as he did before, he would probably be removed from his position as Minister of Works by Li Shimin before Li Chengqian ascended the throne.

After chatting for a while, Du He glanced at the other maids in the hall and did not see Linglong, so he asked curiously.

"Yier, why isn't Linglong with you?"

Li Yi shook his head and said, "That damn girl has been feeling a little uncomfortable these past two days, so I asked her to go back to her bedroom to rest."

As her personal maid, she has always been in good health, and this is the first time that someone has taken the initiative to ask for leave.

Du He frowned slightly, then asked in a low voice.

"Is Linglong in good health? Have you asked the imperial physician to see her?"

He and Linglong have already had sex, and sooner or later he will take her as a concubine.

But in their daily interactions, Linglong still treated herself as a servant, and she didn't dare to tell herself and Li Yi when she was not feeling well.

Li Yi pouted and said, "I called the imperial physician to check her pulse today, but he couldn't find anything and just told her to rest more."

"And the symptoms that damn girl Linglong was feeling were exactly the same as when I was first pregnant."

what!

Maybe she's pregnant?

After hearing Li Yi's last words, Du He's expression froze for a moment.

Deep down in his heart, he couldn't tell whether he was sad or happy. He just felt that this incident happened very suddenly and left him at a loss.

Du He asked blankly, "Yier, do you think Linglong is pregnant?"

"Yes!" Li Yi nodded, and then said seriously: "After the imperial physician made the diagnosis, he seemed to be hesitant to speak. I'm afraid he didn't tell the truth."

"Looking at Linglong's uncomfortable symptoms, it's almost certain that she's pregnant!"

Because Linglong is Li Yi's maidservant who came with her as a dowry, if she was pregnant, whose baby could it be?

In Princess Chengyang’s mansion, the only one who can be the child is Du He!

The imperial physician was not sure whether Princess Chengyang allowed Linglong to enter the room, so he did not dare to say anything and could only vaguely say something unimportant.

Seeing that Du He was still in a daze, Li Yi pinched the flesh on Du He's waist hard and said with a pout.

"Husband, if Linglong is really pregnant, you should give her a name as soon as possible."

"Otherwise, when her belly gets bigger, she won't be able to hold her head up in the princess's mansion!"

If you get pregnant before getting married, you will definitely be criticized by others behind your back.

Even though everyone knew that Linglong was a maid, as long as Du He didn't take her as a concubine, everyone would talk about her fooling around outside.

When rumors spread too much, the truth becomes less important.

Du He nodded solemnly, then half-huggled Li Yi's waist and spoke.

"Yier, come and help me arrange the matter of taking a concubine."

"It doesn't have to be so grand. After choosing a good day, simply decorate the princess's mansion and invite some relatives and friends to have a wedding banquet."

"After the wedding banquet, I will ask the county magistrate of Wannian County to come over and give Linglong the documents."

In the Tang Dynasty, if a prince consort wanted to take a concubine, he needed the princess’s approval.

Since Du He had no parents or elders around and had separated from his elder brother Du Gou, he had to take care of the matter of taking a concubine on his own.

As for the ceremony of taking a concubine, it was not a grand one. Apart from the fact that his identity as a royal consort was rather sensitive, Linglong had no relatives from her family, so everything could be kept simple.

Li Yi said unhappily: "Husband, you are going too far!"

"I have already agreed to let you take a concubine, and you still want me to arrange the matter for you?"