Adoption brings disaster

It is said that secrets cannot be hidden in this palace, not to mention that we did not want to hide any, so within a day, everyone in the palace was sure that I was well again.

It doesn’t really matter whether I’m well or not. What’s important is that His Majesty and Prince Gong came to Qianqiu Pavilion in person, had lunch there, and talked until mid-afternoon. Then, due to state affairs, the two most powerful people in Beishang Kingdom reluctantly left Qianqiu Pavilion.

Previously, the matter of Prince Gong's concubine caused a lot of uproar in the city. When people saw Prince Gong visiting me, they all thought it was just a political trick.

But Prince Gong spread the word in the evening, saying that I was kind and philanthropic and worthy of the position of Prime Minister.

This is nothing, and it might be a rumor. However, at night, the palace gates were locked, and Prince Gong had more than ten boxes brought in with great fanfare. They were all rare and precious things for nourishing the body.

Having seen it both inside and outside the palace walls, no one dared to speculate at all. They all regretted not sending the things in earlier. Even if they couldn't see them with their own eyes, at least they wouldn't be rejected by them.

These royal relatives and civil and military ministers are all sycophants. How can I like them? Although the things they sent are excellent, I no longer need them. Therefore, I am disgusted with them. I asked the manager to find a reason to send their things back and never mentioned them again.

Only Liu Shui is a true person. When he knew I was well, he came to see me in a hurry. He also brought with him ten boxes of scriptures that he had written every day for burning incense and praying. I was really moved by him.

After a winter, Liu Shuiqing grew up a little bit and became more handsome than before, making people want to get closer to him even more.

Liu Shuiqing doesn't have many close friends in the palace. He always does things according to the rules. His life has become better in the past few months following me. Even his personal servant Qianxi has been flattered by people in the palace.

Liu Shuiqing and I became closer and we spoke more casually.

"I read in a storybook that the spring festival on the farm is quite interesting. When His Royal Highness the Crown Prince leaves the palace and builds his own residence, I must go and see it. My senior brother said that the spring festival is a big event for farmers. At this time, they can eat things that they can't eat on ordinary days." Liu Shuiqing said expectantly.

From what Liu Shui said, it sounded like he couldn't go to the Spring Festival right now, so I suspected he was being made difficult again. I asked, "I remember you were promoted to a minister in the twelfth lunar month. It should be convenient for you to leave the palace now. Could it be that someone is still making things difficult for you?"

"No one has made things difficult for me. Ever since you told me last time, Qianqiu, the guards have let Qianxi and I leave the palace directly."

"If you want to go, then go. It's just the Spring Festival on the farm, not a big deal. Why wait until later?"

"Qianqiu, are you going with me?"

I looked at Liu Shuiqing's expectant eyes and felt a little conflicted. Although going to see the Spring Festival was a trivial matter, ever since I got sick, I have become extremely lazy, always sleepy, and hungry very quickly.

The imperial physician was summoned to see me, and he said that my body was recovering and I would be fine after some time, so there was nothing we could do. Chongguang repeatedly ordered the servants to serve me well and also tried to coax me, asking me not to make trouble and to take good care of my health.

Besides, it will take at least another day to get to the farm. If the weather is bad or something else happens, I'm afraid I'll have to stay overnight at the farm.

After living in the palace for a long time, I feel uncomfortable staying in those low houses on the farm for a while, but I feel uncomfortable staying there overnight.

"You're not well yet, so go by yourself," I said. "I'll let A'da and Li Er accompany you. Li Er is familiar with the affairs at the manor, and with A'da by his side when entering and leaving the palace, it doesn't matter if you come back late."

"Since Qianqiu isn't going, then I won't go either. Let's go together next year when His Highness Qianqiu is feeling better."

Although Liu Shui said this, his tone was full of regret.

I looked at Liu Shuiqing and felt really pitiful, but I was really tired. Although I wanted to go with him, I had to give up.

At this moment, the steward who was serving nearby said, "The doctor said that if Your Highness goes out to relax, he may get better faster. Why don't you go with His Highness Liu Shui to watch the Spring Festival outside the palace and relax yourself?"

I get annoyed when I hear these two words, maybe I get better faster, or maybe I die faster.

I felt unhappy, so I gave the manager a cold look, disliking his talkativeness.

It is said that on weekdays, the people in charge are very discerning. If they see that I am unhappy, they will naturally have other excuses, giving me and him a way out.

But today, it was different. It was as if he was blind and didn't notice my disdain. He even said, "The apprentice of the Death Constable is at the farm. The Death Constable has a very high prestige in both the martial arts world and the court. His apprentice is naturally not an ordinary person. It would be good for your health if Your Highness gets closer to him."

This steward is quite loyal to His Majesty the Seventh Prince. I am close to the disciple of the Death Detective. Although I cannot be directly used by His Majesty the Seventh Prince, in the eyes of the world, His Majesty is virtuous, which is why so many capable and virtuous people are on good terms with him. This is the same principle as how scholars and officials cultivate their reputation.

Moreover, the child has not left Zhuangzi yet. I think he is loyal and righteous. Who knows, he might be able to be of use to His Majesty the Seventh Prince in the future.

I understood what the steward was thinking, and I thought I might as well go and take a look. Of course, it wasn't for the Seventh Prince, but because this man possessed extraordinary skills, and I still had to do some ideological work to prevent him from going astray. If he did go astray, who knows how many innocent people would die.

I made up my mind and changed the subject, saying, "Six Water Lords, it's a rare opportunity for me to speak up. I can't possibly refuse you."

After saying that, he looked at Ada and asked, "Ada, when is the Spring Festival on Zhuangzi?"

Ah Da Zi also wanted me to go, otherwise how could Liu Shui enter Qian Qiu Pavilion? Seeing me ask, he hurriedly said, "Your Highness, Li Er sent a letter early, saying that the Spring Festival will be held the day after tomorrow, and the academy will also open on that day as agreed before the New Year."

I am a little confused because of my illness and even forgot about this matter. But I must go. It is a rare opportunity to be the principal.

If it were in my previous life, I am afraid I would never become a principal until I die. After all, I am a temporary worker. Let alone the principal, it is wishful thinking for me to even be a member of the second-level team.

Now that I have the opportunity to become a principal, I must go and have fun.

I discussed the Spring Festival with Liu Shuiqing, and asked A Da to go out of the palace to tell Li Er to arrange to pick him up early. It would have been fine if I went alone before, but this time I brought Liu Shuiqing with me, and I couldn't let him feel uncomfortable.

Zhuangzi is far from the imperial palace, and the spring festival starts relatively early. I originally wanted to go there on weekdays, which is almost the most interesting time.

But Liu Shuiqing was more excited and dragged me out of Qianqiu Pavilion at three o'clock in the morning. Fortunately, I had both the jade token of Prince Zhenbei and the waist badge of Prince Gong, otherwise neither of our carriages could leave the palace at this time.

I was already very sleepy at this moment, and after going out so early, I was even more sleepy in the carriage. Liu Shuiqing was very excited and kept talking to me, so I could only lie there with my eyes closed, responding to Liu Shuiqing from time to time.

When we arrived at the village, it was just daybreak when the farmers carried my clay body out of the temple and carried it around the entire village, begging me to bless the village with good weather, good harvests, and no diseases or disasters.

Liu Shuiqing was seeing this for the first time and was naturally curious. He asked, "Who is the deity they are carrying? Why don't I recognize him?"

"Me." I replied embarrassedly.

"Who?" Liu Shuiqing exclaimed, pointing at the low temple and saying, "Is that your temple for the living?"

This kind of thing is like a parent giving me a banner. I feel very happy but also very ashamed. I can only nod with a blushing face to show my approval.

After receiving my affirmative answer, Liu Shuiqing was stunned. He looked at me in disbelief and said, "I have long heard that you are extremely kind to the people below you, Qianqiu, and that they all love you very much. I didn't expect that your prestige in Zhuangzi is so high."

I smiled and said nothing, and just watched with Liu Shuiqing as they carried the statue along the village.

This farm is quite large, but the farmers are strong and fast on foot. It only took them more than an hour to carry my clay body while they sang and danced.

Finally, the farmers carried my clay body into the ancestral hall and placed it on the highest step. They then respectfully invited Liu Shuiqing and I into the Shengren Temple. I sat on the right, Liu Shuiqing sat on the left, and Li Er, A Daqianxi and others stood on both sides, accepting the farmers' kneeling worship.

It's a strange feeling to be worshipped together with my own clay body. I don't know if my soul will leave my body at night to bless Zhuangzi with good weather and good harvests.

But after thinking about it, I decided not to do it. Just thinking about it makes me tired. I would rather spend a little more money so that the farmers in the village have food to eat and clothes to wear.

After the entire spring festival was completed, it was already noon, and the farmers set up banquets inside and outside the ancestral hall.

I sat in the uppermost seat at the back of the ancestral hall. On my right was Liu Shuiqing, and there was no one on my left. Because Liu Shuiqing had too high a status, no one else could sit opposite him.

The next in line was Li Er, the manager of Zhuangzi, and A Da and the others who were sitting in the ancestral hall.

The rest of the men sat outside the ancestral hall, and no one knew where the remaining children and women had gone. I guess they were also having a banquet on the dam.

The dishes at the banquet at Zhuangzi's house were not very exquisite, but they had unique tastes. They were quite delicious if you eat them occasionally. I ate a little of everything. Liu Shuiqing was very happy and ate a lot.

I felt a little sleepy after eating a little, so I propped up my chin and watched Liu Shuiqing eat.

Speaking of which, watching Liu Shuiqing eat is quite pleasing to the eye. I am happy just watching him eat. Of course, it would be even better if he didn't cry.

Crying, where did that crying come from? This Taoist priest has sharp ears and eyes after practicing the White Rat Magic Skill, and he can hear much better than others. No one else heard it, so I called Ah Da over and used a sound that only the two of us could hear to let him see who was crying.

Not long after, Ah Da came over carrying an old woman and threw her roughly to the ground.

The old woman didn't know whether she was frightened or just not good at speaking, but she just kept crying. Li Er stood up, glanced at everyone, then stared at the woman and said, "Your Highness is kind and virtuous. If there is anything unfair on this farm, just speak up. Why are you crying and not saying anything?"

The woman looked at Li Er in horror, then lowered her head in panic, still not saying a word and just crying.

Seeing this, the village head could only step forward and say, "Your Highness, this Wang Sanniang's child is a diligent student. The teacher said he has considerable talent and that with diligent study, he should have no problem getting on the imperial examination, if not the top spot. When her husband heard this, he planned to go hunting in the mountains in the winter to exchange for pens, ink, paper, and inkstone for the child to use. He never expected that he would never come back."

"To lose one's husband in middle age is a great tragedy in life, and it's also pitiful," I sighed. "But the academy didn't just open today, so where did this teacher come from? You've probably been deceived. Besides, studying is all about hard work. It's not like you can achieve success with good materials, and you can achieve nothing with bad materials. You're really confused."

The steward nodded repeatedly in agreement and continued, "After His Highness visited the academy that day, not long after, the military officer came to the manor, and Mr. Dongyueli also came. The military officer and the teacher also teach the children to read and write on weekdays."

I didn't expect these two people to be so dedicated to their work and selfless. If they were in our school, the leaders would have to publicly praise them at least ten times at the meeting. Any less would be an insult to him for praising us for working overtime without pay.

While I was wondering how the previous principal would commend these two people, Liu Shui caused a good show.

"The person has passed away, please accept my condolences." Liu Shui said with reluctance.

After hearing this, the old woman raised her head, uttered twice, and then shook her head.

"Could it be that someone killed her man?" Liu Shuiqing stared at Zhuangtou with lightning-like eyes.

"Your Excellency has misunderstood. According to the rules of the village, his family cannot rent so much land if a man dies. At the beginning of this year, his land was taken back and rented to other families." said the head of the village.

Liu Shuiqing clenched his hands, his whole body trembling, and said with gritted teeth: "You are so capable of bullying orphans and widows."

Zhuangtou knew the general situation and didn't dare to argue. He just smiled bitterly and wanted to say something but said nothing.

But not all farmers were sensible. As soon as Liu Shui finished speaking, a woman came out from behind, hands on her hips, and cursed in a sinister tone: "This noble man must have lived a good life too much and doesn't know the hard times we poor people have."

"Everyone has had hard times, but that's no reason for you to do this."

The originally introverted Qianxi yelled out these words, then hid behind Ada with a red face. Seeing everyone laughing, Qianxi's face became even redder.

"You also have hard times. Your hard times are probably because you don't have maids to serve you and you don't have money to squander." The woman continued to mock, and after a few words, she couldn't help crying.

"If it weren't for His Highness, several people would have died in that family over the winter. The winter I married my husband, my entire family starved to death. The following winter, my six-month-old child froze to death at home."

The woman became sadder and sadder as she spoke, and finally she fell to the ground and burst into tears.

When Liu Shuiqing and Qian Xi saw this, they were also at a loss. They stood there blankly, looking at the chaotic crowd, as if they were unforgivable villains.

Predict what will happen in the future, and listen to the next decomposition.