Wang Si, as the special envoy of Wang Chenghai, the King of the Three Seas, played a Mission: Impossible trick under Shui Rong's nose. Naturally, none of Jia Cong's children would be involved in the recruitment matter, but when he was in the palace, he heard Liu Hong mention a few words.
As for the emperor's handling of the Dongping County Prince's Palace, Jia Cong was a little confused. He did not ask, try or judge. In addition to confining the palace, he only dispatched troops and ordered 20,000 Beijing troops to garrison at Shanhaiguan.
However, Jia Cong can be sure that there are already turbulent undercurrents under the seemingly calm water, because Mr. Pardon has been very busy recently and has not hit him for a long time.
In early July, Jia Lian, along with Wang Xifeng and Ping'er, went south to take office. Since there were no suitable housekeepers for a while, the old lady could only temporarily take charge personally and began to teach several girls how to be housekeepers.
Yingchun, Daiyu, Tanchun, and Xiangyun were all busy, especially Daiyu. Even if she was not very willing, she knew that she would eventually learn the way of housekeeping. She was busy from morning to night every day, learning from Jia Cong. The supervision has been relaxed a bit.
Jia Cong originally thought he could relax for a while, but he didn't expect that as the Beijing investigation and the big plan came to an end, Mr. Qingteng gradually had more free time.
Ever since, the little fat man's leisurely free-range life finally came to an end.
Xu Jin's teaching methods were very strange. He threw all the Four Books and Five Classics to the little fat man and asked him to memorize them. If he couldn't memorize them, he would pick up the ruler and hit his palms.
For most of every month, he took Jia Cong to travel around the prefectures and counties in Gyeonggi Province. During the hot days of July alone, he took Jia Cong to inspect the farmland and water conservancy in the prefectures and counties under the rule of Shuntian Prefecture.
Starting from Fengrun in the east, Fangshan in the west, Miyun in the north, and Bazhou in the south, Shuntian Prefecture governed 19 counties, none of which were left behind.
After more than a month away from home, with the fragrance of sweet-scented osmanthus blooming in August, Jia Cong finally returned to the capital with his mentor Xu Jin. When Jia Cong stood outside the gate of Rongguo Mansion, Er Gouzi, the gatekeeper, almost beat his third master out with a stick.
"Hey, Third Master?"
Ergouzi kept rubbing his eyes and looking at the man in front of him who was as tanned as coal. It took him a long time to react.
He rushed forward and exclaimed: "Third Master, what are you doing..."
Jia Cong threw the reins to Er Gouzi angrily and said, "Give Dabao a good rub and give him enough fodder and bean cakes. He has been suffering a lot these days."
Dabao's eyes were already green at this moment. When he saw Er Gouzi standing there in a daze, grinning, he spat out his saliva and put his head on Er Gouzi's back as he walked towards the house...
When you return home after a long journey, you naturally have to freshen up before going to pay your respects to the elders.
Whether it was the comfort at home or the fatigue on the road, Jia Cong actually fell asleep in the bathtub. After hearing the news, Master Shen rushed home and opened the door. He looked around in the tub and finally recognized that the piece of black charcoal was his baby.
The noise in the room woke up the dazed Jia Cong. The pardon master picked up the baby and rubbed it till it turned red. Then he brought his newly dressed son to the Hall of Rongxi.
"If you want to laugh, just laugh..."
"Kekeke..."
The girls in the room covered their mouths and laughed, and even the old lady couldn't help but laugh and asked: "What on earth did your teacher take you to do? How come you are such a fat and fair child, and you are so tanned?" "
"Black Carbon Head..."
The little girl Xichun who was hiding behind Yingchun was still imitating her, her big eyes flashing as she tried to figure out whether this black charcoal head was her dearest and dearest third brother.
Jia Cong looked lifeless and said with a wry smile: "Since July, there has been a drought and little rain in the capital. The teacher received the order to inspect the farmland and water conservancy of Shuntian Prefecture, so my grandson followed the teacher and traveled throughout the 19 counties under the jurisdiction of Shuntian Prefecture. How can I not get a tan under the scorching sun?"
As soon as she heard about farmland water conservancy, the old lady remembered the recent report from the manager of Zhuangzi in the mansion.
She put away her smile and asked with a solemn expression, "Is it really that serious?"
Jia Cong nodded and replied bitterly: "The water level in the river has dropped. Jizhou has drilled more than 20 wells, but half of them can't produce water. Old lady, how is the situation on our farm?"
Jia Mu sighed and said, "Managers from various villages have come to ask for help. If the government doesn't send some food, the villagers may not be able to survive the winter."
"Zhang Laodao of the Qintian Prison said that the drought is probably going to end in October. It is necessary to sell grain and dig wells. My son discussed it with Brother Jing and asked the Xue family to buy more grain from the south. The second son also We have invited master craftsmen from the Ministry of Industry to drill a few deep wells before the end of the month."
After Jia She told her arrangement, the old lady nodded. Drilling wells these days is expensive, and deep wells are even more expensive. Fortunately, the Lai family and Shuoshu's nest had been raided before, and the garden for the relatives was almost built, so the family was not short of money.
Snoring, snoring...
Everyone in the room looked at the owner of the snoring sound. At some point, the fat little black man had fallen asleep on the chair.
Jia She originally wanted to carry his son back, but he saw the old lady whispering: "Stop struggling, just carry him to the Nuan Pavilion and let him sleep well. I'm afraid the child will be miserable after being tortured."
When Jia Cong woke up, the lights were already on outside.
He looked around with his eyes wide open in confusion, and it took him a long time to realize that this was the thermal pavilion of Rongxi Hall.
"Third Master, are you awake? I will help you wash up. The old lady and the Master are already waiting in the front hall."
Yuanyang came over with a basin and waited for Jia Cong to finish washing. By the light of the candle, Jia Cong looked at the charcoal face in the bronze mirror and laughed at himself: "It's over, the good Mr. Ruyu is gone like this!"
"Puch..."
Yuanyang smiled and consoled him, "Third Master's face is white. It will take a few days for him to become white again."
"real?"
"This servant dare not deceive the third master, it is absolutely true."
Jia Cong doesn't necessarily want to be a pretty boy, but this is too dark. With a white crescent painted on his forehead, he could just sit in the Kaifeng Mansion Hall and shoot the scene.
After receiving Yuanyang's comfort, Jia Cong finally stopped thinking, packed his clothes and went to the front hall.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching, and the garden has entered the final stage.
At today's family dinner, the old lady proposed to ask for relatives. Everyone in the family was happy. Even Jia Baoyu, who had never liked worldly things, thought to himself: "Big sister can finally go home!"
"Boss, you can submit this petition tomorrow. It would be best if you can invite your mother-in-law back to your hometown to visit her before the Double Ninth Festival."
The old lady has been waiting for this day for several years. Even though Rongguo Mansion is now standing at the top of Daxia Xungui's pyramid, Yuanchun's great fortune has become her obsession and inner demon.
After giving instructions to Jia She, she turned her attention to Jia Zheng.
"Second brother, please keep an eye on it these days. If there is still a shortage of toys and ornaments in the garden, you can get them from the house. After the wedding ceremony is over, you will be done with the rest."
"What the old lady said is right. The matter of the second brother's exile is now at hand. There must be a decree from the Queen's Provincial Palace. When the time comes, the matter of the second brother's exile will be settled."
These days, the Ning and Rong mansions have spent a lot of effort on Jia Zheng's release.
It is a pity that the two cabinet ministers Qi Bohan and Chu Bangzheng are so fiercely fighting over each other that they will not let go of such important positions as Zhejiang's academic affairs.
Fortunately, the Jia family still has a great weapon for the good concubine to marry and the snipe and the clam will compete for the fisherman's profit. The emperor has promised it. After the marriage is over, he will give a favor to Jia Zhengguan to advance to the fourth rank and study in Zhejiang.
"Also, I heard that there are more refugees outside the city. Since our queen has received the divine grace, our family has to do nothing. The day after tomorrow, I will take the girls to Qingxu Temple to pray for Your Majesty and Your Majesty. . The family will take some more money and set up a porridge shed under the city wall in the name of the empress."
When it comes to Yuanchun, the old lady's shrewdness is fully demonstrated. Jia She nodded in agreement after hearing the words. This dinner was extremely harmonious. The Rongguo Mansion was united like never before, and they were fully prepared to welcome Yuanchun out of the palace to visit relatives.
Jia Cong, who had been away from home for more than a month, yawned early on the second day after returning to Beijing and rushed to Longshou Palace.
As soon as he entered the gate of Longshou Palace, a big fluffy head bumped into his chest. The big cat jumped on Jia Cong, sniffed it, and almost stretched out its tongue to lick it.
"Stop smelling it, it's me!"
Jia Cong helplessly asked for help from Liu Hong, who was watching the excitement and had not seen him for a month.
, the half-grown cat can now be called a big insect.
Liu Hong finally pulled Jia Cong out from under the tiger, patted the dust on his clothes, and turned around to look at the people in front of him.
In the end, he couldn't help but gloat: "Not to mention that the general almost didn't recognize you, even I can't believe that the black coal in front of me is really you."
"It's better to be darker, so that you look like my martial arts disciple from Daxia!"
Jia Cong hurriedly bowed to the owner of the voice that suddenly appeared: "Greetings to the saint, I only hope that God will be virtuous, and that the world will be prosperous and Xianning will be blessed."
With the support of Dai Quan, Liu Ji walked up to Jia Cong. After looking up and down, he raised his hand and patted Jia Cong's head, and said with satisfaction: "Not bad, you are dark and energetic. It seems that Xu Qingteng will lead you." When you leave the capital, you brought the right person with you. Come on, tell me about the situation in Shuntian Mansion."
After his last stroke, with the efforts of the imperial doctors, Liu Ji's numb half of his body finally recovered a lot.
Now, with the support of Liu Ji and Jia Cong, the old man took his two grandsons for a leisurely walk by the Taiye Pond. When Jia Cong encountered something during his inspection of Shuntian Mansion, he told the old man who had been worrying about his life all his life. The cat followed behind the three of them, sniffing and sniffing, and from time to time it would go around to the front, wagging its tail and waiting for the three of them.
After walking around the Taiye Pond, Liu Ji, who was a little tired, sat on a lounge chair under the shade of a tree. Liu Hong and Jia Cong brought Pan Tuan over to sit with them.
"Hong'er, you will leave the capital after the Mid-Autumn Festival to take charge of the disaster relief work in Shuntian Mansion. Little fat man, please follow Hong'er."
Liu Hong was overjoyed and beat his chest excitedly: "Grandpa, don't worry, my grandson has taken care of this matter. If something goes wrong, you'll hit my grandson!"
"hope so……"
The old man seemed to have different opinions on Liu Hong's optimism, but he didn't say anything more. He just glanced at the helpless Jia Cong and said with a smile: "Little fat man, if something goes wrong with the disaster relief work, I will not only beat Hong I’ll hit you with my son’s fault!”
Um?
"Master Saint, you are being unreasonable. The fourth brother boasted that Haikou is not my business!"
Hearing Jia Cong's wailing, Liu Hong was still a little confused.
But I heard the old man laugh and wink at the two of them: "As the saying goes, brothers are at each other's throats. They share blessings and share hardships. How could you leave Hong'er alone?"
Liu Hong sent someone to get the latest documents from Shuntian Mansion. The two of them lay on the stone table under the shade of a tree, leaning on the table and studying it carefully.
According to documentary records, there were more than 10,000 people affected by the drought in Shuntian Prefecture. There were porridge shacks outside the four gates of the capital, and enough food was sent to various states and counties.
Seeing that there were only more than 10,000 victims, Liu Hong was confident and heroic. He patted Jia Cong on the shoulder and said, "Brother Cong, don't worry. I will definitely handle the errands given by my grandfather properly and you will not be beaten." .”
Jia Cong didn't even raise his head, flipping through the official documents from each county in his hand, and said solemnly: "Fourth brother is too optimistic. None of these official documents are true data..."
As he spoke, he spread out the official documents from Miao County, pointed to the sentence on it and said: "Look here, the magistrate of Miao County, He Qingyun, reported that there are more than 1,100 victims in the county. The squire is benevolent and righteous. , donated money and food to help the government provide disaster relief, and the victims have found shelter. How could there be only more than a thousand victims in one county under a severe drought?".c
Liu Hong shook his head and retorted: "Not only is Miao County close to the canal, but there are Lugou River and Miao River in the county. The county is rich and has many water conservancy projects, so it is reasonable for the disaster to be lighter and the number of victims to be smaller."
"The water conservancy in Miao County is indeed excellent, but these rivers and canals are controlled by large households. They just pay them back, and there will always be a scoop left for the common people to survive. But Fourth Brother, there is not much water in the river at the moment. It’s hard to water your own land, so how can they open up the dams and bring water to the people?”
Jia Cong thought of the people who were beaten to death because of a river that was about to dry up, and sighed: "On July 22, my teacher and I dug a new dam in Gaozhuang by the Miao River. That The owner of the dam is a wealthy family in Gaozhuang. Because the owner has a great reputation, the villagers nearby are angry and dare not speak out. They can only watch the seedlings in the fields dry up.
And die. There are hundreds of victims in the nearby areas alone due to the water blockage in Gaozhuang..."
"Hundreds?"
Liu Hong's hand holding a stack of official documents shook inexplicably. He suddenly felt that the official documents in his hand were as heavy as a thousand pieces, and he secretly looked at the emperor who was lying on a rocking chair and taking a nap in the distance.
Jia Cong nodded, his face solemn.
He leaned close to Liu Hong's ear and whispered: "Fourth brother, the teacher did not return to Beijing in a hurry just to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. There are many illegal activities among the officials in various states and counties. He came back to ask for the emperor's sword."
Dai Quan walked gently to the rocking chair with a plate of sliced cold melons and asked puzzledly: "Sage, His Highness the Fourth Prince has never been exposed to these. If something goes wrong, wouldn't it be a big mistake?"
Liu Ji raised his eyes and looked at the two people who were talking to each other in the distance. He chuckled and said, "Baby birds always leave their nests to go outside to face the wind and rain. It happened that Xu Qingteng was determined to try his luck in Gyeonggi. New law, let these two children follow and see the world."
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