mesbooks Chapter 282: Good News from Shu
Chapter 282: Good News from Shu
Xingzhi took Shu Jie'er downstairs to wash and brush her teeth. When Zhao Fangyu was sitting in the hall drying her hair, Shu Jie'er was brought over to join her in the act.
Shu Jie'er looks quite like Zhao Fangjin. Looking at her, one seems to be able to see some of Zhao Fangjin's childhood appearance.
Zhao Fangyu always thought that she didn't like children, but later she found out that she was wrong. She just didn't like naughty children.
No one would dislike Li Ge'er and Shu Jie'er, children who grew up in their own eyes and were well-educated.
After taking a bath in the warm water, Zhao Fangyu asked her to sit in a windproof place inside, with his head resting on her knees and staring blankly.
Shu Jie'er was in a state of half-sleep, and the two maids carefully wiped her hair. Zhao Fangyu slowly massaged the child's scalp, and Shu Jie'er hummed with pleasure, rubbing against Zhao Fangyu like a little puppy.
Zhao Fangyu amusedly pulled Shu Jie'er into his arms to prevent her from falling down when she became dazed.
Shu Jie'er didn't fall asleep completely. She smelled the sweet scent on Zhao Fangyu's body, and her mind was full of the many little things Zhao Fangyu had given her before.
"Hello, aunt!"
Zhao Fangyu patted Shu Jie'er's butt and told her to behave herself. As Zhao Fangjin said, she started to become restless. But as a child... it's normal for her to be lively.
Zhao Fangjin must have done his best, otherwise he would not have sent Shu Jie'er to Hewang Palace.
After all, there should be a happy event in the Song Mansion... Thinking of this, after Shu Jie'er's hair was completely dry, Zhao Fangyu carried her to the bed.
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With Shu Jieer around, everyday life is more interesting. Zhao Fangyu looked at the flowers that Shu Jieer had just picked in the greenhouse this morning. She picked one flower for her regardless of the type and put them together into a bouquet. Aesthetics aside, she was really diligent. There were not enough flowers to look at, but there were a lot of them.
There were several bottles inserted.
When Zhou Qinghe arrived, Shu Jie'er was putting flowers into a thin-necked vase. She was almost standing in Zhao Fangyu's arms. Zhao Fangyu looked at the scene in front of him and couldn't help but smile and said, "No, a thin-necked vase should be used to put slender flowers."
Shu Jie'er covered her mouth with her hands and said "oh" in surprise, then threw herself into Zhao Fangyu's arms with a smile and rubbed against him, then turned around and played flower arranging.
Zhou Qinghe brought some fresh fruits after court, including some fresh sugar-roasted chestnuts, which were steaming hot. When Shu Jie'er saw them, she turned and ran towards Zhou Qinghe, standing in front of him, staring at the sugar-roasted chestnuts.
Normally, Zhao Fangjin would not allow her to eat these. She was fine with other foods, but she loved sugar-roasted chestnuts so much that she could eat them as a meal.
Zhao Fangjin was afraid that she would have indigestion if she ate too much, and he was also afraid that she would become spoiled and not like to eat, so he rarely served her sugar-roasted chestnuts on weekdays.
Zhao Fangyu had also been warned, so he specifically told Zhou Qinghe to bring back some chestnuts after the court session. The sweet and soft chestnuts were cut open, and the golden and fragrant flesh inside could be revealed with just a crack in the hands.
"It's a pity that they are fried with old goods. They are not as delicious as fresh ones." Zhao Fangyu nodded in agreement. Shu Jie'er was not picky and she didn't like to peel the shells herself as she disliked dirtying her hands. When she saw Zhou Qinghe peeling them, she sat in front of him with eager eyes, side by side with Zhao Fangyu.
"Uncle, Shushu wants it too."
Zhou Qinghe put a piece of fruit pulp on the plate in front of Shu Jie'er. There were three pieces of fruit pulp on the plate in front of Zhao Fangyu, but Shu Jie'er only got one.
Zhou Qinghe explained: "Auntie is an adult, she needs to eat more, Shushu is still young, one pill is more than Auntie who eats three pills."
Shu Jie'er felt that it was wrong, but she didn't know how to refute it. Later, Xingzhi was given a handful of chestnuts and someone was asked to take Shu Jie'er to play in the yard. Zhao Fangyu and Zhou Qinghe entered the inner room. Yesterday was not just a family dinner. Zhao Fangyu was not in the male guest seat, so he naturally didn't know what Song Bai said in his ear after he got drunk, "The end-of-year evaluation, the list will come quickly."
The Song family was similar to the Mei family. They had never revealed any secrets before, but only occasionally revealed some harmless news to help him.
Like yesterday, this is the first time that someone has made the matter clear.
The Ministry of Personnel has always been the first choice for the prince to fight for the throne. If this department is taken over, there will be endless benefits in the future. The Song family said that it is the performance evaluation of officials at the end of this year, and they can do some manipulation.
Everyone in the court has a scale in their hearts.
There was no need to think too much about who to choose between a playboy who knew how to play and a man who was sure to be a tyrant. Compared with the third prince, Zhou Qinghe was much better. After getting married, he did not visit prostitutes or gamble, and at most went to the street to buy some snacks.
Except that it is a bit embarrassing to be supported by Zhao Fangyu now, everything else is fine.
The key to success is to listen to advice.
The Ministry of Personnel is extremely important. In previous years, the Ministry of Personnel has been impartial. But now it has opened the door so widely. Firstly, it is because the in-laws cannot be avoided, and secondly, it is because the Third Prince's behavior is absurd and he is really unfit for the job.
The fourth prince was disabled, the sixth prince's reputation was ruined, and the fifth prince was not of any significance. The seventh prince married Sana of the Sheli Kingdom as his concubine and had no chance of becoming the emperor.
Looking closely, Zhou Qinghe is already the most capable among the adult princes.
The descendants of the royal family sometimes fight with each other so weakly that it is unbearable to watch.
Sometimes even the emperor himself wondered if there was something wrong with the feng shui of the imperial mausoleum, as to why the children of the royal family were so incompetent.
A top-notch master, a top-notch school, but ended up producing a bunch of useless people.
Zhou Qinghe came to ask Zhao Fangyu's opinion. If Zhao Fangyu didn't want the Song family to be involved, he would think of a way.
It would be best if we could win over the Minister of Personnel, as many of his subordinates really need this opportunity.
But this opportunity was only possible because of Zhao Fangyu, and he didn't want to make things difficult for Zhao Fangyu.
Zhao Fangyu took off his cloak and leaned on the Luohan bed. His eyes were slightly narrowed, and there were scattered points of light in his eyes, like stars, which made people dazzled and addicted at a glance.
"It's fine if we just keep in touch. If you're willing to help me, that would be great."
Ordinary interactions mean talking the same as usual. There is no need to act too close, just follow the old routine.
If the Song family is willing to help, Zhou Qinghe's life will be much easier. Zhao Fangyu handed the list Zhou Qinghe gave her back to Zhou Qinghe. Zhou Qinghe opened it and found that many people on the list had been circled.
"I want all these people and take them to Toad Mountain." Zhao Fangyu pondered over the past two days and finally came up with something good.
That is the sheepskin raft in the primary school Chinese textbook in the 21st century.
Sheepskin rafts can carry people and float on the water. They are obviously well sealed and not inflated. They use sheepskin to seal up food, sink it into the water, and enter the underground palace through the secret passage in the water. Zhou Qinghe happened to have two opposing boat gangs. They had fought each other for business before, and it was common for them to lose some goods. One ship was not much, but a fleet was not a small amount.
Furthermore, you don’t necessarily have to only look for your own people. If you want to fight, it doesn’t matter who you fight with.
Zhou Qinghe deeply agreed with this.
"It will take some time for the sheepskin to arrive from Longxi. The sheepskin will be made into bags in cages and then shipped here. Small items like rice and flour can be loaded into the air raft, but there will also be a need for someone to provide support in the underground palace."
One entrance is far from enough, so the underground palace has to have several exits, such as farms in the suburbs.
Zhao Fangyu rested her fingers on the table. She learned this habit from Zhou Qinghe. Now that he has quit, she has picked it up instead.
Zhou Qinghe responded without hesitation. Zhao Fangyu has always been very cautious in doing these things. Even if he had come alone, he might not have thought that there would be a sheepskin raft available.
"From the water into the underground palace... I'm afraid the rice and grain will be damaged." Zhao Fangyu shook his head.
"It's just a helpless move. If we go by land, it will inevitably attract attention."
What they wanted to store was enough food to fill the entire underground palace. Such a quantity of food, even if it was broken down into smaller pieces, was still too much.
In Zhao Fangyu's opinion, it was too slow.
Zhou Qinghe knew this, so he naturally turned Zhao Fangyu's body over and massaged her shoulders. "News came from Nanzhao that a few new people have come to the homes of those who left the caravan before."
"The people from the caravan were afraid that you would be unhappy, so they came here specifically to tell you that they wanted them to gain some experience in the manor first." These little things were harmless, and Zhao Fangyu would not specifically ask about them.
"Let the previous caravan go to Longxi." "Transport the grain and grass to Longxi along the border of Daliang." We must be prepared for everything. It will take many days to accumulate grain in Daliang, but if this outer road is open, it will be much smoother. Not to mention Longxi, even Shuobei can be supported.
This route does not need to be used during wartime, and is only used during the truce period to transport food and fodder.
It can bring great confidence to the soldiers on the border during war.
The tens of thousands of troops in Longxi consumed a terrifying amount of food and grass every day. Even with the food from those mountains, it would only be a drop in the bucket in real wartime. But Daliang started out as an agricultural country, and food was the most stable tranquilizer in the hearts of the military and civilians.
Nothing can make people feel more at ease than having a sword in their hands and food at home.
Zhou Qinghe agreed. He turned around and took out the booklet again: "Do you want to send some people to Nanzhao? Didn't you say before that Nanzhao would establish another base?"
Zhao Fangyu hummed and said, "We still need to discuss the location. After all, we are not in Nanzhao. Even if we have a map, we are not as familiar with the terrain as they are here."
"There's no time to rush. We have to let them find it themselves." Nowadays, Nanzhao Xianglu is well-known in Daliang, and many people in Nanzhao are also eyeing the Xianglu den.
These Nanzhao people were hired mute slaves. They were deaf, dumb, and illiterate, so they could not be won over at all.
Many people wanted to rush in, find out the secret recipe of the fragrant dew, and take it for themselves.
But now Xianglu is a major taxpayer in Nanzhao, and even in Nanzhao, officials attach great importance to Xianglu Shop. No one does not care about political achievements.
Zhou Qinghe looked at Zhao Fangyu who was saying these things with great energy, with an indescribable tenderness in his eyes.
Zhao Fangyu is really different from other women. However, this thought only lasted for a moment before being suppressed by the business: "Second brother, this year's political achievements are excellent,"
Zhao Fangyu was surprised, and then her delicate face broke into a smile, which overshadowed the flowers in the vase on the small table.
"This is great news. Is this news from the Song family?"
Zhou Qinghe continued massaging Zhao Fangyu's shoulders and neck. "Yes, because we are relatives by marriage, and second brother really performed very well, he was awarded the excellent grade, not out of personal preference."
"It is said that he was asked to capture seven fugitive bandits alone."
Seven notorious bandits on the run... that's quite a feat.
Zhao Fangyu did not expect that Zhao Zhirun could achieve such political achievements in Shu. It is not possible to catch a bandit just because you want to. Otherwise, this would not be enough to become a criterion for evaluating officials and a political achievement.
"Didn't you know that my second brother has such a great ability? Send this news to mother quickly, let her be happy too."
The place Zhao Zhirun went to was remote and difficult to travel to. If the young men from Beijing went there without knowing the situation, they would think that he had been exiled by his family.
No one in the family expected him to achieve anything great, as long as he was safe and sound. Who would have thought that Zhao Zhirun, who seemed not as calm as his elder brother in the past, actually had such ability?
It can be seen that although Zhao Minshan is not a good person, his genes are still good.
The Zhao family's children were only spoiled by their upbringing, not born dull and unteachable. Compared with the emperor's ugly children, they were much better!
Zhao Fangyu didn't care about all these. When he was happy, he gave snacks to all the maids in the yard.
Shu Jie'er didn't understand why, but she was happy too, and ran around the yard making a lot of noise.
Zhou Qinghe looked at Shu Jie'er running around in the yard, and suddenly felt a little envious of Song Bai. He envied Song Bai for being so young and having his sweetheart by his side.
Now everyone wants to have both a son and a daughter.
"Were you this lively when you were a child?"
Zhao Fangyu looked at Shu Jie'er and shook his head. The original owner spent almost all of her childhood in Caiyueyuan. The rare times she went out were to attend classes and pay respects to the eldest lady.
Her own childhood was so long ago that even the colorful candy wrappers and magazines in her memory seemed a little vague.
Zhou Qinghe didn't know what past events Zhao Fangyu recalled, and he suddenly became much more distant, as if a person was suddenly stripped of the emotions he should have, feeling empty in one moment and full the next.
“When I was a kid, I didn’t have a good life.”
Zhou Qinghe was somewhat envious of Shu Jie'er, and of most of the people around her who loved her and hoped that she would grow up.
Zhao Fangyu pursed his lips, his eyes clear and honest, without any contempt or other meaning: "It's not your fault that you are not doing well."
Meeting a father as short-sighted as the emperor and being born in a dangerous place like the harem, it was already amazing that Zhou Qinghe could grow up safely.
"Nine out of ten things in this world are not as you wish, and I am no exception."
"I never kept my aunt, nor did I keep Xiaowu, but one day, no one can take the people I cherish away from me."
Whether it is Zhao Minshan or the emperor, they are just a series of mountains.
When I was young, I thought Zhao Minshan was unfathomable and difficult to understand. Later, when I grew up, I found that he was just a stubborn, self-righteous man.
That mountain that seems impossible to climb can be climbed if you stand high enough.
In another year, or at most one year, Zhao Minshan will die.