ebookland Chapter 227: Magistrate Bai is Convicted
Chapter 227: Magistrate Bai is Convicted
Nangong Lin spent three days compiling the evidence against Prefect Bai and then sent the cavalry to the capital to hand it over to Emperor Cheng.
At the same time, he also brought some good news to Emperor Cheng: the stone mines in Beilu Mountain can not only be used to make colored glaze after mining, but also can be fired into cement, colored glaze tiles, wall bricks and high-quality white lime. These discoveries are of great significance to the construction and development of Dacheng.
Emperor Cheng was very happy when he received the news, but at the same time he was very angry about what Governor Bai had done. He immediately ordered the confiscation of Governor Bai's property and execution to serve as a warning to others.
Nangong Rui had just fled back to the capital, and before he had time to catch his breath, he was urgently summoned by Emperor Cheng and taken to the imperial study. Also present were Wang Taifu and the Minister of Revenue.
Emperor Cheng sat on the dragon throne, looking at everyone with a gloomy face, and was the first to ask: "Grand Tutor Wang, is the governor of Qizhou your disciple?"
Wang Taifu's heart tightened, but he immediately shook his head and denied it, "Your Majesty, no."
Emperor Cheng sneered and continued to ask, "Okay! What about the Qizhou Tongpan? Don't tell me it's not him? And Chen Wenjie and the others, they are all your grandsons-in-law!" He glared at Taifu Wang and several others, his eyes revealing majesty and anger.
"Qizhou has been enjoying good weather and good harvests over the years, but the local people are still unable to get enough food. Where did the disaster relief grain allocated by the Ministry of Revenue every year go? Did it all fall into the Mohe River?" Emperor Cheng's voice was chilling, which made people shudder.
All the people kneeling on the ground dared not utter a word, as if the whole world was frozen.
"Qizhou is the fief of Prince Rui. I think I will take back this fief of Prince Rui. You should go back home and reflect on your mistakes!" Emperor Cheng said helplessly looking at Nangong Rui.
After everyone left, Emperor Cheng looked helplessly in the direction of the East Palace, his heart filled with worry. He asked softly, "Liu Man, is there any movement from the Crown Prince?"
Liu Man replied respectfully, "Your Majesty, I heard that the Crown Prince brought back a woman who looks about 70% similar to Princess Xingguo. These days, the Crown Prince will return to his East Palace after court."
Emperor Cheng frowned slightly, seeming a little surprised by the news. He continued to ask: "Is there any news from Hu Man?"
Liu Man pondered for a moment and replied, "These days, my adoptive father has been secretly observing Prince Yu since he came out of the Yongning County jail. These days, he has taken over the post of Qizhou prefect as an imperial envoy and has been working hard for the people. Princess Yu is also busy building a glass workshop."
Emperor Cheng listened to Liu Man's report and felt more and more depressed. He realized that the situation of the future successor had become more and more complicated, and as an emperor, he had to make wise decisions to maintain the stability and peace of the people of Cheng.
In the Prince's Mansion, Qin Xiyan sat in front of the dressing table with a frown on her face. She learned that the Prince had recently been doting on a woman who looked a bit like Princess Yu. Not long ago, she had visited the Prince in person, but the woman was arrogant and rude, not taking her, the soon-to-be Princess, seriously at all.
It rained today, and Qin Xiyan decided to let the prince see the true face of that woman. She thought that woman was just an imitator in appearance, and did not have the temperament and demeanor of Princess Xingguo.
When she came to the backyard, she heard a woman's moaning voice coming from inside the house: "Brother Crown Prince, you hurt me." This voice made Qin Xiyan feel sick. She clenched her fists in anger and thought: "What a shameless bitch! How dare she seduce the Crown Prince in broad daylight!"
At this time, Nangong Sheng looked at the cakes made by the woman in front of him, with an unhappy look on his face, muttering to himself: This is totally different from what Yun Xin made! He took a small bite and frowned slightly. It really didn't taste the same, and he lost interest instantly. He put down the cake in his hand and turned his eyes to Wu Yue beside him.
Wu Yue felt his gaze and lowered her head in fear, not daring to look him in the eye. Nangong Sheng slowly walked towards her and stretched out his hand to pinch her neck, but he did not use too much force, just making her feel a little suffocated. However, he did not get close to her like he did to Yu Yunxin, but deliberately kept his distance because he was disgusted by the strong smell of powder on this woman.
"Ruan Ming, drag her down and make her kneel in the rain until I am no longer angry." The prince ordered coldly. Then, he threw Wu Yue to the ground without hesitation and turned away.
Wu Yue looked at his departing back in horror, tears welling up in her eyes. She didn't know what she had done wrong, so she could only kneel down and beg for mercy. "Your Highness, please don't! Please tell me, what did I do wrong? I will correct it, please forgive me..." But Nangong Sheng had already stood up and walked away, ignoring her pleas.
As soon as Nangong Sheng walked to the gate of the courtyard, he saw Qin Xiyan standing there. He frowned and asked, "What are you doing here?"
Qin Xiyan did not answer him, but looked coldly at the woman kneeling in the rain.
Seeing this, Honglian quickly said, "Your Highness, my lady came here the day before yesterday, but was stopped by this woman. She said you were tired and needed to rest, and asked my lady not to come here again!"
When the prince heard this, he turned around to look at the woman kneeling in the rain, only to see that her makeup had long become blurred by the rain and tears, completely different from the beautiful woman in his mind.
Qin Xiyan looked at the woman kneeling in the rain indifferently, with a trace of disdain in her eyes, "I originally thought that the prince would find a woman like Princess Xingguo to favor him, but I didn't expect to see this so-called substitute today and it would be so unsightly."
After she finished speaking, she looked at the prince again, her lips slightly raised with a mocking smile, "It seems that this substitute not only has fake looks, but also fake temperament. Unfortunately, fake is fake. No matter how hard you try, you can't have the aura of Princess Xingguo."
"Xiyan, please leave first! I promise that I will take care of her before you enter the mansion." The prince said to Qin Xiyan standing in the corridor. There was a hint of helplessness and apology in his voice, as if he didn't want Qin Xiyan to see this scene.
However, Qin Xiyan had no intention of leaving. She walked gracefully to the side of the prince, a trace of disdain flashed in her eyes, and then looked at the woman who was pressed to the ground.
"Your Highness, this woman is just a plaything of yours, and I am the Crown Princess. How you want to deal with her is your business, but I just want to tell everyone in the mansion that I am the mistress of the Crown Prince's Mansion. You must stand in the right place from now on." Qin Xiyan's voice was cold and firm, causing everyone present to shudder.
Following Qin Xiyan's words, the maids who had come along all immediately bowed respectfully to Qin Xiyan. They lowered their heads, not daring to look directly at Qin Xiyan, as if they were afraid of angering this noble princess.
Qin Xiyan nodded with satisfaction, then turned to look at the prince, and said with a smile: "Your Highness, there will be a new play performed at Mingyang Tower tomorrow. It seems to be called "The True and False Daughter". You must take me to watch it." Her tone was relaxed and natural, as if everything that had just happened had nothing to do with her.
When the prince heard this, he immediately comforted Qin Xiyan and said, "Okay, I'll pick you up at your house when the time comes." He knew that Qin Xiyan liked to watch plays, especially such lively plays. Now, as long as he could make her happy, he was willing to meet any of her requests.
Qin Xiyan nodded after hearing this, and maintaining the demeanor that a daughter of the Prime Minister's Mansion should have, she turned around and left. Her steps were steady, her posture was graceful, and every step was noble and elegant. As she left, the door of the Prince's Mansion slowly closed.
The prince personally escorted Qin Xiyan to the door, and then returned to Wu Yue. When he saw that Wu Yue's face, which was similar to Yu Yunxin's, had changed, he suddenly felt disgusted. He strode forward and kicked Wu Yue without hesitation, knocking her to the ground. This kick made Wu Yue unable to stand up due to the pain, but she did not dare to resist at all.
Suddenly, an idea flashed through the prince's mind, and a sinister smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. He squatted down, pinched Wu Yue's chin with his hand, and forced her to raise her head and look directly into his eyes.
"From today on, you must serve this prince wholeheartedly. Remember, you are not allowed to appear with the same makeup as hers without this prince's permission!" The prince's voice was cold and stern, with unquestionable majesty.
Wu Yue endured the severe pain in her abdomen and trembled as she replied, "Your Highness, I understand..." She knew that if she did not obey the prince's orders, she would be punished more cruelly. Therefore, even though she felt aggrieved and unwilling, she would call her Xin'er every time the prince was happy with her. She hated Yu Yunxin so much now, and she could only choose to accept everything in front of her silently.
When the people of Qizhou City learned that His Majesty was about to severely punish the Bai family, the whole city was in jubilation. People cheered and their faces were filled with joy.
Yu Yunxin and Nangong Lin stood on a high place, overlooking the Qizhou city that was full of new vitality, their hearts filled with joy.
"Nangong Lin, what should we do with those 200,000 private soldiers?" Yu Yunxin turned around and looked at Nangong Lin with a firm gaze.
Nangong Lin smiled slightly, his eyes flashing with confidence. He looked at Yu Yunxin's beautiful face tenderly and replied softly, "Xin'er, since you don't like to see bloody scenes, let them stay in Qizhou for a while. We can let them build glass workshops, burn lime, make cement, etc., all of which require a lot of manpower. Moreover, in the future, cement roads will need to be paved to connect Qizhou and the capital. I believe that in the near future, this place will become more prosperous."
Hearing Nangong Lin's clever arrangement, Yu Yunxin couldn't help but laugh. She nodded with satisfaction and praised: "My husband is still thoughtful."
When Nangong Lin heard Yu Yunxin's gentle voice, a warm feeling surged in his heart. He could no longer suppress the impulse in his heart. He picked her up and flashed into the space in an instant.
After entering the space, Nangong Lin excitedly said to Yun Xin: "What did you call me just now? Call me again!" As he spoke, he hugged Yu Yun Xin tightly, let her sit on his lap, and then they sat on the sofa together.
Yu Yunxin was a little shy, but still said softly: "Husband!"
Nangong Lin nodded contentedly after hearing this, and whispered in Yu Yunxin's ear: "Well, that's right."
Yu Yunxin gently pushed Nangong Lin away and said seriously, "Husband, let's plant more crops in the space first. We can't let the people of Qizhou be deprived of their food source."
When Nangong Lin heard this, he immediately picked up the tablet and started operating the screen, while not forgetting to kiss the beauty in his arms.
"Isn't the food we got from the government office enough?" Nangong Lin asked.
"Of course it's not enough. Now it's the busy farming season. Next, we'll be mining stones in the mountains. It's all physical work. How can we not eat enough? Also, raise more poultry in your space. Then you can take them to the quarry and feed them while raising them."
Yu Yunxin felt helpless about Nangong Lin's behavior. She thought to herself: Why is this man always like this regardless of the occasion?
In order not to affect Nangong Lin's work, Yu Yunxin flashed and came to her colorful bracelet space. She was surprised to find that there were many more flowers in the space than before, and the whole space became colorful and flourishing.
Yu Yunxin took off the amethyst jade from her neck and began to sit cross-legged and practice. As the exercises were running, the true energy in her body surged like waves, constantly impacting her meridians and acupuncture points.
An hour later, Yu Yunxin carefully dug out the yam, poria and kudzu root in her own space. These herbs can not only be used as medicinal herbs, but can also be skillfully made into various delicious cakes.
Yu Yunxin returned to the government office with a full harvest. She immediately asked Qiu Shuang to find more than 20 cooks and showed them the Chinese yam, Poria cocos and Pueraria root in her hands. Then, she instructed the cooks to wash and peel the Chinese yam, Poria cocos and Pueraria root. It is worth mentioning that the peeling tools she prepared for the cooks were all purchased from the mall. They are very easy to use and are both labor-saving and efficient compared to the traditional knife peeling method.
After all the yams were cooked soft and tender, Yu Yunxin began to teach the cooks how to wrap the colorful flower pastes with the delicate yam paste. Then, they used various exquisite flower-shaped molds to press the yam paste into various shapes of yam sweetheart cakes.
Yu Yunxin carefully examined these exquisite pastries, with a satisfied look in her eyes. Then, she continued to make the Poria cocos and red date cake and the Pueraria root cake, taking every step carefully and meticulously, as if she was carving a work of art.
"Princess, are these the new desserts you made?" Qiu Shuang asked, looking at the table full of pastries.
"Well, it's been raining these days and the humidity is very high. You can ask the cooks to make more and send them to the workers who are working on the mountains. Let them get rid of the moisture." Yu Yunxin said as she took out a piece of purple transparent yam cake and started eating it, then passed it to Qiu Shuang.
At this time, the master and apprentice, who had come here following the smell, came to the kitchen. Seeing so many pastries in the kitchen, they took one for themselves and tasted it first.
"Sister, did you do all this?" Wuming asked.
Yu Yunxin nodded: "What's wrong?"