lady, please calm down

In the evening, thick smoke billowed from the Du family courtyard in Xianggongzhong Village, Changhua County, and soon the courtyard was engulfed in flames.

Cao Ling was forced out of the yard by the fire, and his face looked ashen as death as he was supported by a strong man.

After all, he was not Old Man Du, and when he learned that Cui Zaidao wanted to meet him, he became suspicious.

Naturally, after he arrived, he did not easily enter the west room where Cui Zaidao was, but sent a strong man in to check. The father and daughter of the Du family who were lying dead in the room could not hide at all.

Cui Zaidao saw that the plan was exposed, so he knocked over the oil lamp onto the pile of firewood that had been prepared long ago. Within a few dozen breaths, the west room was filled with thick smoke and flames.

Cao Ling was stunned and felt a wave of fear. The reason for his fear was that he could see that the other party had originally planned to take him to death together.

Secondly, I really didn't expect Cui Zaidao to be so fierce in temper. The plan of the Cao family and other gentry was to use the Du Yue'er incident to control Cui Zaidao and force him to secretly represent the interests of the Changhua gentry, but they never thought of taking his life!
Not only did he not want to kill him, he even hinted that he would spare no expense for Cui Zaidao's future. After all, if Cui Zaidao obeyed him obediently, the more power he would have, the more beneficial it would be to them.

Although this method was a bit dirty, compared to having his future ruined by the exposure of his "rape of women", choosing to cooperate with the Changhua gentry was not a difficult thing to accept.

At least, half an hour ago, Cao Ling still thought so.

But he never expected that Cui Zaidao would rather die in glory than live in disgrace.

This time, not only was Cao Ling paralyzed, but the magistrate Lu Xiaozhai who rushed over after hearing the news was also terrified, and kept repeating in Cao Ling's ear: "It's over, it's over! He was your Majesty's disciple, and he died in Changhua. Your Majesty must conduct a thorough investigation. It's over. I am going to be harmed by you."

Indeed, all of Cao Ling's plans require Cui Zaidao's cooperation to succeed. But this Cui burned himself in Changhua with an unexpectedly resolute attitude. Not only did he lose Cui Zaidao, an important chess piece, but he would also attract His Majesty's direct attention and even anger.

Cao Ling knew that if this matter was not handled properly, it would be a serious crime that would lead to the confiscation of property and extermination of the entire clan. He had to force himself to calm down and start thinking at high speed.

Once Cui Zaidao died, all the methods prepared before would no longer be useful.

Cao Ling and others dared to use Du Yue'er's matter to coerce Cui Zaidao, but they did not dare to use it to threaten the current emperor. If Lu Xiaozhai dared to continue to close the case with the excuse that "Cui Zaidao forcibly occupied Du, and then hatred led to emotional killing", the emperor would definitely investigate it to the end and dig out the truth, either for the sake of finding out the truth or for the sake of preventing the reputation of Huaibei students from being damaged.

But there is no need for this excuse. Lu Xiaozhai still has to find a reason to explain why His Majesty's disciple suddenly died in such a heroic way in Changhua. Not only must it be reasonable, but it must not throw dirty water on Cui Zaidao, so as not to cause His Majesty to investigate further and backlash from Cui Zaidao's classmates.

In this sense, Cui Zaidao had turned the tables on Cao Ling and the others, and also preserved his reputation as "Your Majesty's disciple."

However, he used his own life as a bargaining chip to turn the tables.

"The nature is so fierce, the nature is so fierce"

This was the third time Cao Ling sighed with mixed feelings.

"Lord Cao, please stop sighing! We have more than a hundred people in our family, and our lives are hanging by a thread. Come up with a solution quickly!"

Lu Xiaozhai, who had always been particularly polite to Cao Ling, was now as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

"What's the hurry?" Cao Ling shouted in a low voice, and then asked someone to find Tang Tingzhi who was also in the village.

Not long after, the farmhand came back and said that according to the owner of the house where Young Master Tang was staying, Young Master Cui came to see Young Master Tang this afternoon, and then the latter took his donkey out and has not returned since.

When Lu Xiaozhai heard this, his face became even uglier, and he said, "It's all over now, that Young Master Tang must have gone back to report the news in advance!"

But Cao Ling looked at the people who were gathering around him and said, "Lord Lu, please write an official document and report this matter to the court."

In a state of panic, the relatively calm Cao Ling became Lu Xiaozhai's backbone, and the latter subconsciously asked: "How do I write the official document?"

"Just say that a scholar from another place died in this county. Don't jump to conclusions. Use the excuse of 'investigation' to delay it for a few days and see how it develops."

"This is a serious matter. How can we delay it?"

"Everything in the world must be done with reason. If there is no evidence, you can't force us to jail, right? If you do that, wouldn't all officials in the world be in danger?"

It was not known whether Cao Ling was pretending to be calm or if he really could not get flustered. In any case, his calmness somewhat comforted Lu Xiaozhai, who could not help but ask subconsciously, "Is there anything else we need to do?"

"We need to prepare for both scenarios. If the higher-ups can't bear the pressure from the emperor and insist on arresting someone, we also need to push someone out to let the emperor vent his anger."

"." Lu Xiaozhai looked at Cao Ling in doubt, fearing that he would be used as a scapegoat, so he had to ask clearly, "Who is suitable? If it is an insignificant person, the anger of the higher-ups may be difficult to calm down."

"Don't worry, Lord Lu."

Cao Ling stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the Du family courtyard where the fire was gradually getting smaller, and said slowly: "What I am planning is not for my family, but for Changhua and even the gentry in Jiangnan. Now Cui Zaidao is stubborn and refuses to give in, so the trouble caused by this will naturally be borne by my family! I have three sons, even if I lose one for this, I will definitely ensure the safety of you all."

If things are impossible, Cao Ling has the courage to cut off his tail and survive.

"Mr. Cao is so righteous!" Lu Xiaozhai bowed deeply, and naturally heard the threat in Cao Ling's words, so he added: "The Cao family is a gentry in Changhua. The three surnames and five aristocratic families in Changhua naturally have to protect the safety of the Cao family."

July 18th, in the evening.

Today, I served as a member of the third group that went to Yuhang County to publicize the new policy, and took a horse-drawn carriage back to my residence in the former Qin Huizhi Prime Minister's Mansion.

Zhao Xiangyi, the leader of the third group, jumped off the carriage first, followed by the other members. At home and in school, they were all young ladies who dressed exquisitely and spoke softly.

But now, after several days of running around and being exposed to the sun, their faces were red and covered with dust, and their lapels and shoes were covered with weed debris or stuck with cocklebur thorns. They looked extremely miserable.

But what worried Hu Tou more than their appearance was the tired and frustrated looks of his companions.

He wanted to say a few words to boost morale, but looking at everyone's expressions, Hu Tou finally said, "Everyone go wash up and go to the front hall to eat later. The doorman just said that His Majesty specially ordered someone to send Fuchun River fresh food to change everyone's taste."

But the crowd's response was not enthusiastic. Sandra Ng, with slumped shoulders and staggering as she walked, said weakly, "I won't eat anymore. I'll just take a shower and go to sleep."

After seven or eight team members entered the bathroom, the second group, which had been active in Chun'an recently, also entered the back house in a carriage.

Similar to the situation of the members of the Tiger Head Group, the morale of the second group was also low, and some of them even seemed to have traces of tears on their faces.

Hu Tou and Si Lan, the leader of the second team, looked at each other, and they walked silently into the pavilion next to them.

The two of them sat down on the stone bench and groaned in satisfaction at the same time.

Si Lan rubbed his aching calf and said, "Xiang Yi, how is the progress over there?"

Since there were only women in the backyard anyway, Hu Tou simply took off his shoes. He saw three or four blisters the size of fingertips on their white and tender feet. Some were new, while some were old wounds with the skin worn through, revealing the bright red flesh inside.

Just looking at it hurts, Si Lan couldn't help but let out a cold hiss, "Xiangyi, don't you feel any pain? No wonder you walk with a limp!"

"Not bad." Hu Tou grinned at Si Lan and turned to answer the former's question. "It wasn't going so well. Today we were reading the new policy to the people in Qingxi Town. It was a mess down there. No one listened to what we said and there were people making trouble. When we left in the afternoon, some naughty kids around seven or eight years old chased our carriage and threw mud, which made Aru and the others very angry."

Speaking of this, Hu Tou frowned in annoyance, and said in a tone of doubt and anger: "The new policy is obviously for their own good, but they don't appreciate it and always want to bully others."

"They are simply helping the evildoers! The gentry are behind the scenes instigating them."

Si Lan's face was tense and she spoke angrily. Hu Tou nodded, agreeing with Si Lan's statement, and then asked, "How about you guys? Isn't it going well too?"

"That's right! In order to help the people better understand the new policy, Yunming specially asked Mei for help and composed a little song based on the new policy. But when she was singing on stage in Chun'an today, a young boy teased Yunming that she was a salesperson and asked her how much she was paid. Ah Ming was so angry that she cried."

At this point, Si Lan said unhappily: "In my opinion, Your Majesty can just implement the new policy directly, why make it so complicated."

Hearing Si Lan's questioning of his brother-in-law, Hu Tou hurriedly said, "How can that be? The biggest reason for the failure of the implementation of new policies in all dynasties is that the people do not know the content of the new policies, and the gentry use this to privately increase taxes and exploit them, and then later put the blame on the court. What we do is to make sure that the people really know the content of the new policies, so that the gentry will not dare to deceive the superiors and hide the truth from the subordinates."

Si Lan naturally understood these principles, but he just complained a few words after working hard for many days with little results.

Si Lan stared at the blisters on Tiger's feet and suddenly said, "Xiangyi, you have the support of the Queen and His Majesty, why do you have to follow us to suffer such grievances and such sufferings?"

A month ago, Si Lan would not have dared to ask Hu Tou this question.

But after more than ten days in Lin'an, they fought side by side for a common ideal and vision, and before they knew it, they had developed a feeling almost like comradeship towards each other. This feeling was even stronger than the so-called friendship among the boudoir.

Hu Tou said, "In the eyes of my elder sister and brother-in-law, I have always been a child, so I must do things well and do great things. Only when they treat me as an adult, they will not think that my decisions are childish words in the future."

Among the students who go south, most boys go there for their future and their ideals.

The women's motives vary, some want to accompany their lovers, some want to experience the scenery of the south of the Yangtze River, or like Hu Tou, to prove that they have grown up.

Therefore, it was not difficult for Si Lan to understand what Hu Tou said. She just sighed and said, "Ah, doing things is really hard. It's much harder than memorizing articles in school."

After saying this, the two of them were silent for a few breaths. The backyard of the prime minister's mansion, which housed dozens of people, was exceptionally quiet at this moment, even a little depressing. It was far less exciting than the atmosphere when everyone just moved in more than ten days ago.

Indeed, it is difficult to do things.

After a long time, Hu Tou suddenly smiled at Si Lan and said, "No matter how difficult it is, someone has to do it. Just like my brother-in-law, if he was afraid of difficulties and coveted wealth, wouldn't it be easier for him to be a governor in Caizhou? My brother-in-law and sister grew up in a world of difficulties and dangers. Anyway, I'm not afraid!"

Si Lan looked at Hu Tou's smile, lost in thought for a moment, and suddenly said: "Xiang Yi, when you smile, you really look like the Queen!"

This is the highest level of compliment in Huaibei, but when Hu Tou heard it, he raised his head and said, "Sister is sister, I am my sister. No matter how good my sister is, I am not her!"

As they were talking, they saw their classmate Zhang Wanyu hurried over and said, "Lan'er, Xiangyi, Ming'er just cried a lot and is packing her bags now. She said she will go back to Huaibei tomorrow."

Si Lan and Hu Tou looked at each other. The latter immediately stood up, put on his shoes, and limped out, saying, "Oh, Sister Ming is homesick. Let's go. I'll go to the kitchen and cook her a bowl of noodles and fish. After eating hometown food, she won't miss home anymore."

“When did you learn to cook?”

Si Lan hurriedly followed and raised her hand to support Hu Tou. She also knew that the morale was at a low point. If someone turned back halfway, it would directly cause the low morale to collapse, causing a chain reaction of everyone resigning. Hu Tou did this to comfort Du Yunming and to stabilize the morale of the army.

"I don't know how to do it, but I can learn it on the spot, hahaha, it's just right to use Sister Ming as an experiment."

Hu Tou laughed heartily, and even Zhang Wanyu, who had a serious face, couldn't help laughing out loud.

But it was midsummer, and after running around all day, who would want to go into the kitchen that was like a steamer?

Si Lan looked at Hu Tou's pale face and suddenly felt a little admiration and pity for this beautiful classmate.

Admiration comes naturally because Hu Tou is of noble birth, but he works harder and more attentively than anyone else.

The reason why he felt distressed was because Si Lan vaguely realized that Xiangyi was working too hard and wanted too much to prove that she had grown up.

Dozens of steps away, Zhong Yi, who was in charge of managing everyone here, stood in front of the window on the second floor. She did not turn around and go downstairs until Hu Tou's figure, limping due to pain in his feet, completely disappeared behind the rockery.

Lengquan Hall in the Western Garden of the Imperial City. Seven or eight days ago, Chai Yuanyi moved the concubines of the Zhou Kingdom out of the palace, and Chen Chucai officially moved into the harem.

However, his harem was much quieter, with no one else except the imperial concubine and Concubine Cai.

Lengquan Hall was built overlooking the Phoenix Pond in the Western Garden and was shaded by trees, making it a great place to escape the summer heat.

On weekdays, if Chen Chu was not discussing matters with his ministers in the front court, he would often work here.

At the end of the You hour, the sky had already darkened.

It was quiet in Lengquan Hall, with only the occasional sound of flipping memorials.

In the twilight, when Cao Xiaojian, who was guarding outside the hall, saw a figure with a high bun, a palace flower on the head, and dressed in red clothes swaying towards him, he tactfully bowed and moved aside.

In theory, this is where Your Majesty handles official business, and outsiders are not allowed to enter.

But Concubine Cai Cao Xiaojian didn't dare to stop her, nor could she stop her.

"Has your majesty had dinner yet?"

Cai Huan asked when she passed by Cao Xiaojian.

"Your Highness, dinner has been served for half an hour, but Your Majesty has not eaten yet."

Cao Xiaojian answered, and Cai Hua tilted her head to peek inside, then said, "Go, ask the kitchen to make a bowl of cold noodles. The weather is so hot, His Majesty will naturally have no appetite."

"Liangliangpi?"

This thing is not on the kitchen menu.

Cai Hua couldn't help but frown, as if she was dissatisfied with Cao Xiaojian's incompetence, and scolded: "Can a bowl of cold noodles be difficult for the kitchen? If you don't know how to make it, go ask the firemen in the personal guard camp! If you can't make it in half an hour, let the kitchen staff go to the cleansing room to be punished as an internal official!"

".Minister, I will go and give the order."

Cai Huan then walked into Lengquan Hall with satisfaction. Chen Chu was buried in his work.

Except for Cai Huan, everyone in the entire harem would probably stay away from coming over to avoid being suspected of interfering in government affairs.

She smiled and walked forward, leaning on Chen Chu's back, her arms holding his waist like a boneless snake, "Your Majesty has been sitting in Lengquan Hall for the whole afternoon, be careful not to hurt your eyes, take a rest."

"Well, take a break after reading this."

Chen Chu responded casually, but Cai Hua refused to give in and rubbed Chen Chu's back.

Summer clothes are thin.

Two key points are vaguely perceptible.

Chen Chu could no longer concentrate, so he turned around and said with a smile, "You're making trouble again."

"Hehe, your majesty, this body belongs not only to the Great Chu, but also to me. Although others may not feel sorry for you, I will not allow you to tire yourself out at such a young age. Official duties cannot be completed in one day, so a moderate relaxation is the long-term solution."

“A bunch of crooked ideas.”

Chen Chu simply put the memorial in his hand aside, but he was still thinking about official business in his heart. He couldn't help but say: "The power of the Jiangnan gentry to control the people is greater than imagined. They preached the new policy with great effort, but sometimes the local gentry didn't say a word, and many officials also secretly disobeyed!"

"They have done a very good job. I just heard from Zhong Yi that Hu Tou has never complained about being tired. This is beyond my expectation."

Cai Hua knew how to divert Chen Chu's attention, and the latter asked, "Oh? How is Hu Tou now?"

"It's OK. It's a bit hard, but I feel like an adult now. My feet are bruised, but I didn't tell anyone."

"Oh? Your feet are rotten?"

"I have sent the ointment to Madam Zhong and asked her to pass it on to Hu Tou."

"Haha, why didn't Sister Huan give the ointment to Hu Tou herself? Are you so afraid of being a good person?"

"What's so good about being a good person? Good people are bullied. I like to be a bad person so that others will be afraid of me, hehe."

As he was speaking, Cao Xiaojian suddenly walked quickly into Lengquan Hall.

However, on the big chair in front of the imperial desk, Cai Huan had sat in Chen Chu's arms without him knowing when, with her arms hooked around the latter's neck, saying something with a charming smile.

Cao Xiaojian had not expected this kind of scene, and he was at a loss as to whether to advance or retreat.

Cai Huan noticed Cao Xiaojian coming in, but still refused to stand up. She just asked, "Eunuch Cao, is there something wrong?"

"Your Majesty, Noble Consort, the Changhua Express and the Tongzhengsi Counselor Chen's letters were sent to the palace at the same time, both stating that the matters they reported were urgent and serious."

"bring here."

Cao Xiaojian leaned forward and presented the urgent report and the letter at the same time.

The Changhua Express was originally intended for the Lin'an prefect, but because the Lin'an prefecture position was still vacant, it was sent to Chen Chu.

Chen Chu first opened the express delivery, which said that a foreign scholar had died there and the cause was under investigation.

"Changhua."

Chen Chu muttered to himself, Huaibei students are spread across dozens of counties, so it is naturally impossible for them to react immediately.

But when he opened the letter from Chen Yinglang, the councilor of the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the director of the land reform, he found that it was actually a letter from Cui Zaidao that the former had forwarded.
"Students are stupid and fall into the trap of evil gentry. The only thing I can do is to repay the emperor's kindness with my death and not let the students in Huaibei be disgraced because of students."

Cai Huan, who was still lying in Chen Chu's arms, looked gradually solemn, and her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly.

The two of them finished reading the letter almost at the same time.

"Confused! Arrogant!"

Chen Chu slammed the letter on the imperial desk and became furious.

Confused, he was scolding Cui Zaidao for repaying the emperor's kindness with his own death.

Arrogant, probably referring to the gentry of Changhua.
Cai Huan immediately stood up, quickly straightened her clothes, and said coldly: "It would be difficult to convict based on just a letter! Your Majesty's reputation cannot be tarnished, so leave this matter to me!"

Chen Chu grabbed hold of Cai Huan, who was about to leave, and said firmly, "I will handle this matter myself!"

"Cao Xiaojian!"

After that, Chen Chu called Cao Xiaojian in and gave him a direct order: "I have ordered my eldest son's troops to set out immediately to bring the entire Changhua Cao family and Magistrate Lu Xiaozhai's family to Lin'an! Anyone who disobeys will be killed without mercy!"

Cao Xiaojian was extremely shocked, but still obeyed the order and left.

Cai Huan also knew the problem with this matter. Seeing that Chen Chu was really angry, she was about to take action herself.

However, throughout the dynasties, the arrest and detention of officials and gentry without interrogation by the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple and other government offices would cause backlash from the bureaucracy.

After all, everyone is afraid that this day will come to them.

If the process is followed, there will be more room for maneuver. If the evidence is insufficient, even the emperor may be helpless.

Obviously, Chen Chu didn't intend to play along with them like this and was ready to turn the table over.

The reason why Cai Huan took the initiative to stand up just now was because she knew that Chen Chu would never swallow this humiliation. She could be unreasonable if she came forward. Anyway, she had a bad reputation and was not afraid of more people scolding her.

Seeing that Chen Chu was going to do it himself, Cai Huan did not stop him. The emperor was furious and blood flowed everywhere.

Do you really think my puppy is made of clay? (End of this chapter)