The Red Mansion Big Liar.

Chapter 639: Going with the flow
The roar of the water pump subsided and Emperor Wanlong also calmed down.

He waved his hand at the eunuchs and guards who were accompanying him, and said in a low voice, "You can go down first. I want to have a few words with you, my dear minister."

"Yes!"

After everyone left, Emperor Wanlong cleared his throat and said, "I sent a fan to my father a while ago and mentioned the Beijing-Tianjin Railway. My father asked me to urge you to speed up the work. It would be best if it can be opened on the Wanshou Festival next year. You can also urge him to do so and don't let my father down."

Emperor Wanlong did not mention the reward, but suddenly mentioned the Beijing-Tianjin Railway, which made Zhang Yun逸 a little confused.

However, he did not show it, and bowed respectfully as usual: "I obey your order!"

This was not a big problem. After all, there was only a one-month difference between the Emperor's birthday and the Emperor's accession to the throne. Originally, it was intended to be a gift for the Emperor's second year on the throne, so it was inevitable that some preparations had to be made in advance...

Thinking of this, he suddenly understood.

Emperor Wanlong also spoke at the right time: "It has been almost a year since I ascended the throne. During this year, I felt that state affairs were heavy, but with loyal ministers like you assisting me, I feel a little comforted."

Emperor Wanlong's eyes were deep, and his tone was full of emotion: "I know that you have worked hard day and night for the court and for me. I know it in my heart and will never forget your efforts."

Zhang Yunyi suddenly became enlightened, and he bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I have no way to repay your kindness, I can only do my best..."

He paused, then continued, "I came here this time to show it to Your Majesty. This water pump still has some shortcomings and needs to be improved. Please allow me some time, Your Majesty!"

"Good!" Emperor Wanlong was pleased, and he lifted up Zhang Yunyi's arm with a smile, "My dear minister, you are indeed loyal to the country. I am very pleased! I hope you can improve it soon, and then I will reward you according to your merits!"

"Your Majesty, rest assured. I will definitely live up to your expectations!"

"Okay!" Wan Longdi said, and then looked at the water pump by the pond, "This..."

"This water pump will be left to your majesty as a memorial!"

"Then I'll be waiting for your good news!"

……

Leave the palace.

Zhang Yunyi in the carriage couldn't help but shook his head.

He was not aware of the turmoil he had caused in Rongguo Mansion.

In Zhang Yunyi's opinion, there is no need to rush Xia Jingui. She has only been married for a month. The longer she is left alone, the more likely she will become lonely.

One has to do things step by step. He has just thrown out a bait, and even Baochan has not taken any further action. He has no plans to provoke Xia Jingui for the time being.

On the contrary, the Xue family’s affairs cannot be delayed too long.

He already had a comprehensive plan on how to intimidate Mrs. Xue II.

However, in order to achieve the goal without leaving any trace, there is still a lack of a suitable opportunity.

It's not that he hadn't thought about maximizing the benefits and offering it as a gift to the emperor on the first anniversary of his accession to the throne.

However, on the one hand, the emperor would not ascend the throne until September, by which time the best time to irrigate farmland would have passed.

Secondly, the reason why Mrs. Xue dared to threaten him with the matter between him and Aunt Xue was simply because she felt that such a matter was hard to deal with and might even affect his reputation and career.

But if she mistakenly believed that all her little deeds were registered with the emperor, or even that they were condoned or authorized by the emperor, then her little support would no longer exist.

However, not to mention that the emperor didn't know about Aunt Xue, even if he did, he couldn't really ask the emperor for endorsement.

After much thought, the only way was to use Xia Shouzhong's words to let Mrs. Xue know the whole story and make her mistakenly believe that her presence in front of Mei Lian's coffin that day was instructed or acquiesced by the emperor.

This association made it easier for him to further intimidate Mrs. Xue.

But although the idea is good, it is not easy to implement it without leaving any trace.

It was not difficult for him to turn the topic to Mei Mansion while talking with Xia Shouzhong without leaving any trace.

The difficulty lies in how to make Mrs. Xue not suspect that Xia Shouzhong is acting with her.

Therefore, the timing must be subtle and just right.

Originally, he planned to take advantage of the water pump and the emperor's reward to call Mrs. Xue to the mansion in advance, so that she could hear Xia Shouzhong's decree by chance.

Unexpectedly, the emperor had other plans.

Although it is only a matter of sooner or later, there are still more than two months before the emperor's one-year anniversary of ascending the throne in September.

He couldn't help but hesitate, worried that if he delayed too long, something unexpected would happen.

In fact, he also understood that since the purpose of the carriage and horse was clearly to intimidate Mrs. Xue, there was no need to hesitate.

Even if she found out and I intentionally let her hear the conversation, it would still have a threatening effect.

It's just that he was used to perfection. He was struggling with whether to wait for more than two months or avoid more troubles, but the carriage had already arrived home and stopped in the front yard of Ningguo Mansion.

"Brother Yi! You're finally back!"

As soon as he lifted the curtain of the car, he saw Xue Pan standing in front of the car with a smile on his face.

"Is something wrong?"

Zhang Yunyou jumped off the carriage.

Xue Pan grabbed his sleeve, glanced at the servants in the yard, and said mysteriously: "Let's find a place where no one is around!"

Seeing this, Zhang Yun逸 had no choice but to take him to the side hall.

After the servant made tea and left, he said unhappily, "Can you tell me now?"

"Hey! Hey! I need your help with something..."

Xue Pan swallowed his saliva and said, "You don't know, a while ago, I was in Jinxiang Courtyard, I was really proud of it, in one night, I even called three or four girls..."

"Let's talk business!" Zhang Yunyi was too lazy to listen to him showing off his romantic affairs in the brothel.

"Hey! Hey!" Xue Pan smiled awkwardly and went straight to the point, "It's not my fault, it's just that the medicine in the palace is too strong..."

He rambled on and on, and it took him a long time to tell the whole story.

It turned out that Jinxiangyuan had been waiting for several days, but Xia Shouzhong's nephew did not show up as promised, so they went to the door.

I originally thought that the other party was just waiting for a good price and bargaining, but I didn't expect that he would turn against me and refuse to acknowledge his promise.

The capital city is different from other places, there are princes and nobles everywhere. Jinxiangyuan did not dare to act arrogantly, but only secretly inquired about his background. When they learned that he was Xia Shouzhong's nephew, they knew they could not afford to offend him, so they gave up in disappointment.

When Xue Pan learned about this, he thought of Zhang Yunyi's relationship and rushed over in a hurry.

After he finished speaking, he looked at Zhang Yunyi expectantly and said, "Unfortunately, the medicine seller went back on his word. The mother of Jinxiangyuan has already inquired about it. This man is the nephew of Eunuch Xia in the palace. They can't afford to offend him. I remember that you have some friendship with Eunuch Xia. Can you ask him to give me some? The price is not a problem!"

Zhang Yunyi was shocked when he heard this, and asked hurriedly, "Are you saying that the medicine is from the palace? Could it be that Eunuch Xia's nephew said so himself?"

"That's not the case. However, Eunuch Xia is a favorite of the Emperor, and the medicine is not an ordinary item. If it's not from the palace, where else could it be from?"

Zhang Yun逸 was convinced that he came from the palace. In fact, he was more certain about it than Xue Pan.

Today, his intelligence network has begun to show results.

Some time ago, several imperial physicians were inexplicably beaten with a stick. Coincidentally, the news also came from Quyuan Zatan, and they were all connected at once.

Although the imperial doctors learned their lesson and kept their mouth shut, the parties involved could not help but complain when they got together privately.

Although the specific reasons were vague, Quyuan Zatan still managed to collect some information.

Zhang Yun逸 originally didn’t think about it in this way. The emperor had been absent from court recently, so he was distracted for a moment.

Now, after listening to Xue Pan's words, I suddenly realized.

To be honest, since the emperor was involved, Zhang Yun逸 would rather stay out of trouble.

But he has already sided with Emperor Wanlong, and the emperor has no children yet. Judging from the emperor's recent performance and Xue Pan's oral statement, it is obvious that the drug has serious side effects.

If he gets sick from overeating and has no one to succeed him, and his brother passes on his inheritance to his younger brother, he will be doomed.

Zhang Yun逸 was torn between whether he should be a loyal minister and give direct advice to remind the emperor to take care of his health.

Xue Pan said with a lewd look on his face: "I think it's probably that eunuch Xia who is unwilling to give up and wants to use this medicine to try to be a man again. His nephew got it by chance. With just a hint, he will not dare to make it public. If you give him more silver..."

Although he scoffed at Xue Pan's statement, it provided Zhang Yun逸 with an idea.

Originally, he was guilty and worried about leaking his intelligence system, so he ignored the ready-made clue of Jinxiangyuan.

In addition, you can also take this opportunity to invite Xia Shouzhong to your house.

Thinking of this, he finally made up his mind.

He waved his hand and said, "That's enough! Watch your mouth and don't talk nonsense. When I have time one day, I will invite Eunuch Xia to ask for you."

"It's just a small matter, just a greeting, why do you have to wait for a few days?"

"Bullshit, do you think Eunuch Xia is like you?"

……

(End of this chapter)