You have truly caused me great suffering!

Chapter 212 Yi An's Plea for Help
After concluding his trip to Fenzhou, Chen Shao returned home on the 20th day of the first lunar month.

Scholars from Fenzhou came out of the city to see him off.

Looking at the long line of people on the outskirts of the city, Chen Shao laughed and said, "The people's hearts are at stake! The people's hearts are at stake!"

Zhang Xiaochun, standing to the side, flattered, "The commander-in-chief has the people's hearts at heart; great things are on the horizon."

Chen Shao glanced at him and said, "The so-called great undertaking must be to expel the Tartars, recover lost territories, and rebuild the Song Dynasty, right?"

Zhang Xiaochun stroked his beard and shook his head on horseback, saying, "If the commander thinks it's right, then it's right."

Chen Shao laughed heartily, too lazy to engage in banter with him. Now that he was beginning to show his talent, his subordinates were already restless.

At that moment, he suddenly came to believe something.

He used to think that the so-called "donning of the yellow robe" was just Zhao Da's attempt to save face.

But now that I think about it, there's a 50% chance it's true.

Often, the people under his command are even more anxious than the one who is being crowned emperor.

The transportation between Taiyuan and Fenzhou was already very smooth and convenient, and by evening the group had returned to the outskirts of Taiyuan.

Along the way, Chen Shao saw people on both banks of the Fen River, knocking on the floating ice.

Meanwhile, the craftsmen dressed in construction uniforms, holding leather scrolls and lead rods, had already begun surveying along the waterways.

Soon, they will be building water conservancy projects throughout the east bank of the river, a decision made just a few days ago.

This shows that everything is operating efficiently, and one's decrees can be implemented within three to five days.

This would have been an absolutely impossible scene to see in the Song Dynasty's system of redundant officials and bureaucracy.

My current team is more than enough.

Historically, the Grand Council was an efficient system established by Emperor Yongzheng when dealing with the war in the Northwest.

What Chen Shao is implementing now is somewhat similar to the Grand Council. The biggest drawback of this system is that those at the top of the pyramid are really exhausted.

Having to read so many reports and make so many decisions every day, it's inevitable that mistakes will be made sometimes.

If you make a mistake, you can correct it. Chen Shao is not afraid of these things. He is not the kind of person who is arrogant and unwilling to admit his mistakes.

But sometimes, even if you know you're wrong, you have to keep going because there's no way to fix it.

Furthermore, one must also consider one's own authority.

These decisions are very complex and there are no clear right or wrong answers.

Many decisions only reveal their advantages and disadvantages much later in life.

Therefore, he often makes moderate decisions. For example, he would choose the former without hesitation over the latter, which is a sure win but takes some time, or the latter, which is risky and involves surprise attacks.

Just as his mind was racing with thoughts, he looked up and found himself already in front of the mansion gate.

Back in the inner courtyard, Chen Shao saw a stranger standing in Huanhuan's room.

She was dressed in a honey-colored dress, her long black hair styled in a woman's bun. She looked to be about thirty years old, with a fair, oval face, arched eyebrows, and phoenix eyes. She was quite a beauty.

Chen Shao asked, "What is this?"

Cui Die smiled and said, "Master, this is Physician Lin from the Zhong family. Master Zhong specially sent her after learning that Madam is pregnant."

The fact that the female doctor was addressed as "sir" suggests she has some skill or expertise. Chen Shao nodded to her.

"This must be the commander. I am Lin Qiaoniang, sent here by my master." The woman curtsied.

"Oh, so it's Mr. Lin. I'll be relying on you from now on," Chen Shao said with a smile. "You're a very thoughtful older brother."

"Of course, Big Brother is great!" Huanhuan said proudly. "Sister Lin is a famous miracle doctor."

Chen Shao smiled and didn't take it seriously. It was always good to have a female doctor; it would make things more convenient every day.

He was often worried that Huanhuan was too young and feared there might be risks involved.

After Cui Die approached, she quietly introduced herself to Chen Shao. Lin Qiaoniang probably knew what she was talking about, and with an expression of indifference on her face, she stood aside and talked to Huanhuan.

It turns out that this really is a miracle doctor, specializing in treating gynecological diseases, especially mastitis and difficult childbirth.

She pioneered the "breast stretch mark diagnosis method," and in childbirth, she uses gentle techniques and skillfully employs warm oil massage to adjust the fetal position and alleviate the pain of the mother.

However, because her treatment methods required direct contact with patients' bodies, she was criticized as "immoral."

When the authorities came to her door, her husband, fearing he would be implicated, severed ties with her. As a result, her masterpiece, "Collection of Effective Prescriptions for Gynecology," was ordered to be burned by the authorities.

At that time, Zhong Shidao's aunt was seriously ill, so Zhong Shidao sent someone to rescue her, and she stayed in the Zhong family mansion from then on.

With this, Chen Shao felt much more at ease, and his mood improved considerably. This could be considered a major matter that had been resolved for him.

"Have you arranged accommodations yet?"

"It's right in our courtyard, in that empty room next door."

Chen Shao nodded and said, "We must not neglect her. From now on, Lin Qiaoniang will stay in our household."

Cui Die stuck out her tongue slightly, thinking to herself that the master was openly robbing her.

After Lin Qiaoniang left, Chen Shao had dinner with Huanhuan in the room.

After washing up, he beckoned to Huanhuan, pulled her into his arms, and gently stroked her lower abdomen.

It's only been a little over a month, and she's not showing yet, but the two are still being very careful. As long as she's not poked or hurt, Huanhuan still enjoys being close to Chen Shao.

After a short while, she felt a little uncomfortable, blushed, stood up from Chen Shao's arms, pointed at him and said, "Go find them, I need to rest."

Chen Shao chuckled, walked out of the courtyard, and wanted to go to Li Shishi's courtyard.

Li Shishi had an extremely regular schedule, and the lights in the room were already off.

Chen Shao had no choice but to turn around and go to Zhai Rui's courtyard. Zhang Yinghan happened to be there as well. The two sisters were only wearing undergarments and were about to fall asleep when they looked at their master with surprise.
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Not far away, in the house that Chen Shao arranged for the Cai family.

Today we have a guest, Li Qingzhao, who came from a great distance to visit a friend.

It was quite late when she arrived; she had asked around and found her way here.

The lights were still on when Princess Maode, Zhao Fujin, and Li Qingzhao held hands, exchanged a glance, and sighed softly.

They blew out the candles and huddled under the covers to keep each other warm.

"Didn't they say that Grand Tutor Cai and Chen Shao were close and had become allies? How could they treat you so poorly?"

"This residence of Princess Maode is incomparable to what it used to be," Li Qingzhao couldn't help but ask.

Maode didn't know the reason either, and vaguely said, "It seems that it was because Cai You abused the people, which caused a civil unrest in Hebei and angered Chen Shao."

Because of Cai You's sarcastic remarks and indifference towards her husband, Maode was extremely rude to him.

Li Qingzhao never expected this reason.

A shadow fell over her heart.

This trip wasn't just to visit my close female friend.

The imperial court executed Zhu Mian and his son, and when they investigated his accomplices, they surprisingly traced them back to Zhu Mian's husband, Zhao Mingcheng.

Because Zhao Mingcheng was obsessed with collecting bronze and stone inscriptions, which was the same hobby as Zhao Ji's, and he also wrote books and became very famous.

When Zhu Mian was collecting these cultural artifacts for Zhao Ji, he wrote to him several times to ask for his advice.

Zhao Mingcheng didn't think much of it and gave him a lot of pointers.

These letters were discovered and immediately became evidence of the crime.

Historically, at this time, the country was on the verge of collapse, so naturally no one would investigate. But now is the time to hunt down treacherous officials, and the intensity of the crackdown is unprecedented.

Li Qingzhao tirelessly sought help for her husband, but to no avail. She wanted to bribe him, but lacked the funds.

The only connection she could think of was Maode, because Maode's father-in-law, Cai Jing, had regained power.

Arriving in Taiyuan, only to find the Cai family living in such poverty, he felt even more distressed.

Seemingly sensing his friend's unease, Maode asked, "Is something on your mind?"

Li Qingzhao paused for a moment, then recounted her husband's ordeal.

After hearing this, Maode hesitated for a moment and said, "My father-in-law may not be able to help with this matter. You don't know, nowadays the court is ruled by Li Gang, Chen Shao and others."

Maode wasn't making excuses; she genuinely felt that if her father-in-law still held power, his eldest son wouldn't have ended up in such a miserable state.

Not long ago, he asked a laborer who was repairing the road at Yanmen Pass to send a message back, saying that it was very cold there, and the dry food was cold and hard, and he couldn't chew it. He asked his family to send him some clothes and spend some money to help him out.

The poor older brother was completely ignored.

Cai You was indeed a universally disliked person, but his only redeeming quality was his exceptional physical fitness.

Working on the front lines actually helped him give up alcohol and women, and he became healthier.

It should be noted that Chen Shao used laborers in a way that was completely different from that of Tong Guan and others.

The laborers in Hedong wouldn't go hungry, nor would they be overworked. They ate very little oil and fat, which was actually a good thing for Cai You, who had lived a life of luxury in the first half of his life.

Ordinary people simply cannot understand the current state of the court. Li Qingzhao and Maode know a little more than ordinary people, but their knowledge is still limited.

Seeing that Maode said this, she asked again, "Our family has no connection with Master Li. Could you ask Grand Tutor Cai to write a letter asking Chen Shao to put in a good word for Zhao Lang?"

"Chen Shao?"

After hearing this, Maode's expression turned somewhat strange, but fortunately it was dark and Li Qingzhao couldn't see it.

She hesitated, then whispered, "If we need Chen Shao to intervene, we don't need my father-in-law. I'll take you to see my sister-in-law tomorrow."

"Sister-in-law?"

Maode hummed in agreement and said no more, but he was already itching to tell his friend about this absurd thing.

Li Qingzhao suddenly widened her eyes, her mouth agape, and turned around, exclaiming, "Could it be..."

Maode nodded, a little embarrassed, but she had been bearing this alone for too long and really wanted to gossip about it with her friend.

Such gossip is truly unbelievable. Even Li Qingzhao, who was full of worries, couldn't help but secretly enjoy the gossip in her heart.

Thinking of the young man who sold paintings at the Xiangguo Temple and gambled at the Dule Garden, Li Qingzhao blushed and spat inwardly: Bah, so he was just a lecherous scoundrel.

"Alas, never be born a woman, for your joys and sorrows are determined by others. My sister-in-law must be spending her days in tears, sacrificing herself to feed the tiger, just to bring peace to your family, right?"

Maode couldn't help but cough, her pretty face turning bright red.

(End of this chapter)