The world of film and television begins with Ning'an as a dream

The most important thing is that the old lady actually met with Wang Xu, which might mean she wanted to reconcile with the Yongyi Marquis' Mansion. Then the old lady's weight on the protagonist's side would be much greater.

If the lady in their family still believes what I say, she might suffer a great loss.

This time it can be said that the master favored his concubine over his wife and therefore sent away so many servants. However, as long as someone takes advantage of it, it can also be said that the eldest lady, the legitimate wife, was disrespectful to the legitimate mother first, so the master treated the eldest lady like this.

One thing can lead to several different conclusions when told by different people. As someone who has contact with the lowest-level maids and old women, she knows the twists and turns best.

Therefore, she knew what the eldest lady was worried about, so she smiled and said, "What the eldest lady said is that judging from the situation over the past few years, the incident involving Lin Qinshuang was probably not the work of the old lady at all."

Although the lady was not very smart, she thought about what Liu Kun's family said and felt that it made a lot of sense.

Because, ever since Lin Qinshuang became Sheng Hong's concubine, the old lady has never seen Lin Qinshuang again, and even disliked the children born by Lin Qinshuang.

Thinking about it this way, I was just being too suspicious. It was really wrong to treat my stepmother like this.

When she thought of this, she couldn't help but spit, "It's all that little bitch Lin Qinshuang's fault!"

……

Shouantang

When Aunt Wang saw Old Lady Sheng, she said very respectfully, "Aunt, how are you!"

After hearing what Old Lady Wang called her, Old Lady Sheng said with some melancholy, "Are you still willing to acknowledge me as your aunt?"

The reason she said this was because when she married Sheng Hong's father, Tanhua Lang, her parents were not happy, but they could not persuade their daughter and reluctantly agreed.

It turned out that the third place winner was a guy who favored his concubine over his wife. Old Madam Sheng did not have a good life, which made the old Marquis Yongyi and his wife very angry.

Later, the old Marquis Yongyi swallowed his pride and made the decision for his daughter. He planned to let Old Lady Sheng remarry when Sheng Hong's father died. However, after suffering a loss, Old Lady Sheng still did not learn her lesson and actually refused. The old Marquis Yongyi was so angry that he fell seriously ill and directly severed relations with Old Lady Sheng.

After more than ten years, the old Marquis Yongyi died, and Mrs. Sheng's brother became the Marquis Yongyi. He felt that his father had passed away and his mother missed her daughter, so he planned to marry a concubine's daughter to the Sheng family in order to ease the relationship between the two families.

However, Old Lady Sheng refused for the sake of Sheng Hong's future, and accused the Yongyi Marquis's Mansion of using Sheng Hong as a pawn. This made the young Yongyi Marquis very angry, and he understood his father's feelings, so he announced that he had severed ties with Old Lady Sheng.

It was a coincidence that Mrs. Wang was the one arranged by Marquis Yongyi to marry into the Sheng family. After being rejected by Mrs. Sheng, Mrs. Wang was actually very depressed and didn't know whether to thank her or say anything else.

She was originally dissatisfied with this arrangement. After all, although Wang Yue's grandfather was a illegitimate son of the Xu family, he loved his daughter very much.

As the previous generation of the Sheng family had two people who favored their concubines over their wives, Wang Yue's grandfather was really unwilling to let his daughter take the risk of marrying into the Sheng family, but he had no choice but to accept it.

The reason why Mother Wang and Father Wang were together was because of Old Man Wang, who was enshrined in the Wang family's imperial temple. When he heard that his daughter had snatched the marriage of a woman from the Yongyi Marquis's family, he did not want to make enemies with the Yongyi Marquis's mansion because of this, so he persuaded Wang Yue's grandfather to let Father Wang ask for Mother Wang's hand in marriage, which was considered a marriage.

So, when you think about it, it’s actually a mess.

After so many years, Old Man Wang has never taken a concubine, and he and Old Lady Wang have been together for the rest of their lives, which is exactly the life that Old Lady Sheng longed for back then.

Wang Ruofu, who married Sheng Hong, was spoiled so much that she could not even hold her head up and became the laughing stock of the whole Yangzhou city.

Therefore, if Old Lady Wang had initially blamed Old Madam Sheng for being disrespectful and causing her to be disliked for no reason, she is now somewhat grateful.

She knew her aunt's character to some extent, so she smiled and joked, "Speaking of which, I should thank my aunt for knowing that the Sheng family is a pit of fire, so she risked breaking off the relationship to prevent the Xu family's daughter from entering the Sheng family again."

Old Mrs. Sheng was stunned for a moment. She didn't expect Old Lady Wang to answer like that, which made her smile.

If she had heard this six years ago before she saw Sheng Hong's true face, she would have found it a bit embarrassing. But now, after being a vegetarian and chanting Buddhist scriptures for the past few years, she has long lost her former sharpness and does not think that Old Lady Wang is a humorous person.

She smiled and asked, "Don't you envy my wife? She will soon go to the capital and become the wife of a fifth-rank official. She may even receive an imperial decree."

Old Lady Wang shook her head and said nonchalantly, "I can ask my son to help me earn all these. It's better for me to live in harmony with my husband and wife."

Seeing that Old Lady Wang was speaking so swiftly, Old Lady Sheng said helplessly, "No matter what, I was wrong back then."

The reason why Old Lady Sheng said this was that she could really feel through Sheng Hong's actions that Sheng Hong had no motherly love for her at all. She could already imagine that his future old age might be very miserable.

She only now realized how important blood ties were, but she admired the fact that Old Lady Wang understood it at such a young age.

Seeing what Old Lady Sheng said, Old Lady Wang roughly guessed what was going on, so she said consolingly, "Aunt, although your nephew is the one who inherited the title of Marquis of Yongyi, we are blood relatives after all. If you are willing, I can go to the Marquis's mansion to lobby for you."

Old Madam Sheng was a little hesitant. After all, the facts had proved that she was wrong in everything that happened back then. Asking Old Madam Wang to be the lobbyist or asking the young generation to bow their heads seemed to be asking too much.

Madam Fang saw the difficulty that Old Lady Sheng was in, so she smiled and persuaded her, "Old Lady, they are all your relatives. It is only right for you to go back and burn incense for the master, the mistress, and the eldest son."

After hearing this, Mrs. Sheng felt a little relieved, and she looked at Mrs. Wang and said, "In this case, I'll trouble you to go there."

If it were in the past, Mother Wang might not be willing to take on this job, but now that Wang Yue is pursuing a career in politics, the more connections he has, the better.

So, she smiled and said, "Don't worry, aunt. In a few days, my husband will meet the new governor, Lord Liu, and will prepare to go to Tokyo. I will also go back to the Yongyi Marquis's Mansion."

Mrs. Sheng saw that Mrs. Wang had no intention of distancing herself from him, and she also understood that this was to pave the way for her son, so she smiled and said, "If luck allows, maybe we can go together. When we meet in Kyoto, I think you should settle Xiao Yue down at the Sheng family, and I will help take care of him."

Old Lady Wang nodded and said with a smile, "Of course I would love that. With Aunt's help in teaching, I think my monkey will also gain a lot."

The two of them made a deal and were both very satisfied, so they started talking about other things.

Old Lady Wang also mentioned that she was planning to sell off the servants of the Sheng family. She asked in confusion, "I heard from my second aunt that her husband has changed his mind. What is the reason for this?"

Mrs. Sheng saw that Mrs. Wang knew nothing, but she dared to take this job. She didn't believe that my mother was stupid. It could only mean that my mother had realized that something must have happened in the Sheng family, which allowed Mrs. Sheng to turn things around.

She thought of her guess and smiled and reminded him, "Your precious son is not simple. His bow and arrow skills are much better than my eldest brother's when he was young."

Chapter 173: A Chance Encounter at Guazhou Ferry

Old Lady Wang had no idea what had happened that day. She only heard Wang Yue say a few vague words, so she was very curious and asked directly.

Old Madam Sheng also wanted to know more about Wang Yue, so she deliberately brought up Old Madam Wang's topic.

Old Lady Wang also saw what Old Lady Sheng was thinking. She also felt that it would be a good idea to let Old Lady Sheng know more about Wang Yue. In case Old Lady Sheng returned to her clan, her words would be much more useful than those of a person from a side branch like her.

The two of them started chatting about Wang Yue, and Fang's mother was also very happy seeing this.

However, as the protagonist of the conversation, he is now giving instructions on other matters.

……

Guazhou Ferry, Linjiang Tower

The reason why Changbai dragged Wang Yue here again was because Wang Yue came here to do some business last time, so he talked about the matter of the canal, which made people feel itchy, but he didn't explain it in detail.

So, this time he pulled Wang Yue and Gu Tingye over. After they sat down in a private room, he waited for the waiter to serve tea to the three of them, and then he couldn't wait to ask, "Cousin, when you talked about the canal last time, you said that the sins were in the present but the benefits would last for generations.

Later you said that it could have made the people of today feel grateful, but you didn’t explain it clearly. Can you explain it to me?”

Although Gu Tingye was also very curious, he still said speechlessly, "Changbai, why do you have to come out and talk about this? Can't you do it at home?"

Changbai shook his head and said with emotion, "Speaking of the canal, of course we have to be by the canal, so that it will have artistic conception."

Gu Tingye didn't expect that the serious Changbai could be so humorous. He nodded and said, "I can't refute what you said. I also want to hear what Brother Wang has to say. Is there any way to make the people willing to dig the canal?"

Wang Yue saw the two people saying this and explained helplessly, "In fact, the common people are eager to find some work to do during the slack season. The most fundamental reason is that the common people are doing labor service, but the country doesn't pay them, which is why there is trouble."

Gu Tingye was stunned for a moment, and asked with some doubt, "Isn't this what should be done? How can you pay for doing labor? This is what ordinary people should do."

Wang Yue waved his hand and said bluntly, "You've gone too far. Ordinary people have to pay taxes for farming and for doing business. It is these taxes that support so many officials.

They have already done what they are supposed to do, and asking them to do unpaid labor is just another form of exploitation.”

Sheng Changbai frowned and said in confusion, "What the common people do in labor service is originally a matter of benefiting the country and the people. The common people do this for themselves."

Wang Yue shook his head and said firmly, “Why should the common people do what you said?

Take the horses we often ride for example. Those of us who know a little bit know that horses should be allowed to rest after a period of time. Why don’t we take good care of them when it comes to ordinary people’s turn?

There is a scale between heaven and earth, the weight on the scale is the people, and the laws of the country are the stars on the scale.

Take the Sui Dynasty for example. They conscripted so many people to do corvée labor that they couldn't even cultivate their land. They also had to pay such heavy taxes. How could the common people survive?"

Sheng Changbai felt that this topic was too heavy, so he quickly changed the subject and asked, "Then in your opinion, how should we solve this problem?"

Wang Yue shrugged and said simply, "It's simple! The people do corvée labor, and the government will reduce or exempt some of their taxes. This way, the people will not be so opposed to corvée labor."

Changbai frowned and said uncertainly, "In this case, the taxes collected will be reduced a lot, right?"

Wang Yue shook his head and said seriously, "Although it is a little less, it is also taken from the people and used for the people. It can slow down the speed of main households becoming customers. Only when there are more main households can there be long-term stability."

Changbai pondered for a moment, and then asked seriously, "Brother, what you mean is simply that heavy corvée labor will make the people unable to farm, and reducing some taxes can alleviate this situation, right?"

Gu Tingye saw the two of them discussing this, and they seemed to understand each other very well, which made him seem a little out of place. He said impatiently, "Can you two talk about something I understand, such as marching and fighting."

Wang Yue understood Gu Tingye's thoughts and was speechless. This kid had suffered so much, but he just didn't have the foresight. He said unhappily, "If you are stupid, you should read more books. These are also indispensable for marching and fighting."

"A stupid person should read more books! The little brother is really funny!"

As soon as Wang Yue finished speaking, a middle-aged man walked through the door. He noticed the three people in the room and found that they were three half-grown children. He was stunned for a moment, and then continued, "I was very interested in what you said about corvée tax reduction. I hope you can forgive me for disturbing you!"

Wang Yue looked at the man and found that the fabric of his clothes looked ordinary, but they fit him very well. This showed that his clothes were tailored by professionals. He must be from a wealthy family, so he would have his clothes made by professionals.

He had some guesses in his mind, so he bowed and returned the greeting, then said with a smile, "The three of us took advantage of our youth to talk nonsense and disturbed the uncle's interest."

Gu Tingye and Chang Bai also bowed. They both noticed that the person seemed a little different, and they couldn't help but frowning. They didn't know if he had gotten into trouble again today. Fortunately, they saw that Wang Yue was relatively calm, so they suppressed their worries.

Seeing that the three people seemed to be led by Wang Yue, the visitor guessed that most of the words just now came from Wang Yue, so he smiled and asked, "Three of you, I have some questions about corvée labor. I wonder if we can sit down and talk about it."

Wang Yue saw that this man didn't look like a bad guy, so he smiled and said, "Uncle, please sit down. If I know anything, I will tell you everything I know."

"Then I would rather obey your orders than be respectful."

The man was no longer polite and motioned the attendant to guard the door. He sat down at the door and asked curiously, "Yangzhou is the main transportation route of the canal. It takes a huge amount of manpower to dredge the canal every year. It is not enough to rely on the local owners. We can only rely on the huge customers. However, the customers have no land and have to cultivate the owner's land. This will increase their burden. I wonder if you have any good ideas, little brother."

Although there were no canals in the two worlds dominated by Wang Yue, he had some knowledge of rivers, so he smiled and said, "Uncle, our Yangzhou is a place where the river and the canal meet. In addition to those customers who lost their land, there are still many people making a living by the river.

If the imperial court is willing to spend money to hire people to dredge the river, many people will come, and there is no need to exploit those honest farmers. "

After hearing Wang Yue's words, the middle-aged man nodded and said with some embarrassment, "Local people can make the decision on hiring corvée labor, but tax reduction may be difficult to implement."

Wang Yue knew this, so he said seriously, "It's actually very simple. Take Guazhou for example. There are many large and small canal gangs living here. You only need to contract out the riverside locations that are suitable for docks and let the contracted gangs be responsible for dredging the river. The longer the dredging, the better the dock location. I think the court doesn't need to worry about the river in Guazhou at all."

The middle-aged man's eyes lit up. This was a good idea. It didn't involve money, nor would it be used as a handle to attack others. It would also give the gangs something to do and would not disrupt the local area. It was really killing two birds with one stone.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt it made sense. The middle-aged man looked at Wang Yue with admiration and asked with a smile, "Sir, you are indeed thoughtful. I wonder which academy you are from?"

Gu Tingye knew that this was his elder brother's chance, so he quickly interrupted and said, "My elder brother has passed the examination and is preparing to study hard with a good teacher, so that he can take part in the imperial examination in the next provincial examination."

The middle-aged man understood what Gu Tingye meant when he heard him say that. He smiled and shook his head, then said seriously, "I know what you mean, but it's a pity that I'm not suitable to be a teacher."

Gu Tingye was a little disappointed after hearing this, because he could feel that this person's temperament seemed to be much better than Sheng Hong's father. He thought that even if his official position was not high, his knowledge was very good.

Such people have a lot of connections. If Wang Yue can become a disciple of such a person, his future will be smooth sailing.

The middle-aged man was very disappointed to see Gu Tingye, but Wang Yue was still calm. He valued Wang Yue's talent even more. He hesitated for a moment, then smiled and said to Wang Yue, "Although I can't accept you as my apprentice, I can recommend you to study at the Imperial Academy. I wonder if you are willing?"

Wang Yue had not expected that there would be such a good thing. As long as he studied hard in the Imperial College, he could still have a good future even if he failed the imperial examination. At worst, it was a place to accumulate connections.

It is possible to get a place in the Imperial College if one is determined to use their connections. However, the uncle of the Wang family who was allowed to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple has passed away, and each time one uses his connections, they will be gone. It is better to cherish them.

He quickly stood up and bowed, saying very respectfully, "Thank you for your recommendation, uncle. I haven't asked for your name yet. I will never forget your kindness in helping me."

The middle-aged man stood up with a smile and said mysteriously, "If you can guess who I am, I will give you the recommendation letter next time we meet."

After he finished speaking, he left the box and quickly went down the Linjiang Tower with his entourage, slowly joining the crowd of people coming and going.

Chapter 174: Diviner: Ode to Plum Blossoms

Seeing the two men disappear from view, Sheng Changbai asked in confusion, "Cousin, the Imperial College is a great opportunity, why aren't you in a hurry at all? Have you guessed who he is?"

Seeing that Changbai still couldn't figure it out, Gu Tingye said helplessly, "Zecheng, think about the question that person asked just now. It's obvious that he already had an idea about the canal in Yangzhou City. Big brother gave that person such a good suggestion, allowing him to dredge the canal without spending any money.

After he got the news, he immediately couldn't sit still and prepared to leave. Do you think there is anyone else in Yangzhou who cares so much about the Yangzhou Canal?"

After listening to Gu Tingye's words, Changbai thought for a moment, and immediately thought of a person, and said in disbelief, "Zhonghuai, are you saying that the person just now is the newly appointed Yangzhou governor, Mr. Liu?"

Wang Yue nodded and said seriously, "He must be right. He just realized that his identity was exposed, so he left with peace of mind."

After hearing this, Sheng Changbai could no longer sit still. He quickly stood up and said seriously, "Brother, if that's the case, I'll go home first. I must inform my father about this and ask him to prepare in advance."

Gu Tingye also understood the interests involved, so he stood up and said with a smile, "You are the one who invited me to come here today. Now that you are gone, I will go hunting with my brother."

Wang Yue was speechless, and said unhappily, "Zhong Huai, don't you think that the prefect has already arrived, and my father was going to meet him anyway. You don't think I'm still in the mood to hunt, do you?"

Gu Tingye had stood up and was ready to have fun, but after hearing what Wang Yue said, he collapsed in his chair and said depressedly, "Alright, alright, big brother and Changbai, hurry up and leave. I originally thought that I could have fun with you guys before I go back to Tokyo, but now it seems that you are all too busy to accompany me."

Wang Yue looked at Gu Tingye with disdain, and then said seriously, "How many times have I told you that your family's situation is very complicated? Unless you clearly say that you will give up the inheritance of the title, otherwise, you will be in big trouble in the future. If it is not impossible to transfer it, I would like to give you my opportunity to go to the Imperial College."

Seeing Wang Yue say that, Gu Tingye no longer had the heart to play around. He said very depressedly, "Whoever wants the title can have it. If I want it, I will fight for it on my own."

Sheng Changbai also shook his head helplessly and said very seriously, "Some things cannot be abandoned just by saying no, and others may not believe you."

Gu Tingye was very depressed. He knew he couldn't play today, so he stood up and said as he walked out, "In this case, I'd better accompany my grandfather. The other branches of the Bai family have all been imprisoned because they were involved with bandits. Although my grandfather didn't have a good relationship with them, I still feel sorry for them. I still have to comfort him."

Since the three of them all had something to do, they left Linjiang Tower together. In the following days, they were all busy with their own things and had few opportunities to meet each other.