The Red Mansion Big Liar

"Okay! Everything has been arranged. I will go to the palace to see the emperor tomorrow!"

……

Mei Lian made such a big fuss, and naturally Zhang Yun逸 was not the only one who got wind of it.

Inside the Ministry of Personnel, Jia Yucun had a frown on his face.

After finally getting through the court session and returning home, he went to Jiao Xing's room.

"Don't go to the old couple's place recently!"

Jiao Xing felt relieved when she heard this. Xiangling and other female relatives were all at the farm outside the city.

Zhang Yun逸 was alone and stayed in the mansion.

Whenever he returned home, he had to go see his son, and it was inevitable that the two would bump into each other.

Although Zhang Yunyi did not do anything extreme, Jiao Xing had a preconceived impression of him and she couldn't help feeling uncomfortable every time she saw him.

However, Jia Yucun's sudden change surprised her, and she wondered, "Could something have happened?"

Jia Yucun did not hide it from her and told her about the impeachment in Jiangnan.

Jiao Xing was horrified and said, "Then...then should I go tell my sister..."

"No!" Jia Yucun hurriedly stopped him.

He thought for a moment and added, "My dear brother and the elder are close friends, how could there be no news? As the saying goes, a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall. This matter is serious and we can't help much. It is better to protect ourselves. If something really happens, the two elders and your sister will not be left without anyone to take care of them. It can be regarded as repaying his favor."

Having served as an official for many years, he is well versed in how to seek good fortune and avoid misfortune.

He doesn't mind lending a hand as long as it doesn't affect himself.

But if the matter was really too serious, he would not put himself in danger for the so-called friendship.

I was just worried that Jiao Xing would get too concerned, so I just wanted to calm her down temporarily.

With this promise, Jiao Xing did not insist any more. After all, Zhang Yunyi was just an outsider with ill intentions to her.

……

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 416 Treasure Offering

Imperial City West Garden.

"Woo..."

White steam mixed with black smoke gushed out.

Accompanied by the sound of "clang, bang...", the earth trembled, and the black steel beast slowly started up.

The armored guards held the hilts of their swords and stood in front of Emperor Zhengqing, as if they were facing a powerful enemy.

Zhou Xiangui and several other eunuchs who followed behind him had trembling calves and were shaking with fear.

As they watched, the pitch-black steel beast turned in front of everyone, swerving like a dragon. Emperor Zhengqing pushed aside the guards in front of him.

His eyes sparkled, his face was full of excitement, he clapped his hands and exclaimed: "The immortals' method is indeed mysterious, it can drive such a huge beast without cattle and horses. My dear minister, you have made a great contribution. You actually brought the immortals' method to our Great Xia. Why should I worry about whether my country will be stable forever!"

"Your Majesty, thank you for your praise! I have only learned a little bit..."

"Quick! Tell this iron dragon to stop and let me go up and take a look!"

Iron Dragon...

Zhang Yunyi burst out laughing, but the space was limited, the tracks were arranged into an oval, and there were three or four flatbeds hanging behind the front of the train, which looked a bit like a snake.

He quickly obeyed the order, put his left palm flat, poked the palm with his right index finger, and made a pause gesture towards the front of the car.

Zhou Xiangui immediately stepped aside, left the crowd, and shouted in a hoarse voice: "Your Majesty has ordered that the Iron Dragon should stop immediately..."

“Woo…Crack…”

Before he could finish his words, the sound of the whistle and the noise of metal friction completely covered his voice.

Sparks flew from the wheels at the bottom of the front of the car. The guards raised their shields in a panic, only to find that the emperor was still standing in front of them.

Fortunately, Zhang Yun逸 stepped in front of the emperor, and the guards rushed forward immediately.

Zhang Yunyi smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. These sparks are just for show. They are just some dust!"

Seeing the train slowly stop in front of him, Emperor Zhengqing looked at the flustered guards with dissatisfaction and shouted angrily: "Useless!"

Then, he couldn't wait to look at Zhang Yunyi.

Zhang Yunyi quickly opened the car door. Emperor Zhengqing hesitated for a moment, then stepped onto the front of the car, and Zhang Yunyi followed him in.

Several operators in the front of the car immediately knelt down and shouted "Long live the car".

Emperor Zhengqing looked around in surprise, then looked at Zhang Yunyi and asked, "How did this iron dragon move? Why is there a stove inside?"

Zhang Yunyi shamelessly said: "Your Majesty is the True Dragon Emperor, so the Iron Dragon will naturally obey your Majesty's orders!"

"Hahaha!" Emperor Zhengqing laughed out loud, obviously enjoying his flattery.

But he said: "My dear, how come you have learned little Guizi's tricks?"

Although Zhou Xiangui did not finish his words just now, his meaning was obvious. He was simply trying to please the emperor by giving orders to the train.

I have to say, although they are good at other things, eunuchs are the best when it comes to flattery.

Zhang Yun逸 was also inspired by Zhou Xiangui to say those words.

However, he could not admit that he was just flattering, so he said confidently: "Your Majesty has received the order from Heaven, and I am just telling the truth!"

He changed the subject and said, "Although this iron dragon is a dead object, I am following the order of the late emperor to build the iron dragon for the emperor to drive. Isn't that obeying the emperor's orders?"

“Hahaha!” Emperor Zhengqing laughed heartily again, waved his hand, and said, “My dear minister, you are right!”

He straightened his face and continued to ask, "Tell me quickly, how do you drive this?"

"Your Majesty, please look!" Zhang Yunyi pointed to the stove and gave a brief explanation.

After hearing this, Emperor Zhengqing pondered for a moment, and suddenly realized, "So that's how it is. I once had a furnace explode when I was refining the elixir. Could this be a method that the immortals learned from watching the immortals refining the elixir?"

“This…” Zhang Yunyi had not expected that Emperor Zhengqing would draw inferences from one instance. After a slight hesitation, he said, “I don’t know about this!”

The more conceited a person is, the more he believes in the conclusions he draws. Since Emperor Zhengqing has already made this guess, the more he says, the more mistakes he will make.

He bowed to Emperor Zhengqing and said, "The smoke is too thick here, Your Majesty, please move!"

After getting off the car, he came to the flatbed towed behind and said to Zhou Xiangui, "Eunuch Zhou, please bring someone to weigh the bag!"

Then, he introduced it to Emperor Zhengqing: "This thing is driven by fire, and it is called a train in the fairy world. It does not need to rest like cattle and horses. It can carry tens of millions of loads and travel thousands of miles a day. It can easily transport soldiers, food, and supplies."

But novelty is obviously flashy and impractical, it also has to have practical value.

Of course, given the conditions of the Great Xia Dynasty, it was obviously not an easy task to actually lay a railway.

Not to mention the difficulty of building roads and bridges, just given the security environment in ancient times, preventing the theft of railroad tracks was not an easy task.

"Good! Good!" Emperor Zhengqing said with a smile, "My dear minister, you have made great contributions this time. If you want any reward, just ask!"

"Your Majesty..." Zhang Yunyi said with embarrassment, "Your Majesty, I would like to ask for a few days' leave!"

Emperor Zhengqing was surprised and asked, "Could it be that something happened at home?"

“No, no, no!” Zhang Yunyi explained, “I am anxious to present this to His Majesty, and I have been working day and night lately. Firstly, I am a little tired, and secondly, my concubine gave birth to a son, so I have not been able to take care of it…”

"Oh?" Emperor Zhengqing said with a smile, "Have you held the full moon banquet?"

"Your Majesty! Because I have no time to spare, I didn't hold the ceremony on the full moon. I plan to hold it on the hundredth day."

Emperor Zhengqing waved his hand and said, "Okay! Since you are unwilling to ask for a reward, I will wait until the Hundred Days Banquet to give you some joy!"

He turned to Zhou Xiangui and said, "Remember to remind me!"

"It's your Majesty!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"

It’s not that Zhang Yunyi doesn’t want to ask for a reward, but he plans to leave more chips for later.

Mei Lian's memorial will be delivered to the capital in the next few days. There is still more than a month before the Hundred Days Banquet. By then, the matter will probably be settled. If the emperor wants to reward him, he will naturally not refuse.

After leaving the palace, he felt much more at ease.

Before this, he took the opportunity to flatter the emperor and mentioned Emperor Xing Xian in passing, in order to remind the emperor that he was the resurrected soul of the previous emperor and was ordered to assist him.

When he returned home, he heard from the servants that Zhang Dehui had been waiting for a long time.

Arriving at the side hall, Zhang Dehui quickly stood up and said, "Boss! I have found out everything..."

He told Zhang Yun逸 the whole story he had found out.

A few months ago, Aunt Xue handed over several ginseng plants that had lost their medicinal properties to the store.

Although she couldn't tell that the ginseng had lost its medicinal properties, the shop owner could see it clearly.

Originally they might not have dared to think about this, but if the upper beam is not straight, the lower beams will be crooked.

Seeing that Aunt Xue was passing off inferior ginseng as genuine, he thought that she was relying on her relationship with Zhang Yunyi and was fearless, so he boldly got some fake ginseng in private, deceiving his superiors and subordinates and pocketing the money.

Although Zhang Dehui did not find out the origin of the ginseng, Zhang Yunyi naturally thought of the ginseng that belonged to Lady Jia.

This news was a big surprise for him.

On the one hand, the ginseng came from Lady Jia's hands, so it would be best if it could be linked to her. Even if it couldn't be linked to her, it could be used to sow discord between the two families.

On the other hand, since Grandmother Jia knew that the ginseng had problems, she still sold it to the Xue family. Even if she still had some money in her pocket, it must have been very limited.

Of course, although the clerk took the blame for the Xue family out of selfishness, it did not lead to an unmanageable situation. However, since he had the opportunity to control the Xue family, he naturally did not want to miss it.

Instead, he was worried that Shuntian Prefecture would find out the truth and make a decision early.

Seeing that it was almost time to end the office, he planned to go to Shuntian Prefecture again tomorrow.

……

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 417 An unexpected gain

Shuntian Mansion.

Li Mingyuan and other court officials had packed up their things and were preparing to go home.

But then a yamen runner rushed into the inner hall and shouted, "Sir! It's bad!"

"what happened?"

"Your Excellency, many students from Jiangnan have gathered outside the city... They say they want to restore order and advise the Emperor..."

He finished speaking in a halting manner, and everyone's faces changed drastically.

They looked at each other in bewilderment and after a long pause, Li Mingyuan spoke first, "Go! Capture the head of the Xue family first!"

"Sir..." Several officials looked at him in surprise, seeming to be hesitant to speak.

Although there is a huge momentum outside the city, the outcome is still uncertain.

What's more, Zhang Yun逸 still has the kindness to rescue him, so such a decision is obviously inappropriate and hasty.

Li Mingyuan waited until the yamen runners took the order and left, then he raised his hand and explained, "Everyone, please be patient! It's not that I am ungrateful. Yesterday, Lord Zhang came to visit and specifically told me to handle it impartially. He wouldn't make a fuss about such a small matter. Now that I think about it, he probably got wind of it in advance and didn't want to give him a handle at this juncture."

After he said this, the faces of the officials became much more relaxed.

"Your Excellency is wise! Since Lord Zhang has made preparations, we will not be caught off guard. I am relieved."

"But, if Lord Zhang misunderstands, wouldn't it be..."

Li Mingyuan pondered and said, "It doesn't matter. We are just pretending. Let's bring the person back first and treat him well in the government office."

He paused, then continued, "Although the case is clear, there is no need to rush to make a verdict, so as to avoid unnecessary complications. It will not be too late to make a verdict after the storm has passed and the dust has settled. What do you think?"

"I think Lord Zhang should give a heads up in advance to avoid any misunderstandings."

"Of course. I will send someone there later and inform you of what is happening outside the city."

"So good!"

Just like that, before Zhang Yun逸 went to Shuntian Prefecture the next day.