The spring of the 13th year of Zhenning passed quickly, and the auspicious jars that Deng Ying had designed to be placed in front of the gate of the Hall of Mental Cultivation were finally gradually installed.
Yang Wan occasionally walked by the imperial road of the Palace of Tranquil Longevity and saw the apricot blossoms reflected on the water, with faint shadows. The flowers fell into the jar but did not sink. Even if they were sunk to the bottom of the jar by a few rain showers, they lay calmly on the green moss.
The spring in the entire Ming Imperial City is very much like Deng Yingchao's temperament.
Warm, clean, and filled with the crisp, light fragrance of washed silk.
Yang Lun's "Plan for Clearing Fields" began to be implemented in Jiangnan.
In early March, torrential rains hit the south, causing the Jingjiang River to burst its banks, resulting in three counties in the upper reaches of Yunmengze that were undergoing land surveys, as well as seven or eight counties at the confluence of Huaiyin Qingkou and the Huai River being almost completely flooded. The Governor of Huguang, Yu Shangwen, wrote to Emperor Zhenning, requesting a tax reduction for those counties. Emperor Zhenning followed the cabinet's advice and issued an order to reduce the taxes for those counties in Jingzhou for one year.
Unexpectedly, the prefectures and counties in the flood-prone areas of the Huai River, seeing that Hubei had taken the lead, also wrote letters requesting tax reductions.
However, as a pile of memorials came in, the Ministry of Revenue began to feel troubled.
During the Zhenning years, the treasury was in serious deficit. The various ministries were already living beyond their means. Seeing that the money that the officials had paid for the New Year last year had not been paid, they could not afford to spend money without bringing in any income. Therefore, whenever the cabinet discussed disaster relief, the Ministry of Revenue rejected it on the grounds that there was not enough money. The residents of more than a dozen counties affected by the disaster were living in poverty, and the local governments were unable to take care of themselves. The work of clearing the fields gradually became difficult.
Yang Lun requested to go to the south in person to oversee the land clearing affairs, but He Yixian took the opportunity to suggest to Emperor Zhenning that the land clearing in the south be suspended, and recommended a man named Liang Fan from the engineering department to go and survey the disaster and oversee the project of plugging the breach.
When Deng Ying told Yang Lun this, Yang Lun almost jumped up from his chair.
"Oh! Who knows how Liang Fan would get the Ministry of Works' funding when he goes to the south? We know that after the land reclamation, the Ministry of Revenue will need money to buy land, and we are eager to dig out silver from the cracks in the rocks. In the midst of natural disasters and man-made disasters, there are still greedy people there! What the hell!"
Deng Ying had not slept well the night before, and Yang Lun's loud voice made her forehead hurt.
Because the meeting was held in Yang Lun's private residence, everyone sat casually except Deng Ying, who stood with his hands hanging down and stood there for a whole hour.
He was really feeling a little uncomfortable at this time. He had no choice but to press his temples and cough twice before saying to Yang Lun: "I can recommend someone to you from the Ministry of Industry, if you gentlemen are willing to believe me."
Yang Lun sat down again angrily and motioned for him to tell him his name.
Deng Ying said calmly, "Xu Qi, after the construction of the Hall of Supreme Harmony was completed, this man returned to the Ministry of Works."
Yang Lun did not say anything, Bai Huan suddenly asked: "Why do you recommend this person?"
Deng Ying turned around and bowed to Bai Huan, saying, "This man worked with me to supervise the construction of the Hall of Supreme Harmony. Although he is too upright, he is very loyal. If Lord Yang wants to go to the south to supervise the clearing of land, this man should not be controlled by the seal holder and use the flood to hinder the Ministry of Revenue."
After he finished speaking, everyone present fell silent. Some looked at him with suspicion, while others simply showed disdain.
It was almost summer, and it was another sunny day. The main hall and courtyard of the Yang Mansion had been exposed to the sun for a whole day, and the muddy ground gradually gave off a damp and stuffy smell. An official named Wu from the Ministry of Revenue couldn't help but wipe his face, and suddenly stood up and said, "Today I am discussing this privately. I don't know why Minister Yang let Director Deng come in, and I dare not ask. Let me be honest. Whether it's Xu Qi or Liang Fan, they were all recommended by people from the Imperial Household Department. How big of a difference can there be? Let alone the constraints, I think the Imperial Household Department is ready to kill people now."
Bai Huan raised his voice and shouted, "Master Wu! Be careful with your words."
Wu Siguan said: "My Lord, I am speaking from the bottom of my heart, so why should I be afraid? Even if the guards of the East Factory arrest me as soon as I leave the house, I have to say what I have to say..."
"If he wanted to arrest someone today, he wouldn't stand before you and me with his injuries!"
Bai Huan interrupted Wu Siguan's words. Deng Ying was stunned for a moment and looked up at Bai Huan. He also had a glimmer of hope, trying to see a trace of sympathy for him in the eyes of a teacher who didn't recognize him. However, Bai Huan didn't look at him, waved his hand to restrain his voice, and said hoarsely: "Okay, let's continue the discussion."
Yang Lun looked at Deng Ying and saw that he was wearing casual clothes today. Although the weather was not very hot, the blue satin robe was already wet with sweat. Yang Lun remembered the old injury on his leg, so he waved for the servant to come in and told him, "Go and move another stool."
“No need.”
Deng Ying bowed her head and saluted Yang Lun. "I came here today not to discuss matters with you gentlemen, but just to hope that you would be prepared for the emperor's presence tomorrow so that you would not be caught off guard. I still have official business to attend to in the factory, so I will resign now."
Yang Lun stood up and said, "Someone come and take me a step."
Deng Ying stood up with his hands down, "I dare not. Please let me do as I please."
After he finished speaking, he bowed his head and saluted to everyone in the hall, then took two steps back before turning around, straightening his sleeves and walking down the doorstep.
Yang Lun watched Deng Ying's back disappear at the second gate, then turned around and asked Bai Huan: "What do you think, teacher?"
Bai Huan was silent for a while, then said, "Xu Qi can be recommended, but it would be better if it is not recommended by the cabinet. Let's inform the Ministry of Works and ask them to submit a memorial today. We will draft it tomorrow and submit it when the emperor discusses the matter."
Yang Lun responded, “Yes.”
Bai Huan sighed and stood up tremblingly.
"That's all for today."
Yang Lun hurried forward to help, and the teacher and students walked through the second door. Bai Huan suddenly stopped and asked, "What's wrong with your foot?"
"ah?"
Yang Lun was stunned for a moment, "Who... has a foot injury."
"Deng Ying."
Yang Lun didn't expect Bai Huan to suddenly mention Deng Ying's leg injury. He was a little surprised, but he still explained: "Oh. I heard that she was injured by torture instruments when she was on trial in the Ministry of Justice two years ago."
"Um."
Bai Huan nodded and continued walking forward without asking any more questions.
Yang Lun asked tentatively: "Teacher, can I make friends with him in the future?"
Bai Huan stopped and asked, "Why do you ask me like this?"
Yang Lun said: "He is our eyes in the Imperial Household Department."
"Then you can treat him as your eyes!"
"teacher… "
Bai Huan held Yang Lun's hand and said earnestly, "Yang Zixi... Once we become friends, you will remember the friendship between you and your fellow disciples. When he is convicted, it is easy for you to be doomed to eternal damnation with him because of a single thought. Look at him..."
As he spoke, he raised his hand and pointed outside, "Look at what kind of path he is taking? He stepped on the lives of more than 80 people from Tongjia Academy to take control of the East Factory. There is no one in the court who doesn't hate him. Who can protect him? Only the emperor can protect him. But what did he do? Is it something a servant should do? He has private information with us. Once the Ministry of Works recommends Xu Qi tomorrow, He Yixian will immediately understand what he did in the middle. If you regard him as a fellow student, would you dare to admit this matter with him? You have to distance yourself from it..."
Yang Lun clenched his fists unconsciously, "Am I just going to watch him do this..."
Bai Huan sighed, his eyes became hot and his throat was difficult to breathe.
"You and I can only watch..."
Yang Lun said: "But the student's younger sister is still with him."
Bai Huan raised his head and saw a group of birds in the clouds swooping down, as if they were ready to die. The words that he was reluctant to say suddenly came out of his mouth.
"Zi Xi, even if you are my own son, can't you abandon him for the sake of the country?"
Having said this, he had already reached the main entrance.
Bai Huan still looked at the sky, but said nothing more.
Yang Lun raised his head and looked straight out the door. He saw green trees on the spring road, green grass and silky swallows, a whole warm spring scene. However, he had a vague feeling that the road was covered with three feet of ice and filled with bones.
***
Deng Ying came out of Yang's house and walked alone on the main street. Several guards from the East Factory saw him from a distance in the crowd and rushed to him, saying, "Director, you are walking alone."
Deng Ying saw that they were blushing and not wearing official uniforms, so he asked as he walked with his sleeves gathered up: "Did you go for a drink?"
One of them replied, "Yes, we went to a wedding to have a drink. Captain Chen married a second wife and built a new house. That's why we made a fuss."
Deng Ying nodded: "I heard that he bought a house last month."
"Yes, it is very big. Although it is only a two-story courtyard, it looks very spacious. Director, you should buy an outer house. What's the point of living in the palace all the time? I see that many officials in the capital are eager to honor you. Some have even brought their property deeds to you. Why don't you just give them a look?"
Deng Ying smiled and said, "It's your own way. Go and see for yourself."
"Then why? In the past six months, you have distributed everything to your subordinates, and you haven't bought anything for yourself. You don't want anything, but at least think about Yang."
Deng Ying stopped and said, "Don't say such things."
After he finished speaking, he had already arrived in front of Donghuamen.
When several factory guards saw someone at the door, they suddenly became silent and pulled each other away.
When Deng Ying looked up, she saw Yang Wan standing behind the Donghua Gate. She was wearing a brand new palace dress and her hair was tied up in a loose bun. It seemed that she had figured out some new ideas in makeup and clothing in the past six months, and she looked even more beautiful.
"Why are you here?"
Yang Wan took a few steps towards him, "Can you see anything different?"
"Promoted to head of household register?"
Yang Wan smiled and said, "Yes, I want to treat you tonight, but I don't have a place, so I want to borrow your and Li Yu's place."
Deng Ying hesitated: "My place is narrow, I'm afraid..."
"fine."
Yang Wan followed him and walked forward, saying as she walked, "It's warm now, so it's not good to eat in the hot pot. I see that you usually cook outside, and there aren't many people here, just you, me, Li Yu, Yun Qing, and Chen Hua. I don't ask for anything, I just want to have fun, you see... We've talked about getting together many times, but you've always been in poor health, so we never got together."
Deng Ying nodded and said, "Okay. I'll go back to the factory office first and come over later."
Yang Wan suddenly asked, "Did you go out to see my brother today?"
Deng Ying paused, "How do you know?"
"Guess."
She looked at his ankle and said, "From the way you walk, I can tell you've been standing for a long time. Apart from him, who else would dare to let you stand for so long outside?"
After she finished speaking, she moved closer to Deng Ying and said, "Deng Ying."
"Um?"
"Don't be afraid of him in the future. Just sit and talk to him. If he treats you badly again, I will go up to Huijimen and scold him."
Deng Ying laughed out loud, "The elder is here today, I can't be presumptuous."
"oh."
Yang Wan sighed, "I can't afford to offend that gentleman. Alas..."
He sighed with some sadness, "I have been standing for a whole day today, and there are so many people I can't afford to offend."
Deng Ying asked hurriedly: "What's wrong?"
Yang Wan pursed her lips and said, "Concubine Jiang, suddenly she wanted to read some classics. She didn't say anything when she read them. Later, she asked me to recite them. I read for most of the day, and the maids in her palace almost fell asleep. It was obvious that she was taking revenge on me."
"Is it because of the incident you reported in Yanxi Palace last time?"
Yang Wan shrugged. "What else could it be? I finally understand why Jiang Shangyi punished me that time."
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