Unbeknownst to Jun Huailang, the urgent letter from Dongchang had already been delivered to Xue Yan's desk yesterday.
The letter said that the Qing Ping Emperor had received the memorial that Yongning Gong had reported to Beijing, and he had already started to call all the ministers to discuss the matter.
Jinling was affected by the disaster, so it was natural to send money, grain and materials, which was understandable and did not need to be discussed. What the Qing Ping Emperor summoned the ministers to discuss was which official to send as the official in charge of the disaster to escort the supplies south.
Although Duke Yongning has a high status and outstanding ability, even if he is appointed on the spot, there is nothing wrong with him.
However, Duke Yongning has hereditary meritorious deeds. Now that Jinling has been hit by the disaster, he has already had merit in handling the disaster and reporting it in time.
At that time, he would not be able to say in the courtroom whether he wanted to give Duke Yongning a high-ranking official or not.
But if he was given a high-ranking official and rich salary, who knows if people's hearts would change? He is a descendant of meritorious deeds. If he wins again, if he cultivates his own power and develops dissent, he will be much more difficult to deal with than those officials who have no foundation.
In order not to cause this trouble for himself, Emperor Qingping summoned all the ministers as if he did not know that Duke Yongning was in Jinling, and discussed the arrangement of the officials responsible for disaster relief in the south.
As before, this time, in order not to let Duke Yongning's old friends know, Emperor Qingping still only found officials of the aristocratic family. Among the officials present, except for the neutral faction who protected himself, all of them belonged to the Xu family.
Everyone tacitly kept silent about the matter of Duke Yongning in Jinling, discussed it for a long time, and elected a young official who has only risen to prominence in the court in the past few years.
Sure enough, it was from the Xu family.
When the candidates were finalized and the imperial decree was issued, Emperor Qing Ping allocated money and food, and asked the official to lead people to set off immediately to go to Jiangnan for disaster relief.
The disaster relief team will start from Chang'an and head west all the way. After entering Shandong, they will board the boat from the Yellow River and transport food and grass to Jinling along the canal connecting the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers.
The waterway is smooth, the walk is fast, and there is no need to pass through various cities, states and counties, so it can save a lot of trouble, and it is difficult to do some secret activities.
Therefore, Xue Yan knew immediately that if they wanted to do anything with the supplies, they would definitely be before the waterway.
And the most convenient place is in Shandong, where the cargo is unloaded and loaded.
Their mission on this trip is urgent. When loading and unloading food and grass, it is most likely to be in a hurry, and it is best to use their hands and feet. In addition, the new prefect of Shandong belongs to the Xu family. After they have transferred the money and grain greedy for ink, they can immediately deposit it in the treasury of Shandong, and then hand over the rest to Guo Rongwen. Sleep.
Those grains and silver can also disappear during the transportation process. When Jinling asked for money and grain, they had thousands of ways to put the blame on Yongning Gong and Shen Zhifu.
Xue Yan sat beside Jun Huailang, looked at his sleeping appearance, and pondered for a moment.
He knew that the trivial things these people did that would not lead to death had to keep evidence and wait for an opportunity. However, if they take the risk and do such a life-and-death matter... they need to arrest and convict on the spot.
After all, there is no name written on the silver and grain. If they waited until they sent the money and grain from the greedy ink into the Shandong government treasury and mixed it with the original inventory in Shandong, even if they wanted evidence, it would be difficult to find.
What's more, their move is to push Duke Yongning into a desperate situation. If he still does not move at this time, and the money and grain cannot be sent to Jinling, then he will be puzzled, and Jinling will be in great trouble.
From the very beginning, they destroyed dams, killed scholars, and now they seized money and grain. All they wanted was to cause trouble in Jinling, so that the Jiang family's commoner-born officials could be shaken.
Now those who come to Jiangnan have changed from Jiang family officials to Yongning Gong, so their arrangements are to kill Yong Ning Gong.
Xue Yan couldn't let their plans succeed.
Therefore, after receiving the imperial decree, he needs to set off immediately, go to Shandong to receive the decree, and personally escort back the money allocated by Chang'an.
In this way, at least ten days, he was not in Jinling.
Although there were Jun Huailang's father and a large number of officials in Jinling City, Xue Yan was still worried.
It was a clear night, with a bright moon hanging in the sky. Xue Yan raised his head, looked at the moon in the sky, and thought.
In addition to the troops that needed to rush into Shandong, he could also set aside some Jinyiwei to stay in Jinling to protect Jun Huailang's safety. Duan Shishi also wants to stay, it is enough for Shandong to have oneself, there is nothing that Duan Shishi must do...
As for Jinbao, he would be appropriate on weekdays, or he would stay and watch Jun Huailang's three meals a day and take a nap...
At this moment, Xue Yan felt a slight movement on his shoulders.
He lowered his head and saw Jun Huailang raise his hand, rubbing his eyes.
"...How come I just fell asleep." Jun Huailang's voice was a little hoarse, with the softness of not waking up, coupled with his cold voice, it sounded tight.
Xue Yan's stomach tensed involuntarily, causing him to pinch hard on the soft flesh under his arm, and then suppressed the urge to rise.
He lowered his head and said, "Awake?"
Jun Huailang sat up, yawned, and barely woke up.
"Maybe I've been busy for too long in the afternoon." He said, and was about to stand up and look under the dam. "How? Can the finishing touches for today be done?"
Even though the project of managing the river and repairing the embankment is now carried out step by step according to his arrangement, there will always be some mistakes in the process. Therefore, Jun Huailang stayed here every day, always watching the progress and situation. If there was a problem, he had to rush to solve it immediately.
Xue Yan was a little unhappy when he saw that he was taking care of repairing the embankment as soon as he opened his eyes. He raised his hand and dragged him back when he was half up.
"I saw it for you," he said. "It has been repaired, and the work has been completed, and it will be back soon."
Jun Huailang responded, and without doubting him, he sat back in peace.
He looked up at the moon in the sky and couldn't help laughing in a low voice: "It's hard work for you too, and you spend so much time here with me every day."
Xue Yan turned his eyes away with a cold face.
"I'm happy, it's not hard at all," he muttered in a low voice.
The surroundings were quiet and there was no wind, only the lights on the construction site beside the dam were lit up.
These words easily entered Jun Huailang's ears.
The child was so angry that Jun Huailang wanted to laugh subconsciously. But when he looked at Xue Yan, the smile was still on his face, but he couldn't turn his eyes away.
This man sat quietly beside him, not much to say, but the scent of sandalwood lingered around him.
Jun Huailang watched him quietly for a while.
Xue Yan's appearance is particularly outstanding, and his aura is also strong and sinister. This is what Jun Huailang has known since the first time he saw him in his previous life.
However, he never thought that such a person would quietly accompany him during these most difficult times.
Fate is too magical.
Xue Yan was staring at the lights under the dam and pondering, feeling Jun Huailang's gaze, he turned his head and asked, "What's wrong?"
Jun Huailang paused, then shook his head.
Xue Yan looked at him and said, "I'm leaving for a few days."
Jun Huailang was stunned for a moment, then asked, "Where are you going?"
Xue Yan said: "Beijing has already dispatched relief materials, Xu Xiang will do it, and I have to go there in person."
Jun Huailang paused for a while, and then he fully understood.
"You mean, they will detain the supplies elsewhere?" Jun Huailang frowned. "The amount of money and grain is fixed in the imperial edict. How can they have such courage?"
Therefore, in the previous life, his father did not know where the money and food for greed for ink were hidden until after his death. It turned out to be because, long before the money and food started, others had already stolen it and put the blame on him for the trumped-up crime. Father.
Xue Yan said: "It's really daring. However, the Xu family and the Jiang family have been fighting for too long, and Duke Yongning has touched their interests, so they made this dangerous move."
When Jun Huailang heard this, he pondered for a moment.
After a while, he looked up at the sky and laughed out loud to himself.
"Yes," he said. "If their actions are not discovered by you, it is indeed a risky, but extremely well-planned plan."
After all, from Chang'an to Jinling, they were all their people. They have the ability to cover the sky with one hand. Even if they take precautions in advance, how can they resist it
He lived a new life, and for more than a year, he has been cautious, trying to find clues from his father. However, there was a big net that shrouded them in early, even if the founding fathers with empty names had no power in their hands, what ability would they have to contend with.
On the contrary, it was Xue Yan... Without Xue Yan, Jun Huailang could hardly imagine what consequences they would face in this life.
Hearing Jun Huailang's words, Xue Yan couldn't help frowning.
He heard that Jun Huailang's tone was not quite right, and seeing his expression at the moment made him a little flustered.
Let him involuntarily want to hug him and put him in his arms.
But he raised his hand a few times, but he didn't fall, just waited quietly beside him without saying a word.
After a while, he met Jun Huailang's gaze.
"...Xue Yan." He said suddenly.
Xue Yan responded quickly: "Huh?"
Jun Huailang opened his mouth, but said nothing.
He never knew that people can really accumulate so many feelings in one person.
Old hatred, love, and kindness, the heaviest feelings he has now are all on Xue Yan alone.
There will be no second Xue Yan in the world. He wanted to run and hide, but he couldn't move at all, couldn't walk away.
His heart went against reason and conscience, pulling him and pulling him to Xue Yan's side.
Jun Huailang was speechless, but Xue Yan was a little panicked.
"Don't think about it," he said. "I've arranged everything, you just wait for news in Jinling. Didn't I say it? You don't have to do anything, just watch how those people died, that's enough."
After saying that, he turned to look at Jun Huailang.
Immediately, he collided with Jun Huailang's watery eyes.
For a time, Xue Yan immediately understood the emotions in Jun Huailang's eyes, as if he had seen him in his heart at a glance.
Xue Yan's voice also stopped.
Under the moonlight, the two looked at each other for a moment, but for a while, neither of them spoke.
After a long time, it was as if Jun Huailang had fled and wanted to look away. When he got up and walked first, Xue Yan raised his hand and pressed the back of his head gently and firmly, forcing him to turn his gaze back.
His tone was solemn and determined.
"Jun Huailang, you know that I like you, you are the only one in my heart, I wish I could give you my whole life, that's enough."
"I'm not forcing you to respond to me, I'm always waiting for you," he said. "Don't be afraid."