The day went by very long, returning to the city early in the morning, entering the palace in the evening, and answering the papers at night, before I knew it, it was the fourth watch.
Li Yanqiu was even more exhausted. In the early days, he fought wit and courage with the ministers. After retreating, he tossed for a full day. He leaned tiredly, looked at each other quietly, and no one spoke.
It was still raining outside, the rain was overwhelming, and the wind was beating against the window.
"What sound?" Li Yanqiu was distracted and said slowly.
"Lying down at night listening to the wind and rain, the iron horse Glacier came to a dream." Duan Ling replied.
Li Yanqiu couldn't help laughing and sighed leisurely.
Duan Ling knew that Li Yanqiu had already asked Wu Du about his origins, his life experience, age, whether he was married... but he couldn't have any other questions for a while.
"You wrote the paper?" Li Yanqiu asked.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Duan Ling replied, thinking that of course he wrote it himself, who else would help me fail the exam.
"Your article reminds me of a person." Li Yanqiu said.
"Is it His Majesty's friend?" Duan Ling asked.
Li Yanqiu replied: "He cherishes words like gold and never writes articles, but he also said some things, such as 'walking on the Dao, only giving is fear'."
Duan Ling knew that even though the capital had been moved to Jiangzhou, there were still turbulent undercurrents. If he was a little careless, the foundation that Da Chen had been operating for many years would collapse. Li Yanqiu was under great pressure, and the important responsibilities of a country were all on him. From this point of view, the existence of Mu Kuangda was indeed a reassurance for the Li family.
There are good people on the inside, but there are no heroes on the outside. In this country, the biggest worry is still on the outside. Duan Ling believed that Mu Kuangda was capable of stabilizing the situation. As long as he was given at most three years, Jiangzhou would be firmly centralized and held in the hands of the central government. As for whether the Mu family or the Li family will finally hold the power, it is not certain.
"Today the world is prosperous and peaceful." Duan Ling replied, "Your Majesty is light-hearted, and the people expect to live and work in peace.
"Not bad." Li Yanqiu replied, "The biggest worry still lies in the north."
Li Yanqiu put Duan Ling's paper aside, and said: "The light of the pearl will never be covered in dust. I have read your paper. For the sake of fairness, I will still hand it over to the examiner for evaluation before I can convince the world. I ask. It's over, you step back and pass Wu Du to come in by the way."
Duan Ling pushed open the door and went out. Although there were only a few short conversations, for some reason, his heart was very calm. This official meeting seemed to calm him down. Uncle and father, these two brothers seem to have bizarre abilities. No matter the sky is turned upside down, they can take it lightly and follow them, even if the sky falls, they are not afraid at all.
Wu Du and Duan Ling looked at each other and pushed the door in. Duan Ling was waiting outside and glanced at Zheng Yan, but Zheng Yan was thoughtful and looked up at the water droplets dripping down the corridor. Duan Ling's heart was on Wu Du in the imperial study. Hearing Li Yanqiu's voice was not loud, as if he was explaining something, Wu Du only occasionally whispered "yes". This conversation didn't last long before Li Yanqiu said, "You should step back."
Wu Du just came out, nodded slightly to Zheng Yan, and left with Duan Ling.
"What did he ask you?" Duan Ling asked.
Wu Du stood under the porch, shook off his robe, put it on Duan Ling, and replied, "He asked me if he found any clues about Zhenshanhe..."
Suddenly Wu Du stopped talking, turned his head in an instant, and found something.
"Go." Wu Du said.
Wu Du took Duan Ling's hand, and after stepping out of the imperial garden with him, he turned into the palace and entered the slit between the two buildings, sometimes letting Duan Ling walk beside him, and sometimes letting Duan Ling walk Behind him, he looked back from time to time to look at the high walls on both sides.
This time even Duan Ling saw it, and a figure flashed past the top of the partition.
When leaving the palace, the water from the rainstorm had not reached Ben Xiao's knees. Wu Du first let Duan Ling mount the horse, turned the horse's head, and blocked the range of the palace wall from the height of the palace wall to the wall of the harem.
"Drive!" Wu Du shook the reins of his horse and walked through the water, like a boat that pierced through the darkness and led to the other side.
The prime minister's mansion was still brightly lit. On the first day back, so many things happened. The two of them returned home wet, and the water had flooded into the room. Today, Duan Ling was not at home all day, and Duan Ling was dozing off. , When I saw this, I was instantly refreshed.
Ben Xiao had nowhere to lie down or sleep in the stable, so he had to stand.
Wu Du stepped forward to clear the luggage on the case, and Duan Ling asked, "Who was following us just now?"
"The shadow team." Wu Du replied, "You're too daring, if it wasn't for the rain and I was with you again, I would definitely teach them how to look good."
Duan Ling knew that Cai Yan had already started trying to deal with him. Today, he was just following them, perhaps to find out their truth, and then he might have to take blatant measures.
"What did Your Majesty say to you?" Wu Du asked.
Duan Ling replied, "I didn't say anything, I just asked a few questions, it's not clear."
Duan Ling informed Wu Du of his passing, and asked, "What did you say in the study later?"
"He said." Wu Du replied, "He suddenly changed his mind."
"What?!" Duan Ling said in surprise.
Wu Du added: "Let me do what I should do, and what I still do. If I don't want to enter the East Palace, I will stay with you, and he will help me solve it. After a few days, when the flood is over, he said, there are still things to send. Give it to me. I guess let me find Zhenshanhe."
"Any clues?" Duan Ling asked.
Wu Du shook his head: "That's why I asked you what you said to him in the imperial study."
"I didn't say anything." Duan Ling frowned.
"That's weird." Wu Du stepped forward and lifted the bed with both hands, and said to Duan Ling, "Put the bricks under the foot of the bed and raise it up for a good night's sleep."
Duan Ling set up a crumbling bed. It was the first time in his life that he encountered a flood, and he didn't know what to do, so he had to sit on the bed with Wu Du, not daring to move, for fear that the bed would fall into the water.
"I'm sleepy." Duan Ling said.
"Go to sleep." Wu Du said, "Be careful at night, don't move."
Duan Ling didn't know whether to laugh or cry, so he had to lie down carefully.
"What about tomorrow?"
Duan Ling hugged Wu Du, leaned on his shoulder, and muttered.
His life is full of unknowns and dangers. Mu Kuangda, Li Yanqiu, Cai Yan... Many things, many people, form an intricate web, which makes him unable to escape, and his whole body is affected by one stroke. To explain to Mu Kuangda, to beware of Cai Yan's calculations, and to prove his identity to Li Yanqiu, so many problems lie in front of him, like a wall that is difficult to shake.
"Don't think about anything." Wu Du said, "Go to sleep."
In the early morning of the next day, when the sun came in, the rainstorm had stopped, but Jiangzhou was still flooded with water. Not only Jiangzhou, but also the Yangtze River outside the city, the water level has also risen.
"Get up!" Wu Du shouted into the room.
Duan Ling opened his eyes and saw that there were wooden boards in front of the bed and bricks under it. It was directly connected to the screen wall in the courtyard. He turned a corner and went out, like a small pier.
Duan Ling laughed, the sun was rising, and Wu Du did so many things without knowing when. He put on his robe, fastened his belt, and walked carefully along the plank. Outside the gate, there is a small boat, with a stove on the boat, which is boiling water.
Duan Ling sat in the boat, and Wu Du brushed his hair, tied it, and said, "Take you to play, let's go—"
"Wait a minute!" Duan Ling's troubles from last night were all put to the back of his mind, and suddenly he had an idea.
This is a once-in-a-century flood. It happened in the first spring after the capital was moved, which is really an ominous sign. There was a lot of discussion in the city, and people were panicking. The palace was built on a high ground, but it was safe.
When Cai Yan woke up in the early morning, the first thing he did was to pass on Feng Duo. After hearing the report, he had an angry look on his face.
"How long has he stayed in the imperial study?" Cai Yan asked.
"It's less than a cup of tea time." Feng Duo replied, "Later the children wanted to follow him again, but Wu Du discovered them, so they had to withdraw first."
"Where's the paper?" Cai Yan said in a trembling voice.
"It's still in the imperial study." Feng Duo said, "Your Majesty has already read it. Your Majesty, no matter what you do now, it will be useless. Last night, His Majesty ordered the Imperial College to judge the papers overnight. The reason is that the floods are flooding, so there should be no further delay. The list will be published this afternoon, and the palace test will be called the day after tomorrow."
"So fast?!" Cai Yan said in disbelief.
Feng Duo said: "After the palace test, if you want to start again, it is to kill... Kill the court officials, Your Highness?"
Cai Yan stood in the hall with her hair disheveled, gasping for breath.
"The legend of Wuluohoumu." Cai Yan finally said, "You should step back."
"Muqing!"
Duan Ling was sitting on the bow of the boat, shouting inwardly in the back alley of the Prime Minister's Mansion, while Wu Du supported the small black-canopied boat and stood at the stern.
Mu Qing stuck his head out of the window on the second floor, and when he saw Duan Ling, who seemed to be still playing, he cheered and hurried downstairs.
"Bring some money!" Duan Ling shouted, "Bring more!"
"How much?!" Mu Qing said.
"One hundred!" Duan Ling said, "I have your father's handwriting here, go and get the things first!"
Lord Changliu threw a bag of silver over and slammed it on the boat with a "dang" sound, connecting Duan Ling and Wu Du's savings, a total of 222 taels of silver and 40 taels of gold.
The three sat on the boat, Wu Du held a pole, and the boat turned out of the alley, entered the main street, and galloped toward the south of the city. The people of the two provinces in Jiangzhou were having fun, and each built a shed from the second floor, and they were still doing business. Many people rowed boats, and children sat in wooden basins, paddling around.
Jiangzhou became a city of water overnight, Duan Ling couldn't help laughing, and Mu Qing was the first time he saw this scene and was excited. Wu Du first rowed the boat outside the Heijia Army Mansion, and saw Xie You standing at the bow of the boat, riding the wind and waves out to patrol the city.
"General Xie." Duan Ling handed out the handwritten letter in the Prime Minister's residence and said, "Please sign and act cheaply."
After getting up in the morning, Duan Ling went to see Mu Kuangda first, and asked him for a letter of approval from the prime minister, called the grain and rice in the city, temporarily relieved the disaster, and brought a lot of money out. You nodded.
With Muqing present, it must be a living token, Xie You looked at Duan Ling, two assassins followed behind Duan Ling, and the young master of the Prime Minister's Mansion signed for him, and the Jiangzhou Army allocated ten boat for him to call.
So Duan Ling led ten black-armored awning boats, and had the awnings on the boats temporarily dismantled. After receiving the food, he turned around again and again, led by Wu Du, scattered into the streets and alleys, and went to distribute the food.
This is his home, his country.
Duan Ling picked up the affected people on the boat and sent them to a higher place. After distributing the food with his own hands, he looked up at the riverside that had turned into a vast ocean in the distance, and couldn't help sighing.