A lot of strange things happened before and after a strange heavy rain in Lishun Prefecture, especially what the villagers of Shuanggongqiao Village saw and heard.
The common people were not fools either, and with the exchange of what they had seen and heard in the rain from various places, a story with a rather mythical color began to spread. Taking the version that Ji Yuan heard as an example, except for some key details that were wrong, it could even be called a "perfect restoration of the plot."
Therefore, the story of the dragon falling in Guangdong Lake eventually spread, and became more and more mysterious.
On the fourth day of June, the prefect of Lishun Prefecture held a full-moon banquet for his second son. In addition to officials of all ranks from all over Lishun Prefecture who came to congratulate, many prominent figures in Wanzhou also sent gifts. Even the prefect of the prefecture prepared gifts and sent people to deliver them to his door.
It was a rare occasion for Yin Zhaoxian to splurge, so he prepared for a grand occasion. He originally wanted to book a large restaurant in Lishun Mansion, but considering the prices in the restaurant and his own salary expenses, he decided to hold the banquet in his mansion.
During the time they lived in the mansion, Yin Qing, Lin Xinjie and others also lived in the same wing where Ji Yuan lived.
On the day of the banquet, Yin Qing got up early, dressed in fine clothes and went to help his father with welcoming guests and other tasks. Being well-educated and quick-witted, he handled these matters with ease.
As guests who only needed to attend the banquet, Ji Yuan, Lin Xinjie, Lei Yusheng and Mo Xiu did not need to get up early. Ji Yuan even slept until noon out of habit.
After washing up, Lin Xinjie, Lei Yusheng and Mo Xiu came to the guest house where Ji Yuan was and waited. This has been their daily routine for more than a month. Calculating the time, it was almost time for Ji Yuan to get up.
"Squeak~"
Today, Ji Yuan, dressed in a blue robe, opened the door and walked out.
"Morning, Mr. Ji!"
Lin Xinjie, Lei Yusheng and Mo Xiu bowed to Ji Yuan in unison.
Ji Yuan smiled and also clasped his hands and bowed.
"Good morning!"
Ji Yuan knew the reason why these three people showed him such excessive respect, and it was nothing more than the letter in Yin Qing's hand.
Not to mention the miraculous aspects of the letter that I had seen with my own eyes, even the handwriting was worthy of such respect and courtesy from several scholars. It would be best if Mr. Ji could be moved and given a few copies of his calligraphy as a gift.
Of course, the calligraphy of Yin Wenqu Yin Gong is also very precious, but he is an official appointed by the imperial court after all. Even if he is Yin Qing’s biological father, they dare not act rashly, let alone show their faces in front of him every day.
Although Yin Qing was begged many times to start a family offensive to ask for calligraphy from his father, Yin Qing did not dare to take the initiative. He was thoughtful and knew that if he did so, he would not have peace when he returned to Huiyuan Academy. His father was not a wholesaler of calligraphy and paintings, so he often used family precepts as an excuse to refuse and dared not speak, asking them to go and ask their father for calligraphy themselves.
There is a lot of significance in asking in person and Yin Qing asking for something on behalf of others. Moreover, Yin Qing knows very well that with his father's personality, his classmates will most likely give him the calligraphy if they ask for it. In this way, even if he returns to Huiyuan Academy in the future, those people will not be able to bother Yin Qing himself.
Unfortunately, even though Mo Xiu and others had experienced the danger of being seduced by a vixen in the mountains, they were still cowards when facing their "idol". They were dozens of streets behind the crazy fans that Ji Yuan was in his previous life. They didn't dare to breathe during the several private dinner meetings, and only dared to answer when Yin Zhaoxian asked them about their studies and life with concern.
Seeing that the three people looked energetic, Ji Yuan took the lead and walked towards the corridor and said to them.
"Let's have breakfast together?"
"Okay." "Yeah!"
The three of them quickly responded and followed, chatting with Mr. Ji about some interesting things and asking about his experiences as they walked.
In the eyes of the three people, Mr. Ji is kind, gentle, humorous and knowledgeable. Chatting with Mr. Ji is very educational. Many things that they couldn't figure out suddenly became clear after Mr. Ji talked about them.
In fact, Tian Jiyuan has been observing these three scholars these days. Although they are still immature, they are still promising talents. Whether they are stable or not is another matter, but at least they have good character now.
After finishing breakfast in the living room, Ji Yuan was the first to put down the spoon in his hand. He looked at the three scholars who were still swallowing wontons, and said something to them in a casual manner that had nothing to do with the previous words or breakfast.
"Although you three are not yet twenty years old, you are all talented people in Huiyuan Academy. You might as well take the imperial examination in advance. There will be a great shortage of people in local government affairs in a few years."
Lin Xinjie was the first to jump out and speak, smiling.
"Mr. Ji also feels that the current officialdom is stale and that we need to make great plans, right?"
Ji Yuan smiled and nodded.
"Then Mr. Ji, do you think we can pass the exam? We don't need to be the top scholar, as long as we can become an official!"
Mo Xiu also said something with great anticipation.
Ji Yuan still smiled.
"As long as you don't have a reference, you will definitely fail the exam."
“Hahaha…” “Yes, Mr. Ji is right, hahaha…”
The three scholars laughed for a while, but they didn't really realize the point of Ji Yuan's words.
. . .
In the imperial city of Jingji Prefecture where the Dazhen capital is located, after the morning court session, in the imperial study, in addition to Emperor Yuande sitting behind the dragon desk, there were also several trusted ministers, several princes such as the King of Wu and the King of Jin, and several spies from Wanzhou.
Emperor Yuande, with gray hair, was drinking tea behind the dragon table, while everyone else could only stand.
"Tell me, what progress has been made in Wanzhou recently?"
"yes!"
The spy in the middle stepped forward and saluted the emperor.
"Your Majesty, we followed the clues and various hidden clues left by Prefect Yin, and traveled to all prefectures and places in Wanzhou without alerting the enemy or making any noise. We found that it was just as Prefect Yin said. Most places were prosperous on the surface, but in fact the people were living in misery..."
“Boom boom boom…”
Emperor Yuande listened to the narration while tapping his fingers on the table. The ministers and princes who were familiar with him understood that from the frequency of his tapping, it could be seen that he was becoming a little impatient.
Finally, the spy began to talk about the issue that Emperor Yuande was most concerned about.
"There are few honest officials in prefectures and counties, but many who embezzle gold and silver. Take the case listed by Prefect Yin, for example. A small village head in charge of 100 households owns 50 hectares of land, and his personal profits can even reach hundreds of taels of silver every year. The profits of higher-level officials increase layer by layer, and the profits are incalculable."
“It’s totally lawless!”
The King of Wu could not help but yell angrily. As a prince who believed he would be the most legitimate prince to ascend the throne in the future, some of his ideas were similar to those of his father.
"Did you get to speak?"
The old emperor looked at King Wu and said coldly.
"I know I was wrong!"
The King of Wu quickly admitted his mistake and apologized to the old emperor, but anger remained on his face. Except for the King of Jin, at least the other princes in the room knew that Wanzhou was "rich in oil and water", but they obviously underestimated it.
The old emperor tapped the table. Although he had heard the secret report, he still asked another question casually.
"Is there anything else worth saying, Wanzhou?"
At this moment, the spies did not speak immediately, but looked at each other after a few breaths.
The King of Jin frowned, while the King of Wu could not help but shout loudly.
"If you have any, please tell me now. Do you want to fulfill your term, my Lord?"
"I dare not! I dare not!"
Several spies were so scared that they quickly bowed their heads and apologized to Emperor Yuande. Finally, the leader spoke up and said that today, when the capital was planning to hold a large-scale water and land ceremony, how could they not have heard about the areas that the emperor was currently paying attention to
But the incident in Wanzhou was horrifying and could easily make people imagine things, so I don’t dare to talk about it.
"Your Majesty, in addition to local government affairs, there are two other things happening in Wanzhou right now... One is that Magistrate Yin's wife gave birth to another son..."
"Oh, I almost forgot that Lord Yin is a pillar of the country, so I need to prepare a gift for him."
The old emperor smiled and thought about the first half of the sentence, and said the second half to the old eunuch beside him. Then he looked at the spy again, waiting for his next words.
The spy looked at the ministers and princes around him.
"The second one... The second one is the incident of the dragon falling in Guangdong Lake that is now widely spread in Wanzhou..."
Emperor Yuande was stunned for a moment and stared at the spy.
"Falling dragon?"
Now that everything has been said, the spy no longer has any scruples.
"That's right. Now many people in Wanzhou know about this, especially the villagers of Shuanggongqiao Village, who saw it with their own eyes. It is said that on April 20th, Lishun Prefecture was suddenly covered with dark clouds, lightning and thunder, and the villagers heard a dragon's roar and a sound like an old cow mooing. Then a dragon rolled down from the sky with dark clouds and smashed into the valley at the entrance of Shuanggongqiao Village..."
The spy raised his head and glanced carefully at the emperor, and seeing that he was staring at him, he swallowed before continuing.
“On that day, the wind and rain were pouring down like a torrential rain. The villagers of Shuanggongqiao Village could hear the sound of a dragon from time to time, and could see a huge dragon shadow floating in the rain at the entrance of the village. However, they were all shocked by the dragon’s roar and fainted in a short period of time… Afterwards, a flood suddenly appeared, and it surged along a ditch toward Guangdong Lake. Countless people along the coast saw it with their own eyes, and they all said that a huge dragon shadow was swimming in the water… Today, the traces of the dragon’s swimming gully at the entrance of Shuanggongqiao Village are still there, and the ditch has widened several times because of the dragon’s swimming… I have finished my words!”
After the spy finished speaking, he still didn't dare to look at the emperor, while the latter was lost in thought and talking to himself.
"There is a dragon? There is a dragon... A fallen dragon... Wanzhou is the place where the dragon fell..."