After returning to his own yard, Lin Zhiyuan packed up the remaining things and walked out of the gate of Jingyang Marquis Mansion without any reluctance.
It has been several years since I last came back, but there has been no change in the Jingyang Marquis Mansion. It is still as prominent and dirty as before. My father has remarried a new wife, and the first and second wives are still fighting fiercely, and now the third wife may have to be included. My seventh sister has a solid position in the prince's mansion and has given birth to two sons. Although my fourth sister is the sixth prince's wife, she has no children except a daughter.
The eldest uncle has the best of both worlds, the second and third wives each occupy one side, and the prince's favor for the seventh sister has emboldened his father's arrogance. It's just ridiculous that the situation is obviously precarious, but they are completely unaware of it and still act as arrogantly as usual.
Lin Zhiyuan's only thought was to get himself out of it. As for the life and death of Jingyang Marquis Mansion, what did it have to do with him? He just felt sorry for his mother. His father remarried a new wife less than a year after the divorce. There was no trace of his mother and brother in the entire Jingyang Marquis Mansion. It was really heartbreaking.
After the morning court session the next day, Lin Zhiyuan asked for a meeting in the imperial study and respectfully handed in his resignation letter.
The emperor frowned, feeling a little unhappy. Yunnan had won a great victory a few days ago, and he was allowed to resign at this time. What would the soldiers think? "Lord Lin is young and promising. It is the time for him to serve the country. Why do you suddenly want to resign?"
"Your Majesty, I have limited ability and cannot take on such a big responsibility. I beg for your permission." Lin Zhiyuan's face flushed red. He couldn't learn to be a good singer and songwriter like Li Yaonan, so he could only make himself look more honest.
The emperor was unhappy. He wanted to approve his petition, but the situation did not allow it. Without a suitable answer, it would be difficult to explain to the soldiers. Li Yaonan calculated this point and dared to let his elder brother submit a petition of resignation. Otherwise, he would lose more than he gained.
Lin Zhiyuan didn't dare to breathe. It was his first time coming to the imperial study and he was still very nervous. For the sake of his mother and husband, he felt that he had to give it a try!
The emperor had a calm expression, showing no emotion: "Master Lin, please leave. I will pretend that I don't know about your resignation today, and Lord Lin will not agree to it."
"Your Majesty." Lin Zhiyuan had a sad expression, but his eyes were firm. "Since ancient times, it has been difficult to be both loyal and filial. I only wish to retire and return to the countryside."
The emperor's face darkened. This sentence contained too much information: "What do you mean, Lord Lin?"
Lin Zhiyuan kept silent. He could complain to the emperor, but he could not say anything wrong about the Jingyang Marquisate. Otherwise, he would be unfilial and would be condemned by thousands of people. He said sincerely, "Your Majesty, my husband and mother have settled in Yunnan. I just want to retire and stay away from the capital."
The emperor pondered for a while, and suddenly remembered: "You are the eldest brother-in-law of Li Qing's family."
Lin Zhiyuan wiped a cold sweat, he didn't expect the emperor to remember this. Should the difference between Li Qing's family and Lord Lin be obvious? He said respectfully: "Yes!"
The emperor suddenly changed his mind and laughed angrily. He stared at him intently and asked, "Did the Li Qing family give you such a bad idea?"
Lin Zhiyuan was startled, cold sweat broke out on his back, and he said with gritted teeth: "I really want to resign."
The emperor had no expression on his face: "Then how about I grant you your consent?"
Lin Zhiyuan had no words to express his grievances. He cursed his brother-in-law in his heart. How could the emperor be fooled so easily? After thinking for a while, he said, "I only want to lead the army to fight. Father and the others... I only serve the emperor."
The emperor's eyes darkened: "You are good at talking."
Lin Zhiyuan chose to take a gamble. He remembered that Li Yaonan once told him that the emperor did not like to be deceived and that sincerity was the most important thing between the emperor and his subjects. His eyes gradually became firm: "I am also telling the truth. My husband once said that we are the emperor's subjects and we just need to do our duty."
"You are a good person who sticks to your duty." The emperor smiled slowly. He believed what he said.
Lin Zhiyuan just breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the emperor say again: "An Shoubenfen gave you bad advice. I wanted to promote him to the position of Censor, but now forget it."
Lin Zhiyuan was choked, but the emperor was in a much better mood. He felt relieved when he saw others suffering. It would be better for Li Qing's family to wait and see his official position promoted. He actually dared to guess the emperor's mind, so he really needed to be taught a lesson.
"Your Majesty is wise." Lin Zhiyuan felt uncomfortable after uttering these words. His brother-in-law's official position was ruined by him.
The emperor was happy and his attitude became more casual: "Tell me, what's going on in Jingyang Marquis's Mansion?"
Lin Zhiyuan was flattered, his heart was like a storm, he had never thought that the emperor would be so fond of his brother-in-law, Lin Zhiyuan did not hesitate at all, he decided to tell the truth: "Father asked me to divorce my wife and marry again."
The emperor raised his eyebrows and said calmly, "It is only right that the parents and the matchmaker agree to it."
Lin Zhiyuan answered in an orderly manner: "My wife was chosen by my mother. She was brought into the mansion through three matchmakers and six betrothals. Now my son is two years old. My father should be filial to him, and my mother should be filial to him as well. However, my father has a concubine's son and a stepmother, and he is about to have a legitimate son. My mother only has me. In order to be filial to my mother, I can only disappoint my father's kindness."
"Did Li Qing's tutor tell you that?" the emperor asked calmly. This sounded like Li Yaonan's style.
Lin Zhiyuan was silent, feeling a lot of pressure. The emperor seemed to know his brother-in-law very well.
The emperor chuckled. Who else but the Li Qing family could come up with such a tricky excuse? "Tell me about the recent situation in Yunnan."
"Everything is going well in Yunnan. The terraced fields have been fully cultivated, and commercial taxes are now on the agenda. Some places are preparing to rebuild after the war. My brother-in-law..." Lin Zhiyuan gritted his teeth and said in one go, "My brother-in-law raided the homes of many wealthy merchants from the governor's lineage. Thirty percent of the money he obtained was turned over to the national treasury, fifty percent was used for construction, and the remaining twenty percent was kept in the government office for emergency use."
The emperor's emotions were very complicated. He believed in Li Yaonan, but he was very unhappy that his thoughts were guessed by a minister. He just thought of the war in Yunnan and Li Qing's previous reminder. He felt a little guilty and looked at Lin Zhiyuan deeply: "Okay, you go down and leave today to take office. Don't worry about other things."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Lin Zhiyuan was surprised and happy. As long as he reported to the emperor, he could openly reject the Marquis' Mansion. After taking office, everything in the capital would have nothing to do with him. Even if there were any disasters in the future, he would not be involved.
The emperor sighed. It was rare that there was still a reasonable person in Jingyang Marquis's mansion. In recent years, as the prince grew up, the ministers below were getting more and more restless. How could he be at ease after he died a hundred years later? The prince...
He doted on the prince so much and gave him the position of crown prince since childhood. He didn't know whether it was right or wrong. The emperor felt confused for the first time.
Never mind. His old bones can still last a few more years. Let’s wait and see.
The next day, the emperor's edict came down, and Lin Zhiyuan did not waste a moment and immediately set off to return to Yunnan. When the Jingyang Marquis's Mansion received the news, he had already walked twenty miles out of the capital. The third master Lin was so angry that he jumped to his feet and scolded Lin Zhiyuan for being unfilial.
Afterwards, word quickly spread in the palace. According to Lin Zhiyuan's words, being unfilial to one's mother and father are both unfilial. In order to be filial to his mother, Lord Lin specifically asked for the emperor's permission and from then on drew a clear line between himself and the Jingyang Marquis' Mansion.
What Lin Zhiyuan said was against the rules, but it was also reasonable. Others could not say that he did anything wrong. After all, he went to the emperor for help in order to be filial to his mother.
The Jingyang Marquis Mansion fell silent. No matter how angry they were or how they gnashed their teeth, they had to suffer this loss in silence.
Suddenly, Master Lin recalled that ever since his brother and son-in-law came to Beijing, the reputation of Jingyang Marquis' Mansion had been declining all the way, and it seemed that nothing good had ever happened there. It was simply a jinx.
Even Lin Zhiyuan didn't expect that the emperor would help him clean up his mess and completely cut off contact with Jingyang Marquis Mansion from then on.
The emperor actually had his own considerations. Lin Zhiyuan was General Lian's apprentice, which had both advantages and disadvantages. The emperor wanted to place someone in the Lian family army, and Lin Zhiyuan was the most appropriate candidate. As long as he had Li Yaonan in his hands, he was not afraid that Lin Zhiyuan would not obey.
This is the best way to balance governance. The emperor is very clear about this in his mind. What he did was just to comply with Lin Zhiyuan's request and cut off his last retreat.
Many people laughed at Lin Zhiyuan for being stupid, however, since you are not a fish, how can you understand the joy of a fish? Lin Zhiyuan was extremely grateful for the emperor's kindness and vowed to be loyal to him till his death.
No matter what, the emperor made a profit.
If Li Yaonan knew about this, he would definitely admire in his heart that the big boss is worthy of being the big boss and has mastered the imperial mind to perfection. Thinking back to the past, he was just like his big brother and was almost sold out by the emperor but still burst into tears of gratitude.
Lin Zhiyuan returned to Yizhou after a long journey. When he saw the familiar scenes, his son and husband, and his mother with tears in her eyes, his heart suddenly settled down. Home is where my heart is. Compared with the capital city where he grew up, Yizhou made him feel warmer and like a real home.
Lin Jinghong was a little shy. He hadn't seen his father for more than a year and had long forgotten what he looked like.
Yang Yi gently touched his son, pointed at Lin Zhiyuan and said, "This is father."
Lin Jinghong blinked and tilted his head to think for a while: "Are you a hero?"
Lin Zhiyuan was stunned, not knowing how to answer. He was not Li Yaonan, so how could he be so shameless as to brag about himself
"Puchi." Yang Yi laughed and said happily: "The brat of Brother Jiu's family keeps telling Hong'er that his father is a great hero who won battles. If you don't admit it, your son will not recognize you."
Lin Zhiyuan picked up his son and said, "When you grow up, your father will take you to lead the army to fight the enemy."
Lin Jinghong chuckled, raised his chubby hands and clenched his fists: "I want to be a hero too."
"Great! My son will definitely be better than me in the future."
Yang Yi's eyes were red. "Come in quickly. You look tired. Go wash up first. The food is ready."
"Thank you for your hard work." Lin Zhiyuan held his son in one hand and held his cousin with the other.
"No, I won't suffer at all as long as you can come back safely."
Mother Lin was unhappy and interrupted their lovemaking with two dry coughs. This was a typical case of her son forgetting his mother after he got married.
Lin Zhiyuan looked embarrassed and hurriedly greeted his mother.
Mother Lin rolled her eyes at him, but she wasn't really angry. After what happened just now, the excitement of meeting again after a long separation had dissipated a lot. The tears in her eyes were forced back, and she smiled and said, "Come in, it doesn't look good to stand at the door."
Yang Yi smiled slightly, he and Lin Zhiyuan supported Lin's mother on both sides and walked into the house. The whole Lin Mansion became lively because the male owner came back.
Two flowers bloom, each showing its own beauty.
When Lin Zhiyuan came back, the imperial edict from the court also arrived. Li Yaonan was full of puzzlement. He had thought that he would definitely get a share of the rewards after the war. After all, he had worked hard and paid a lot this time.
Who would have thought...
The imperial edict came down to reward people according to their merits, but it was not for him.
"The Emperor, in compliance with the Will of Heaven, proclaims that the virtuous Li Lin has served the country and the people... She is to be canonized as a third-rank lady, and is to be granted a thousand taels of gold, a pair of jade ruyi, a blue-and-white glazed vase, a nine-turn blue crane porcelain censer, a screen with magpies and plum blossoms, and twenty oriental pearls. This is my decree!"
"Long live the emperor."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Lin Yixuan was confused, but he received the imperial edict respectfully. The surprise came too suddenly and it was unbelievable that he was actually canonized by the emperor.
"Congratulations, Lord Li." Eunuch Shun congratulated with a smile. He and Li Yaonan were old acquaintances.
"Thank you, Eunuch Shun. Please come in." Li Yaonan quickly became happy. Looking at his husband's smiling face, he felt it was worth more than anything else.
Eunuch Shun followed suit and entered the house, telling the details of what had happened in the capital. Although Lord Li was not included in the reward this time, any discerning person could see that Lord Li was in the emperor's favor, and his husband's imperial edict was one rank higher than his, so it was always a good idea to maintain a good relationship with him.
Li Yaonan was speechless after hearing this. His elder brother was so useless that he couldn't even fool the emperor and sold him out completely.
Lin Yixuan smiled secretly and glared at her husband, "Do you think everyone is as cunning as you?"
Li Yaonan pinched his nose and said, "You are so naughty."
The next day, Li Yaonan held a banquet to celebrate. Other officials were extremely puzzled. They had never seen any official who was happier about his husband receiving an imperial edict than he was about his own promotion.
After returning to Beijing, Eunuch Shun even joked about this incident with the Emperor, saying that Lord Li's love for her husband was indeed as good as its reputation.
The emperor shook his head, feeling somewhat amused. Actually, he should have expected this. Li Qing's character has always been different from others. He did not promote him this time. First, Li Qing's promotion was too fast and too conspicuous. Second, he wanted Li Qing to return to Beijing as soon as possible. After a few years of experience outside, he would be just right for him to use. As for promotion, positions in Beijing would be difficult to get. Li Qing's foundation was shallow, and there would be no benefit in promoting him too quickly.
Time passed slowly. In the past two years, Li Yaonan governed Yunnan very well. Commercial tax was fully implemented in Yunnan, and the amount of silver paid to the national treasury every year was comparable to that of Jiangnan.
As for the annoying Lord Huang, he was also transferred far away. At that time, Lord Huang was so excited that he cried. After some encouragement, he cheered up and vowed to be a good official to show Lord Li.
In addition, Li Yaonan had already arranged Li Youxin's future and cleared all obstacles for him. No matter whether he would be in Yunnan in the future or not, Li Youxin would not encounter any troubles or hidden dangers within five years.
Li Yaonan had a vague feeling that the day for him to return to Beijing was approaching.
The author has something to say: Thank you, I will continue to work hard.
I wish you all a happy Mid-Autumn Festival.
I had guests at home today, so the update is a little late, sorry.
How about changing the update time to 9 o'clock in the future? This way it won't be too late and the time can be fixed.
Tiramisu threw a mine. Throwing time: 2014-09-07 16:48:45
Mint is not cool and threw a grenade. Throwing time: 2014-09-08 01:48:48