General's Mansion
Yang Haiyan read Qin Fang's letter home and knew that he was safe. She finally put down her worries after a few days. "Second brother, Qin Fang is in the capital, thank you for taking care of him." Otherwise, even entering the city gate would require some thought. However, it can be seen that Qin Fang had thought about Du Xingran before he set off.
Du Xingran disapproved and said, "What's the big deal? We are all family, and we should help each other. Second sister, then you get ready, I'll be back tomorrow." There was no male host at home, and even though he and Yang Haiyan were nominally sworn brothers and sisters, it was not easy for them to get along well.
Yang Haiyan said: "Second brother, this is your first time in Yunxiang County, why don't you stay a few more days? I'll let my younger brother take you around to have a look. Later, you can tell His Majesty about the situation in Yunxiang County, so that the Emperor will know that your trip these few days was not in vain."
Du Xingran immediately understood what she meant and said gratefully, "Second sister is still thoughtful." What the emperor likes to hear the most is the people's sentiments, isn't it? At this point, Du Xingran shamelessly mentioned the toothpaste and toothbrush, "Second sister, according to Qin Ge's toothbrush and toothpaste are very useful, I wonder if you can give me one... two pairs?" He was also shameless. Although it was embarrassing to ask for two pairs, he couldn't have it himself, and mother didn't have it, right? In fact, two pairs were not enough, there were still grandparents, stepmother and aunt at home.
Yang Haiyan chuckled. She had a very good impression of this Du Er. He was the kind of carefree person. He was very enthusiastic and lively. "Two pairs are not enough. Let's equip each of the elders in the mansion with one pair, but it will take some time." Whether it is making toothpaste or toothbrush, there is not enough time. However, since Qin Fang is not here, it doesn't matter if Du Xingran returns to Beijing for a few days.
Du Xingran was overjoyed when he heard this: "Thank you, second sister." Between them, Qin Fang and Yang Haiyan were called separately because of their relationship. Qin Fang was Du Ke's student, so Du Xingran called him Brother Qin, referring to their relationship with Du Ke. Yang Haiyan was Mrs. Du's adopted daughter, so according to Mrs. Du's relationship, she was called Second Sister.
Yang Haiyan said: "Excuse me, second brother. Excuse me, second brother, I have something I want to trouble you with."
Du Xingran asked: "What is it? As long as I can do it, I will definitely do it without hesitation."
Seeing that he was so angry, Yang Haiyan asked directly: "Brother, have you seen the emperor? I want to hear the emperor's words."
"This..." Du Xingran was stumped by this matter. "Sister, I have met the emperor, but I can't draw."
Yang Haiyan said: "This is not difficult. Second brother has seen it get better."
What's the good way
Soon, Du Xingran found out the next day.
After breakfast the next day, Yang Haiyan summoned all the famous painters in Yunxiang County to gather at the General's Mansion. Then, they painted portraits based on Du Xingran's description.
An hour later, the painters had finished their portraits, ten in total.
Yang Haiyan took the ten pictures and asked Du Xingran: "Second brother, which of these ten pictures looks the most like me?"
Du Xingran took a look, and to be honest, none of the pictures could depict the emperor's demeanor, but he still chose the one he thought was the best among the ten pictures: "Let's go with this one, but it's still not quite like him. For example, these eyes, and this mouth..."
Yang Haiyan said: "Well, if there is anything else that needs to be changed, second brother will ask the painter to come and change it until you think it is OK."
Du Xingran said, "Okay then."
This revision took a whole day. After a day, the painter was so exhausted that he was paralyzed. Finally, he revised a portrait that Du Xingran thought was acceptable.
The next day after the portrait was handed over, Yang Haiyan went to the woodworking workshop and asked the carving master to carve the emperor's face according to the portrait.
The master could not carve it in a short time, so Yang Haiyan went back to the general's mansion. At the gate of the general's mansion, he saw a carriage parked there. The person in the carriage did not go in. When he saw Yang Haiyan, he got off the carriage and said, "I am here to see you, Mr. Xiang." The person was the county magistrate Cheng of Wang County.
This was not the first time that County Magistrate Cheng had come. The last time he came, Yang Haiyan and Qin Fang were not there, so he left after a short while. This was his second time coming.
Yang Haiyan said politely, "Master Cheng, there is no need to be so polite. I wonder what Master Cheng is doing in the General's Mansion?"
County Magistrate Cheng said, "It's about the case of Aunt Fan's son-in-law injuring someone. Aunt Fan's son-in-law was acting under the order of General Qin, so we need to ask General Qin for a solution to this matter."
Yang Haiyan chuckled: "Sir Cheng is a seventh-rank county magistrate, but his words are still so funny. Since when did my prime minister, a fifth-rank general, give you a punishment just because of a word from a servant's son-in-law? Could it be that Sir Cheng's imperial examination results are also inflated? Otherwise, you should know that without sufficient evidence, you can't ask your superiors to give you a punishment."
County Magistrate Cheng: "You..." He didn't expect that a woman could be so difficult to deal with. "Then I want to visit General Qin for something. Please give me some advice, my Lord."
Yang Haiyan said, "He went to the Beast Mountain. Lord Cheng can go find him himself. As for the General's Mansion... My Prime Minister is not here, and I, a woman, will not keep guests." Then she walked into the mansion, "Uncle Hong, close the door. If anyone wants to come in, just accuse them of trespassing and arrest them. I remember that the last time Chief Steward Chi came, he brought the emperor's secret order. I don't know if that's why they broke into the mansion."
Uncle Hong: "Yes, don't worry, Mr.
County Magistrate Cheng was really angry. This Bingyun Township Lord was too difficult to deal with, but he couldn't force himself. First of all, Bingyun Township Lord was of a higher rank than him. Secondly, this was Yunxiang County, with a thousand soldiers here, how could he dare to act arrogantly
County Magistrate Cheng thought about it and decided to proceed with the next step. According to the plan above, what happened here should be reported.
First of all, Qin Fang has been living in a side hall of the imperial palace these days, but because he does not show up, no one knows of his existence. Moreover, not everyone has the courage to inquire about the emperor's bedroom, and not everyone can inquire about the situation.
The emperor wanted to watch a play with Qin Fang, but it had been a few days and the play hadn't started yet, so Qin Fang wanted to go home. Although he asked Du Xingran to send a letter home, Yanyan cried when he left home, so Qin Fang wanted to go back by himself.
But Qin Fang also knew that he couldn't go back.
On this day, the emperor attended the morning court as usual.
Chief Steward Chi: "If you have something to say, please report it. If not, please leave the court."
At this time, a minister said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report. I heard that Qin Fang, the garrison commander of Yunxiang County, allowed his servant son-in-law to bully others by taking advantage of his power, and even beat him severely."
"Your Majesty, I have something to report. I heard that the son-in-law of a servant of Qin Fang, the garrison commander of Yunxiang County, used his relationship with Qin Fang to threaten the Jin family, the agent of the imperial grain in Wang County, and gave up his agent status."
"Your Majesty, this grain agency business is of great importance. Qin Fang is very important to you, but he treats his servants like this. It's really..."
"That's right. The agent of the Royal Grain Company represents the reputation of the Royal Grain Company. How can a servant of the Qin Fang family interfere with that?"
"Your Majesty, I have also heard about the son-in-law of Qin Fang's servant. County Magistrate Cheng went to the General's Mansion to find Qin Fang about this matter, but Qin Fang refused to see him. He even said that County Magistrate Cheng is only a seventh-rank official and cannot interfere with him, a fifth-rank official."
"Your Majesty..."
All of a sudden, there were many impeachments against Qin Fang.
Of course, there were also people who defended Qin Fang, such as the minister who had a good relationship with Du Ke.
"This Wang County is very far away from the capital. It is not easy for you to listen to these things."
"Yes, it's just a coincidence. I received a letter from Brother Du a few days ago. I know that Brother Du is in Hedong Prefecture. I think that if the capital can receive such information, Hedong Prefecture can also receive it, right? In this case, with Brother Du's character, he will naturally not let Qin Fang do whatever he wants."
"How about letting Brother Du investigate this matter?"
Let Du Ke investigate? Then can Qin Fang be dismissed from office? So the imperial concubine and her group were naturally unwilling. Someone said, "Lord Du is no longer in Hedong Mansion."
"That's right. Even if Lord Du is still in Hedong Mansion, considering the relationship between Lord Du and Qin Fang, I'm afraid it's not appropriate for him to investigate this matter."
"Lord Du is in charge of such an important matter as the Imperial Grain Plan. How can you use other things to interfere with him?"
"That's right, Master Du..."
For a moment, everyone in the court was talking about it.
Logically, such a thing would not be brought up in the court when one was young, especially in the morning court. However, the person involved in this matter was not ordinary, he was a student of Du Ke.
Everyone argued for a long time, but the emperor didn't say anything, so everyone stopped and looked at the emperor.
"Your Majesty, what do you think?"
The emperor raised his eyebrows and said, "What do I think? Why not ask the person involved in this matter? Send someone to summon Qin Fang, the garrison commander of Yunxiang County, to come to the audience."
As the emperor finished speaking, the ministers were stunned. Qin Fang entered the capital
"It is said that Qin Fang, the garrison commander of Yunxiang County, has come to see you."
Qin Fang went to the Golden Palace.
It has to be said that Qin Fang's stature is one of the tallest in the entire Jinluan Palace. He walked in with a stern face and a steady pace. He was different from the countryman who entered the palace a few days ago. After spending a few days with the emperor, Qin Fang was no longer afraid of the emperor. What's more, this time it was the emperor who invited him to watch a play, so he was even less nervous.
Before meeting Qin Fang, many people were curious about him, of course, they were curious about Du Ke's identity as a student. But after meeting Qin Fang, everyone was a little disappointed, because they couldn't see anything special about Qin Fang, except that he was taller.
"Your humble servant Qin Fang greets His Majesty."
The emperor nodded and said, "No need to be polite." He then looked at his ministers and said, "Weren't you very interested in discussing this just now? Now that the main topic has come, you can ask him."
Qin Fang stood up and looked at the ministers beside him: "I wonder if you ministers have any questions for me? I will tell you everything I know."