Compared with the early onset of winter, which was already covered with heavy snow in Beijing and Kaifeng, Yangzhou, which is close to the Yangtze River, did not feel the chill of winter until early December. The Ruan family gradually began to prepare for the New Year. Kong Luhua thought about the weather.

It was cold, and I was worried that it might be inconvenient for the three daughters of Liu Xie and Tang to live alone in separate rooms. In the past few days, I also called the three daughters to my room and asked the three of them to live with me. After nightfall, the daughters of the Ruan family also cuddled up to each other.

Together, listening to the sound of the north wind outside, we prepare to survive this sleepless night.

"Sister Shuzhi, do you think it's really that cold over there in the capital? I heard from sister Yuezhuang a few days ago that she was sick when she first arrived in the capital." I thought about what Ruan Yuan would do if he finished Kaifeng.

To prosecute the case, he would have to go to Beijing to become an official, which made Tang Qingyun a little more worried.

"Well...I'm fine, just..." Liu Wenru remembered that the capital city was the place where Jiang Cai died, and naturally worried that Tang Qingyun was in poor health and might make a mistake. At this time, he did not dare to neglect: "Otherwise,

We'll prepare more winter clothes for you, so you won't get cold. Also, if it snows, don't go have a snowball fight or build a snowman as soon as you get happy. You'll get sick faster that way.

Woolen cloth."

"What? Sister Yuezhuang said clearly that building a snowman is fun? Look at the snow that falls in Yangzhou in winter. It's so stingy and not fun at all."

"Gu Xia, your health is no better than ours. If you really go to the capital, you'd better listen to your sister in the book and be good and don't run around." Xie Xue added.

"That would be so boring, even more boring than now... Tell me, what is the emperor thinking about? Why does he have to let me come to Beijing this time despite the fact that he did a good job as a governor in the past?"

"Gu Xia, the officials in the capital and the foreign officials all have their own important responsibilities. When the master is an official in the capital, it is because the emperor values ​​the master. When he is an official outside, it is because the emperor trusts the master. Why is it your turn to be picky?

"Kong Luhua also smiled at Tang Qingyun and said: "How about we find something interesting to do, so as to save us, our good sisters, what if we say something wrong and end up hurting us all. Don't you think so?

Sister of books?”

"...Sister?" Unexpectedly, Kong Luhua said these words, and Liu Wenru was stunned for a long time.

"Yes, Sister Shu, I...did I say something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing. Madam wants to play something interesting. This... Gu Xia is better at it, right? How about we let Gu Xia decide?" Liu Wenru seemed to be flustered for a while before gradually returning to her original state.

"Well, that's fine. Gu Xia usually likes to compete with us. This time, why don't we ask her to ask a question. If she loses, let her be convinced that she lost! What do you think?" Kong Luhua?

smiled.

"Okay, okay!" Xie Xue also echoed from the side.

"Hehe, madam, this is what you said. If anyone among us does not do well, it will be obvious at a glance." Tang Qingyun seemed to have thought of new fun, and said to the three women:

"Since tonight is always going to be a boring night, why don't we... how about making couplets together?"

The so-called couplet is a kind of common poetry. Each participant writes a poem, and the poems of each person are put together to form a new poem. Although the couplet is mostly used by women in the boudoir for fun, a four-line poem can be written

, if the poet's own level is too different, the whole poem will be out of tune, so the couplet itself is also a challenge to the poet. When the three women heard that Tang Qingyun wanted to make a couplet poem, they each

He was eager to try, but no one wanted to admit defeat. Tang Qingyun took the pen and ink to a few people, and they took the dice and decided on the order of writing poems. Xie Xue rolled a point, and Xie Xue was the youngest among the four girls, so Xie Xue wrote it.

The first couplet, just a moment later, Xie Xue had already written the first couplet on the paper. When the girls came over to look at it, they saw that what Xie Xue had written was:

The remaining wax light is towards the evening sky, and we sit together in front of the small window singing together.

"Haha, Sister Yuezhuang's writing is very good. It seems that this couplet requires a lot of thought." Kong Luhua smiled and took the piece of paper from Xie Xue. After thinking about it for a while, she thanked Xue Xue.

Behind the poem about snow is written:

A crescent moon hangs outside the curtain, and a few strands of famous incense wrap around the sleeves.

"Madam, this sentence about the new moon's name and fragrance is used well. In this way, it is not easy to think of the next sentence to carry on this poem." Xie Xue smiled and said: "Sister of the book

, it’s your turn to make the neck couplet, look at Gu Xia like this, she is already proud of herself even though she is the last one to say it, will your words also kill Gu Xia’s spirit?"

"Humph, Sister Yuezhuang just thinks I'm easy to bully, so she stopped helping me so quickly. It's not cute at all!" Tang Qingyun said jokingly.

"Okay, I've already thought about this poem. Gu Xia, we won't make it difficult for you. You just finish the last sentence, that's it. But if you can't finish it, don't blame us for punishing you.

, how about it?" Liu Wenru was polite. While taking the paper from Kong Luhua's hand, he also picked up a pen and wrote after Kong Luhua's poem:

The breeze in the paper pavilion casts iron horses, and the light warmth of the teapot floods the silver boat.

"Sister of the book, you...is this so difficult?" Tang Qingyun looked at Liu Wenru's poems and seemed to have lost his mind for a moment. He said coquettishly to Liu Wenru: "Madam, I wrote the name of the new moon in front of the fragrance. I am quite right, but sister, you are so...

If I were asked to finish the sentence "Iron horses and silver boats", I would have no idea what to write in the last couplet. My dear sister, how about... how about you change the sentence? "

"That won't work, Gu Xia, you came up with the couplet. If you want to admit defeat, you can't cheat!" Looking at Tang Qingyun's cute appearance, Liu Wenru didn't feel that she was a little more childlike, so she and Tang Qingyun began to tease each other.

"Oh, I..." When Tang Qingyun was feeling a little depressed, he suddenly glanced out the window and saw a branch of winter plum looming in the night. He immediately had an idea, and smiled "hehe" and took it from Liu Wenru's hand.

Paper and pen holder. Soon, there was a line of words at the end of the paper. When the girls came over to look at it, it read:

Looking back at the shadow of winter plum blossoms on the screen, half of it fell sideways into the inkstone field.

"Gu Xia, your couplet is so beautifully matched." Xie Xue looked at Tang Qingyun's last sentence and praised her unconsciously: "I just read the couplet on my sister's neck. I thought it would have a broader artistic conception, but this last couplet is not.

What should I mean to end the whole poem? I don't think Gu Xia's "Mei Ying" sentence just ends the whole poem with ease. It seems that I can't compare with you in this matter of writing poems.

Already."

"How's it going, ma'am? I did a good job on this couplet, wasn't it? Now is it time to criticize it and compare it with others?" Tang Qingyun said proudly to Kong Luhua.

"Okay, Gu Xia, we write poems on weekdays. It is a good thing to have some unwillingness to give in to each other. If no one wants to make progress, how can we write good poems and sentences? But we also want to

Clearly, this matter of superiority and inferiority is only secondary. What is the purpose of studying poetry? It is to observe the artistic conception from the poems, use them to cultivate one's moral character, and finally enjoy it? Today's poem,

We all have done well, so why bother arguing about our superiority? It is better that we just look at the poems we have written, and maybe there is something interesting in them." Unexpectedly, Kong Luhua persuaded Tang Qingyun at this time.

, said this to the three girls.

Liu Wenru, Xie Xue, and Tang Qingyun heard that what Kong Luhua said made sense, so they got together again and looked at the verses they and the other three wrote on the poem paper. The four women looked at their own crystallization and thought about what would happen if they didn't have a body.

I would not be able to compose this poem if I were with my companions. Such poems are even more rare just now. When the friendship is deep, I will naturally smile knowingly and enjoy this hard-won friendship.

I don't know how much time passed, but Lian'er's voice suddenly sounded outside the door, saying: "Madam, another letter has arrived from Kaifeng. This time, the master seems to have something important and wants the wife to reply as soon as possible."

"What's the matter? I've only been out for two months, but I've already learned how to play riddles." Kong Luhua also smiled as she walked to the door and picked up the letter. Just looking at the content of the letter, she felt a little more worried.

After a while, under the worry, a little smile appeared again.

"Hehe, Master is really naive..."

"Madam, what is written in Master's letter?" Seeing Kong Luhua's expression was different, Liu Wenru also took the initiative to ask.

"Well...it's nothing. Master, he...encountered some small troubles, which will be solved soon." It seems that Kong Luhua also knows Ruan Yuan's intentions, and the content of the letter does not need to be known to more people. After all, he is giving a gift to Guangxing.

In Ruan Yuan's opinion, this kind of thing is always indecent.

But Kong Luhua also knew that if Ruan Yuan had not trusted Guang Xing in advance, he would never have fallen into Guang Xing's trap. This was also an unavoidable expense. Moreover, this was the first time Ruan Yuan begged herself and had to give such a gift to others.

.This is the only time in twelve years. Perhaps, I should be more pleased...

In short, in less than half a month, Yi Bingshou paid Ruan Yuan the one thousand taels of reward and arrived at the Shanshan-Shaanxi-Gan Guild Hall in Kaifeng Mansion intact.

"Haha, Sir Ruan, your gift of one thousand taels has finally arrived today, hasn't it?" Guangxing saw that Ruan Yuan was willing to give him money. He was both proud and a bit arrogant. He hurriedly said to Ruan Yuan: "The rest is...

Don't worry, Minister. The people below us also know what's appropriate. The Minister is willing to provide financial assistance, so why not do it? Minister Ruan will look at it. In less than five days, all the cases in Henan will be solved.

All cases will be closed!"

"Really? In that case, maybe I have to thank Minister Guang?" Ruan Yuan restrained himself and sneered at Guang Xing.

"Why, Minister Ruan, seeing how you are today, could it be that...the Minister has other advice?" Guang Xing still looked arrogant.

"Shilang Guang, you and I are both ministers. I can't say the word "advice". However, I do have something else to say today. I would like to ask Shilang Guang to listen to the next sentence." Ruan Yuan looked at Guang Xing being so greedy and arrogant, and said,

How could I regard him as a good friend who could work together again? I just thought about Jiaqing's ambition to rejuvenate, and thought that Guangxing had been an important minister for generations, with ministers and ministers for three generations. I couldn't bear to see him sink like this, so I also treated Guangxing.

He said: "Shilang Guang, I have also been the governor of the province for several years. I know what the daily expenses are. If I don't talk about anything else, let's just talk about this red heart paper. I have been in Zhejiang for six years, and I have been in Fuyuan for one year.

The annual expenditure on paper is only a dozen taels, but when you handled this case, Minister, the expenditure on paper alone was nearly thirty taels! Minister Guang, you kept saying that the paper was in short supply.

The emperor will not be satisfied, but every time I go to Zhejiang and talk about expenses, the emperor's attitude is the same, that is, there is no rush to spend money, and he will make cuts if he can! The emperor has always been lenient, so how can he do it because of the poor use of paper?

How can you blame me if you have even the slightest trace of it? In addition, the people under the minister drink fine wine and eat delicacies in this hall every day. Whenever they travel, they must use the best carriages and horses.

.Shilang Guang, as you are so extravagant, how much money will Henan province need to spend to handle this case? Do you think it will be inconvenient for these subordinate officials to go out of Beijing?

But have you ever thought about it, most of the money used by the Henan government to support us in trying a prosecution case comes from public funds. Who does this money come from? Isn’t it the tens of millions of people in Henan? How many people per year?

You work just for the sake of paying taxes and having food and clothing for your subordinates. But what about you, Minister? Have you ever thought that this money is hard-earned? It is not hard to pay taxes for the people, but we are handling cases for the court, so how can we feel a little unhappy?

Just ask for supplies? How can you get supplies and then spend them wantonly, ignoring the suffering of the people and the depletion of the treasury?"

"Master Ruan, this is your first time to handle a case. Take a look at the people below. Why don't you go and ask yourself? We will not accept any of these gifts, and the expenses will be as you said."

If you can save money, save money, then are they still willing to continue doing things?" It seems that Guangxing completely dismissed Ruan Yuan's advice.

"Even so, the minister should advise them on the basis of public and private matters, but how can he blindly obey them?" Ruan Yuan continued to argue.

"Ruan Shilang, listening to what you said, the minister didn't feel comfortable taking these one thousand taels of silver?" Guang Xing sneered: "Otherwise, Ruan Shilang would have just returned the one thousand taels to himself. What happens next...

...how to do it, just do it, how about it?”

"Shilang Guang, I can donate these one thousand taels to the Shilang and the people below. It's just that I hope that the Shilang will not do this again." Ruan Yuan also said to Guang Xing sincerely: "The Shilang family has been honored for generations.

Prime Minister, Ruan Yuan has always admired Mr. Wen Duangong, who was always thrifty and diligent in river affairs. When Ruan Yuan was young, he heard that Mr. Wen Duan was managing the Nanhe River. Even when he was dying, he still did not forget the important work of river work. Your brother wrote to Mr. Wen Qin.

(Ming Shulin), I once had a relationship, and I just felt that Duke Wenqin had the demeanor of an ancient minister under his incorruptibility. Therefore, Ruan Yuan has always admired the minister since he met him. The minister was born in such a famous family.

I should inherit the style of my ancestors, take integrity as the foundation of my life, and take diligence as the key to doing things. So Ruan Yuan today, seeing the minister misusing public funds and spending extravagantly, is really... I feel sad for the minister! Mr. Guang,

Ruan Yuan couldn't bear that there was something wrong with the servant's family, so he sincerely told the servant today that he hoped that the servant would follow Wen Duan Gong and be diligent as an example. It's not too late to make up for it! Don't lose your original intention of being an official.

To the point...to the point where you have no regrets?"

"Okay, Minister Ruan, even if what you said is right, what's the use? Anyway, I know that you have been a capital official for too few years, and you have almost forgotten all the days when you were a capital official, working from dawn to dusk.

Right? If you were an official in Beijing like them every day, and finally had the opportunity to go out to try cases, Mr. Ruan, you might not think so. Mr. Ruan, no matter what, you finally treat your father and brother

With this sincerity in mind, I won’t bother you anymore today. You can go back and I’ll just do whatever needs to be done.” It seemed that Guangxing still didn’t want to change his attitude.

Even in his opinion, being able to give Ruan Yuan this last bit of respect was an exceptional act. At least at this time, Guangxing didn't know what his attitude would bring to him in the future...

Ruan Yuan looked at Guang Xing and found it difficult to persuade him. It was useless to argue with him, so he had no choice but to leave Guang Xing and return to his home.

However, Guangxing also fulfilled its promise to close the case. Within a few days, the affairs of Huang Mingqi and Chen Zhongchen were truthfully recorded in Guangxing, and the Henan prosecution case ended successfully. After reporting to the court, Jiaqing also

A corresponding verdict was made: the charges against Xiong Zhishu were all false. Because he was suffering from illness, he was exempted from the death penalty and was only sent to Jilin for imprisonment. Yongxuan did not commit any treason and was accused without any reason, so he was not guilty.

.Huang Mingqi used government public funds to make up for the shortfall, but in the end there were serious violations, and his position as magistrate was ordered to be deprived of him. Chen Zhongchen made an oversight when entering the accounts, but fortunately the fault was not serious, so he was demoted to an official position and transferred to the capital minister.

Ma Huiyu, the governor of Henan, was also demoted to the cabinet bachelor's degree by Jiaqing because of his oversight of the Huang Chen incident. There was no one to serve as governor of Henan for the time being. Jiaqing ordered Ruan Yuan to temporarily serve as governor of Henan and sit in Kaifeng to handle general affairs. After the selection of the new governor was decided, Ruan Yuan would be appointed again.
Chapter completed!