On the eighth day of the first lunar month of the 50th year of the Kangxi reign, Cao Yong took his marriage leave and started his career at the yamen and Cao's mansion at two points and one line.

As soon as Cao Yong arrived at the gate of the Ministry of Revenue, he met two colleagues from our department, Fu Xiangong and Peng Zhu. They were all friends with Cao Yong. They came to pay a visit and congratulated Cao Yong on a new occasion.

Cao Yong smiled and replied to thank him, and told them that he had not come to the department this month and asked him how he had a job and whether he had any new jobs.

Fu Xiangong said, "But he asked the Lord, it was not peaceful in Fujian this time. Last November, the disaster was caused, and the people had no food. The pirates on the sea went north, but they asked the government troops to block the enemy in Zhejiang and were defeated and flew everywhere. These bandits were crazy. Those who returned to Fujian went ashore to kill and rob the grain again. The people were suffering. Now the department is checking the losses reported, and they are afraid that the superiors will transfer food to Fujian again to appease the people. It seems that we will be busy for a while at the beginning of the year!"

Cao Yong sighed: "When I was in Jiangning in the middle of last year, I also heard about the pirates from Fujian going north. In July and August, I said I was suppressed, and it appeared again only after the Chinese New Year!"

Peng Zhu also said: "Not! It's really a big problem. I don't know how many of them can be wiped out in the short term! After the disaster in Fujian this year, it's another big disaster. Alas, let's follow the foot and the back of the head and go to the back of the head!"

While speaking, several people had already entered the Fujian Division and greeted their colleagues one by one. A small official said to Cao Yong: "The doctor just explained that if Lord Cao comes, please come over and discuss with me."

Cao Yong nodded and replied, Peng Zhu smiled and said, "Sir, look at it, it must be the pirates!"

Cao Yong smiled and went to find Li Qichang. The two met and exchanged greetings. Li Qichang spoke up and asked Cao Yong to cooperate with several subordinates to inspect the losses reported by Fujian local governments. Cao Yong naturally responded.

Fu Xiangong was in charge of this situation. I heard that Cao Yong was very happy to be the governor. Cao Yong knew that he could do it and was satisfied, so he asked him to write a few posts and started the audit.

After two days of busyness with Fu Xiangong, Cao Yong heard some other news from him, which was the relevant Jiangnan Department. Originally, Gali impeached Jiangnan local officials to embezzle public funds, but Jiangnan Department had been investigating the deficit. At the end of last year, he just dragged down Suzhou magistrate Chen Pengnian. He should have followed this line to investigate, but at the beginning of this year, he stopped there, but instead added something else to check the payment accounts of the guards and guards.

Cao Yong thought about the introduction of Prince Chun’s suggestion a dozen days ago. After he returned that day, he discussed with Mr. Zhuang Xi. Both of them felt that Prince Chun was talking about the matter of Gali and Zhang Boxing attacking each other, and was afraid that it would be about the deficit of Jiangnan. Now that he heard that the Jiangnan Department had begun to investigate military salaries, Cao Yong was a little unexpected. Could it be that Gali Gan did not defeat the governor Zhang Boxing and wanted to attack the admiral again?

Cao Yong heard it and thought secretly, without any expression on his face. A pen letter below was written in the form of a documentary and writing. He couldn't help but mutter: "If the payroll for the guards of the Jiangnan Sea were also misappropriated and occupied, and the soldiers were suffering, I'm afraid no one would have fought bravely to kill the enemy. Then the pirates would have long harmed Zhejiang, so where would they run back to harm Fujian?"

Fu Xiangong was a person who dared to speak, and because these few posts in front of him were his confidant, he knew that Cao Yong was not a mess. After hearing the post, he smiled and whispered: "That's not the reason why the bandits killed the officers and soldiers! In my opinion, there was still some accident inside. You said, if they were willing to kill the enemy, they would not kill them completely, and could the pirates have the life to return to Fujian?"

Several people present nodded. Another said, "It's not that the officials are talking. We don't know how to investigate the salary of the Fujian garrison. If we check it carefully, it's hard to say it. Just like the adults said, if they are willing to kill the enemy, there will be no pirates in Fujian, right?"

Cao Yong remembered that he heard the two constables talk about the various problems of the Green Camp Army. He also knew that eight out of ten of these soldiers in the local area were not in charge. If there was no military pay, he might be able to harm the people than the bandits, let alone ask them to suppress the bandits.

When several people saw Cao Yong, the man who was helpless, shook his head gently, they knew that he knew the disadvantages, so they didn't care about it at the moment, and then lowered their voices and chatted for a while.

*

Cao Mansion, Kuiyuan.

Although Cao Yong no longer lives in the room here, the furnishings and bedding here did not move at all. Chu Yu looked at everything in front of him, thinking that these were all used by the prince. He looked carefully and was full of curiosity. When she saw that the quilts on the bed were all made of fine cloth, she couldn't help but be surprised and turned around and asked Amethyst: "Sister Amethyst, how did the prince use this?"

Chai'er just came to bring tea, and Zijing smiled and said, "The princess first eats tea, and it's not too late to see!"

Chu Yu was in a difficult situation and didn't know how to call Amethyst. Later, he saw that Cao Yi and Cao Song both called her "Sister Amethyst", so he also called her like this.

Although Madam Ye and Xiyun and others thought it was too much to praise Amethyst so much, they were not easy to persuade each other. Cao Yong did not regard Amethyst as a servant in his heart, so he naturally would not think that such a title was inappropriate. Even when he was a child, he obediently called his sister for several years.

Amethyst did not agree, so she persuaded her several times, but in the end she had to let her. Amethyst originally managed the internal affairs of the house, but it was just a temporary measure. Now that she has a serious hostess, she has to hand over the key to the account book early.

Chu Yu was not old. Because she grew up with the wife of the legitimate wife since she was a child, she was not unfamiliar with the housekeeper. Moreover, after the marriage, the legitimate wife began to deliberately teach her how to manage the family. Now she has learned a lot. However, she has seen the whole house in an orderly manner and has its own rules of conduct, so she is unwilling to intervene rashly. It was actually Zijing who said and said that she had received the key, but she still entrusts everything to Zijing.

Madam Ye couldn't help but feel anxious in her eyes. She thought that the princess was too real. How could she convince the public if she didn't stand up in a straight line? Although she had a noble status, she was already the daughter-in-law of the Cao family. If she showed a good temperament at the beginning, her husband would have a side room later...

But when Chu Yu picked up the tea, he smelled the strong fragrance of dates. He couldn't help but pick up the lid of the bowl to check, but it was a thick red date tea.

"If the color is cold today, I heard that the princess is not feeling well just now, but this can be replenished!" Zi Jing said with a smile.

Chu Yu remembered that his mother had just made red date tea for herself when she was in the palace. Her eyes were red and embarrassed to let people see it, so she lowered her head to drink tea. It was warm and sweet, but her body was much more comfortable than before.

Seeing that she was not in the yard and was not recuperating, it was a bit strange when she came here like this, but it was hard to ask directly why, so she mentioned the topic she had asked just now: "Although the uncle has a very good temperament, he has been a little weird since he was a child, and his food and use are not the same as everyone else!"

Chu Yu was indeed very curious, so he quickly raised his head and asked, "What's the strange thing about the prince? Did Sister Amethyst grow up watching the prince grow up?"

Zijing smiled and said, "That's true, but it's not true. When I arrived at the old lady's Xuanrui Hall, the old man was already five years old, but he was not as naughty as an ordinary child. He was very well-behaved! But after that year..." At this point, Fang realized his words and immediately stopped.

Chu Yu was going to marry into the Cao family, and knew a little about the ancestors of the Cao family. He knew that the grandmother of the prince was the nanny of Huangmafa. Although this grandmother had passed away, she still felt a little respect in her heart because of the prince and Huangmafa.

Chu Yu was thinking about the appearance of the prince when he was young, but he didn't know what it looked like or what was strange about it. So he saw Amethyst pause and hurriedly asked, "What happened that year?"

This is a secret. Apricot is just thinking about how to split it up, but Chu Yu was already looking at her as if she was worried, so he looked up at Xiyun and Xixia who were tidying up the charcoal basin and said, "It's so cold. Go back and take my fox armpit cloak!" Seeing Apricot's body light, he ordered, "Take the two small cloaks I found two days ago, the two crimson and royal blue ones."

Xiyun and Xixia glanced at the sable cloak that the princess was wearing and responded.

There was no one else in the room. Chu Yu said, "I am very curious about the matter of the prince! My prince and I are already married and have been taken care of by him, but I don't know what to do for him. Seeing that the furnishings and beddings on his side are completely different from those on the other side, but to accommodate me, I didn't show any discomfort. I was very uneasy..." As he said, his voice also made him feel a little nervous.

Seeing her expression of worry, Zi Jing couldn't help but persuade: "The princess is because of her discomfort. She should have adjusted her breathing well, but she is so crazy about her thoughts. She asked the uncle to come back and think about it!"

Chu Yu smiled and said, "I only talked to Sister Amethyst. In front of the prince, I was happy and I would not think of anything." It was not that she was thick-skinned and said these to others casually, but that she was really happy. Although Sister Amethyst is not an elder, she is like a sister, making people trust and rely on it.

When Zi Jing saw her mentioning Cao Yong, her eyes were bright and she could see that she liked him sincerely. She was very happy for the couple. She said that Cao Yong's childhood interesting stories and hobbies were avoided, but she just kept the incident of being abducted in the summer of seven years old.

Chu Yu listened carefully and kept it in his heart.

After a while, Xiyun and Xixia came over with their cloaks and two small velvets. Chu Yu took it with him and placed it on the table in front of Amethyst: "Sister Amethyst is not very old, so how can she be so simple all day long? These clothes are my dowry items and have not been worn before. If my sister is polite, she will not treat me as her own family!"

Amethyst didn't want to accept it, but after hearing what she said, she had to accept it, thanked her solemnly, and then advised Chu Yu to go back to the new house. There was no one living in the house here for half a month. Although she ordered two basins of charcoal, there was still no warmth.

Chu Yu nodded with a smile, but his expression was a little bit reluctant. When Zi Jing saw it, she was worried and said that she had something to find Zhuer, and happened to go back with her.

Chu Yu and she went back to the new yard with her. Azure Jing did not enter the room, so she went directly to Zhuer and Cui'er's residence in the back hall.

Chuyu had to arrange all of them in the yard because Zhuer Cui'er, the four maids, were serving Cao Yong. However, Chai'er begged for Cao Yong and stayed in the Kuiyuan with Meijing. Huan'er was relying on Chai'er everywhere, so she did not come here. Therefore, only Zhuer Cui'er was placed in the row of houses in the back porch.

"Can Zhu'er be there?" Amethyst stood under the window and called out.

"Sister Amethyst!" It was Zhu'er, Cui'er and opened the door and welcomed Amethyst in.

Zhu'er asked while pouring tea: "Why do you have time to come over? If you have something to call us over!"

Amethyst asked, "I just went to the princess to Aoiyuan, but something was wrong. I saw her after dinner last year and it was still fine. What's going on?"

After hearing Amethyst's words, Zhu'er and Cui'er looked at each other with a strange look, but neither responded.

Amethyst nodded: "It seems that there is a reason, but why can't I tell you?"

Zhu'er still said nothing, Cui'er hurriedly said, "Even if my sister doesn't ask, we have to tell my sister, and we also ask my sister to persuade Madam Ye!"

"Madam Ye?" Zijing was puzzled: "She is the princess' wet nurse. She looks like she understands the rules. She feels sorry for the princess. Can she still make the princess angry?"

Cui'er muttered in a low voice: "I'm afraid it hurts so I'm so worried!"

Seeing her face full of resentment, Zi Jing said seriously: "She is the princess' wet nurse and she is a dowry. Even the old man should be polite. Where is the turn to find us to write a group? Which family's rule is this?"

Cui'er hurriedly admitted her mistake: "Sister Zijing, it's mine, it's not, I will never dare again! But she has passed a little today. Because the princess saw redness, she asked someone to burn the kang outside the room!"

Amethyst frowned slightly, and the outer room of the upper room was connected to the bedroom, with only a hundred treasure grids in the middle. If there was a maid who was open to the room at night, she would be placed in the outer room. Because Cao Yong was impatient with this, he had never left anyone to serve him in the evenings these days.

"Did the princess agree?" asked Amethyst.

Cui'er bit her lip and said, "The princess is young and has a gentle personality. Even if she is reluctant, how can she speak!"

"But you chose the one named Xiyu?" asked Zijing, who was the one with the best appearance among the eight people who came to the dowry: "You two have been with them for a while, but you know what the origin of Xiyu is. How could such a person be arranged for the Prince's Mansion to come here?"

Cui'er said, "I asked Xicai, but among the eight people, there were only Yun, Yan, Cai and Xia, who served since childhood. Yu, Xue, Shuang, and Lu were selected by the nanny next to Fujin."

This is a matter in the room, and even Amethyst can't be said much. She was not at ease with the princess, but when she thought about her uncle's character, she knew that she was too worried.

*

After Cao Yong finished his errands, he returned to the mansion and was already Shen Zheng (4 pm). He wanted to ask Mr. Zhuang Xi to tell me what he heard today, so he did not go back to the inner courtyard first. Mr. Zhuang had been waiting for him in the study for a long time, but Cao Yin came to write to him.

After reading the demolition, Cao Yong handed over the foreign affairs to Mr. Zhuang. After he finished reading it, he said, "I heard that the Jiangnan Department was investigating the military pay for the guards and guarding the sea. I also said that Gali was going to attack the admiral, but it turned out that he was still coming for Zhang Boxing!"

Cao Yin's letter said that Gali submitted a memorial to Zhang Boxing in December, saying that this group of pirates in Fujian arrived in Zhejiang and the Zhejiang defenders failed to inspect the gang and failed to completely suppress the bandits. Gali claimed that he wanted to go out to sea, but Zhang Boxing "not only did he go out to sea without intention, but also repeatedly asked 'Why go out to sea'", which said that Zhang Boxing deliberately avoided and refused to patrol sincerely.

The most outrageous thing is that the Admiral Shi Yide not only did not lead the troops, but instead brought several singing children to stay with Zhang Boxing on the small river in Shanghai County for more than a month. Every word and sentence means that the military pay of the court was not used to reward the soldiers who suppressed the bandits, but to give the governor the gouache silver for singing children to the governor.

Cao Yong said: "I'm afraid that this is the reason why the Jiangnan Department asked the inspectors and guards to serve the sea. This is obviously because of Zhang Boxing's idea. It seems that Gali will not give up until Zhang Boxing is over."

Mr. Zhuang sighed and said, "Why doesn't Zhang Boxing want to bring down Kali? He just has no handle, and he is not as despicable as Kali! Kali is now a sentence that kills his heart, but it is a life-and-death battle! If the military pay is found to have a star point accident, Kali can make a big fuss, and Zhang Boxing will inevitably be dismissed. If he can't find out, Kali will slander the official, then it depends on the honor and favor of the above person. If he loses his holy heart, he will be doomed."

Cao Yong frowned: "Galli is not like a person who can gamble on his life. Could it be that he can do anything..."

Mr. Zhuang said: "Zhang Pengheng, who is from the Ministry of Revenue, is not sure about his position. If he favors Gali, there is nothing to say! But I think Gali is afraid that Gali is still the holy heart of gambling. Since the above asked to check, at least he believed him 60%!"

Cao Yong was silent and pondered for a while before asking, "Then the tips from Prince Chun a few days ago... Mr. Yi, can I be disturbed?"

Mr. Zhuang thought for a while and shook his head, "Unless someone wants to call Gali defeated, you will be arranged to go there. The one above doesn't know. Gali is the ninth prince's in-laws, so naturally I don't know how to come to the eighth prince. Look at the fourth prince's behavior, even if he wants to protect Zhang Boxing, he won't ask you to check it out. He will arrange for others to go early in the morning. In this way, you should be relieved."

Cao Yong let out a long sigh: "I hope so!" The Cao family finally pulled out of the political situation in Jiangnan, but he didn't want to disturb him anymore.
Chapter completed!