The first year of Ruian was a rare and peaceful year for Dalong.
There is no war at the border and no disaster inside the border.
Because of the first winter wheat harvest in Qingzhou, it gradually began to spread to other state capitals, which made the people of Dalong understand one thing. Food can be grown in two seasons a year.
When Young Master Liu learned that Qingzhou Mansion actually had his own shrine, he was even dumbfounded.
What made Mr. Liu most speechless was that the plaque on the birthplace actually had the words "The Reincarnation of Shennong". He even wanted to cry without tears. How could he dare to win such a good reputation?
No matter what Mr. Liu thinks, the people firmly believe that it was the imperial envoy who made the famine-stricken Qingzhou Prefecture full of food for the first time.
No one was starved to death anymore, and Qingzhou became one of the wealthiest prefectures around it. The people enthusiastically donated money to build the shrine, so local officials had no choice but to report the matter to the court.
However, this memorial eventually disappeared without a trace, and Qingzhou officials had no choice but to let it go.
After all, Qingzhou Prefecture's getting better and better reputation also affects their political performance assessment.
I think this year’s files from the Ministry of Civil Affairs Examination will definitely be full of praise!
Sweet potatoes have also been promoted by the imperial court, with the capital as the starting point radiating to more than a dozen state capitals. The people have changed from initial rejection and worry to eagerly planting sweet potatoes.
Just one year's tax revenue in the first year of Ruian's year allowed Dalong's treasury to be expanded by two. Jiang Yuanming, the Minister of Household Affairs, is happy wherever he goes now. He has become stronger and no longer has to work hard to be his Minister of Household Affairs.
Already.
In April of the second year of Ruian, the ice and snow had melted for a long time, and the capital was once again full of life and took on a new look.
After going to court, Young Master Liu was sitting in the pavilion at home sorting out the accounts of the household department for the year.
Jiang Yuanming hugged his thighs and almost burst into tears as he begged him to sort out the bad debts of the household department in the past. Young Master Liu couldn't help but refused again and again.
"Husband, haven't you finished calculating the accounts of the household department?"
The third princess Li Yan's voice sounded from behind. Liu Mingzhi made a mark on the account book and wrote down a number before putting down the brush in his hand.
"Yan'er is back. Let's sit down and have a sip of tea. First, take a breath and don't get pregnant!"
The third princess nodded lightly and held her waist, sitting on a stone bench covered with cotton wool. Although her lower abdomen was not yet visible, the third princess's appearance was quite complete.
"You don't need to support your lower back so early. The fetus hasn't grown up yet?"
"No, I have to take good care of the baby in my belly. Others don't care about me, I just have to do my own thing!"
Liu Mingzhi poured a cup of warm tea and handed it to the third princess: "How is it? Have you met your father?"
The third princess took a sip of tea and shook her head faintly: "He didn't even get close to Jing'an Palace when he was stopped by Manager Zhou, who said that my father was doing the Qing Dynasty and didn't see anyone. If you have anything to do, just discuss it with the prince's brother!"
Liu Mingzhi frowned and sighed with melancholy in his eyes: "From September 8th last year to April 18th this year, my father has not been to the court for half a year. If he doesn't go to the court, he won't go to the court. Why don't we even go to the court?"
Why don't you receive these children? What on earth is Father busy with in Jing'an Palace?"
The third princess put down the tea cup in her hand and looked at Young Master Liu with a worried expression as she gently grabbed her husband's hand and held it tightly: "Husband, do you think something happened to the father? The prince's brother has been in prison for the sixth period of the country.
It’s been seven months, no matter how busy my father is, he can’t even show his face once, right?”
Liu Mingzhi gently patted the third princess's hand: "Don't worry, Yan'er. My father said before that it was to train the prince's brother's ability to run the government. There will definitely be no problem!"
"But I'm always worried in my heart and mind. We may have something to hide when our father doesn't see us, but there must be a deadline for when we come out, right? In the palace, I could faintly hear the maids and eunuchs secretly talking about my father's dragon body...
..."
Although the third princess did not dare to say it out loud, the meaning was already quite obvious.
"There are more and more ministers in the court who oppose the crown prince's brother's supervision of the country. Uncle Duan Wang has also been very active recently. Husband, do you think something has really happened to my father?"
"Yan'er, don't be anxious. Anxiety is not good for the fetus. You should go back and rest first. After my husband has processed these account books, he will go to the ministers' homes to pay a visit!"
The third princess took a deep breath and gently stroked her belly with her jade hand: "I'm leaving first. If anything happens, husband, you must tell me in time!"
"Don't worry, you can go and rest peacefully. My father will be strong and will be fine for sure!"
After the third princess left, Liu Mingzhi held the brush in his hand but could not drop it at all.
The thoughts in my mind were so chaotic that I couldn't calm down at all.
Putting the brush on the inkstone, Liu Mingzhi stopped and looked at the scenery of the mansion, but his thoughts were far away!
The emperor did not go to court for seven months and left full power over the affairs of the court to the prince. The longer the time went by, the more active the ministers in the court became.
There were a lot of private discussions about whether the emperor had already died, and Liu Mingzhi didn't know how many rumors he had heard by not announcing the funeral secretly just to allow the prince to secure his position.
Now there are only two people in Dalong who can see the emperor, one is the crown prince Li Baiyu, and the other is the general manager Zhou Fei.
But whether these two people really met the emperor, civil and military officials throughout the court had different guesses.
"Oh, the situation seems really not good! Is it true that His Majesty has really died as the ministers were discussing privately... Impossible, absolutely impossible! The emperor passed away
Guan Guoti, if the prince really conceals the death of the emperor, he will be criticized by the ministers even if he ascends the throne as emperor!"
"Yan'er is His Majesty's favorite daughter. What happened that made him reject Yan'er? What is there in Jing'an Palace?"
Liu Mingzhi, who had pondered for a long time, had no thoughts. No one in the civil and military circles in the court except the prince could understand the profound meaning of the emperor's move.
Liu Mingzhi forcibly removed things about the emperor from his mind and began to calculate the accounts of the household department.
It was only when the sun was fading that Liu Mingzhi finished settling the thick stack of accounts.
Some old accounts actually revealed that the loss of 300,000 taels of silver was missing. It seems that it was secretly manipulated by some officials from the Ministry of Accounts.
"Daddy, daddy!"
"Hey, Yiyi, Feifei, daddy's little sweetheart, why are you here? Come on, daddy... Lian'er, you are crazy. Is it really okay for the two of them to play with these things like this?"
Young Master Liu, who was about to hug Liu Yiyi and Liu Feifei, immediately took a step back in fright. He looked at the scorpion and centipede lying on the heads of his two daughters speechlessly and felt chilled in his heart!
The two little guys, who can already walk, giggled and laughed. They grabbed the hairy scorpion centipede with their young hands and played with it casually, without any feeling of panic at all!
Qinglian stood behind in plain clothes and looked at Young Master Liu aggrievedly: "Husband, what's wrong? The earlier you practice the art of poison, the more beneficial it will be. Didn't you notice that Yiyi and Feifei's expressions are much brighter than Yao's?
Is Yao much better?"
"This... the key point is that my husband is timid. How can he get close to me even though he carries these poisons every day?"
"Daddy, Chongchong!"
"You two are my father and my little ancestor. Put it down quickly and don't play with these dangerous things."