"Lu Zhongsheng can really go around in circles, this bowl of water is indeed held level." Qin Wangwan was in a mood to watch the excitement, "The crown prince has been established...it's also true, what's the point of establishing a crown prince? Has Guan Jun's military rations been cut off? Not cutting off his military rations, why does he care so much? What a nuisance."

  Lu Yi looked at him, "The Empress Dowager's intention is that you are the son of the former Emperor and the younger brother of the current Emperor. You are also in a position to ascend to the throne. In terms of both public and private interests, you should share the country's worries."

  "Is this what your mother told you to say?" The Qin king's face was somewhat gloomy, and Lu Yi looked at him with a "what do you think?" expression.

  ………………

  Hong's aunt came in from the back door, her tight face showing a faint sense of panic and fear. As she stepped over the threshold, it was unclear whether her feet were weak or if she had tripped on something, but she stumbled several steps and almost fell.

  Li Xia sat on the branch of a pomegranate tree, chatting with Xiao Jiu'er in a leisurely manner. Looking at Hong Niang's flustered appearance, she jumped down from the tree and said, "You go help out in the kitchen, I'll go back to writing."

  Li Xia followed behind Hong's mother, hopping to the door of the upstairs room. Su Ye, who was sitting on a goose-neck chair at the door doing needlework, saw her wanting to enter and hastily called out in a loud voice: "Miss, Ninth Sister has arrived."

  Li Xia turned her head and glanced at her, smiling and waving at her. This sudden gesture was so awkward and stiff.

  "Go to the wing room to find your sixth brother..." Li Dong hurriedly lifted the curtain and came out, Li Xia cleverly dodged her and jumped into the doorway. "Don't look for Sixth Brother, I'm here to get the Nine Linked Rings."

  Inside the house, Hong's words were cut off as she saw Li Xia and let out a sigh of relief. She moved slightly inside with Mrs. Xu and said in a low voice: "Just now, it was that servant who said that when they crossed the river, they encountered a big storm and also met PIG Dragon Lady, a great disaster. They searched for two or three days but couldn't find her."

  Li Xia seemed to have completely ignored Hong's words, climbed onto the bed and took out a nine-section staff, jumped out of the house with a thud, brought over a small bench, sat at the door and began to untie the nine-section staff.

  "Is he dead?" It was Mrs. Xu's voice, her throat tight.

  "Hmm." Hong's throat was no better than Mrs. Xu's, "No clear statement, just said not found, I asked the same, Ji Da said, the river is urgent, and there are pig dragons everywhere... but still looking."

  "Ah Nang." Li Dong's low voice trembled slightly, "What a coincidence..."

  "Look at what the girl is saying!" Hong's voice was not loud but had a sharp and piercing tone, "That crossing of the river, it's all about life and death, what cleverness? Madam, look at this matter... Master's side... Master has a stubborn heart, if he gets confused, he will go to find him with his life... Our family is already impoverished."

  "This matter... is still being investigated, can't be said yet, temporarily... the old master is busy with the Changping warehouse, he hasn't slept well for several nights, what can he do if he finds out? Far away in Jiangli, it's better to torment himself, our whole family relies on him, this matter, don't tell him for now."

  Mrs. Xu went on and on, but she wasn't talking to Old Lady Hong, she was talking to herself.

  Li Xia took off another ring and held it up, smiling as she looked at her mother, "Has there been any improvement?"

  ………………

  Magistrate Li has been really worried about investigating the Changping granary these past few days.

  Auditing the warehouse was a routine task, and he had helped out several times when he was in Taiyuan Prefecture. But this time, not only were the accounts and warehouses in disarray, but also the superiors from the Ministry of Revenue, Ministry of War, Commander's Office, Grain Transport Office, and Judicial Office... all came to inspect. He was originally not good at dealing with these people, and by the time the audit was only halfway through, he had a splitting headache.

  Fortunately, the grain stored in the warehouse and the account book are roughly the same, which is a blessing in disguise.

  The county magistrate saw off the clerk from the grain transport office who had come to check the accounts of past years, and let out a long sigh of relief. He raised his hand to rub his temples, rubbing for a while before he felt less dizzy. Looking at the time, it was almost noon, so he left the signing room and headed back to the rear residence for lunch.

  Just a few steps away, a middle-aged man dressed as a shopkeeper came in with his hands and feet shrinking back, stretching his neck to look around.

  "Who are you looking for?" asked Magistrate Li, stopping in his tracks. It was already past noon, and the county yamen was empty, with everyone having gone back to eat lunch.

  "Little one is looking for Master Bu." The middle-aged man kept bowing and scraping, with a hint of flattery in his politeness.

  "Is it official or private business?" Magistrate Li's tone softened considerably when he heard that he was looking for Master Bo.

  "It's... probably a private matter." The middle-aged man muttered vaguely, his eyes darting back and forth, with an extremely guilty look on his face.

  Magistrate Li looked at him with a hint of suspicion, "What's going on? Who are you?"

  "There's nothing... it's just a small matter... the manager of Da De Grain Store, there's no big deal. Master Bu called me to talk about the old grain, all trivial matters. I'll come back and look for Master Bu later." The middle-aged man became even more flustered, turned around and was about to leave.

  "Wait a minute!" The man was so flustered that even Li, the county magistrate, who was not particularly astute, could see that something was amiss. "Where did this grain come from? This is no small matter! I'm Li, the magistrate of Hengshan County. If you have anything to say, speak up!"

  "Ah ah ah......" The middle-aged man was so frightened that his eyes were wide with fear, "You little scoundrel! You've lost your head! There's no Chen Liang! I'm not the manager of Da De Grain Store, and I didn't come to find Bu......I......" Before the middle-aged man could finish speaking, he turned around and ran away.

  "Halt!" County Magistrate Li chased after him for several steps, but he couldn't catch up with the middle-aged man who was running faster than a rabbit.

  Magistrate Li stood still for a moment outside the yamen, then turned around and walked back in, with his hands behind his back. As he walked towards the rear residence, he thought about what the middle-aged man had said: "Da De Grain Store, old grain... can only be taken from the Ever-Normal Granary, but this year's Ever-Normal Granary only conducted an inspection, without mentioning taking out old grain to bring in new grain... even if they take out old grain, the old grain on the Zhejiang road has rules and regulations, and it is handled by Maochang Grain Store."

  Master Bo... about the Dingping Prefecture case... Fifth Brother has told him several times that these two masters are not good people...

  Magistrate Li stood frozen, for a moment, only to feel his legs go weak and his heart panic, he hastily stretched out his hand to lean against the artificial hill stone beside him, these eyes of his... He was blind!

  ………………

  Li Wenshan was summoned back to Hengshan County by Mr. Qin. The county magistrate Li fell ill.

  Li Wenshan rushed into County Magistrate Li's study in a flurry, just as Mr. Qin was talking to him.

  "Father is fine, and you've missed your studies again..." Seeing his son rush in, Li County Magistrate sat up straight on the bed, filled with guilt.

  "Wulang is a filial son, you're ill and he doesn't have the heart to study." Mr. Qin calmly nodded in agreement, towards County Magistrate Li, who always had to say an extra sentence, this word "filial" was more important than Wulang's homework.

  "What about those two masters?" Li Wenshan asked with a sigh of relief after seeing that his father was fine.

  "Alas!" County Magistrate Li let out a long sigh and covered his face with his hand.

  "It's a good thing your father detected it early. The grain stored in the Changping Warehouse of Hengshan County is 40% more than the account, all of which are new grains brought in by the Ministry of Revenue after the beginning of spring. Bu Huaiyi and Lu Youde were both greedy and foolish, not understanding the situation, thinking it was a great fortune, they found Da De Grain Store, preparing to sell 60% of the grain stored in the warehouse. The manager of Da De Grain Store came to find Bu Huaiyi, coincidentally met by your father, truly timely and fortunate, heaven's blessing."

  Complete works txt download, full text free, e-book, remember 77 reading books