Lizhou Zhisui Ling.

In the past, the city was full of traffic and business travelers, but recently there are fewer ox carts running on the streets, and even the cargo boxes marked with the emblems of large commercial houses are not very common.

"Ah, a rich man has entered the city!"

The vegetable vendors at the bottom of the bridge shouted loudly, causing passers-by to look around. Not far from the city gate, a very magnificent ox cart slowly drove in, the walls of the car were painted, the windows were inlaid with glass, and the pattern of holly wood shone a scorching silver in the sun.

"It's Yan's caravan!"

A well-informed person recognized the emblem, and the crowd whispered, and an old man who was haggling with the greengrocer muttered:

"Last year, the Son of Heaven gave the Yan family the right to sell salt, and I don't know how to change the price of salt......

Everyone couldn't help but worry when they saw the scalper slowly passing through the middle of the street, followed by more than 20 carts full of boxes. Official-sold goods are handed over to private individuals, and the price is usually lowered to attract more customers, but there have also been cases where the price has been arbitrarily raised in order to obtain profits. This Yan family is the largest imperial merchant of the country, and now that he has left the imperial capital that has taken root for more than 40 years, will he treat them well?

The convoy headed north and stopped outside a scenic garden in the middle of the city. The owner of the garden waited outside the gate early in the morning to greet him, the four courtyards were cleaned, and the delicacies of the mountains and seas were already placed on the round table in the dining room.

As soon as the curtain was lifted, what came out was not the rumored personable, young and promising son.

Chang Sui Yinjiang went down to the ground, led the coachman and the servants to hug his fists and said: "Except for the king of Lao, the prince will come back in the afternoon and tell the others to settle things first." ”

The staff who was over fifty years old was stunned, and then said with a smile: "Please feel free! The Humble House has arranged for people to help with the rectification, so let's call everyone to eat first!"

Yinjiang thanked him repeatedly, but secretly thought that the Zhizhou Yamen was not a good match, could the son come back before Shen Shi?

At this moment, a Wusun horse stopped next to the stone lion in the yamen, Yan Xugui turned over and dismounted, his appearance was still neat, and he stepped on the steps without taking care of it.

It was past midday, but the bell tower in the state government did not ring the bell to tell the time. The main hall, which is seven rooms wide and eight rafters deep, is empty and deserted, and the three classes and six rooms are silent, and he passes through the courtyard through the instrument gate unimpeded, and unexpectedly sees a few familiar guards in front of the flower hall courtyard.

The Flower Hall Courtyard is a family residence, and now it is surrounded by people from the capital, so the family members of Zhizhou are all inside?

The back garden is full of vegetation, butterflies are flying, and there is a person standing with his back to the pond on the side of the rose shelf, with wide sleeves and a jade crown rhino belt.

He paused, and after a moment he went around the cloister and entered the Zhizhou dormitory built by the water through the side door.

The main entrance of the house was locked from the outside, and the windows were airtight and extremely dimly lit. In the dazed background, Zhizhou was thrown on the official hat chair with five flowers, his eyes were blank and his face was gloomy.

Yan Xugui glanced at him, walked to the openwork corset rosewood table, and picked up the paper pressed under the white jade town—

"I hereby show the people of the state that seventy percent of the salt selling rights in this state will be owned by the Yan family from today, and His Royal Highness the Yue King Chitose and the official will verify that it is correct, and the father and the elder shall follow it, and there shall be no doubt. ”

Zhizhou seemed to have just woken up from a big dream, raised his head with great effort, and said in a dumb voice: "You ......"

"There's Lord Lao Huang. He put down the notice written by himself, picked up the brown and red amber seal next to the inkstone and stamped it lightly, "Why did you forget this?"

Zhizhou suddenly let out a hysterical shout: "Let me out!" I did as you said, untie the rope!"

Yan Xigui smiled and said, "Yan Mou will go out and talk to His Majesty." By the way, the adults already know the identity of His Majesty, right?"

Zhizhou's face suddenly turned blue, as if he was in a panic, and his crumpled green robe trembled like autumn leaves.

Yamen was unknowingly exchanged for blood last night, and when he woke up, he was escorted by two people, hastily changed into regular clothes, and was placed under house arrest in the bedroom. There was not a single familiar subordinate around, and the strange guards told him that all his family members were concentrated in the Flower Hall Courtyard, including his newly bought fifth aunt and aunt who was far away in the countryside. Zhizhou was confused, until a distinguished guest came to the room and asked him to write a codex to the commander of the city.

He immediately knew that the situation was strict, and Qi Ning's envoy was in Yuzhou, but the capital was under his jurisdiction. Historically, the governor of Lizhou and the commander of the capital have been very close, and the other party has ten ** wants to move the guard.

But he did not leave the house, and he really did not know that it was the current lord of the country standing in front of him! He was frightened by the methods of the guards, and after writing the letter with trepidation, he was threatened to make a notice to the whole city, and his mind could not turn for a while. Now that the former Marquis Yan was pinching his words, he suddenly noticed something strange - although Lizhou was adjacent to Nan'an, how could Mingli be managed by the Yue Domain? However, it is true that the power of King Yue has been entrenched in the three southern provinces for decades.

After all, it was an official who had achieved this status, and when he died, he grabbed a life-saving straw: "Childe, Childe save me! The junior official has no second heart for His Majesty!"

Yan Xugui took the notice with satisfaction, ignored him and shook the chair loudly, Shi Shiran went out of the room without looking back.

Zhizhou was left alone again, and he almost went crazy.

The waterhole reflects the verdant trees, and the inky folds of clothes unfold among the greenery, soaking into the beautiful waves. Sheng Yunyi heard the footsteps, raised his lips and turned around:

"Got it?"

Yan Xugui used to live in Zhao Wangfu in Yuzhou, and rushed here in time, but it was the first time he talked to him face-to-face since Fanjing's farewell. Su warmed up the matter, he knew that it was his own mistake, and no matter how he made up for it, he couldn't make the other party satisfied.

He nodded, "There seems to be a shortage of people from a large number of trading houses in the city, and among the eleven wealthy families invited by King Zhao at that time, how many of them were native to Lizhou?"

Sheng Yunyi looked at him approvingly, "Three or four." There are salt wells in Lizhou, and if these people who sell smuggled salt don't clean them up, it will be a trouble for you and me in the future. Xuan Ze, can you give me the results in two months?"

Yan Xugui sighed helplessly: "It's too fast." I've tried my best to infiltrate the local trading houses in Yuan Ping and Qi Ning, but this is not something that can be guaranteed overnight. ”

Yongzhou, Lizhou, Lizhou, each province has a Zhili Prefecture where the Yan clan can do business, ostensibly as a compensation favor for the removal of the title, but in fact it is an indispensable help in the reduction of the feudal domain. Salt and iron are the lifeblood of the country, and the center of gravity in the south falls on the salt well. The power of the Yan clan, with Fanjing's tacit approval, went far beyond the confines of these three states, complementing the army and filling the weakness of the army.

Sheng Yunyi said: "As long as you can easily mobilize the price of salt when the war starts, this method will harm the people's livelihood and cannot be used for a long time." If my father is still here, I am afraid that he will lock me up in the temple and kneel on the tablet. ”

Yan Xugui listened to this familiar tone, and the heaviness in his heart relaxed slightly, "I almost forgot." ”

After saying that, neither of them had anything to say.

After a while, Sheng Yunyi pressed his temples and said in a low voice: "Five years ago, I swore in front of my father that I would not be like him in this life, but now I can't do it." People do change, I was thinking too simply. ”

He looked at Yan Xugui intently, "Xuan Ze, if Huihui and Xu Buyang can't make an antidote, what are you going to do?"

Yan Xugui said without thinking: "Before the battle, he defected, went bankrupt to help Yue Fan fight all the way to Fanjing, invited merit to return to Duanyanghou, and then married Zhuyi County." ”

He paused, "That's what you want to hear?"

Sheng Yunyi said solemnly: "After helping Uncle Wang Qingjun, remember to help people to the end, and marry Anyang as a wife, as for the doctor, just leave it to you." ”

The two looked at each other and involuntarily chuckled.

The stone that had been on the ground for a long time finally fell to the ground, and Yan Xugui breathed a sigh of relief, "It's not all nonsense. You know it later than I do, but you find out this matter very quickly. ”

He only learned the truth about his grandfather's death two years ago, and in a state of confusion, he agreed to Hou Ye's suggestion, went to the grassland to take a look at the little county lord of the Northern Dynasty who was involved in the matter, and insisted on bringing her back to Fanjing. Since he was a child, he didn't like the persecution of others, and he was even more picky about marriage, so the family's plan was not implemented.

The little interest he had in Su Huihui was not as good as the profits of the two jewelry shops. Everything in the world is different, people have their own ambitions, such a wooden beauty, I am afraid that only Sheng Yunyi is willing to take the trouble to tease.

It's a pity that Rong Lao Shangshu is enthusiastic.

His family affairs, Sheng Yunyi only began to gradually figure out after Su Hui warmed up and entered the palace on an errand, the first emperor and the marquis not only hid it, but even the Eastern Dynasty also hid it, with good intentions. When the Empress Dowager Yan Sui married into the palace from the family of a businessman, she was the only favorite, and Emperor Hui was also a ruthless emperor.

Yan Dao's initial defense was very tight, and Emperor Hui used the hand of Chang Shi, the sister of Dingguo Gong, to drug the wine cup in the name of giving him a marriage. Regardless of whether he married Mrs. Chang or not, in short, the medicine was poured down, and His Royal Highness Jinluan was relieved.

On that day two years ago, Yan Xigui was running around for business, and when he returned to his rented cottage at night, he found that there were uninvited guests from the Hou Mansion in the house. The old marquis fell ill without warning, rolling on the ground in pain, delirious and denied his relatives. When he arrived in the room, black and red blood was already flowing all over the ground, and the old man's eyes were cloudy, and he was delirious and his relatives were not recognized.

He waited for three nights, and Hou Ye didn't say anything after waking up, just looked at him apologetically.

At that time, Yan Xigui didn't understand why he was apologic.

"When did you find out everything?"

Sheng Yunyi said: "That time in the Dingguo Mansion, I asked Ji Wei to search the medicine storehouse. The news I got before was just speculation, until I saw the Fan Taozhi plant, and I made up my mind. More than ten years ago, Hou Ye gave it to Chang Xuanyi, and it should have been put on the table by Sheng Fuyu, and he got something that was of no use to him, so he simply made a personal favor and threw it in the Guogong Mansion, which can be regarded as paying off the debts of the previous generation. Hui Hui said that he saw you at Mrs. Chang's residence, and you should have been there at that time. ”

The water of the pond is secluded, and the birdsong is more pleasant. He felt a little sorrow from the bottom of his heart, and his voice was still calm and unwavering in his ears:

"I actually didn't have time to say a lot to my uncle, but then I thought that it would be the greatest forgiveness for him to call me on his deathbed as he did when I was a child. In order to prevent rebellion, my grandfather used the strange poison of the South China Sea to control the Yan family, so that each generation of family heads would show signs of aging early after the age of forty, even if they hung their lives with medicinal herbs, it was difficult to live past the age of fifty. This is what we owe to Yan. ”

A faint tiredness spread, and his eyes closed slightly, "So Lord Hou chose to do things for King Yue, wanting to restore his health and let the clan no longer have worries, I can understand." But Xuan Ze, look at it, after thirty-two years of worship, General Lu was forced to die, Wei Shangshu committed suicide, and Hou Ye just said a word for Song Tingzhi, and I lost so much. Shall we settle the matter?"

His voice suddenly became inaudible: "After all, it's not a family. ”

Yan Xugui pulled out a bitter smile, "Instead of rushing to track down a Xunmuhua that may not have zài, it is better to put in the effort to remake the antidote, and you can publicly order this, which has exceeded our expectations." The first emperor didn't tell you about this, I think he is familiar with your temperament and doesn't want you to be embarrassed and guilty. If it weren't for the medicinal properties of this medicine to pass on to me, Master Hou would definitely have brought this secret into the coffin. ”

Hou Ye also didn't want to see him break off his close friend, but he had to sacrifice nearly twenty years of friendship for the entire clan, so he was sorry.

Unable to remain silent forever, Yan Xugui tried to change the topic: "Regarding Doctor Su's injury in Luoshan, I admit that I subconsciously regarded her as an unimportant person, and you should still take her with you in the future in case others are negligent." When Zhao Wangfu saw her, he sent her to the door to give her a few words, and she was very happy to see her. ”

Sheng Yunyi never scolded Su Huihui for Su Huihui from beginning to end, one was to hint that he would clean up the aftermath, and the other was to repay his grievances with virtue, which made his only remaining conscience even more uneasy. To put it bluntly, I still don't worry about him, this is a way to deal with those young officials who have just entered the court and touched the scales.

"That's what I told her. Sheng Yunyi said, "That girl is difficult to serve, and I really don't feel at ease when I hand it over to others, but in fact, she broke her leg, and I am no less than you." ”

The two of them remembered Su Hui's state of blowing up his hair, and they were inexplicably a lot more relaxed, and the burden on their shoulders disappeared in an instant.

…… Doctor Su, who was far away in Yuzhou, sneezed twice in a row, added a piece of clothing, and continued to refine medicine for Yan Gongzi in the smoky pharmacy, and greeted Sheng Yunyi by the way.

*

In the afternoon, the little guy in charge of purchasing in the garden outside the king came back scolding, and was almost kicked out by the steward.

"It's two taels of silver a month, you have eaten leopard gall, and you dare to scold the distinguished guest if your eyes are not long!"

The little servant pulled the steward over, and said with a sad face: "Ouch, you don't know, I just came back on the road and saw people from the government issuing notices, and there were one after another posted on the wall, saying that seventy percent of our salt here depends on the Yan family." I hurriedly went to ask about the price of salt, and who knew that the price had risen so frighteningly, and it was more than twice as much!

The steward was suspicious: "Is this really the case?"

The little guy nodded aggrievedly and retired to the kitchen.

Not only the king's family, but also Suiling City at night, almost every household heard that the Yan family in the capital had just arrived, and they wanted to raise the price to collect profits, short-sighted, and black-hearted, not a good person. The next day, there were rumors that His Royal Highness King Yue and the Yan family who appeared on the notice were in a group, and now they were given the right to sell salt, and King Yue Chitose rushed to collect the profits.

Who doesn't know that the southern part of the country is the territory of the Yue Domain, so it seems that there is nothing wrong with such an explanation? A careful look at the first notice posted outside the yamen shows that it is written in black and white, and the official seal of Huang Zhizhou is printed.

On the third day, the people who came out of the teahouse spread that "Zhizhou, who has the support of King Yue, and Yan Gongzi reached an agreement to block Yan's business in Lizhou without raising the price, and Yan had no choice but to agree." ”

It is said that someone saw Yan Gongzi's wandering carriage in front of the state office, and Gongzi got off the carriage with frowning brows.

People who look so beautiful, coupled with an embarrassed look, are obviously coerced.

So it's the parents who are shameless.