Back at the house, just in time for dinner. Yu Ruoxu looked preoccupied, and accompanied Yu Zhongjun to eat two mouthfuls of food and put down the chopsticks. Yu Zhongjun glanced at her and ordered her subordinates to bring a bowl of sour plum soup, "It's hot and heavy during this time, you can drink some of this appetizer." ”

Yu Ruoxu suddenly smiled, "It's still my father who understands me best." ”

The sour plum soup made in the kitchen tasted just right, and she took a sip and narrowed her eyes slightly. Yu Zhongjun's face was full of love, and when he saw that the tip of her hot nose was dripping with sweat, he called Xiu'er, "Quickly take a handkerchief to wipe the young lady, be careful of the wind for a while." ”

Xiu'er hurriedly handed over a silk handkerchief, and Yu Ruoxu wiped the tip of her nose and forehead, "Daddy, it's so hot that it's almost breathless, where is the wind again?" ”

This year...... It's really hot and unusual.

After dinner, Yu Ruoxu accompanied Yu Zhongjun into the study.

Yu Zhongjun's eyes have been getting worse and worse since a few years ago, and it is no problem during the day, but if the light is not good, he will almost become half blind. So in the evening, Yu Ruoxu will sort out some documents and recitals for him, and if there is important official business, he will also assist in transcribing the reply.

In the study room at night, Yu Ruoxu was lying on the table and transcribing documents, and Yu Zhongjun was sitting on the Taishi chair beside him, as if he was closing his eyes and recuperating.

After a while, Yu Zhongjun spoke, "Ruoxu, you are stunned again." ”

Yu Ruo came back to his senses suddenly, and said suddenly, "I really can't hide it from my father." ”

Yu Zhongjun sat up from the Taishi chair, "I felt that your expression was not right when I had dinner in the evening, but in front of my subordinates, I didn't ask much." ”

Yu Ruoxu looked at her father's blazing eyes, sighed, and told Yu Zhongjun about Song Guiren's words and Liang Jieyu's illness.

Yu Zhongjun sneered, "What kind of idea did the one in the palace have, can't you guess it?" ”

"My daughter knows." Yu Ruoxu frowned lightly, "There are still three years left before the next general election, and my daughter now only hopes that within three years, the Yu family will be able to get out." “

When Yu Zhongjun heard the words "retreat with her whole body", her expression became stunned, her eyes swept over the half of the phoenix blood jade huang she was wearing around her neck, and asked, "What ......did you find in the palace today?"

Before he finished speaking, he smiled to himself, "It's because my father is too anxious." ”

Yu Ruoxu was silent for a long time, and then saw the folds spread out on the table, so he said, "Daddy, this drought in Henan and Hebei is almost unbearable?" ”

Yu Zhongjun nodded, "There is a big drought this year, there has not been a drop of rain for a month, and the reservoirs in the suburbs have been in an emergency, not to mention Henan and Hebei." ”

Yu Ruoxu pondered for a while, and said slowly, "Daddy, after the drought, there will be a plague of locusts, is the court ......?"

"The imperial court can't even pass this threshold now, and even if someone mentions it, it is mostly ridiculed as unfounded worry." Yu Zhongjun looked disappointed, "The Queen Mother attaches too much importance to her own family, and most of us, the foreign ministers, can't intervene." ”

Yu Ruoxu pondered, the emperor is young, the queen mother is an auxiliary minister, and the only one who can be trusted is his own family. What's more, the Liang family made great contributions when they exterminated the eunuch party, and in the eyes of outsiders, it is suitable for both reason and reason.

When I came out of the study, it was already the hour of the bright moon.

Yu Ruoxu saw that Xiu'er next to her didn't have the right face, so she stopped, "What's wrong?" Didn't you suffer from heat stroke? ”

Xiu'er smiled, "No, the slave is fine, it's just ...... The slave maid thinks that there will be anything unclean in our house......"

Yu Ruoxu's expression froze, "What nonsense are you talking about?" ”

"No, miss, it's really not slave nonsense!" Xiu'er couldn't wait to swear by the sky, "It's Mother Liu in the inner courtyard, I'm always suspicious these days, when the slave maid went to the kitchen to ask for snacks, I heard Mother Liu say to those rough mothers-in-law, and saw a flash of black shadow in the courtyard, it felt like a haunted ......"

Yu Ruoxu sneered, "It's all strange and confused, just scare yourself." You go and sue Mother Liu, if you spread rumors everywhere again, don't blame me for twisting her tongue! ”

Xiu'er rarely saw such a ruthless young lady, and suddenly became timid, "Yes, the slave understands." ”

Yu Ruoxu rubbed the corners of her forehead, "Not to mention this capital, even if we are in Langzhong, which family's backhouse compound has not made any trouble?" As long as you don't do anything wrong, what kind of ghost are you afraid of coming to the door in the middle of the night? ”

Xiu'er nodded, "That's what Miss said." ”

Since entering the palace that day, Yu Ruoxu has been hiding in Yu's mansion with peace of mind, and all the posts for door-to-door visits have been pushed, playing the piano every day, practicing calligraphy, but it has been a few days of peace.

But the birthday of this capital seems to be coming to an end.

Yu Ruoxu said that the folds stacked in the study were sorted and put away, and saw Yu Zhongjun frowning, staring at an official document in a daze.

The official document was covered with the seal of the governor of Zhili, and the bright red cinnabar seemed to seep out.

"Daddy......" Yu Ruoxu couldn't help but speak, "Could it be another drought?" ”

Yu Zhongjun nodded, "You guessed right, there will be locust plagues after the drought, just two days ago, the grain in Hebei and Henan that was harvesting in the summer was gnawed by a group of overwhelming locusts and there was not a single grain left. The governor of Zhili sent three urgent documents to request disaster relief support. ”

"So strict?" Yu Ruoxu was a little surprised, "Then the Queen Mother ...... there"

"Hmph, the Liang family is a shrunken turtle at a critical moment!" Yu Zhongjun suddenly became angry, and his face turned red, "That old fox in the Hubu Shangshu, what do you say can only urgently allocate 100,000 taels of silver!" 100,000 taels! Just last month, they were able to spit out a million taels of silver in a draft! The tens of thousands of people in Hebei are not as good as the emperor's delicate mothers! ”

"Daddy, don't be angry just yet." Yu Ruoxu picked up the document and looked at it, "The household department is the money bag of the Liang family, and it is useless for you to be in a hurry here." Now it's time to find a way for them to hand over the money themselves. ”

Yu Zhongjun felt a little powerless, "Why doesn't my father know this truth?" Now there are continuous natural disasters, but the gang of people in the household department only know how to fight for power and profit, and they don't treat the people as human beings at all! I heard that this locust plague is said to have appeared locusts that suck human blood, and now the people are panicking, and my father is worried that the victims will flood into the capital in large numbers due to poverty and destituteness...... I can't even think of it for my father! ”

Yu Ruoxu also frowned, "Blood-sucking locusts? ”

"Governor Zhili said in the newspaper." Yu Zhongjun handed her another letter, "It is said that he is a strange head, does not eat food, and specializes in sucking human blood, and many people have died from this locust." ”

Yu Ruoxu thought for a while, "Daddy, since the Liang family controls the household department, if they want to spit out more silver, they still need someone who can stop them." ”

"You mean...... The Queen Mother? ”

"If the Queen Mother can speak, she doesn't need her father to worry about it here." Yu Ruoxu sorted out the excerpts, "Daddy, you also understand, although this is the queen mother's auxiliary government, but the queen mother does not listen to her mother's family." ”

Yu Zhongjun pondered for a while before he spoke, "Marquis Dingyuan?" ”

Yu Ruoxu nodded, "Marquis Dingyuan is the younger brother of the Queen Mother's mother, and he is the most suitable candidate in terms of estrangement and prestige in the court." ”

"Dingyuan Hou is also a judge of the situation." Yu Zhongjun snorted coldly, "In the past two days, I know that there has been a lot of uproar in the court for appropriations, so I simply said that I was sick and couldn't go to the court." ”

"Then let's find a way to provoke him out."

Although Yu Ruoxu knew that this was even more difficult, she couldn't think of a better way for a while.

Yu Zhongjun couldn't help but sigh and waved his hand, "It's getting late, you better rest early, these things in the court are still up to your father to figure out." ”