Shang Cheng walked around the upper room with a frown, anxiously thinking about how to deal with these things that Li Shen had done.

Things are quite troublesome. On the one hand, Li Shen, as his old boss, has the kindness of knowing and promoting him, and he has no way to put on a straight face and talk to Li Shen seriously about these ridiculous and stupid actions. On the other hand, he also needs to consider what kind of impact Li Shen's punishment will have on him, and will he be accused of revenge for personal gain? Needless to say, his dealings with Li Shen have never been pleasant. remembers that when he first joined the army in the spring and summer of the previous year, the two of them had differences of opinion on military affairs, and later in order to repay the merit and ask for rewards, the two also had a deep estrangement; It wasn't until Li Shen's reinstatement last winter that their relationship became normal. Although Li Shen only stayed in Yanzhou for a long time before he went to the front line to command the counterattack against the Turks, but in that short period of ten days, Li Shen visited him many times at the old official post, not only discussed military issues with him, but also repeatedly told him to recuperate from his injuries with peace of mind. It's a pity that this good time of mutual care and trust lasted long, and soon after, because of the appointment of Admiral Yanshan, the relationship between the two immediately became unprecedentedly estranged. It is said that all kinds of rumors related to him that often float into his ears today are what Li Shen secretly instructed people to spread...... However, he didn't have any prejudice against Li Shen because of these hearsay and shadowless things. He knows that man is a complex social animal, and will do some things that are difficult for others to understand as the environment changes, and sometimes even the person himself may not be able to explain his behavior clearly, so he will never simply evaluate a person because of any rumors. In addition, he has always felt that the contradictions between him and Li Shen are all for a reason, and he can't put all the blame on Li Shen......

He could understand Li Shen's feelings, so it was even more difficult to make a decision. But two things are certain. First of all, he can't use this excuse to hit Li Shen. In that case, then he is really taking revenge for personal gain. In addition, even if you want to admonish Li Shen, you can't solve the matter of the guards one by one through people other than the guards, and the guards themselves don't need outsiders to interfere! This is a principle that must be followed!

So who to find to have a serious talk with Li Shen? At the moment, apart from himself, who in the Yanshan Guard still has the qualifications to discipline Li Shen? He counted it with his fingers, but was disappointed that there was only Zhang Shao. Although Zhang Shao is not as good as Li Shen in terms of honor, because he is in charge of the Wei Mansion, he is half a level higher than Li Shen in terms of position. But what worried him was that he couldn't let Zhang Shao ask about it. The contradiction between Zhang Shao and Li Shen is very deep, if he catches Li Shen's handle, he will definitely be killed......

But it can't just be left alone. Even if he is not punished, he must at least give Li Shen a reminder, lest he do something else stupid in the future.

It seems that in the end, he will have to deal with it himself......

How can I try not to hurt my anger and be able to talk to Li Shen just right? Shang Cheng circled around the room in distress.

As for recommending Meng Ying, Shang Cheng didn't think much about it. Judging from the understanding of the past few days, Meng Ying is still a good official, although this person is not good-looking, but he has a high education, he is a jinshi in the second year of the Eastern Yuan Dynasty, and he has been doing things in the local area for a long time, and he has been up and down in the sea for more than ten years. He felt that appointing such a person as the governor of Duanzhou, whether it was Di Xu or Lu Ji, they should not have many opinions.

When he was blaming himself for not having the courage to talk to Li Shen about the problem, Yi Cheng came to tell him again that Meng Ying, who had just left the post house, had turned back.

Waiting for Meng Ying to enter the house, Shang Cheng asked, "What's the matter?" ”

Meng Ying ran sweating profusely, her chubby round face was swollen red, and she said while panting: "Down, the lower official is out of shape, which makes the adults laugh." He held the bitter tea handed to him by Shang Cheng, and quickly explained the reason why he went and returned. There is no money in the government, and the messenger arranged by the adults is ...... I'm afraid, I'm afraid I won't be able to finish it......"

"Don't worry about the money for water conservancy and road construction, this is all a regular expenditure in the long run, and the money will be spent by the Health Department. I expect that there will be an official proclamation in the next three to five days. You just need to get the city in order. ”

Meng Ying said hesitantly: "That's it, that's the money...... I don't know if it's because of the hot weather or other reasons, the sweat on his forehead is even worse. "The treasury can't get it...... No, it's not! At the beginning of the year, when I did the pre-filing of expenses, I didn't expect to have this money. ”

"It doesn't cost much, does it?" Shang Cheng was a little surprised. When Yanzhou was engaged in urban renovation, he asked Tao Qi that in such a large state city, the expenses before and after were only a little more than a thousand. That's not a big deal for a state capital, is it? And several counties under the rule of Yanzhou are engaged in it, and I haven't heard of anyone reaching out to Tao Qi to ask for money. Why did Meng Ying say that Duanzhou had no money?

Meng Ying smiled bitterly and said, "How can we compare with Yanzhou?" …… My lord, there are no soldiers in Yanzhou, and General Li has not garrisoned Yanzhou. ”

Shang Cheng didn't speak again. He knew that the Duanzhou Treasury must not have swept out the copper slag from the cracks in the ground as Meng Ying said, which can be seen by looking at the displaced people in the city a few days ago, and the Health Department allocated the aftermath money and food according to the capitation, even if the figures reported by Duanzhou are not watery, but since there are still people who have not been repatriated, where does the money that should have been spent on these people go? There is no doubt that the local authorities must have hidden the money. However, instead of debunking, he asked, "How big is the gap?" ”

“…… Eight hundred and thirty. ”

"How much do you expect to spend on your case?"

"According to the matters explained by the adults, it will cost a total of 1,350 yuan."

"It's a little more than Yanzhou. However, you are also responsible for the resettlement and repatriation of displaced people, and it is normal for you to have a larger budget. Shang Cheng pondered for a moment, and then said, "In this way, after Huo Qishu from the Health Department comes in two days, I will tell him about your affairs and see if I can help you solve it somewhere." Huo Shiqi has a sum of money in his hand, about more than 3,000 yuan, which is the money left over from dealing with the aftermath some time ago, and he originally planned to use this money to fill the financial deficit of the Health Department, but now it seems that he has to fill the hole in Duanzhou first.

Shang Cheng's approach surprised and thanked Meng Ying at the same time. Shang Cheng could see the reality of the Duanzhou Mansion Treasury without being reminded by others, which was completely unexpected by him; And Shang Cheng saw that there was a problem in this but didn't say a word, so he couldn't help but be grateful, so that he could keep the emergency money, and he would have more room to maneuver when he encountered something. Of course, he also knew that the money that Shang Cheng promised him must also come from the emergency funds in the possession of the Admiral's Mansion. This made him especially grateful, this was actually the Admiral's Mansion paying for Duanzhou to earn face, and it was Shang Cheng who was helping him......

Sent Meng Ying away, after lunch, Shang Yuan planned to take a nap for a while, and when the day was smaller, he went to the market in Duanzhou, who knew that he would drop the bowl, and Huo Shiqi would arrive. He hurriedly ordered the room to cook on the fire, and specially asked people to go to the restaurant outside to sell a pot of good wine. He couldn't drink alcohol himself, and there were many taboos in his diet, and when he first arrived, Suza went to explain which ingredients could not be added to the room and which dishes could not be made, so the post house did not prepare good drinks for him.

To his surprise, apart from Huo Shiqi, he only saw a scrivener in the Admiral's Mansion. What about the others? Didn't he ask Huo Shiqi to bring a few experienced officials over?

Huo Shiqi said while eating: "I have sent you an official document." I met the person you sent back on the way, so I asked him to go back to Yanzhou to find Zhou Xiang. This person is very capable, and he can find out the personnel of the Health Department in a few days, and he will definitely not make a mistake, and he can send all the people you want......"

Shang Cheng's eyes stared at the few red marks on Huo Shiqi's neck, and he agreed in his mouth, and asked, "When you left, did your aunt arrive?" ”

"Here we are." Huo Shiqi said. He noticed that Shang Cheng was staring at his neck, and reached out and tugged at his collar to cover up the traces. But he is now in the inner hall, and he is wearing a moon-white round-necked fine-grained Nanluo shirt, bare above the shoulders, where can I find the collar? His face flushed slightly, and explained: "I was careless on the road and was hung by a branch...... Seeing that Shang Cheng was still staring at his neck, he quickly turned the topic aside and said, "It's all here." Your aunts, Yue'er, and Pan'er, they are all here. Nakayama's daughter-in-law also came over. They all said that they would have a good reunion when you went back. ”

Horseback riding? Or flowers hanging from the branches? How could Shang Cheng believe Huo Shiqi's nonsense. Those red marks looked like they were scratched by someone with a fingernail. I think that Aunt Seventeen has arrived in Yanzhou...... Hehe, with the shrewdness of Aunt Seventeen, can you still see the name of Uncle Seventeen? It is estimated that the two of them have already quarreled about this matter, and Aunt Seventeen has also moved. He held the teacup and nodded with a smile, which was considered to accept Huo Shiqi's statement. Let's just say, a few ordinary official documents, you need Huo Shiqi to run in person? If it was really a 100,000 urgent event, it would be impossible for him to run hundreds of miles single-handedly. Obviously, sending an official document or something is just an excuse, and going out to avoid trouble is the real idea of Uncle Seventeen to come to Duanzhou.

However, since Huo Shiqi insisted on saying this, Shang Cheng also believed it. While Huo Shiqi was eating, he first browsed the titles of several official documents. As he expected, it was all trivial chores. This confirmed his suspicions. But he didn't say anything.

Huo Shiqi saw that his expression was a little strange, so he stopped his chopsticks, pursed his lips and lowered his head, was silent for a while, drooped his eyelids and sighed quietly: "...... You know it all? ”

Shang Cheng grinned. Do you want to hide this kind of thing?

"Your aunt already knows about me and Sang Ai's love."

Shang Cheng was still silent. At this time, it is not easy for him to intervene as a junior......

Huo Shiqi took chopsticks and mixed shallots, but he didn't send them to his mouth, staring at a table of dishes for a long time without speaking. After a long time he sighed faintly again, and said, "You know, I am thirty-seven......," and he exhaled a long breath and said with infinite sorrow, "your aunt is ...... her."

Shang Cheng continued to remain silent.

“…… Your aunt...... Your four sisters...... There is no male baby at home, and it is always ...... Alas! ”

Shang Cheng nodded in understanding.

"I ...... Your aunt is such a temper again, and it turns out that ......" Huo Shiqi didn't know what to say. After hesitating for a long time, he said, "I think, I think, when we go back to Yanzhou, after we return to Yanzhou......" He didn't finish his words, just raised his eyes and looked at Shang Cheng with begging eyes.

Shang Cheng sighed in his heart. It seems that I can't get past this hurdle without expressing some opinions and opinions. He had no choice but to smile bitterly and say, "Then I'll persuade my aunt when I go back." But he immediately added, "But I don't dare to pack a ticket for this matter." You can only do your best. ”

Hearing Shang Cheng say this, Huo Shiqi's sad look on his face immediately subsided a lot. He even smiled a little and said with relief: "I'm glad that you agreed to talk about this for me." What your aunt is thinking in her heart, I know in my heart, as long as you are willing to go, she has nothing to ...... she should have."

Shang Cheng pretended not to understand, smiled, took a few pieces of meat with chopsticks and rolled them in the salt dish, put them in Huo Shiqi's bowl, and said, "You taste this." This is the famous dish of Duanzhou Mansion, three mash lamb slices; Suzaba befriended you and rode a horse to buy it back for you. ”

Huo Shiqi chewed a few slices of meat and said with a smile: "Six or seven years ago, when I was still on an errand in the county government, that time the escort team came here to pay money and grain, and the government invited us, the government officials and secretaries from other counties, to eat, and I remember that there was this dish on the table." Listening to Mr. Du, who was sitting with him at the time, it was just such a small bowl," he gestured with his hand on the big bowl on the table, and found that the bowl was too big, so he pointed to his rice bowl and continued, "...... A bowl of such a size, that is, twenty or thirty slices of meat, costs seven hundred dollars. Later, when I went to Duanzhou, I could only think about it, and when I passed by that restaurant, it was too expensive, and I was reluctant to pay for it......"

Shang Cheng smiled and gave him a few more pieces, and was about to speak, but Huo Shiqi suddenly changed the topic: "The eldest girl is also back." ”

Shang Cheng already knew that keeping heavy filial piety was not counting the months, and according to the days, the eldest girl's husband's filial piety should have ended on the last day of the lunar month last year, and the eldest girl had a bad time in her husband's house, and she had suffered a lot, so it was impossible for him to have any nostalgia for that family, so he was not surprised at all after hearing the news. On the contrary, he was very happy that the eldest girl could return to her parents. That's a good thing!

After asking about the eldest girl's current situation, he accompanied Huo Shiqi to drink a bowl of wine for the reunion of Uncle Seventeen's family.

He said to Huo Shiqi: "Uncle, you and your aunt will no longer be able to force your sisters on marriage like this in the future." They should have the right to pursue their own happiness. ”

"Never again!"