Penglai in May, the sea breeze is blowing, the willow trees on both sides of the road are swaying the emerald green branches, and the air seems to condense a strong mellow fragrance. As early as last month, the yamen of the governor of Shandong and the yamen of the capital department jointly issued a conservative order to fight drought, and the prefectures, prefectures, and counties at all levels in Shandong took action for a time.

Last year, there were only two rains, and there was not even a single snowflake in winter. Seeing that this year's drought is becoming more and more severe, Dengzhou, Laizhou, and Qingzhou have dispatched craftsmen to dig deep wells in various places under the unified dispatch of Zhu Ping'an to ensure the use of spring plowing and autumn harvest. The money spent was borne by the management committee of the trade zone, which also made the people of the three provinces happy.

Fang Yuegong was not to be left behind, and the two prefectures of Jinan and Dongchang also dispatched capable personnel to search for drought conditions and divert water to dig wells to irrigate the fields. Although the Lu Wangfu in Yanzhou was reluctant, under Zhu Ping'an's hint, he had to spend a large amount of silver taels to invest in the drought-fighting operation.

Until now, Shandong's nearly one million acres of cultivated land have finally ensured that seven or eight out of ten of them have been fully irrigated, even if this year's harvest is not as good as last year's, but it is definitely a bumper harvest year in Shandong's history. What's more, since the Zheng family also joined the trade zone, the food and materials transported from Nanyang and other places have indeed become faster and more convenient. Coupled with the large-scale planting of potatoes and sweet potatoes, this year's drought has not had much impact on Shandong.

In comparison, the situation in the northern provinces of the Ming Dynasty is very different. The Liukou became stronger and stronger, crisscrossing Henan, Shaanxi, Huguang and other places, and the war completely destroyed agricultural production, which was on the verge of collapse. Without food, the number of displaced people has skyrocketed, and no one wants to stay in the fields, creating a vicious circle that is difficult to break.

The war and chaos in the north did not affect Shandong's self-sufficiency. At least walking on the streets of Penglai, there is no trace of the great famine. Although the temperature is gradually rising, the streets are still bustling with people. In the early days, the chengguan brigade used to organize people to push water wheels to splash water on the main roads every day to protect the sanitary environment in the city. But these days, the sprinkling of water has been stopped for the purpose of saving water, so you can already feel the heat rising from the ground when you walk on the concrete pavement.

In the afternoon, the weather was cooler, and Mu Yuling left the mansion under the protection of Cao Wuxian and a group of guards. Zhu Ping'an was busy with official business every day, and he could not return home until the time of the lamp, while Mu Yanzi had already been invited by Chen Zizhuang to give lectures at the Yunzhu Academy in Guangdong, and there was no one to accompany him in the huge mansion. Therefore, every afternoon, as long as he has free time, Mu Yuling always has to take a stroll on the streets of Penglai City.

Nowadays, Mu Yuling's lower abdomen has been slightly raised, but her body shape has not been affected too much, which is also derived from the construction of King Mafu, and she always has to move more, so that she can smoothly produce in the future. What's more, the fetus in Mu Yuling's womb is also the first child of her and Zhu Ping'an, and she always has to be extra careful to take care of it.

Sun Ruoxuan saw Mu Yuling leaving the house, and also pestered Mu Yuling to follow. This made Cao Wuxuan suddenly alert, and his cold eyes were always patrolling Sun Ruoxuan's back.

Sun Ruoxuan wrapped Mu Yuling's arm, and the two of them were wearing ordinary clothes, but many businessmen on the street recognized Mu Yuling. Since Mu Yuling arrived in Dengzhou, every New Year's Day, the General Military Office has always given porridge to the victims. A few days ago, displaced people from various provinces in Shandong continued to pour into Denglai, and Denglai was overcrowded for a while. Under the call of the General Soldier's Office, all businessmen also followed the General Army's Mansion to give soup and relief, so many businessmen and ordinary people recognized this Commander-in-Chief's wife. However, everyone also knows that Mu Yuling is modest and doesn't like pomp, so he just respectfully salutes and doesn't bother much.

When I walked into a fat powder shop that I frequented, the shopkeeper was already waiting in front of the stairs. Nowadays, there are also a lot of imported items in Dengzhou, and due to the entry of the Francophone merchant group, European perfumes and other items have also entered the Denglai shops, which are quite popular with noble ladies. Today, the shopkeeper reserved the perfume that had just arrived, and waited for the arrival of Mu Yuling, the wife of the chief soldier, early.

In fact, Mu Yuling did not buy these perfumes for her own use. Lopez is now an indispensable member of Zhu Ping'an's system, and naturally collected precious incense powder, perfume and other things from Europe and sent them to the General Military Mansion for Mu Yuling's use. However, this shop is doing Nanyang business, and the perfumes imported are all spices produced in Nanyang, which are quite different from those in Europe. Mu Yuling knew that Zhu Yujiao liked this fragrance the most, so she planned to buy some and send someone to Jingshi.

After a lot of effort, Mu Yuling picked out a few things, and the shopkeeper packaged them properly, while Sun Ruoxuan seemed to be still carefully choosing, as if she hadn't picked the fat powder and perfume she was happy with.

Mu Yuling lightly instructed the shopkeeper to settle the bill with Sun Ruoxuan's selected things and herself, and then walked out, the house was still a little stuffy, and she planned to go to the shade of the willow tree outside the door to breathe.

But as soon as he walked to the door, his feet suddenly slipped, Mu Yuling suddenly exclaimed, but his body involuntarily fell backwards, everyone was shocked, and hurriedly reached out to help each other, but he also stepped on a greasy thing under his feet. At this time, a figure suddenly came behind Mu Yuling and firmly held her body.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, and looked at their feet, but for some reason there was a thin layer of grease on the ground.

Mu Yuling stroked her chest, her heart couldn't help but beat, and the person who was supporting her behind her was Cao Wuxian, who had just stood outside the door.

"Sister, are you alright?" Cao Wuxian asked with a frown.

"It's okay!" Mu Yuling exhaled two mouthfuls of turbid breath gently, and her mind calmed down.

Cao Wuxian sniffed carefully with his nose, but found that there was a puddle of lamp oil sprinkled on the ground.

The shopkeeper of the perfume shop turned pale with fright, and he had already knelt on the ground, even calling him a capital crime. Sun Ruoxuan looked over when she heard the voice, and a look of disappointment flashed in her eyes, but then she rushed over to support Mu Yuling and asked if there was anything wrong.

Mu Yuling smiled reluctantly, and ordered someone to help the shopkeeper up, and comforted him gently.

After such a thing happened, Mu Yuling's spirit also looked a little bad, Cao Wuxian immediately ordered someone to ask the doctor to go to the General Military Mansion to diagnose his pulse, and ordered his henchmen to rush to the carriage to send Mu Yuling back to the house. But Sun Ruoxuan didn't seem to want to go back too early, so she took leave from Mu Yuling and took some servants to hang out.

Looking at her back, a trace of melancholy flashed in Cao Wuxian's eyes, and he personally put Mu Yuling's house into the carriage, but he did not put down the curtain, but said to Mu Yuling: "Sister, what happened just now ......!" ”

Mu Yuling shook his head and sighed, "No harm, no need to say it anymore." Although I don't know what her idea is, after all, it is a guest from afar, and there is Sun Zhijun's face, so it is not good to make too much trouble, let's be more careful in the future, Mrs. Sun's treatment is about to end, and they always have to go back to Beijing to ......! ”

Cao Wuxian understood what Mu Yuling meant, and nodded silently at the moment.

The carriage gradually moved away, but the color on Cao Wuxian's face became stronger and stronger. At this time, a henchman surnamed Yan who was by Mu Yuling's side fell to the end and quietly came to Cao Wuxian's side. "Master Cao!"

"How's that going?"

Yan Mama nodded, "These days, the slave maid has sent her henchmen to tell Mrs. Sun that Miss Sun had thought about the Lord of the General Soldier, I heard that Mrs. Sun was very angry and had already moved the idea of returning to the capital......!" ”

"Good!" Cao Wuxian nodded, "Just do what Mr. Yin and I instructed, don't let my sister know about these things, now that she is pregnant, don't spread these pickled things to her ears." Tell everyone around you, who dares to talk more, I can't spare him without injury! ”

"Yes!" Mama Yan looked respectful, "Madame is kind-hearted, and the slaves and maids will definitely not reveal a word!" ”

Everyone escorted Mu Yuling back to his home. Cao Wuxian was still upset, and immediately rode his horse to the Dusi Yamen. Zhu Ping'an was still dealing with official business with Zhao Guangluan, Yang Tinglin and others in the official hall, he did not go to disturb, but called a secretary and invited Yin Shigang out.

When Yin Shigang went out and heard that Cao Wuxian was visiting, he guessed what was going on, so as soon as he came to the small courtyard where he worked alone, he sent Yi Ying out from a distance, hurriedly entered the house, and closed the door with his backhand.

Cao Wuxian directly recounted what happened just now, "Since the days before the fight, I have been careful about the things that happened in the house, and secretly watched that person's every move, but I didn't expect her to get worse today, and she actually carried the lamp oil with her and spilled it at the door of the store." Luckily, I have quick hands and eyes, otherwise I would ......! ”

As soon as he heard these things, Yin Shigang's brows tightened. Earlier, Cao Wuxian had told him about some unusual things that had happened in the General Army's Mansion recently. For example, Mu Yuling's diet was actually put into the residue of ox knee soaked in wine, and a little musk appeared in the incense burner, and so on.

There are not many people in the General Army's Mansion, and all of them are selected by Wang Pin and Zhang Dingbian's old mother, Mrs. Zhang's family, and all of them have been inspected by the Military Intelligence Department.

So he could only look at the people who had just entered Zhu's mansion, and soon, the focus was on Sun Ruoxuan.

"I have already sent someone to inquire about some things about the Sun family in private. In my opinion, this Sun Ruoxuan does have a love for Dashuai. The Sun family is a family in Daizhou, Shanxi, and some news is not difficult to inquire about. Sun Chuanting's father and son have been studying abroad and conducting scientific research, and then went to various places to work. Mrs. Sun is the only one to take care of the house. The Sun family has been a scholarly family for generations, and Mrs. Sun has no one else around her, so there is only this daughter and a young son. Therefore, he treated Sun Ruoxuan very harshly. ”

Sun Ruoxuan has been taught by famous teachers since she was a child, and she is proficient in piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, so she has a very high vision. When he was in Daizhou before, many young handsome people wanted to marry him and tie the knot together. But Mrs. Sun and Sun Ruoxuan refused without exception, so Sun Ruoxuan also had a reputation for arrogance in Daizhou. In terms of detail, Sun Ruoxuan thinks very highly of herself, but she is impressed by the handsome's demeanor and ability, and he doesn't understand the world, so when he saw the harmony between the handsome and his wife, his thoughts became extreme and unpredictable, and he came up with such a ruthless method in addition to jealousy? ”

Yin Shigang's analysis was very thorough, and Cao Wuxian couldn't help nodding again and again. "I'm afraid Mr. Yin doesn't know that Dashuai often drinks alcohol, and Mrs. often prepares sobering soup for him. Maybe this Sun Ruoxuan learned by chance, and since his wife was pregnant, Dashuai has stopped letting him work anymore. Therefore, this Sun Ruoxuan actually cooked a sobering soup and secretly sent it to Dashuai's study, but fortunately, Shen Ke and Wang Jinfa were tightly guarded and did not let her take advantage of it. ”

Yin Shigang sighed, "After all, this woman is Sun Zhijun's beloved daughter, there are some things that we can't do too obviously, otherwise it will be difficult for the handsome to explain." Let's do it according to the method we discussed last time, and let Mrs. Sun's family leave Dengzhou as much as possible! ”R1152