The servant inside asked who it was, and after I reported my name, there was a burst of footsteps behind the door, which shook the ground a little.

Zhao Mengqing's eyelids trembled, and he asked me stiffly, "Who is he shouting?" ”

The next second, the door opened suddenly, and then a huge meat pile knelt in front of me, hugged my leg and began to cry: "Mother, the child is not filial, I have not served in person for so many years, and now you have finally returned to Beijing, but I have not been able to take you to the house for filial piety in the first time, please punish the child!" ”

I looked at Zhao Mengqing with a calm face, but he looked at Qiu Shuiwang with a frightened expression.

I concluded from Qiu Shuiwang's eyes that he had barely opened his eyes that he obviously didn't see Lord Zhao, who was an official in the same dynasty, otherwise he wouldn't have cried so much, and he wouldn't have been able to call his mother so hard and desperately—but Wu'er, you cry and cry, and it's not good for tears, saliva and snot to flow on your mother's robe. So I grabbed my robe and tried to get out.

Zhao Mengqing didn't seem to be able to stand it, the bamboo umbrella was suddenly closed, the rain on the umbrella surface was instantly swirled, and the water droplets seemed to have vitality, flying towards Qiu Shuiwang with a uniform posture and the speed of the wind and clouds.

"Who did it to Ben-sama?!" Qiu Shuiwang wailed and covered his face in pain for interrogation.

I was shocked by this scene, before this, I thought that Lord Zhao was the same as me, although he was a civil official with a good brain but no abdominal muscles, he just used this trick, and I found out that the civil official next to me had such good skills.

In a daze, his arm had been grabbed by him and fled from Qiu Shuiwang.

"I'm sorry, Lord Qiu, I accidentally spilled the rain on you just after collecting the umbrella." Zhao Mengqing looked down at Qiu Shuiwang while straightening his sleeves, even though he was embarrassed, but he had a happy and kind smile on his face, looking at Qiu Shuiwang who was drenched, as if looking at his grandson who was next generation from him, and he was a kind mess.

Only then did Qiu Shuiwang open his small slitted eyes and carefully examine the person in front of him. I don't know why, Qiu Shuiwang, who is also a scholar, saw Zhao Mengqing, and became extremely respectful, as if he forgot his "mother-in-law" standing next to him, and struggled to get up and bent down to Zhao Mengqing: "I don't know that Lord Zhao came to the cold house together, so he missed the distance, which is really the fault of the next." ”

There is no hint of vanity in these words, only respect and fear.

Although Qiu Shuiwang's courtesy to the two of us was different, I clearly knew that he was just bluffing to me, and he was quite jealous of Zhao Mengqing. I secretly thought: Since he is afraid of Zhao Mengqing, then this time the matter of water control should be easy to handle.

When I was planning the booklet "Lord Shoufu is a Goblin" with Chen Lanzhou, I once said to him: "Rumors are like a flood of fierce beasts. Of course, it is a large river embankment that must be blocked, otherwise the consequences of the river crossing the river embankment are unimaginable; It is the small river and small roads that need to be dredged, so that the water of the big river can flow and stop flooding. ”

It is not rumors that are being harnessed today, but the real water of the Yellow River, which has nourished thousands of lands and people over the past millennia, and has climbed over its banks to submerge crops and houses.

Seeing that July is coming, Zhao Mengqing and I are extremely anxious in our hearts, building a levee to prevent floods from crossing, dredging small rivers to divide the flow of river water This method is simple, but it involves a huge amount of work, I and Zhao Mengqing are civil officials, and there is no manpower that can be mobilized, so we must pull Qiu Shuiwang, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, in, even though he is a wall grass, but as long as he is willing to fall to the people of Jinguo, it is a good grass.

But this grass is used to swaying on the wall, and he is reluctant to jump to our side, so when he heard that we planned to control the Yellow River, Qiu Shuiwang pretended to be naïve, and refused while pouring us wine: "It's not that I don't want to share the worries of the two adults, it's really ...... Alas, where do we, as courtiers, especially such insignificant courtiers, dare to suggest to His Majesty the Emperor such a major matter as the governance of the Yellow River, even if we mention it, Your Majesty will not agree. ”

This made me not feel too painful, so I put down my glass, squinted and smiled: "Insignificant courtier? Lord Qiu's official residence and the Ministry of Labor still feel that he is an insignificant courtier, so how do you let those ordinary people deal with themselves? What are they, ants and mustards, and muddy dogs? ”

Qiu Shuiwang was very clever, took my rhetorical question, and said with a smile: "From the people, to the people, we are originally part of the people." ”

Zhao Mengqing was turning the wine cup to think about something, and when he heard Qiu Shuiwang answer like this, he stopped what he was doing, looked at him with appreciation, and praised him without hesitation: "Lord Qiu's enlightenment, we admire it." Since you also think that you are a part of the people, then I will tell you about the things you have done these days, and you are so close to the people in your consciousness, I will definitely not blame me for doing these things for you on your own initiative. ”

When Qiu Shuiwang heard this, the fat on his body trembled, and a panic slowly surfaced in his small eyes: "Zhao ...... What did Lord Zhao do for me again? ”

Zhao Mengqing was kind and calm: "Mrs. Zun has not come back to visit her parents in Jinyuan, your eldest son is still on the way to Luonan to do business, and the second son has just arrived at the destination when he goes to Jihe to see a doctor?" It just so happens that one of them is now in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, one in the middle of the Yellow River, and one in the lower reaches of the Yellow River. Tut-tut, do you say it's a coincidence? ”

For the first time since they met, Qiu Shuiwang's eyes widened, his fat fleshy hands squeezed the wine jug tightly, and the voice of his teeth chattering couldn't help but overflow: "Lord Zhao, what are you...... What are you doing here?! You and I have been officials in the same dynasty for many years, and have served the two lords together, so I naturally know your methods, but are you too ruthless to threaten my wife and children this time? ”

Zhao Mengqing smiled more gently, his eyes were so gentle that he seemed to be about to overflow, he shook his folding fan, shook his head and said: "Why is Lord Qiu so nervous, Mrs. Zun and Ling Gongzi are now among the people, and they get along with the people happily, you don't have to worry so much." ”

Qiu Shuiwang struggled to squeeze out a smile, but that smile was a little more ugly than crying, he was already smart, so he also saw the situation clearly, knowing that the young Lord Zhao in front of him couldn't touch it, so he could only lower his posture and attack softly: "Lord Zhao, there is still a month of rainy season coming, you see that they are not safe on the side of the Yellow River, isn't it, it is better to let them be brought back first, at the same time, I will go to ask Your Majesty for life, and bring people to control the Yellow River. ”

"I think this method is good," Zhao Mengqing took a sip of wine, Qiu Shuiwang hurriedly filled it for him, but Zhao Mengqing looked at him and said, "But I think you got the order of things wrong." ”

"What did you say?"

Zhao Mengqing pointed to the table with his index finger, and deliberately made a panicked clicking sound, as if he was counting down before death: "I have found three excellent places to live for Mrs. Zun and Ling Gongzi on the edge of the Yellow River, and arranged them one by one, and the rent has been paid for a year." How good are these three houses? As long as the Yellow River floods, it is guaranteed to flood to the roof. ”

Qiu Shui collapsed in his chair in fright.

"If Lord Qiu is not in a hurry, he doesn't need to ask His Majesty the Emperor for orders to control the Yellow River, and let it flood, drowning one is one, drowning three is three, and drowning ten thousand is ten thousand." Zhao Mengqing lowered his eyes coldly and said with a cold smile.

These words are really powerful, Qiu Shuiwang stood up in a panic and gave Zhao Mengqing a gesture: "Lord Zhao, I will write a good book today, and enter the palace overnight to discuss this matter with Your Majesty, and ask Lord Zhao to ...... Protect my wife and children. ”

Ben Shoufu, who had been watching the play for a long time, sat down and enjoyed the success, so he unhurriedly took out the gift that had been prepared by Dredging Tong a long time ago - a schematic diagram of the management of the Yellow River section, in which the bottom of the river that needs to be built and the small river that needs to be dredged have been marked out in advance, "Please also ask Lord Qiu to put away this map." I have sent people along the river to inspect in advance, and the places described by Zhu Bi need to be repaired, so that Master Qiu will also point out the direction, so that the timing will not be delayed due to panic and chaos. ”

Qiu Shuiwang took it tremblingly, and said with a cry: "Thank you, Lord Shoufu." ”

Well, he doesn't want to call me my mother anymore.

After leaving the gate of Qiu's mansion for a long time, taking advantage of the murmuring rain and no one on the street, I asked in a voice that only Zhao Mengqing and I could hear: "You really took Qiu Shuiwang's wife and children hostage, and settled them all in the dangerous area by the Yellow River?" ”

Zhao Mengqing looked down at me, the smile in the corner of his eyes was sly and smart, and finally fell into my ear and said softly: "It's right to kidnap his wife and children, but where to live - the Buddha said, you can't say." ”