Sure enough, the next day's morning dynasty did not see Shi Tianming's figure.

Fang Qiuyan sat at the lower left of the dragon chair and looked around the court, when he was there, the queen mother and the little emperor rarely appeared in the early court, only when he left the capital or went out to lead the troops to fight, the queen mother would lead the child to act as an agent.

"Lord Qiqi, the list of participants in this year's plum banquet has been confirmed, please take a look."

After taking the list presented by the Ministry of Rites and flipping through it briefly, Fang Qiuyan found that the folds that had only a few four or five pages in previous years had become thicker.

"There are a lot of people who have come this year, and there are some more uncommon names in this king, which were added later?"

The Minister of Rites hesitated for a moment and replied, "Yes, there were rumors yesterday that you would bring the princess-to-be to the banquet this year, so those who declined the invitation for various reasons sent someone to reply that they would attend on time. In addition, many uninvited people also came to ask if they could share an invitation with others. The lower officials have put the list of these people at the end, do you think they are allowed to enter the palace to participate in the banquet? ”

"Come on, it's crowded." Putting down the list, Fang Qiuyan continued, "Lord Sun, this year's finances are tight, and everything in the palace banquet is simple. However, this king did not expect that his whim would suddenly increase the number of people attending the banquet, so do you have pressure on the Ministry of Internal Affairs? ”

The Ministry of Interior is responsible for the logistics of banquets and banquets in the Imperial Palace, and the Ministry of Rites hands over the banquet specifications and personnel list to them, and then the Minister of the Interior adjusts them according to the actual situation.

In fact, there was no such trouble before, and the extra money was distributed to the officials of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and everyone did not think it was inappropriate, but after the regent took the throne, the financial management was very tight, and the corruption in the court and the central government decreased sharply, and the annual appropriation for improving the people's livelihood and army building accounted for the majority of the expenditure of the state treasury, and the money allocated to them for banquets was much less, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs was no longer a department that was rich and rich, and the officials were also frugal and frugal.

Lord Sun of the Ministry of Internal Affairs didn't look very good, gritted his teeth and stood up, and said, "Don't worry, the lower officials will make proper arrangements." ”

"That's good. Lord Wang, next year's military spending and spring plowing investment will increase. This king looked at the estimated money handed over by the Ministry of Households, and the appropriations of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Internal Affairs are about the same as this year, and you still have to save money after you get it, so as to prepare for emergencies. ”

"Yes, the lower officials will strictly control it and set aside emergency funds for emergencies."

Fang Qiuyan didn't mention Shi Tianming's matter from beginning to end, and that old guy would definitely come to make trouble even if he wasn't on the list, so he only instructed the chief of the guard to strengthen the palace guards, and then brought the matter of the plum banquet over.

"Mi-sama, how is the implementation of the matter in the southeast disaster area?"

Mi Siyuan replied: "Lord Wang, the grain and grass raised by the capital are expected to arrive in Yuzhou City in about ten days, and at the same time, the unaffected areas near the southeast have been resettled one after another, and most of the problems of food, medicine and accommodation have been solved. Recently, many places have also received donations from wealthy businessmen and celebrities from all walks of life, all of which have been registered, and on the whole, the losses caused by the locust plague have been basically controlled. ”

"Very good, the household department responded in a timely manner this time, and Mi Daren contributed a lot." Fang Qiuyan thought for a while and added: "The next disaster work still needs a lot of attention from all departments, and everything is focused on relieving the victims." ”

"Master Mi, after the dispersal of the imperial study, the king wants to know more about the details of disaster relief."

"Yes, lord."

Mi Daren's expression was much more relaxed than at the beginning of the locust plague, and after he got down, he returned to his place and thought about how to report later.

Fang Qiuyan listened to a few trivial matters reported by the ministers, but they were all irrelevant, and he simply replied a few words and sent them away.

Leaving the main hall, Mi Siyuan followed him from behind and went to the imperial study with him to discuss matters, Fang Qiuyan took the initiative to greet and said with concern: "Uncle Mi, I see that you are not in a good state today, but you are worried about the disaster?" ”

Out of the court, Mi Siyuan also breathed a sigh of relief, put away his serious expression, and sighed: "I knew I couldn't hide it from you." During this time, I have been raising money for disaster relief, and I have sent many people to supervise the shelter of the displaced people, which is indeed much busier than usual. ”

"Thank you." Fang Qiuyan replied.

Mi Siyuan waved his hand: "What is within the division, how can you talk about hard work." Seeing that you are still concerned about the people's livelihood after taking the position, the old man is very pleased! ”

At that time, Fang Qiuyan was still young and wandered in the rivers and lakes for many years and ignored political affairs, and few people in the capital cared about him, the second son of the Ping Palace, and his reputation was far less than that of the eldest brother. Until he led his troops into the city to quell the rebellion for the imperial court, he only had less than half of the military power in his father's hands.

is such a rebellious prodigal son who has no power and no name, but he has the support of Mi Siyuan, who has given him a lot of help in the process of encircling the courtiers and reviving the Ping Palace. It can be said that half of the credit for Fang Qiuyan's ability to sit on the throne of regent goes to Mi Siyuan.

"Uncle has won the award, if it weren't for your support, Qiu Yan wouldn't be where he is today."

"There are no outsiders here, no need to be modest." Mi Siyuan smiled kindly, but he looked a lot older than last year, "Qiu Yan, I have heard of the prospective princess in your house, it is a good thing to find your sweetheart, and Uncle is also happy for you." It's just that the girl from the rich family is too stubborn, and she has been staying at home and sullen since you came back, and her father can't stand it and can't enlighten her, so sad! ”

"Uncle, I grew up with Shiyue, and I have treated her as a sister since I was a child, and there is no love between men and women." Fang Qiuyan got straight to the point, he had said this a few times before, but he hadn't met Wen Tiantian at that time, and his mind was not focused on these things, so he didn't seriously emphasize it.

"I used to be young and hot-blooded, and I didn't want to be trapped in this square inch of land. Now that I have a sweetheart, I just want to stay with her, and I have no other thoughts. To Shiyue, I can only say sorry. ”

Mi Siyuan shook his head and said: "There is nothing to apologize for, the love between men and women is involuntarily involuntary." That girl likes you for her own business, and there is no need to be ashamed of her. I don't mean to ask you when I say these things, I just hope that you can take some time to meet her and have a good talk. ”

After all, Shiyue is Lao Qian's daughter, and he also attaches great importance to the disaster in the southeast and donates all the money. You meet with his daughter and brush up your feelings, and everything is said, so that Lao Qian will not be dissatisfied with you. ”

Qianbaifu is a well-known wealthy businessman in China, who controls the two major economic industries of salt, oil and silk, and is also involved in the transportation and sales of minerals, agriculture and porcelain, etc., and is also the main supporter of the economic forces behind Fang Qiuyan. This person not only has a friendship with Mi Siyuan for decades, but also admires Fang Qiuyan's ability and character very much, but if he mistakenly thinks that Qian Shiyue has been scum by Fang Qiuyan, it will inevitably affect the subsequent cooperative relationship between the two.

"Well, I'll find a chance to talk to her after the plum feast, and then I'll go to the southeast. For most of the year I was away, thanks to Shiyue for taking care of my mother, I had to thank her in person. ”

"You're going to the Southeast?" Mi Siyuan was taken aback.

Fang Qiuyan didn't hide it from him, entered the imperial study, looked at the envelope on the table, and replied: "Natural disasters are easy to prevent, but man-made disasters are difficult to prevent. A small locust plague has caused it to this point, and the magistrate cannot escape the blame. In the past, I disdained to ignore their petty actions, but this time the lockdown method is too ruthless, I have to pretend not to see it again, don't they really treat me as blind? ”

took off the outer robe of the court robe and threw it to the eunuch who served, Fang Qiuyan rolled up his sleeves and prepared to fold it.

Mi Siyuan looked at the golden mask on his face that blocked one eye, and sighed wordlessly.

Unwrapping the envelope, Fang Qiuyan's eyes condensed.

"The personnel have been exhausted, waiting for the destiny of the king."

There were only eight words written on the letterhead that had not been signed, and Fang Qiuyan looked at the handwriting and moved in his heart.

"Who sent this letter?" Stuffing the paper back into the envelope, he looked at the little eunuch who was in charge of delivering the folds.

"Back to the prince, this letter was on the table in the morning, and the slave didn't dare to move it when he thought it was dropped before you returned home yesterday."

Pinching the envelope and checking it repeatedly, Fang Qiuyan waved his hand to let the little eunuch out.

"Master Mi, are there any other forces in the southeast now besides our people in disaster relief?"

"Yes." Mi Siyuan said in detail, "In addition to the support sent by the imperial court, there are also personnel sent by various local governments and many non-governmental organizations, and several major officials and businessmen who have business dealings with the imperial court are also contributing money and efforts. ”

"Anything else?"

"Nope."

These people are expected, and the people in the rivers and lakes he summoned as Qiu Gongzi are also classified into non-governmental organizations, so who will send this letter?

"Mi-sama, the situation in the southeast may not be as smooth as we know. At the plum banquet, I will set off directly after I finish handling the matter, and I am afraid that I will not have time to return home. Wait a minute, I will write a letter asking you to help bring it to Qianfu to Shiyue, and other government affairs will be temporarily managed by the Queen Mother as usual. ”

"Okay, the prince can rest assured, the officials on the court side will do their best to assist the queen mother in handling daily affairs."

Mi Siyuan didn't ask much, the letter was most likely sent by Fang Qiuyan's own people, he has always stood on the cusp of the storm as a regent, and it is reasonable to cultivate some forces that are only loyal to him to consolidate his position.

Regarding the disaster situation in the southeast and other matters, Fang Qiuyan asked Mi Siyuan about everything clearly. The more I listened, the more I felt puzzled, it was the consistent style of household officials to report good news and not bad news, but now there were only two of them in the imperial study, and Mi Siyuan could say what difficulties he encountered, and there was no need to hide it. Moreover, the locust plague involved many cities and towns, except for the initial panic, the follow-up disaster relief process was suspiciously smooth.

"Mi-sama, I believe that the news you received is true, but things are going too smoothly and always make me feel uneasy." Fang Qiuyan put the envelope next to him, began to review the folds, and said, "It's not appropriate to keep a low profile when you go to the southeast, I will lead the army to come in person to reassure the people." The imperial court also asks you to continue to follow up on the various matters of disaster relief, I will let Su Zihe assist in supervising, if there are any problems, you can discuss them before you make a decision, and inform the Queen Mother, she understands what I mean. ”

"Okay, with the prince's words, the old minister will be relieved. In the past two days, I will go to Su Mansion to coordinate and communicate with Master Su. ”

The two quickly finished talking about business, and when they were leaving, Fang Qiuyan suddenly slapped his forehead: "Uncle Mi, wait a minute, I almost forgot to write a letter to Shiyue when I talked to you about political affairs." ”

Quickly put the fold back, took the letter and thought about it for a while, then quickly put down the pen, and wrote a small half sheet before stopping. Blowing dry the ink, Fang Qiuyan searched around the table and couldn't find a suitable envelope, so he took out the anonymous letter and replaced it with the stationery he wrote, stuffed it into it and handed it to Mi Siyuan.

"I'm sorry for you to make a trip, I have something to do at the plum banquet in a few days, and I don't necessarily have time to talk to her, and I'll come back from the southeast to pay a visit."

After receiving the letter, Mi Siyuan secretly sighed in his heart that Fang Qiuyan could take care of others so carefully while he was busy, it was a pity that Shiyue had no chance with him in this life, and she couldn't have this good fortune.

"Okay, I'll pass it on to her. Qiu Yan, everyone is very curious about your little wife at this plum banquet, and they all want to see what the girl who can win your favor will be like, and the uncles are also waiting to drink your wedding wine! ”

At the mention of Wen Tiantian, a trace of tenderness flashed on Fang Qiuyan's face.

"Uncle said the opposite, I was lucky to have the opportunity to marry her. Tian Tian doesn't dislike my injury and is willing to come to the capital to marry me, I don't want to cherish such a girl anymore, I'm afraid it will be difficult to meet a second one in the future. ”

To this day, no one knows how many injuries Fang Qiuyan suffered after escaping from the strange battlefield, at least on the surface, he was already disabled if he lost one eye, if it weren't for the power and status in his hands, I am afraid that no famous lady would be willing to look at him.

Mi Siyuan knew that he was also emotionally clear-minded, so he understood that it was no longer possible for Shiyue's girl to marry into the palace, and he planned to talk to Qianbaifu about his daughter's family affairs after he went back, so as not to let the girl delay any longer.