A few days later, Cheng was in the house in the capital.

Gu Yunqiao pushed open the door of the study and walked in with pastries: "Cheng Yan." ”

Cheng Yan, who was writing an official document at the desk, immediately stopped writing and stood up with a smile: "Qiaoqiao, don't you take a nap?" ”

"I've woken up." Gu Yunqiao put the plate of pastries on the table and advised, "Don't keep your head buried in the office, beware of hurting your eyes." This is the pastry I just sent someone to buy, the new product of Furong Zhai, try it? ”

Cheng Yan said with a smile: "It's naturally good that you send someone to buy it, I don't need to taste it to know that it tastes good." ”

Gu Yunqiao was amused by him: "I didn't do it, nor did I personally pick it, I just ordered my subordinates to buy it, this is also worthy of your praise?" ”

Cheng Yan smiled, didn't answer, picked up a piece of pastry and ate it slowly with tea.

Gu Yunqiao looked as if he had something on his mind, and his eyes seemed to unintentionally sweep Cheng Yan's table full of official documents, and hesitated: "I heard...... There is a great drought in Shuzhong, and His Majesty is ready to send an official to Sichuan to check the facts, so that the imperial court can formulate a charter for disaster relief? ”

Cheng Yan nodded and said, "Yes, there is such a thing." ”

Gu Yunqiao wanted to speak and stopped: "I also heard that Sichuan is far away, and Your Majesty wants to choose a young and strong courtier, who has little family and trust?" ”

Cheng Yan understood what she meant, and looked into her eyes with a smile: "Qiaoqiao, do you want to ask me if I can take the initiative to take over this assignment and take you to Shuzhong?" ”

Gu Yunqiao hesitated for a moment, but still nodded: "...... Well. ”

Cheng Yan sighed silently, and said helplessly: "Qiaoqiao, if there is such a thing in the future, you can ask me directly, you don't have to go around such a big circle." We are husband and wife, we have been married for two years, we share the same bed day and night, do you still only think that I am a friend of my brother? ”

Gu Yunqiao's face flushed, and he muttered, "I don't have ......"

Cheng Yan rarely felt that he had made a mistake in judgment, that is, when he met Gu Yunqiao, such a lively little girl, she was very slow to deal with feelings. It's okay for other things, it's natural for the two to get along, but once it comes to someone closer to Gu Yunqiao, such as Gu Yunji, she will subconsciously become cautious and tentative.

But it didn't matter, he had enough time and patience to slowly pry her heart open.

Thinking like this, Cheng Yan said calmly: "Qiaoqiao, this matter is not my fault, I should have told you earlier." Because His Majesty did ask me if I wanted to go to Shuzhong to check the drought - but I refused. ”

Gu Yunqiao was stunned: "...... Why? Xuzhou Mansion is in Shuzhong, we can take advantage of your tolerance to go to Xuzhou Mansion to see my brother, sister-in-law, and Xi'er, we haven't seen them for more than two years, don't you want to meet your brother? ”

Cheng Yan sighed: "Of course I want to, but it is a coincidence, Shuzhong is too far away." When Yunji went to Xuzhou Mansion to take office, it took five months just on the road, and now it is the end of April, if we go to Shuzhong from the capital, it will definitely be about the same, and it will be around September at the earliest. ”

"This is just the way out, if it is the return trip, it is to catch up with the cold winter wax moon, the Yangtze River is in the dry period, and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal has a long section of the river is frozen. This comes and goes, it will take a year on the road, and it remains to be said whether he can return to the capital at this time next year. ”

Gu Yunqiao's eyes were firm: "I know all this, but I'm not afraid, even if it takes a year on the road, as long as I can see my brother and sister-in-law, even if I can only stay for a month, it's worth it." After all, my brother went out of Beijing to serve as a magistrate, and he didn't know when he would be able to come back, and one could not say that it was a separation of flesh and blood for more than ten years. ”

Gu Yunqiao opened a pair of deer-like eyes, and looked at Cheng Yan incomprehensibly and slightly accusatory: "In this case, it is rare to have the opportunity to visit relatives on official business, I think my brother will definitely want to see us, Cheng Yan, why do you refuse?" ”

Cheng Yan was soft-hearted by her, and his voice softened: "As you said, this is a rare and valuable opportunity to visit relatives, even if it takes a year, it is nothing." If it were a change to previous years, I would naturally have nothing to say, and I would have already embarked on the road to Shuzhong with you. ”

"But this year is different, from the end of this year to the beginning of next year, it is the day of the comprehensive evaluation of officials' performance once every three years, and Yunji and I may change positions in this evaluation, this time node is very important, I can't leave the capital."

Gu Yunqiao was puzzled: "Why?" The performance evaluation is a matter of the Ministry of Officials, and the performance of officials has long been registered in the book, and the officials themselves cannot be changed, not to mention that you are an official of the Hanlin Academy and not an official of the Ministry of Officials, what does this have to do with whether you can leave the capital? ”

"Of course it does." Cheng Yan said, "The capital is at the foot of the Son of Heaven, the political center of the country, and at such a node as the evaluation and transfer of officials, I can play a greater role in the capital than in Sichuan." ”

He looked at Gu Yunqiao, his eyes filled with unknown emotions, and he said seriously: "Qiaoqiao, I need to stay in the capital, so as to find a good future for me and Yunji, I hope that after he returns to Beijing in the future, he will have something to rely on in the court." ”

Gu Yunqiao suddenly didn't understand: "...... What do you mean? ”

"You'll get to the bottom of it later." Cheng Yan smiled suddenly, and returned to that warm demeanor in the blink of an eye, "Qiaoqiao, in short, please believe that no matter what I do, I will not do anything that hurts you, nor will I do anything that hurts Yunji." ”

"As for family visits...... Qiaoqiao, one day, we will meet Yunji. ”

——

It's May, and not a drop of rain has fallen in Xuzhou, to be precise, most of the central Shuzhong region has fallen into a more and more severe drought.

The blazing sun hung in the sky, pouring fire on the earth mercilessly, the earth was roasted to cracks, and the dry and dry air enveloped people, and it was as hot as a steamer.

Tongzhi Chen Xunzhou only felt as if there was a fire hidden in his body, which made him restless, his mouth burned several big bubbles, and the official clothes on his body were almost soaked, but he still didn't dare to slack off, and rushed to the farmland in various places to check the irrigation situation.

Some of the smaller rivers and streams have long since dried up, and most of the irrigation canals are not in use, so they can only rely on manpower to carry buckets and buckets of water from a distance to pour water into the fields.

This large piece of land is all under Chen Xunzhou's name, and it is cultivated and guarded by the Chen family, and he is naturally anxious about how the grain harvest is directly linked to Chen Xunzhou's interests, and he is particularly concerned about it.

Chen Xunzhou looked around, and suddenly found that there was a field where no one was carrying water for irrigation, he frowned, and asked the master: "Who is planting this land?" Everyone is the whole family out to carry water to water the ground, and his family doesn't say that the whole family is coming, so he has to send two long-term workers over, right? Not a single one? ”

The master said: "This land ...... It should be Chen Yuanen's family in the fifth room of Fuxing Town, Yibin County. ”

There are too many people in the Chen family's branches, and Chen Xunzhou has no impression: "Who is it?" ”

The master changed his words: "It's Chen Peishi's family, and Chen Yuanen is Chen Peishi's father." ”

(End of chapter)