Chapter 18 No More Indulgence

Thinking of Nangong Zeyue who was chased and fled, Jiang Shuyue almost laughed out loud.

"Yue'er, laugh if you want to, don't hold it back. It's better if the Guo family is in trouble, otherwise they will be full of tricks and harm decent women everywhere."

Jiang Shuyue put down the spoon and rubbed her face.

Is her smile so obvious?

A month later, the horse she bought seemed to have changed. It was much stronger and its hair was shiny red. Su Jin named it Xiaohong.

"It's still my sister who prepared for the rainy day. Xiaohong didn't resist me and Nannan, and learned quickly." Su Jin, dressed in a tight suit, climbed on the horse.

Looking at Su Jin with his black hair tied high, his upright figure was like a pine tree, and his cloth clothes couldn't hide his extraordinary temperament.

Aunt Su watched her son riding a horse and whipping it through the bamboo forest, with a trace of regret in her eyes.

Su Huairen sighed and said, "If I hadn't been involved, my son would have passed the exam to become a scholar."

"Father, you teach your children to read poetry and books, but are you willing to let them spend their lives here?" Aunt Su looked up at the sky.

She really hoped that the children would turn into rocs and fly in the vast sky.

Su Huairen stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes firm: "Wait a little longer, my classmates have sent me news that the drunkard has several forces ready to go, and the day of uprising is just around the corner."

The emperor had more absurd things, so he didn't tell the woman in detail one by one.

Aunt Su's eyes lit up, as if she saw a ray of light: "Really, that's great, I was thinking of renovating the house and finding a marriage for my son!"

"No need, my son is already reading "The Great Learning" and "The Analects of Confucius". If there is no news from the capital, it won't be too late to make plans."

Su Huairen said, picked up a book and walked towards Lin Miaoshou's house.

After a period of treatment by Jiang Shuyue, Lin Miaoshou's eyesight improved.

Lin Miaoshou was once a scholar, and Su Huairen and he shared similar interests, especially when it came to the capital, Lin Miaoshou also knew a little bit.

...

Night fell.

In the Yannan Palace, Xiao Jingzhao looked at the news from the capital.

He clenched his fists, his face as gloomy as ink.

"Master, the prince is going to ask you to send silver to the capital again, you see this matter..." Xiang Song hesitated.

The prince remembered his father's words, as long as the emperor needed it, the Yannan Palace would respond.

"No! This time, we can't indulge it no matter what."

Xiao Jingzhao grabbed a letter on the desk and walked quickly towards the study of the Yannan King.

In the Yannan King's study.

The candlelight shone on his side, and his three-dimensional and upright outline was projected on the window, like a sculpture, motionless.

The Yannan King sat in front of the desk, his sword eyebrows slightly twisted, revealing a sense of righteousness, and a hint of complexity in his eyes.

He gently stroked a rectangular brocade box and murmured to himself: "Dad, if you are still alive in heaven, and see that the prosperous world created by Emperor Renzong is now riddled with holes, you will support your son to take it out..."

Hearing the footsteps, he swallowed the rest of his words, quickly picked up the brocade box and turned to put it in the secret compartment behind the bookcase.

"Father."

Xiao Jingzhao pushed the door open.

"Father, you have received the emperor's edict! Take a look at this and decide whether to continue sending silver to the capital." Xiao Jingzhao bowed and pushed the letter in his hand over.

Yan Nan Wang motioned Xiao Jingzhao to sit down, and he picked up the envelope, pulled out the letter and shook it open.

He scanned it at a glance.

After a moment, King Yannan looked at Xiao Jingzhao with a serious expression: "What do you think about this?"

"My son thinks that we can no longer indulge the emperor in such absurdity."

Xiao Jingzhao paused and said: "Many old officials in the capital can't stand it anymore. If no one stands up, it will be a mess."

Emperor Renzong and King Yannan's father are like brothers. The old officials of the previous dynasty all know that Emperor Renzong left an imperial edict for the descendants of the Xiao family.

No one knows what the specific content is.

The emperor's actions are becoming more and more absurd, and people with conscience can't stand it anymore.

Now Yannan's financial resources are far better than the court. Yannan is a rich place. In addition, King Yannan is working hard. If King Yannan leaks a little through his fingers, it will be enough for the emperor to be jealous.

The father and son discussed until midnight and finally decided not to indulge the tyrant.

Before leaving, Xiao Jingzhao said, "Father, why don't we take over? With the imperial edict of Emperor Renzong, we are justified."

King Yannan hurriedly stopped him: "The time has not come yet, don't act rashly. For the sake of the relationship between Emperor Renzong and your grandfather, let me think about it again."

Back in the study, Xiao Jingzhao asked Xiang Song to grind ink.

He quickly wrote two letters and sealed them with beeswax.

"These two letters are very important. You should send someone to deliver them tomorrow morning."

Xiang Song took the order and left.

…

Time flies, Sui Sui is already three and a half years old, and Jiang Shuyue is not idle either. She has mastered superb riding skills with Su Jin and Su Nan.

This year's spring is different from previous years. There are no birds singing, flowers blooming, and green trees.

The winter drought followed the spring drought, and the river outside Zhuxi County was cut off.

The vegetables planted in the few acres of wasteland opened by the Su family after being demoted were all drooping.

Jiang Shuyue felt that it was God reminding her that it was time to leave.

In order not to arouse suspicion, she could not water the fields at night.

"Miss, some wells in the village have begun to dry up. What should we do if this continues?" Qiuju saw Jiang Shuyue staring at the courtyard in a daze, and she said worriedly.

"Sui Sui has gone to Shuisheng's house again. Don't worry. We have money in our hands, so we won't starve."

Jiang Shuyue's words were just to comfort Qiuju. The spring drought was the worst. Farmers could not keep the crops they planted in the end. The harvest of the year was gone. Even if they had money, they could not buy food.

The next day, Jiang Shuyue drove the carriage alone to Zhuxi County.

As she expected, the price of rice and flour doubled.

She decisively bought a cart of rice and flour. When she drove the carriage to a remote place, she put the rice and flour into the space and walked to the next grain shop.

After buying three grain shops in a row, she estimated that it was enough, so she went to the grocery store to buy some daily necessities and salt.

When she was about to turn her horse's head back to the village, she heard the hurried sound of horse hooves coming from afar, and pedestrians on the street gave way.

She lifted her veil and looked up, only to see an official riding a horse and running towards the county government.

"It's the official from the capital."

"Could it be that the emperor knew about the spring drought this year and ordered the exemption of farmers' taxes?"

Everyone was talking about it, and no one was in a hurry to get on the road. Some of them went outside the county government to find out.

The Su family received letters from the capital from time to time, and Jiang Shuyue also knew a little about the court.

She didn't think that the emperor would exempt farmers from taxes. There must be other things.

She parked the carriage on the side of the road and waited quietly for the people in front to send news.

After a while, several middle-aged men came back in a hurry.

"How is it, is there good news from the capital?" Someone surrounded and asked.

One of the men said bitterly: "We can't sow in spring, and the emperor is still thinking about the selection. This selection only looks at beauty, not family background. Those who are willing to climb up the dragon and phoenix should go back and prepare. The county magistrate will go to the countryside to register soon."

Suddenly, some people smiled, and some people were full of sorrow.

In the crowd, someone shouted: "If you have a beautiful daughter who doesn't want to enter the palace, flee the famine quickly!"