A powerful minister of the Song Dynasty

Chapter 401 Who's in the Atmosphere?
Liu E is currently facing a dilemma, as a great deal of money is needed for disaster relief.

The accounts reported by the Three Departments Commissioner showed that income was insufficient to cover expenses.

We also have to pay the Khitans 300,000 in annual tribute recently, and this money cannot be touched.

Song Xuan didn't hide it from him:

"So that Your Majesty may know, the detailed accounts from yesterday have not yet been fully calculated, but I have done a rough calculation and am certain that we will make a small profit."

"A small profit."

Liu E nodded and did not ask any further questions.

He made a small profit on the first day, and once the news spreads far and wide, he will surely continue to make a lot more money.

Liu E especially felt that Song Xuan's luck-based approach would attract many people to participate.

Before the results are available.

Everyone would be convinced that they are the luckiest one.

"Your Majesty, have you been troubled by money lately?"

"Yes."

Liu E openly admitted that she only realized how empty the national treasury was after she truly came to power.

Emperor Zhenzong spent a lot of money on the Heavenly Book Movement and auspicious omens.

To support these two man-made projects, countless palaces and temples were built throughout the Song Dynasty, and numerous festivals were established throughout the year.

Every festival involves elaborate rituals and the preparation of large quantities of offerings, with religious ceremonies held both inside and outside the region, costing a great deal of money.

After Emperor Zhenzong died, this system was not immediately followed by burial with him, mainly because Empress Liu wanted to save face for Emperor Zhenzong.

Therefore, after Prime Minister Feng Zheng requested that the money be spent sparingly, Empress Liu, in the name of Emperor Zhao Zhen, ordered that the number of rituals held in the previous year, which was 49, should now be reduced to 20.

The number of deity tablets for the Grand Ritual has been reduced from 2,400 to 500, and the officials in charge of the rituals only provide tea.

Local sacrificial rites gradually ceased.

Even with such cost-saving measures, the imperial court, local areas, and the capital suffered numerous disasters, which affected tax revenue.

Apart from being buried in his palace, very little of the legacy left by Emperor Zhenzong remains.

Empress Liu desperately needed ministers like Song Xuan who had the means to raise money legitimately and get things done.

That's why he's concerned about whether his business is profitable or not.
If it's profitable, since the Bian River is being repaired section by section anyway, the fish-catching competition can continue.

Seeing that Song Xuan didn't immediately respond, but instead stood there, Liu E, with years of experience, subconsciously added:
"Does Scholar Song have a better way to make money?"

"There is one."

"Speak quickly."

Song Xuan wore a confident smile:
"I'm only telling this method to the Empress Dowager. If too many people hear it, the method won't work."

The method isn't working anymore?
Looking at the eunuchs and ladies-in-waiting around her, Liu E understood that Song Xuan did not want to reveal the secret.

If you're talking about keeping things secret within the palace, then yes, you definitely can.

The fact that Zhao Zhen was born to a biological mother was kept completely from him.

To say that it cannot be kept secret is indeed impossible.

Gossip about the royal family could be discussed on every street corner.

Liu E waved her hand, signaling everyone to leave.

She genuinely wanted to hear if Song Xuan had any good ways to make money.
Song Xuan then revealed all about his plan to collude with Liu Congde to hold an auction in Fanlou.

He had a plan to prevent the Khitans from taking the 300,000 taels of silver with them, and instead have them spent at the auction.

In this way, the imperial court could have an extra 300,000 in disaster relief funds without having to spend too much extra on supplies.

In order to purchase the necessary goods as in previous years, the Liao Kingdom will continue to increase trade at the border markets, which will greatly benefit the imperial court this year.

It's like how the Khitans' procurement amount was 300,000 higher than in previous years, just to ensure the enjoyment of those nobles.

In any case, the Khitans used their annual tribute to buy large quantities of goods for the enjoyment of the upper nobility.

Liu E nodded slightly, not noticing anything amiss.

Anyway, the annual tribute (silver and silk) given to the Khitans by the imperial court was spent by them at the border markets to buy tea, porcelain, silk and so on.

The Song Dynasty did not give copper coins to the Liao Dynasty because copper coins were prohibited from being exported.

"How can you be so sure that the Khitans will auction off a large number of valuable items at Fanlou?"

“Your Majesty, the spiritual totem of the Khitan people is the gyrfalcon. I found a pure glass gyrfalcon in the Wuyou Cave, shaped like a swan-catching vessel.”

“This is a treasure of the world, there is no other like it. So I believe the Khitans will be tempted. I will find someone to drive up the price. It will definitely be more than the 300,000 taels of silver they are paying.”

"If we can also earn back the money for next year's tribute, then for the national treasury of our Great Song Dynasty, there will be some surplus."

"Once the breach in the Yellow River is repaired, the people will be able to recuperate and rebuild their lives, and the court will have more confidence to exempt some taxes."

"In this way, we will no longer have to live a frugal life, and the Song Dynasty's treasury may become full. After all, the Heavenly Book Movement has cost a lot of money."

Song Xuan's voice was slightly seductive, and he painted a rosy picture for Liu E.

Liu E didn't care about the matter of the pure glass, nor did she care about the sea gyrfalcon.

Could the Khitans really have such a strong attraction to an inanimate object?
“Scholar Song, your idea is good, but I still have some concerns.”

Liu E told Song Xuan directly that the Song people had exchanged porcelain, tea, and grain for ironware, furs, and livestock from the Liao people.

However, they had too few goods and could only purchase them with silver and silk.

The money passed through their hands without ever leaving the territory of the Song Dynasty before returning.

Since the signing of the Treaty of Chanyuan, the Khitan people from top to bottom have needed things from our Great Song Dynasty. Even the princes and nobles have been proud of owning luxury goods from the Great Song Dynasty.

The annual tribute made the Liao people dependent on it. They received such a large sum of money every year for no reason. At least the royal family and nobles had a source of funds to buy Song goods, so why should they fight a war?
The Song Dynasty was not easy to deal with either. The Khitans had tested them before. Accidents could happen on the battlefield; a stray arrow could kill you.

Song Xuan understood Liu E's words: this annual tribute was equivalent to a loan that the Song Dynasty did not need, encouraging the Khitans to buy Song goods.

This not only boosted the economy and increased employment, but also allowed the government to collect taxes, resulting in a trade surplus between the Song and Liao dynasties.

If all that money is used to buy those treasures in Tokyo, the Khitans might not have enough to go around. What if they start clamoring for war?
Liu E did not want this to happen.

"So the Empress Dowager wants me to set a limit, based on this year's value of 100,000 taels of silver and 200,000 taels of silk, and not to pursue next year's?"

"That's what it means."

Liu E nodded slightly. She was actually a conservative and least wanted any war to break out.

That would give the emperor an earlier opportunity to contact her generals, which would be detrimental to her rule.

For Empress Liu, maintaining a balance of power within the imperial court was of paramount importance.

Song Xuan thought for a moment, then said with great difficulty:

"Since Your Majesty has said so, then I will naturally comply."

"How about this, I'll sell the glassware that depicts the gyrfalcon attacking the swan separately. This year, I'll only sell the gyrfalcon, and next year I'll sell the swan."

"In this way, we won't let the Khitans go into debt, which can be considered as achieving our goal."

"It's like cutting flesh with a dull knife, so they won't feel the pain right away."

"That's a brilliant move."

Liu E was very satisfied with Song Xuan's suggestion.

No wonder he's the top scholar; his new brain works really well!
Those old ministers, none of them had Song Xuan's quick wit.

"Scholar Song, since you're using the imperial family as a gimmick, I'll give you a few genuine items to bolster your reputation."

"Thank you very much, Your Majesty." Song Xuan quickly waved his hand and smiled.
"We'll talk about it next year. This year, the fake goods that Prefect Liu brought from his home will be enough."

“Taking too much at once will make people think that royal artifacts are worthless. It’s better to emphasize the value of things because they are rare.”

"Alright, then you can handle it yourself. I estimate that the Khitan envoy should arrive in less than a month."

Song Xuan nodded.

If the Khitan spies were still active and not engaged in activities like the "Fried Chicken Detective" incident...

It's time to spread some news from Tokyo.

He had already instructed Li Junyou on this matter, asking him to secretly leak some information.

“Your Majesty, through interrogation, I have learned that when Wang Mengzheng and his son were officials in Fengzhou, they wronged Zhong Shiheng, the nephew of the great Confucian scholar Zhong Fang. I request Your Majesty to send someone to investigate and find out the truth.”

Hearing Song Xuan's words, Liu E became even more convinced that her judgment was correct.

The troubles of Wang Mengzheng and his son are certainly not limited to this one.

Sure enough, pressing down one gourd only caused another to float up.

"it is good."

Liu E agreed to the matter and prepared to send someone to make the trip together.

"Your Majesty, I will return now. I need to go to the scene later to keep an eye on things, as some unexpected events may occur."

"it is good."

Liu E nodded, called Yang Huaimin over, and asked him to escort Song Zhuangyuan back for her. She also wanted to see the people who placed bets on the spot so that she could feel at ease.

So the two of them left.

Overall, Liu E was quite satisfied with Song Xuan's explanation.

Because Liu E was a commoner and a singer, she felt very inferior about her past.

She fabricated a story about her family being a military family to enhance her social standing, and at the same time, she sought to establish a kinship with a minister surnamed Liu in the court.

It's all for the sake of having a good family background, so it sounds better to others.

This kind of thing is very common; the Zhang Hang brothers are an example.

Di Renjie's direct descendant, Di Fei, met a man with the surname Di who helped him prove that he was a descendant of Di Renjie.

However, through Song Xuan's emphasis today, Liu E discovered that Song Xuan was very proud of his commoner origins.

So she doesn't quite understand where Song Xuan's sense of pride comes from?

After all, the powerful families of the Tang Dynasty were proud of being from such families. Most of the high-ranking officials in the court were from such families, and even the prime minister was not often a commoner.

Liu E didn't understand why Song Xuan wasn't "feeling inferior"!
She then recalled what Song Xuan had said about how it was not a disgrace for a man to come from humble origins; even a beggar might have the chance to become emperor.

Liu E never believed such words.

Even a beggar can't become an emperor by daydreaming, let alone make it a reality.

However, Song Xuan was able to resolve his difficulties, and Wang Mengzheng had more than one son, so the matter was dropped.

No one lost out.

Liu E also valued her reputation highly, and she hoped that Song Xuan could use this incident to help promote her.

After all, Song Qingtian's reputation had already spread throughout the capital city of Tokyo, and the people were more willing to believe what he said.

If Song Xuan were to praise the Empress Dowager as incredibly wise and powerful, the common people would at least believe it to some extent.

This is also why, after Liu E could not refute Song Xuan and found his attitude to be very tough, she chose not to continue to protect Wang Qixiong and instead sided with Song Xuan.

Yang Huaimin said with a smile:

"Scholar Song, what you said in the palace just now was truly satisfying to hear!"

Yang Huaimin also found it unbelievable that Wang Mengzheng's son had been executed.

He originally thought that even if Song Xuan persisted, the Empress Dowager would eventually make Song Xuan compromise and sentence Wang Qixiong to exile in Cangzhou.

After a few years when things calmed down, Wang Qixiong leisurely returned home.

Unexpectedly, the Empress Dowager was persuaded by Song Xuan and agreed to his judgment.

Yang Huaimin's assessment of Song Xuan's status and rank rose significantly.

At such a young age, he was favored by both the emperor and the empress dowager, yet he did not incur their dislike, nor did they consider Song Zhuangyuan to be one of their own.

This kind of skill is not something everyone can possess.

"These people go too far and have no brains."

Song Xuan shook his head slightly: "Indiscriminately killing soldiers, aren't you afraid that the soldiers will rebel? Give him a knife, let's fight to the death?"

"When a common man is angry, blood will be spilled five steps away. It may seem that I am protecting the interests of the soldiers of the Xiang Army, but in reality, I am protecting the interests of people like us."

"If I don't give them a fair way out, they'll be driven to desperation and might stab you in the street to take revenge. Do you still expect to enjoy a lifetime of wealth and luxury?"

"No way!"

It took Yang Huaimin a while to process Song Xuan's words before he was convinced.

Song Xuan advocated killing Wang Qixiong, not to protect the interests of the soldier, but to protect people like him.

The legacy of the Five Dynasties period did not last long.

There have always been many people in the Song Dynasty who were brave and fierce.

"Scholar Song's words were truly enlightening."

Yang Huaimin clicked his tongue in amazement.

He had never thought about it in this way before.

Fortunately, I usually only think about using Jiama to show off and haven't done anything that would drive people crazy.

"Wang Mengzheng is probably going to hate me to death."

Song Xuan let out a long sigh:
"But I don't care. He better not commit a crime and fall into my hands."

Yang Huaimin swallowed back the words of comfort he was about to say. Song Zhuangyuan had never backed down, and he had worried unnecessarily.

"Don't worry, Scholar Song. If Wang Mengzheng still thinks of coming to the Empress Dowager to complain about you, I will definitely write it down carefully."

"Hahaha."

Song Xuan couldn't help but burst into laughter a few times, then he mounted his horse:
"Then thank you very much, Eunuch Yang. Please stay here. In this hot weather, you don't need to make another trip with me."

"Slow down, Song Zhuangyuan."

Yang Huaimin didn't stand on ceremony and bowed as he saw him off.

"This Song Zhuangyuan is truly a good weapon against the powerful relatives of the emperor!"

Yang Huaimin didn't voice his true feelings. The first relative of the empress to be suppressed was Qian Weiyan, who was directly expelled from the capital.

Fortunately, Feng Zheng died in office while being sent out by the Empress Dowager, and from then on, no one in the court was able to restrain these powerful relatives of the empress.

Now someone else has filled the vacancy left by Prime Minister Feng Zheng, although his official rank is not high, but in the Empress Dowager's heart, he holds a higher position than Prime Minister Feng Zheng.

Yang Huaimin was relieved that he hadn't gotten stuck on a rut; before, he had only intended to maintain a superficial relationship with Song Xuan.

Now that the relationship between the two sides is so good, I must send more timely and helpful messages.

"What did the top scholar Song say?"

"Your Majesty, the words of Scholar Song are quite refreshing."

Yang Huaimin then repeated Song Xuan's words to Liu E.

After hearing this, Liu E was also very surprised, realizing that Song Xuan thought this way.

He upheld the law and sentenced Wang Qixiong to death, which was actually a way of protecting the rest of the Wang family from having their lives threatened when they went out.

Although these soldiers often did manual labor, they also carried knives. If they were cornered, it was entirely possible that they would commit a bloody crime within five steps.

Liu E immediately exclaimed that she had been amazed!
It turns out that Song Xuan's thoughts were as high as three or four stories.

The Empress Dowager's comments and instructions quickly reached the Prime Minister's office.

Just now, someone spread the word that Wang Mengzheng had walked out of the palace in a daze, and Lü Yijian had heard it.

His guess was that Wang Qixiong would at most be exiled, or at worst, his life would be spared.

However, the Empress Dowager's instruction was to order the Ministry of Justice to immediately send someone to investigate the case. If there were no errors, the culprit Wang Qixiong should be executed in the autumn to set the record straight.

Lu Yijian didn't know what to say; he had too many questions in his mind.

Song Xuan was not one of the Empress Dowager's men. The Empress Dowager punished her relatives twice in a row because Song Xuan struck first.

Based on past experience, if a relative of the empress is expelled from the capital, then the person who proposed the expulsion will also be expelled.

The Empress Dowager's favoritism towards her in-laws is not a recent phenomenon.

Therefore, Lü Yijian was completely baffled.

Wang Zeng was also greatly puzzled, his eyes filled with disbelief.

"what happened?"

Wang Zeng kept muttering to himself:
"How exactly did Song Xuan persuade the Empress Dowager to agree to his verdict?"

"Based on past predictions, this shouldn't be the outcome!"

Song Xuan got away scot-free, while Wang Mengzheng's son was executed.

This doesn't seem normal at all.

Furthermore, the Empress Dowager also instructed that an investigation be conducted into the matter of Zhong Shiheng being wrongly exiled by Wang Mengzheng.

In Wang Zengxiang's view, Song Xuan's insistence on sentencing Qi Xiong, a relative of the Empress Dowager by marriage, to death, and his success in forcing the Empress Dowager to abandon her protection and approve the verdict, all revealed something abnormal.

"Your Majesty is wise!"

Zhang Shixun immediately began to praise Liu E, and in doing so, he also complimented Song Xuan.

He had an excellent relationship with Cao Liyong, and Cao Liyong also played a part in helping him to establish himself as the vice prime minister.

"This certainly reveals some unusual behavior."

Wang Zeng stopped worrying about it and instead made arrangements, summoning Di Fei, Liu Sui, Cai Qi, and others to review the case and check for any errors or omissions.

The purpose was to prevent anyone from overturning Wang Qixiong's case and to get this done as soon as possible.

After these people have finished their verification, we'll see what the Empress Dowager means.

Di Fei and the others were also somewhat bewildered.

At one point, I even doubted whether this was truly the Empress Dowager's original intention.
Everyone knows how spoiled the Empress Dowager is of her in-laws!
"I had long heard of Song Zhuangyuan's debating talent."

Cai Qi addressed the group:

"Perhaps the Empress was convinced by the debate with the top scholar Song, which is why she made such a wise decision."

He didn't dare say the word "abnormal".

Wang shook his head; he didn't think Liu E was a woman who liked to listen to others' reasoning.

Therefore, Cai Qi's statement is definitely incorrect.

However, Wang Zeng knew nothing about the specifics of their communication, and he couldn't make a reasonable judgment. He simply told them to get the job done first.

Since the die is cast, let's not try to turn that boat back into a piece of wood.

Otherwise, it would be a huge blow to the prestige of the imperial court.

After Cai Qi and the others left, Lü Yijian spoke:

"Lord Wang, don't look at me like that, I haven't figured out the principle behind it either."

"Let's wait and see after the review and report, and then see if the Empress Dowager really intends to uphold justice and eliminate her own relatives, or if she wants to use a strategy of retreat to advance."

Wang Zeng and the others became hopeful.

Along the banks of the Bian River, many people still participated, and the flow of copper coins, though small, added up to a considerable sum. "My lord, a man who calls himself Zhong Shicai wants to see you. He says his uncle is the great Confucian scholar Zhong Fang."

Song Xuan glanced at the young man who was being held back outside; he looked to be over thirty years old.

"Please come in."

After being searched, Zhong Shicai was let in, and he was the first to bow and introduce himself.

His official rank was still slightly higher than Song Xuan's, but since he needed Song Xuan's help, he was naturally very polite.

“Scholar Song, my elder brother was wrongly exiled to Douzhou by Wang Mengzheng and his son. I am willing to offer up one of my official ranks to atone for my brother’s crimes. I hope Scholar Song can speak on my behalf.”

Song Xuan nodded; he understood Zhong Shicai's plan.

This is a form of offsetting crimes with official titles. When an official commits a crime, in addition to being fined copper, he can also hand over his honorary titles such as "respected official" or honorary official and other nominal titles to the court.

The imperial court would cancel the registration and then determine the amount of money to be paid based on the severity of the crime and the official rank.

This is a form of leniency granted by the imperial court outside the law.

"Your older brother was framed."

"That's true, but people don't want to believe it. I've tried to pull strings with many people, but when they heard it was because of the Empress Dowager's relative by marriage, Prince Mengzheng, they all refused to pass on my message."

"My memorial to the throne has been ignored. Yesterday I heard about the heroic deeds of the top scholar Song, so I dared to come here today to ask for your help."

Song Xuan didn't waste any words:

"I reported your elder brother's matter to the Empress Dowager today, so you don't need to use your connections in the capital to help you with your brother's case. The results of the Ministry of Justice's investigation will be available in a couple of days."

"what?"

Zhong Shicai looked somewhat bewildered.

After all, he didn't know Song Xuan personally, only his reputation.

Zhong Shiheng is now over forty years old and is still a low-level civil servant.

It wasn't until the war with Western Xia that he switched to a military post, beginning the eighty-year era of the Zhong family army.

Could it be that my elder brother knows him?
That's impossible!

The place where his elder brother worked was not near Song Xuan's hometown at all, and he had not been to Tokyo City in recent years.

"Don't worry, I got the information from interrogating Wang Qixiong."

Of course, Song Xuan wouldn't betray Yang Huaimin, who provided him with the information.

“My main concern is that Wang Mengzheng is trying to exonerate his son by going to the empress dowager. Wang Qixiong is so arrogant that he must have committed many evil deeds.”

“Even if Wang Mengzheng persuades the Empress Dowager, I am prepared to expose these things. Your elder brother is just one of them.”

"Therefore, once the Ministry of Justice has reviewed the case, Wang Mengzheng will also receive the punishment he deserves."

Zhong Shicai was unable to process the information Song Xuan provided to him for a while.

"Does the top scholar Song mean that the Empress Dowager is planning to deal with Wang Qixiong?"

He asked somewhat uncertainly.

"That's right." Song Xuan looked at his cautious appearance:

“Yesterday’s events happened suddenly, but there were witnesses and evidence, so I sentenced Wang Qixiong to death. This morning I went to the palace to persuade the Empress Dowager.”

"The Empress Dowager has already agreed to this result, so I will announce it after the Fish-Slacking Contest ends to put the minds of the many ordinary people who participated in the game at ease."

“On my territory, Song Shier’s territory, as long as they don’t cause trouble, no one can be bullied.”

Zhong Shicai's reputation for Song Xuan is more about his outstanding literary talent, his early fame, and his title of "Song Qingtian" (Song the Upright Official).

However, Zhong Shicai knew very little about his nickname, Song Taisui.

Because Song Xuan's last words really made Zhong Shicai feel that this was not something a top scholar would say.

"So Wang Qixiong will be sentenced to death?"

"It's pretty close to the truth. After all, if anything goes wrong during the investigation, I'll have to go through a lot of trouble arguing with them."

Song Xuan glanced at Zhong Shicai:
“Your brother Zhong Shiheng’s case is like pulling up a radish and bringing up the mud along with it. If we exonerate him as well, there probably won’t be any major problems.”

Song Xuan wanted to announce it in public, partly to flatter Liu E and elevate her status to prevent any unforeseen events.

Zhong Shicai felt reassured and quickly thanked him.

He himself had little connection to the entire city of Tokyo; most of the land was planted by his uncle.

But no one would risk offending the Empress Dowager's in-laws for the sake of a dead man's friendship, just for the sake of his elder brother, Zhong Shiheng.

Because the effort and reward are not proportional, everyone has the instinct to seek advantage and avoid harm.

Especially in officialdom.

But Song Xuan clearly intended to kill the Empress Dowager's in-laws and incidentally save his elder brother, Zhong Shiheng!

I rescued him on a whim.

Zhong Shicai's feelings at this moment were extremely complicated.

Has the top scholar Song always been this brave?
He dared to target the Empress Dowager's in-laws one after another.

Targeting them is tantamount to targeting the Empress Dowager.
Therefore, Zhong Shicai couldn't understand why the Empress Dowager wasn't angry.

Just as Zhong Shicai was wondering what was going on, a gong and drum sounded. Song Xuan stood on the high platform and instructed the loud-voiced idlers to prepare to pass on a message to him after the game was over.

He also sent his yamen runners to spread the word that he had something important to announce.

As a result, some of the people in Bingchang stopped staring at the small fishpond and looked at Song Xuan, wondering what he was up to.

Liu Congde, standing in the crowd, said to his brother-in-law:

"Would the Empress Dowager really agree to Scholar Song's verdict so quickly and sentence your elder brother to death?"

Wang Yufeng was unaware that he had a fight with his father and hadn't gone home last night.

He had no idea that something good was about to happen to him.

Perhaps.

Wang Yufeng felt that if his brother-in-law went to the aunt to plead for his brother, his elder brother might still have a chance to survive.

But if his own father went to talk to him, and things had gone so badly, how could he possibly win against Song Xuan?

As expected, Liu Congde was not disappointed.

Song Xuan used the voice of an idler to spread his words far and wide.

That is, a horrifying thing happened at the scene yesterday. The murderer, Wang Qixiong, deliberately beat and killed Yu Yong, a soldier of the Xiang Army. There are witnesses and physical evidence.

He was sentenced to death yesterday, and today he went to the palace in person to tell the Empress Dowager about the matter. The Empress Dowager has agreed to his sentence.

If the Ministry of Justice verifies the facts, the murderer Wang Qixiong will be executed in the autumn, bringing justice to the deceased.

This news left the surrounding people speechless, and some even forgot their hopes of winning the lottery.

I heard about this yesterday.

Although it was extremely satisfying for the top scholar Song to take action himself, few people thought he would be sentenced to death after learning about Wang Qixiong's connections.

This was the thought of both the common people participating in the game and the imperial guards and local militias maintaining order.

Since the Empress Dowager began ruling from behind the curtain, her in-laws have become increasingly arrogant, to the point that even the prime minister wouldn't easily provoke them.

Now they've all been dealt with by Song Taisui.

"Song Qingtian!"

Someone shouted, and then more and more people shouted.

Song Xuan's voice was limited, and the idlers could only ensure that the neighboring people could hear it.

As for anything further away, there's nothing we can do.

"Song Tai Sui".

Such shouts were incessant, even louder than the earlier shouts of numbers.

Because the status of the Xiangjun (local militia) was already low, even lower than that of ordinary people.

Now, even the lowly Xiangjun soldiers are willing to give Song Xuan a fair and dignified treatment, let alone those of higher status who will encounter injustice in the future.

Then Song Xuan will be even more determined to protect their interests.

Upon hearing this, the soldiers of the Xiang Army were also overjoyed; the feeling of "the rabbit mourns the fox's death" was not without reason.

Mutinies are particularly common in the military, where a single deserter can easily lead to the desertion of hundreds or thousands of others.

Ren Fu was also somewhat surprised by the Imperial Guards.

Song Xuan truly treated everyone equally, daring to offend powerful officials for the sake of a mere soldier.

How could a scholar have such audacity?

"really."

Liu Congde looked at the excited expressions of the people around him:

"Your older brother really can't save his life. Our guess was right."

Although Wang Yufeng was somewhat downcast, he knew this would be the outcome ever since he witnessed Yu Yong's death and his elder brother's unrepentant and extremely arrogant behavior.

"Sigh, blood is thicker than water, and I still feel a little sad, brother-in-law."

"There's nothing we can do about it."

Liu Congde lowered his voice and said:

"Fortunately, the Wang family has such a promising talent as you. It's your good fortune that you didn't stay by your father's side and were influenced by him."

“Your family will have to rely on you in the future.”

"What does my brother-in-law mean?"

“My brother-in-law, Ma Jiliang, has been expelled from the capital. The court officials will certainly not let him off the hook. Your father has probably done his fair share of illegal and disorderly conduct outside. He’s a broken drum that everyone wants to beat!”

Liu Congde now fully understood the court officials. They dared not confront him directly, but they were ready to kick him while he was down after Song Xuan lifted the roof.

Wang Yufeng didn't say much, only nodded slightly to indicate that he understood.

The days when the Empress Dowager's in-laws were so arrogant and domineering are probably over.

Wang Mengzheng did not go home after leaving the palace.

Instead, he sat in the shop drinking alone, unable to understand why the eldest aunt was on Song Xuan's side.
Could it be that the Empress Dowager no longer favors Liu Congde?
Wang Mengzheng was truly both afraid and hateful!
After all, there was no real blood relation between the eldest aunt and Liu Congde.

If it were a nephew, that would be easier to handle; blood is thicker than water.

But the blood relation is completely unrelated; Liu Mei's original surname was Gong!
Hearing a commotion outside, Wang Mengzheng became increasingly agitated and immediately called the shopkeeper to find out what was going on.

After the doctor in the shop finished his investigation, he chuckled and told Wang Mengzheng about Song Taisui's heroic deeds.

Snapped.

Wang Mengzheng threw the silverware and tableware he was holding onto the ground, overturning the table.

Such a commotion naturally attracted attention.

"Anyone who mentions it again will die."

As the doctor received and saw off more knowledgeable people, everyone applauded and cheered when they heard about Song Taisui's heroic deeds.

The only person who didn't applaud and was extremely angry was undoubtedly the perpetrator's family.

So he quickly apologized.

Wang Mengzheng turned and left.

The shopkeeper came over to ask what was going on, and when he heard that the bill hadn't been settled, he immediately got angry.

"Don't think I'm afraid of you just because you're related to the Empress Dowager by marriage."

After he finished speaking, he cautiously looked out the window again.

"What should we do about this loss?"

"Shopkeeper, why don't we go and report this to the authorities?"

The doctor offered his advice: they were all afraid of the Empress Dowager's in-laws, but Song Taisui wasn't.

Even someone surnamed Wang would be afraid of Song Taisui coming to his door.

"good idea."

The shopkeeper urged the doctor to follow closely behind, just in case he wasn't the right person; otherwise, it would be a complete loss.

Wang Mengzheng felt increasingly aggrieved.

He used to be so carefree, dealing with anyone who dared to disobey him, and he even killed people.

But this time I returned to Beijing thinking I could make a big splash, but I never expected to be cut off like this. I'm so bitter!

"Fuck."

Xiaofeng had heard Song Xuan mention this catchphrase before; he was worried yesterday that Song Xuan would be kicked out of the capital.

Now that Song Xuan has made such a high-profile announcement, it's the Empress's in-laws who will suffer the most.

"what happened?"

"Doesn't the Empress Dowager take care of her own in-laws anymore?"

Cang Lin's face also showed a look of surprise.

Those of them who had lived in Tokyo for a long time naturally knew which group of people in the city were the most untouchable.

The shields that Song Xuan had broken through on the bodies of the most dangerous people had now been broken.

In the future, I'm afraid few people will be as afraid of them as they used to be.

The remaining powerful and wealthy might be startled if someone played a prank on them by shouting in their ears that "Song Taisui is here."

"What kind of bewitching potion did the top scholar Song give to the Empress?"

"Brother, don't look at me like that, how would I know?"

Xiaofeng also found it very difficult to understand why Song Xuan's relationship with the Empress Dowager was ranked ahead of that of in-laws.

"I bet you didn't know."

Cang Lin scratched his brow in worry. If Xuan Jia really confessed, his Drunken Immortal Pavilion business would be doomed sooner or later.

Even the Empress Dowager has switched from favoring her in-laws to favoring Song Xuan. What are we going to do?

"Fortunately, Zhong Lijin is now in charge of recovering the Wuyou Cave."

Cang Lin sighed: "Has he made any moves lately?"

"I don't know."

Xiaofeng was busy tracking the cave master yesterday, so he didn't have time to pay attention to the others.

"I'm leaving, I'm not in the mood anymore. You keep an eye on him for now."

"Here."

After watching Cang Lin leave, Xiao Feng tried hard to keep his mouth shut, afraid that he would laugh out loud.

The stronger Song Xuan became, the more firmly he could stand, and the brighter his future seemed, giving him even more motivation!

Cang Lin went to Fanlou to find the courtesan Su Qingrou.

He wanted to know how Zhong Lijin was doing, since this person was very tight-lipped and deep-thinking, and would keep any situation a secret from Su Qingrou.

Unlike Song Xuan, who was still young, he always softened and revealed information when faced with a pretty young woman.

The honey trap had no effect on Zhong Lijin, leading Cang Lin to believe that Zhong Lijin's devotion to Buddhism was solely due to his physical limitations, and that he was sincere and without ulterior motives.

Su Qingrou then mentioned that Zhongli Jin had his friends in Jianghuai load dozens of boats with exotic flowers and strange rocks, intending to bribe people in the palace and powerful officials of the court.

This is the latest information she has gathered.

"what?"

Cang Lin was a little confused for a moment.

Now that the Bian River is being repaired, the goods have to be unloaded from ships dozens of miles away and transported to Tokyo by carts and horses.

Why would he go to all that trouble to bribe them with these things?

“My godfather, although he didn’t say it specifically, I think it was used to bribe others to help him get the position of Prefect of Kaifeng.”

Su Qingrou explained it to him.

Because what Zhong Lijin implied was that he wanted to become the Prefect of Kaifeng so that he could better investigate the Wuyou Cave case.

Otherwise, as a prefectural judge, he wouldn't have enough power, and the local authorities wouldn't cooperate.

Cang Lin pondered for a moment: "Based on your observation, is Zhong Lijin really concerned about the Wuyou Cave case?"

"Not really interested."

Su Qingrou shook her head slightly: "I always felt that I was misled by Song Xuan before, which is why I thought Zhong Lijin was also a formidable person."

"Perhaps he's just a good-for-nothing?"

Cang Lin narrowed his eyes slightly. If only he were a good-for-nothing, he would be perfect to sit in the position of Prefect of Kaifeng.

"You must go to great lengths for him in this matter, using your status as the most beautiful courtesan to help him find a way to send these exotic flowers and strange rocks out."

"Does your godfather mean to help him become the Prefect of Kaifeng?"

"Not bad, it's better than Song Xuan sitting there!"

Cang Lin felt that Song Xuan was so favored by the Empress Dowager that she no longer protected her in-laws.

He believed that it was not impossible for the Empress Dowager to promote Song Xuan beyond her rank.

For the sake of Wuyou Cave's future, it would be much better to appoint an incompetent person as the Prefect of Kaifeng.

Because he can't accomplish anything; on the contrary, he can ruin things.

"Okay, I'll try."

Su Qingrou agreed, knowing how formidable Song Xuan was.

Now there are rumors that an auction will be held in Fanlou.

My godfather probably doesn't know about this.

Upon hearing the news about Su Qingrou, Cang Lin said he understood.

This message was incredibly useful; in fact, he had already known about it through other channels.

To be honest, he had no idea what Song Xuan was planning, or even if he wanted to replicate the business of Wuyou Cave.

How can the government do such a thing openly?
"You'd better find out in advance what good stuff Song Xuan is planning to auction off."

Cang Lin added, "This way we can better understand his true intentions."

"Ah."

Su Qingrou nodded, indicating that she had remembered.

However, I haven't had a better excuse to get close to Song Xuan lately.

After Cang Lin finished explaining the situation, he stood up and left.

He didn't want to spend more time interacting with Su Qingrou, lest others remember her and thus expose her true identity.

(End of this chapter)