From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

Chapter 155

On a brand new day, Zhou Yuan still maintained his daily routine, strengthened his exercise, meditated to circulate his internal energy, and continuously deepened his skills.

To do anything and achieve any career, the body is the foundation. Without a good body, everything is a castle in the air and a mirage.

"Husband, are you really not going?"

After becoming a woman, Zhao Jianjia became more beautiful, with her eyebrows and eyes stretched out, and she had more feminine charm.

Zhou Yuan waved his hand and said, "We said goodbye yesterday, so I won't see you off. You and Ningyue can go together. I'll go to the government office."

Going to the government office was an appointment made by Li Zhaolu yesterday. Although Zhou Yuan wanted to be free, the other party was an elder after all, and it was really hard to refuse.

All the way to the government office, Li Zhaolu had already packed up, and then he told his real purpose.

"I want you to accompany me to the south of the city. There is a tile lane similar to Yunzhou, which needs to be renovated. Can you give me some ideas?"

If Lin'an Prefecture wants to maintain long-term stability, the evil groups in the south of the city must be eradicated one by one, and at the same time, the people must find a legitimate job.

The two of them took a few guards and went all the way to the south of the city.

There are low houses, dilapidated alleys and dilapidated fences here, which does not look like Lin'an Prefecture at all.

Li Zhaolu said: "You can't guess how much money was found in the search of Annan Hou and a group of gambling houses, as well as the officials who accompanied him."

Zhou Yuan said in a deep voice: "Two million taels?"

"Two million taels? You look down on these gambling houses!"

Li Zhaolu waved his hand and said in a deep voice: "More than ten gambling houses, large and small, dozens of officials, gold and silver, antiques, calligraphy and paintings, gems and jades, a total of almost six million taels of silver!"

Zhou Yuan was shocked. He knew that Annan Hou was rich, but he didn't expect him to be so rich. Who knows how much of the people's blood and sweat the bastard has extorted to become so rich today.

Li Zhaolu sighed and said, "The evil of one official brings disaster to the whole place. The source of this money can only be slowly investigated later. I have written to the capital, requesting the court to intercept 500,000 taels of silver from the 6 million carts to restore the south of the city and the surrounding areas of Kuixingfang."

"Your Majesty has always been wise, and it is likely that he will approve it, but how to spend this money is a difficult problem."

The two chatted while walking forward.

Due to the heavy rain last night, there were potholes everywhere, a lot of water accumulated, and the road was muddy.

Occasionally, a head popped out of the low, dilapidated house, and some residents were peeking at the two.

Zhou Yuan said: "The people in the south of the city have suffered from the abuse of the gambling houses, and their thoughts have also been affected. They have lost the laws of the Great Jin Dynasty in their hearts."

"Lord Li must first establish laws here and enhance the prestige of the court before implementing good policies."

"The land previously under the name of the gambling houses may need to be integrated and redistributed."

Li Zhaolu nodded and said: "This is a difficult task that is not pleasing to all parties. The people here are not easy to manage... If you want to completely change this place, it will take three to five years at the shortest and more than ten years at the longest. This is a long-term plan."

Zhou Yuan said: "We must consider the feelings of the good people here more, put ourselves in their shoes to investigate and visit, and listen to their opinions. Only in this way can we have a standard for doing things."

"Well said!"

Li Zhaolu clapped his hands and laughed: "My nephew is really talented. It is better to do it today than to wait for a day. Let's go visit a family now and listen to their ideas."

The two were in high spirits and came to a residential house.

It was just a low shed, with thatch mixed with various branches, and inexplicable things put together to form such a small house.

As soon as the two approached, a foul smell accompanied by a heat wave hit them.

"In this hot summer, such a low and narrow house, how hot must it be!"

Li Zhaolu was quite emotional, knocked on the door gently, and when no one answered, he lifted the door curtain and walked in.

It was even more stuffy inside, with a few worn-out small benches, a small table, and uneven mud floors. There were rags, brooms and other sundries hanging on the wall.

Zhou Yuan and Li Zhaolu looked a little silent, isn't this a typical "bare walls"?

"Hey, you're back, have you eaten?"

An old voice suddenly came, Zhou Yuan and the others turned around quickly, and then they noticed that there was an old woman sitting on the bed.

She was wearing tattered clothes, her hair was loose, and there were a few flies around her, and she was very dirty.

"Have you eaten? If not, I'll go cook for you!"

She continued to shout, trembling as she stood up, her skinny body swaying.

Li Zhaolu frowned and said quickly, "Auntie, are you home alone?"

The old woman suddenly stopped, and she turned her head to look at the two of them. Only then did Zhou Yuan realize that she was blind.

"Who are you looking for?"

The old woman's voice suddenly became louder: "HomeThere is no one at home, and no money. "

Li Zhaolu thought for a while, and then said: "Auntie, I am an official in Lin'an City. I came here to inspect the people's sentiments. Why are you alone at home? Where are your family members?"

"Official?"

The old woman was also shocked, and then she said in a surprised voice: "Are you really officials? Quick, help me find my son."

Li Zhaolu said: "Are you the only one in your family with you and your son?"

The old woman nodded and said: "Yes, my man gambled a few years ago and couldn't pay off his debts, so he was beaten to death. My son went to report to the police."

Li Zhaolu said: "Did your son report to the police? When did he go?"

"I can't remember."

The old woman counted with her skinny fingers, and then said: "Four or five years? Or three years? I really can't remember. "

Zhou Yuan and Li Zhaolu looked at each other, then shook their heads at the same time. They went to report the gambling house to the authorities, but they hadn't returned for several years. It was obvious that they had been killed.

Zhou Yuan didn't say anything, but walked around the small bamboo door and saw the dark stove.

There was only one pot, dark, old and dirty.

I don't know how this blind old woman who lives alone survived.

Li Zhaolu smiled and said, "Your son, your son is also an official. He is usually too busy and doesn't come back."

This sentence shocked the old woman, and she laughed again, grinning with her big mouth and missing teeth, saying, "My son is an official! That's great! That's great!"

"He is an official, so he should redress the grievances of the villagers!"

"My son is very smart, he must be a good official!"

Zhou Yuan was silent. It seemed that years of living alone had made this old man unconscious.

Li Zhaolu said, "Yes, he is a good official. He smashed the gambling house a few days ago. ”

“That’s good! That’s great!”

The old woman clapped her hands and said, “Those gambling houses are harmful to people, and many villagers are afraid of them. Finally, they are destroyed. My son is a great judge!”

Li Zhaolu smiled and said, “Your son said that he will come back to see you in a few days to build a house and get married!”

“That’s good! That’s great!”

The old woman can no longer speak well. She keeps repeating these few sentences, but she is obviously very happy, laughing and coughing.

After a while, Zhou Yuan and Li Zhaolu came out and it was immediately much cooler.

Although the sun was strong outside, it was not as hot as inside the house.

Li Zhaolu wiped the sweat off his face and ordered, “Leave two people to watch her, give her some food, and wait for my order.”

“Yes! "

The two guards stayed, and Zhou Yuan and Li Zhaolu lost interest and hurried back to the yamen.

Zhou Yuan was going back to Yunzhou tomorrow, so he said goodbye.

Li Zhaolu said, "Stay and have a drink with me."

Zhou Yuan could see that he was in a bad mood, so he nodded in agreement.

A few dishes and a few pots of wine, Li Zhaolu drank as soon as he sat on the table, and soon got drunk.

After getting drunk, he didn't say anything, just lay on the table and cried.

After crying his heart out, he held Zhou Yuan's hand with tears in his eyes, choking and saying, "Although she is as thin as a stick, her belly is bulging, obviously because of eating Guanyin soil for many years."

"A blind old man, living a hard life, if it weren't for waiting for his son, I'm afraid he would have died long ago."

"My dear nephew! My dear nephew! This is still Lin'an Prefecture! The best place in Jiangnan!"

Li Zhaolu's eyes were red, and he said excitedly, "What about other places? What about Huzhou, which has been suffering from drought for several years? What about Hengzhou, where locust plagues are frequent? "

"Is this the life that the people of our Great Jin live? No wonder the Wusheng Sect can develop so rapidly, because everyone can't survive!"

"What can scholars like us do? In addition to writing a few poems and sighing a few Spring and Autumn Periods, what else can we do!"

Zhou Yuan said: "Uncle, calm down, the Great Jin has been like this for decades."

Li Zhaolu said sternly: "If I hadn't visited the south of the city, how could I know the world today? The officials of the Great Jin are standing too high!"

"My dear nephew, since you have the ambition to save the world, you must not forget what you saw and heard today when you go to Shenjing!"

After speaking, he stood up again, took a deep breath, and said: "No! I won't go to Shenjing! I will write to the Holy King now, I want to stay in Lin'an Prefecture!"

"I don't believe that I can't change all this! "

Seeing him crying drunkenly, Zhou Yuan suddenly remembered a line of poetry: "I pity you the most for dancing in the night. It is said that a man's heart is as firm as iron until death. Let's try to mend the crack in the sky."

The sky is broken, and someone has to mend it!