Chapter 58:
Now that it's March, the snow in Chang'an should have melted, but the vegetation in the south of the Yangtze River has grown gratifyingly. In particular, the bananas in the Jinling Governor's Mansion are growing particularly well this year. A refreshing green color can be seen from a distance through the window panes.
It's just that the weather is not very good this year.
Since the beginning of spring, the rain in the south of the Yangtze River has never stopped. When it rains a lot, moss will grow on the walls, and the air will be very humid, making people uncomfortable.
It rained for several days, until this day, the sky finally cleared up.
In the early morning, just as Jun Huailang got up, he opened his doors and windows when he brushed his clothes, saying that he wanted to get some sunshine.
"But it's rare that it's sunny!" Jun Huailang said with a smile, while Fuyi was still beside him. "When I came here last year, I didn't hear that it always rained in the spring in Jiangnan? But the sun finally came out today, so I feel more comfortable."
The maids and servants in the room were all happy. Most of Jun Huailang's servants here came from Chang'an within a year. Chang'an is drier. Who has lived through such a wet spring?
Although Jun Huailang smiled lightly, he nodded, but he was not very happy.
He looked up at the window.
The buildings in Jiangnan are mostly white walls and black tiles. The sun is just right now, and the early morning sun is shining brightly on the green bamboo and plantains and rockery pavilions outside. very.
He sighed indifferently and turned his eyes away.
He knows that Jiangnan is not rainy in spring, but this spring, which is especially rainy.
In summer, it will rain heavily in the south of the Yangtze River, causing the river to swell and flooding the fertile farmhouses. The previous life was the summer of this year. The floods in the south of the Yangtze River shook the capital, and the emperor urgently sent an imperial decree, asking his father to be ordered to control the flood.
Since then, there has been a huge shortage of money and food for disaster relief, a plague broke out in the south of the Yangtze River, a revolt of refugees, and his father was convicted and beheaded...all in this year.
So this year, he is preparing for this summer. His father was the chief examiner of the imperial examinations in the Jiangnan region this year. He is now in Jiangnan, not the capital, so he has to avoid suspicion and cannot participate in this year's imperial examinations like in his previous life.
But it also provides some convenience for him. He is already eighteen now, and it is said that he has reached the age to be an official in the imperial examinations. But now, he has to be idle for three years at home, so he has a lot of spare time.
He consulted with his father, and when he had nothing to do, he would go to the yamen to do some chores with him. After his father agreed, he could go in and out of the Jinling mansion from time to time and come into contact with some files and accounts. When they go out for inspection, he can also accompany them.
As for the officials who came with his father, who was in charge of the transcripts, who was in charge of the accounts, and what kind of people they were, he had a rough idea.
Jun Huailang knew that among the people who murdered his father in the past life, there must be officials around him.
Everyday things are complicated, and his father will not be able to solve it by himself. After making a decision, he will distribute it to everyone to implement. Only the officials around him who help him can make his father fall into the charge of greed with ink and do it without showing any traces.
And this person can do these things without any worries, that is, there are certain Beijing officials behind them.
What he has to do is to find the person who did this for him by his father's side, guard him, and then find the master behind him.
Jun Huailang's eyes were empty, and his thoughts drifted away involuntarily. Seeing that he hadn't moved his chopsticks for a long time, Fuyi quickly asked, "What are you looking at, young master?"
At this moment, a swallow chirped and flew to his eaves.
Jun Huailang silently retracted his gaze.
"Ah, I saw a swallow on the eaves." Jun Huailang smiled lightly, picked up the chopsticks again. "If he wants to make a nest there, don't chase him. It's raining this year, let him take shelter there."
Fuyi smiled and nodded, "Young master is always so kind."
At this moment, a servant came in from outside.
"Young Master, Master Shen sent a message to ask if you have time today!" the boy said.
Jun Huailang raised his head: "Liu Feng? Why did he come so early, is he taking a rest today?"
Go, have a drink."
Jun Huailang couldn't help laughing: "It's no wonder he's so active, he's just greedy for wine."
Speaking, he stood up and said, "Let Liu Feng wait in the front hall for a while, I will come after I have changed."
The servant led the order and retreated.
Fuyi came to serve Jun Huailang to wash and change clothes.
This Shen Liufeng is the only son of the prefect of Jinling, but speaking, he is not the biological son of the prefect.
Shen Zhifu of Jinling City lost his wife at an early age, and never remarried after that. Shen Liufeng was the only son of his deceased brother, so he was remembered under the prefect's name and raised by him as his own son. He is now in his twenties and is currently studying at Linjiang Academy in Jinling City.
Last year, Jun Huailang had a little selfishness with this Shen Liufeng. At that time, when they first arrived in Jinling, Jun Huailang wanted to investigate the local officials, but because they were of different generations, he wanted to start with the children of aristocratic families in Jinling.
I didn't expect the two of them to meet unexpectedly.
When Jun Huailang had packed up and went all the way to the front hall of the Governor's Mansion, he saw the people sitting in the hall from a distance.
The man is tall and slender, with the appearance of Lingfeng Yushu. Sitting on a chair in the hall, he was boredly looking at the calligraphy and paintings on the wall. When he saw Jun Huailang coming, he stood up, opened the fan with a clatter, and shook it slowly.
When I first saw him, Jun Huailang saw that he was dressed in splendid Lingluo, with precious jade hanging from his waist, and even the folding fan in his hand was a famous antique from hundreds of years ago, so he only regarded him as a Playboy boy.
It was only later that he learned that his deceased father was a famous wealthy businessman in the south of the Yangtze River. Shen Zhifu loved him very much, and never treated him badly for food and clothing, so although he looked romantic, he was actually very honest and simple.
"Huailang, you got up late enough." He stood up shaking his fan and said with a smile. "Such good weather, don't hurry to go out, maybe it will rain again."
Jun Huailang said with a smile, "It's sunny today, so it won't be so fast."
Speaking, he raised his hand and led Shen Liufeng out together.
Walking to the entrance of the front hall, Shen Liufeng did not forget to raise his hand, and pointed at the painting on the wall of the front hall with his fan: "I look at this painting, and it is too reluctant to serve as the facade of the governor's house. I have a few original works of Tang Yin in my place, they look quite suitable, I will send them to you another day."
Jun Huailang smiled and hurriedly stopped him: "Don't. If my father knows that I have received such a valuable thing from you, what will I give to the prefect in return?"
Shen Liufeng murmured unconvincingly: "How much is that worth, do you need a gift in return?"
Jun Huailang smiled helplessly.
"I don't know anything about calligraphy and painting, so it's a pity to send it." Jun Huailang went over vaguely and got into the carriage with him.
As soon as I got in the car, Shen Liufeng complained: "What kind of weather is this year? It's like the rainy season has just started. I just feel that my bones are going to be moldy. But I still have to study every day.”
When Jun Huailang heard the words, it reminded him of one thing.
The place where Shen Liufeng studied was Linjiang Academy.
In the past life, in order to find out the truth of his father's injustice, after he entered the dynasty, he tried every means to find the file of the flood disaster in the south of the Yangtze River, and studied it carefully.
The flooding began in late May and early June. Days of rain caused the river to break down the dams and poured back into the city of Jinling. The location where the dam was washed away is just at the Linjiang Academy in Jinling.
Linjiang Academy is a very famous academy in the south of the Yangtze River. It has a history of more than 500 years since its establishment. Many of the officials in Beijing came from Linjiang Academy, and even the current state leader Jiang Taifu was a student of Linjiang Academy back then.
At that time, it was only two months before the autumn season. Around Linjiang Academy, there are many Jiangnan scholars who came to study and take exams. The dam burst was violent and unexpected, and many scholars and students were drowned at that time.
Thinking of this, Jun Huailang asked, "Your academy is right by the river. If it rains and the tide rises, won't it come out?"
He was always talkative, and when he heard Jun Huailang's question, he continued chattering: "The dam was built by my uncle. It's so waterlogged that I can't walk, and the river banks are all right."
When Jun Huailang heard the words, he was stunned again.
How did the river bank break down in the summer of the previous life?
He mused.
Now, he has almost got a good grasp of the officials and subordinates around his father. Now that it's time for the autumn season, they no longer run around to check, but start preparing for the exam questions.
In this case, he can spare time and go to Linjiang Academy to take a look.
He has done enough homework in his previous life, and he is proficient in the management of rivers and dykes. If he can detect the omen of the rupture in advance, tell his father and evacuate the people in advance, then the disaster of the flood will be alleviated a little.
What's more, the continuous rain, the accumulation of water in the city, and the death of so many people when it burst, it is extremely easy to cause a plague.
Jun Huailang pondered and concentrated for a while, but did not hear what Shen Liufeng said after that.
It wasn't until Shen Liufeng called him a second time that he came back to his senses: "What?"
Shen Liufeng repeated it again.
"I said, I heard from my uncle a few days ago that Beijing Central will send Beijing officials down again to monitor the autumn season in Jiangnan this year." He said. "You said, what's there to observe? I don't know which officials will be sent..."
Jun Huailang was stunned when he heard the words, and looked at Shen Liufeng with some surprise.
Is there a Beijing official to monitor?
In his previous life, he had never heard that Beijing officials went to Jiangnan to supervise. When he read the file, it was his father who was the prime minister of Jiangnan in flood affairs, and there was no official with a higher official position and more authority.
…How come you have it in this life?
Jun Huailang was a little nervous for a while.
If the dispatched officials were the ones who framed his father's faction, then the situation this summer would probably only get worse.