Ci Jinzhi

 The people on the street looked at the long queue that was slowly moving forward, and talked lively.

“This is the team that takes the late Queen’s coffin back to Beijing. Grandpa Long Live actually went out of the city to pick it up in person…”

 “Look, the Wanmin Umbrella!”

 “Where is it? Why is there the Wanmin Umbrella?”

"You don't know this, right? Mr. Xin personally went to pick up Queen Xin's coffin and returned to Beijing. He passed by Baiyun County and caught up with the flood. Fortunately, Mr. Xin saved the people in the two villages from being swept away by the flood. This is an immeasurable merit. A pair of Umbrellas are nothing."

"I also heard that Mr. Xin advocated the suppression of bandits and destroyed the bandit dens that killed people and robbed money... Where did I hear that? There was a businessman named Duan who went to the south to do business and almost lost his life to bandits. Not long ago, he brought He was returning to Beijing with the caravan, and I happened to hear it."

"Who is Mr. Xin? Mr. Xin is the son of Queen Xin."

"Queen Xin's son? Hiss - isn't that the prince?"

  “It goes without saying.”

The humming chatter of the people floated into Emperor Xingyuan's ears, and Emperor Xingyuan's sad mood improved a lot.

Mu'er's trip to the south gained great popularity among the people, and it also reduced many obstacles to his future plans. I did the right thing when I went out this time, but it was a bit more dangerous.

 When they arrived in the imperial city, there were no officials and nothing to do. Queen Xin's coffin was temporarily placed in a separate garden. Xin You and others followed Emperor Xingyuan into the palace.

The temperature in the Qianqing Palace is suitable, and the palace attendants standing in the corner gently wave their fans to circulate the air. It is far more comfortable than going out.

After giving him a seat, Emperor Xingyuan's eyes fell on Xin You: "Xin Daizhao suffered a lot when he went out this time."

 I lost weight, but I didn’t get tanned.

“It is a blessing for me to be able to personally carry my late mother’s coffin to Beijing, and I don’t feel it’s hard at all.”

Emperor Xingyuan looked at the young man who was neither humble nor arrogant, and sighed: "I know you are kind-hearted and don't want to see the people suffer, but you have to do everything according to your ability. Even if you don't think about yourself, you also want to think about your mother."

 “Wei Chen knows.”

King Xiu sat aside and listened quietly to the conversation between Emperor Xingyuan and Xin You. It was as if the speakers were a father and son, and he was a complete outsider.

"You fell down the hillside and were missing for many days. How were you rescued?" Emperor Xingyuan asked.

The emergency report only talks about the most important things and does not reflect the details.

Xin You glanced at He Qingxiao with a hint of gratitude on his face: "Wei Chen survived by chance, thanks to Mr. He..."

After hearing what Xin You said, Emperor Xingyuan cast an appreciative look at He Qingxiao: "Qingxiao has worked hard too. I really didn't choose the wrong person."

He Qingxiao, who was given a seat, stood up and saluted: "It is the duty of a minor minister to protect Xin Taizhao."

Emperor Xingyuan nodded with satisfaction and asked about the suppression of bandits.

Xinyou stood up and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."

"you say."

"Some rebels led by Li Qiang occupied Wuyun Village, killing people and taking wealth. They were extremely cruel, making the surrounding people panic and sleepless at night. Wuyun Mountain is easy to defend and difficult to attack. If we attack hard, we will cause a lot of casualties. Convince the original people of Wuyun Village to work together to solve this disaster..."

Emperor Xingyuan nodded slightly: "I heard about it."

The heads of the magistrate of Ling County, as well as Li Qiang's rebels, were escorted to the capital regardless of life or death, which is considered to be a high-profile event in the country recently.

"Most of the people in Wuyun Village are desperate people. After this time, they wanted to return to the right path, so Wei Chen took it upon himself to accept them. Please punish your Majesty." Xin You said and knelt down.

Emperor Xingyuan’s eyes flashed.

No wonder he saw that the number of people in the team was wrong. It turned out that there were many bandits mixed in.

"They all followed you to Beijing?" "Yes."

"how many people?"

 “About two hundred.”

“Ahem, cough, cough—” Emperor Xingyuan choked on his saliva, with a complex expression on his face, “Has Xin Daizhao thought about how to arrange these people?”

It's not impossible for him to help support him, but two hundred people are indeed too many. If the state treasury is used to support a group of bandits, the Minister of Household Affairs will probably fight him to the death. If private funds are used, he will not be well-off!

“Weichen still has some savings and plans to buy a farm on the outskirts of Beijing for these people to farm.”

Emperor Xingyuan was a little surprised: "Are they willing to farm?"

Xin You looked deeply at Emperor Xingyuan and said calmly: "They became bandits because they lost their fields and had no way to make a living. How could they be unwilling if they could have fields again?"

 These words made Emperor Xingyuan slightly absent-minded.

Common people lost their land and became bandits, powerful men occupied more and more fertile land without paying taxes, and the treasury was empty but they had to increase military pay to suppress rebellions. If this vicious cycle continues like this, there is only one final outcome for a dynasty, which is to come to an end.

This is what Xinxin said to him when he advocated reform.

Xinyou saw Emperor Xingyuan's absence.

 Bringing the bandits to Beijing was one aspect of keeping her word to the bandits who chose to cooperate, and the other was that she had put this thought into letting the bandits truly experience it. It is difficult for people to have deep feelings about what is happening far away. If these bandits stay in the capital and farm the land peacefully, they will always remind them of the consequences of the people losing their land.

 It seemed like she could still listen, so her efforts were not in vain.

"In that case, I will give you a farm with 500 acres of fertile land."

Xin You cupped his hands and said, "I am ashamed that I dare not accept it."

"Why don't you dare to accept it? If it weren't for you who didn't know when the rebels would be wiped out, those villagers would not have died in the flood because of you. You should be punished for your mistakes, and you should be rewarded for your merits. This is what you deserve."

Xin You didn't refuse anymore, and thanked you generously: "I thank you, Your Majesty."

 About two hundred bandits have crossed the clear path in front of this man, so they are no longer afraid of anyone provoking trouble.

At this moment, the palace people announced: "The Queen Mother has arrived -"

Emperor Xingyuan's heart skipped a beat and he stood up to greet him.

Princess Zhaoyang followed, her expression changed.

 The queen mother must have heard about her sister-in-law when she came here at this time.

Although the Queen Mother is nearly 70 years old, she eats well, has less worries, and can do whatever she wants. Living a good life, her body is stronger than that of many people in their forties and fifties. As the palace official's announcement ended, the old lady strode in with a sullen face.

"Why is the Queen Mother here?" Emperor Xingyuan stepped forward and helped the Queen Mother's arm.

“Why, are you afraid that the Ai family will know about the excitement here?”

“No, my son feels it’s hot and he sweats all over when he walks around. If you need anything to talk to your son, just send someone to tell him.”

The Empress Dowager did not listen to this. Her pair of muddy but not small eyes swept over the prostrate people, and her gaze fell on a young man: "The Ai family heard that Mrs. Xin passed away in the south, and her adopted son personally took her coffin to Beijing. Yes. Which one of these is her adopted son?"

Xin You stood up, lowered his head and raised his hands: "Xin Mu, a humble minister, has met the Queen Mother."

 It is indeed this young man.

Disgust flashed in the Queen Mother's eyes, and she said calmly: "Raise your head and let Aijia take a look."

Xin You lowered his eyebrows and slowly raised his head.

The Queen Mother stared at her face intently. After looking at her face for a while, she suddenly smiled and said, "It's not the same as Mrs. Xin at all."