There are many treasures in this country

The strange thing Shen Yan mentioned was Xiao Suo's father.

If Zhuoyang County concealed the news of his father's death, it was to pretend to receive a gift from the court.Then there is only one such case?After all, the gift silver that one person can receive is not much. For the officials in the two yamen of the prefecture and county, this amount of money is not enough.

Therefore, if it wasn't that Xiao Suo's suspicion was wrong, there were still similar impostors in Zhuoyang County.What Xiao Suo found was only superficial, and there must be deeper secrets in it.

But Shen Yan still ordered Eleven to send out the report.Ding You is at home right now, even if he knows something is wrong, he has no right to inquire. He can only wait for the emperor's imperial decree before he can follow up and investigate further.

On the fifth day after the report was issued, Shen Yan was grooming horses in the courtyard.The boys coming and going are cleaning the stables, washing the manger, and cutting the horse hay. Everyone performs their duties and is doing their work in an orderly manner.

Xiao Suo had recovered from his illness, and with a letter hidden in his sleeve, he wandered hesitantly outside the door of the backyard.Looking at Shen Yan's appearance, he seems to be in a good mood, maybe he can agree to his request, it's unknown.

"General." Xiao Suo took two steps slowly, three meters away from the fierce horse that seemed to be kicking him, "Student has something to say and wants to talk to the general."

Shen Yan was bent over, dipping the brush in his hand, when he heard someone call him, when he looked up, he saw "Keren" standing opposite, and asked with a smile: "Mr. Xiao, why are you here? The stables are so dirty." , get out, let's continue the conversation in the front hall."

Xiao Suo calmly said: "Don't bother. The general's horse is on the lookout, and it's good for the students to pay their respects." Said while taking two steps back.

Hearing this, Shen Yan asked him to sit on the railing under the verandah, and while grooming the horse's mane, he chatted with him: "Why didn't Mr. Xiao study in the room today?"

For the past few days, he has been nestled in the house, except for two vegetarian meals a day, he reads and writes.Shen Yan wanted to get close to him several times, but he couldn't find a good opportunity, and he didn't dare to go in rashly to disturb him.His rebuttal to Eleven that day still rings in his ears, and General Shen's heart is finally terrified!

What Xiao Suo kept was another thought.His house was burned down now, and all the books and items were buried in the flames.After the commotion of the past few days, the counting office of the county government will naturally no longer have his place.Now, he is as panic-stricken as a bereaved dog, with no place to settle down, no means of living, and no way of promotion.

After thinking about it, he felt that bothering others was not the solution after all.Even if Shen Yan kept him in the name of redressing his injustice and solving the case, could he still keep him for the rest of his life?Even if he wanted to, there was no such reason.

For the current plan, he has to find another job and a place to live.What's more, a few days ago, Shen Yan had to pay back the 20 taels of consultation fee that Shen Yan gave to the county doctor Li Huaiyuan. 20 taels, that's enough for a Zhongping family to spend a year!

What Xiao Suo had in his sleeve was a letter of thanks and farewell. After writing it, he recalled the level of knowledge that General Shen showed when he wrote the paper that night, and suddenly felt that he shouldn't be writing these papers with him, so a letter was collected in In the sleeve, I don't know if I should give it to Shen Yan.

"General." He bowed his head and said, "The student has lived in the general's house for a long time, and I am grateful for the general's care. However, if this case is to be investigated and concluded, it may take a long time. The student always disturbs the general's house, as if There is something wrong. Therefore, the student thought, it is better to move out first, and if there is a need in the future, the general can summon the student at any time."

A few clouds happened to float in the sky, covering the sunlight above Shen Yan's head.His heart also changed from sunny to cloudy, and felt that he had been politely rejected again.The general leaned on his horse, and asked rather displeasedly: "When Young Master Xiao goes out, where does he plan to cast himself? Is there any way to earn a living, or is there any chance of prosperity?"

How could Xiao Suo not understand the insinuation in these words, but he didn't refute, after all, he was at a loss for others.He was silent, and said: "The student has no relatives and no one to rely on, only a distant aunt, but it is not easy to go to, so how can he talk about it! It is just that he has studied for two years and wants to write letters for others, maybe he can Just earn some scattered silver to make ends meet."

Shen Yan sneered and said, "Young Master Xiao, do you know how dangerous it is outside now? The killers in the rivers and lakes have all set up their nets, waiting for you to sneak in! Do you think Chen Jigu can let you stroll on the street?"

He was right, and Xiao Suo was indeed worried, but he hadn't figured out a countermeasure yet.A few days ago, the two guards sent by Chen Jigu from Futai had been sent back by Shen Yan.I'm afraid that everyone in the government office now knows that he has climbed up to General Shen, so they dare not do anything to him for a while.

But the dog jumps over the wall eagerly, and the rabbit bites eagerly.Shen Yan has the right to specialize in commemorating matters, so he can directly report the matters here to the emperor.Those official oils in the government office, of course, know how powerful they are, and I'm afraid that in order to save their lives, even the Shen inkstone will be removed at the most urgent time.

Thinking about it this way, Xiao Suo didn't dare to live in Shen's residence for a long time - originally he owed him a lot, if he was brought into trouble because of himself, he would be even more sorry!

Shen Yan thought that his own words could scare him, but seeing his thin lips tightly pursed, his expression became more and more determined, and he couldn't help saying: "If you want to die, this general will naturally not stop you. But I have already sent Eleven to tell Yan Yushi the ins and outs of the case, and there will be a big disturbance at that time. If you die, there will be no first complaint in this case. Wouldn’t this general and Yan Yushi commit suicide in front of the emperor? Are you kidding me?"

Xiao Suo lowered his head and remained silent.

He went on to say: "Besides, if my general remembers correctly, it will be time for the imperial court to hold examinations this fall, right? Look at you, you must be going to take the provincial examination. This general will ask you, if you are lucky enough to fail After being silenced, I went to set up a calligraphy and painting stall on the street, working all day long, can I spare time to study my homework? If you don't study your books, how sure are you that you will pass the exam?"

These words hit Xiao Suo's sore spot, and he was speechless.

Shen Yan refused to let go, and asked again: "Even if you are lucky enough to win the exam, then you have to hurry up and prepare to go to the capital to take the exam. The expenses on the road and the expenses after arriving in Beijing depend on you setting up a writing booth , can you earn it? Or, you don’t plan to take the exam anymore, just set up a stall and prepare for retirement?”

Xiao Suo's face was flushed red by what he said, and he talked for a long time in silence.It was so long that General Shen was almost done brushing his horses before he stood up, bowed his hands to Shen Yan, and went silently.

In fact, General Shen didn't understand that what literati want is not gold or silver, but a face covered with bones.Even though Xiao Suo and Geng Jie are withdrawn and difficult to get along with, and some of his books are too roundabout, he is still a literati after all.

For a frustrated person who was selected as a scholar at the age of 11, but failed repeatedly afterwards, Shen Yan's words poked his heart.Fortunately, he is such a forbearing and educated person, otherwise he would have turned against him already.

Shen Yan looked at the lonely back of him leaving, feeling irritated for a while, threw the scrubbing brush into the barrel with a "plop", resentful.

The Yuchima whimpered after eight minutes of bathing, unhappy, and agreed to give it a bath!

During dinner, the cook was very apprehensive.General Shen, who usually eats a pot by himself, didn't even touch his chopsticks today.All kinds of dishes were sent back again—it was said to be for them to eat, but how could they eat it!Didn't the general dislike their craftsmanship?Then their jobs will be lost!

Where Shen Yan still had the mood to eat hazelnuts, he was also full of anger.So he learned from Xiao Suo—only eat two meals a day—and skipped the last meal.

When he came back on eleventh, he heard that his general had a poor appetite tonight.He was overjoyed, and couldn't help sighing: "It's still the emperor who knows his general, and the two have a good understanding!"

When he was leaving the day before yesterday, a servant in the palace came running out of breath, holding a small bright yellow bundle in his hand, and said to him: "Mr. .”

That little servant is no ordinary person.His master's surname is Shang, and his name is Huai. He is the chief servant who has followed the emperor since he was a child.

Tonight, the emperor secretly ordered Censor Yan Jun to discuss the matter, and he didn't know what he said, and he seemed a little displeased.After Yan Yushi left, Shang Huai presented the red bean cake newly made by the imperial dining room. The Holy Majesty took a piece, said "red bean" twice, and then ordered: "Send this cake to Shen Yan's house. His The family boy came back to deliver the letter, and I think he hasn't returned yet."

Shang Huai hurriedly answered "Yes", walked out a few steps holding the pastry, and heard the emperor's deep voice: "Secret gift!" Shang Huai hurriedly turned around and bowed a few times, then ran out quickly and handed it to the little apprentice to send him out of the palace.

Eleven took the yellow cloth bag from the waiter, and went back without stopping.After boarding the boat, I became curious and took a peek at it, only to find out that it was a box of red bean cakes!

Shen Yanzheng was not in a good mood. Seeing him coming back, he hurriedly asked: "It can be counted as coming back, is the road still safe?"

Eleven first took out a letter from his bosom, and then took out a box from his bag, and said, "As I expected, there are indeed a lot of ideas on the road. Even if my subordinates change horses by boat, they have exchanged hands several times."

Shen Yan let out a "hmm", opened the letter, and said, "Go and tell the people below to be careful during this time, and beware of sneak attacks."

Eleventh answered, presented the box, and said with a smile: "Master, this is the red bean cake bestowed by the emperor, and the special subordinates brought it back for you after traveling thousands of miles. You don't have an appetite tonight, so you just want to eat this."

There are two dragons coiled on the black lacquer and gold wooden box, which looks like a royal thing.Shen Yan raised his eyebrows, opened the lid, and saw that there were three layers of 45 pieces of pastry inside, red and yellow, with a layer of oily skin.

General Shen took a piece at random and put it in his mouth, nodded, sighed and said: "Give it to Xiao Xiucai."

Eleven pursed her lips, feeling a little displeased: "Master, this is given to you by the sage, why give it to that poor man! If the emperor finds out, he will definitely be unhappy!"

Before he could finish his sentence, Xiao Suo had already walked in, glanced at the box of crisps, and said indifferently: "General, the students heard that Mr. Shen is back, so they came here to disturb you without authorization."

Eleven and his general looked a little embarrassed. The former was because of his bad tone when he spoke about him behind his back, while the latter was because of what happened this afternoon.Xiao Suo didn't seem to know it at all, Banban was standing beside him, like a statue of jade.

Shen Yan invited him to sit down, then gave Shi Yi a wink, ordered him to present the pastry in front of Xiao Suo, and then shook the letter paper to read.

However, the content of the reply letter was not as expected by the two of them.