Re-embroidering life

Chapter 138 Jiangnan

The emperor was already lost in memories: "Back then we were both young men full of vigor and vitality. I was still a prince, and you were a scholar with great ambitions. If I hadn't been curious and went incognito to taste the food at Chunfeng Tower, we would never have met."

Ji Zixuan couldn't help but laugh, and replied respectfully: "I was a young and inexperienced person at that time, and I offended you a lot. Fortunately, Your Majesty is broad-minded and did not hold it against me."

At that time, Ji Zixuan was gathering with several candidates in Chunfeng Tower. Someone at the table talked about the shortcomings of the current government. Ji Zixuan was inspired and gave an impassioned analysis of the shortcomings, which attracted the applause of the candidates. However, he unexpectedly attracted a nobleman in the next room. The nobleman was not convinced and debated with him. The two fought for 300 rounds. In the end, they were both exhausted and smiled at each other, turning enemies into friends.

Ji Zixuan was talented and passed the imperial examination. He was admitted to the Imperial Academy. The wheel of fate began to turn at this moment. The previous emperor passed away and the emperor ascended the supreme throne. The young emperor had a shallow foundation and the situation in the court was complicated. In particular, the noble group with heavy troops and the wealthy Jiangnan nobles formed a lot of constraints on him, making him walk on thin ice and difficult to move forward.

Therefore, the emperor chose Ji Zixuan, his close friend whom he had always admired. Ji Zixuan was just an unknown young man, and his every move would not attract attention. Ji Zixuan first went to Jiangnan secretly under the order of the emperor to secretly investigate the true situation of taxes in Jiangnan. He stayed in Jiangnan for more than a year, carefully visiting everywhere and collecting a lot of key information. Then he returned to Jiangxia and started as the sixth-rank Tongpan of Jiangxia Prefecture. He was promoted step by step and gradually became the Tongzhi.

All along, he has been a chess piece hidden in the dark by the emperor, with a difficult and secret mission. Since leaving the capital, the emperor and his minister have never met again, but it seems that they have never really broken off contact. Without the emperor's help, it would be impossible for him to get the secret evidence from Huang Anmin alone. All this is not something that can be told to outsiders.

"Zixuan, I'm sorry for having wronged you over the years." The emperor said gently.

Ji Zixuan hurriedly bowed: "Your Majesty, I am sorry for the trouble I have caused to this humble person. It is my duty to help the court. How dare I complain?"

The emperor nodded slightly and said: "Go ahead. I promised to clear your name, and I will do it."

After Ji Zixuan left, an imperial edict was soon sent to the Ji family, saying that it had been found that the charge of embezzlement against Ji Zixuan was a wrongful conviction and was therefore dropped. Ji Zixuan was ordered to take over the post of prefect of Jiangxia and take office immediately.

This decree caused almost no stir in the capital, as everyone's attention was attracted by another decree. After a long dispute over the throne, the emperor finally appointed the third prince as the crown prince and the third prince's wife, Dong, as the crown princess.

Shui Qinghua and Ji Zimo both breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was the same as in the previous life, the third prince became the crown prince, Ji Zixuan was rehabilitated, although the result was already known, only when you are in it, you know how thrilling and cautious it is.

There was only one strange thing: the Third Prince was made Crown Prince, but his mother's family, the Yu family, did not receive any favors, even though the emperor knew that most of the accusations were false. Yu Shanhai had already retired, Yu Wenyuan's legs were crippled, and the officials and students of the Yu family were even more shattered in the storm of that year. The Yu family was defeated after all.

"The emperor will no longer support any powerful relatives, whether they are civil officials or military generals. The last thing he wants to see is the imperial power falling into the hands of others. If Dong Siqi had not only a good reputation but no real power, and he himself knew how to advance and retreat, the emperor would not have chosen Dong as the crown princess." If we talk about the person who knows the emperor best, Ji Zixuan must be one of them.

At this moment, Ji Zimo and Shui Qinghua were seeing him off at the Shili Pavilion outside the capital. Before leaving the capital, Ji Zixuan told his brother everything he knew about the emperor, so that he would not take a detour.

Ji Zimo nodded. The recent events had a great impact on him, but he was no longer as emotionally upset as he was when he first came to Qianzhou. He had learned to be deep and reserved.

Ji Zixuan looked at his expression and said, "Zimo, I know what you are thinking. You are thinking, since we knew that there was something unusual happening in Jiangxinzhou ten years ago, why didn't we stop it and just watch Jiangxinzhou expand until it caused a flood?"

Ji Zimo closed his eyes. Is there any need to ask why? The emperor wanted to raise a tiger to cause trouble, to make the Marquis of Zhenyuan relax his vigilance, get carried away, and bring about his own destruction. Without the flood, how could there be public outrage? Without public outrage, how could the emperor justifiably kill the founding hero who had made many military achievements?

The emperor is always the one standing at the highest point. He looks down on all living beings. Everyone is under his control. He can make clouds and rain with a flip of his hand.

"Zimo, you have a pure heart, but in the officialdom, kindness will only put you in danger. Try to stay away from the imperial power." Ji Zixuan sighed and patted his brother's shoulder.

Ji Zimo knew why his brother said that. The prince was setting up the Zhanshi Mansion and had invited him to serve as the prince's junior Zhanshi, a fourth-rank official. From the fifth rank to the fourth rank, not only would his official position rise to the top and become part of the prince's team, but it would also mean that when the prince ascended the throne in the future, he would have the opportunity to enter the central government.

But he declined, saying that he once made a great ambition and wanted to spend his entire life doing a good job in water control, a practical matter that would benefit the country and the people.

This was the second time he had strayed from the path of becoming a prime minister. Others all sighed for him, and some called him stupid, but only he and his family knew that he hated power politics and hated evil, and had neither the ambition to rule the world nor the ability to please everyone.

After sending Ji Zixuan away, Ji Zimo said to Shui Qinghua, "Qinghua, every midsummer, Linhai County is hit by typhoons and tides. The court wants to build a 100-mile seawall there, and I have volunteered to supervise its construction. It will take one to two years, are you willing to go with me?"

Shui Qinghua's eyes lit up: "Linhai is in the south of the Yangtze River?"

"That's right." Ji Zimo smiled.

"I'll go!" Shui Qinghua was extremely happy. She grew up listening to Shen Xiu Niang's stories about Jiangnan. Jiangnan was the holy land of embroidery in her heart. How could she not go there to pay homage in her lifetime?

The news that the whole family was going to Jiangnan together was warmly welcomed by Ji Fei: "The richest place in the world is Jiangnan. I heard that the merchants there are the best at doing business. I have long wanted to go and see it!"

Shui Minghua smiled apologetically: "Second sister, I won't go with you. I can't leave Mr. Yu's school yet."

Shui Qinghua was puzzled: "Eldest sister, aren't you going to travel around the world? How could you miss the Jiangnan area?"

Shui Minghua said seriously: "Of course I will go to Jiangnan, but not now. I can't just leave things unfinished. Maybe one day, Mr. Yu and I will open a school in Jiangnan."