Qingwang County.

The county town was soaked by floods. Now that the water has receded, everything is in a mess. Many houses have collapsed. People have nowhere to live and can only build tents along the streets to survive under the scorching sun.

God will not favor one or two people just because of their wealth and power. All things are just stupid dogs.

The Tan family's house in Qingkan was also severely affected by the disaster, especially the ones on low ground. There is still water in the house.

Fortunately, the Zong family's terrain was relatively high, so there was no water intrusion into the house. Old Madam Zhao could only arrange for her clan members to come to the Zong family.

In the past few days, Ms. Zhao was so busy that she was dizzy and had to call the doctor several times.

After the Tan family had given porridge several times, the county government was able to support him, but for how long, the county magistrate himself didn't know.

Moreover, after the flood receded, people and animals were killed and injured. Many people were sick at this juncture. What they feared the most was that another epidemic would spread.

The magistrate stood at the gate of the county government office today, looking at the displaced people all over the county with melancholy.

However, his place was not the most severely affected place. The imperial court sent people to provide relief, and he had to queue up behind other prefectures and counties.

Unexpectedly, at this moment, a government official rushed over to report that there was a group of people galloping towards the county seat.

The county magistrate was shocked. If there were still bandits entering the county to rob at this time, it would be even worse.

He was so frightened that he immediately wanted someone to hurry up and close the city gate. Unexpectedly, the yamen officer gasped and said something again.

"It looks like the eldest son of the Tan family, Master Tan Tingtan, is back!"

"Ah!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the magistrate rushed to urge people to prepare horses. He wanted to go out of the city to greet him.

Mr. Tan is the imperial envoy for this flood control, and he is also the eldest son of the Qingkan Tan family. If he comes back, won't all the problems that he can't solve in front of him be solved immediately? !

The magistrate was very excited, but before his horse was ready, he heard a rapid sound of clearing the way in the street. The magistrate looked towards the city gate and saw a man coming on a flying horse.

The people on both sides of the road saw the man riding a tall horse wearing the imperial court's scarlet robe arriving in the city, and their eyes shone brightly.

They took the initiative to get out of the way and retreated to both sides. Some even hungry people knelt down on both sides of the road.

"The imperial envoy is here! The imperial envoy is here to make the decision for us!"

As soon as Tan Tingfu entered the city, he felt the excitement of the people. When he arrived in front of the county government office, he saw that the magistrate was speechless, so he turned over and got off his horse.

"Everyone, please get up quickly. Tan has received the order from the court to provide disaster relief, so that everyone's life will not be unsustainable. The court's disaster relief food will arrive soon. Before the disaster relief food arrives, Tan will release Tanjiatun food to help everyone!"

He After only saying these two words, instead of getting up, everyone knelt down and kowtowed to him.

"It's not an imperial envoy, it's a god coming!"

The voice was like a roar for a while.

Tan Ting also felt his heart beating fast.

He quickly called everyone to stand up, "This is all a blessing to the Emperor and His Royal Highness. Tan deserves no credit."

After saying this, he asked the county magistrate to set up a porridge shed and send officials to the Tan family to collect food.

The magistrate didn't even need to speak, and most of his difficulties were reduced. He was very excited for a moment and wanted to say something. He saw Master Tan act very resolutely and turned back to Tan's house to adjust food.

The weather was hot and there were many things to do. Zhao took medicine and was confused for a while, then dreamed of Xiang Yi.

She thought that if her daughter-in-law were here, her daughter-in-law would have taken care of these embarrassing things.

She should treat her daughter-in-law better in the future.

She vaguely heard someone shouting "I'm back, I'm back", and subconsciously thought it was Xiang Yi who was back, but her grandma said.

"It's the uncle who's back!"

Zhao said "Yeah" and woke up instantly.

She hurriedly changed her clothes and went. Tan Ting was in the outer courtyard now. When Zhao arrived, many clan members also heard the news.

When the clan members saw their eldest son returning, their hearts that had been hanging around due to the disaster were relieved. Everyone stepped forward to salute Tan Ting and surrounded him layer by layer.

Tan Ting immediately informed everyone of the court's subsequent resettlement matters, and the subsequent food relief from the court would be arriving soon.

With him here and hearing him talk about these arrangements, everyone's originally sad faces showed a sense of relief.

Then Tan Ting mentioned the temporary transfer of the Tan family's grain harvest to provide relief to the surrounding people.

The Tan family was not short of food, and Tan Ting had also asked the clan members to buy more food beforehand. Everyone was very calm when they heard that he said that he would use the Tan family's food to help the people.

After all, the Tan family has always been kind to their neighbors, and has never lowered prices for farming during the disaster years. This matter allows food to be provided to the people, and everyone can accept it.

If only the Tan family is rich, and the common people outside have no enough food to eat and are displaced, and they become bandits and bandits, how can the Tan family not be harmed?

Seeing that everyone could accept it, Tan Ting breathed a sigh of relief.

Compared with other aristocratic families, especially those who secretly have dark opinions, the Qingkan Tan clan's own people are what people from a large aristocratic family should look like.

However, despite this, some people still have some objections.

"We can give them food, but it arouses their jealousy. What should we do if they see that we have food and come to snatch it at any time?"

This person asked, and someone else answered.

"It's been a long time since our Tan family had food. How could they not know it? They would have robbed it long ago, why wait until now?"

Someone else said, "If the common people eat our food, can they still rob us? That's not the case. Too heartless? On the contrary, if we hold on to the food and don't release it, we might attract people who want to steal the food."

No one had any doubts about this matter.

Only the person who asked the question at the beginning muttered, "You have to guard against them. After all, there are differences between the aristocratic clan and the common people..."

This person did not say any more, and his voice was quickly heard by everyone. Other comments were drowned out.

Tan Ting assigned manpower to contact the Yamen. Today, he would first provide porridge and water for the people in the city to have a meal, and then talk about helping the people outside the city.

But Tan Ting also heard what the clan member was muttering just now.

He didn't say much at that time.

He had been away from the capital for several days, and most of the time he lived and ate with the victims. Logically speaking, it was best to take action.

But there was no movement from the person who was secretly watching him. Could it be that he hadn't found a good opportunity yet? Or do you have other plans?

Tan Ting thought about it secretly.

...

The Tan family in Qingkan released grain to help the people. As soon as this incident came out, the Tan family in Qingkan became famous. Many aristocratic families, especially those who had made arrangements with Tan Ting before, also continued to distribute grain. .

With the big family taking the lead, the small families naturally followed suit. For a time, the land that was hit by flooding was relieved.

Tan Ting received news from all sources, and under this "harmonious scene", he also made some arrangements that no one else knew about.

...

Chen Fuyou stayed in an inconspicuous farm for several days. The weather was hot and he was a little impatient.

It is better to start early and decide the outcome than to suffer in this scorching heat.

Someone saw him becoming anxious and came over to take a look and comfort him.

"When we work for the Zong family, we still have to calm down. The most important thing is to be able to get things done. It doesn't matter whether it's slower or more difficult."

The man said and sighed, "It seems like those of us who are just side branches and bastards A person's life is just to serve the direct branch of the clan."

Chen Fuyou turned to look at him.

The elderly man next to him is called Chen Huyan. He should be called the Seventh Uncle. He used to be a member of the clan, but later their branch gradually became a side branch, and he was a commoner. Even his previous official job in Jinyiwei None.

The seventh uncle's temples were slightly gray, but he still could not escape the fate of working for the Zong family. He would do whatever the Zong family asked him to do, and he would do it all his life.

Chen Fuyou seemed to see himself in him.

At this moment, he was actually a little confused.

I'm afraid it would be good to be like this seventh uncle, but what if I can't? What if he is defeated by the Tan family again this time?

Not sure if she had read some of his thoughts, Chen Huyan said.

"The Tan family of Qingkan is quite good, but as the eldest son of the clan leader, he is too kind and always speaks for the common people. The current eldest son of the Tan family is like this, and his father who died young is even more... ."

Chen Huyan did not continue, as if she was thinking of something old, her expression changed a little.

Just at this moment, someone came over and called.

"I have received news from Qingkan. Tomorrow, several refugees from the town will come to the county to beg for food. The city gates will be wide open by then, and there will be no obstruction!" When

Chen Fu heard this, his whole body was shaken, and he looked inquiringly. Chen Huyan.

Chen Huyan on the side also nodded slowly at the news.

"This is our chance!"

Jingcheng.

Xiang Yi and Tan Jian are in charge of the Tan family in the capital.

Compared with the inevitable large and small floods, Beijing seems to have entered a dry and hot autumn and winter, dry and stuffy, making people breathless.

Fortunately, except for the unbearable heat, the rest of the trip was pretty smooth.

Apart from Xiang Yi being able to hear that there were some poor scholars in Gyeonggi Province asking the court to compensate them by granting favors, there was nothing else going on.

Xiang Yi's news was lagging behind, and she didn't know where the old man was yet.

She didn't want to disturb him by writing letters again and again, so she pulled out some extra cloth and made him autumn clothes in advance.

If the clothes can be made smoothly one by one, she can be considered as having made all the clothes for him for the four seasons.

Lest he secretly lose his temper again, sullenly accuse her of not treating him well, and ask for other compensation...

Xiang Yigang had just cut the materials for Qiu Sang, thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel a little funny, and couldn't help but Glancing outside.

The line of sight was blocked by the four-corner courtyard, and Xiang Yi could not see the old man no matter what.

But at this time, Tan Jian and Yang Zhen suddenly arrived.

Yang Zhen's stomach was bulging. Xiang Yi was afraid of her inconvenience, so he quickly got up and went out to greet her. The young couple didn't care about this, so Tan Jian said when he saw her.

"Sister-in-law, just now, letters have been sent to Uncle Yang's house, Aunt Lin's house, and the clan members in Beijing," he said, lowering his voice, "The emperor fell into a coma again this morning and has not woken up yet."

Xiang It should be surprising.

The sun is almost setting now.

If the emperor had been in a coma since the morning and still hadn't woken up until now, I'm afraid he would be in trouble.

Yang Zhen has lived in the capital since she was a child and has heard about such things.

"Sister-in-law, don't worry. The emperor established the East Palace long ago. If he dies, the East Palace will naturally be in charge. As long as we don't mess around, it won't have anything to do with it."

After all, the other princes of the emperor are not as old as the prince. It stands to reason. There won't be any chaos over the heir apparent. Secondly, the emperor may not die at this moment. Maybe the Imperial Hospital can revive him and bring him back to life.

Xiang Yi nodded in agreement with the two people's words, only telling Tan Jian to guard the door carefully these days, so that if there were any changes in the Forbidden City, they would have a plan to deal with it.

The two left, leaving Xiang Yi alone in the main courtyard.

In the sultry evening, Xiang Yi felt a little deserted. She sat back under the window and prepared to continue making clothes, but she felt uneasy for some reason.

The emperor has passed away and there is still a prince, but His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Renhe is a wise king. Can those people really let a prince who conflicts with their will come to power?

If something happens to the prince, what will happen to the government and the public?

Xiang Yi thought that the prince should also be able to think of this level, and those people may not have the courage to murder the prince...

That day, the autumn clothes were not made, Xiang Yi Hu Qi Hu Ba I thought a lot about recent people and things, and it was already getting late.

Fortunately, no bad news came out in the Forbidden City, and no death knell sounded in the capital. Xiang Yi breathed a sigh of relief and took a rest early.

But it was a very bad sleep.

Xiang Yi dreamed in a trance that she was standing in front of the Tan family's house for some reason. She couldn't tell whether it was in front of the Tan family's house in Qingkan or in front of the Tan family's old house in the capital, but she stood at the door in confusion. Outside, I looked at the huge word "Tan" on the door plaque.

It still seems to be the word "tan", but it's distorted.

The door suddenly creaked, and she saw Mrs. Xuan Er walking out of the door.

Mrs. Xuan Er was dressed in a gorgeous brocade dress. She looked at her condescendingly and chuckled.

"Tan Ting is no longer the eldest son of the Tan family. Now our master is the eldest son. Do you still want to stay in the Tan family and be the eldest son? If you know the truth, go away!"

Xiang Yi was stunned, and his mind was confused for a moment. No, I asked urgently.

"What happened to the uncle? Why did you take his place as the eldest son?"

she asked, and Mrs. Xuan Er laughed again. Under her exquisite makeup, her eyes fell on her funny.

"I have to ask you commoners... Anyway, he can no longer be the eldest son of the Tan family, and my father is the destined eldest son. Tan Ting will just wait to be removed from the clan!"

Mrs. Xuan Er said After she finished calling someone, as soon as she finished speaking, many people rushed out and chased her away.

Amidst the noise, Xiang Yi suddenly woke up.

In the huge main room, she sat alone on the bed, with no one around her, and reached out to touch the empty space.

At this moment, outside the window, there was a heavy rainstorm. The raindrops were like shotguns, hitting the eaves with a thumping sound.

Besides the sound of rain, there was lightning and thunder.

Xiang Yi stood up and poured himself a cup of tea in the messy dream just now.

There was movement on her side, and the maid who was keeping watch at night heard the sound and asked about it.

It's spring bamboo shoots. Xiang Yi called her in.

She asked Xiang Yi, "Why are you up, madam? It's still early, go back to sleep."

Xiang Yi took a sip of tea and shook his head.

"I won't sleep anymore." She said, letting Chun Bamboo sharpen the ink.

"I'm writing a letter to the uncle."