MM Racing Chapter 457 Extra Chapter: Exquisite Dice and Red Beans 1
Chapter 457 Extra Chapter: Exquisite Dice and Red Beans 1
Emperor Zhenyou passed away, and Li Yuanke ascended the throne, changing the era name to Yongxi.
"Shi Xi, it means time is wonderful!"
These are the words Shen Shixi spoke to Li Yuanke when he was three years old.
Shen Shixi and his servants stood on the street, looking at the notices posted in the government office and listening to people discussing why Emperor Yongxi's reign title was "Yongxi".
"These are all auspicious characters!" a schoolteacher exclaimed. "Yong means forever, Xi means brightness, and it also means the emperor, signifying that we will live a good life from now on, and that the Great Zhou will flourish!"
The people applauded and cheered, while some said, "The current emperor is the grandson of the last emperor of the previous dynasty, who was a tyrant!"
This startled the man, who immediately ran away. Shen Shixi gestured to his bodyguards, who then gave chase.
That day, she left the capital for a long journey. She knew that Li Yuanke was watching her leave from the city wall. She did not bring any guards because the Shen family could not afford them, and she also gambled on whether he would let her travel alone to the ends of the earth.
It also depends on how he intends to deal with her—whether he wants her dead or alive.
After reading it, she returned to the carriage. Grand Tutor Shen asked her, "The Emperor has decided on the reign title. The Ministry of Rites submitted several proposals, and the Emperor personally wrote the two characters 'Yongxi'. Xi'er, what are your thoughts?"
Shen Shixi feigned ignorance, "Grandpa, what do you mean? What am I thinking? My name is good, and he wants to use a character from my name without even asking. Am I supposed to be grateful to him?"
Grand Tutor Shen sighed, "You are a smart child. You clearly understand what your grandfather means. Your grandfather is old and doesn't know when it will happen. Your grandfather's biggest worry is you. When a girl grows up, she should always find a good home."
Shen Shixi said, "Grandpa, when he can't beat those people, I will definitely go back to help him. We are lifelong allies, stronger than any other relationship."
Grand Tutor Shen sighed.
That evening, after checking into the inn, there was a knock on the window. Shen Shixi opened the window, and a guard handed her a letter. She opened it and saw that it was written by Li Yuanke on Xuan paper, with the two large characters "Yongxi" and nothing else.
She sat under the lamp for a while, then used a hairpin to adjust the wick, turning it on and off repeatedly until midnight.
Before going to bed, she put the letter away and asked Bai Ping to put it in the box and keep it safe.
Song Yan's investigation revealed that the people who spoke ill of Li Yuanke under the announcement that day were actually a group.
Shen Shixi couldn't help but think that even online trolls exist these days.
Song Yan asked, "What are your plans, young lady? To stay or not?"
Shen Shixi said, "Of course they can't be allowed to live. They must all be eliminated, and the mastermind behind this must be found out. The Emperor has just ascended the throne and cannot tolerate these people slandering his reputation behind his back!"
"yes!"
Song Yan was assigned by Li Yuanke to protect Shen Shixi's safety. His top priority was to ensure Shen Shixi's well-being, and he was also required to follow her orders.
The person behind it was the military governor of Xuzhou, a member of the Prince of Jin's faction, and the Pei family. Song Yan felt a bit troubled because they didn't have any clear evidence.
Shen Shixi said, "If this path is blocked, then take another. Has he been a completely clean official all these years? Has he never done anything to disregard human life or harm the people?"
Of course!
Song Yan was surprised by this method and quickly went to find evidence.
Then, following Shen Shixi's instructions, they copied down the evidence and posted it along the way, while sending the evidence to the imperial court to request a joint trial by the three judicial departments.
Pei Xiang had many cronies in the court, and even with conclusive evidence and public opinion campaigning, it took a full six months to bring down the military governor of Xuzhou.
It was truly not easy for Li Yuanke to become emperor.
He served as crown prince for a short time, so he didn't have time to place his own people in positions of power. Moreover, the late emperor didn't have much affection for him; on the contrary, he was very wary and suspicious of him. With Prime Minister Pei in court as well, he was truly facing a difficult situation.
However, the removal of the military governor of Xuzhou can be considered a victory in the war.
At this time of year, the rainy season had passed, and they went to the south. The old man wanted to discuss scholarship with Li Jizhong, so they rented a two-courtyard house next to Mr. Li's residence.
Every morning, Shen Shixi would accompany her grandfather to listen to their debates. As the debates progressed, the two old gentlemen would start to fight. She would then quickly offer her own opinions, refuting their arguments until they were completely wrong, at which point the two would gang up on her.
In this way, the two old men could no longer fight.
As the weather grew warmer, Shen Shixi accompanied his grandfather northward. They passed through Caozhou, where the governor was Prince Ji. A war broke out in the area, and if it weren't for the effective protection of the secret guards, both Shen Shixi and the old Grand Tutor Shen would have lost their lives.
They hid at the foot of the mountain. Song Yan went to investigate and learned that the guards of Prince Ji's residence had clashed with the locals. It was the spring planting season, and Prince Ji had gone hunting and trampled all the newly planted rice seedlings.
The people were furious, sparking a popular uprising. He brazenly declared, "We'll just plant more! You want to sue me? I'm the Emperor's brother, go ahead and sue me!"
Spring planting and autumn harvesting are seasonal. Not to mention that there are no seedlings left, even if there were, planting them would greatly reduce the yield. This is what people rely on for their livelihood all year round.
Upon hearing this, Shen Shixi lost his temper. These imperial relatives were truly despicable!
Huang Anguo, the prefect of Wei Commandery, was the old man's student. Upon hearing that his teacher had arrived, he hurried over to greet them. The old man also wanted to stay here for a few more days, so he temporarily settled in Wei Commandery.
When asked about Prince Ji's affairs, Huang Anguo poured out his grievances, saying that the fields destroyed during the hunt were not limited to that one area; the Wei Commandery was not spared either.
Shen Shixi said, "It seems that Prince Ji has done a lot of bad things here."
Huang Anguo then said, "I have another family here who escaped from the Prince Ji's mansion. If you would like to meet them, I can make arrangements."
Of course, I must see Grand Tutor Shen.
They were an honest farming family. Their daughter was taken into Prince Ji's mansion and violated, and their son was also taken in. Both siblings died at Prince Ji's hands.
The couple were about to commit suicide by crashing into the gate of Prince Ji's mansion when a kind guard brought them out, telling them not to be foolish. Since they were willing to risk their lives, why not file a complaint?
King Ji also heard the news and arranged for the arrest of the couple. They wanted to take revenge while they were alive, so they fled overnight to Wei County, where they were taken in by Huang Anguo.
"Prince Ji has asked me for people several times, but I haven't given them to him. It seems I can't hide it any longer, and I don't know what to do," Huang Anguo said.
The couple arrived, bowed deeply to Grand Tutor Shen, and tearfully recounted their grievances, which deeply saddened Grand Tutor Shen.
Afterwards, he told Shen Shixi, "Since we've encountered this, we can't just ignore it."
But how exactly to manage it requires careful consideration.
Shen Shixi was also pondering this matter. This was a great opportunity. In the future, it would be best if these imperial relatives were all confined to the capital, without needing fiefdoms or leaving the capital, so they wouldn't be like local tyrants in the provinces, far from the emperor's reach, doing whatever they pleased.
The locals only knew of a certain king, but they didn't know about the imperial court or the emperor.
Shen Shixi wrote a letter to Li Yuanke, explaining the situation to him. In the letter, he said, "My idea is to deploy troops in advance and try to force Prince Ji to rebel. If we can wipe him out in one fell swoop, it will also deter the other princes."