Five hundred thousand taels of silver for disaster relief. He didn't say too much, he said too little. After Cheng's personal budget, he had to review each item and seal them, then hand them over to Xiaoyi Xiu for trial.
In addition to the 200,000 pieces of Snowflake Silver that You Chenguang donated, the materials needed to repair the dike, as well as the manpower, there were about half of the remaining balance that could be used to rebuild the house after the disaster. Apart from the houses and courtyards that could still be used after they surfaced, there should be plenty of money left over.
He had spent the last few days with Zhu Wei'an and You Chenguang. In addition to occasionally going to the embankment to check on the situation, most of them were planning the resettlement of the victims. Instead, he had drifted away from Shi Zhenfeng and Deng Shengchuan.
Xiao Yi Xiu looked up as the carriage passed by. Chi Yue was one of the most luxurious buildings in the world. There were red paint paintings on the outside and auspicious beasts lining his back. The glazed roof tiles shone with a brilliant light.
A shadow flashed by the empty handrail upstairs.
He seemed to have watched it for a very long time, until the carriage passed the pavilion and he could no longer see it clearly.
"Prince, what are you looking at?" Ling Xinning's gentle voice sounded. Recently, she had been inseparable from Xiao Yi, and even went to the Chamber of Commerce to discuss things with the merchants.
"This King is thinking about why you, the dignified daughter of the Minister, would mingle with those ladies of the brocade pavilion."
Ling Xinning closed her eyes and sighed after a while, "Perhaps to Your Highness, there are many unsolved mysteries on my body. I did not mention them, but in fact, I did not hide them from you on purpose. "Actually, it's not easy to look back."
Xiao Yi Xiu kept looking at her, her eyes calm. Ling Xinning knew that he was just waiting for her to confess.
She gave a small, bitter smile. Her thoughts were somewhat vague, so she began to narrate the story of her life.
In fact, Ling Xinning was just Ling Yuanzhang's illegitimate daughter when she was under the title of Assassin.
In the past, when Ling YuanZhang had left for office, he had coincidentally sent his wife to die. He had gotten to know Ling Xinning's mother, the daughter of a merchant from a small family called Jade. Originally, Ling Xinning's mother had made the house. Although it was considered a high level, she was still from an innocent background. The bad news was that when Ling Yuanzhang had sent the news back to the capital to report it to Ling Pu, he had met with opposition.
Ling Pu discussed the marriage with Ling Yuan, and also planned to move him back to the capital. As a result, Ling Xinning's mother could not possibly take him in as a wife or at most a concubine. Although her mother was born into a small family, she was very stubborn and did not want to be a concubine. Yet she refused.
Ling Yuanzhang quickly returned to the capital and gradually forgot about this girl. However, he did not expect that she was born with a hidden knot and gave birth to Ling Xinning.
At that time, the woman who got pregnant first was about to be dipped in a pig cage, and her parents couldn't accept this. In order to keep this secret and protect the family's honor, her father had secretly sent the child away with the intention of hiding this matter and casually married her off. In the end, there was an unexpected fire. Other than Ling Xinning, who had been sent off, not a single one of them survived.
"Then how did you know about your background?"
"My mother was powerless to resist. She secretly wrote a blood book and put it in my cradle. "She even left a mark on my body …" "Ling Xinning rolled up her sleeves. On her snow-white arms, there was a flower shaped mark." "This is the golden hairpin my parents gave my mother when they were having fun together. She used it to burn this imprint on my body."
Xiao Yi Xiu couldn't help but raise his eyebrows slowly. At that time, she was still in her infancy, and her mother really was ruthless.
"Then who did you grow up with?"
Ling Xinning blinked and said, "I followed my adoptive parents for a short while and was then kidnapped and sold off. After selling a few moves, I met with President You and was kind enough to redeem me as a maidservant. "After a few years, when I had a lot of trust in him, I finally dared to show him my personal blood letter and ask him to help me find my father."
"So you're saying that Minister Ling did recognize you?"
"There's Jin Chai and the Book of Blood, and my mother and I look exactly the same. How could he not recognize them?" Ling Xinning sighed, "So what if I do? Madam Ling will not let me go back to the Ling Residence in the capital. As someone born in the Shu Family, if I say that I have some use for her, it will be …"
Her eyes dimmed.
"When Ling Yuanzhang learned that this king was here to provide relief, he intentionally sent you here through You Chenguang as a present?"
Ling Xinning pursed her lips and did not say anything, her face somewhat pale.
"Then what is your purpose? Don't tell me that you were used by Xiao Yimo to curry favor with me. Although he does not necessarily take you, his cousin, seriously, he would not necessarily express goodwill to Ben Wang. "
Ling Xinning suddenly raised her head, with a hint of coldness on her pale face: "Just because they planned everything so well doesn't mean that I want to be with them. My birth father can use me as a gift and use me as he pleases, so how can I not use them? "
Xiao Yi Xiu smiled calmly. "So you want to get the better of me before you get the better of me and use me to kill people?"
Ling Xinning trembled as cold sweat slid down her forehead, "No … "I …"
Xiao Yi Xiu's smile was faint and distant, but he suddenly shot out like lightning, grabbing her by the throat and coldly saying, "You are a very good chess piece, just that you aren't obedient enough." You set up a trap for the side concubine to misunderstand Ben Wang and build a dam on her own. At the same time, you try to rope in You Chenguang and Ben Wang's relationship... What is your plan? "
Ling Xin bit her lower lip and remained silent with a pale face.
The water level rose again and again due to the torrential rain, but it could no longer reach beyond the dam. Some of the shunting went from the dam to the artificial channel at the foot of the June Mountain. The channel under the dam led to the irrigation of the farmland, and some of the worrying floods were immediately and successfully resolved.
The state's yamen was packed with merchants and gentry, all of whom were present, drinking cups and talking joyously, including Zhu Wei'an, and praising King Mo and his concubine for their meritorious governance.
It wasn't until the end of the banquet that he stood up with a smile and raised his glass. He announced that he would return to the capital in three days' time, and the rest of the matters would be decided by Shui Li and Li Zhongli.
Zhu Wei An was shocked, "Although the water calamity has already been decided, the reconstruction has not been completed yet. Why did the prince leave just like that?"
"This King has left the capital for more than two months. It's about time to return. "Cheng Lang is young and capable. His plan for reconstruction has been set, and his budget has been cleared. It will be fine as long as we have him and Zhu Chi to handle it together."
"But …" He still seemed to be trying to get her to stay.
You Chenguang also showed an extremely reluctant expression, repeatedly urging Xiao Yi Xiu to stay a while longer.
Shi Zhenfeng seemed to have drank too much at this time. He propped himself up from the table and sneered, "Your highness, this one will also toast to you."
You Chenguang stopped him, "Boss Shi drank too much."
Shi Zhenfeng pushed him away and said, "We drink too much wine, that's why we have so much. But your highness …" His cup was filled with water … This is too... You're not giving me any face at all. Now that the prince was about to leave, he emptied his goblet... It can be said that Shi Zhenfeng has helped Chi Yue to become a host. "
"Boss Shi, you're really drunk." You Chenguang frowned, but his expression seemed as if he was deliberately trying to dishonor Xiao Yixiu as he signaled for someone to pull him down.
Xiao Yi Xiu looked at him coldly, but didn't say a word.
Just as Shi Zhenfeng was drunk and was about to leave the room, he heard a crisp sound of a wine cup shattering. The entire room was silent.