From a son-in-law to a favorite of the empress

Chapter 1026

The hot springs in the south of Shenjing City have always been famous. During the reign of Emperor Shun, the royal family built a palace there and sent special people to manage it to entertain relatives and friends.

After the previous emperor ascended the throne, this place became a profit-making place. You can pay for it, but the fee is high, and generally only the aristocratic families can afford it.

This time, unfortunately, it was closed.

This made Zhou Yuan and others' interest drop to the freezing point, and they waited quietly for Nanny Kang to communicate.

After a while, Nanny Kang walked back slowly and whispered, "Your Highness, this place has changed its owner and is no longer open to the public."

Zhou Yuan was puzzled and said, "I remember... this place originally belonged to the royal family. After Emperor Shun died, it was transferred to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and then began to open to the public."

"In the tenth year of Zhaojing, when His Majesty came back from Qingcheng Mountain, he sold a large number of royal properties, including this place, to raise military funds."

"It was bought by merchants at the beginning, right? They bought it for profit, why is it closed again?"

Nanny Kang whispered, "At the end of last year, this place belonged to Prince Rong."

This made Zhou Yuan narrow his eyes slightly. Prince Rong Chen Ke was the youngest brother of the late emperor and seemed to be only about fifty years old.

It seemed that he had made some mistakes at the beginning and was arranged by the late emperor to guard the tomb in the Taimiao. It was not until the eldest sister came to power and the first year of Zhaojing that he was pardoned.

The eldest sister's intention may be to please the royal family and try to build some relationships. After Prince Rong came out, he seemed to be relieved and kept a low profile.

Now, why does he own this place...

Where does a prince who has lost power for decades get the money to buy such a large Wentang scenic area? Even if he can barely get it together, he will not make such impulsive consumption when his income is very meager.

Was it given to him by someone else?

Who would give such a big gift to a prince who has lost power?

Zhou Yuan felt something was wrong, nodded calmly, and said: "You contact them again. This time you can show our identities and see if you can make concessions. If not, turn around."

"Understood."

Mrs. Kang responded and went to communicate.

Only a moment later, a fat middle-aged man ran over in small steps, panting all the way, and sweat came out on his forehead.

"My apology! It turns out that it is the Prince of Wei who has arrived! I am sorry for not welcoming you from afar. I hope the Prince of Wei will forgive me."

He bowed, very respectfully.

Zhou Yuan smiled and said, "What is the name of this friend?"

The fat man hurriedly said, "Your Majesty is too polite. I am Duan Fu, who is temporarily managing this farm."

"This farm is not open to the public at present. It is only used to receive some friends. Two distinguished guests came yesterday, so I was careless and did not recognize the carriage of the Prince of Wei's mansion."

"Your Majesty, please come in quickly. I have prepared the best warm soup for you and the princesses."

After running so far, Zhou Yuan did not want to return in disappointment, so he asked, "Will I not disturb your distinguished guests?"

"Absolutely not! Absolutely not!"

Duan Fu smiled flatteringly, "Your Majesty is the most precious distinguished guest. Please come in, Your Majesty."

Zhou Yuan did not hesitate, so he took Jianjia and the others in. There were female officials in charge of safety and privacy, so he did not have to worry about it.

Zhou Yuan just asked, "Who are the other two distinguished guests?"

Duan Fu said respectfully, "They are the families of Marquis Huwei and Marquis Guanyong."

Zhou Yuan immediately rubbed his hands and grinned, "Great! So those two old guys are here too, what a narrow road for enemies!"

"Take me to see them, I just happen to be looking for them!"

He wanted to say a few more words about Song Wu's marriage to see if he could help that kid.

Duan Fu hesitated a little and whispered, "Your Highness, there are only female relatives over there... The two marquises are not here, there are only two ladies and a group of maids."

Zhou Yuan was stunned for a moment, then waved his hand and said, "Then I won't go, lest I say no later..."

Before he finished speaking, Zhou Yuan suddenly choked because he saw a familiar figure hurriedly walking out of the manor in front.

Zhou Yuan glared and said, "Two marquises are across the street? Didn't you say there were only women?"

Duan Fu coughed twice and said helplessly, "Please forgive me, my lord. I am just a servant. I can't see, hear or remember anything."

Zhou Yuan really understood now.

He shouted at the top of his voice, "Old Wang! You are in big trouble!"

This shout almost made Wang Wang fall to the ground, and his legs were so weak from fear.

He looked up in horror and saw that it was Zhou Yuan. He finally breathed a sigh of relief and ran over quickly.

"Hey, why are you shouting? If there is anything, you can't say it quietly."

He hurriedly pulled Zhou Yuan into the house, his face was already covered with sweat.

Zhou Yuan looked him up and down, and then said, "What are you doing here, kid? Tell the truth!"

Wang Ang looked down at him and said, "What are you doing here, kid? Tell the truth!""Of course it's to investigate the case!"

"Investigate the case?"

Zhou Yuan sneered, "I think you are not investigating the case at all, but the hot spring in the cave!"

Master Wang Wang hurriedly said, "You misunderstood. Madam Qi and Madam Han are just ordinary neighbors to me. Besides, they came together, so how could I intervene?"

"I came here to investigate Prince Rong. A few days ago, I received a secret report saying that the vast area from the east of Chaobai River to the west of Shanhaiguan was enclosed by the royal family, and many people died."

"Enclosed?"

Zhou Yuan frowned and said, "Tell me the details."

Wang Ang sighed and said, "The defense of Shenjing was too tragic. Most of the people in that area died, leaving only the elderly, weak, women and children."

"These royal family members saw the benefits, so they sent their servants and soldiers to enclose the land there, and took the land that was originally The orphans and widows living there were driven out."

"You know the current situation. There is a shortage of food and horses. They have enclosed a lot of land for farming, raising horses and sheep for wool."

"And those orphans and widows have little ability to resist. They are either driven away or killed alive. There are also many widows who are occupied and bullied. It's miserable!"

Zhou Yuan's eyelids were twitching, and he stared: "It shouldn't be! Liu Fang and Wu Dingzhong are helping those orphans and widows to farm with soldiers!"

Wang Ang suppressed his voice and said: "You are stupid. Liu Fang and Wu Dingzhong are already busy preparing for war. After helping the people turn over the land at the end of last year, they concentrated on training soldiers."

"The situation over there is that the government has just been established and all have been bribed. The remaining orphans and widows, The old, weak, sick and disabled are even more despicable than cattle and sheep, and can only be bullied by others. "

"I am a new official, and I am just trying to do something. I have been keeping an eye on that place, and the evidence is almost gathered."

"I have been investigating all the way up, and finally found here."

Here, he chuckled and said, "To be honest, I came here with Madam Qi and Madam Han. As neighbors, they are kind enough to help me cover up, so I have to repay them, right?"

Zhou Yuan pulled him over and said in a low voice, "Boy, are you repaying them with your body?"

Wang Ang coughed twice and whispered, "Keep a low profile, and keep it secret. You also know that after Huwei Hou and Yongguan Hou became successful, they had a lot of concubines and mistresses, and their minds were all on young girls."

"It just so happens that I am a Jinyiwei, in good health, and Manly, so... you know. "

Zhou Yuan kicked him and couldn't help but yelled: "You beast, how can you do such a thing? What if you are discovered?"

Wang Ang laughed and said: "I am an intelligence worker. How can I fail in such a thing?"

"Ah, it's really not my fault. The two ladies are still charming, sweet-mouthed and caring. Not everyone can stand it."

"If it were you, you wouldn't be able to stand it either."

Zhou Yuan took a deep breath and gritted his teeth and said: "I don't care about these things. I just have one thing to say. The royal family enclosed land and harmed the people. You must figure this out as soon as possible."

"Those women and children did not die at the hands of the Donglu people, but died at the hands of the royal family. Ha, it's really ridiculous."

"This time, I'm going to settle accounts with those royal family members!"