Chapter 931
Sun Yuanzhen
When the news reached the Hangzhou government office, the Hangzhou prefect immediately reported it, and Sun Yuanzhen and Yang Zan knew that the Imperial Preceptor had arrived in Hangzhou.
They had been waiting for her to come to their door, but from the day before yesterday to yesterday, she did not show up, and their people could not find her.
They suspected at the time that she had gone to see Xue Shao.
I heard that the two were friends when they were young.
So they sent people to keep an eye on Xue Shao.
They weren't the only ones keeping an eye on Xue Shao; Sun Yuanzhen also received the news.
"You mean there are twelve other groups of people watching Xue Shao?"
"Yes, I have counted carefully. Some of them look very familiar. They should be Lord Yang's men."
“Yang Zan is watching him closely, he must be trying to find the Imperial Advisor just like me. The Imperial Advisor is now His Majesty’s confidante, and she is truly capable. I’ve heard that although she is thousands of miles away, she left His Majesty a magical artifact that allows them to communicate across vast distances. It’s safe to say that the Emperor probably knows about what happened in Hangzhou today even before I, the Provincial Governor, do so.” Sun Yuanzhen pondered, “But this matter is a secret, and not many people should know it. Even Yang Zan might not know, and others shouldn’t be able to recognize the Imperial Advisor. Moreover, how did they know about the relationship between the Imperial Advisor and Xue Shao?”
This gave Sun Yuanzhen the feeling that the secrets he knew were open secrets, and that much of the information should only be known to people in his position, and that others should not know it.
The emperor possesses a magical artifact that allows him to communicate with the imperial advisor across vast distances. This information was revealed to him by a close friend in the capital using coded language. He can guarantee that no more than a handful of people in the entire country know about this.
The confidant thought to himself: Now we have one more person who knows.
The confidant whispered, "The others are probably focused on Xue Shao and don't know anything about the Imperial Preceptor."
"Oh?"
A trusted confidant reported: "Xue Shao is tough in his actions. In Zhejiang alone, he has already investigated and punished five county magistrates and one prefect, and cleared out a total of 868 mu of land that officials and gentry had embezzled. He arrived in Hangzhou three days ago and immediately began to investigate the case files and records in Hangzhou. The people watching him are probably the prefect of Hangzhou, the county magistrates, and gentry and merchants with guilty consciences."
"Serves you right!" Sun Yuanzhen sneered. "Last year I was out fighting the disaster, not in Hangzhou, otherwise..."
Sun Yuanzhen frowned and said, "Now there are many refugees gathered inside and outside Hangzhou. The slum in the south of the city has expanded to three miles. The thatched houses there are crowded together, making it very easy for disasters to occur. If there is peace, it is fine, but if there is a fire, flood, or epidemic, tens of thousands of people will be affected, and it will be impossible to control."
This was also one of the important reasons why he petitioned to build a seaport.
As soon as the emperor agreed, he immediately went to the slums to recruit workers, bringing suitable refugees to work at the port, and these people could then support even more people...
Then we'll clean up the slums again, demolishing what needs to be demolished and rebuilding what needs to be rebuilt, and we'll definitely relocate the people out of there.
Therefore, he was eager to see Pan Yun.
He knew that many ministers in the court opposed building another port in Hangzhou. In fact, he didn't necessarily need Hangzhou, but Zhejiang needed to have one.
With such a developed textile industry and a large quantity of tea, how could Zhejiang not have a port?
Now, only Pan Yun has the potential to persuade the emperor.
Yang Zan naturally knew Sun Yuanzhen's thoughts. On this point, the two shared the same goal, and he did indeed want to meet this legendary national advisor.
Therefore, upon receiving the report from his subordinates, Yang Zan immediately set off for the inn, where he met Sun Yuanzhen at the entrance.
The two exchanged a glance, smiled, and went upstairs together to see Pan Yun.
Xue Shao pushed open the window and looked down, then turned to Pan Yun and said, "They're here."
Pan Yun: "You are an inspecting censor, so they can't speak in front of you. You should go first." "Okay," Xue Shao nodded, "I'll leave the money with you. Have him call me when you're done."
Pan Yun shook her head, picked up Pan Xiaohei and put him on the table, saying, "You have too many spies around you. For your safety, you should take Xijin with you. I'll have it come to you when I'm done. It's the same thing."
Xue Shao looked down and met the gaze of Pan Xiaohei, whose eyes were bright and black, and asked, "Can it run very far now?"
Pan Jun smiled and nodded: "I'm about to break through to the second Marquis level. It can now run all over Hangzhou. Of course, if you leave the city, then disregard what I said."
Xue Shao was indeed leaving the city, but they would meet again when he returned. So he said, "Alright, then I'll take Xi Jin with me."
Xue Shao led Xi Jin downstairs, where they met Sun Yuanzhen and the others on the stairs. Xue Shao smiled and stepped aside to let them go first.
Sun Yuanzhen paused, but saw Xue Shao dressed in plain clothes with bright eyes. She glanced at him briefly before lowering her gaze, indicating that she did not want to reveal their identities.
Sun Yuanzhen understood immediately, and simply nodded slightly, leading Yang Zan past him and upwards.
Once he reached the third floor, he looked back down and saw Xue Shao leading his servants out of the inn's main gate, followed immediately by the people who had been squatting around the entrance.
Sun Yuanzhen frowned. Although he didn't think there were any fools among them, he still had to be on the safe side.
The imperial censors come every year, and they're being too overprotective of Xue Shao. Hopefully, something bad will happen.
Sun Yuanzhen beckoned to his trusted aides and whispered, "Send men to follow him and protect Imperial Censor Xue. Make sure no one dies in Zhejiang. To harm an imperial envoy is tantamount to treason."
The confidant understood immediately and bowed as he withdrew.
Yang Zan and the others stood to one side. When Sun Yuanzhen turned around, they smiled and said, "My lord, the Imperial Preceptor is in this private room."
Yang Zan's aides immediately went up and knocked on the door.
Pan Yun put down her teacup, turned her gaze away from the window, and said loudly, "Come in."
Yang Zan pushed open the door and let Sun Yuanzhen go in first.
Pan Yun sat down and watched the two men enter, then smiled and said, "We've been waiting for you two lords for a long time. Please have a seat."
Sun Yuanzhen was slightly surprised: "Did the Imperial Advisor know that the two of us would be coming?"
Pan Yun smiled and pointed to the two chairs opposite him, saying, "Lord Sun, Lord Yang, please have a seat."
Sun Yuanzhen and Yang Zan exchanged a glance. Their visit to Pan Yun was a spur-of-the-moment decision, and it couldn't be that someone close to them had leaked the information. Considering Pan Yun's profession, they could only conclude that she had calculated it.
The two sat down and immediately had their staff call the waiter to order. Then all the guards withdrew outside, while the staff stayed behind.
Pan Yun glanced at the staff they had brought, smiled slightly, and pointed to the chairs, saying, "Please sit down, gentlemen. It seems that the matters that Lord Sun and Lord Yang want to discuss with me cannot be resolved in a short time."
Sun Yuanzhen nodded slightly to his advisors and immediately picked up where Pan Yun left off: "As expected of the Imperial Advisor, he knew our purpose before we even spoke."
Pan Yun smiled slightly and said, "I know why you two gentlemen have come, but I wonder if you know why I have come?"
Sun Yuanzhen's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly asked, "I wonder how I, Sun, can serve the Imperial Preceptor?"
Pan Yun said, "Although I already know the purpose of your visit, sirs, please bring it up anyway. It's said that Lord Sun listed ten reasons in his memorial, and I'd like to hear them." (End of Chapter)