The Litchi Road Episode 25 Recap
> The Litchi Road Recap
Ten years ago, Li Shande passed the abacus examination and was assigned to work in the archive storage of the Court Of The National Granaries. Master Meng gave him a detailed introduction to the importance and points to note of this job, and Li Shande remembered them all. Master Meng's requirements were strict; anyone who made a mistake would be transferred. Li Shande worked diligently and responsibly, but as he was new, he inevitably made mistakes.
His colleagues all speculated that he would be transferred within three days. While Li Shande was organizing the archive documents in the storage, he accidentally discovered a ledger with multiple instances of underreporting and concealment. He stayed up all night comparing it from beginning to end and finally fell asleep slumped over the desk. When Li Shande woke up groggily, he found that the Deputy Director of the Court Of The National Granaries had come to inspect the storage.
Li Shande showed him the corrected ledger, and the Deputy Director took the ledger back for verification. The Deputy Director found that Master Meng had abused his power for personal gain, and demoted him to an outer province. He also transferred Li Shande to the Office of Imperial Parks, reminding Chief Liu to keep a close eye on Li Shande. His colleagues privately cursed Li Shande as a fool.
The Deputy Director was well aware of Master Meng's actions, but unexpectedly they were exposed by Li Shande, so the Deputy Director had no choice but to transfer both of them. Li Shande was an honest person and did not know how to adapt, thus offending Chief Liu. Chief Liu arranged for him to go to Leyouyuan to plant flowers and grass.
Zhao Xinmin went to the bookstore run by Yun Qing to buy information and ran into Zheng Pingan as he left. Zheng Pingan was holding a women's round fan, and Zhao Xinmin suspected he was giving it to the woman at the bookstore. Zheng Pingan desperately tried to hide it and came up with various excuses to evade, but Zhao Xinmin didn't believe him at all. Yu Chengen is the ears and eyes of the Right Chancellor.
He sent people to collect rare delicacies from various places, wanting to make a birthday gift for Consort Yang. Yu Chengen heard that Li Shande had returned from Lingnan, and he came up with a way to transport lychees. Yu Chengen wanted to claim the credit. Ever since Li Shande left, the supervisors at the Office of Imperial Parks had been carefully looking after the old peony flower that the Emperor liked the most.
But recently, that peony flower had gotten bugs, and they were anxious. They could only report to Chief Liu. They pushed the responsibility onto each other, all shifting the blame to others. Chief Liu was greatly annoyed, insisting on finding someone to take responsibility. They heard that Li Shande was back and wanted him to take the blame.
Chief Liu couldn't think of a better solution for a while, so he sent Supervisor Song to summon Li Shande to the Office of Imperial Parks. Li Shande went to the Court of the Imperial Treasury to ask for money but was chased to the Left Treasury Office. The Left Treasury Office was only responsible for storage, not transportation, so they sent him to the Ministry of War. The Ministry of War refused him entry.
Li Shande hit walls everywhere and had to look for Han Shisi. Han Shisi was out on business, so he had to leave in disappointment. Supervisor Song rushed to find Li Shande, repeatedly claiming that Chief Liu and his colleagues were very sympathetic to his situation and urged him to return to the Office of Imperial Parks with them. Li Shande was at his wits' end and had to return to the Office of Imperial Parks with Supervisor Song.
Chief Liu pretended to care about Li Shande, and his colleagues also chimed in, casually mentioning the old peony flower. Li Shande had been appreciated by the Right Chancellor because he had saved the old peony flower. Chief Liu also advised Li Shande to seek help from the Right Chancellor, telling him the Right Chancellor's recent schedule for visiting Leyouyuan, and also gave him a token from the Office of Imperial Parks.
Li Shande didn't know there was a trick, thinking that Chief Liu and his colleagues were sincerely helping. He took the token and rushed to Leyouyuan. Li Shande hurried to Leyouyuan and learned from the craftsmen that Supervisor Song had asked Li Shande to come and remove the bugs from the old peony. Only then did Li Shande realize he had been tricked.
The craftsmen pleaded with Li Shande for help, and Li Shande couldn't bear to refuse, so he stayed to help remove the bugs from the old peony. The Right Chancellor originally wanted to come to Leyouyuan today, but he was unwell and couldn't go out. Yu Chengen accidentally saw Li Shande burning plant ash and sulfur to repel insects. He became furious. Li Shande learned that the Right Chancellor was unwell and wouldn't be coming to Leyouyuan today.
He was greatly disappointed, so he asked Yu Chengen for help. Yu Chengen clearly stated that following the process would take a month, but Li Shande couldn't wait. Yu Chengen agreed to help and also took the transportation plan that Li Shande had prepared, arranging to meet Li Shande tomorrow. Han Shisi heard that Li Shande had taken the document, and his heart sank.
Once Yu Chengen got the transportation plan, he would definitely keep the credit for himself and sideline Li Shande. Li Shande didn't believe Yu Chengen would steal the credit. Han Shisi suggested he write a memorial to the throne, listing the contributions of all departments, so Yu Chengen couldn't steal the credit. Li Shande's mind was simple; he couldn't think that far ahead.
Han Shisi was anxious for him and, in a fit of pique, told him to adopt Li Xiuer to a good family. As expected by Han Shisi, Li Shande waited early at Leyouyuan for Yu Chengen. Yu Chengen was late. He wanted to send someone to Lingnan to transport the lychees, but the manpower and resources consumed during this period were too troublesome.
He felt that this matter still needed Li Shande to handle it, but he didn't want him to get what he wanted so quickly, so he deliberately delayed the meeting, planning to talk about it when Li Shande was getting impatient. Li Shande waited until dark, but Yu Chengen did not show up. He had no choice but to leave disgruntled.
