first minister

Chapter 198
Listening to the hustle and bustle on the other side, Princess Cheng didn't panic at all, but was slightly surprised, "Is this stone story a business of the Shi family?"

Among the crowd surrounded behind him, a beautiful woman smiled and said: "Yes, Guangling Prefecture is close to the sea. Shi Shangshu used to be the prefect of Guangling Prefecture for many years. The Stone Book was established at that time. Later, Shi Shangshu entered Beijing, and the Stone Book also entered Beijing. His younger brother is also serving as the prefect of Guangling Prefecture. Nowadays, as long as the jewelry in Beijing comes from the southeast, it is said that they all go through the Shi family's route. The two brothers are united, but they earn the gold and silver in the pockets of the nobles in Beijing. Enough is enough!"

Princess Cheng suddenly nodded and smiled, "You know a lot."

The beautiful woman hurriedly said: "The concubine's son is currently working in the household department and is the head of the warehouse department. He knows a little about these things, so he can solve the confusion of the princess today."

Princess Cheng nodded to her with a smile, "You are a talented young man, come to the mansion to walk around with my family's Sheng'er another day."

The beautiful woman was overjoyed and praised her again and again.

On the other hand, the shopkeeper is worthy of being able to manage such a big business, so he gave 2000 taels first, and on the pretext of not having so much cash in the account, made an appointment with the other party to collect the rest of the money tomorrow, so as to appease him, and then immediately ordered his subordinates to follow him, and then immediately ran over to serve this group of benefactors attentively.

Some people are leisurely shopping, but some people have already set foot on the return journey.

On the pier in the east of the city, Shi Zijun looked at his cousin reluctantly, "Brother Xian, don't worry, I will find a way to kill that Xia Jingyun and avenge you!"

Shi Zixian, who used to be high-spirited, is now unshaven and sluggish. Hearing this, he doesn't even have any hatred in his eyes. He just patted his cousin's hand and turned silently towards the merchant ship that was waiting on the shore.

Shi Zijun looked at his cousin's dejected back, he used to be high-spirited and hoped that the brothers would work together to create a brilliant dream, but now it seems like a joke.

He gritted his teeth quietly, Xia Jingyun, now that our family's difficulties are over, it's time to settle the score with you!
Just as he was thinking, two more men dressed as wealthy businessmen came over and bowed respectfully to Shi Zijun, "Master Shi, I will take my leave."

Shi Zijun curbed his anger, nodded slowly, "I'll trouble you both on the way home."

The two saluted again, and then, escorted by four guards, also boarded the merchant ship and set foot on their way home.

The anchor draws the sails and drums, and the spring water rippling returns to the homeland.

Standing on the deck, the two looked at Zhongjing City, which was becoming smaller and smaller. The grandeur and depression in their hearts that had been involuntarily raised by coming to Zhongjing City all disappeared. The next thing they had to face was their original life.

"Master Shi still doesn't want to see people?"

"Hey, when I go back, I don't even want to go back the way I came from. I have to take a long detour by water. How can I still talk and laugh at Yanyan like before?"

"He came with great ambitions, and now he has ended in such a dismal way. It is hard for anyone to calm down, let alone a young man's heart. Let him take it easy."

"Brother Shihong, speaking of it, our errand on this trip is a mess!"

"Ejin Shilang finally accepted our money, as well as the rest of the ministers in the court. The winter relief funds have not arrived, but there are still summer floods, bandit suppression and other names. Jin Shilang will handle it well. Isn't it the same in the past few times!"

"That's right, this trip cost tens of thousands, and it must be multiplied several times to get it back."

"It's windy on the deck, why don't you go in and have a drink?"

"Okay. I'll go and change first."

"Well, I asked the boat to prepare food and drink."

After a while, just as one of them had arranged the food and drink, the other hurried over.

"It's been a long time on the boat, why be in such a hurry."

"Brother Shihong, the account book is gone!"

"What! Don't you keep the account books next to you all the time?"

"Yeah, I checked it the day before yesterday! We didn't do anything yesterday, just went to Liuyun Tianxiang Pavilion"

"Could it be stolen from the oiran's room?"

"Why did the oiran steal this thing!"

"Never mind what she's doing, what shall we do now? Turn around and look for it?"

"It's too late. If the other party really had some conspiracy, they would have finished transcribing it by now."

"Then us?"

The two looked at each other in silence, their eyes were full of despair, but soon some thoughts were slowly brewing.
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If you want to choose a place that everyone wants to go the most in Zhongjing City, the Imperial City, Mingyu Tower, Liuyun Tianxiang Pavilion, Xilin Garden and even Baima Temple may all have their own fans, and it will be hard to distinguish.

But if you want Zhongjing to choose a place that everyone least wants to go to, the Heibingtai Yamen located in an alley in Dongcheng City may undisputedly win the vast majority of votes.

Outside the Heibingtai yamen, which is like a hell in the eyes of everyone, waiting for no one to approach, there is a figure flying by at this moment, and suddenly throws a cloth bag into the courtyard wall.

The spies in the black ice platform were startled immediately, but when they ran out the door, there was no one there.

Picking up the cloth bag and taking a look at it, the spy's expression changed instantly, and he rushed up with the cloth bag.

Half an hour later, the head of the Black Ice Terrace, Xuanhu, took the cloth bag and rushed towards the palace.

In the Imperial Palace, another side hall of the Wanbao Building, Emperor Chongning looked at the furnishings in front of him with satisfaction, and talked about the origin and allusions of the treasures with great interest.

After he finished speaking, he stood by the window with his hands behind his back, looked at the Wanbao main building which was under urgent construction, and began to calculate.

"It was said earlier that there is still a gap of 20 taels. This time, Shi Dingzhong's matter is considered to be 6 taels. Oh no, the 1 taels need to be reserved for the center, which is 5 taels, and there is still a shortfall of 15 taels. I don't know how long it will take for Xia Jingyun to see the results. I hope that before my birthday this year, I can see the day when the Wanbao Building is completely completed."

The great eunuch Gao Yi stood aside, with a respectful and obsequious smile on his face that seemed unchanged for thousands of years, but he was silently sighing in his heart:

His majesty is rich all over the world, and now it seems that he is no different from those poor men in the village who are living on a tight schedule, except that others are counting a few copper coins, and he is counting a few hundred thousand taels of silver.

Emperor Chongning naturally didn't know what was going on in his personal eunuch's mind, and he was still feeling emotional, "5 taels, speaking of which, although Shi Dingzhong is a bit of a bastard, he has done a good deed and relieved my worries."

He turned his head to look at Gao Yi, who was agreeing with a smile, "Do you think I've spared him too much?"

Gao Yi hurriedly said: "Your Majesty's holy candle illuminates, and he has his own considerations. The old servant has a shallow understanding, so how can he judge."

"Although you are flattering, you accidentally hit the point."

Emperor Chongning nodded, "With regard to Shi Dingzhong's incident, many people in the government and the public will say that I am fatuous and immoral, yet I am so tolerant of the Shi family."

Gao Yi leaned back quickly, and Emperor Chongning waved his hand to signal him not to panic, "This is inevitable, so you don't need to panic. But these people can barely be a moral gentleman who hates evil, but they don't know how to govern a country."

"The country has a vast territory, and everything is complicated. How can I govern it by myself? I must rely on the power of the central government and the ministers. But the minister is also a human being. As a human being, he cannot avoid emotions and selfishness. If I do everything as those moral gentlemen said, I really use that prince to break the law and commit the same crime as the common people. Who is still willing to be this official, who is still willing to contribute to me?"

He couldn't help but think of the quarrel with those two more than ten years ago, and finally parted ways, and even the ending of Yin and Yang being separated forever.

"To manage the people of insight in the world, we should imprison them with imperial examinations, lure them with lucrative benefits, suppress them with the power of heaven, and make them like oxen plowing the fields. They spend their whole life's talents and learning in the affairs of the state. Under these circumstances, we must grasp the big and let go of the small, and don't care about it. As long as he can be used by me and benefit me and the country, he can tolerate his small mistakes. As the saying goes, if you are not deaf or blind, you can't be a family. This is a folk saying, but it is also the king's most reasonable rule."

"Just like this Shi Dingzhong, he is a talented person. He has not made any mistakes in the Ministry of Rites these years. I am relieved to entrust the Ministry of Rites to him. What's more, in the self-defense above, he can not only confess his mistakes, but also show his loyalty. He can also think of my worries and offer to share my worries. If I don't use this kind of people, why should I use the sour Confucian who only knows how to recite the words of the sages in the book?"

After Gao Yi listened, he had a face full of surprise and admiration, and said with emotion: "Your Majesty's wisdom is like the sea, the structure is like an abyss, and the world is ignorant, so it's not worth mentioning. Although the old slave is very convinced of His Majesty's decision, but there was some doubts in his heart before. Now, listening to His Majesty's words, it's like seeing the sun through the clouds!"

Emperor Chongning nodded slightly, and was about to leave when a small yellow door hurried over, "Your Majesty, Lord Xuanhu is asking to see you."

Emperor Chongning was slightly taken aback, "Let him in."

Soon, Xuanhu in black came to Emperor Chongning.

"What's the matter?"

"Your Majesty, I accidentally found an account book today, and after looking through it for a while, I felt that the matter was serious, and I had to go to the palace immediately to ask Your Majesty for instructions."

As he spoke, he handed over the account book with both hands, and continued to explain: "Weichen opened it and looked. In the past two years, Guangling Prefecture has bribed the dignitaries in Beijing, totaling 14 taels. Among them, the most important target is the household servant Jin Youwen. He monopolizes 50%. I suspect that this is one of the transactions. However, in order not to startle the enemy, I have not yet gone to the household department to verify the exact amount, but it must be no less than [-] taels of silver."

Emperor Chongning was taken aback when he heard the words, and immediately opened the account book, his face suddenly gloomy like water.

(End of this chapter)