18 Chapter 18: The Young Minister

On March 21, the 13th year of Hongzheng, King Cheng returned to the court.

Standing in the magnificent hall, looking at the familiar or unfamiliar faces in front of him, Jing Shao felt as if he was in another world. That year, he knelt in the center of the hall, listening to everyone listing his crimes.

The Minister of Revenue accused him of reselling salt permits, the Minister of Works accused him of building large-scale projects, and even the censor accused him of killing prisoners and deceiving the people. But more of them accused him of deceiving the emperor and intending to rebel. Looking at the faces of those people one by one, Duke Mao is the future father-in-law of the fourth prince, Earl Yongchang is the brother of the successor, the two ministers of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works are the emperor's people, and the rest are mostly following suit.

The relatives of the successor naturally have to be suppressed. As for the two ministers, Jing Shao set his sights on the assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue standing behind the Minister of Revenue. In those days, the only person who was willing to speak a fair word for him, in addition to his brother's people, was this little assistant minister. He was originally a member of the Qingliu faction, and he was not rigid. He was the top scholar five years ago, and his career was smooth and he was promoted to the position of minister. However, he was not promoted again until Jing Shao got into trouble. Perhaps he could win this person over and replace him with the position of Shangshu.

Jing Shao was thinking, and his brother standing beside him suddenly touched him with his elbow. He looked up suddenly and found that his father and the ministers were looking at him, and the censor Fan Jie was standing in the center of the hall.

"Rumors about the fourth prince." Jing Chen gritted his teeth, his lips did not move, and whispered to him.

Jing Shao understood, stepped forward and said: "I think that the words of the fools are just idle talk after dinner, and there is no need to worry." The answer was quite standard, and Emperor Hongzheng turned his eyes to Jing Chen again.

Jing Chen stepped out and said, "The ancients said, 'A thorn tree comes to a nest, and there is wind in an empty hole. If the person who is entrusted with it is so, then the customs will be different.' Since there are such rumors among the people, there must be a reason. It is better to clarify it as soon as possible to avoid tarnishing the reputation of the fourth prince."

The brothers' answers were contradictory, and it was obvious that they were not aware of it in advance. Even if they knew, they had never discussed it. Emperor Hongzheng nodded with satisfaction: "Jing Yu, tell me what happened yourself?"

The fourth prince Jing Yu stepped out and knelt at the steps and said, "Your son is terrified, just because Japan paid tribute to some fresh sea fish a few years ago. It is delicious enough to be sliced ​​and eaten raw. Your son thought it was delicious, so he used more. I didn't want the servants in the mansion to spread it by mistake, which caused a storm in the city. Your son is guilty."

The fourth prince has been in the court for a short time, and he is responsible for all matters related to tribute from foreign countries. Naturally, he has obtained a lot of rare things from overseas.

"The royal family is a role model for the world. Your every move will naturally be noticed by the people. How can you be so obsessed with food?" Emperor Hongzheng was a little angry. The royal family members hated being too obsessed with something the most.

"Fourth brother is really lucky. I have never seen such rare things." The eldest prince Jingrong said with a smile, which made Emperor Hongzheng frown even more. No one except the emperor had the right to enjoy the tribute from foreign countries at will. The meaning of the eldest prince's words was quite far-reaching.

"Father, please forgive me. I only got two fish from my mother. I really didn't eat greedily!" Jingyu glared at the eldest prince who didn't mind making trouble, and kowtowed to explain.

"Humph!" Emperor Hongzheng snorted coldly. In his opinion, there were such rumors in the capital because of the fourth prince's publicity. As for the tribute, it should be thoroughly investigated.

Finally, Emperor Hongzheng issued an order that the fourth prince should be confined to his house for a month to reflect on his mistakes. Although the punishment was not severe, a bad impression had been formed in the heart of Emperor Hongzheng, which was enough.

Jing Shao spread this rumor originally to cover up the rumors about himself and disgust the fourth prince and the queen. He did not expect that it would develop into such an effect. It was really a pleasant surprise. He glanced at his expressionless brother beside him and suddenly thought that perhaps his brother had considered it when they decided on this "topic".

After the court, the two brothers did not say a word. They looked at each other and went their separate ways. Jing Shao sighed that his brother was indeed more suitable for that position than himself, and thought about going back to talk to his own princess about what happened today, and kiss and touch her...

"Your Majesty, are you going back to the palace directly?" The coachman asked as he pulled open the curtain.

Jing Shao thought about it. He got up early in the morning, so he ate a bowl of porridge and a pancake. After thinking about it, he said, "Go to Huiweilou for breakfast."

"Your Majesty, Huiweilou is not open in the morning." Yunsong reminded.

"It's okay, just go." Jing Shao lowered the curtain, leaned on the soft pillow and closed his eyes to rest. This soft pillow was specially ordered by Mu Hanzhang, thinking that Jing Shao would feel sleepy if he got up early, so he could sleep in the car for a while.

Huiweilou does not sell breakfast, but the boss here will come to open the door and clean up the shop early, and prepare breakfast for his husband who has returned from the court.

The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue is named Xiao, Yuan, and Hengzhi. Speaking of which, he is from the same clan as the second prince's wife's mother's family - Dingnan Hou Xiao family, but they are distant relatives outside the fifth degree of mourning. Xiao Yuan is a noble person and has always been unwilling to make friends with this relative.

Huiweilou only opened one door, and a waiter was sweeping the floor alone in front of the door. Jing Shao walked in with his hands behind his back.

"Hengzhi, you're back." The tall boss in a blue cloth came out from the kitchen with a basket of steaming buns in his hand. He was stunned for a moment when he saw Jing Shao, then smiled and said, "Excuse me, sir, Huiweilou is not open yet."

"Hello, Madam," Jing Shao greeted with a smile, "I am Xiao Yuan's colleague, I came to discuss something with him."

The wife of the minister frowned slightly, asked Jing Shao to sit down, gave him the steamed bun in her hand, and served him a bowl of fragrant and glutinous rice porridge.

"Madam, you are really good at craftsmanship. I also married a man, but I am not as skillful as Madam." Jing Shao ate a bun. The paper-thin dough melted in his mouth, and the fragrant meat filling was filled with soup. He bit into it. Take a sip and your lips and teeth will immediately be fragrant.

"I don't know much about literacy. I only know how to cook. Your Majesty is a very wise person. You must not compare yourself to a vulgar person like me." The boss said with a smile.

Jing Shao was stunned for a moment. This person actually knew his identity. He immediately smiled and said, "Madam, you are really smart. I don't know how to call her?" A male wife is different from a female wife. After all, she is still a man. Others can directly ask her name. Not offensive.

"Your Majesty, you are too polite. The commoner's surname is Zhou, and his single name is Jin." Zhou Jin's cheerful personality suited Jing Shao very well, so he couldn't help but chat with him for a few more words.

So, when Xiao Yuan came back in the sedan chair, he saw a certain prince who had nothing to do with him, eating his own soup dumplings, drinking rice porridge from his own restaurant, and chatting happily with his wife. He felt the veins on his forehead throbbing: "Wei Chen has met His Highness King Cheng!"

"Haha, Mr. Xiao is back. I stopped by and came to your house to have a meal. These buns are so delicious, Mr. Xiao is so lucky." Jing Shao said, stuffing the last soup dumpling into his mouth. Then he said, "Brother Zhou, are there any more?"

"Yes." Zhou Jin smiled, turned around and went to the kitchen to get the buns.

"What's the matter, Your Majesty?" The fair-faced young servant's face was now darker than the bottom of the pot. Does this man know etiquette? He dares to call his wife "Brother Zhou" in front of his husband! They probably didn't know each other before, right?

"Actually, it's nothing. I just heard that Master Xiao and Madam Xiao have a very close relationship." Jing Shao paused, looked around, leaned into Xiao Yuan's ear and said in a low voice, "I just want to ask you for advice. , how can we make the husband and wife no longer afraid of having sex with each other."

Xiao Yuan was stunned for a moment, looked at Jing Shao's sincere face, and slowly raised the corners of his mouth: "So that's what happened, then the prince has found the right person..." So, the usually taciturn Master, Suddenly he became the master of ceremonies in the Ministry of Etiquette, and talked endlessly to Jing Shao about the topic of "how to conquer a man's wife".

When Zhou Jin came out with two drawers of steamed buns, he saw the two of them chatting together and snickering from time to time. He shook his head helplessly, glanced at Xiao Yuan who was flushed with excitement, and turned to the back. The chef directed the workers to pack today's ingredients.

Sometimes the friendship between men is established in an instant, such as Xiao Yuan and Jing Shao. By the time they left after breakfast, the conversation between the two had become:

"Hengzhi, please let Brother Zhou take my Junqing out for a walk when he has time. I'm afraid he will get bored by himself."

"Don't worry, Your Majesty, I'll take care of it. Have you remembered the methods I told you?"

"Well, if it works out, I'll treat you to a drink."

Jing Shao left with satisfaction, and Xiao Yuan happily wandered to the kitchen to see his wife.

"What did you talk about with King Cheng? Your face is red." Zhou Jin pinched his husband's chin and looked at it carefully.

"Hmph!" Xiao Yuan shook off his hand and said angrily, "I still want to ask you, what did you tell him before I came back? Why did he call you Brother Zhou before he left?"

"Let me kiss you and tell you." Zhou Jin hugged him and pretended to kiss him.

Xiao Yuan hurriedly pushed away his wife who was taller than him, and said angrily: "If you don't tell the truth, you will be punished by wearing water-pink clothes tomorrow!" After saying this, he rolled up his sleeves and walked out.

"I don't have water-pink clothes." Zhou Jin said helplessly. Every time he did it, this person would ask himself to wear colorful clothes, which made everyone in the capital know that the boss of Huiwei Building had a weird temper.

"I'll buy it for you as soon as I get my job!" Xiao Yuan waved his hand and went to the household department in a good mood.

"I didn't do anything last night..." Zhou Jin muttered, then gave a bad smile. Since he was going to wear water pink, he had to earn enough money tonight.

Jing Shao returned to the palace and walked towards Dongyuan thinking about the various methods Xiao Yuan introduced to him. As soon as he arrived in front of the small study room, he heard the sharp voice of his wife Song: "The rules of the palace are like this, even if you are a princess. We cannot break this precedent, otherwise the palace will be in chaos in the future."

"It's just a temporary residence for the servants. Their expenses will be paid according to my quota." Mu Hanzhang's voice was still gentle, but there was a hint of anger.

"Princess, you speak so lightly. With all due respect, the princess got married on the eighth day of March. There is no exception this month. Where do you want me to tie it?" Song Lingxin's unyielding voice sounded a bit sharp, which also made her originally Jing Shao, who was in a good mood, suddenly became angry.