The rise of the prince

Chapter 10 The Economic Crisis of the Palace

It’s snowing heavily in Kyoto, standing in the attic, leaning on the railing and looking at the white mist.The eaves of the house, the willows on the bank of the green river, only faint outlines can be seen dimly, with light gray and dark gray, distinct layers, from the feet to the end of the eyes.A cock crowing and a dog barking could be vaguely heard, but otherwise there was complete silence, the snow was so quiet that there was not even the sound of the wind.

"It's cold outside, son, let's come in." Qiu'er said and put a thick mink coat on him.

"Look at Xue, I'm not cold at all." Li Ye was wearing a thick cotton robe, but Qiu'er was wearing thin clothes.Frowning, he put his coat on Qiu'er with his backhand: "Why are you wearing such clothes?"

"The clothes are not dry." Qiu'er said, looking at the snow-covered eaves.

Li Ye glanced at her and asked again: "Why don't you wear more clothes?"

Qiu'er lowered her head: "The clothes are not dry."

Li Ye knew that the little girl had lied.

For those without professional training, it is actually easier to judge whether he is lying or not, just pay attention to some details.When lying, people will subconsciously exclude themselves from the lie. For example, in the beginning, Qiuer said "the clothes are not dry", most ordinary people would say "my clothes are not dry".

People who lie also look up subconsciously, avoiding the eyes of others, in order to cover up their psychological weakness.

But these can only be said to be suspicious, so I asked again.

Liars also like to repeat the same answer as if to repeat, to emphasize the truth of their answer.Sure enough, Qiu'er's answer was the same, and Li Ye was sure that the little girl lied nine times out of ten.

Li Ye held her pretty and cold face, and used it for a while to warm it up. The little girl's cheeks were flushed, and her eyelashes were trembling slightly. Then Li Ye asked, "Tell me the truth, what's going on."

"Shi Shizi." The little girl lowered her head guiltily.

"It's okay, I don't blame you, just tell me the truth." Li Ye tried to be as gentle as possible to let the little girl relax.

"Slaves. Slaves only have these clothes," Qiu'er whispered.

Li Ye understood, and then he was a little surprised, which meant that the palace had no money.He won't ask you if you don't have monthly money.Qiu'er is the highest-ranking servant of the palace, if even she can't wear enough clothes to keep out the cold, let alone the others.

"Take me to see Manager Yan." Li Ye said.

"My lord, it's not Mrs. Yan's fault." Qiu'er defended nervously.

Li Ye touched her little head: "I know, I just went to see, there must be a countermeasure for this matter."

Qiu'er was stunned. She obviously didn't expect the son to care about this kind of thing, and then she was overjoyed and moved. She was so complicated that she couldn't speak. She just nodded quietly, and then led the son to the accountant.

The fiery red charcoal fire was burning slowly, and the room was warm. Li Ye was sitting at the table, Qiu'er was standing quietly behind him, and the grey-haired and bearded Yan Qiao was standing aside, seriously reporting the expenditure of the palace to him. I don't know why the little prince suddenly asked about this today, but he was very happy in his heart, which means that the little prince has started to take charge of the family
"Little prince, the main source of support in the mansion is the royal monthly payment. After you become a prince, you will have a monthly payment of 100 taels of silver, all of which are collected by the old slaves from the household department. You will also receive some gift money during festivals. The prince is still alive. At that time, I could earn around 3 taels a year, but now.”

The old man paused for a moment, and said a little lonely: "Now only the palace will send some every year, but it's only a thousand taels."

Li Ye understands that the old man will of course be lost when he is in prosperity and decline.

"In addition, there is a restaurant in the Wangfu in the east of the city, just on the other side of the Wangfu River. They are all veterans who followed the prince. Some of them were killed by the rebels. Let them help and settle down, and they can add about 30 taels of income to the palace every month."

Next, Yan Yan talked about the expenses of the government in detail. More than 130 taels of silver per month is too much, and ordinary people dare not think about it.One tael is equal to a consistent amount of 50 taels. In this era, a county magistrate’s salary is only about [-] taels a year on the surface, but in fact it is far more than that. It is said that three years to clear the county, one hundred thousand snowflake silver.

There are many servants in the palace, all kinds of maids, servants, grooms, and many guards who have fought with King Xiao and are capable. There are more than 100 people in total. , the monthly money of the servants, etc., will cost about 60 taels of silver per month.

"What about the rest?" Li Ye asked, 130 taels per month, so there should be a surplus of more than 70 taels.

"The rest is for the little prince to prepare for the daily expenses." Yan Yan said hastily.

Li Ye now understood that it wasn't that he didn't have money, but that his pocket money alone was more than that of the entire palace, so it seemed that the servant's monthly money must have been compressed and compressed.

"Qiu'er, how much money do you have every month? Answer me honestly." Li Ye asked seriously.

Qiu'er was a little nervous, she had never seen a prince like this before, but she answered honestly: "120 essays"

Li Ye had a solid foundation in an instant, Qiu'er only had this point, she was the personal maid of the prince's son, she must be much higher than ordinary people, which meant that other people might basically have no monthly money to speak of.

Li Ye sighed, it seems that the palace is indeed in decline, and the life of the people in the palace is not easy, but Li Xingzhou didn't care at all before, only knowing that he was squandering.

"Uncle Yan, how much silver is left in the palace treasury?"

"Including the gift money received, there are more than 500 taels." Yan Yan replied after thinking for a while.

"How much would it cost to buy winter clothes for everyone in the house?"

Yan Yan took the abacus on the table, began to fight, and said after a while: "50 taels."

Li Ye nodded. He likes people like Yan Yan. If ordinary people face such a problem, they will open their mouths and give an approximate figure. Yan Yan is very rigorous. He likes this kind of rigorous people. .

"Well, you take out 100 taels and buy warm clothes for all the people in the mansion. Qiu'er, Yue'er and yourself are better. Buy a few more sets." Li Ye made a final decision.

Yan Yan became anxious all of a sudden, his expression was agitated, and he didn't care about being respectful. He let go of his abacus and said quickly: "No way, my son, it will be the Queen Mother's birthday in more than a month. I have to prepare more than 500 for the Queen Mother's birthday! This More than 500 taels is already less, but you have to give it away, my son, this is a chance for the emperor and queen mother to see you!
Son, this silver can't be moved, can't be moved! "

Seeing the old man's anxious face, almost tears came out, Li Ye understood his mood, he just hoped that he could be favored by the emperor like King Xiao back then. the future of man.

The 500 taels is basically life-saving money, although this gamble may lose everything.

Li Ye knew what he was thinking, but he also had his own.

If the Wangfu falls or Li Xingzhou dies, one day everyone in the Wangfu, Qiu'er, Yue'er, and Yan Yan will either starve to death on the street, or be sent into slavery, even if it is for themselves, they will not let this happen.

Now that things are coming to an end, he is not a person who is afraid of things, and it is even more impossible to avoid the responsibility that falls on his shoulders. More than 100 mouths in the palace are counting on him to eat
But who said that you have to climb up to the emperor to get the emperor's attention in order to be rich and prosperous?Li Ye never thought so.

He stood up, his 16-year-old body was half a head taller than the old man, and patted him on the shoulder: "Don't worry, Manager Yan, I have my own way."

(End of this chapter)