Red House Shoufu

Chapter 397
"Yi Li Shi Hun Li": When a woman is married, she will be married, and she will be called.

After the three additions of Jiji ceremony, the clothes Wang Yuan wore changed from picking clothes, hairpins, ropas, and plain skirts to dignified hairpin crowns and curved trains.

The clothes are beautiful, but they are really not suitable for everyday wear. The servant girl has just changed into the usual skirt for her. At this time, Wang Yuan is sitting in front of the mirror with her face in her hands in a daze, with her long hair loose.

As soon as Jiji passed, next month would be her big wedding, and Wang Yuan was filled with anticipation, apprehension and shyness.

A gust of wind blew into the room through the open window, and Wang Yuan, who was a little thinly dressed, couldn't help shivering as she was hit by the chill of late autumn.Just as she was about to put on a thick dress, she found herself in an extremely warm embrace.

"It's cold in late autumn, how dare sister Yuan dare to wear such thin clothes?"

Lin Shu hugged Wang Yuan in his arms, warmed the person in his arms with his own body temperature, and said to Wang Yuan with a little blame: "I'm afraid you are exhausted today, Yu'er said that you will not even eat at noon." Didn't eat a few bites."

Wang Yuan shrank back into Lin Shu's arms, leaning closer.She closed her eyes like a kitten that found the stove, and rubbed her head against Lin Shu's chest.

Wang Yuan said softly: "The hairpin on my head and the clothes and accessories on my body made my neck sore, so I don't have the heart to eat."

"It's just such a day, just go through it. I've sent someone to pick up the food, and I'll use some with you later."

Lin Shu picked up Wang Yuan, came to the soft place to hug and sit, and pulled the blanket to wrap Wang Yuan up.And Wang Yuan also arched towards Lin Shu's arm, found a comfortable position, buried herself in the warm embrace, closed her eyes and took a nap.

The maid who came back from the outside just wanted to enter the door, but was stopped by Fuquan dutifully guarding the gate of the small courtyard.

There are four maidservants beside Wang Yuan, peaches, pears, lychees and oranges.

Li Zi and Lychee were summoned to the kitchen by Lin Shu, Ju Zi was still following the nuns to sort out the presents received today, only Tao Zi stayed around to serve Wang Yuan.

Just now she went to the main hall to answer a question, and just returned to the small courtyard to go in, but she did not expect to be blocked by the entourage beside the uncle.

"Miss Xiaotao, my uncle is inside..."

"what……"

The ignorant Taozi raised her head to look at Fuquan who was standing in front of her with her hand outstretched, then looked into the small courtyard, finally pursed her lips, and stood beside Fuquan with an oh.

"Is this hand stove brought by Miss Tao for the mistress?"

"Mother?"

"Is not it?"

"oh oh!"

"Miss Xiaotao can only say the word oh?"

"no……"

"I'm just thinking again, should I send the stove in to the girl at this time."

"Then it's better to say goodbye. With the uncle here, I can't use the hand stove."

"why?"

"Master's hand stove is much warmer than the one you are holding, Miss Tao!"

"why?"

"Uh...no reason!"

……

Lin Shu's assistant minister of the Ministry of Industry did not take long, but was demoted to the rank of doctor because of the crime of negligence.But no one would feel that he had lost his favor because of this, the emperor even praised Lin Shu for taking responsibility at the court meeting, and severely slapped those who wanted to take the opportunity to add insult to injury.

The Embroidery Guard moved faster than everyone imagined. In less than five days, the Criminal Ministry, Dali Temple, Metropolitan Procuratorate, and the Embroidery Guard four departments joined forces to take advantage of the information gap between the capital and Shaanxi to catch many colluding and corrupt criminals. man of.

Among them, the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Industry have become the hardest-hit areas, and the people involved in the case are actually not of high grade, and there are even petty officials with no rank or rank mixed in.But it is often these low-level people who are so greedy for ink that it is amazing.

An old official in the household department pocketed 3000 taels of silver just because he provided data on the distribution of treasury silver to corrupt officials in Shaanxi.

A vice-president of the Department of Customs Clearance and Promotion of the Ministry of Industry learned that the imperial court planned to overhaul the water conservancy in Guanzhong, so he disclosed the news to three wealthy merchants in the capital in advance, in exchange for nearly 20,000 taels of silver.

The officials involved in the case almost filled the prison of the Ministry of Criminal Justice, and the Ministry of Criminal Justice had to specially ask for an imperial decree, and borrowed the edict of the Embroidery Guards to detain repeat offenders, so as to prevent internal and external collusion and affect the investigation in Shaanxi.

After Wang Yuan and Ji, Lin Shu devoted all his energy to governing the river.

Taking advantage of the influence of the major case in Guanzhong, Lin Shu asked the imperial court to allocate a large number of people from the capital to go deep into the prefectures along the river in the four provinces of Nanzhili, Shandong, Henan and Shaanxi to secretly investigate the renovation of the river defense this winter.

I really don't know if I don't check, but the Yellow River has no less than dozens of wealthy merchants.Water transportation, stone materials, timber, grain, and even the gangs in the major prefectures and counties along the coast almost all rely on their personal connections to suck blood from the money allocated by the imperial court to control the Yellow River.

After reading the thick report in his hand, Qian Qianli sighed suddenly after a brief moment of anger: "If this is the case, let alone 1 million taels, even if you throw all the five years of the imperial court's revenue into the Yellow River, you may not be able to splash a single flower." Water splash!"

The emperor who was silent for a long time suddenly said, "Then kill!"

Lin Shu bowed and advised the livid-faced emperor behind the dragon case: "Your Majesty, I think that killing is inexhaustible. Are these people really not afraid of death? No, as long as they have enough money, they will dare to take risks." Take the risk of Zhu Jiu Clan to take a gamble."

"Can't kill them all? Heh!"

The emperor sneered: "Of course I know that these people cannot be killed, but I know that if I kill one more corrupt official, the world will always be cleaner."

"Your Majesty is wise, and the old minister agrees with His Majesty's opinion."

Wei Qinghe, the chief minister of the cabinet, raised the teacup in his hand, and said to the emperor like a toast: "The old minister has spent most of his life in this court, and he is well aware of the temperament of this group of money rats. I have some scruples. But..."

"Elder Ge may as well speak out."

Just listen to Wei Qinghe continue to say: "However, the most important thing for the court at present is to prevent erroneous things from happening, and deal with the troubles at hand first. Now that the news has spread, the silver taels that should be allocated have been sent out of Beijing. The most important thing now is to Taking advantage of the winter, we will renovate the river defenses to prepare for the spring and summer floods in the coming year. The issue of official management still needs to be considered in the long term."

Wei Qinghe deserved to be the elder of the three dynasties, he not only followed the emperor's mind, but also turned the topic back to the most important thing at present.

So many officials and civilians involved in the case, if they get rid of ringworm and scabies suddenly, they will only treat the symptoms but not the root cause. On the contrary, it is very likely to cause too much disturbance, making the court unstable and the political situation chaotic.

After being angry, the emperor was also reminded by Wei Qinghe to understand that he was a little anxious. He folded his hands and sat up: "Mr. Ge may as well elaborate."

"The veteran feels that since the merchants are willing to share the pressure for the imperial court, the timber and stone materials used for river regulation should be handed over to the merchants. The imperial court only needs to send suitable officials to supervise them."

Wei Qinghe's approach actually coincided with Lin Shu's thoughts. After hearing what Wei Qinghe said, the emperor frowned and asked: "Businessmen are chasing profits. If they are handed over to merchants, wouldn't it be more costly?" ?”

"The old minister once heard Lin Hou say that there is a bidding method that can not only reduce the cost of the court, but also operate well. Maybe it will cost less than the court itself."

"Returning to Your Majesty, there is indeed such a thing. When the minister and Mr. Wei Ge talked about the matter of the imperial business, they briefly mentioned it. The bidding is actually..."

Lin Shu recalled the bidding model in his previous life, and briefly explained to the emperor and ministers about the bidding, the relationship between the two parties and how to operate it, and finally concluded: "Bidding and bidding usually involves a number of businessmen participating in the task bidding, and the court chooses the best. , Whoever has a short construction period, low cost, high quality, and good reputation will contract the task to whom, and the businessman will sign a contract with the imperial court, and the contract will be completed. The imperial court is only responsible for supervision, inspection, settlement and other work."

"Marquis Lin forgot one thing. Merchants have been cunning since ancient times. They would be willing to make a loss-making business? What if they shoddy it?"

Wen Tongxuan, Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, suddenly asked a question. Lin Shu smiled and said: "The contract is only used to restrain them, and they are shoddy as good ones. The imperial court's sword is still on their necks."

"Then will they be willing to participate in this... bidding? Will they be willing to do things that don't make money?" Qian Qianli also had many doubts in his heart.

Lin Shu bowed and replied: "Mr. Ge, the reason why the imperial court will spend more money is that the capital approves the silver, and it is purchased and shipped to various places, and the loss is too great. The merchants who can participate in the bidding almost have business all over the place. They I have my own way to reduce the consumption on the way..."

……

The small court meeting in the Palace of Qinzheng went on for a whole morning, and even after noon, the emperor discussed with Wei Qinghe, Qian Qianli and other important officials about the important affairs of the court, such as rectifying the administration of officials, managing the Yellow River, dredging water conservancy and so on.

Although the emperor did not make a final decision on the bidding, the emperor still asked Lin Shu to go back and write a detailed letter to draw up a bidding process for the reference of the household department.

As long as it can save money for the court, no matter what the method is, the emperor and Hubu Shangshu Wen Tongxuan will try their best to figure it out.

It took Lin Shu three full days to finish writing the letter about bidding. During this period, the emperor sent people to remind him twice, and the old Pixiu Wen Tongxuan sent people to remind him five times.

After he handed over the Zhazi to Wen Tongxuan, the old Pixiu crossed the river and demolished the bridge, promised a good treat, and finally had a simple work meal in the yamen of the household department, which made Lin Shu dumbfounded.

After reading the letter written by Lin Shu, Wen Tongxuan successfully drew up the Dachu version of the bidding regulations. The specific rules have not yet been drawn up. It was passed on.

The whole capital city boiled instantly, and the major commercial firms and shops moved upon hearing the news, and the gate of Wen Tongxuan's house was almost full of gift givers.

Even Xue Biao, who was in charge of the Xue family's business, came to the Lin Mansion accompanied by Xue Pan, wanting to inquire about the specific situation from Lin Shu.

After sending Xue Biao away, Lin Shu sighed: "This Xue Biao is a smart man, he knows how to turn a corner. Wen Lao Pixiu can only go in and out, and the gifts sent to his house will be exchanged for money and deposited in the bank of the household department tomorrow." Ku, and not even the slightest promise."

"Brother told Xue Biao about the bidding, will it offend Duke Wen?"

Hearing Daiyu's question, Lin Shu shook his head and replied: "Mr. Wen originally wanted several major imperial merchants in the court to participate in this bidding, after all, they are all people who are used to by the Ministry of Household Affairs, so it is more reassuring to use it. Moreover, this is the first time the imperial court has tried this method, and he actually has no idea."

"By the way, where is Xue Pan? His cousin is gone, does he still want to make a living in our house?"

Xue Biao was brought here by Xue Pan. He was lucky. After saying hello to Lin Shu, he asked Fuquan to take him to the garden. Of course, Lin Shu knew that his purpose was not to make money, but to be an incense holder in the guest house. Ling......

No, it should be called Miss Zhen now!

Daiyu covered her mouth and smiled, "Where else can I be? I'm standing guard at the gate of the guest courtyard and confronting Mr. Zhen."

"This idiot..."

Lin Shu didn't know how to describe Xue Pan. He clearly wanted to marry someone else's daughter, but every time he talked about it with Zhen Shiyin, he would say something inappropriate because of his clumsy mouth.Every time I talked to Zhen Shiyin about proposing marriage, they almost broke up unhappy.

"Forget it, let him make trouble with his own affairs. I think Mr. Zhen also intends to marry his daughter to him. Now he is like this, he should be testing Xue Pan."

Lin Shu picked up a pen and began to write on the paper, and after a while, he dried the ink and handed it to Daiyu.

"I need my sister to help me with something, and see if this case can be turned into a new play..."

"Destruction of dikes and occupation of common people's land... collusion between government and businessmen..."

After reading what Lin Shu had written, Daiyu frowned and asked, "Isn't this what happened during the Henan flood the year before last? The row can be arranged, but will it affect the reputation of the imperial court?"

"It was the case of the Daming Mansion at that time. Yu'er boldly arranged it. I mentioned this matter to my mentor, and he agreed. Moreover, my mentor planned to take this opportunity to warn officials at all levels. The court's purge of officials will no longer be a thunderstorm Small, if you stretch out your wrong hand, you must be ready to face the storm of anti-corruption."

……

Xue Pan returned home again, and Xue Baochai hurriedly greeted him after returning home: "Brother, can you understand Master Zhen?"

"What's more, this old man is too unreasonable. When I mentioned asking to marry Xiangling...Miss Zhen today, he said that I should only come here after reading poetry and books. He also said that the son-in-law of the Zhen family cannot be A reckless man who only knows how to wield a spear and stick a stick, not to mention becoming a Confucian general, at least he must be both civil and military, and a good talent for the country."

Xue Pan felt annoyed when he thought of this, and slapped the table angrily: "This old man deliberately made things difficult for me. He knew I didn't like studying, and he still said this. Sister, tell me, isn't she embarrassing others? "

Xue Baochai couldn't help feeling a little unhappy. In order to satisfy her elder brother Xue Pan's wishes, she managed to convince her mother. This is why Xue Pan came to ask Zhen Yinglian many times to marry her.

I never thought that Zhen Shiyin would embarrass the Xue family with great embarrassment. Did he really think that the former Xiangling has become the scholarly Zhen Yinglian, and the Xue family should lower his status and be humiliated again and again?

However, after a short period of anger, she faintly discerned a different meaning from Zhen Shiyin's words that he has both civil and military skills, and the country's best talents.

If it was a simple refusal, Zhen Shiyin could take advantage of the power of the Lin family to categorically refuse, and with Lin Shu behind him, it is impossible for the Xue family to have any thoughts of revenge.

However, Zhen Shiyin said that he asked his elder brother to read poetry and books before he proposed marriage. At first it sounded like he was mocking Xue Pan, but after thinking about it carefully, Xue Baochai had a different opinion.

"Come on, get the car ready!"

"It's almost time for dinner, where is my sister going?"

Xue Baochai smiled mysteriously, and said to Xue Pan: "Brother, you have dinner with your mother at home. I'll go to the Lin Mansion first and ask Sister Lin to confirm something. If it's as I think, then my brother's wish will have a chance to come true."

　There was something important at home yesterday, so I didn't take care of the update, and it will be restored from today.

　　Feel sorry!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)