Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 645 Emperor Wu is worried about Enke
the imperial palace in the capital,

In the Yangxin Hall,

The imperial study room was quiet at the moment. Except for Dai Quan who stayed here, the rest of the waiters had been kicked out by Xiao Yunzi long ago, and there was no one left.

Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong had nothing to do, and was drinking tea in the study. As for the memorials, they had become less and less at some time. Now, I don’t know why. He always likes to be quiet. When his heart is quiet, he feels comfortable all over, so he ordered Dai Quan, from now on, no one will be left to serve in the royal study.

Turning to look at the corner of the imperial desk, there were actually two plates of pastries placed on it. I didn't know when, but I also fell in love with this bite. It's the boy from Marquis Luo Yun who knows how to eat when he has nothing to do.

He picked up the tea bowl and took a sip of tea to moisten his throat. He thought of Marquis Luo Yun and wondered how that boy was doing.

"Dai Quan, what did Marquis Luo Yun do yesterday? Why haven't I seen him come to the palace today?"

"Back to Your Majesty, Marquis Luo Yun just left yesterday. Didn't Your Majesty ask him to go back to recuperate?"

Dai Quan hurriedly walked over, picked up the teapot, and added some water to His Majesty's tea bowl.

"Indeed, he has a beautiful wife and concubine at his house, so it's time to relax. He has been really busy these days."

Dai Quan lowered his head and roughly explained the matter.
What happened is also strange. How come they all happened to go to Yanchun Tower? This place is the property of Princess Yueru. Could there be any involvement in it?

When Dai Quan received the inspected account books, he was stunned. These wealthy businessmen were nameless and powerless. They gathered so much wealth quietly, and more importantly, they were able to plunder so much money. What about the people behind them? Those owners don’t get more.

Emperor Wu raised his head and called out to Dai Quan who was about to leave. "It's not important to transport money or anything else. Enke is about to arrive. I don't know how the boy arranged it. It happened that there was a note on the desk, which mentioned Enke's parting." Those who took the exam said that everything they said was to avenge the grievances of the poor people, saying that the separate exams were unfair. When I looked at the signature, I saw that it was a memorial from someone from the Imperial Academy.
Zhou Shihong raised his hand and flipped through the pile of memorials again, and the same was true for several others. The reason for the division was because there was not enough space in the Gongyuan, so it was unfair.

Emperor Wu's current thoughts are completely different from those before. Marquis Luo Yun was able to train the best elites in the world, not just by talking. Now that he has money, he can try out some ideas. After all, they are the soldiers of the imperial court. Now the army is gathered in the capital. , not afraid of anyone,
Dai Quan was extremely surprised when he said this.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I remember this old slave. Your Majesty's heart is unparalleled. The guest army from the camp has been here for a few days. Do you want to see the generals who lead it?"

"Your Majesty, Marquis Luo Yun did not rest at his residence yesterday evening. The secret guards came to report that the Marquis went to Yanchun Tower last night and had some conflicts with the Forbidden Army's Right Guard General and Xiao Cheng!"

"That's fine. When you go, let them enter the palace. I still have something to explain."

Zhou Shihong thought quickly in his mind that the so-called conflict should be quite big. Luo Yunhou's temper would never make things easier for He Xiaocheng. His father's confidants were unable to move, and many people were watching.
"Your Majesty, your Majesty, the fight between Luo Yunhou and He Xiaocheng was due to two juniors at Yanchun Tower. One was the son of Mr. Yang, the minister of Guanglu Temple, and the other was the son of the Xue family, an in-law of Rongguo Mansion. My younger sister is the common wife of Luoyun Hou Mansion.
When there was a big fight at Yan Chun Tower, I and the general were on duty yesterday. We went to Yan Chun Tower and happened to meet the Marquis of Luo Yun there. The Marquis also accidentally shot a soldier of the Imperial Army. The commotion was quite big. Well, the people from the Imperial City Division arrived in time. "

Dai Quan responded with all his heart, and then he wanted to step back. As soon as he took a step, he was stopped by Emperor Wu again.

"Back to your majesty, Zhao Si from the Royal Horse Supervisor came last night to report that all the profiteers in the capital, especially the wealthy businessmen such as the Sheng family who manipulated grain prices, had their homes confiscated. They confiscated five million taels of cash, two hundred thousand dan of grain, and returned Not counting his property, etc., it is a heinous crime.”

What Dai Quan could think of, how could Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong not think of it, Yan Chun Tower is a household name in the capital, but not many people know that this place belongs to his sister. It is not known whether it is really unintentional or if there is something else to hide. Yes,
Thinking of Zhou Xiangxue, the eldest princess of Yueru whose talent spread throughout the capital in the early years, and Zhou Ying, the princess of Yongcheng who was no less than her, ripples appeared in Emperor Wu's heart, and he thought of one person, the Queen Mother.
The incident of offering incense in Jing'an Temple was suspicious to begin with, and the so-called thieves ambushed them. Who arranged all this?
"Besides these, the imperial army was mobilized last night, but the Royal Horse Supervisor took action."

Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong paused, obviously a little surprised. After finishing the cakes on his hands, he wiped them with brocade cloth and smiled;
"You're really spirited, He Xiaocheng, why is this person there? There's a conflict over work."

Emperor Wu Zhou Shihong pondered for a moment, thinking about Lu Daiyuan, the military governor of Daliang City. At his age, he thought he would let his son lead the army, but he didn't expect him to come in person. As for the two counties in Hexi and Hedong, the guards arrived pretty quickly, so it would be nice to meet him. , this trip south is of great importance and cannot be careless;

Emperor Wu thought about it for a moment. After returning from Jing'an Temple, he told him about self-cultivation, but he forgot about it while he was busy. He reached out and pinched a piece of cloud cake and put it into his mouth. It tasted sweet and soft. No wonder the harem consumes a lot of this stuff. It melts and is delicious.

"Back to Your Majesty, at the Gongyuan side, Mr. Nan led the examiners to clear the place and arrange the arrangements. As for Hanyuan Hall, there has been no movement yet. However, I heard that Mr. Chu went to Luoyun Hou's house today to discuss with the Marquis. There should be some movement in the layout of Hanyuan Hall."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I remember."

After thinking about it, it was okay, so I took the opportunity to talk about it.

Emperor Wu was obviously aware of this. Just a few wealthy businessmen could be so rich. The people behind them were probably all wealthy. He looked gloomily, thinking that the five million taels of silver were comparable to those given to him in Jiangnan. The salt tax goes to the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
"Now that we have money, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will pay the salaries of the Anhu camp. And when we go south, I ordered that the soldiers be given an additional month's salary. In addition, during these days of rest, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will Buy more meat and have a drink before leaving. You can take care of these things in person. "

"Wait a minute, send someone to take care of this matter. You stay, how are the layouts of Enke's examination room, Gongyuan and Hanyuan Hall?"

Dai Quan thought about it quickly. It seems that the Marquis has not been to Hanyuan Hall in the past few days. He has not heard anything from the informant about starting construction. It is not possible that the Marquis has forgotten it.

Dai Quan thought about it again and again, but still told the story about the Marquis last night. After all, in the brothel, the news had long been spread among the dignitaries who came and went.

Dai Quan answered carefully at the desk. Wang Ziteng had been busy with official duties these days, arranging the accommodation of the guest soldiers in the camp, and urging grain and grass to go south first. He sent people to the Ministry of Internal Affairs several times to urge for grain and money. The Ministry of Internal Affairs Although the palace has money, it can't open its mouth like this. In addition, both inside and outside the words, it means that he wants to enter the palace to face the saint.

"What, the construction hasn't started yet. Hanyuan Palace is not small. There are students from the six major academies, the Imperial College, and candidates from various prefectures in the capital. Do you remember how many people participated in Enke?"

"Back to Your Majesty, if I remember correctly, there should be more than a thousand people holding red lottery tickets. There are indeed many students participating in the imperial examination this year. Although Hanyuan Hall is large, it is not easy to renovate, Mr. Chu Nian That’s why we consult with Marquis Luo Yun.”

Dai Quan was also in a dilemma. After all, Hanyuan Hall was a newly built palace, magnificent. If it were to be converted into a shack like Gongyuan, where food, drink, and toilets were included, making it a mess, how could Hanyuan Hall be used again in the future? , Lord Chunian must have noticed it.

"Why is it difficult to renovate? Hanyuan Hall is not just one main hall, but a palace complex. Is there not enough manpower?"

Emperor Wu wanted to say a few more words, but when he thought about so many candidates and the examiner's residence, more people were needed, so he didn't say anything for a while. Instead, he considered the difficulty of storing years.
"Back to Your Majesty, I think so. On the one hand, the number of examiners is insufficient. On the other hand, Hanyuan Palace is your Majesty's newly built palace, and all the furnishings inside are of the highest quality. So Lord Chunian should be worried about this. If the people from the Ministry of Industry change, it means destroying His Majesty’s palace.”

Dai Quan also explained the difficulties for Chu Nian. The main reason was that there were too many people, and the palace was not like Gongyuan. The renovation inside had been completed long ago. In three days, he didn't know whether he could get the test results safely.

Emperor Wu stood up, walked to the window, opened the window, and followed his gaze. The Hanyuan Hall in the southeast was looming in front of him.
"No matter how beautiful a palace is, it will not delay the imperial court or even my plans. As long as the candidates can pass the exam smoothly, there is no harm in demolishing it."

I turned around and took a few steps, but I couldn't let go of my worry.

"Now, here is the decree to seal Hanyuan Hall immediately. We will wait until Chu Nian and Marquis Luo Yun go over to check. I will also go over. I feel uneasy." "Yes, Your Majesty, I will make arrangements right now."

Dai Quan saw His Majesty's brows furrowed and knew that His Majesty was anxious. He did not dare to neglect. He called Xiao Yunzi outside the door and asked him to arrange the manpower. He also asked him to take people to the Ministry of Internal Affairs to lead the troops and pay them. , a decree was sent to Prince Teng, the Jiedushi envoy in the capital camp, to be careful.

"After you go there, one is to send money, and the other is to lead the generals who are going south to the palace and bring more people there, you know."

"Go back to the Governor. My son knows that he is just his godfather. Do you want to spend noon when you come back?"

Xiao Yunzi knew in his heart that he could clearly hear the conversation in the study room just now while waiting at the door of the study room. He just said it back and forth quickly, and whether it was necessary to delay the time when people brought it back.

Dai Quan turned to look at the sky outside, estimated the time, thought of His Majesty's thoughts, and shook his head,

"Just go and let them wait when people arrive. The Za family will accompany Your Majesty to Hanyuan Hall first."

"Yes, godfather, my son will go right away."

Eunuch Yun understood, nodded, and stepped back slowly.
Dai Quan waved to a few other internal supervisors and asked them to arrange manpower. Then he turned back into the Imperial Study Room and came to Emperor Wu.
"Your Majesty, I am going to the Anhu camp to deliver wages. The old slave has arranged for people to go there. The slaves outside are also waiting there. Your Majesty, when will you go?"

"I'll change my clothes and walk over. You go and take out my robe. Yuqing gave it to me. I haven't worn it for a long time."

Emperor Wu kept this matter in mind, how could he wait, so he got up and left the study, returned to Nuange to change clothes.

Rongguo Mansion,
Wang Xifeng was busy last night, went to bed late, and stayed in bed in the morning.

"Grandma, grandma, it's getting late, get up quickly."

outside the house,

The always noisy yard was now quiet in the morning, and many girls and women also put aside their work and stayed in their respective rooms.

Ping'er hurriedly entered the room, walked to the bed, stretched out his hand to grab the second grandmother's quilt, and pushed it, with a bit of unbearable expression on his face.

"Grandma, it's already three o'clock in the morning, you'd better get up early, there are still a lot of things to do at home!"

"Yeah, annoying."

Wang Xifeng, who was lying on the bed, had woken up a long time ago, but she felt physically exhausted, so she lay on the bed and squinted for a while. Now the house was safe. Most of the strong laborers of the Jia family's side brothers were now taken care of by themselves. Arranged in the Chamber of Commerce, the right to speak inside may not be the same, but in the host's family, except for the old lady, no one else can compare with him.
In this way, whether I really want to worship ancestors or have clan meetings in the future, I don’t have nothing. Although the old lady’s words are harsh, there are still many clan elders alive. After all, the Jia family is the Jia family. Wang Xifeng’s eyes lit up and she had something in her heart. With vague thoughts, people suddenly became more energetic,

"Get dressed and get up. Are the stewards in the front yard still there?"

Ping'er had already prepared his clothes. He was still wearing a red brocade dress with a white shawl, which made him look dazzling. He helped his second mistress get up, changed his clothes, and said;

"Grandma, the steward is still waiting in the front yard. I didn't see you go over to say anything. Who dares to leave? Even the stewards Qian Hua and Dai Liang came over."

When Ping'er mentioned the two of them, he was also surprised. If it wasn't for the second wife's sake, these two would have been dealt with by grandma long ago. They could still wait until today. After all, they were from the housekeeper Zhou Rui's side. They don't look at the monk's face to see the Buddha's face.

"Hmph, that's strange. Unless these two people are shopping, I, the second wife of the housekeeper, can't see them on weekdays. Why, you have something to ask me for?"

Wang Xifeng put on her clothes, touched the ends of her hair with her hands, sat in front of the dressing table, and let Ping'er take care of it.
"Grandma, that's not true. I heard that many rice shops in the capital were confiscated last night. Now everywhere in the capital, people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs are selling cheap grain. The two of them want to withdraw some from the treasury. For silver, buy more and keep some in reserve. If the price rises again, you can sell it for a sum."

Ping'er picked up a sandalwood comb, gently combed the second mistress's hair, put it in a coil, and then picked up a gold hairpin and inserted it into it. Her round and pretty face had a hint of tiredness, not to mention a certain charm in it. .

"What? You want to resell it again, and you don't want to show it? The money of those people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs is so easy to make, so they ransacked several houses without seeing it, so they sent a few people to tell them to get out. "

Wang Xifeng's eyes flashed sharply. She didn't expect these two people to be so blind. It was obvious that these grains were stolen from homes. In order to stabilize grain prices in the capital, they actually wanted to take advice from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. They really didn't know how to live or die.

"Grandma, they probably have good intentions. After all, the sale price is clearly marked for the consideration of the family."

Ping'er was a little puzzled. The price of buying and selling grain was clearly marked. The worst thing he could do was not sell it.
Wang Xifeng turned around, glared at Ping'er, and cursed;

"What do you know, you little guy? People from the Ministry of Internal Affairs have always been honored. Who do you think can make money from the Ministry of Internal Affairs?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he felt that something was wrong. The Luo Yun Hou Mansion was getting money. His face turned red and he cursed;

"Except for the Marquis, there is no other enemy like this. I don't want to think about it. Let the two of them go back wherever they should go. By the way, Grandma Wang arranged by the Marquis last night has passed."

"Grandma, people haven't left yet and it's already dark. I'm afraid of causing misunderstandings, so I arranged for them to stay in our courtyard for the time being, waiting for grandma to make arrangements."

Ping'er shook his head and replied, "Last night you complained that you had a headache when you came back. You asked yourself to make arrangements, but you were not allowed to call the doctor. In order to take care of you, you decided to keep the person privately, and it depends on your face."

"You girl, you are so angry."

(End of this chapter)