Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 727: The Calmness of the Southern Master
In the courtyard of Hanyuan Hall,
The bonfire was burning brightly, and the flames were shining on the faces of the people around, making them feel warm. It was already night, and everything was quiet.
At first glance at the north side, the empty hall seems somewhat mysterious.

After Chu Nian finished speaking, he stood up, wrapped the blanket around himself again, and leaned back in a comfortable position.

As the saying goes, seeing is believing, hearing is false. Everyone says that Marquis Luo Yun is lustful and domineering, but in Chu Nian's opinion, that is just the marquis's true nature, and the gentleman's demeanor is implied in him. He is a hundred times better than those scholars who claim to be gentlemen but do sinister things.

of course,

The words of praise from the two also made the usually thick-skinned Zhang Jinyu blush slightly. He stood up and imitated Master Chu, throwing the blanket on the chair under him, sitting on it, and then wrapping the blanket around himself. It was so comfortable, don't even mention it.
"My two friends, I am ashamed of your praise. I think many people have seen some things, but I just can't stand them. Some officials are corrupt and accept bribes. They eat and wear fine clothes and eat delicious food. The places they live in are not comparable to the palace, but at least they have luxurious houses and courtyards.

I didn't want to say this, but one day, I saw an official from my dynasty eating simple meals and renting a place to live. Don't you think this is a disgrace to the court? "

Zhang Jinyu sighed again. He was sincere when he said these words. He wanted to send someone to investigate Yan Cong. He thought that Yan Cong was also a wealthy man. Who knew that after so many years as an official, he only had a small house, a wife who lived with poverty and had been frugal every day and had hardly eaten meat? It was really unbelievable.
Later, after careful investigation, I found out that there were not only many such people, but also many who were even worse off than them. That's why the Imperial Household Department in the capital was later established to renovate those vacant houses. This not only increased the court's revenue, but also solved the worries of the officials in the capital. Why not do it?

It was a joke, but it made Xiangyang Hou and Chu Nian stand in awe. Chu Nian even stood up and bowed.
"My Lord, it is because all the officials saw it, but no one, like you, really took care of them, and no one took it as a big deal and dared to bring it up in the court. Only you, who had just arrived in the capital from outside the Great Wall, dared to speak out. Although we, the civil servants, did not say anything, we all remembered your kindness in our hearts. How could we forget it?"

The words were so passionate that Zhang Jinyu was ashamed. At that time, he really didn't think about those things.
"Brother Chu, you are too polite. Please sit down. To be honest, these past few days, everything in and out of Hanyuan Palace has been handled by Lord Chu. The people in the Ministry of Works are also under the personal supervision of Brother Chu. I have seen all the hard work. It is my blessing to work with Brother Chu. If I had someone else, I really couldn't do it."

Zhang Jinyu's words were also from the bottom of her heart. After all, she was a young lady getting married, and it was her first time. Who knew how the examination room would be arranged, not to mention the reconstruction. It was all supervised by people inside and outside the family. It was completed within three days. Although many craftsmen were invited, and the master craftsman who built the mausoleum was borrowed, it can be seen that His Majesty attaches great importance to it.

By the way, I didn’t reward those people, which is not justifiable.
asked;

"I forgot one thing, Lord Chu, have all the craftsmen from the Ministry of Works left? And where are the master craftsmen that Your Majesty specially transferred from the mausoleum? They did a lot of work but didn't get any reward. This is not my rule."

The words are grand.
The Marquis of Xiangyang, who was still warming himself by the fire, had a big smile on his face.

"Marquis Luo Yun is really generous. No wonder everyone in the capital knows about it. It turns out that if you work for the Marquis, you will get at least some money."

"It's not much less, brother Bai, you know that this money was taken in an upright manner, from top to bottom, and no one can find fault with it. Let's not talk about others. Today, for this reconstruction, the three of us will all get a share of the money, one thousand taels each, which will be deducted from the money that I manage. Of course, brother Bai, you and I are all benefiting from Brother Chu."

It wasn't that Zhang Jinyu did it on purpose. He just wanted to set up a name and spend the first sum of money. After all, he had deducted nearly five million taels of silver from the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Revenue. After deducting the money for the renovation of the houses in the capital, at least half of it would be left. If it wasn't used, wouldn't it be a waste?

But when the two heard this, they felt something was wrong. These silvers belonged to the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works. How could they use them? The Marquis of Xiangyang tightened his blanket around himself and tried to persuade them.

"My Lord, you should think about this matter carefully. After all, this is the money of the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works. If you use it like this and put it in the account, how can the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works be willing?"

"Yes, sir, should we discuss this again?"

Chu Nian also felt that it was inappropriate, as many people in the court were eyeing the silver in Marquis Luo Yun's hands.

Zhang Jinyu leaned there, and suddenly felt a little empty in his stomach. He didn't know if he was hungry again, so he ordered,
"Ningbian, bring some more naan bread and heat it up. Let the brothers share some. Why do I feel hungry again?"

"Yes, sir, I'll get it right away."

Ning Bian responded, waved his hand, and sent his personal soldiers away.
This interruption left the two confused. After thinking about it carefully, they realized that they had not said anything wrong.

"Brother Chu, I want to ask you, the reconstruction of Hanyuan Palace must have cost a lot of money, right? Who paid for this money?"

"Uh, this,"

Chu Nian was stunned at first, then he calculated in his mind. During the reconstruction, they used high-quality wood, various decorations, spare kerosene and torches, etc., which indeed cost a lot of money. Just the beds with barriers in the back hall cost a lot.
"My Lord, it is estimated that at least tens of thousands of taels of silver will be spent. Not to mention the craftsmen who will be used, even the wood used for the reconstruction was transported from Jiangnan. Although it is leftover material, it was bought with silver after all. All the expenses were paid in advance by the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

The voices became lower and lower as they spoke. These storage children had never really thought about this. It had always been like this. The Marquis of Xiangyang did not think it was inappropriate. Traditionally, the expenses of the palace were all paid for by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. What was wrong with that?

Zhang Jinyu listened, shook his head and smiled, but did not answer. The personal soldier who had just left had already brought people to bring an iron rack to the campfire, put a circle of naan on it, and started to roast it. He also put a plate of previously roasted mutton on the table, which was still hot.

Greeted,
"Come on, don't be polite, eat something first,"

Zhang Jinyu was not polite either. He picked up a piece of meat with chopsticks and put it into his mouth. He swallowed it with a slurp.
Seeing this, the two of them became more relaxed and started eating with him. It seemed that they had not eaten enough after just accompanying His Majesty.

I ate half a plate of meat with naan bread and drank some tea.
Zhang Jinyu then touched her belly and replied contentedly;

"What I asked just now was for a purpose. Think about it, the cost of rebuilding Hanyuan Hall was advanced by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. In other words, it was paid by Your Majesty. The Imperial Examination is a major event for the court. As the chief examiner of Hanyuan Hall, I should share your worries.
Therefore, this silver should fall into the hands of this marquis. Besides, this money under this marquis's control is used exclusively for the renovation of the mansions in the capital. Hanyuan Palace is also a mansion, and those craftsmen should be paid for their work, right? "

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Jinyu burped. This time, he was full. However, the two who were still eating put down their naan breads at the same time and looked at Luo Yunhou in disbelief. Isn't this a perverse logic?

But thinking about it carefully, what the Marquis said was right, and it was in line with the wishes of the royal family. As expected, it was definitely not luck that Marquis Luo Yun could have such favor. The two of them were ashamed of themselves.

"My Lord, what you said is true if I think about it carefully. I am stupid and have never thought about these things. As for the craftsmen, they are still resting in a room in the back hall and can only leave early tomorrow morning. Since my Lord wants to reward them, please send someone to call them over."

Seeing Chu Nian say this, Zhang Jinyu winked at Ning Bian. He didn't expect that there was still someone left in the hall. He was a little careless.

Ning Bian naturally received the signal from the Marquis, gathered his men and horses, found the way to the backyard and walked over.

And outside the palace,
In the quiet night, the large number of soldiers and horses released from the Luo Yunhou Mansion also disturbed many people. In the "Examination Hall" in the south of the city, Nan Zixian, the Grand Secretary of the Wuying Palace, was sitting in the attic, watching the runners outside, who were checking the examination halls in the Examination Hall one by one to see if there were any omissions.
As for Mr. Nan himself, he lit an oil lamp and sat on the second floor near the window, looking down at the yard. The burning bonfire illuminated the yard so brightly that everyone's figures were clearly visible.

I think after tonight, the Imperial Examination Hall will be bustling and lively tomorrow. I just don't know if Marquis Luo Yun in Hanyuan Palace will make better arrangements. But when I think of Chu Nian helping there, I'm not worried. Chu Nian has always been thorough and steady in doing things, and Marquis Luo Yun is not a man who is complacent, so there should be no problem.

Just thinking,

Suddenly, I looked down at the courtyard and saw an official hurrying in, as if he had something urgent to do.

Soon, someone went up to the attic and asked for a meeting outside the door.

"Report, sir, I have something to report."

"Come in."

Lord Nan felt a chill in his heart. He turned around and left the window, sat down behind the desk, and let someone come in first.

The official in charge outside the door nervously wiped the sweat from his forehead with his hand, then carefully pushed the door open and walked in. His coarse official robe was a little loose because he was in a hurry, and he didn't realize it.

Entered,
Then he saw Lord Nan, sitting alone behind a desk, and he hurried forward a few steps and bowed;
"I greet Lord Nan," "What's the matter that makes you so anxious?"

Nan Zixian stared at the person in charge for a few seconds and saw that he looked anxious and anxious, so he must have something urgent to do, so he asked.

"My Lord Nan, when I was on duty at the gate of the yamen, I suddenly heard many hurried horse hoofbeats. I felt something was wrong, so I sent someone to check it out. I met him in front of a censor's office at the south street corner. After asking around, I learned that Marquis Luo Yun had ordered that all the inspectors of Hanyuan Palace must enter the palace tonight, without missing a single person.

So I felt something was a little strange, maybe something happened in the palace, so I hurried back to report to you."

The official in charge was also afraid that something big might happen. After all, he was the chief officer in charge of the Imperial Examination Hall. He had nothing to do on weekdays. Over the past few years, he was only busy with the imperial examinations. It could be said that it was a good job.
Lord Nan frowned slightly. Marquis Luo Yun actually summoned the inspectors tonight. Why was he so anxious? Could it be that the examination room had not been arranged yet? This shouldn't be the case. After all, didn't His Majesty mobilize the master craftsmen who were building the mausoleum?

If it wasn't for this, what else could it be?
"Besides these, what else is there?"

"Your Excellency, I have also personally inquired about this. There are notices posted in conspicuous places at the corners of each street, saying that students with red tickets can enter the examination hall tomorrow morning. Everything else remains unchanged, only the time to enter the examination hall has been advanced."

The person in charge who said these words seemed to understand something.
When Master Nan heard this, his frown disappeared and he smiled slightly.
"That's fine. After all, this is the first time that Marquis Luo Yun is in charge of the special examination. He is too cautious about some things. He is afraid that there will be too many people and it will be late. But it's okay. Leaving some spare time will leave room for maneuver. He is a capable minister. I think it was Chu Nian's suggestion."

The chief official also breathed a sigh of relief. Thinking about it, it made sense. There were many people taking the special examination this year, so should the Imperial Examination Hall follow the same pattern? He asked doubtfully:
"Lord Nan, does our Imperial Examination Hall also need officials to enter tonight, just like the Hanyuan Palace? If so, I will send someone to inform them tonight."

To inform them, that is, the officials of the Hanlin Academy and Wuying Palace, but it was late at night and I don't know whether the old Hanlin had slept or not.

Nan Zixian waved her hands and shook her head, but she disagreed.

"We don't need it. Tonight, we will conduct a final inspection of the examination halls and let your men rest early. We will be busy tomorrow, so let's do it as usual. However, Luo Yunhou's idea is worth learning from. Tomorrow, the number of places to be inspected will be increased from four to ten. The rules remain the same. Just try to be as fast as possible. Do you understand?"

The chief officer was shocked to find that the number of people to be checked had doubled. It should be because of the large number of candidates. In this way, those brothers who were on leave should come back as soon as possible to avoid any mistakes.

"Yes, sir, the ward rounds have already been prepared. Not to mention ten, even twenty can be done safely for you, sir."

The person in charge bent over with a smile on his face. The ward rounds were ready. The main thing was manpower. There were enough manpower. All this was not a problem. It was originally a polite way of flattering. Who knew that Lord Nan hesitated for a moment and then ordered,
"In that case, we don't need twenty of you. We'll use fifteen to conduct rounds tomorrow, so we still need to prepare more."

Seeing Lord Nan's order, the chief official wanted to slap himself a few times. How could he be so mean? He said whatever he wanted. But now that he had said it, how could he go back on his word? He felt annoyed and could only grit his teeth and nod in agreement.

"Yes, Lord Nan, I understand. I will definitely arrange it tomorrow."

"Well, let's go."

Afterwards, Tang Guan left the room with a bored look on his face, and the room fell silent again.

Dongcheng,

In the Prince Jin's Mansion,

Upon hearing the news from the palace, Jiang Zongyue, the deputy commander of the imperial guards, hurriedly led the patrolling soldiers into the inner courtyard and asked to see His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin.
Arriving at the inner hall,

Commander Jiang stood in the middle of the courtyard outside the palace and bowed loudly;

"I, Jiang Zongyue, pay my respects to His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin. I have something to report to you."

In the palace,

At this time, the King of Jin had just bathed and changed his clothes. He was sitting at his desk, reading a book of classics silently. When he heard Commander Jiang's call from the courtyard, he put down the book in his hand, stood up and walked to the window, opened it, and saw the person clearly in the moonlight, and asked;

"What brings Commander Jiang here?"

Commander Jiang in the courtyard saw His Highness standing in front of the window and hurriedly turned around and bowed again.

"Your Highness, I have just received a message from a eunuch in the palace, asking Your Highness to pack up immediately and report to the commander-in-chief Luo Yunhou in Hanyuan Palace. The eunuch did not tell me the details, but only mentioned that it was an inspection and examination, and the three of you should go together."

"Oh. You actually want us all to go to Hanyuan Palace. Enkeke is tomorrow. It's so urgent."

Jin Wang Zhou Ding thought about it and thought it must be his father's order. He didn't know what his father meant. He actually went to Hanyuan Palace at night. Could it be that there were only three of them? He asked doubtfully;

"Is there anything else happening in the capital? For example, with Marquis Luo Yun, I heard that the Marquis has asked a lot of censors to serve as inspectors. What will they do?"

When thinking about things, one must think carefully. This has always been Zhou Ding's habit.

Commander Jiang was a little surprised. He didn't expect that the King of Jin was so thoughtful at such a young age. He immediately replied;
"Your Highness, the Marquis has indeed taken action. Just now, imperial guards came out from all over the capital, and they all ordered the examiners of Hanyuan Palace to enter the palace tonight without missing a single person. The examinees who are going to enter the palace can enter half a day earlier, that is, tomorrow morning."

"Is there any movement at the Southern City Imperial Examination Hall?"

Prince Jin touched his chin. It was obvious that Marquis Luo Yun had acted a little earlier. He didn't know what Lord Nan from the Imperial Examination Hall would think of his response, after all, there were a lot of people.

"Your Highness, I did not find any movement in the Imperial Examination Hall. If it is the same as the commander-in-chief, there should be a message from the imperial guards."

Commander Jiang was outside and noticed these things, but he did not find any of the Nan Lord's servants.

"Okay, in that case, Commander Jiang, prepare the carriage, I will be there soon."

"Yes, Your Highness."

Jiang Zongyue quickly clasped his fists in response, turned around and left the yard, preparing his carriage and horses for the escort.

Only Zhou Ding touched his forehead, feeling a little sleepy. He didn't know if he could sleep well after going to Hanyuan Hall. He shouted to the door,
"Sister Xia Yu, please pack some things. I'm going to the Hanyuan Hall in the palace."

"Yes, Your Highness, I am listening. I will have someone pack it up right away. Also, please pack up the cakes that I bought during the day for Your Highness."

Xia Yu, who was outside the door, had long heard the noise in the yard and knew what was going on. She had already told her maid to prepare. But when she thought of Luo Yunhou, she couldn't help but touch the pendant on her chest. She didn't know what was going on with her other sisters. She was like a young girl in love. Her calm heart was rippled.
(End of this chapter)