Elegy of Tang Dynasty

Chapter 229

The vigorous "Liyuan Shooting Concubine" activity started high and then went low. Many central officials were excited before participating, but disappointed after participating.

It was enough to be embarrassed by a group of crazy women. In the end, the "reward" was not fulfilled at all.

Because it was related to the burning of the Liyuan Forbidden Palace and the suspected assassination of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty, the rewards for this event were cancelled. After all, no one dared to say whether the "assassin" had romantic arrows in his hands.

If the murderer of the Emperor's assassination is sent to his home, wouldn't it be a big misfortune if he is found out in the future?
After hearing the news, both the palace ladies who had recovered from their madness and the central officials who didn't know what to do with the "prizes" all breathed a sigh of relief.

As for those Jinwu guards who violated the ban and secretly released the palace maids, each of them received a symbolic punishment of ten army sticks, and then there was no unnecessary punishment.

The palace ladies who tried to escape from the opera garden at that time were only given demerits and were not subjected to any overt or covert abuse. The result was more lenient than everyone expected.

Pei Min, the Zhonglang General of Youjinwu Guard, was relieved of his position as the Zhonglang General of Youjinwu Guard and was sent to Youzhou to serve as the military envoy of Longhua Army. He did not suffer any devastating punishment.Of course, the palace ladies he wanted to protect were also not released, but returned to the palace where they were originally.

All in all, the aftermath of this event was pitifully small, as if it had never happened.No matter the circle of powerful people or central court officials, they are only concerned about one question: who set off the fire in the Liyuan Forbidden Garden, and who was the mastermind behind it?
It has to be said that the various dignitaries in Chang'an City, Ji Ge's brothers, and his sons are all possible.Only the three princes who have left Chang'an can be exempted from suspicion.From the perspective of the biggest beneficiary, Prince Li Ling is particularly suspicious.

But Li Chen was famous for not having much power to rely on.

So in the end, after repeated investigations, this matter was settled and no one was implicated. As for what Brother Ji was thinking and why he dealt with it so lightly, no one can guess the reason.

Except Fang Chongyong.

This is the last day before the New Year's holiday. All central officials have to go to the Yamen to get their "salary slips" and then go to the corresponding treasury to receive their "year-end bonuses".Usually it contains Lumi and needs to be towed by a car.At the same time, some strange things will be distributed, such as pepper, sunscreen, hand cream, charcoal, health medicine, fine wine, etc.

Each of these things is not valuable individually, but the variety and quantity are great. As an official welfare, they are still quite attractive.

At noon, Fang Chongyong also came to Yushitai Yamen to receive the "new year's goods" for the New Year.

"Well, that's probably it."

Zheng Shuqing personally handed a piece of paper full of words to Fang Chongyong, on which he wrote in detail what he wanted to get from the treasury.In fact, Fang Dafu took the note and drove the ox cart to handle these last things, and did not require Fang Chongyong to make the trip himself.

"It seems a bit much."

Fang Chongyong looked at it again and again, and found that the total amount he received seemed to be exactly twice what the supervisory censor should have received, and he was only referring to Lumi.He didn't look closely at the mess.

"The sage says, take double what you have."

Zheng Shuqing lowered his voice and said.

"Well, the money from the government officials..."

Fang Chongyong asked doubtfully.These things are good, but the most important item has been erased, which is the item of copper coins.

Usually it is taken from the yamen's public money.

"Hasn't it already been sent?"

Zheng Shuqing looked like it was natural.

"Did you...?"

Fang Chongyong read every word on the pay slip carefully, but he didn't see how much money was paid.

"It's paid. I won't talk nonsense to you. I don't need to be on duty today. You can go home and get your things."

Zheng Shuqing waved his hand impatiently.

The secret of the public money is actually in a certain item in the salary slip, but Fang Chongyong didn't notice it.

The canteen of Yushitai Yamen was closed at noon today. Fang Chongyong bought a dried Hu biscuit on the way home and ate it while walking. When he got home, Fang Lai Que opened the door.

As soon as they met, Fang Laique whispered: "Mr. Lang, the two ladies in the family are going to kill someone."

"Kill who?"

Fang Zhongyong was stunned when he heard this and asked subconsciously.

"Of course I'm going to kill you."

Fang Laique smiled heartlessly.

Fang Chongyong remembered that when he was in bed last night, Wang Yunxiu screamed happily and whispered in his ear that he wanted to give birth to a monkey in Fang Yanei. It didn't look like he was so angry that he wanted to kill someone.

She has tasted the joy of being a woman, so she should feel more sorry for her man.

"Are you trying to help me?"

Fang Chongyong scolded angrily.

"Lang Jun, you can see for yourself, they are all here."

Fang Laique pointed at Wang Yunxiu and Anaye who were standing in the corridor of the courtyard, with dark faces preventing Fang Zhongyong from moving forward, covering their mouths and snickering.

Wang Yunxiu's face was as gloomy as water. When she broke into Fang Zhongyong's kiss with Anaye in Shazhou, she seemed to have never been so angry as now.

As for Anaye, she also put away her usual cheeky and cheerful expression, and desperately gestured to Fang Chongyong with one hand.

"What happened? What are your expressions?"

Fang Chongyong asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"You! You! How could you do this!"

Wang Yunxiu was so angry that she could not speak.

She had no idea that her gentle husband, who was still in bed with her last night, would do such a thing today.It's like someone says they love you forever, but then stabs you in the back.

When she thought of how she behaved like a frivolous slut last night, asking for and having sex endlessly, she felt extremely sick all over, feeling despicable and ignorant.

"What have I done?"

Fang Chongyong asked in confusion, he was going to the Yamen today to collect his salary slip.

Seeing his expression, Wang Yunxiu's anger suddenly rose. She stamped her feet and said, "Who else could it be if it weren't you? Come with me!"

She grabbed Fang Chongyong's sleeve and walked to the backyard.

When passing by Anaye, this usually honest girl from Hexi lowered her voice and said, "Alang, I won't help you this time. It's true that you went too far."

Why did I go too far when riding a horse?
Fang Chongyong followed Wang Yunxiu full of doubts, and then a scene that shocked him appeared in front of him.

Twenty young women with extraordinary beauty, like flowers and jade, wearing uniform palace uniforms, lined up in two lines in the backyard.As soon as they saw Fang Chongyong coming, they all bowed and saluted: "Welcome Alang home!"

"What else do you have to say?
If it were one or two, I would hold my nose and endure it.

Twenty!What on earth do you want to do! "

Wang Yunxiu couldn't help but roared at Fang Chongyong.

"Ah! So it's you!"

Fang Chongyong immediately discovered that there was a familiar face inside!He rushed into the crowd of women, grabbed Pei Xiu who was standing at the end and covered her face, and asked her with a tigerish face: "What's the matter with you!"

"When we come to your house, we are just slaves serving you, the master."

Pei Xiu said with her head held high, a sly smile on her face.

"Stop playing, people will die!"

Fang Chongyong lamented.

"see this!"

Pei Xiu took out a piece of paper with a line on it, which was specially circled and read: Twenty sets of palace guard sand.

"See if it says anything on yours!"

Fang Chongyong took out his salary slip from his sleeve and found that it actually said "Twenty sets of palace guard sand" written on it.

"We palace maids are part of your year-end salary. Where do we come from? Of course we come from the palace."

Wang Yunxiu was also shocked when he heard Pei Xiu's explanation.She pulled Fang Chongyong aside and asked, "Does the saint give the palace maids a salary at the end of the year?"

"Probably... right." Fang Chongyong's eyes flickered and he said with a guilty conscience.

"If that's the case, then why are you feeling guilty?"

As a pillow person, Wang Yunxiu could tell at a glance that something was wrong with Fang Chongyong's expression.

"Well, it's a long story."

Fang Chongyong said with a sigh.

Regardless of the dissatisfied looks from Pei Xiu and other palace maids, Fang Zhongyong pulled Wang Yunxiu and Anaye into the study room and poured a cup of winter drink for them.

"The thing is like this, I will tell you slowly."

Fang Chongyong sighed and told the story of the incident.

……

It turned out that on the day of the Concubine Shooting in the Liyuan, Li Longji wanted to drive Fang Chongyong away, but the latter forced him to stay and expressed his opinion to Li Longji in front of Gao Lishi.

"Sage, the maids are not wheat in the field. If their heads are cut off, they will never grow back.

Killing people can't create more profits. Wei Chen feels that there is a better way to handle this matter. "

Fang Chongyong knelt on the ground and kowtowed to Li Longji and begged.

"Hercules, you go and guard outside first. No one is allowed in. Any violation will be punished as treason."

Brother Ji said to Gao Lishi with a tigerish face.

"That slave will go now."

Gao Lishi took a deep look at Fang Chongyong, crossed his hands and saluted before leaving.

After he left, Ji Ge stood up from the chair, looked at Fang Chongyong who was kneeling on the ground and asked, "Tell me, what can I do?"

"Sage, these maids can be divided into several categories and dealt with in different ways."

Fang Zhongyong crossed his hands and saluted.

"Oh? Then you can tell me, what categories are they divided into?"

Li Longji asked with a smile on his face.

"First of all, it is the women from the official families. At the end of the year, they will be given as salary to their families. In this way, these officials will definitely feel the emperor's grace."

Fang Zhongyong crossed his hands and saluted.

"What good does that do to me?"

Li Longji asked rhetorically.

Yes, those families will indeed be happy, but he is no good as an emperor. Even if these maids are returned, those officials will not change their original intentions no matter what they think. When they should seek refuge with a certain prince, they will not show mercy.

"The saint can just deduct their salary. Those who understand will naturally understand what it means. And if there is a first time, there will be a second time. In the future, the saint can also follow the same method and return some palace maids while replenishing the internal treasury."

Fang Chongyong said calmly.

Li Longji nodded slightly, he somewhat understood what Fang Chongyong wanted to say.

Instead of killing these maids, it is better to sell them for money!Of course, they are not sold directly, but to their original families, which is equivalent to a "ransom".

One palace maid can't get much ransom, but what about a thousand?Depending on their status and background, the ransom will be different. Overall, this amount of money is huge!

After opening this hole, Brother Ji will have a new way to make money.

"There is also a type of palace maids. Although their status and background are very simple, they also saved a little money when they were on duty in the palace. They can be asked to pay money, and then rewarded to the officers and soldiers of the imperial army in the name of marriage. At the same time, let the parties involved pay for it. A betrothal gift can be deducted from the salary to give a good family the status of a son."

Fang Chongyong continued to suggest.

He has only one principle, that is, people themselves are scarce resources that cannot be copied and cannot be resurrected. Since they are resources, they should be used well and not die in vain.

"Guozhong, I find that you are a very interesting person. You never talk about money."

Li Longji said with a half-smile.

"The means serve the purpose. The humble minister only wants to enrich the inner treasury of the saint and does not do what he wants."

Fang Zhongyong crossed his hands and saluted.

"What about the remaining maids?"

"Find an intermediary businessman and contact suitable buyers. Those who are willing to pay a high price will release them from the palace. In fact, small landowners and wealthy businessmen among the people are proud of taking concubines and palace maidens, which brings glory to their faces. I think it is a good deed."

Fang Zhongyong said without conscience.

It's the lesser of two evils, is all he can say now.

"Then let's take this group of 5000 people."

Brother Ji's mood seemed to have improved, and he frowned slightly and asked, "Then what should we do with the palace maid who got the romantic arrow this time?"

"Saint, please forgive me for speaking frankly. Many bureaucrats have been teased by the palace maids this time. These palace ladies are sent to their homes and will definitely be abused or even killed.

It would be better to exempt them from the service on the grounds that there might be assassins who could assassinate the emperor, and then sell them... and send them out of the palace through various channels mentioned by the previous minister.

It can not only enhance the beauty of adults, but also enrich the treasury of saints. Isn't it beautiful to kill two birds with one stone? "

I heard that Li Linfu even lost his boots when he ran away this time. When the ten maids who grabbed the romantic arrows arrived at the Li family residence in Pingkangfang, how could Li Linfu be able to swallow this sigh of relief?

Even thinking about it is impossible!

The officials of the imperial court are all arrogant and arrogant people. Those palace ladies will definitely die miserably when they come to their homes.

Fang Chongyong's method was to "sell" the palace ladies for money in various names, which was regarded as a kind of "goods recycling."Five thousand maids can help Brother Ji make a lot of money.As for the future path of these palace ladies, it can only depend on their luck and good fortune.

Fang Chongyong felt that he had reached the limit of his ability.

"Well, that makes sense."

After thinking about it, Brother Ji felt that Fang Chongyong’s method was very reliable, and more importantly, it opened up a new way to make money!

In addition to these five thousand palace maids, there are at least 4 people in other palaces, including the Royal Palace in Luoyang, who can be "sold".This is a big deal, and of course, there is no need to rush it.

"Go ahead, it's none of your business!"

Brother Ji waved his hands impatiently and said, suppressing the ecstasy in his heart.Although he accepted Fang Chongyong's suggestion, he would not show that he was particularly happy.

……

"Anyway, that's what happened. But I don't know what the saint thought when he stuffed twenty maids here. I don't know about this at all."

Fang Zhongyong put his arms around Wang Yunxiu's shoulders, kissed her cheek and said.That's what Wang Yunxiu is good at, he can listen to the truth.

"Li Longji, this old man, is deliberately trying to embarrass me, right?"

Wang Yunxiu punched the table and said angrily.Of course, what she resents now is not Fang Chongyong, but Brother Ji.

They rewarded Fang Chongyong with twenty beautiful maids in one go, just to disgust Fang Yanei.

After all, he was the one who came up with this bad idea.So Brother Ji’s meaning is very clear: Didn’t you say that it is good to assign palace maids to ministers? Then I will give you a taste first!
Is twenty enough?If it’s not enough, I have more here!

"Pei Xiu is the legitimate daughter of Pei Min. Pei Min is going to Youzhou to serve as a military envoy. She cannot be disrespected. I don't know the other maids."

Fang Chongyong said in a deep voice.

Wang Yunxiu glanced at Anaye and sighed helplessly.

They decided to wait until Fang Youde came back to decide what to do with the twenty maids.

(End of this chapter)