Red Mansion: I am Jia Lian

Chapter 35 Making a fuss out of a molehill
  Li Heng was in a sluggish state throughout the afternoon. He really couldn't understand how tobacco could make a lot of money.

Some people just can't figure it out, but Li Heng is the kind of character who can't sleep at night if he can't figure it out.

I have been thinking about this problem. I don’t know when school will be over. I am so confused that I don’t bother to pester Jia Lian.

Jia Lian, who witnessed all this, was secretly happy. This grandson is easy to deal with. He will give him questions in the future.

When Li Heng returned to the palace, he was still distracted and suddenly became inactive, which surprised the queen.

"Your Highness, what's wrong with you? Why are you so absent-minded?" the queen said in a rare and strange tone.

"Ah! No, no, it's all Jia Lian's fault!" Li Heng mastered the three-piece blame-shifting suit very skillfully. He made the queen happy with one sentence: "Oh, there are some people these days who lie without any cover-up. Yes, it seems that the board is too short."

The queen was actually quite curious. This stupid kid was led into a ditch, so why couldn't he get out? How could a child who is usually quite smart become like this after being exposed to Jia Lian? No, I have to figure it out.

When he heard the word "lying", Li Heng's face suddenly became pale, and he hurriedly waved his hands and explained: "Mother, I really didn't lie. This is what happened..." After explaining, the queen understood. I was quite unhappy at first, thinking that this child was almost driven to hysteria by being used to "make a lot of money". After thinking about it, it seemed that this was not a bad thing.

"Just ask if you don't understand!" The queen showed a smile on her serious face and slowly guided the child. It’s really not a matter of IQ, it’s simply a lack of knowledge. The queen knew very well that the education this child had received since he was a child had nothing to do with making money.

"Why didn't you ask? He didn't say anything. He also said that now he is afraid of making money and getting jealous. He will wait until I open the palace." When Li Heng said this, the queen understood and stood up with a smile. Touching this silly kid's forehead: "Is this a delaying strategy? Think about it, this way of making money makes no sense to you, right?"

Regarding this point, Li Heng figured it out and shook his head repeatedly: "I don't think so. He didn't need to tell me."

Just as he was talking, the eunuch outside shouted: "Your Majesty has arrived." The mother and son hurried out to greet him. Emperor Chenghui had already entered the door of Kunning Palace. When he saw the mother and son, his expression obviously changed from serious to relaxed: "The third child is here too."

"I, my concubine, send my regards to Your Majesty, my father!" Both mother and son said their regards in unison, and Emperor Chenghui raised his hand in greeting.

"Your Majesty didn't look good just now, but was he being scorned by his servants?" The queen knew Emperor Chenghui well, so she asked this question.

"There is no such thing. It's all a matter for the outer dynasty, so there's no harm in talking about it. Qiao Li, the Minister of Household Affairs, asked for sick leave. It's only been a year since Zhang Aiqing, the left minister, led someone to clear the debt. My cousin (King Beijing) asked someone to clear the debt. Put the household items at the door and set up stalls to sell them. Haha, rats can run away in the warehouse of the Ministry of Revenue, but those who owe money are crying about poverty and refuse to pay back the money."

When Li Heng heard what his father said through his teeth, his hair stood on end. Why didn't I leave earlier?
  When the queen heard this, she immediately smiled, opened her eyes and lied: "Just now, the third child mentioned money to me, saying that he wanted to make a lot of money to share your majesty's worries." Parents naturally have biases, and the queen is a little bit I prefer Li Heng mainly because this child usually behaves more like a child who is attached to his parents.

Emperor Chenghui also knew his wife very well. The so-called thing about the third child making money was nothing more than finding something to make him happy when he was in a bad mood. So he followed the queen's words and asked casually: "How does the third child plan to make money?"

Li Heng quickly replied: "It's like this..." After recounting the general process again, Emperor Chenghui suddenly became interested when he heard that it was true. After sitting down, he asked with a smile: "How do you plan to find Jia Lian?" Do you want to know?"

"Take your time and get the relationship right first." Li Heng answered casually. This was probably the reason why Emperor Chenghui and the Queen liked him. When he was with his parents, he was more casual and naive.

Emperor Chenghui heard some clues. In fact, he knew many things. That is to say, a silly boy like the third son, if it were any other prince, taking the initiative to make friends with powerful people, he would lose a lot of points with Emperor Chenghui.

Jia Lian thought that the matter was over, but he never thought that at noon the next day, Li Heng came over to share the table again, still talking: "I'm telling you, the court's debt settlement has not been going well recently, and the Ministry of Household Affairs has no money. I saw my father yesterday, and I was anxious to see him worried."

"Hi!" Jia Lian sneered, and Li Heng was unhappy: "Why are you laughing?"

Jia Lian did not have the habit of being a teacher, but a thought occurred to him that this seemed to be an opportunity to show his personal value to the emperor. Thinking of this, the tone in his mouth also became frivolous and casual: "Who are you laughing at? Whoever is holding a golden rice bowl and begging for rice is laughing at you!"

After hearing this, Li Heng immediately said displeased: "I won't agree to it until you make it clear today."

You see, this is the royal child, and she will fall out whenever she wants, but Jia Lian is not surprised, she was just trying to bury the hatchet.

"Okay, I'll tell you." Jia Lian put down his chopsticks, which meant there was no cigarette in his hand, otherwise he would light one.

"All ears!" Li Heng also looked very formal, but in fact he was secretly happy, I still can't control you?
  "Listen carefully, the fact that the court now uses silver as money is simply pushing money out. Why? Because the most profitable business in the world is to use money to make money. You will definitely not understand what I say. , It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand. I’m telling you clearly now, but you still don’t understand. Think about this issue carefully when you go back. If you still don’t understand, I’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

Jia Lian finished speaking crisply, picked up the chopsticks in his hand and added: "Don't ask any more questions! Otherwise I'll kick you out."

This guy's words were irritating, but the contempt in his eyes was even more irritating. Li Heng was so angry that he wanted to curse, but after thinking about it, he held back.

"If you don't tell me, don't tell me. I don't believe it and can't understand." Li Heng muttered, silently remembering the original words in his heart.

During the afternoon class, Li Heng was absent-minded once. Thinking of the possibility of seeing his father when he went back, and starting with the topic of Jia Lian, Li Heng's heart jumped wildly. When a prince faces the emperor, the most difficult thing is how to find a topic for conversation. This topic can also make the father willing to listen, and it can deepen the impression.

Li Heng saw it yesterday. His father was very interested in Jia Lian's topic. He couldn't find the answer today, but he would be more interested in the new topics he brought back. As for the answer, don't worry, it can be used as a reference for the next time he talks to his father. The topic of royal communication.

The emperor has to deal with a lot of memorials every day. If he is a diligent and obsessive emperor, he will die of exhaustion sooner or later.

Emperor Chenghui was diligent but not obsessive. The memorials were reviewed by the cabinet and major issues were sent to the emperor for approval. The cabinet has great power. Legally, cabinet ministers are appointed by the emperor. The ministers who want to do whatever they want must be approved by the emperor to ensure that the imperial power is unlimited. This set of things was created by Zhu Yuanzhang, but Zhu Yuanzhang used the cabinet as a secretary. Later emperors did not have such a prosperous experience as Zhu Yuanzhang, and the cabinet gradually became prime minister. Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty sacrificed the ceremonial supervisor to counter the foreign dynasty and create a balance.

This dynasty strictly prohibits internal servants from intervening in politics, and the cabinet is a bit like a military aircraft department. Simply put, it is a highly centralized, multi-phase system. When Emperor Chenghui appeared in Kunning Palace again, his face was still ugly. Even after meeting the Queen and Li Heng, he only relaxed a little, and then frowned again and became worried.

But this time, regarding the matter of clearing debts, the four cabinet ministers all said that it was better to wait rather than rush, and said that Zhang Ting'en had taken care of it.

This was the main reason why Emperor Chenghui was in a bad mood. King Beijing's lack of cooperation was expected, and the cabinet's collective lack of support made Emperor Chenghui disappointed. When asked how to solve the problem of empty national treasury, the cabinet ministers were collectively silent. At this stage, the only ones who can spend large sums of money are the internal treasury. His Majesty, who is short of money, did not say that he would leave from the inner treasury first, but it was said.

Therefore, Emperor Chenghui suffered multiple blows! The fact that the cabinet is not of the same mind as him is the biggest blow.

Seeing this, the queen quickly found a topic to liven up the atmosphere: "Third brother, have you asked me clearly about making money from tobacco?"

This sentence diverted Emperor Chenghui's attention, and Li Heng was very nervous. He could not help clenching his fists and stuttering a little: "Well, I didn't ask, I just mentioned that the treasury has no money, and my father is worried. He also sneered and said that my father was begging for food with a golden rice bowl."

Emperor Chenghui was obviously stunned, and then he became angry and glared: "He is a wild and rebellious person! How can you tolerate him?"

At this time, Li Heng calmed down. Seeing that the strategy was working, he knew that he had mastered the rhythm of the conversation, so he quickly said: "The son was very angry at the time and asked him for an answer. I couldn't explain it clearly and I didn't agree. But he said that the imperial court uses silver as a currency. Currency is the practice of pushing money outward. I didn't understand, so he didn't answer. He asked me to come back and think about it. If I can't figure it out tomorrow, he was telling me. Oh, he also said that the most profitable business in the world is It’s money that begets money.”

"Oh?" Emperor Chenghui looked obviously surprised, and then sneered: "The civil and military affairs of the entire dynasty are not as good as his child?"

Li Heng followed these words and said: "I think so too. I will definitely ask this question clearly tomorrow. If what he says makes sense, I will let him go. If what he says does not make sense, I will smash his mouth." "

"Nonsense. Even if he talks nonsense, you don't take it seriously. How can you hit someone? You are such a crazy person, don't worry about it." Emperor Chenghui really didn't care, mainly because Jia Lian was too young. However, he still kept it in mind, feeling that there was something wrong with this matter. How could Jia Lian tell the third child this, even though this was the topic initiated by the third child.

Could it be that Zhang Ting'en had other ideas that he couldn't tell him clearly and borrowed his words?

No, it's impossible. If Zhang Ting'en has a way, there is no need to clear the debt, which means that the child has an idea, but this idea may not be useful. Let's do this first.

At this point in the conversation between father and son, Li Heng resigned with good sense. He could not take up too much time with his mother and father, and he could deepen his father's impression of him through topics that he was interested in. The purpose had been achieved. Withdrew.

The next day, he summoned King Zhongshun and Zhang Ting'en and asked them how to proceed with the debt settlement in the next step. Neither of them had a good idea. Zhang Ting'en said: "The only way to proceed is to wait until the time for His Majesty's speech arrives. I will wait for the minister's instructions." Officials who owe money should go through it again. Give it a try and see if you can gain something."

"That's all we can do for now. By the way, when I met the third prince Yinghua yesterday, I mentioned something..." Emperor Chenghui briefly explained the matter and finally said with a smile: "This student of Zhang Qing's is very interesting. I also want to know how he makes money."

Zhang Ting'en secretly complained, but he couldn't help being moved. His first judgment was that Jia Lian was using other channels to help reduce the pressure of clearing debts. If he could earn a lot of money through other channels, it would be difficult to clear the debts in the future, and he would be punished much lighter.

Well, that must be the case. But this is obviously unrealistic. Jia Lian is jumping into a pit of fire. Based on his understanding of Emperor Chenghui, he might be accused of bewitching the prince with ulterior motives.

The consequences are very serious!

Didn't he say that Jia Lian was rude to the third prince? How did it get mixed up?

At this time, Zhang Ting'en could not intercede with Jia Lian, so he could only pretend not to care and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, the third prince is young and Jia Lian is only fourteen years old. I think it is a joke between children." First, it is classified as Just joking, the situation is serious.

King Zhongshun said in a bad tone: "Your Majesty, I am afraid that there is something fishy about this matter."

This was a bit vicious. Although he didn't say it explicitly, he clicked on it. The unsaid words were obviously, "Is it possible that the adults in the family taught him to say this to spy on the information through the third prince?"

Zhang Ting'en's heartbeat suddenly accelerated after hearing King Zhongshun's words. How much did he hate the Jia family? No, this is for the four bastards. As for Jia Lian, it's a matter of helping others. Is this making a fuss out of a molehill? Zhang Tingen quickly glanced at King Zhongshun and found that he looked loyal and resolute at this moment, acting as if he were real.

Without Zhang Tingen having to say anything, Emperor Chenghui shook his head and said with a smile: "I've thought too much. It would be a good thing if this is really the case."

Zhang Ting'en promptly praised: "Your Majesty, your Majesty, it is really your turn to rely on a child's nonsense to spy on the news. Four bastards and eight princes will raise their hands and be wiped out."

Emperor Chenghui smiled proudly, feeling great.

Emperor Chenghui knew what the two ministers were thinking. Zhang Tingen really wanted to do something, and King Zhongshun also really wanted to bring down the four kings and eight princes. However, the former is for the sake of leaving a name in Qingshi, while the latter is for the huge wealth and political resources of the four princes and eight princes.

A crisis was avoided by Jia Lian because of his age. It must be said that there are advantages to being young.

One day at noon, Li Heng came over again like a dog-skin plaster. Jia Lian didn't even bother to wait for him to take the initiative to ask. She raised her finger and pointed in front: "Don't share the table, everyone eats his own thing."

"You dislike me!" Li Heng's tone suddenly rose, filled with indignation. He almost yelled: "How dare you?"

　I haven’t asked for votes yet, so I will do so today. Any ticket will do.

　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)