The tyrant opposite the door

Chapter 612 623: Fooling the Queen

"Thank you, Madam." Madam Zhang thanked her, then she stood up, still bowing her head and said: "I know Madam Fengjia is coming again, some country gentry and wives in the city want to come to say hello to Madam."

Yun Ran didn't open his mouth, Qiuhe looked at Mrs. Zhang with a smile and said, "Ms. Zhang, it's not because of your servant's support, but because of your status as a lady. If you want to see any of them, I'm afraid you won't do anything else for a whole day. It’s too busy to see people.”

Mrs. Zhang was sweating slightly on her forehead. She also knew that this matter was inappropriate, but after thinking about it, she still said: "These squires are not ordinary. Madam, please listen to the servants to explain in detail."

Yunran sat there with a straight posture. Now she is not a girl from the Gu family, nor is she Princess Luo, but the mother of a country.Even if she wanted to meet these people, she couldn't do it without a valid reason.

Otherwise, if you break the rules, you will not be able to stand up in the future.

Yun Ran didn't open his mouth, so Qiu He naturally continued: "Ms. Zhang, let's talk about it first. If what the lady says makes sense, she will naturally want to see her."

If there is no road, then it will disappear, I am afraid that Mrs. Zhang will follow her.

Qiuhe was actually a little nervous. Knowing that the empress had always been soft-hearted, she was really afraid that the empress would let go of her mouth and want to see someone without asking carefully.

Today I met these country gentlemen and wives, tomorrow I want to meet other wives and wives in Wanma City?
Although this Wanma City is not big, there are quite a few wives, big and small.

In this way, wouldn't it be a mess.

Mrs. Zhang was a little nervous, her palms were soaked with sweat, she calmed down and said: "The husbands of these country gentlemen and wives made great efforts to build Wanma City. Over the years, because of the war ahead, money and food have been exhausted. There is not a small donation, so it is really difficult for slaves to refuse, so they can only report back and forth to the empress."

Yunran understood what Mrs. Zhang meant. Although these families had no official positions, they did contribute money and food to support the war at the border.

Under such circumstances, it is indeed difficult for Mrs. Zhang to refuse directly.

Seeing that the queen was hesitant, Mrs. Zhang immediately said again, "After winter this year, these families will still donate cotton clothes to the soldiers."

"Are the soldiers at the border still short of cotton coats?" Yun Ran didn't know these things, so he asked.

Mrs. Zhang smiled wryly, and said: "Because of the frequent battles, most of the clothes are damaged. The regulations stipulate that each soldier has two cotton clothes, but there is not enough to wear them, but there is no suitable money in the army to subsidize them. It was donated by the wealthy households of the country gentry."

Looking at the empress thoughtfully, Mrs. Zhang gritted her teeth and said, "Not to mention cotton clothes, shoes and socks, but salt and weapons are in short supply. In this area of ​​northern Xinjiang, there is no cotton, no mulberry trees to raise silkworms. Clothes are all sold by merchants, but there is a certain number of caravans entering the northern border."

The border is an important place for military strategists, and the checks for entering and leaving the city are very strict.In particular, things like salt and iron are controlled by the imperial court, and silk is expensive, so how can ordinary people buy it as soon as they say it?

Mrs. Zhang has really tried her best when she mentioned this step. If it wasn't for the hope that the caravans of these gentry could bring more silk floss to make cotton padded clothes for everyone after this year's winter, she wouldn't risk it. The danger of being punished by the queen opened his mouth.

It is understandable that people have paid money and efforts, and want to see the queen to add some glory to their family.

"Let them come tomorrow at Sishi." Yun Ran said softly, "Since they have contributed to Da Jin, I want to see you."

The dignity that should be given is still given, Sikong Mu Sheng is in charge at the front, and she, the queen, has to do her best for her husband.

Moreover, she had an idea about the caravan, but she couldn't talk about it right now until she met the wives.

Mrs. Zhang was pleasantly surprised, she thanked her again and again, and then she left.

After Mrs. Zhang left, Yunran asked Qiuhe to inquire about these companies, so he had a charter in mind.

Qiu He saved the trouble, so he went directly to ask Fei Ji.

Fei Ji was a little surprised when he heard this, but he didn't expect those companies to do such a thing.

However, he thought about it deeply, so he just said at this time: "These families have contributed a lot to the military in Wanma City and the border, so there is nothing wrong with wanting to see the empress."

Upon hearing this, Qiu He looked at Fei Ji and said, "Deputy Manager Fei is saying that Madam also thinks about their hard work, so she asked me to ask about the situation."

Fei Ji didn't hide anything, he told the situation of several families, and Qiu He left after listening.

Fei Ji looked at Qiuhe's back and frowned slightly, but he didn't take it seriously, turned around and went up the tower again.

"The three gentry's surnames are Mao, Shi, and Jiang. They were originally local surnames. Every family was engaged in business for a living, and they did not encourage the children of the clan to become officials. Because there were no officials in the family, these families were not like the previous ones. The officials in Northern Xinjiang are all very well connected. It is said that these families have donated at least 10 taels of silver in the past few years. I heard from Deputy Director Fei that when the emperor was stationed in Northern Xinjiang, the Mao family once gave out 50 taels of silver."

Yunran's heart trembled, and he took out 50 taels a year, which is not a small amount.

Hearing the meaning of these words, it was clear that the money had entered Sikong Mu Sheng's hands.

Yun Ran remembered that when Emperor Wen Zong was here, he often delayed and withheld food and grass at the border. Thinking back to that time, Sikong and Mu Sheng also tried their best to maintain the expenses.

In this way, these people really want to see each other.

Yunran got up early the next morning, because she had to meet someone today, so she specially wore a palace dress with a bright yellow phoenix pattern, a peony bun on her hair, and a nine-tailed phoenix hairpin inlaid with red gold.

It was Mrs. Mao, Mrs. Shi and Mrs. Jiang who came here today.

After entering the general manager's mansion, seeing guards with long spears on both sides, the three of them followed Mrs. Zhang with their heads half down, and walked all the way to the main courtyard of the general manager's mansion.

Because there were no female relatives in this manager's mansion before, they had never been here before, and they were inevitably a little nervous when they came here for the first time.

Thinking about what the master of the family explained, I felt even more anxious, and I didn't know if I could pry a hole from the empress.

Life is hard these days, and war is even harder.

An official wants money when he opens his mouth, even if there are mountains of gold and silver, it is not enough to fill.

If the emperor was here, their family would not dare to mention this matter.

But the empress doesn't understand business, so they just complain, maybe the empress is merciful and can open an opening for them, and the family's life will be better.

Passing through the hanging flower gate, the three of them met each other's eyes, gathered their minds together, and raised their heels up again.

Qiu He was ordered to wait at the door, and when she saw Mrs. Zhang bringing someone, she greeted her with a smile.

(End of this chapter)