Cao Shun stepped back with gratitude.
Brother Jiu said to Shu Shu: "It's over. The one who is close to the black is the black. Now I am worried about becoming a father."
Shu Shu said: "It's a simple matter, I'll help you if you're willing. Just remember to find an opportunity to report it in front of the emperor, so as to avoid misunderstandings if it gets passed around. The emperor should think that I'm taking the opportunity to blackmail the Cao family."
Emperors were suspicious men.
Even if the coating does not live up to expectations, in terms of trust, the designation is ranked before the honors of the Three Banners.
By the same token, the nobles of the Shangsan Banners were ranked before the clan princes.
The princes and princes of the royal family are ranked in front of other nobles and nobles under the Five Flags.
You're obviously doing something good, so don't fall behind.
Brother Jiu nodded and said: "Well, after a few days, I have to go to the imperial palace, so I just happened to mention it..."
Having said this, he calculated the time when Sun Wencheng left Beijing. It was mid-February, and he should have arrived in Hangzhou by now.
"The Jin family has designated to hide the silver, but the amount may not be in line with Khan Ama's expectations. Datou should still be filial to Beijing..."
Brother Ninth said.
Shu Shu sighed and said: "This is the human heart. It is too far away from the imperial power and has lost its respect."
In the capital city, even the most powerful princes and bachelors know what can and cannot be touched.
Not only selling ginseng privately, but also meddling in tributes, this is simply asking for death.
Brother Jiu shook his head and said: "Ignorant people are fearless. They should study more. Cao Yin and Li Xu are not doing this..."
The appearance of a member of the Jin family really shocked many people.
What is a householder?
They are slaves who have signed a contract and have been attached to the master's family for generations.
Such people are more ruthless than their enemies.
Because they are our own people, they have experienced many things, and they know the shortcomings of their master's family.
The charge of "disrespectful" is not serious.
Everyone in the Jin family was also detained.
The Jin family's house in the imperial city was also confiscated and sealed by the Department of Punishment.
The Jin family's housewarming banquet in February is still vivid in my mind. They used high-quality swallow-wing seats, showing the magnanimity of a wealthy man from the south of the Yangtze River. But now the house is empty.
It wasn't just one or two people who threw their heads back and laughed.
There are a lot of vacancies in the sixth rank and above in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. If one family occupies more, others will occupy less.
The Jin family went around to get married and treat guests, which brought many old relatives closer to each other, but it was not just one or two families that were offended.
Now, it actually makes people happy.
You know, everyone dares to gossip about the royal family, let alone the upstart Jin family.
The Jin family’s background has been exposed.
He was a Korean Bao Yi who defected to him during the reign of Emperor Taizong.
At that time, two brothers came. The grandson of the elder brother was Batai, the late founding hero and great scholar. The descendants of that branch also received grace and took out the wrappings and carried them to the Han Army of Xianglan Banner.
The younger brother's grandson is Jin Yiren's father, Jin Yuzhi, and he is a cousin of the same great-grandfather as the great scholar Batai.
Batai is a representative figure among the ministers who are loyal to the monarch. He has experienced three dynasties. He performed meritoriously in the battles at the founding of the country and was awarded a title. When Emperor Shizu refused to be attached to Dorgon, he was dismissed from office. Later, after Dorgon's death, he resumed his title and official position. In the early years of Kangxi, he refused the solicitation of his assistant minister Obai.
After Jin came to power, he restored Batai's bachelor's degree, and later he was promoted to the head of the cabinet. From then on, until Batai's death, for more than 20 years, he retired several times and was promoted several times. He was always valued by the emperor and rewarded. The royal uniform was adopted.
In the eighth year of Kangxi's reign, Jin Yuzhi was appointed as a weaver in Hangzhou, and he also benefited from Batai's influence.
In addition to the clan members, the in-laws of the Jin family were also picked out one by one. Most of them were big families in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and there were many Eight Banners Han military families.
However, except for Cao Quan who went around for a while at the beginning, everyone else was as quiet as a chicken, waiting for orders from the palace.
Within two days, several more charges came out, all of which were the fault of the Jin family and his sons when they were employed in Hangzhou Weaving.
The first is to manipulate the price of raw silk, holding the quota of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but purchasing it at a low price at the local level. Not only did it earn a balance, but the purchase amount also far exceeded the annual needs of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The excess raw silk was priced at market prices or higher than Sold to local merchants at market price, one mile and one away, earning twice as much money.
The second is pre-production. Because the labor price of spring and summer weaving in Hangzhou is more expensive than that of autumn and winter, the next year's task is produced one year in advance. The labor paid is the price of autumn and winter, but when it is recorded, it is settled according to the labor of spring and summer. After one year, the remaining work is Labor cost of 20,000 taels.
The third is Guangshanku borrowing. When he was in charge of Zhizhuang, he borrowed two sums of money, totaling fifty-three thousand taels, but the principal and interest have not been paid off.
Fourth, when handling imperial errands, the accounts were inflated, and the recorded prices of perfumes, jewelry, clothing materials, etc. did not match the purchase prices, and the difference was more than three times at most.
*
The Yamen of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
Looking at these charges, Brother Jiu felt a little worried and ordered He Yuzhu: "Call Cao Shun in."
He Yuzhu went down and called Cao Shun in.
Brother Jiu handed this directly to Cao Shun and said: "You and I worked in Jiangning Weaving Yamen before, so you should be familiar with weaving affairs. Take a look at these articles. Did your uncle commit any crime? If it was a small matter, then you Just write the letter and it will be corrected; if the amount is huge, then don’t write the letter."
Cao Shun took it and looked at it, but didn't say anything for a long time.
Except for not borrowing money from Guangshanku yet, his uncle had done all the other three things.
Brother Jiu admired him: "They are all very impressive, and their accounts are bright. Last year, Gao Yanzhong went to check Sanzhi Weaving, but nothing was found. If it hadn't been for the intervention of the Shenxing Division, who would have known that there are such tricks to make money!"
Cao Shun murmured: "I'm not trying to defend my uncle. When I go on an errand, the purchase price does not match the entry price. This is a common practice because we have to prevent losses. For example, a hundred bottles of perfume are brought into the palace, but it is thousands of miles away from Jiangning to the capital. , glass is also easy to break, so one hundred and fifty bottles must be prepared to prevent damage. It is better to have more than less of the things in the palace, let alone defects..."
"As for manipulating the price of raw silk, sometimes it is not intentional. The money allocated by the Ministry of Revenue is fixed every year, but the price of raw silk fluctuates every year. In good years, the price of raw silk will be low; in bad years, the price will be low. It’s high, but the money spent on procurement by the Yamen has not changed in ten or twenty years…”
It's really shameless for someone like the Jin family to try another hand.
Cao Yin and Li Xu are both scholars, so this is not their behavior.
After hearing this, Brother Jiu said: "Since there is an inside story, then you don't have to worry about it. When your uncle knows about Jin Yirentian's crimes, he will explain it to the emperor himself."
When running errands for the royal family, you can only be good, not bad.
If you make mistakes, you can be held accountable, so you must act thoughtfully.
Brother Jiu was not a harsh person. After listening to Cao Shun's words, he knew that these two crimes were not crimes at all, but that the Jin family was too generous.
Cao Shun complied and said, "Master Jiu, the Jin family has been accused of more and more crimes."
Brother Jiu glanced at him and said, "Why are you worrying about this? Your uncle made Khan Amma's haha beads. He grew up in the palace. He knows the rules best, so don't worry."
Cao Shun nodded and retreated.
The ninth elder brother and the twelfth elder brother said: "You can't be too kind in life. If you are too kind, you will feel uncomfortable. You should be more selfish so that your life can be happy."
Brother Twelve thought for a moment and said, "Brother Ninth doesn't like what Guard Cao is doing?"
Brother Jiu nodded and said: "I'm too indifferent to my family. It's obvious that Cao Yin didn't keep his word. He didn't have a son and adopted his nephew, so he took Cao Shun away from his parents. As a result, he had a son and repeated it. If he repeated it, he would have sent him back early." That's fine. You can still stay with me as a backup. What's the point? Even if you have to raise your favor, the trouble should be cut in half. Just complain without knowing it and stay away from him. You still have to worry about the future there. Too kind; the same goes for his parents. Since his parents treasure other children, they should just stay away from each other and treat themselves as the eldest son and elder brother. They can come and go as they please, running errands and doing odd jobs. This is not the case. Can’t you find happiness for yourself?”
The results of it?
Everyone was happy, except Cao Shun.
Brother Jiu felt that if Cao Shun didn't change his character, he would torture himself to death in the future.
He just didn't want to see honest people suffer, so he intervened in Cao's family affairs.
The twelfth elder brother said: "Servant Cao has been the eldest son and grandson for many years, so he has a stronger sense of responsibility. As long as he does not delay his errands, he has to think about other things by himself."
Brother Jiu nodded and said, "Yes, he still has to think about it himself."
Being kind-hearted is not a fault and should not be disliked.
Anyway, Brother Jiu will only help this time.
He couldn't bear to see such heartache.
If Cao Shun still wants to suffer a loss in the future, let him go.
*
When everyone inside and outside the palace was paying attention to Jin Yiren's case, Princess Rongxian entered the palace and entered Zhongcui Palace.
There was deathly silence in Zhongcui Palace.
Due to the closure of the palace, the nobles and Chang Zai who had previously lived with him had all moved out. Now, only Concubine Rong was left as the master in the entire palace.
There were originally eight women in the palace under her name, but after she was demoted, the number was reduced to six.
Zhongcui Palace originally had twelve eunuchs, two chief eunuchs and ten ordinary eunuchs.
However, due to the Ma family's case, the two eunuchs in charge of Zhongcui Palace were sent to the Criminal Investigation Department and never came back.
Later, when the palace was closed, a chief eunuch was directly transferred from Qianqing Palace.
Originally, Concubine Rong still had some nuns who were superior to her, but they were all released before the palace was sealed.
As a result, the huge Zhongcui Palace now has a total of one master, plus seventeen slaves.
Princess Rongxian knew the layout of Zhongcui Palace and entered the west room of the main hall directly.
This is a small Buddhist hall.
Concubine Rong was wearing an indigo gown, with her back to the door, sitting cross-legged in front of the Buddha statue.
"Empress..."
Princess Rongxian said softly, fearing to startle her.
Concubine Rong turned around with a very peaceful expression. She saw clearly that it was Princess Rongxian and said softly: "Are you back?"
Princess Rongxian took a few steps forward, knelt down and kowtowed: "My daughter is unfilial and came back late."
Compared with when she left Beijing in the first month of last year, her biological mother was more than ten years older and looked like an ordinary old woman in her fifties.
She was the most beautiful person, but now she was wearing no makeup, her head was bald, and she didn't even wear a hairpin. Her gray and sparse hair was braided and coiled on top of her head, with some bald spots on both sides of her forehead.
However, his expression was calm and his complexion was much better than expected.
Rong Xian felt very complicated.
What she said in front of the emperor was 70% true and 30% false.
As a daughter, she naturally feels sorry for her biological mother.
Although she felt that this revenge was a disadvantage because it did not hurt the prince, but trapped herself in it, she could understand it.
She also became nirvana.
If others dare to plot against her child, she will transform into Shura and take revenge to the end.
Concubine Rong rubbed her back and said, "You are already married, so you should not come back. From now on, your husband and your children are your family. Whether it is with me or with Third Brother, they are all yours." relative……"
Princess Rongxian raised her head and disapproved of this statement. She looked at Concubine Rong and said, "My mother's home is also my home. How can my mother have the heart to leave me alone without being cared about by my family? I hope that my mother will care about me as well as my mother."
Concubine Rong shook her head and said lovingly: "You have to live your own life."
Princess Rongxian was silent for a while and said, "Is your Majesty happy?"
Hearing this, Concubine Rong caressed her chest, thought for a while, nodded and said, "I feel so happy."
Hesheli's face must be revealed, otherwise she will be the prince's greatest helper if she is left innocent.
Princess Rongxian took a long breath and said: "That's good. Your Majesty has been in the palace for thirty years. You should know that the royal son is more important than his mother. Please take care of your daughter and the third elder brother. The third elder brother is acting recklessly and unwisely." , if you don’t protect everything, you will get into trouble. When the time comes, Bahrain will not be able to care about your daughter when she is far away. Who else can protect him except the empress?"
Concubine Rong frowned and said, "Did your third brother make a mistake again?"
Princess Rongxian said: "It's just a matter of paying it back without touching the money. He fell into the trap as soon as he mentioned the money. It's okay now. The brothers seem to be in harmony. No one plots against him. If someone plots against him, then he will be the one to count..."
Concubine Rong was confused after hearing this.
Princess Rongxian looked at her and knew that she was worried about her third elder brother. Just worry and be concerned.
She continued: "Their family is not at peace either. In the first month of the year, a bastard was born. During the first month of the year, Hongqing's carriage had an accident and hurt her face. Her younger brother and sister were pregnant again. I heard that there were a few princesses in the backyard. Not very peaceful..."
The old son and the eldest grandson are the lifeblood of the old couple.
Hong Qing is the eldest grandson of Concubine Rong, and he has such an appearance and honest temper that he is very fond of.
Concubine Rong was worried and said: "Then you should keep an eye on me. Dong E is just a paper tiger. He is bluffing and can't control those princesses..."
*
This day was also the "initial wedding ceremony" between Prince Zhijun and Zhang Jia's family.
Being disturbed by the Jin family's affairs, everyone's attention turned to this happy event when they arrived.
Compared with his first wife Fujin, Zhang Jia's successor Fujin had an ordinary background. He was born in the Han army. He was not one of the "Thirty-three Honorable Families of the Han Army", but was from a middle-class family.
The chief military officer is a second-grade officer, but there is an admiral above him, and his powers are limited, which cannot be compared with the second-grade officer in the capital.
However, everyone can also understand why the prince of Zhijun chose to succeed Fujin from an ordinary background. It was because he had left his eldest son in the first place. If Fujin was of high birth, the two legitimate sons would compete with each other in the future.
The first engagement ceremony of a prince is fixed.
Even if he succeeds Fujin, he will not be reduced.
As usual, two managers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and two ministers leading bodyguards were sent to Jifu Jin's house to deliver the first wedding ceremony.
Here at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it’s Brother Jiu and Ma Qi who come forward.
The two ministers in charge of the bodyguard are the first-class public expense Yanggu and the first-class public welfare.
These two people are the highest-ranking among the six ministers who lead the bodyguard, and they are the candidates personally nominated by the emperor.
It can be seen that Kangxi, the imperial father, has always been concerned about the eldest brother's remarriage.
Zhang's residence is near the Princess Courtyard.
Brother Ninth, dressed in auspicious clothes, followed the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Etiquette to give the prince the first engagement ceremony.
The Zhang family is having a dinner today, and the eldest brother, the noble son-in-law, is also going to be there in person. The brothers who are accompanying him as besties are the fourth elder brother and the eighth elder brother.
When the ceremony was over, several princes took their seats.
Although Brother Ninth came on official business, he still came according to his status when arranging seats. The brothers sat next to each other, but they used single seats.
The eighth prince turned his head and asked in a low voice: "When will the Jin family's case be resolved? When I was on my southern tour the year before last, I followed Khan Ama's instructions and went to Hangzhou to check on the pick-up arrangements. Did the Jin family help at that time? Don't be busy, I even treated him to dinner this time when I returned to Beijing..."
This is where the words come out.
Brother Jiu said: "I don't know either. Khan Ama hasn't given any instructions yet. If Brother Bage wants to intercede, he should do it. If it's too late, it won't work."
The Eighth Prince shook his head and said: "The Jin family has acted improperly and failed the emperor's favor. There is nothing to plead for. Since this is what is being said outside these days, people are panicking and worried about being implicated."
Brother Jiu sneered and said, "That's nonsense. There are only a few people in the Eight Banners. Who will be implicated? Not even the cousins will ask, let alone others."
Eighth Prince: "..."
So should he let it go?
His aunt and cousin shouldn't be involved, right?
Otherwise, it would always be about him.
In all conscience, he really didn't ask for help for this cousin. It was Jin Yiren who took the initiative to bring this person to the local government office.
The fourth elder brother sat above the eighth elder brother, watching the two whispering to each other, with disapproval on his face.
Where is the boundary of talking?
The ninth elder brother said a few words to the eighth elder brother, but remained silent, paying attention to the eldest elder brother's reaction.
The eldest brother has a distinguished status, and General Zhang doesn't dare to act like his father-in-law, and the other Zhang clan members are even more speechless.
This was the fourth prince's first wedding ceremony that the ninth prince attended. The first was that of the eighth prince. In the Prince's Mansion of Anjun, the hall was full of clan members and princes, and it was noisy.
The second one is his own, Dutong Mansion, which is not as lively as Anjun Prince's Mansion, but the children of Dong E's family are also here, and they have the confidence to be a noble family.
The third one, the tenth prince, is very impressive in the inner hall, and his standards are higher than those of ordinary princes.
Now that I've reached this point, I feel weird.
The things were those and the people who came had enough status, but because the Zhang family had an ordinary family and there were only a limited number of official clan members who could come forward to entertain guests, it seemed a bit deserted and lonely.
The Zhang family's joy was different from other joys.
Some of them try to force their faces to be happy, using joy to cover up their uneasiness.
Brother Ninth remembered a word, wrong family.
He did not enter the inner house, and naturally he did not see the new sister-in-law.
However, Brother Jiu thought of Wu Fujin in his early years and felt some sympathy for this new sister-in-law.
After finishing the meal, everyone left Zhang's house.
Everyone knew that Brother Jiu was in poor health and had a low drinking capacity, so no one tried to make him drink.
The Fourth Elder Brother and the Eighth Elder Brother were not immune here. They were still besties and were rarely toasted. After each round, they both became a little high.
Although the fourth elder brother and the eighth elder brother both controlled their behavior and did not lose their composure, they looked stiff and felt a little unsteady when they came out and saw the wind.
Seeing this, the eldest brother was worried about the two of them riding horses, so he said to the ninth brother: "Ninth brother, please take the trouble to see me off. Don't ride on the horse when you get in the car, so as not to fall."
It was just a matter of passing by. The ninth elder brother readily agreed. Seeing the eldest elder brother's face turning red, he asked with concern: "Brother, where are you? Why don't you also call for a taxi?"
To the south of Zhenghuang Banner is Zhenghong Banner. Zhangzhai is not far from Zhijun Prince's Mansion, three or four miles away.
The eldest brother waved his hand and said: "No, it's not yet measured. It's just for the face."
The ninth elder brother also knew that he had the capacity to drink, so he stopped talking and asked someone to help the fourth elder brother and the eighth elder brother into his carriage.
As for him...
He hesitated for a moment, with some disgust on his face.
The two men smelled of alcohol and the carriage was cramped.
Brother Jiu didn't get on, but went around to the other side of the coachman, sat on the shaft, and said, "Let's go!"
He Yuzhu, Su Peisheng and others followed on foot, and several bodyguards accompanied them on horseback.
In the carriage, the fourth elder brother and the eighth elder brother looked at each other.
The fourth elder brother opened the carriage curtain, looked at the ninth elder brother's back and said, "Why don't you get in the carriage?"
Brother Jiu turned his head and faced the smell of alcohol that hit his face. He straightened his neck immediately and said without any concealment: "It stinks!"
Fourth elder brother: "..."
The eighth prince lowered his head and smelled himself, and became suspicious. His nose was malfunctioning?
Does it smell that big?
*
Two in one.
The next update will be around 12 noon on August 20th
