At this time, Jiading Bo Zhou Kui was a bit old, so he woke up early and was listening to the play in the lobby.
When I heard the eunuch came to the palace, I thought it was Empress Zhou who had something to do, so she didn't get up to greet her. She was still lying on the couch with a blanket covering her legs. Two beautiful maids were waiting beside her, beating her legs. He was rubbing his shoulders, with various fruits and desserts on the side, and continued to listen to the show.
Xu Gao was led by his servants to the lobby and sighed in his heart when he saw this situation. At a time when national affairs were difficult, Jiadingbo enjoyed himself endlessly!
"Hey, it's Eunuch Xu!" After Zhou Kui saw Xu Gao, he didn't get up. He just extended his hand and said, "Come here, come here early in the morning. It's been a hard work. Let's listen to some music and rest!"
After hearing this, Xu Gao shook his head and said, "We are here at His Majesty's will and have business to do!"
Upon hearing this, Zhou Kui felt a little disappointed, thinking that something must be up to him. But after all, he came here on the emperor's orders. Even though his daughter was the queen and his grandson was the prince, he still had to act like a minister.
So, he waved his hand and asked the opera singer to go down, then stood up under the service of the beautiful maid and said: "In that case, I will go and prepare the incense table first to meet the order."
"No need, it's an oral instruction." Xu Gao said quickly after hearing this.
If it is not a formal imperial edict, there is no need to set up an incense burner to welcome it. So, Zhou Kui was about to kneel down to listen to the order, but Xu Gao stopped him and said: "Your Majesty, Jiading Bo doesn't need to be polite!"
Hearing this, Zhou Kui was too happy to kneel down. It was too troublesome to kneel back and forth.
"Your Majesty's decree!" Xu Gao saw that Zhou Kuizai had listened attentively, so he spoke seriously, "Songshan was newly defeated, the country was in dire straits, the army was reorganized and money and food were in short supply. Jiading Bo is the head of the relatives, the prince's grandfather, and the queen's biological father. I hope Jiading I can set an example for the emperor's relatives and donate money for emergency needs. I will reward him with a marquis. I appreciate this!"
"..." When Zhou Kui heard this, he suddenly became a little unhappy. Even though Emperor Chongzhen said that as long as he donated money, he would be made a marquis, he was still unhappy.
Because in his opinion, it was only a matter of time before he was granted the title of Marquis. Even if Emperor Chongzhen did not grant the title, the prince would definitely be granted the title after he ascended the throne, and he might even be granted the title of Duke. Therefore, he does not care.
However, the emperor has already spoken, and it will not work if he does not have an explanation.
So, he grimaced and said to Xu Gao: "I don't know which traitor instigated the emperor to come to ask me, an old man, for money. Naturally, all matters in the court will be handled by the guilds in the court for the emperor." It’s not the one who shares the worries!”
Having said this, Zhou Kui paused and then complained: "The emperor's relatives and relatives represent the emperor's face. I really don't know why someone is targeting us again. What do you mean? What happened to Marquis Wu Qing in the past? Isn’t it enough?”
After hearing this, Xu Gao lowered his head and said nothing. Because he was strictly told before coming, he only needed to convey the decree and then return to the palace to reply.
Seeing him like this, Zhou Kui sighed heavily, and then said: "Who told me that I am the biological father of the queen, the grandfather of the prince, and the first of many relatives of the emperor! So be it, since the emperor has spoken, No matter what, I have to find a way."
Hearing this, Xu Gao felt more comfortable, so he raised his head and looked at Zhou Kui, with a trace of expectation in his eyes. After all, the identity of the person in front of him is here, and he also hopes to reply with good news to the emperor, which can solve the emperor's difficulties.
"Let's do this!" Zhou Kui thought for a while before speaking, with a hint of pain in his expression, "I'll try to get a thousand taels of silver together in the next few days. No, no matter what. How about gritting your teeth and collecting 1,500 taels of silver to send to the palace?"
"..." When Xu Gao heard this, he was stunned. One thousand five hundred taels seems like a big deal. Are you sending a beggar away?
To be honest, even if he was just here to deliver the message, he was angry when he heard Zhou Kui's words.
However, given the identity of the man in front of him, he couldn't afford to offend him. Moreover, the emperor had an explanation and would not let him speak any more. Therefore, after waiting for a while, he saw that Zhou Kui had nothing to say, so he waved his Buddha dust and said, "In that case, our family will return to the palace to renew the order!"
"Then I won't keep Eunuch Xu. I guess Eunuch Xu won't be able to get used to the simple life in the house." Upon hearing this, Zhou Kui made a gesture of giving it away and said, "I'll give it to your father-in-law!"
Xu Gao suddenly felt a little nauseous. Is it a simple meal? Did I go blind just now? The fruit preserves on the side are not something ordinary people can have. I was still listening to the opera early in the morning. Haha, just a simple meal...
"Uncle Jiading, stay!" Xu Gao felt unhappy, so he responded and strode away.
Zhou Kui used to be a fortune teller, and he could tell that Xu Gao didn't seem very happy. However, if he is not happy, then he is not happy, what else can he do? As long as the queen and the prince are here, he, Zhou Kui, is not afraid of anyone!
At this moment, his son Zhou Bian just got up and heard some noise, so he came over and asked: "Dad, is it the queen who has sent something again? Or is it because she misses her father and wants him to go to the palace to talk?"
When Zhou Kui heard this, his face darkened and he said angrily: "No, it's because your emperor's brother-in-law has no money and wants to borrow money from our Zhou family!"
"How can this be done?" When Zhou Bian heard this, he immediately jumped up and said, "I have worked so hard to get all this money. How can it be easy for me? I won't borrow it!"
"Of course, the whole world belongs to the emperor. We are rich all over the world. How can we be short of money? To be honest, I don't want to give any money." After hearing this, Zhou Kui nodded and said bitterly, "But after all, the emperor has spoken. , I have to agree to it no matter what, I agreed to one thousand five hundred taels."
"What?" When Zhou Bian heard this, he immediately became unhappy. "Fifteen hundred taels, how many maids can you buy? Dad, have you ever thought about it?"
Of course Zhou Kui knew, but before he could speak, Zhou Bian rolled his eyes and said again: "Dad, does sister know about this?"
After hearing this, Zhou Kui blinked his eyes, thought for a while and said, "I'm afraid I don't know."
"In that case, why don't dad go to the palace and complain to sister? Maybe he won't even have to pay for it!" Zhou Bian quickly stepped forward and pulled his father's sleeve, pulling him and saying.
When Zhou Kui heard this, he thought about it and said with great joy: "What my son said makes sense. Well, for one thousand five hundred taels of silver, dad has to go to the palace no matter what."
So, he made preparations and went out.
At this time, in the Wenhua Hall of the Forbidden City, the officials were reporting to Emperor Chongzhen.
"Your Majesty, in the middle of last month, Chenzhou was captured by Li thieves."
"Your Majesty, Suizhou was captured by Cao Cao's troops, and General Secretary Li Mengchen died for his country."
"..."
There was not a single good thing reported by the ministers. They were all news of cities being attacked by bandits, including Taikang, Ningling, Kaocheng and so on. This made Emperor Chongzhen frown. He looked at Zhang Mingwei's back from time to time and sighed in his heart. It was indeed a sign of the country's demise!
While he was thinking about it, he heard another report from below: "News has just arrived. The rebel army has captured Guide. Wang Shixiu, the chief of the Ministry of Industry, Cai Feng, the deputy general, Wu Ruqi, the official, and Yan Zekong, the colleague... all died for their country."
Guide is a big city in Henan, with many famous people, and a series of officials who have died have been reporting for a long time.
After this report, the Wenhua Hall became quiet.
There is finally no bad news, Emperor Chongzhen thought, and when he was about to speak, he saw someone coming out of the queue and said with a little anger: "Your Majesty, many of our colleagues in Guide died unjustly!"
Hearing the strange words, Zhang Mingwei couldn't help but feel a little curious, so he turned around and looked, but he didn't know who this person was.
However, Emperor Chongzhen certainly knew him. It was Liu Zongzhou who had just issued an order to resurrect and worshiped Liu Zongzhou as the censor of Zuodu. When he heard his strange words, he asked in a deep voice: "How do you say this?"
