At the same time, these rumors outside the palace were reported to Emperor Chongzhen immediately through Jinyiwei and Dongchang.
To be honest, Emperor Chongzhen immediately suspected that the source of these rumors was Yang Sichang. Because Yang Sichang knew about Xue Guoguan's proposal, and now this rumor is very similar to Xue Guoguan's proposal. In the words of later generations, Yang Sichang seemed to have sufficient motive for committing the crime.
However, no matter what, the rumors are somewhat different from Xue Guoguan's proposal.
These rumors, on the surface, are deduced from the affairs of Wu Qinghou.
If you want to find out the source of such a rumor, you may not be able to find it out with the means available at this time. Even if you can find out, it will probably take a lot of time and manpower to investigate, which is not worth it.
After Emperor Chongzhen weighed it in his mind, he stopped worrying about the source of the rumors. However, he understood that someone would definitely come to make trouble for Wu Qinghou!
After thinking for a moment, he went to the harem to find Queen Zhou and asked her to come forward and summon Mrs. Wu Qinghou into the palace to comfort her about today's events.
Let Wu Qinghou know that the emperor has no other intentions, but at the strong suggestion of the ministers, there is no other way but to help Li Guochen get what he should get. Marquis Wu Qing doesn't have to worry, at least he still has half of his family wealth and is still the master of Marquis Wu Qing's mansion.
I have to say that the palace responded so quickly, and the queen was so caring and comforting, which was very helpful. Mrs. Wu Qinghou, who was called into the palace, was very grateful for this. She quickly said that she would convince her master to deliver the inheritance as soon as possible, and went back with a lot of gratitude.
However, she did not expect that Emperor Chongzhen was already waiting for her at the place she must pass. Of course, they didn't meet her directly, but far away. They just saw her within the sight of Emperor Chongzhen, and "rewarded" her with the Class A eavesdropping seed that the system had just rewarded not long ago.
And this was the real purpose why Emperor Chongzhen asked Queen Zhou to summon her to the palace. Because it was not convenient for Emperor Chongzhen to see Wu Qinghou at this time, otherwise it would be the best choice to give the eavesdropping seeds to Wu Qinghou.
In the evening, Linhuai Marquis Li Zushu suddenly visited Wuqinghou's mansion. He said that he had heard that Wuqinghou was seriously ill and came here to visit. In this regard, neither the Dongchang fans nor the household officials who were guarding the door could stop him, and could only let him enter the house to visit.
After he left, Mrs. Wu Qinghou went to see Wu Qinghou and said: "Master, I have already counted the silver in several hoards and counted two hundred thousand taels. Wait until early tomorrow morning and I will hand it over in person!"
"Turn it over? What are you paying? You won't pay it!" When Li Guorui heard this, he immediately shouted angrily and knocked the bird's nest that the lady brought to the ground.
Seeing this situation, Mrs. Wu Qinghou couldn't help being surprised and a little stunned. When she came back to her senses, she didn't care to clean up the broken bowl on the floor, and asked in surprise: "Master, what's the matter? Didn't you say it well before? Is that so? The emperor has no choice but to do so, and all the ministers are..."
"What do you, a woman, know?" Before she could finish her words, she was rudely interrupted by Li Guorui, "Two hundred thousand taels, do you think it is twenty taels? Besides, that bastard born of a cheap maid, You dare to humiliate me in front of the house, how can I swallow this tone?"
"..." Seeing this, Madam Wu Qinghou didn't know what to say.
She naturally understood in her heart that the master had agreed well before, but now he suddenly changed. This might have something to do with the Marquis of Linhuai who visited before.
To be honest, she couldn't bear to part with two hundred thousand taels.
However, Dongchang Fanzi and the Hubu Yamen were both living in the mansion, and she was also afraid. Thinking that the queen was right, she still had at least half of the family wealth, so she could live on, so she accepted it. But now that the master refuses, she has no choice.
With this in mind, she asked Li Guorui: "Master, if this is the case, how will the court explain it?"
"If you have anything to explain, just say you don't have money!" Li Guorui said bitterly, "If you don't have money, you still have to force me. Aren't you afraid of chilling the hearts of other nobles and causing public outrage?"
Having said this, he paused and then ordered his wife: "Pack up some pots and pans. If you dare to force me to give you money tomorrow, take them out to sell on the street. I don't believe it anymore. I don't even want to show my face." , Does the imperial court still want this face? Does the emperor still want this face?"
"..." After hearing this, Mrs. Wu Qinghou was speechless again.
After a long time, she worriedly reminded: "Master, doing this will really bring disgrace to the court and embarrass the emperor. What if the emperor is furious?"
"What else can you do? Do you still dare to kill me?" Li Guorui's face turned red and he shouted sternly, "I am the grandson of Queen Mother Xiaoding!"
After hearing this, Mrs. Wu Qinghou was still afraid, lowered her head and remained silent.
After venting his anger, Li Guorui slowly calmed down. Looking at his wife's appearance and remembering the previous idea of Marquis Linhuai, he suddenly felt something in his heart and said to his wife: "Bo Jiadingbo and I are good friends. In this case, you should quickly send someone to Jiading Bo's Mansion and ask him to come over."
After finishing speaking, seeing that she was still hesitating, he urged her again before urging her away.
Not long after, Jiading Bo Zhou Kui arrived as promised. As soon as he entered the door, he said loudly: "Wu Qinghou, I'm really embarrassed. I just heard about you and was about to come to visit you. I didn't expect you to send someone here first!"
When Wu Qinghou heard this, he sneered in his heart, maybe he would have to spend the gift money for the visit, right?
It’s true that when you come to visit a patient, you can’t come empty-handed, right?
After Zhou Kui finished speaking, he seemed to hesitate for a moment, then took out a gift list from his sleeve and gave it to Mrs. Wu Qinghou who was accompanying him, saying it was a small gesture and please keep it to yourself.
Madam Wu Qinghou naturally wanted to be polite, then she accepted it and left with her maid. She knew that the master must have something to talk to Jiadingbo.
After exiting the room, she unfolded the gift list and looked down. Madam Wu Qinghou could not help but be startled. Then she spat silently and whispered with a look of disgust: "You are really stingy. You can even get this little thing." !”
After saying that, she threw the gift list to her personal maid and drove the maid out. Then, she pressed against the window, trying to eavesdrop on what the master was going to say to Uncle Jiading.
In the room, Marquis Wu Qing sat on the bed and sighed: "I think Uncle Jiading must have known about my bad deeds. What a bad luck!"
When Zhou Kui heard this and was about to comfort him, Li Guorui changed the subject and said, "But when I hand over the money, I won't be the only one who is unlucky."
Zhou Kui had heard some rumors before, but when he heard what Wu Qinghou said, his face suddenly became a little ugly, and he quickly asked for confirmation: "You mean... that the imperial court will ask for money from other people?"
"No!" Li Guorui immediately responded, "Our relatives are not as deeply rooted as those nobles with hereditary titles. If the emperor has no money, who do you think you can ask for money from? If I give money now, who will be next? ? There can’t be any money in the treasury, right? Then they will definitely continue to ask for money from us! Maybe it’s not Brother Zhou, but it must be another relative. If there is no money around him, it will probably be Brother Zhou’s turn. .”
Upon hearing this, Zhou Kui's face turned very ugly, and he said a little uncertainly: "At any rate, my daughter is the queen and my nephew is the prince. I can't possibly do that, right?"
"How is it impossible!" When Li Guorui heard this, he immediately showed a look of realization and said to Zhou Kui, "Brother Zhou doesn't tell me, I still can't remember it. If Brother Zhou says this, maybe you will be the next one." Got it!"
"How is it possible?" Zhou Kui looked ugly and denied in surprise, "This is impossible!"
Li Guorui saw the changes in his expression and sneered in his heart, and then continued his analysis to Zhou Kui: "Brother Zhou, think about it, brother Zhou, you are the queen's father and the prince's grandfather. Now that the court has no money, in the end, Of course the emperor is anxious. If the royal family has no money, they will ask for money from us relatives. I think this is because there is a bastard in my house. If not for this, the emperor would be embarrassed to speak directly to us relatives. So in this way Come on, in order to get everyone to spend money, we must set an example and take the lead in donating money, right? So, Brother Zhou, who do you think is the most suitable person to set an example in the capital now?"
His words were actually misleading. Therefore, after he finished speaking, Zhou Kui easily came to the conclusion that he was the most suitable example. Because he is the queen's father and the prince's grandfather. If he takes the lead, the emperor can reach out to other relatives.
When he thought that he had to pay out money, and it was not just one or two taels, he immediately felt like a knife.
Seeing his painful expression, Li Guorui knew that his prediction was correct, so he continued to add information: "Also, when the court opened its mouth, it was like a lion opening its mouth. Two hundred thousand taels, isn't that much? Brother Zhou, think about it again , if it is an example, can this silver be less than 200,000 taels? In my opinion, it must be more than me, so that you can ask for more money from other relatives, right?"
"..." Zhou Kui was speechless after hearing this, and his heart was like a turbulent wave. Two hundred thousand taels, and a lot more than this one, this... this is simply killing him!
Seeing that he was in a daze and his face turned white for a while, Li Guorui felt confident and was not in a hurry. He did not speak anymore. Instead, he picked up the bird's nest that was served again on the side to moisten his throat and waited. Jiadingbo spoke first.
After a while, even Mrs. Wu Qinghou, who was eavesdropping outside, was getting a little impatient when she heard Zhou Kui muttering to himself at a loss: "What should we do? But what should we do..."
This soul is finally back, but it is at a loss.
"It's not that there is no way!" Li Guorui just said this, which immediately attracted Zhou Kui's attention. As if grabbing a life-saving straw, he reached out and grabbed Li Guorui's hand. His face was sincere and flustered, and he quickly asked, "Hou What do you want to teach me? As long as I can keep my family property, Master Hou will be my good brother, Mr. Zhou. From now on, I will not distinguish between two families!"
As he spoke, he was already using honorifics.
"Haha, look at what Brother Zhou said. I am already grateful that Brother Zhou could come over to see me. If anything happens, we must share the joys and sorrows together." Li Guorui said with contempt in his heart, but with a sincere look on his face, "If you want to Keeping the family property is as simple as saying it, it just depends on whether Brother Zhou can be brave enough?"
"As long as we can keep our family property, not to mention risking my life, it's no problem!" Upon hearing this, Zhou Kui immediately patted his chest to assure himself, and asked expectantly, "Yes?" If you have any good ideas, tell me quickly!"
At this time, Li Guorui stopped worrying about Zhou Kui and taught him carefully: "The most important thing right now is to let the emperor know that we can't hold so much money, right? We have no money, so we can't force us to take it to death. That’s a lot of money…”
When he said this, he saw Zhou Kui's eyes light up, and he knew that this guy had taken the bait. Whatever he said next, he would definitely do it.
"...So, I am going to go to the street to sell pots and pans tomorrow! After that, when Brother Zhou heard the news, he also wanted to help the younger brother with money. But Brother Zhou doesn't have any money, so what should I do? Just Let's sell pots and pans with my younger brother to collect money. In this way, the entire capital will know that we have no money, and we will be forced by the emperor to sell pots and pans. You think, then, the emperor can force us to get money again What?"
Zhou Kui couldn't help but be overjoyed when he heard this. Obviously, he felt that in this way, the emperor would no longer be able to force them to give money for the sake of face.
"Besides, if we really want to talk about money, the palace has more money than us! Is the emperor still embarrassed after forcing us to do this? Why don't you pay for it yourself? You said, if everyone in the capital knew about these things, Do you have such an idea?"
"Hey, why didn't I think of that!" After hearing this, Zhou Kui said overjoyed, "Good idea, good idea, let's do it!"
Among nobles, they can almost guess whether each other has money, but this is not important. What is important is that they can avoid paying this money. As for face, can it be eaten?
Hearing his response, even Mrs. Wu Qinghou, who was eavesdropping outside, was a little stunned. Unexpectedly, the queen's biological father and the prince's biological grandfather did not care about the royal face at all in order not to pay for it! If this thing is really done, where will the face of the queen, the prince, and the emperor be put?
After hearing this, she felt relieved.
When Jiadingbo went to sell pots and pans with him, the emperor became angry. Even if he wanted to punish people, Jiadingbo would stand in front of him. Although the Wu Qing Hou Mansion would also hate the emperor, after all, it was two hundred thousand taels of silver, and it would make the master unable to hold his head up as a human being in the future, admitting that he was born to a lowly maid. It's really better to just do this once.
With confidence in her heart, Mrs. Wu Qinghou stopped eavesdropping, turned around and left happily.
Of course she didn't know that what she heard out of curiosity was all fed back to Emperor Chongzhen by the eavesdropping seeds in her body.
Not long after, Emperor Chongzhen saw all the dialogue text when he paid attention to the eavesdropping system.
When Emperor Chongzhen saw these words and saw Zhou Kui's stinginess and shamelessness, he was so angry that he laughed!
As the father of the queen and the prince's grandfather, he actually did such a thing, well, then don't blame me for being rude and punishing you too!
With a decision in his mind, Emperor Chongzhen immediately summoned Dongchang Admiral Cao Huachun alone.
As soon as they met, he issued an order in a cold voice: "Immediately conduct a strict investigation on the family finances of Marquis Wu Qing and Uncle Jiading, and find out the sources of their money and income, especially illegal income. Do you understand?"
Cao Huachun is not surprised to find Marquis Wuqing, but...
He confirmed with some hesitation: "Your Majesty, does Jiading Bo also want to investigate?"
"Humph, there is such a state leader in the world. He has completely disgraced the Ming Dynasty!" Emperor Chongzhen said bitterly, and then sternly ordered, "Check, check it carefully for me. Remember, you don't need to be precise. , as long as there is a rough idea, I will do it before noon tomorrow, do you understand?"
It is really not an easy task to find out how much income these two relatives have. However, it is relatively easy for Dongchang to just check the source of the money and roughly estimate the family wealth. After all, Dongchang must know which properties, shops and so on belong to that house, especially the popular and valuable ones.
After explaining this, Emperor Chongzhen went to the harem to find Queen Zhou.
