The people at Yushitai are a group of lunatics, and in the eyes of the officials of the Qi State, they are a group of perverts whose psychology has been distorted due to excessive repression.
Keeping an eye on the officials all the time, waiting for them to make mistakes, not to mention trivial things, they are worth making a big fuss about. Cui Jiang couldn't help farting once in the early court, and was caught by a certain censor in front of the officials. He pointed out mercilessly that he would not be able to get off the stage on the spot...
This is not the worst.
The most exaggerated thing is that in order to catch the painful feet of hundreds of officials, they will do everything they can, even secretly sending people to give gifts. The investigators knocked on the door overnight, and invited you to Dali Temple for tea...
Cui Jiang is already familiar with such routines, even if the other party sends real money, he will not waver in his belief, let alone stones...
Although he faintly felt that there seemed to be something wrong, but he couldn't say anything for a while, so he could only let it go.
He pointed to the two big boxes in the hall, and ordered the servants: "Come here, take these things out and throw them away..."
money mansion.
Yang Yanzhou looked at Qian Duoduo and asked, "What did you ask those censors to give to Master Cui?"
"Stone." Qian Duoduo replied.
"Stones?" Yang Yanzhou looked at him, frowned, and said, "The matter is important, and I hope that Mr. Qian will not fool Yang at will. They entered Cui's house with great fanfare just to give away two boxes of stones. Who would do that?" letter?"
"Yes, who would believe it?" Qian Duoduo sighed, and said, "But what we really sent was stones. Do you think we are wronged..."
…
Hengwang Mansion.
"Zhao Yi's men carried two heavy boxes into Cui's residence..." Zhao Zheng looked at the old man and asked, "When did it happen?"
The old man looked at him and said, "It was just yesterday."
Zhao Zheng had an unpredictable expression on his face. After a while, he waved his hand and said, "Go and call Cui Jiang."
Not long after, Zhao Zheng looked at Cui Jiang, the Minister of the Household Department who hurried over, and said, "In the past few days, several censors have visited Cui's residence many times, and you have been wronged."
Cui Jiang said hastily: "I will not feel wronged at all by doing things for His Highness."
Zhao Zheng smiled, and asked again: "I heard that several censors brought two boxes of things into Cui's residence yesterday. I don't know what they are?"
Cui Jiang hurriedly said: "It's just two boxes of stones."
"Stone?"
Cui Jiang bowed and said, "Yes, those people said they were trying to test the lower officials, so they used two boxes of stones as gold and silver to make the lower officials surrender to the third prince, but the lower officials have already refused."
"Stone, test?" Zhao Zheng looked at him, with a smile on his face: "Hehe, this king knows, you go down first."
"Resignation." Cui Jiang looked up at him, feeling apprehensive, and slowly retreated.
"Stone..." Zhao Zheng watched him walk out, the smile on his face faded, and gradually became gloomy: "Hehe, what a stone, what a temptation..."
The eldest prince summoned him urgently, and Cui Jiang entered Hengwang's mansion anxiously, but after being asked a few words, he withdrew again.
It seemed that everything was going well, but in his heart, he became even more disturbed.
After returning to the Cui Mansion, he was even more restless.
"boom!"
Walking with his head down, he bumped into someone unexpectedly. He was already upset and opened his mouth to scold, but when he saw the person knocked down in front of him, he immediately took a few steps forward and helped him up.
He looked at the woman, and said slightly complaining: "Madam, you don't look at the road when you walk..."
"What's the matter, Master?" The woman looked at him and said, "Just now, I saw Master walking with his head bowed from afar, and I called Master a few times, but Master didn't respond, and bumped into him straight away..."
Cui Jiang was upset, and he didn't want to talk about it again, so he changed the subject and said, "You're going back to your mother's house to visit relatives this time, how is the second elder's health?"
"Both father and mother are in good health." The woman said something, looked at him again, and asked: "Master has encountered something embarrassing, why don't you tell me about it."
Cui Jiang sighed, and said, "Go back to the room and talk."
Cui Jiang knew he was not a smart man, but it didn't matter because he had a smart wife.
He became a Jinshi at a young age, because he had no background in the imperial court, and he was only a county magistrate in a remote county.
After becoming a county magistrate, he realized that studying and being an official are completely different things.
He has been in power for two years without making any political achievements. According to the evaluation requirements of the imperial court, if he does nothing for another three years, he will not even be qualified to be a county magistrate.
He was already in despair, he no longer dreamed that one day he would be in the court class, the vigor of the young man was exhausted by the reality, and in despair, he married a wife and had children...
Then, his life was like riding in a speeding carriage.
Within five years, he was promoted several ranks, from a county magistrate to the governor of Zhongzhou, and it took another five years to be transferred to Gyeonggi, where he was the minister of the household department...
It took him another ten years from Hubu Shilang to Hubu Shangshu.
So far, he has fulfilled his long-cherished wish in his youth, and he is in the imperial court. Although it cannot be said that he can cover the sky with one hand, the Minister of the Household Department can be regarded as one of the important pillars in the imperial court.
Of course, this is not because he has an epiphany, comprehend the way of governing, and has outstanding political achievements, but his wife, who is by his side, advises him, assesses the situation, and avoids risks, allowing him to be like a fish in water in the officialdom and sit in today's high position. .
Along the way, there are countless people with better political achievements and talents than him, but Cui Jiang is the Minister of the Household Department.
He felt that his greatest achievement in this life was not his success at a young age, his title on the gold list, or even being in charge of the household department, but marrying such a wife.
In the room, after listening to Cui Jiang's words, the woman sighed leisurely.
"My concubine just went back to her mother's house, and it was only half a month before and after. How did the master get things into such a situation..."
When Cui Jiang heard this, his heart trembled, and he hurriedly asked: "Madam, is there something wrong with those stones?"
The woman didn't answer directly, she shook her head and said: "Master, do you still remember what did the concubine do when the crown prince sent someone to invite the master?"
"Remember..." Cui Jiang shuddered when he heard the words, and said, "It was the twelfth lunar month at that time, you snatched my quilt in the middle of the night, and made me suffer from the wind and cold, and I lay at home for half a month..."
"But the master still went to the prince's banquet with illness..."
"What are you talking about now!" Cui Jiang was a little anxious, and said, "Quickly tell me, what's wrong with those stones!"
"There is nothing wrong with the stone." The woman shook her head and said, "Third Prince's people come to the Cui Mansion every day, and yesterday they even came here with gifts and returned empty-handed, what will the First Prince think?"
Cui Jiang was startled, and said: "But they are testing me with stones, I have already told the eldest prince everything..."
The woman continued to shake her head and said: "Unless the master keeps them out of Cui's residence, as long as those two boxes enter Cui's residence, then there is no point in not being able to get out."
"What's more, when I came back, I also heard some rumors."
"What rumor?"
"The third prince bought several houses in the capital, but they didn't name them."
"Is the purchase of the house by the third prince related to this matter?"
The woman looked at him and said, "My lord, why don't you guess which house is for you?"
…
Cui Jiang slumped on the chair weakly, his face was bloodless, and he cursed: "Conspiracy, this is a conspiracy, they are too shameless, too insidious and cunning!"
"This is not a conspiracy, it's an overt conspiracy, an upright overt conspiracy." The woman looked outside and said, "They just took advantage of the prince's suspicious nature. These things seem to be unconnected, but they are actually intertwined. Regardless of whether the master responds or not, it will fall into their calculations... "
An aboveboard conspiracy is more powerless than a secret conspiracy.
Cui Jiang jumped up from the chair and said loudly: "I'll go to the First Prince to explain, I'll go right away!"
"Master!" The woman's voice suddenly rose, Cui Jiang's body trembled, and he turned to look at her.
"It's late." The woman took his hand and said, "It's too late. The prince's personality is very clear to the master. He won't embarrass the master on the surface, but he will be more suspicious in his heart... The third prince, there is Gao man..."
She looked at Cui Jiang, and said slowly: "For the sake of the Cui family, the master has to make plans early..."
…
Qian family.
"Get off, all of you get off!" Qian Duoduo climbed up the tree, hugged the trunk tightly, and shouted to a group of Taoist monks below with a frightened expression.
At this moment, he was already higher than the roof beside him. He was full of "tall man" demeanor. It was hard to imagine that a fat man could climb so high.
under the tree.
A monk in red held a wooden fish and chanted the Buddha's name with a look of grief on his face: "Amitabha, man and ghost have different paths. If you are willing to let Mr. Qian go, the old monk society and all the monks in the temple will chant sutras for you for three days to help you. You reached bliss early..."
A green-clothed Taoist held a fly whisk in his hand, and said coldly: "Evil, leave quickly, if you dare to do harm to the world, don't blame the poor to do justice for the sky, you will be beaten to death!"
Under the eaves, a woman looked at the God of Wealth, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Master, you have punished me so much, isn't it a little too much?"
Qian Caishen snorted coldly, and said: "I'm trying to make him sober, his wings are so hard that he dares to lie to his father, with his little knowledge, if he is not careful, he will be eaten by others without even scum left." !"