It was late at night and everyone was asleep, but the lights were still bright in Yan Song's duty room in the West Garden. There was a desk in the duty room, and Yan Song and Xu Jie were sitting opposite each other. On the desk were four exquisite dishes, a soup, and a pot of warm wine.
"I have been kneeling before the Buddha for three thousand years, but I have never seen the Buddha feel pity. It is not because dust has obscured the Buddha's eyes, but because I have not offered incense money. If the Buddha is not greedy, why does he need people to worship him? The Buddha does not love vanity, so why does he need people to kneel down to worship him..."
Yan Song held the question book in one hand and tapped the table with the other hand to keep the rhythm. He read aloud. After finishing reading, he smiled and said to Xu Jie opposite him: "Huating, you have a good student... I heard that Zihou wrote such a catchy article on destroying Buddhism in just a cup of tea. His writing is so quick that even Yuan Wei would have to admit defeat."
"You are praising him too much, Mr. Lord. Look at him, he is shouting and yelling for war and killing, he looks like a country bumpkin, he doesn't have the demeanor of a scholar at all..."
Xu Jie stood up and poured a glass of wine for Yan Song, then smiled and shook his head. Although he admired Zhu Ping'an's article in his heart, he still pointed out the shortcomings in Zhu Ping'an's article.
"Besides, Yuan Wei is also my student. In my opinion, Zihou is still far behind Yuan Wei in terms of quick wit. If Yuan Wei were here today, Zihou would have no chance, haha... Lord, the weather is getting cooler at night, and it's perfect to have a glass of wine to warm up your body." After pouring the wine, Xu Jie raised his glass and toasted Yan Song.
Although Yuan Wei was Xu Jie's student, he was arrogant and domineering. He looked down on Xu Jie and did not take him seriously. Instead, he became closer to Yan Song and Yan Shifan, and was on good terms with Yan's party.
Up to now, Yuan Wei and Xu Jie only have a nominal relationship.
However, even so, Xu Jie praised Yuan Wei a lot in front of outsiders. As for what he thought in his heart, that is another matter.
"Huating, you are being partial. In my opinion, Zihou is not inferior to Maozhong. In my opinion, Zihou's 'Three Thousand Years of Kneeling Before the Buddha' is comparable to Maozhong's 'The Black Turtle of Luoshui Offers Its Omen', and it is three points better in terms of exquisite technique..." Yan Song drank a glass of wine, stroked his beard, looked at Xu Jie and shook his head, and said so.
For the ministers during the reign of Emperor Jiajing, Qingci articles were not only Qingci articles, but also a bridge of communication with Emperor Jiajing, which is why Yan Song, Xu Jie and others cared so much about Qingci.
At this time, when Yan Song watched Zhu Ping'an in "Kneeling Before the Buddha for Three Thousand Years", he was a bit like Cao Cao watching Zhao Zilong at Changban Slope. He couldn't help but feel sorry for his talent.
The moon is bright and the stars are sparse, the night sky is clear.
The two great ministers of the Ming Empire chatted about state and family affairs while drinking together until the late night, when they both returned to rest.
The next morning, just as the sky was getting light, the guard on duty at the gate of Taicang Silver Vault had just changed his shift when he saw three horses galloping towards him in the distance.
"morning."
Zhu Ping'an dismounted, took a cloth bag from the horse's back, and then handed the horse to Liu Mu and Liu Dadao who were watching outside. He walked towards the gate alone and greeted the guard on duty in a familiar manner.
"Good morning, Lord Zhu." The guard had already recognized Zhu Ping'an. After saluting, he opened the door and let Zhu Ping'an in.
"Thank you." Zhu Ping'an bowed and walked in.
For some reason, the guards looked at Zhu Ping'an walking into the Taicang Silver Vault and felt that Zhu Ping'an seemed a little different today, but they couldn't tell exactly what was different.
If I have to say one thing, it would probably be the feeling.
In the past, when I looked at Zhu Ping'an's back, it was as if I saw a harmless cat leisurely walking into the courtyard, but today, when I looked at Zhu Ping'an's back again, it was as if I saw a tiger coming down the mountain.
Maybe he didn't sleep well last night. The guard rubbed his eyes, and when he looked again, there was nothing unusual.
Zhu Ping'an came earlier than usual today, and the people from Taicang Silver Vault had not yet reported for work.
After entering Taicang, Zhu Ping'an was familiar with the route. He took the cloth bag and walked left and right until he arrived at the room where he had checked the accounts yesterday. He took out the key and opened the door.
The room looked exactly the same as when he left yesterday, but Zhu Ping'an knew that someone had moved inside.
Zhu Ping'an had hidden a few strands of hair in boxes, account books and other hidden places, but now they were all gone. Apparently, after he left yesterday afternoon, someone entered the room and looked through the desk, boxes and account books in the room.
Zhu Ping'an was not surprised at all.
I believe they can't see anything. When I left yesterday, I took away all the double-entry accounting sheets for auditing. The things left behind were originally for them to see.
Zhu Ping'an tidied up his desk, took out a stack of blank double-entry accounting sheets that he had prepared in advance, and placed them on the desk.
Then, according to memory, he took out the account books that he had sorted out yesterday from the box and put them neatly aside. Then he took out fifty double-entry accounting books that had not been sorted out and put them on the desk.
Roll up your sleeves and get to work.
After Zhu Ping'an ground the ink, he buried his head in organizing the account books. He had spent the whole day organizing them yesterday, so today it was particularly smooth, one page at a time... By the time everyone in Taicang started to report for work, Zhu Ping'an had already finished organizing three account books.
"It's time to come..."
Zhu Ping'an muttered to himself as he took out the fourth account book.
almost
As soon as Zhu Ping'an finished speaking and opened the fourth account book, he heard footsteps outside the door.
"Master Zhu, I have come here under your order to assist you in checking the accounts." A feminine but bloody voice sounded from outside.
When Zhu Ping'an looked up, he saw ten people standing in a neat row outside. Leading them was a eunuch with a feminine face, who looked a bit like Yu Huatian played by Chen Kun in "Flying Daggers of Dragon Gate". He wore a black wingless hat, a white official uniform, and a black cloak. On the left side of his waist hung a long sword with a scarlet scabbard, and on the right side was a waist badge with the words "Dongchang" engraved on it.
Although this eunuch is feminine, he reeks of blood and one can tell at first glance that he is someone who often sees blood.
Behind the eunuch were nine Dongchang men dressed in uniform, with swords on their waists, standing there with expressionless faces.
"I don't know what your name is, sir. I'm sorry to trouble you all these days." Zhu Ping'an stood up and bowed with a smile on his face.
"I'm Zhang Guyi, a captain of the East Depot. The director of the depot, Mr. Huang, has already instructed us when he came here to follow Lord Zhu's orders on all matters." Zhang Guyi, a captain of the East Depot, smiled femininely.
"How dare I? I will have to rely on Captain Zhang and all of you for your assistance in auditing the accounts in Taicang this time." Zhu Ping'an bowed to Captain Zhang and the Dongchang guards outside the door.
"Master Zhu, you are too polite. We are on duty outside. You can just check the accounts. If you have any questions, just give me instructions." Captain Zhang smiled femininely, and then ordered his men to stand guard outside the room and in the yard.