The facade was not very big. When Li Hong took Yan Lingbin in, he didn't even look at the sign. There were no less than twenty or thirty carriages of various kinds parked at the door.
Even from the style of these carriages, we can get a glimpse of the general identity of the owners of each carriage, and the horses that are quietly waiting for their owners, or snoring and kicking the bluestone slabs under their feet, are all It is a good horse that cannot be bought for a lot of money.
Even the price of this horse is enough to take away two to three middle-level slaves from this tooth shop, and the price of slaves in these two markets is not very cheap, plus the court will draw a certain amount from them. There are no taxes, so the business of this tooth shop is very prosperous.
"Isn't this Li Ye's carriage?" Li Hong stood side by side with Yan Lingbin at the door and said, looking at a familiar carriage.
Yan Lingbin is tall and slender, with rosy cheeks. Coupled with her heroic temperament and somewhat weak and thin figure, people who visit the dental clinic can't help but express admiration and passion the moment they see her. gaze.
Just when they saw Yan Lingbin's flat chest, some people showed a look of disappointment or even loss. But even so, there were still people who were willing to take a few more glances at Yan Lingbin's stunning figure as they walked in and out of the door. face.
"What are Ye'er doing here?" Yan Lingbin asked, grabbing Li Hong's sleeve. Then he instantly realized that he was now a woman disguised as a man and could not be so presumptuous in public, so he hurriedly let go of Li Hong's sleeve and pretended He asked calmly, raising his head and chest.
"I don't know, but I guess it's probably related to the case he's going to handle now." Li Hong looked at Li Ye's carriage parked in front of him. It was obvious that he had arrived a lot earlier than his father: "No need. Pay attention to him, let's go about our business, and don't disturb him in his business."
Wang Xiaojie originally planned to go first to find where Li Ye was, but after hearing Li Hong's words, he stopped and followed Li Hong and Yan Lingbin inside.
"Choose a good seat." Li Hong put his hands behind his back and looked at the empty display stand in front of him. Behind the surrounding railings, the table and chair area was already overcrowded. Although the entire hall could not be said to be quiet, it did not appear to be quiet either. Loud and noisy.
After all, the people who come here are of high status and will not ask for the tea, water and other food they need at the top of their lungs like ordinary people.
The seats on the second floor are obviously the best. The large open room has privacy, and you can sit inside and peek into every corner of the venue. Naturally, the price of the private rooms is not cheap.
The arrival of Li Hong and the others obviously did not attract the attention of others. Only occasionally people on both sides would pay attention to Yan Lingbin, but they would always look away after being shocked by the world, with a hint of loneliness.
The waiter is not like a waiter in a restaurant, nodding and bowing when seeing a customer, but he tries his best to behave politely, calmly and elegantly.
Wang Xiaojie pointed to the room above and said, "Find a room with the best view."
"Sir, I've invited you, but this room is expensive. I'd like to remind you first." The waiter said with a smile on his face, without saying a word.
"Take it." It was Yan Lingbin who spoke. He took out a 100-tael silver note from his pocket and handed it to the clerk through Wang Xiaojie's hand.
Wang Xiaojie was stunned for a moment, then looked at the one hundred taels of silver notes, then secretly quickly took his broken silver back, took the banknotes and handed them to the clerk.
"Please, three gentlemen." The clerk didn't thank him either. He just took the banknote and looked at it, then extended his hand to invite the three of them to go up the stairs at the back.
Li Ye and his two eunuchs on the second floor happened to see Li Hong and Yan Lingbin walking through the middle corridor and heading towards the stairs.
"Father is here." There was a hint of seriousness on Li Ye's face. He was still drinking boiled water. There were no snacks on the table in front of him. Compared with the richness on the tables in the rooms on the left and right, It seems quite shabby.
"Your Highness, do you want to come over?" the eunuch behind asked softly.
Li Ye looked at the corridor where Li Hong and others had disappeared. He thought for a moment and said, "Wait a moment. Have you found the Minister of Justice? Will he not come today?"
"He should be here. He will definitely show up at the court meeting yesterday. This is the news given by Miss Bai. There will be no mistakes." The eunuch sat on Li Ye's side, his eyes always paying attention to the outside. Once When His Majesty appears, the three of them can immediately come out to salute without looking a little hasty or in a hurry.
"Well, if my aunt said she would come, she will definitely come." Li Ye nodded, and then began to look through the list that had been prepared long ago on the case table. There were dozens of names written densely on it, that is, Information about all the slaves traded in Yahang today.
"Your Highness, Xiao Zhizhong, the Minister of Civil Affairs, has arrived." The eunuch who was closer to the door kept looking downstairs. When he saw a middle-aged man about fifty years old walking in with a hesitant look, he immediately turned to face what was going on inside. Li Ye said as he looked at the list.
"You go down and ask him to come up. By the way, there is no need to tell him that the emperor is here." When Li Ye left Li Hong's side to do things alone, he seemed quite steady and decisive, and his handsome face always looked more... serious.
There is also no airtight wall above the court. Li Hongzai told Chen Jingzhi that he intended to arrange errands for Li Ye in the Ministry of Personnel, Ministry of War, and Ministry of Household Affairs, which had begun to spread quietly among the officials.
Therefore, although Li Ye, the doctor, has not yet taken office, after the court meeting yesterday, the memorial for Chen Jingzhi has been sent from Zhongshu and Menxia provinces to the Ministry of Officials of Shangshu Province.
The next step is to wait for the next court meeting. After Li Hongzhubi is approved, Li Ye can take office.
Although he was his boss, Li Ye was also the prince, so Xiao Zhizhong couldn't afford to greet his boss or colleagues in person. He had to let the eunuchs around him greet them, and that was a thing of the past.
"Li Ye has met Mr. Xiao." Li Ye stood up and saluted immediately after Xiao Zhizhong came in. The manner of Corporal Li Xian made people feel much more comfortable and smooth compared to his father.
Unlike his father, the courtiers all had to be on tenterhooks when meeting Li Hong. Who knew when the Crown Prince would dig a hole for himself or whether he would suddenly cause trouble for him.
In the early years, when Prince Li Hong was supervising the country, those old ministers were all important ministers in the court and the pillars of the country. As ministers of Li Zhi, they not only had to listen to Li Zhi, but also later had to listen to those who violated the rules and made drastic reforms. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
Although it is said that those batches of veterans have had enough of the feud between the prince and the emperor, looking back now, it is also because of the flexibility of that generation of veterans, or in other words, under the strong force of His Majesty today, they followed His Majesty's achievements It has brought about the great achievements and peaceful times of the Tang Dynasty today.
"My minister, Xiao Zhizhong, has met His Highness Ye." Xiao Zhizhong hurriedly saluted. The past few days have indeed been awkward, and the relationship between the two has been quite awkward.
He is neither a king nor a minister, and there is no relationship between superiors and subordinates, so saluting and speaking seem somewhat awkward.
However, there was no tedious politeness between the two, and they went straight to the topic. After the two sat down separately, Li Ye handed Xiao Zhizhong the list he had just read.
Xiao Zhizhong also took out a roster from his pocket and handed it to Li Ye: "Your Highness, this is the information about the officials, nobles and wealthy families who have been dismissed from office in recent years. The earliest thing happened five years ago, so it must be today. It’s enough to cope with.”
"Excuse me, Mr. Xiao. This is the first errand given to Li Ye by my father. I am afraid that it will go wrong, so I have no choice but to bother Mr. Xiao." Li Ye took the roster very naturally.
In fact, this was also his helpless move. Originally, the Ministry of Punishment also had a list of officials, wealthy families, and noble families who had been dismissed, exiled, and distributed over the years, but Cui Xin would shirk all kinds of excuses every time Li Ye wanted to rise. Or he declined on the grounds that Li Ye's current reputation was unfair.
So in desperation, Li Ye had to find a way out on his own. With his Aunt Bai assisting him, things were naturally easier and easier.
"Master Xiao, it's okay to speak directly." Before Li Ye looked at the roster, he saw Xiao Zhizhong's face growing more and more sad. Li Ye, who knew how to read people's words at a young age, suppressed his curiosity about the roster and smiled. asked.
"You don't need to read this list. Many of the names on it are familiar to me. Although some of them haven't had time to name them yet, His Highness doesn't think that the names Wang, Lu, and Cui are all related to the five surnames and Qiwang. "Xiao Zhizhong shook his head with a wry smile, and then gave the list in his hand to Li Ye.
In the room on the other side, Li Hong sat in the middle, Yan Lingbin served on one side, and Wang Xiaojie sat a little further away. The clerk who was rewarded by Yan Lingbin with a hundred taels of silver notes naturally no longer had to wait for orders at this time and had already followed the instructions. The treatment and standards of the nobles were met, and the best tea and snacks were placed on the table.
After all, Yan Lingbin had stayed in the flower shop, so she naturally had a different way of sending the waiters away. And after getting close to Li Hong over the years, this way became more and more wealthy, that is, seeing This guy, who looks down on others, doesn't need to talk nonsense, just throw money at him.
Li Hong casually flipped through the list on the desk. Each room has a copy of this list. Similarly, even if you are sitting at the three tables downstairs, everyone can have a copy, but you have to spend money to buy it. .
After watching the guy leave, Li Hong calmly said: "Wang Xiaojie, you are derelict in your duties in the Ministry of Justice. You have been working as Minister of the Ministry of War for so many years. Do you no longer want to do it?"
"Your Majesty, I don't know..."
"Look at this list for yourself. The incident of Five Surnames and Seven Hopes has just passed. How did Di Renjie, you, and Zhang Jianzhi, who succeeded Li Qiao Yushitai, deal with the aftermath? Look, this Less than half a year after this special incident, the family members of the five surnames and Qiwang have already fallen into the hands of Yaxing! This is how you, the Ministry of Punishment, supervise the slaves!" At the end, Li Hong ignored them! Regardless of his status, he threw the list in his hand onto Wang Xiaojie.
Yan Lingbin on the side had never seen an angry Li Hong before. When she heard the anger in Li Hong's tone, her little heart was already trembling. When she saw Li Hong raised his hand and threw the list on Wang Xiaojie. At this time, Yan Lingbin was so frightened that he almost screamed.
(End of chapter)