Seeing that his expression seemed to be very distressed, Chu Yuan had no choice but to say: "If Aiqing really wants to eat—"
"I don't want to eat." Wen Liunian felt very tight in his chest.
"This morning, the imperial dining room just stewed sweet soup with Xuefu sent by King Dandong." Chu Yuan finished the second half of the sentence.
Wen Liunian: "..."
Yeah.
Chu Yuan smiled and shook his head, and ordered his servant to bring it to him: "Why did Aiqing enter the palace?"
"It's a big deal." Wen Liunian said, "Your Majesty, do you still remember the case of Pan's town pastry shop that I mentioned a few days ago?"
"Remember, the proprietress is good at making marching rations." Chu Yuan said, "What did you find out?"
"Thanks to the help of Lord Tengyun Castle, the two kidnappers were successfully captured the day before yesterday." Wen Liunian lowered his voice, "It seems to be related to Prince Chu."
"What?!" Chu Yuan frowned suddenly when he heard this.
"The minister has already interrogated it first." Wen Liunian presented the confession with both hands, "Please take a look at it, Your Majesty."
Chu Yuan received it in his hand and carefully flipped through the pages one by one, the expression on his face getting colder and colder.
"The two kidnappers are temporarily being held in prison." Wen Liunian said, "It seems that they really don't know anything more."
Chu Yuan sat on the dragon chair, his expression gloomy without saying a word.
Wen Liunian's heart hung in his throat.
The waiter brought the sweet soup, and was shocked by the atmosphere in the room, almost trembling when he left. I couldn't stop thinking in my heart, every time Mr. Wen came here before, the emperor was very happy, what happened this time.
"Ai Qing, let's eat." Chu Yuan said, "I'll think about it by myself first."
"Yes." Wen Liunian walked out lightly with the bowl in his hand.
Chu Yuan was puzzled: "Where are you going?"
Wen Liunian paused: "The emperor just said, you have to think about it alone." So I planned to go out and sit on the steps to eat.
Chu Yuan couldn't laugh or cry: "Ai Qing is really..."
Wen Liunian looked innocent.
Chu Yuan motioned him to sit back: "What's Aiqing's opinion on this matter?"
"I don't know Prince Chu well." Wen Liunian said, "However, those two kidnappers originally wanted to sign up to join our Great Chu Navy, but they were chosen by the prince for his own use. It will not be charged with other crimes."
"Other charges?" Chu Yuan smiled, "What is Aiqing thinking, let me tell you."
Wen Liunian silently ate a spoonful of sweet soup.
I don't know the taste of food.
"Those two criminals, let's lock them up for now." Chu Yuan said, "Tell them that they died in the scuffle, so as not to startle them."
"I also plan to do so," Wen Liunian said.
"One more thing." Chu Yuan said, "Has Aiqing ever received news from Commander Xiang?"
"What news?" Wen Liunian pretended to be confused.
"About that group of jugglers." Chu Yuan said, "Gao Dazhuang was originally captured, but was abducted by mysterious people; as for the other three men of different races, they are still hiding in the caves on the outskirts of the city, and I don't know what their next plan is. .”
"This..." Wen Liunian hesitated.
"I didn't want to rush." Chu Yuan came down and patted him on the shoulder, "But Aiqing is taking the lead in the whole matter, and we have to find a way as soon as possible, otherwise even if I can wait, I'm afraid Donghai will not." can not wait."
"This humble minister should do his best." Wen Liunian bowed his head and accepted the order.
"Remember to keep the prince's affairs secret." Chu Yuan reminded again.
Wen Liunian nodded: "I understand."
"Does Aiqing have anything else to do?" Chu Yuan sat back on the dragon chair.
"There is something I want to ask the emperor." Wen Liunian said, "When I came to the imperial study just now, I was very annoyed to see Mr. You and Mr. Zhang from the household department. I don't know what happened?"
"What else can the household department do? It's about money." Chu Yuan said, "The procedures for this grand ceremony are extremely complicated and lengthy, so the preparations started a few months in advance for fear of mistakes. After clearing the accounts, there are still tens of thousands of taels of silver missing, and the gift lists and items in the treasury from various countries are also messed up, and the entire accounts are simply a mess."
"Is there such a thing?" Wen Liunian was surprised. At first he thought it was just a small mistake, but now hearing the emperor's tone, it seemed quite serious.
"I didn't believe it at first, that such a thing can happen." Chu Yuan was almost laughed angrily, "The dignified servant of the household department would make such a low-level mistake."
"Your Majesty, don't get angry." Wen Liunian said, "Can I let this minister go and have a look?"
"Aiqing has a heavy responsibility, so don't meddle in these trivial matters." Chu Yuan shook his head, clearly disapproving.
But Wen Liunian was very persistent: "It won't take much time and energy, and I ask the emperor's approval." There just happened to be an opportunity to get close to You Dayu, and it would be a pity to miss it.
"Why are you so interested in this matter?" Chu Yuan was dissatisfied.
"My minister and Mr. Zhang from the Ministry of Household Affairs have always been on good terms. No matter whether it was back for the exam, or this time when he came to live in Wangcheng, Mr. Zhang has helped a lot." Wen Liunian said, "Checking the accounts is very important to our minister. Speaking of it, it is a piece of cake, if Master You cooperates, it should not take a few hours, and it will definitely not delay the business."
"Forget it." Thinking of You Dayu and Zhang Yun's hot faces, Chu Yuan felt that it would not be rude to have someone to help, so he finally nodded, "Then Ai Qing will go and have a look."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Wen Liunian was overjoyed, "My minister will retire."
Chu Yuan waved his hand: "During dinner, I will send Sixi to deliver some snacks to the house."
To make up for the loss of Xiangmu not being able to eat.
Wen Liunian rubbed his nose, really wanting to tell him to send it secretly.
Otherwise it will probably be confiscated again.
In the national treasury, Zhang Yun was still holding the gift list and the writing brush, comparing everything with the past, but he couldn't settle the account no matter what - no matter how the statistics were, a lot of things were missing, and they seemed to disappear for no reason.
After three or four times, cold sweat gradually broke out on Zhang Yun's forehead. According to his family background, if there is a shortage of tens of thousands of silver in the account, he can pay for it himself, and he is not afraid of being fined. But this time, the shortage is not only silver and gold, but also many rare treasures offered by other countries.
"Lord Wen." The guard's voice came from outside.
Zhang Yungang greeted him hurriedly.
"Brother Zhang." Sure enough, Wen Liunian pushed the door open and entered.
"Brother Wen, why are you here?" Zhang Yun wiped the sweat off his face.
"I heard from the emperor, so come and have a look." Wen Liunian handed him the handkerchief.
"The emperor still said this?" Zhang Yun was nervous when he heard the words, "How do you say it?"
"Brother Zhang, you don't need to worry." Wen Liunian said, "The emperor just mentioned occasionally that the accounts are a little messy this time, and the reason has not been found yet."
"It's more than a bit of a mess." The two were familiar with each other, so Zhang Yun didn't hide it, pulled him to sit on the steps, and said with a mournful face, "I'm not afraid of losing money, but if the treasures offered by various countries are lost, I will I'm afraid I can't keep my head."
"Can you show me the account?" Wen Liunian asked.
"Naturally." Zhang Yun handed him the account book and the gift slip.
Wen Liunian roughly doubled it, and then went into the warehouse together with him, and counted it again.
"How?" Zhang Yun asked eagerly.
Wen Liunian took the cinnabar and circled about twelve or thirteen items on the ledger: "These are missing."
"Is it really missing?" Zhang Yun's face was pale, and his knees softened and he sat on the ground. I have been comforting myself before, saying that maybe it is because I haven’t counted it, and I can solve the problem by counting it again, but now...
"Brother Zhang, don't be afraid." Wen Liunian tugged twice, but failed to lift him up, so he simply sat beside him, "There are so many people in the household department, so it's not Brother Zhang who is in charge of the celebration this time. Wrong, Master You is on top."
"But the other people's accounts are not wrong, and the one who is wrong is mine." Zhang Yun wanted to cry but had no tears. He knew that he was inexperienced and talented, so he was preparing for this celebration almost non-stop, but he didn't expect that At the end of the day, he still caused such a big disaster.
Wen Liunian looked at the missing things one by one, and then said: "It seems that the missing things are all small things."
"Huh?" Zhang Yun took the gift list from him.
"It's either pearls or gems, or dried flowers and rare herbs." Wen Liunian said, "Put it in your sleeve and take it away."
"But this place is heavily guarded, who can steal it?" Zhang Yun was in a hurry.
"What's the relationship between Brother Zhang and Lord You?" Wen Liunian asked suddenly.
"He was quite indifferent to me at first—in fact, it wasn't just him, everyone in the household department was extremely indifferent to me." Mentioning this matter, Zhang Yun was a little frustrated, "But everyone has passed the actual test, and I am the only one. It’s normal for those who donate to be looked down upon.”
"Those who got in may not necessarily be better than Brother Zhang." Wen Liunian comforted him, and said, "Since that's the case, why was he entrusted with such a heavy responsibility this time?"
"Yeah, I'm wondering too." Zhang Yun said desperately, "I originally wanted to use this to show off, but I didn't expect that I couldn't even keep my head."
Wen Liunian patted him on the shoulder: "With my official here, Brother Zhang will not lose his head."
"Brother Wen, what can you do?" Zhang Yun suddenly regained his energy when he heard the words.
"The emperor ordered me to help Brother Zhang to find out the matter." Wen Liunian stood up, "Let's go, let's go to Lord You first!"
In doing so, it is natural to have a set of tricks. Firstly, he really wanted to help Zhang Yun, and secondly, although Gao Dazhuang confessed to You Dayu by mistake, he was snatched away by Wuying, so naturally he couldn't tell the emperor directly that he had something to do with Qingqiu—just through To start with this messy account, let's get to the bottom of him silently first. If something really happens, even if he can't say treason outright, he can find a reason for corruption and temporarily control him, so as not to be detrimental to the emperor.