"I really underestimated the Crown Prince. He went through so much trouble just to collect money and food."
The Prince of Jin sat in his study, closed his eyes and held his forehead with his hand, and it took him a long time to calm down. Especially when he heard from his subordinates that the nobles had donated a large sum of money to the Eastern Palace again, and that the merchants and wealthy people in the capital had also started to raise money, just to get a plaque personally bestowed by the prince, the veins in his temples throbbed.
Chu Jiaoping and other aides gathered in the study. When they heard about this, they all looked worried.
Xiao Da waved his sleeves heavily, half in anger and half helpless: "Now Zhuque Street is crowded with people, all of whom are sending money to the prince. The Pei, Wei, Xiao, and Zheng families have also changed their attitudes to compete for the first place in the monument of merit, and sent people to send food frequently. It's really hateful!"
The King of Jin closed his eyes and said nothing, but his face was gloomy. After a while, he suddenly raised his eyes and looked at Chu Jiaoping: "Jiaoping, you have always been resourceful. What do you think we should do about this matter?"
Chu Jiaoping frowned and said, "The Crown Prince has already taken the lead. If we don't give a penny, it will really ruin our reputation. For now, we don't seek merit, but only avoid mistakes. Your Highness, if you give more money, you must get the first place on the merit tablet."
Prince Jin looked grim: "You mean that not only should I not pay less, but I should also spend all my money to give money to the East Palace to preserve the reputation of the Crown Prince?!"
The King of Jin didn't like doing things that hurt himself and benefited others, especially when the beneficiary was the Crown Prince. He wasn't the reincarnation of the God of Wealth, and his salary was already a considerable expense to pay for the officials.
Xiao Da was the first to object: "No! The more money and grain we collect, the more face the prince will have in front of His Majesty. Chu Jiaoping, how can you let the King of Jin use his own money to flatter the prince!"
Although they were all under the tutelage of the King of Jin, the aides were not always on good terms with each other, and fighting openly and secretly was common. They fought back and forth in secret, just like the Crown Prince and the King of Jin framed each other.
Chu Jiaoping's face also turned cold: "What does Lord Xiao mean? Others have donated money and grain, and he is at the top of the list. The King of Jin is worth a lot of money and is a noble king. Could it be that he will follow your example and donate 500 silver coins?"
Five hundred taels, five hundred taels. Whenever Xiao Da heard these two words, he felt like someone was scolding him. His face was burning with pain. He pointed at Chu Jiaoping and said, "I am loyal to the King of Jin. I don't care about this reputation. I would rather bear the infamy of being stingy than help the people of the East Palace!"
Seeing them arguing endlessly, King Jin slammed the table and said in a deep voice: "Stop arguing!"
He seldom gets angry, but now he suddenly speaks coldly to others, which makes people tremble with fear. Xiao Da also kept silent for a moment.
The King of Jin exhaled slowly: "There is still some time before the Crown Prince's grain collection ends. Let me think about it carefully. It won't be too late to give more silver and grain by then."
Seeing this, Chu Jiaoping's silent worry suddenly deepened in his heart, and he advised: "Your Highness, if we delay, something bad will happen. The East Palace will definitely not let us replenish the silver and grain so smoothly. The longer we delay, the more disadvantageous it will be."
Prince Jin was still hesitant. After all, the money in his private treasury did not come from the wind. If he gave away tens of thousands of taels of silver out of the blue, he would surely suffer a great loss of vitality. How could he compete with those century-old families in terms of foundation
What's more, the money has to be delivered to the prince, which is really a thankless task.
The King of Jin suddenly felt a headache and waved his hand to his attendant: "Send someone to the palace to deliver a message to my mother and ask her how much money she has. Although it may not be useful, it is always a safe bet."
When the attendant received the order, he immediately followed it and went straight to the palace.
Chu Jiaoping's heart sank when he saw that the King of Jin had no intention of listening to him. He began to think about what had happened in the past few days. It seemed that there was an invisible hand behind each and every one of them, but he could not find any trace of it.
He hesitated to speak: "Your Highness..."
King Jin raised his hand to stop him from speaking: "I know what you are going to say. There is still some time before the grain collection ends. Please let me think it over carefully."
After he finished speaking, he stood up and left the study, wanting to find a quiet place to be alone.
When people are hesitant about something, they usually like to seek help from the outside world to get direction. When King Jin walked to the backyard alone, he saw Xuan Yeping meditating on a stone. He paused, but still walked over: "Master Xuan."
Xuan Yeping slowly opened his eyes upon hearing this, and seeing that it was the Prince of Jin, he nodded and saluted: "I greet His Highness the Prince of Jin."
King Jin raised his hand and said, "Master, there is no need to be so polite. I have been confused about something recently. I wonder if you can explain it to me?"
Xuan Yeping had been left out for a long time since he entered the Prince of Jin's mansion. It would be a lie to say that he was not anxious. Seeing that the Prince of Jin finally took the initiative to talk to him, he suppressed his joy, closed his eyes and said a Taoist name: "Your Highness, if you are confused about something, you might as well tell me. I may be able to guide you."
King Jin said ambiguously: "I am going to do something that may win me a little fame, but this thing will not only seriously damage my vitality, but also help my enemies climb higher. Do you think I should do it or not?"
His choice of words had inadvertently revealed his attitude. Xuan Ye had been in the martial arts world for many years and was quite good at reading people's expressions. Seeing this, he shook his whisk and said with a smile, "If your Highness says so, then I shouldn't do it. Fame is fleeting, so why should I damage my own vitality to exchange for something vain?"
What he said was exactly what the King of Jin was thinking, and it sounded a bit more pleasant than Chu Jiaoping's unpleasant words.
Although the King of Jin might not necessarily listen to Xuan Yeping, he felt a little relieved: "When the Taoist priest first met me, he said that I have the destiny of a true dragon. Could you explain it in detail?"
Xuan Yeping received Chu Xinian's advice that day and waited for a long time at the foot of Tianfeng Mountain. Later, he saw a group of followers escorting a four-horse carriage that could only be used by kings and princes up the mountain. He guessed that the people in the carriage were either rich or noble, so he made up a story based on the comment "How can a golden fish stay in a pond? It will ride the wind and soar into the sky in three years". Unexpectedly, he actually sneaked into the Prince of Jin's mansion.
Seeing King Jin asking, Xuan Yeping counted on his fingers for a long while before saying, "The night before I met Your Highness, I saw the Purple Star moving in the direction of Tianfeng Mountain, indicating that a hidden dragon had emerged, so I wanted to find out what was going on. I never expected to meet Your Highness. It seems that everything is God's will."
He sighed deeply after he finished speaking: "Your Highness, please do not ask any more questions. It is not necessarily a good thing to calculate all the secrets of heaven. I am not very skilled in cultivation, so it is difficult for me to get a glimpse of it."
Xuan Yeping's mysterious demeanor really made people confused.
After hearing this, King Jin's anxious heart finally settled down a little: "Master, are you sure that I have the fate of a true dragon?"
Xuan Yeping pointed his whisk at the small pond in the courtyard, and saw the carps suddenly jump out of the water, causing countless ripples: "How can a golden scale stay in a pond? Once it encounters wind and clouds, it will turn into a dragon. Your Highness, do you understand?"
When King Jin saw the carps suddenly jump out at the touch of a finger, he was startled for a second, then he reacted and exclaimed, "The Taoist priest really has great magical powers. I almost believed what others said and thought you were a charlatan."
He didn't know that when it was about to rain and the air pressure on the water surface was low, there was a lack of oxygen in the water, and carp would frequently jump out of the water. He just thought that Xuan Yeping was really a master who had attained enlightenment.
Xuan Yeping paused after hearing this, and slowly stroked his beard, then asked inconspicuously, "I observed the sky at night and saw a bright star of evil. This star represents villains and is also a star that secretly accompanies villains. I am afraid that there are treacherous villains around Your Highness recently. Who said this?"
King Jin still had some trust in Chu Jiaoping: "Master, you are worrying too much. Brother Chu is a blood relative of my mother's family. He is loyal and dedicated. He will definitely not be a treacherous villain."
Brother Chu
Xuan Yeping had been here for so many days, and he had actually not been idle. He had almost found out everything he needed to know. The King of Jin had many staff members, but there was only one with the surname Chu. Could it be that Chu Jiaoping
Xuan Yeping was narrow-minded. He had heard that Chu Jiaoping had said something bad about him, so he had already made a note of it. But he smiled and said, "I am just afraid that Your Highness will be too kind and mistakenly believe in the slander of a villain, so I reminded you."
King Jin has a lot on his mind, so he tends to overthink. Hearing this, he glanced at Xuan Yeping and said in doubt, "I know about this. I will be more careful these days."
Chu Xinian has always been good at judging people. He said Xuan Yeping was a jinx, and Xuan Yeping had already begun to stir up trouble in Prince Jin's Mansion without making any noise.
Seeing that many people made additional donations, the prince extended the deadline for collecting grain by three more days. He listened to Chu Xinian's advice and would write down the new rankings on the monument of merit every other day and send them to each household.
Those high-ranking officials were very pleased when they saw themselves at the top of the list. If they saw themselves falling behind, those with more money would immediately send people to the East Palace to send silver and food, in order to push their own ranking up. For a time, all the officials in the capital were in a state of internal competition, with unprecedented enthusiasm.
The Prince of Jin originally did not want to pay any attention to it, but when he saw the Crown Prince sending his name cards every day, his name had been pushed to the bottom, barely on par with some minor officials, and he could not help but feel secretly annoyed.
Concubine Mei was also paying attention to this matter. Seeing that Prince Jin had not made any move, she could not help but send people out of the palace frequently to urge him, hoping that he would take the lead among his brothers. She even took out all the money she had saved over the years.
The maidservant beside Imperial Concubine Mei came to the door in person and brought a box of banknotes. Her hair was combed meticulously, and her face looked a bit mean: "The Queen has told me to tell Your Highness that His Majesty attaches great importance to this matter. All the princes have donated silver. Your Highness must not act on impulse and lose out at this time."
"… I understand. Please excuse me, Madam."
The King of Jin almost gritted his teeth as he said this. He asked the attendant beside him, "What time is it now?"
The attendant said, "Your Highness, it's almost evening. The Ministry of Revenue is counting the grain and silver. I estimate that the locks will be closed in half an hour."
King Jin felt his heart bleeding. "Go, call a team of men and send all the silver in the treasury over there."
If you stick your head out, you will be cut off. If you hide your head, you will be cut off. You can't keep the money you have earned. Sooner or later, you will have to give it away. Everyone understands this principle, but not everyone can do it.
The attendant received the order and immediately led his men to escort the large boxes of gold and silver to the Ministry of Revenue. However, when passing through Zhuque Street, he saw a long dragon-like group of soldiers slowly marching out of the city, blocking the street.
The attendant was secretly worried and was about to send someone to ask what was going on when he saw a man riding a horse slowly approaching from a distance. He was dressed in a dark brocade robe with a white jade pendant on his waist, and he looked very cold. Only when he got closer could he see the pattern on it. It was a first-class python robe bestowed by the emperor.
The man was really dazzling. His eyebrows were long and feminine, and the corners of his lips were slightly raised, as if he had seen something interesting. The other half of his face was covered by a silver mask, which made the smile look a little more unreal.
He was probably so skilled in horsemanship that he didn't even bother to hold the reins. He just let the horse move its hooves slowly and leisurely, just like a young man from an aristocratic family strolling along the street to admire the flowers.
Xie Jingyuan? !
The attendant's heart skipped a beat when he saw this, and he was so scared that he almost fell off his horse. Wasn't Xie Jingyuan sick and dying, staying at the general's mansion, so why did he come out today
He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and immediately ordered the people behind him: "Hurry, hurry, let's take a detour and go to the Ministry of Revenue from Lion Street."
The driver in charge of escorting the silver said with a bitter face: "The convoy is too long. I'm afraid we can't turn around for a while. Look, those soldiers have crowded the road so much that my horse has no place to rest its hooves."
The attendant complained bitterly, he really didn't want to offend Xie Jingyuan, the living devil. But remembering the order of King Jin, and looking at the dim sky above, he could only bite the bullet and dismount and step forward, bowing to Xie Jingyuan and saying: "I am honored to meet you, General. May I ask if you are going out of the city?"
Xie Jingyuan lowered his eyes and glanced at him casually: "Who are you?"
The tone was neither hurried nor slow, which made the attendant anxious: "I am a disciple of King Jin, and I have been ordered to escort the grain cart. May I ask what the general is doing?"
Xie Jingyuan smiled and said, "Oh, so you are from the Jin King's sect. It's nothing serious. There are many new soldiers in the Wude Camp. I am just taking them out of the city for training."
When the attendant heard that it was just an ordinary military training, he breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile: "I wonder if the general could be kind enough to let the grain cart of the King of Jin pass through. It's getting late and the Ministry of Revenue has been locked."
"Well… "
After hearing this, Xie Jingyuan seemed to fall into deep thought and did not speak for a long time.
The attendant was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, wishing he could just grow wings and fly over, but he could only force a smile and say, "General, there has been a locust plague in the north recently, and the King of Jin wants to do his part. You understand the righteousness of the cause, so why don't you show some mercy and let my carriage pass first?"
Xie Jingyuan glanced at the long convoy and said, "I see. Why didn't you tell me earlier? If you had told me earlier, I would have let you pass."
Although he said this, he still sat quietly on the horse without moving at all.
The attendant gnashed his teeth in hatred and forced a smile: "Look, why don't you let your soldiers give up their positions?"
"How do I give up my position?"
Xie Jingyuan flicked the whip in his hand, pointed at the neatly-formed soldiers, and said with interest: "Look, if they give up their positions, wouldn't the whole situation behind them be in chaos?"
The attendant could no longer conceal his anxiety: "But my grain cart..."
Xie Jingyuan spoke in a lazy tone, and seemed to deliberately drag out the sound of each word: "Don't worry, there are only so many people in Wude Camp. If you wait for another half a cup of tea, they will naturally leave."
The attendant had no choice but to step aside and wait patiently. However, one cup of tea passed, two cups of tea passed, and half an hour passed, and the line of soldiers leaving the city was still unbearably long.
The attendant finally couldn't help but stepped forward and asked through gritted teeth: "General Xie, may I ask how many people are there in your Wude Camp?"
Xie Jingyuan ignored his rudeness and said lightly, "Oh, not many people, only about 3,000. But I forgot to tell you that I heard that Wude Camp is going out of the city to train soldiers, and Pingxiang Camp and Xuanhu Camp are also going to go with them. The three camps combined..."
Xie Jingyuan counted in front of him: "Hiss... Actually there are not many people, but this general is a little confused."
The attendant finally realized that he was blocking the way on purpose, and was afraid that if he delayed any further, he would miss the opportunity of the King of Jin and would be in trouble. He did not care about it and immediately turned around and ordered those people: "Hurry up, hurry up, don't use the carriage, leave a few people to guard it, and the rest of you come with me to carry the silver to the Ministry of Revenue."
The silver was locked in wooden boxes, not to mention the dozen or so carts of grain. The people from the Prince of Jin's Mansion hurriedly carried the things off the carts, pushed aside the slowly moving army, and rushed straight to the Ministry of Revenue like reincarnation.
Chu Xinian stood in the teahouse opposite, taking everything in. He glanced at the time and saw that it was almost time, so he gestured to Xie Jingyuan from a distance, indicating that they could withdraw their troops and return to the camp.
The sky was filled with sunset clouds, shining the roof with golden light. The dark blue sky slowly swallowed up the sunset light, and when it was finally dark, the people from the Prince of Jin's Mansion just managed to reach the Ministry of Revenue.
The officials of the Ministry of Revenue counted the silver from each household, drew up a list, and were ready to lock up the office. However, just as they walked out of the door, they saw a group of burly men carrying boxes rushing towards them. They were so aggressive that they couldn't help but take a step back and pointed at them and said, "You, you, you... Who are you?!"
The attendant of the Prince of Jin ran out of breath, took out a list of silver and money from his arms, slapped it heavily in his hand, and said breathlessly: "This is... This is the donation from the Prince of Jin's Mansion... The donated silver... Quickly... Quickly register it into the warehouse..."
The official from the Ministry of Revenue suddenly realized what was going on after hearing this. He uttered an ambiguous "oh" and pulled his hand out calmly, "So it's from the Prince of Jin's Mansion. But the time has passed and the collection of silver has already ended."
The attendant was so angry that he grabbed his collar and said, "What did you say? Say it again!"
If he couldn't handle Xie Jingyuan, could he not handle a small clerk in the Ministry of Revenue? !
The official from the Ministry of Revenue was fearless and pulled his hand down, saying arrogantly, "I am also following the orders of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. I am really powerless. The time is up and I will not wait any longer."
The attendant gritted his teeth and said, "You don't take His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin seriously?"
The official from the Ministry of Revenue snorted, "No matter how noble the Prince of Jin is, he still has to know the order of seniority and first come first served. What's going on? The words of the Prince of Jin are words, but the words of the Crown Prince are bullshit?"
After he finished speaking, he locked the door and pointed at the boxes outside and said, "Take them away quickly, don't block the door. If you don't take them away, I'll find someone to throw them away."
The servant was so shocked and angry when he heard this that his eyes went dark and he fainted.