After the court meeting is over, I will come to the imperial study room again.
Through the door, Chu Yu could hear the chatter inside like a quarrel in a vegetable market, her forehead tightened, and she really wanted to turn around and go home. It's just obviously impossible. With the sound of pushing the door, the noise inside stopped abruptly.
Everyone looked in front of the door together. At this time, the sun had just risen and leaked into the room from outside the door. Chu Yu was wearing a crimson official uniform with a peacock pattern, a long flower rhinoceros belt and a wasp waist, and her long hair stood up and buckled a gilt jade crown. , with half a ray of light in his eyebrows, stunning and calm.
"Sir, I greet Your Majesty." Chu Yu respectfully knelt down to pay respects, with layers of official robes layered under her body, like a peony spreading suddenly, graceful for no reason.
The few ministers who were still obsessed with quarreling suddenly calmed down, and couldn't help but began to wonder if there were any outstanding juniors in the clan who hadn't married yet. Hubu Shangshu Chuyu is young and promising, with a high position and authority, extremely favored, and has both talent and talent. Even if he had a not-so-successful marriage history, he is still very popular. Just look at the ice people who almost stepped through the threshold.
"Chu Qing, sit down." The person in the main hall finally spoke.
Only then did Chu Yu raise his head, and met Yan Chengqi's eyes that seemed to be smiling but not smiling.
A year ago, Chu Yu reconciled with Qin Zheng and returned to the Duke's mansion, inheriting the title of his ancestors, and his daughter changed her surname to the clan. At that time, Chu Yu was seriously ill, almost relying on precious medicinal materials, so she wrote a letter to resign her official position and recuperate in a village outside Beijing. Later, the Seventh Prince Yan Tengqing raised his troops to force the palace to rebel. Chu Yu used all the private soldiers of the Chu family to join forces with his elder brother Chu Ming, smashing Yan Tengqing's plot at a critical moment and holding on until the prince returned to Beijing.
The fire that night burned the sky of Shangjing red, and at dawn, the dynasty finally changed.
The world is in vain, and the new emperor ascends the throne. On the night of his ascension to the throne, Chu Yu sat in the Luanzhu Hall on behalf of his elder brother wearing a Xiapei, saying goodbye to Daoming elder brother. Divorce is a matter of first birth and second familiarity. He is more experienced.
I thought that after this incident, the official career was cut off, and a clinker imperial decree fell into Chu Yu's hands. Chu Yu, who originally wanted to retire safely in Zhuangzi in advance, was transferred to the Ministry of Households and served as Minister.
See the emperor the next day, the emperor sits in the hall.
Across the tall white jade steps, Chu Yu could actually see Yan Chengqi's eyes that seemed to be smiling but not smiling under the twelve-pronged crown.
Chu Yu knew that Yan Chengqi probably got into a fight with him.
Sure enough, since then, no matter whether it is a big stall, a small stall, a new stall, or a mess, Chu Yu is indispensable. Chu Yu was helpless, and had no other thoughts other than exhausting his thoughts. First of all, the family motto is like this, the Chu family never hides from the world, if the country is in trouble, it will be countered with life, if the country is peaceful, it will be countered with body. Second, the elder brother took the emperor's eldest son outside, if no one in the Chu family can stand firm in the court, who knows what will happen in the future
Therefore, today's Chu Yu is no longer the long-sleeved, good at dancing, and exquisite minister in charge of the past, but the minister of the household department, the lonely and direct minister of Yan Chengqi.
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Chu Yu got up and sat down, and then she took a closer look at the people in the imperial study. When she saw Han Sheng, Minister of the Ministry of War, Fu Xiu, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, and Elder Zheng Ge, Elder Liu Ge, her heart was already quite clear. separated.
Yan Chengqi tapped the table with his fingertips, pushed a stack of memorials in front of Chu Yu, and said, "Chu Qing might as well take a look first."
Chu Yu took it with a nod of his head, and flipped through it roughly, the expression on his face remained unchanged from the beginning to the end. At the end, he sighed softly and replied: "Your Majesty, I have finished reading."
Yan Chengqi nodded and said, "What do you think?"
One stone stirred up a thousand waves, and the adults who had calmed down started to talk like opening a valve, and then started bragging and staring after a while, vying to betray Yan Chengqi.
In short, there is drought in the north and flood in the south, ditches in the west and war in the east.
Ask for money!
Where does the money come from? Naturally, it was the Ministry of Household Affairs, and if the emperor wanted to withdraw money from the Ministry of Accountancy, the emperor could not open his mouth, so Chu Yu had to let go.
He only heard the ding of the tea cover, which just interrupted everyone's dispute. Yan Chengqi looked at Chu Yu calmly and said, "What do you think Chu Qing?"
Facing this kind of blatant behavior, Chu Yu has long been used to it, and glanced at the senior ministers who were blushing and thick-necked, and said without rushing: "Drought and flood natural disasters destroy harvests and damage the community. It is urgent to release grain in the warehouse and allocate funds for disaster relief."
The two elders were relieved upon hearing this.
Chu Yu said again: "The Japanese pirates on the border frequently come to invade us, harassing the people in the border waters of our country, and scorning our country's prestige, so in order to protect the safety of the people on one side, the military pay should be appropriated."
The Minister of the Ministry of War stopped talking and breathed a sigh of relief.
Chu Yu said again: "Building water conservancy projects will benefit the people and the country. This should be done."
The Minister of the Ministry of Industry also felt relieved.
Everyone got a satisfactory answer, and for a while there was no longer the atmosphere like a vegetable market.
Yan Chengqi raised his eyebrows lightly. Although he was quite surprised in his heart, it was a good thing after all. His face gradually eased, and he decided: "Since Chu Qing said so, then..."
"Your Majesty, the household department has no money." Chu Yu interjected coolly.
…
…
…
Mr. Zheng Ge picked out his ears, suspecting that he had a hearing problem. Everyone looked at Chu Yu in bewilderment.
Chu Yu lowered her eyes and smiled helplessly: "The Ministry of Households, I have no money."
From ancient times to the present, the Minister of the Household Department is not so easy to sit on. He is chased by people all day long for money. If he is a little weaker, he will be pressured by all parties, and he can't wait to squeeze it out. When the emperor opened his mouth to ask for money, but the Ministry of Household Affairs couldn't get it out, who didn't try to make nine turns and eighteen turns to express the lack of treasury. Looking at the previous ministers of the household department, no one is required to take a homework-crying poor.
Now it seems that Chu Shangshu's homework probably failed.
The only one in front of him who dared to throw out the word "no money" in front of the emperor, Yan Chengqi's face sank at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Chu Yu looked at this man who was about to lose his temper, and then said: "First, there are matters before and after the construction of the emperor's mausoleum, and then there are grand ceremonies such as His Majesty's enthronement and canonization, and several times of funding for the locust plague. , even when the national treasury is full, there is no way to cover everything, let alone this time?"
For a while, the imperial study room became quiet again.
Chu Yu bit the two words to death. If he has no money, even if he has money, he will not be able to spend so much all at once. The various ministries were unwilling to give up, arguing and arguing, all feeling that there was no time to delay on their side, but it was another pot of porridge for a while.
Chu Yu lowered her eyes, rubbed her fingertips on the cuff embroidery, listened to the sound from her left ear and heard it from her right ear, and finally, when all the ministries were spitting and spitting, she said quietly: "I think that if you continue to argue like this, it's better to think about what to do. "
The reality of the household department is like this, and Chu Yu can't sit still to make money, so it can only be like this if he is noisy.
Yan Chengqi, who had been silent all this time, opened his mouth slowly, and said: "The disaster relief is the first, open warehouses in various places to distribute food, take in the refugees and donate porridge and food, strictly investigate corruption in ink, and if anyone dares to corrupt ink and disaster money, they will be skinned and wrapped in grass. Kai Zhen The internal treasury is used as military pay, first to quell the Japanese pirates' rebellion, and to protect the stability of the people in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. The construction of water conservancy should be a steady stream of water and should not be cut off."
Several Ge Lao Shangshu got up one after another, kowtowed and said: "Your Majesty is holy."
Yan Chengqi raised his hand, showing a bit tired face: "Zhu Qing, step back first."
After getting a satisfactory answer, all the ministers did not dare to jump in front of Yan Chengqi, and immediately said: "I will take my leave."
"Chu Qing stay." Yan Chengqi said.
Chu Yu:…
Green smoke wafted from the cloisonné enamel incense burner in the imperial study, Yan Chengqi closed his eyes and sighed softly, raised his hand to pinch the space between his brows, and said after a long while: "In front of so many courtiers, at least Chu Qing should save me some face."
Chu Yu raised his eyebrows slightly: "Your Majesty's words are serious, but I dare not."
"I know you intend to block me, you..." Yan Chengqi paused, swallowed back the words that mentioned Chu Ming, and his heart was also sour.
After all, the person in front of me is the king, even if there is a grudge, there should be a limit, Chu Yu changed the subject and said: "Your Majesty, the confiscation of the internal treasury is not a long-term solution. It's on my mind."
If the emperor is forced to pay out of his pocket from time to time in the future, if he doesn't pay, he doesn't care about the country and the common people.
Yan Chengqi naturally understood the disadvantages, but it was a helpless move to relieve the urgent need.
"Chu Qing has a solution?"
Chu Yu thought for a moment, and said: "Throughout the ages, the desire to fill the national treasury is nothing more than four words, to increase revenue and reduce expenditure. If we want to increase revenue, we should follow the example."
It means that in the future, Your Majesty should eat less, drink less, spend less, don't choose a concubine, don't build a house, don't visit the garden, and stay at home to read books is better than anything else.
Yan Chengqi: "..."
Chu Yu said again: "Since Your Majesty has set an example, the officials should follow suit to eliminate extravagance."
The first one demolished the gold-selling cave in Silver Hook Lane, and it has been uncomfortable for a long time.
Yan Chengqi was silent and agreed.
"This is cutting expenditure, but if you want to fill the national treasury, in the final analysis, it is still open source..."
In the imperial study room, the monarchs and ministers calmly talked about Kaiyuan, An Yingyuan silently poured a cup of tea and handed it over, then stepped aside. Watching these two pinch and help each other.
In the second half of the day, Chu Yu interrupted the conversation with a few coughs, and her lips turned pale.
Yan Chengqi frowned slightly and said: "The rare medicinal materials in the Tai Hospital will be emptied for you, why is your body still not improving?"
Chu Yu covered her lips and suppressed a low cough, and said intermittently: "Life and death are destiny, and you can't force it."
"Chu Qing is still young, why bother to say such depressing words." Seeing that there was no one else, Yan Chengqi simply leaned on the couch, resting his forehead with one hand, making no effort to hide his fatigue. I sent my son to the Empress Dowager to walk around. I have no children under my knees, and the Empress Dowager is concerned about it. Zhener is well-behaved and sensible, and fits the old man's eyes."
The implication is that your elder brother took away the prince's grandson, so you gave your girl to the queen mother to play with, and it was not in vain for me to make her the country lord.
Chu Yu:…
Yan Chengqi hesitated for a moment, then hesitated and said: "Is everything okay at home recently?"
Chu Yu's eyelashes trembled slightly, and she raised her eyes unsurprisingly, revealing the same half-smile: "Your Majesty is concerned, everything is well."
"I mean... that... Is everyone in the family okay?" Yan Chengqi's voice became lower and lower.
Chu Yu looked at Yan Chengqi leisurely, and said: "There are only ministers and Zhen'er in the minister's family, both are fine."
Yan Chengqi opened his mouth, gritted his teeth and said, "Recently, Junshan silver needles were newly tributed in the south, and Chu Qing brought some back."
Chu Yu smiled and said, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness."
Yan Chengqi didn't mention Chu Yu's superfluous words, and said in a heartbroken way: "There is also a red coral tree, which is not very useful and looks good. Later, someone will move Chu Yu to the Duke's mansion."
"Sir, be terrified." There was no trace of terrified in Chu Yu's eyes.
Yan Chengqi was a little bit pained, but he still said: "There is also an abacus polished by Lantian Nuanyu, which is exquisite, and I will give it to Chu Qing."
Chu Yu blinked, interested, and then got up to thank the gift: "Thank you, Your Majesty, everyone in the minister's family is well, whether they are in Shangjing or...outside."
Yan Chengqi sat quietly for a long time, only thinking that it was really worthwhile to exchange so many rare things for Chu Yu's words. A word of well-being actually made his nose sour, and it took him a while to recover.
"It's okay... it's fine..." Yan Chengqi muttered to himself, and suddenly remembered something, and hurriedly said: "Seeing the end of autumn and winter solstice, I got a few new fox furs a few days ago, and Chu Qing took them all. If... Ruojia If there are relatives who are afraid of the cold, send one or two. If not enough, I have more here."
The smile on Chu Yu's lips faded, and it took a long time before he slowly bowed and said softly, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
This thank you is sincere.
At the beginning, it was not that he hated the person in front of him for betraying his elder brother's friendship. Although he has worked with the emperor and his ministers in the past year, there is still a thorn in his heart that has not been healed. It's just that as time goes by, I can't help but gradually understand that some belated intentions can be regarded as sincerity.
It's just that Chu Yu doesn't understand why people in the world always regret after losing something.
After leaving the imperial study room, the majestic palace came into view, like thirty-three floors of Lihentian, with the palace servants' belts raised high.
got windy.
Chu Yu frowned slightly, and felt a dull pain in her knee.
Seeing this, An Yingyuan couldn't help saying: "Lord Chu, do you want someone to carry a chariot here?"
Chu Yu waved his hand: "Thank you, Eunuch An, for your kindness. I really can't do it." You can do whatever you want in front of Yan Chengqi, but there are some rules that you must never touch.
An Yingyuan sighed inwardly, and stopped talking, just watched Chu Yu staggering down the steps with one foot deep and one foot shallow.
Since kneeling that year, the root of Chu Yu's illness was that he was not able to walk when the rainy season was approaching.