novelonline Chapter 1948 Wang Ba succeeded
Chapter 1948 Wang Ba succeeded
Chapter 1948 The Bastard Succeeded
The emperor stayed in Hangzhou for three nights and set off on the fourth day.
The Ninth Prince sat by the boat window, and became as angry as a toad.
Seeing his emotions, the Fourth Prince reminded him, "Quickly calm down. You are worrying too much. She is just a woman!"
The Ninth Prince stood up and said angrily, "That bastard Li Xu succeeded again!"
It turned out that for this return trip, the emperor had ordered people to pack up a cabin on the spare imperial boat, and also assigned two palace maids and two young eunuchs to go over there.
This is prepared for the women in Suzhou.
This is to bring people back to the palace.
Li Xu succeeded in presenting beauty again.
The Ninth Prince hated this in the first place and felt suffocated just listening to it.
"It's happened again and again. What on earth is Khan Ama thinking?"
In the twenty-eighth year, Concubine Wang was brought back.
In the thirty-eighth year, Concubine Gao was brought back.
I have to bring someone again this year.
The Fourth Prince shook his head and said, "It is not for you and me to talk about matters involving the imperial concubines!"
The people around the emperor, even if they are concubines without rank, are the stepmothers of these princes.
The Ninth Prince snorted and said, "Can't the Eight Banners select good ones? If you want Han women, there are many banner women in the Imperial Household Department..."
The Fourth Prince could guess a little bit of what his father was thinking.
Most of the beauties of the Eight Banners were from noble families, and they were given positions as long as they were given a badge.
The emperor is old now, and if he selects beauties from the Eight Banners, it would be suspected that he is lustful.
As for the concubines in the Imperial Household Department, they have been known to do bad things in recent years, and the Emperor has started to feel resentful towards the bondservants and no longer looks down on them.
Among the Han women from the south of the Yangtze River, those who could now be sent before the emperor were no longer of humble origins like Concubine Wang, but mostly ladies from the literati circle.
With the surrender of Shilin among them, accepting these women was not only because of their beauty, but also to open a loophole.
Since ancient times, there have been more than one or two people who have been concerned about nepotism.
The Fourth Prince said, "Don't keep thinking about Li Xu. We can't have any dealings with him."
The Ninth Prince said, "What's wrong with Sun Wencheng? He is so quiet in his work that he can't even get to the front to welcome or see off the emperor..."
Fortunately, Sun Wencheng got the upper hand over the cashmere field.
It is obvious that this person is not very smart, has no talent, and has no royal favor.
Whether it was Cao Yin or Li Xu, they were both local tyrants in Jiangnan; but when it came to Sun Wencheng, they were just ordinary officials, not outstanding at all.
The Fourth Prince said, "The Khan's father truly trusts only Cao Yin. Li Xu is only helping Cao Yin because of his family background and smoothness. As for Sun Wencheng, he is just making up the numbers. It's ok if he doesn't hinder Cao Yin..."
Hearing this, the Ninth Prince rolled his eyes and said, "The court is quite funny. They admire the loyal and virtuous people of the previous dynasty..."
On the contrary, he looked down upon those ministers who surrendered to the Qing Dynasty, thinking that they had violated the great principles.
The Fourth Prince looked at the Ninth Prince and said, "This is the way of loyalty and filial piety advocated by Confucianism, which wins the hearts of people all over the world."
The Ninth Prince disagreed and said, "It's just a trick. He has real guts and refuses to serve the emperor. What will be the result? How many people are willing to give up their rich and noble future? Even if there are old men seeking fame, few families will stop their children and grandchildren from going to school."
The Fourth Prince said, "You have already angered Li Xu before, that's enough. The grudge is out in the open, I think he won't dare to slander me."
The Ninth Prince did not want to mention this depressed person anymore. He just remembered one thing and asked curiously, "Fourth Brother, Khan Ama wants to bring the Han woman back to Beijing. Will the Crown Prince take her with him? There is no news yet. I wonder if he will think of taking her with him when he arrives in Suzhou..."
The Fourth Prince shook his head and said, "Probably not."
The prince is in his prime and has few children. If he brings a commoner girl into the palace, it would offend the nobles of the Eight Banners.
The emperor's father Chunqiu is here. He has 18 princes. Even if there are a few more little princes born to common women, it will not be a big deal.
The Ninth Prince could not think of this and said, "Come to think of it, the Crown Prince is hard-hearted and has no sympathy for women..."
*
In the prince's cabin, the prince and his entourage were talking about the two maids who had served him when he was in the Suzhou Weaving House.
As we are about to go to Suzhou again, we have to make a decision on how to accommodate the two of them.
The prince softened his heart.
Girls who sold themselves as maids all had a hard life.
These two maids are poor children who lost their mothers.
The former was bullied and sold by her stepmother, and the latter had both parents gone and was sold by her uncles.
Therefore, when people around him asked about the arrangements for the two people, the prince said: "Tell Li Xu to send them to the capital later!"
It cannot be brought into the palace, so it should be placed outside the palace.
They can always shelter them from the wind and rain and prevent them from withering outside.
It is so hard for a child without a mother.
Then, the prince's expression turned cold, and he said, "Go check later to see what the origins of the maids sent to other places are. There are too many who have lost their mothers..."
If it was a coincidence, it would be fine. But if Li Xu arranged it on purpose, it would be really disgusting.
"This is a treacherous minister. He is good at guessing the intentions of his superiors..."
The prince said to himself.
Is Li Xu trying to please me, also to figure out his boss' intentions?
He remembered that he had written to Li Xu several times to ask for money, and Li Xu had given it to him happily every time.
What about this time?
Seeing his current situation, will Li Xu still be filial?
The prince narrowed his eyes and told the people around him, "Tell Li Xu later and ask him to help me buy a house and prepare some cosmetics and money for the two maids..."
*
Two days later, the imperial boat arrived in Suzhou.
The anger in the Ninth Prince's heart had long since dissipated.
The emperor still stayed at the Suzhou Weaving House.
It happened that the Suzhou Weaving House presented new satin and new silk to the emperor, and within three days, the emperor rewarded them twice.
On the first day, rewards were given to the Grand Secretary, the Imperial Guards, the Imperial Guards, the Imperial Household Department stewards and others.
On the second day, rewards were given to the accompanying princes, civil and military ministers, and officials who came to the court.
As a prince accompanying the emperor, the Ninth Prince received top-quality rewards, including a lot of fine materials, including four pieces of gold-woven silk, four pieces of shimmering satin, four pieces of embroidered satin, four pieces of tribute satin, as well as eight pieces of Korean gauze and eight pieces of plain gauze.
The Ninth Prince looked at each of them, and among them were several types of materials that were unique to the Suzhou Weaving Bureau.
He still hated Li Xu, but he couldn't help but say that Li Xu had done a good job.
It is quite a trick to prepare new materials at this time.
There is also filial piety in the birthday celebration.
Thinking that his wife loved to use Songjiang cloth, especially the underwear of several children, all of which were made of Songjiang cloth, he asked Cao Shun: "How much Songjiang cloth did you buy last time you went to Songjiang?"
Cao Shun said: "According to the list drawn up by Master and Lady, the A grade is 100 pieces, and the B grade is 100 pieces."
The Ninth Prince nodded and said, "That's enough."
Cao Shun said, "Master, Li Xu has prepared a gift, and Master's gifts have also been delivered, sixteen rolls of silk and satin of various colors."
The Ninth Prince raised his eyebrows and asked, "Where did you send them?"
Cao Shun said: "The Crown Prince, the three masters, and Lord Ding and Lord Gao, a total of six places."
The Ninth Prince sneered, "How smooth!"
Baoyi were the emperor's servants, and it was not wrong for them to show filial piety to the young masters.
The two people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, one is a superior and the other is a colleague, so it is reasonable to exchange courtesy...
*
Weaving government office.
Li Can received a message from the prince's close associate and came to find his brother.
"Brother, the prince asked someone to pass on a message. What does this mean? Why didn't he bring them back to the capital directly? Instead, he asked us to go over there to deliver them..."
They were just two maids, and the prince had his own boat, so he could arrange for them in any cabin.
Li Xu was thinking about the scolding he received in front of the emperor a few days ago.
The prince's situation is not good.
The prince knew what was going on. He cared about his reputation but couldn't bear to give up women.
The prince has lost confidence.
Very bad.
Everyone knows that the prince has been spoiled since he was young, but now he acts with restraint.
If the Li family wants to maintain their wealth, they have to find a way.
But we still have to be respectful to the prince.
"Just follow my instructions..." Li Xu said.
Li Can frowned and said, "It's OK to send someone away, but how do I prepare a house? And how much money do I need for cosmetics?"
Li Xu listened and felt heavy in his heart.
The prince casually ordered that it be used to house the outer residence.
But that was no ordinary outhouse.
If the prince ascends the throne, then she will be the emperor's concubine and must enter the palace.
This house cannot be too small, the one with four courtyards is the smallest.
It has to be in the inner city.
If it were South City, it would be inconvenient and unsafe for the prince to enter and exit.
It should also not be too far from the imperial palace.
Li Xu felt the pain and said to Li Can, "Go back to Beijing and borrow 20,000 taels of silver from the Ministry of Revenue. Use 10,000 taels to buy a house and 10,000 taels for cosmetics."
I really don't have enough money.
Li Can was a little anxious after hearing this, and said, "Brother, we borrowed 70,000 taels to welcome the emperor in the 38th year, and 140,000 taels this year. The deficit is getting bigger and bigger..."
Li Xu exhaled and said, "What can we do? The emperor didn't want to alert the locals, so he asked me and Cao Yin to welcome him. Cao Yin has borrowed more..."
"Then how do we make up for this shortfall?"
Li Can was very worried.
The Ministry of Revenue and the Imperial Household Department only allocated tens of thousands of taels of silver each year, which was used to purchase cloth.
Among them, the part that can be intervened is at most 20% to 30%, which is about 10,000 taels of profit.
In that case, it would take more than 20 years to pay off the deficit.
But the expenses at home are also high.
At the end of the year, most of the ten thousand taels of silver would be spent.
Li Xu said: "The emperor knows what is going on. Even if he doesn't sympathize with me, there is still Cao Yin. He will find a way to make up for the shortfall for Enrong..."