Chapter 10 It doesn’t seem to matter if Silk is a little stupid.
Mei Ziqian was over fifty, gaunt, with graying hair and a sparse beard. His eyelids were drooping, but his eyes were bright and sharp. He was ushered into the private room by the clerk. He had an air of poverty, and even the coat he wore etched with the word "poor" in its name.
"I, Mei Ziqian, pay my respects to Princess Jiayi." Mei Ziqian bowed to Zhou Shan after entering. The old man's eyes, like those of a hawk, swept over the room sharply before he sat down.
Zhang Jinwei said, "I was taking the princess out for a walk today and unexpectedly ran into you. I wonder if you've had your meal yet? Clean the inkstone and ask the waiter to bring another pair of chopsticks."
"No need." Mei Ziqian waved his hand. "Of course I ate before leaving. The cabinet has an important meeting tomorrow, and I came to see you today for this matter."
Seeing the teacher and student engaged in a long conversation, Zhou Xian pricked up his ears, picked up his chopsticks, and secretly picked up a piece of yam and date cake. When no one was paying attention, he quickly stuffed it into his mouth. His cheeks puffed up instantly, and he felt embarrassed and covered them with his hands.
"Princess, please eat if you want." Zhang Jinwei observed his wife's little movements and said with a smile, "I am just talking to the teacher. It's not a serious matter. There is no need to be formal."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Xian couldn't help but think depressedly, the two of them were discussing court affairs while he was grunting and eating on the side... This scene was not a good look!
But in the end, his appetite overcame his pride. He nodded with dignity, picked up his chopsticks again, carefully picked up the food, and ate it in small bites, using his left hand to cover his mouth which moved constantly while chewing - this was the dignity and propriety of Princess Daning.
He had also heard of Mei Ziqian. He was said to be quite radical in his political views, but privately he was a bit old-fashioned. While not quite the "preserve the laws of nature and suppress human desires" type, he was nonetheless a sour old Confucian who was difficult to deal with. Zhou Xian had to be careful; he didn't want to be picked on by the old man for no apparent reason.
Wait a minute… Zhang Jinwei was the old man’s favorite student. Wouldn’t he become dull and boring as he got older? Zhou Xian was amused by his own thoughts. However, whether his cheap prince consort remarried or took a concubine in the future was none of his business.
He never planned to grow old with Zhang Jin.
Zhang Jinwei had no idea of his wife's little thoughts. He just supported his chin and watched the girl eat carefully. His thoughts drifted away, and in the end he even felt that his teacher had come at the wrong time.
"Ahem, Huaiyu." Mei Ziqian frowned and put his fist to his lips and coughed softly, "Let's talk business."
Zhang Jin came back to his senses, smiled apologetically, and said, "Teacher, please speak."
Mei Ziqian sighed heavily. "Last year, we promoted the conversion of farmland into mulberry trees in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang areas. We wanted the people to produce an additional 300,000 bolts of silk to expand the national treasury and address the deficit of the past few years."
"Teacher, you and I both know that this is not a good thing." Zhang Jinwei's expression gradually became serious.
Mei Ziqian's face was filled with sorrow. "Agriculture is the foundation of a country. Converting fields to mulberry trees might seem like a way to make money, but what about the reality? The imperial court issues an order, and local officials, regardless of whether it's reasonable or not, carry it out with swift and resolute force. And those wealthy families, eyeing the land, are taking advantage of the situation... Huaiyu, do you know where the 300,000 bolts of silk I requested last year went?"
As soon as these words were spoken, it was clear that something big had happened. Even Zhou Xian, who was trying to do two things at once, quietly put down his chopsticks and concentrated on eavesdropping on the court's secrets.
Mei Ziqian shook his head repeatedly and said, "It's gone... not even a single strand of silk! The funds allocated by the court, the farmland converted into mulberry fields, and even the grain loaned from Jiangsu and Zhejiang have all disappeared!"
Disappeared without a trace, how could it disappear without a trace!
Zhou Xian took a bite of the soup dumpling and sneered secretly. Calling the corruption an unsolved case, these people who play power games are really roundabout.
However, with such a big event happening in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Zhou Xian lowered his eyes and thought that he was just being given a pillow when he dozed off. He didn't need to rack his brains to persuade Zhang Jinwei. As long as the relationship between Zhou Cong and Shen Wen was mentioned slightly, it would be hard not to suspect whether Zhou Cong was also involved.
It is enough to have doubts.
Zhang Jinwei, who was standing beside him, stood up immediately upon hearing this, a look of disbelief on his face: "This is crazy, this is really crazy! Last year, the cabinet drafted the bills at all levels, and the whole court was eyeing the land in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. How dare they... Your Majesty? Your Majesty..."
"Huaiyu, you still don't understand that person." Mei Ziqian smiled bitterly, his expression unclear. "How could he not understand? He... is probably the one who knows the most!"
The private room fell into silence.
Zhou Xian ignored the depressing atmosphere. He was finally full, but since he was outside, no servants brought him anything to rinse his mouth, so he had to take a few sips of tea as a way to rinse his mouth.
Zhang Jinwei's face turned pale. He forced a smile at Zhou Xian and asked, "Princess, are you tired?"
Fortunately, I feel like I can still walk half of the capital.
Zhou Xian smiled faintly and said, "I am indeed tired, and it's almost time for curfew. The Prince Consort wants to discuss something with the Minister, so why not go back to the mansion and discuss it later?"
The night curfew in the capital of Daning starts at 3:00 a.m. and ends at 3:00 a.m. Unless you are a member of the Jinyiwei or have urgent matters, you are not allowed to go out without permission. If you are caught, you will be punished.
As a member of the cabinet, Mei Ziqian held a night pass, allowing him to come and go freely. Zhang Jinwei was still only a minor Hanlin, and Zhou Xian didn't want him to get into trouble.
The sedan chair had stopped at the back door of Jingchun Pavilion. Zhou Xian was reluctant to leave the bustling world. On his way back, he kept looking out the window. The lights were bright and the voices were bustling. Until he entered Xuanwu Gate, everything returned to silence.
…
Mei Ziqian did not stay in the Zhuangyuan Mansion for too long. The old man was anxious to discuss a major case in Jiangsu and Zhejiang with his colleagues, so he left in a hurry.
The lights were already on in the mansion, and Zhang Jinwei paced back and forth in the veranda, lost in thought, his hands and feet chilled by the cold wind. Of course, I'm afraid that everyone wearing a black gauze hat in the capital tonight was also chilled by the cold wind blowing in from Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
He sighed deeply and walked back into the house. Suddenly, he saw Yuxi and the maids holding several pieces of silk and using scissors to demonstrate how to cut them.
He asked with a smile: "Where did this silk come from? It shimmers under the lamp and is so beautiful. It must be the princess's dowry?" When the eunuchs in the palace reported the dowry to him, they said there were ten pieces of silk gauze, ten pieces of yarn, and three pieces of brocade. Presumably, the one in front of him was one of them.
"It's my brother's apology."
The princess, half exposed from the inner room, spoke softly. The girl loved to sleep with her hair down, preferring to spend the morning combing her hair vigorously rather than sleep with it in a bun. Her dark hair, long to her calves, enveloped her delicate frame like a black silk cloak. Her small face, now half exposed, gazed at Zhang Jinwei.
"Did His Royal Highness Prince Yu send it this morning?" Zhang Jinwei looked back at the silk in the maids' hands and suddenly his eyes fixed.
The lotus pattern on the silk has been very popular in Jiangnan these years. Jiangnan, Prince Yu, Concubine Shen...
Zhang Jin was shocked.
The princess walked lightly out of the inner room. She came to Zhang Jinwei and gently stroked the soft and smooth silk. She blinked her eyes and said, "Do you think this cloth is better for making a horse-faced skirt or a cloak?"
Neither is good.
Zhang Jinwei looked troubled: "Princess, I'm afraid we can't move these silks for the time being."
The princess was surprised and asked, "Why?"
"To be honest, Prince Yu is somewhat involved in the matter mentioned by the teacher today. Seeing Jiangnan silk now, I can't help but feel uneasy." Zhang Jinwei smiled bitterly, "Princess, please wait for a while. If Prince Yu is free, I will make clothes and skirts for you. If he is, I will buy them for you."
"That's how it is!" The princess turned hurriedly to the maids and said, "Stop immediately, put all the cloth away and keep it safe. Don't touch it."
The maids agreed.
Zhang Jin smiled. The princess was virtuous and sensible, obedient and well-behaved in the face of important matters, so he didn't have to worry about it. However, he always had a subtle feeling, but he couldn't put his finger on it. He seemed to see a hint of cunning in the princess's dimples, but he couldn't be sure.
Zhou Xian was almost frozen from laughing.
He was so disgusted by his own pretended innocence. He had been acting all day and was extremely tired. He just wanted to lie down on the couch and have a good sleep.
The two people lay side by side on the couch, each covered with a quilt, sleeping in the same bed but having different dreams.
Zhou Xian was almost asleep. Before he passed out, he thought bitterly, Zhou Cong deserved this day. Then he felt cold and unconsciously rubbed against the man beside him. His mind was a mess, and he vaguely realized that he seemed to have forgotten something.
Zhang Jinwei was quite lucid. His shoulders suddenly sank, and he looked sideways. The girl was curled up in a ball, pressed tightly against him, probably because she was cold. He stood up, picked up the hot water bottle from the side, and shoved it at the girl's feet. He then tucked the corner of the quilt in and lay down again, his mind heavy.
He thought helplessly, who would sew clothes at night?
Well, maybe this little liar hated Prince Yu too much, and couldn't wait to tell him that Prince Yu was related to the Jiangsu and Zhejiang case, which was considered to be helping him.
He could smell the even and light breath by his ears, and felt the soft flesh of the girl's cheeks. He inexplicably thought that she was only eighteen years old.
It seems that being a little stupid doesn't matter.
…
The eunuchs and palace maids knelt together, not daring to make a sound.
The Qianqing Palace was filled with the scent of sandalwood, which became choking after a long time. The bright yellow curtains were stacked layer upon layer. An old man sat next to a mountain of memorials, flipping through a thick book page by page.
"Your Majesty..." The eunuch Liu Renfu, who held the imperial seal, knelt on the ground and whispered, "It's almost three o'clock in the morning. You have to attend court tomorrow morning. Your Majesty, your health is more important. Please get some sleep!"
With a "bang", the old man threw the thick memorial in front of the eunuch. Everyone immediately bent down, fearfully waiting for the emperor's wrath.
Unexpectedly, the old man just snorted and said coldly: "A bunch of trash."
No one dared to answer.
"Especially my sons, they're all idiots!" the old man cursed. "I gave them power, told them to learn how to govern the country and inherit the throne as soon as possible! Instead, they've been causing trouble everywhere. They're so stupid!"
After saying this, the old man coughed heavily a few times. The eunuchs hurried forward, serving him tea and helping him to calm down. After a long while, the old man finally calmed down and reviewed the memorials again.
The old man looked at her for a while, then suddenly asked, "How is Princess Jiayi now?"
Liu Renfu rolled his eyes, pondered for a moment, and said:
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