Qin Bai smiled lovingly at Qin Wan and said firmly, "Although the Imperial Palace is not our Qin family's back garden, we, the Qin family, will definitely protect you."
Qin Wan's eyes reddened. Whether in her previous life or this one, they had always been so kind to her! But she couldn't protect them, and she was filled with remorse.
Seeing Qin Wan's tears welling up, Qin Bai asked with concern, "What's wrong with you? Are you touched? Haha, if you are touched, why not send some snacks to Uncle San?"
puff!
Qin Wan laughed again. Besides his love for calligraphy and painting, his third uncle's biggest hobby was eating sweets. "Third uncle, do you still want your teeth?"
Qin Bai immediately covered his mouth and hesitantly extended a finger: "Then a small cup of fruit tea? A small snack?"
"Oh? How small?" Qin Wan looked at him, suppressing her laughter.
Being looked at so teasingly by a junior, Qin Bai felt a little embarrassed. He loosened his hand, but still pursed his lips. He stretched out his hand again stubbornly and gestured: "Then it's as big as a palm."
"Okay." Qin Wan agreed, and soon after she left, she had someone bring over a soft, palm-sized snack.
Qin Bai saw the snacks and was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. They were indeed the size of a palm, not the size of his palm, nor the size of Qin Wan's palm, but the size of a three-year-old child's palm. The snacks were soft and when you pinched them, they were not even as big as a copper coin.
Even so, he still treasured it and ate the snacks in small bites. Then he personally led people to set up the auction venue for Qin Wan.
Qin Wan couldn't step in to handle this matter, so as her uncle, he naturally had to run around for her.
Within two days, the old uncle learned that there was an auction that included his favorite paintings by Penghao Zhenren.
The whereabouts of Penghao Zhenren are mysterious, and his calligraphy and paintings are known for their grandeur and majesty.
It is still easy to buy some of his calligraphy, but it is not an exaggeration to say that his paintings are priceless.
The old emperor's uncle is Prince An, the cousin of the current emperor.
His father was a prince, but he was uneducated and unskilled, so he was not granted any fiefdom and had to rely on the court salary to support his family.
But the court salary could not support a prince's dignity and reputation.
Fortunately, Prince An had a wife who could make money, Princess An, and they lived a relatively comfortable life.
But now that Prince An has come to power, there is no one in the family who can manage the accounts, and life is difficult, so he went to the emperor to borrow silver. He borrowed more than 20,000 taels of silver and refused to pay it back.
Princess An, watching Prince An send someone to find connections and get a listing for the auction, strongly objected, "Why are you going? His Majesty is short of money right now. How can you possibly buy this painting by Penghao Zhenren without thirty thousand taels of silver? What will His Majesty think if you buy the painting?"
Prince An was not afraid at all: "What are you thinking? I have no money, but I have my life! I'm going!"
Princess An was furious, but she could do nothing about Prince An. She watched him take away 40,000 taels of silver and go to return the auction invitation, but she could do nothing.
There are many people like King An, and it just so happens that some of the things at the trade fair are what they need.
After hearing the terms of the auction, some smart people would use the minimum deposit to exchange for an entry-level post.
But someone like Prince An, whose purpose was clear, was afraid that this was a trick played by the auctioneers, secretly counting the names of those who wanted to buy, and that it would be bad if the secret bid was given to someone else in the end.
Therefore, they all exchanged the price of their own target objects for the entry-level posts.
Before the auction day, the emperor had already seen 100,000 taels of silver in the account book.
He was so angry that his heart ached: "These people would rather spend money on these useless things than return my money?"
Xie Qing said: "It can be seen that these people think that they don't have to pay back the money they borrowed."
After a pause, Xie Qing took out a memorial and presented it to the emperor. "Father, please look at this. This is what I have compiled over the past few days. Since I came to power, all the royal family and court officials have owed the court money. Not to mention the past, even during the time of the previous emperor, there was a hole of nearly 700,000 taels of silver that hadn't been filled."
"The Emperor is currently in his prime, and the court already owes 180,000 taels of silver. I wonder how much more they will owe in another thirty or fifty years? And with these people currently owing the treasury money and not paying it back, those who wait and see will surely follow suit and borrow money from the treasury. The number of people in debt will only increase."
The emperor was worried: "Has the Marquis of Pingyang not paid back the money yet?"
"Where does he get the money? His mansion is in chaos now. He can't get money from Bai, nor can he get money from Wu. Old Madam Lu doesn't have much capital left. The hole of one hundred thousand taels cannot be filled, so no money is given to him. A dignified marquis has to rely on women for support. It's really..." Xie Qing raised the corner of his mouth with a sneer, and although he quickly concealed it, the emperor still saw it.
The emperor pointed at him with the memorial in his hand and said, "You."
Xie Qing didn't elaborate, simply pointing to the final figure for the emperor to see. "Father, since the founding of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the civil and military officials, as well as the royal family, have collectively owed the national treasury over three hundred million taels of silver. I often wonder, are the officials' salaries insufficient? Or are they living too extravagantly?"
"You're useless! You can't do your job well! You're quick to spend my money!" The emperor smashed the teacup in anger again. When the emperor was furious, everyone inside and outside the imperial study became quiet.
Eunuch Zhang was feeling lucky that the teacups used these days were His Majesty's favorite, otherwise His Majesty would be distressed later.
Xie Qing considered it for a moment and tentatively said, "Father, how about a salary increase?"
The emperor snorted coldly, "Increase? Their current salary is enough to support their entire family. If we increase their salaries, where will the money come from? What will happen to the people? How will we repair the dam?"
Xie Qing thought that it was better to guide than to block, and to prevent them from borrowing money and embezzling money, they had to use their wealth to maintain their integrity.
But the emperor is right, where does the silver come from?
Now that the national treasury is not well-off, it is right to be frugal and maintain integrity.
The imperial study fell silent for a moment. The Sixth Prince blinked at the door, wanted to go in, but gave up and turned aside.
Lord Wu, the Minister of Personnel, asked the Sixth Prince with a smile, "Why don't you go in?"
The Sixth Prince rolled his eyes at him. He was naive, but not stupid. "My father is angry, why should I go in? Sir Wu, you have something important to attend to, isn't it just right for you to go in?"
"Your Majesty, I am also afraid of the emperor's wrath." Lord Wu's words were half true and half false. He was really afraid, but he also really wanted to go in and watch the fun, to see if the prince was being scolded by the emperor.
Just then, Xie Qing came out.
"Your Highness, I am here to pay my respects to the Crown Prince." Lord Wu stepped forward first to pay his respects and carefully examined his expression, but he only saw sadness on his face and nothing else.
The Sixth Prince was worried about Xie Qing. He handed the gift he had brought to the Emperor to Eunuch Zhang to pass on, and then he ran after Xie Qing: "Second brother, are you okay?"
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