Chapter 280 He Almost Laughed Out Loud
At the same time, letters for help written by students from other places after being arrested and thrown into prison were delivered to the homes of the powerful and wealthy.
Each household has different ideas, but the vast majority are not in a hurry to redeem someone.
It seems like some people are eager to redeem others, such as the Third Prince.
He received the most letters asking for help, but before he went out, he ran into the old concubine.
The Third Prince was startled for a moment, then turned around as if nothing had happened.
Instead, the old concubine came over with big strides and asked, "Are you going to the Ministry of Justice?"
The Third Prince hesitated for a moment, then said honestly, "No, I don't dare, I will... go and take a look." After a pause, he added, "Mother, they are all sons of old friends, so..."
Unexpectedly, the old concubine did not get angry or hit anyone with her cane. Instead, she handed a huge bag to the third prince with one hand and said calmly, "Go."
The Third Prince almost couldn't hold on to the extremely heavy bag.
Soon, he was surprised: "Mother!"
"The quilt is big enough. You can squeeze in and keep out the cold." The old concubine said, "Hurry up."
The Third Prince: ???
The old concubine's voice suddenly turned cold: "Once you leave, don't come back and live in prison with the son of an old friend."
The Third Prince: ...
The Third Prince was shocked and carried the bag back in a naive manner.
There were officials like the Third Prince who stopped the damage in time, while others, out of shame, went to the Ministry of Justice to take a look.
All the officials who went there were detained for tea by the Minister of Justice with various excuses, smiling at them.
Ten days later, the detained students still hadn't come out.
This move also made all the watching dignitaries realize that the emperor had established the imperial examination system as a red line that could not be touched.
They tossed and turned and could not sleep the whole night. Finally, they agreed to not mention the students' affairs again, especially not in the court. They would plead for mercy in private after the storm had passed.
…
Another day passed, and it was time for the morning court session.
Yuan Ruan went to court yawning. When he turned around, he saw the Assistant Minister and the Doctor of the Ministry of Revenue at the back of the team yawning facing each other.
She couldn't help but yawned too, and the Minister of Works and the Assistant Minister of Works also yawned loudly. However, they both covered their mouths in time after yawning.
At this time, the emperor arrived and all officials saluted.
The Minister of Works stepped forward and first talked about how many farm tools the Ministry of Works had built for each county, and then said that there were not enough engineers and craftsmen and hoped to recruit more.
The Minister of Revenue soon raised an objection, arguing that the Ministry of Works already had tens of thousands of engineers and craftsmen, and there was no need to continue recruiting more. If there was an urgent need, they could borrow craftsmen from the powerful families, because every large family employed thousands of engineers and craftsmen.
The Minister of Industry objected: the water-powered car overturning and other such matters are all confidential.
The Minister of Revenue objected: the unimportant parts can be made by these seconded people.
…
Afterwards, the court officials began to have different debates based on the questions raised by the two ministers.
Yuanruan felt a little tired after listening for a while.
She looked around and found that most of the court officials were in low spirits.
Yuan Ruan: [The court officials are feeling so tired today! They are yawning all the time and have dark circles under their eyes? ]
System: [It seems to be true. 】
Seeing how sleepy they were, Yuan Ruan couldn't help but yawn several times in succession.
This yawning was like a top infectious disease, you yawn, I yawn, one after another. She couldn't help but lean on the third prince's legs. When she looked up, she saw an official hiding in the crowd, snoring softly.
Yuan Ruan was stunned: [This person... is really outrageous? Are they too sleepy?! Are they working non-stop and staying up late? ]
The system's voice was filled with impossibility: [Impossible! There is no way in this world that there is someone as perverted as your brother. Others eat 300 lychees a day, but your brother eats 300 kilograms of memorials a day! When it comes to work, your brother is truly amazing.]
The emperor's mouth twitched: ...
The other court officials tried to keep their expressions steady, pretending they had heard nothing, and continued with their reporting work.
The system continued: [I would rather believe that they party every night, that's empty, than believe that they work late at night. ]
The civil and military officials of the Manchu Dynasty tilted their bodies: ...
Yuanruan coughed lightly: [That's right, no need to complain like that... Brother loves his work, but not to the point of being crazy. ]
System: [Isn't your brother crazy?! He is a strong man who can get dressed and go to handle government affairs when he hears urgent military information while he is sleeping!]
The emperor's expression froze.
The court officials who were almost asleep suddenly perked up and looked at the emperor with admiration: You are so hardworking? ! As expected of His Majesty, I can't learn this, I really can't learn this.
Yuan Ruan immediately covered her face: [Ah this...ah this...]
The system suddenly said: [Wait, but your brother can also be willful sometimes... Hey, do you know why your brother came half an hour late today? ]
The emperor banged the table suddenly.
Court officials: Your Majesty is nervous, this is probably not a small matter! The system should speak quickly, so that we can wake up.
Yuan Ruan heard the sound of knocking on the table and looked up in confusion.
The emperor looked at Yuanruan's big round eyes, and he subconsciously looked in the direction of the prince. Then he suddenly remembered that the prince did not come today.
The emperor coughed lightly, turned his gaze to the Minister of Finance, and said in a cold and hard voice: "No."
The Minister of Finance, who received the emperor's "back-pot" signal, twitched his mouth: Your Majesty, it was the Minister of Works who was speaking just now, why did you point fingers at me? Were you just slacking off? !
At this time, the Minister of Finance suddenly thought of an idea that could both help the emperor cover up his lie and save money for the national treasury.
The Minister of Finance stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, why don't you agree? I know that it is not appropriate to borrow the craftsmen of my colleagues without paying. But as General Wu leads tens of thousands of Great Xia iron hooves to gallop in the north, the treasury is running out of money, and I have no choice. I think that all the adults are loyal men who love the emperor and the country, and they should not be stingy with these craftsmen."
Manchu civil and military officials: !!!
Wait, when did we discuss the free loan of private craftsmen? Minister of Finance, don't smuggle private goods just to save money!
The emperor was also surprised by the Minister of Revenue's outrageous words: Borrowing people from noble families for free? !
He waved his hands: "No."
The Minister of Revenue wanted to make a few more suggestions, but the emperor rejected them again: "There is no need to discuss this matter again. Regarding the secondment of craftsmen, the tax will be paid in exchange for the work. Each family can decide for themselves."
All the civil and military officials in the court bowed their hands in joy and said, "Your Majesty is wise and wise."
The Minister of Revenue looked upset, as if he had suffered a great loss.
Yuan Ruan looked at him with some emotion: [Tong'er, look at the sad face of the Minister of Revenue. Hey, he is really dedicated to the public. Just cancel the OEM business... At least not now, because Daxia is not facing a life-and-death situation.]
System: [Hahaha. Ah Ruan, the Minister of Finance is not sad, he is just pretending. I am almost laughing to death.]
Yuan Ruan was stunned: [Ah?]
All the civil and military officials in the Manchu Dynasty looked at the Minister of Revenue with sharp eyes:? ? ! !
Boy, what evil tricks are you planning again?