Chapter 281 That’s right, maybe I have added something to my brain
The Minister of Revenue let them watch, and it was not an exaggeration at all.
His expression made many court officials puzzled. Could it be that the Minister of Revenue really didn't play any tricks? !
System: [Ah Ruan, the Minister of Finance never thought of hiring private craftsmen from the beginning. He said that in order to bargain. Who knew that your brother proposed to replace taxes with work? It seems fair... But, haha, the key is this tax, which has many advantages. ]
Many court officials in the palace felt a jolt in their hearts: !!!
They suddenly reacted. No wonder the Minister of Revenue was not afraid. Damn, this move completely hit their soft spot!
Several court officials who were close to Yuan Ruan wanted to interrupt Yuan Ruan's eating rhythm by falling down or doing other funny things.
But before I could...
Yuanruan: [Tong'er, tell me in detail.]
System: [Because the nobles have various privileges, they can be exempted from taxes in many cases. Therefore, in the eyes of the Minister of Revenue, "replacing taxes with work" is still freeloading to a certain extent.]
Yuan Ruan frowned when he heard this: [Tax exemption? Tax evasion or tax evasion?]
System: [No, no, no! There are some people who are exempted from tax in a reasonable way, such as those who have made great contributions, or there are some great events that everyone celebrates, or other things. Your brother rewards them by reducing or exempting their taxes this year. This is not tax evasion. ]
Yuanruan breathed a sigh of relief.
System: [However, there is a small part of tax exemption that exploits loopholes. For example, if an official has made great contributions, the emperor will exempt him from tax for three years. The number "three" often represents "a lot" in ancient times, so some officials will use the privilege to interpret it in the direction of "a lot", and thus exempt themselves from tax for several years.]
The emperor's face darkened.
The Minister of Revenue was calm and composed: Ha, you bunch of old scoundrels, I let you fleece the national treasury, so just pay back your debts obediently.
Many officials in the palace were worried, but they didn't even dare to feel resentment, for fear that they would accidentally cause a big incident and then be caught as an example, which would really be the end of them.
Yuan Ruan: […Serves him right! No wonder the Minister of Finance always cries about being poor. No matter how good he is at making money, he can’t beat so many poor rats.]
The Minister of Revenue was moved: Little Imperial Master, you understand me.
The system immediately said: [Ah Ruan, don't be angry. It's not good for your health. . In this way, I will sort out the names of officials who evaded taxes. Ah Ruan, you can tell the fortune right away and open it in front of me! It will make you feel better. ]
Several officials were so shocked that they said: "Master System! Many of these are historical problems! Give us a chance to make up for them!"
Yuan Ruan's mouth twitched: [Close to the face and open wide? Forget it. 】
System: [Ah?! Didn’t Ah Ruan say that confronting someone head-on is the most satisfying thing?!]
Yuan Ruan pointed at his chubby face and said, "It's great! But if you include the names of these officials and why I want to talk about them, I'll have to say at least a thousand words. I stutter a bit when I speak, so it's too much."
System: [Yes.]
Several officials breathed a sigh of relief, but the next second, their faces turned green again.
Because the system said: [Ah Ruan, if you don’t want to read, I can write it for you! After I finish writing it, I will hide the book in the Qingtong box. Ah Ruan, you just need to tell fortunes and dig it out.]
Yuan Ruan almost spit out: [Is this appropriate? I dug out a piece of paper that reported on an official of the current dynasty? It was a Qingtong box, and I dug it out when I was fortune-telling. This... I really can't even pretend. ]
The system was somewhat puzzled: [But Ah Ruan, you don't have to pretend. Is there anyone in Da Xia who thinks that the bronze box has nothing to do with you?]
Yuanruan was stunned. It made so much sense.
She tilted her head to look at the court officials of Da Xia and found that they all had solemn expressions, upright postures, and looked at the emperor in unison.
She caused so many troubles, and every time it was because of the bronze box that she pointed out. The high-ranking officials of Da Xia were so smart that they should have guessed that the box was related to her a long time ago. Who knows what they might have thought of.
Thinking of this, Yuan Ruan retracted his gaze: [Then let's do it. Anyway, they won't ask me in person, so I'll just pretend I don't know. ]
System: [Okay. I'll arrange it right away! Oh, Ah Ruan, I almost forgot to mention the gossip before. The reason why your brother came half an hour late was because the queen really...haha, what a great operation.]
The emperor thought he had successfully changed the topic, and his old face turned slightly red:
Yuan Ruan: [Ah? How does the Queen do this? ]
System: [Your brother has been turned away by the Queen for several days in a row. Yesterday, your brother insisted on going in. The Queen directly asked the head maid to bring the concubines and beauties from the harem to the front hall to serve as the Land Rover, while the Queen rested and slept in the back.]
The civil officials and military officers all had strange expressions and pretended not to hear: Your Majesty is actually so disliked by the Queen?!
No wonder the emperor was so anxious to ask the Minister of Revenue to take the blame just now.
Yuan Ruan was stunned: [Ah? Pfft... How could this be? I remember that the Queen was very kind to my brother. Why is she suddenly so...disdainful? ]
The emperor's face changed from red to dark.
System: [Pfft. Because your eldest nephew has been sending people to the Queen to ask for advice on government affairs recently, the Queen was embarrassed to refuse, so she handled government affairs every day. Because she handled them quickly and well, more and more government affairs were sent to her. It just so happened that the eldest princess and the second princess were busy with glass affairs. The second princess was about to give birth but was reluctant to give up the glass business. She saw the Queen helping the prince handle government affairs, so she begged the Queen to help take charge of glass together.]
Yuan Ruan: [Pfft, the Queen also agreed? ]
System: [Of course! They are all her own children, so the Queen cannot favor one over the other, so she can only bite the bullet and agree. Now, the Queen, who usually sleeps in bed every day, corrects glass things in the morning and government affairs sent by the Crown Prince in the afternoon. She is so tired during the day that she doesn't want to talk or sleep with the Crown Prince at night, and just wants to sleep.]
Yuanruan: [……6]
The civil officials and military officers who had never heard of the gossip about the empress were confused: The prince asked the empress for advice on government affairs? Is there some misunderstanding here? !
The court officials who knew the truth looked at each other in bewilderment, and then looked at the emperor subconsciously: Is this like shooting oneself in the foot?
The system continued: [Your brother has been excluded so much that he has developed a rebellious mentality. Yesterday, he refused to leave. He ordered people to send all the concubines back to their respective palaces, and then sneaked into the Queen's bedroom and had a big fight. Hehe, Ah Ruan, do you know that the Emperor's...]
All the civil and military officials in the court wanted to listen but did not dare to, and were so embarrassed that they wanted to bite their toes.
The emperor couldn't stand it anymore.
He stood up suddenly.
Yuanruan looked over.
The ministers also looked over.
The emperor glanced at everyone with a calm expression and said, "If you have something to report, please report it. If not, please leave the court."
All the ministers were startled, and the palace was as quiet as a chicken.
Three seconds later, the emperor said, "Well, adjourn the court!"
The ministers felt relieved, but for some reason they also felt a sense of regret that they had not eaten the whole melon.