Eunuch Yuanbao smiled and sighed: "Alas! Duke Chengguo is just a fool."
"No!" The emperor shook his head and waved his hands, "No, he is not stupid, he just wants to be the father-in-law of the emperor too much."
"It's a pity that I was unlucky and didn't become the emperor." Eunuch Yuanbao joked, "Not everyone can become the emperor's father-in-law."
The emperor didn't say anything and just sat there in a daze. If it weren't for the little ancestor, Duke Cheng could still realize his dream of becoming the father-in-law of the emperor.
On the fourth day of court, Chu Zhinan did not bring Chu Xiaoxiao with him. After the court, the emperor asked him to stay in the imperial study to talk.
Prince Qing and the people around him were even more certain that Chu Zhinan was the one who provided the information to the emperor.
Chu Zhinan told Zhuangzi everything in detail and then left the palace.
As soon as I arrived at the door of my house, I saw Prince Qing standing there. He didn't have any followers around him, just himself and a carriage.
"Lord Protector of the Country! You are polite!"
Prince Qing saluted Chu Zhinan very respectfully, leaving the latter stunned, not knowing what was wrong with him.
"Prince Qing! What do you want to see my Duke about?"
Chu Zhinan did not intend to invite Prince Qing into the palace, so he planned to send him away with a few words. He still wanted to go back and hug his daughter. He was too busy these two days to hug her, and he missed her very much.
If you have something to say, say it quickly. If you have to fart, fart quickly. Don't waste his time.
He was very busy as he hadn't finished dealing with things on the farm yet, so he had to leave quickly after holding his daughter.
"My Lord! Can we go inside first? My carriage must go in as well. I have something to ask of you, and it would be embarrassing to stay outside."
Seeing that he had lowered his attitude, Chu Zhinan didn't say anything more and took him and his carriage into the mansion.
As soon as they entered, a head popped out of an inconspicuous carriage not far away, looked around thoughtfully for a while, and told the coachman to leave quickly.
Chu Zhinan took Prince Qing to the flower hall, and Prince Qing asked his coachman to follow with a large box on his shoulder.
He looked back and felt something was strange, so he asked Chang Sui to go and bring his daughter over.
I don’t know why the King of Qi suddenly came to see me, and I feel at ease only when my daughter is by my side.
Chu Xiaoxiao was sent by Zhenzhu by Yang, because she was afraid that Chu Zhinan's attendant was not familiar with her daughter and would cry if he hugged her.
Chu Zhinan was in a good mood after taking his daughter, while Chu Xiaoxiao was picking the worms out of the toad's mouth while looking at King Qing.
[What is he doing here? Oh! It turns out he is here to voluntarily hand over the stolen silver he has collected over the years. It seems that this Prince Qing was scared silly by his father and brought all his wealth to hand it over.]
Chu Zhinan: “…”
Huh? Prince Qing is here to turn in the stolen silver? Are you mistaken? You should go to the Ministry of Revenue to turn in the stolen silver. I'm here at the Duke of Huguo's Mansion.
The servant brought tea, and Prince Qing took a sip, then said humbly, "Duke Protector of the Country! This is the ill-gotten gains that Prince Qing's Mansion has collected over the years.
I will ask you to present all of this to His Majesty today. I hope the Duke of Protectorate will be lenient with me regarding the secrets of Prince Qing’s Mansion.”
Chu Xiaoxiao was amused by his words and laughed, "Hehehe".
[Prince Qing is so bold. He didn't give up his stolen money himself, but asked my father to pay it. He even dared to ask us not to say bad things about him. Where does he get the face? Let's just talk and don't worry about other things.]
Chu Zhinan frowned and looked at Prince Qing: "Your Highness! Why did you let the Duke of this country pass on the ill-gotten gains you received? If you want to repent, you should go directly to the Emperor. As for other things, let's not discuss them for now."
Prince Qing's heart trembled, and he felt guilty. He laughed dryly: "I dare not go to the emperor, for fear that Prince Qing's mansion will be punished. It is safest to have the Duke of the Protectorate mediate."
[Wow! You are really good at calculating. Bring a box of silver notes, about 200,000 taels, to buy the Qing Palace for a lifetime of peace and security, it's a good deal.]
Two hundred thousand taels? Chu Zhinan laughed in his heart. Is this the only ill-gotten gains of Prince Qing's Mansion? Then he is too worthless.
Prince Qing: “…”
Don't be so discouraging. I am just an idle prince without any real power. How much do you think I am worth?
Chu Zhinan teased his daughter: "The prince thinks too highly of this duke."
Prince Qing looked at Chu Xiaoxiao in his arms, and the more he looked, the more frightened he became.
This child is so beautiful, with eyes that are very lively and energetic, and seem to speak when looking at people. His nose is delicate and tall, his lips are small and red, and he has two small hairpins on his head, tied with a pair of golden butterflies that are about to fly.
There are a few curled hairs on his forehead, just like the little fairy boy under the seat of Guanyin Bodhisattva, which makes people happy no matter how they look at him.
To be honest, he had never seen such a beautiful child in his life. No wonder the emperor wanted to carry her to court.
"The Duke of the Guard is devoted to Dongsheng. Not only does the emperor trust him, but I also trust him. I beg the Duke to do something difficult and say a few good words for me in front of the emperor. I will be grateful."
The Chu family has always been fair. As long as you don't fall into their hands, they will never cause trouble for you.
Seeing that Chu Zhinan was reluctant to agree, Prince Qing immediately stood up and saluted Chu Zhinan: "I am sorry for being rude. This matter concerns the lives of a family. If I have offended you, I will apologize to you."
[Hmm! This is more like it, like a person with brains.]
Chu Zhinan stood up while holding Chu Xiaoxiao, and asked King Qing to sit down again: "This Duke has never intended to get involved in these trivial matters. As long as everyone can get by, this Duke does not want to pry into people's privacy."
"Yes! The Duke's righteousness!"
Prince Qing sat down to drink tea, feeling more at ease. He made up his mind to go back and warn the people in the mansion that they must never offend the Chu family under any circumstances.
Having your past exposed is more terrifying than death, and all your ancestors will be disgraced.
After drinking some tea, Prince Qing said goodbye and left. Chu Zhinan then delivered the box left by Prince Qing into the palace.
Upon learning of the situation, the emperor was stunned for a moment, then he came to his senses and laughed heartily: "Hahaha! There is a follow-up? This is good, good! Lord Protector of the Country! If anyone asks you to hand over ill-gotten gains in the future, take them all.
I want to see how many people have taken in illegal money. Hahaha! Now the national treasury will no longer be short of money. "
Chu Zhinan laughed along but said nothing. After handing over the box given by Prince Qing, he went directly to the camp outside the capital to count the people and items brought from Duke Cheng’s farm.
After the inventory is completed in the evening, a separate list is made and submitted to the court the next morning.
It was not handed over in front of all the civil and military officials in the court, but was handed over to the emperor alone in the imperial study.
He opened it and took a look, then put the book aside: "Those people and things will be kept in your custody for the time being. Find a way to make them work for us. Just find someone to look after the farm affairs, and we will discuss it later."
"Yes! I will obey the emperor's order!"
After a period of time, many ministers sent various kinds of gold and silver, all with the same name, all of which were their ill-gotten gains.
Chu Zhinan accepted all gifts. The emperor said that no matter who gave it to him, he should accept it and then send it to the palace.
Based on the amount of stolen silver brought in, the emperor would decide whether this person should be replaced.
Almost half of the court officials gave a sum of money, ranging from a few thousand taels to tens of thousands of taels.
There are fewer and fewer memorials to express greetings and inquiries, but more and more matters to be reported.
The emperor got busy and gradually gained a grasp of many of Dongsheng's current problems.
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