Yeah! The old emperor gave me 300,000 yuan!

"Wanshou, what are you doing in your mother's palace?"

The old emperor sat on a lacquered chair in front of the nanmu screen in the Pepper Room, as if nothing had happened.

Wanshou is a title, and the princess's given name is Huachun. Elders usually call a princess by her title in front of others and by her name behind others. However, the old emperor has always been indifferent to children who are not born to the empress, so he basically does not call Princess Wanshou by her name.

Princess Wanshou didn't care about this. She raised the official seal in her hands with both hands, and took advantage of her father's good mood to say: "My husband, this matter has been dealt with. Please take back this official seal. I know that I am not smart enough and cannot take on this important task. If I force myself to take the position, I am afraid that it will humiliate the royal family's reputation."

The old emperor glanced at her, frowned impatiently, and said: "Just take it if you give it to me. What do you mean by smart enough and not talented enough? Your mother has praised you for your quick and good calculations and your shrewdness when reading the account book. The Ministry of Revenue is short of people recently. Instead of considering sharing your father's worries, you try your best to shirk it?"

Mother is the empress. Although she is not the empress's daughter, she should call the empress mother. As for her biological mother, she can only call her aunt.

Princess Wanshou didn't know what to say for a moment, and stood there at a loss.

She did know how to count and read the account book, but this was a housekeeper's skill, how could it be used in the officialdom!

The old emperor waved his hand: "Okay, take the official seal and go out, and go to court as usual tomorrow. Don't disturb me and your mother here."

"Yes..."

Refusing her father once had exhausted Princess Wanshou's courage. She left the Pepper Room with the official seal in her hand, returned to her own palace, lay down on the bed, grabbed her hair and felt upset.

"What should I do... I have never been an official before, what should I do if I don't do well..."

When Princess Wanshou thought of the unfamiliar officialdom, which was very different from the palace and the backyard she was familiar with, panic continued to rise in her heart.

In the mirror, a corner of the bed can be vaguely seen, and the woman's hair has been tangled into a mess.

Princess Wanshou can almost feel the mess of her hair brushing against her neck.

Silence... silence...

She sighed, climbed up from the bed, and didn't want to call the palace servants in, so she got out of bed and walked to the dressing table. She opened the cabinet and was about to take the comb, but her eyes paused on a makeup box in the corner of the table.

Her mind moved slightly.

It seems that she... has not yet repaid Mr. Xu for his great kindness.

This contains her jewelry. In addition, there are a total of 24 such makeup boxes in her princess mansion.

Although her father is not so concerned about her, he will give her everything she deserves. Moreover, her father always said that he was a vulgar man and could not learn the nobleness of the emperors of previous dynasties. If the recipients of the gold and silver objects he rewarded really needed them, they could sell them - but they needed to go to the silver bureau to register.

Princess Wanshou dragged out the makeup box, touched the three hoops on the iron lock, opened it and took a look at the intactness of the jewelry inside, and her eyes gradually became firm.

On the other side.

Empress Dou looked at the old emperor and was quite curious: "Why did you think of letting Huachun be an official? She is really good at accounting and has helped me clean up the palace accounts before. But Wulang, don't you always think that women should be virtuous and abide by their duties, and that if they have talents, only their families should understand them. If you let women go out to show their faces and make a living in hardship, it means that men are incompetent?" The

old emperor said carelessly: "It is the end of the year, and the Ministry of Revenue is busy. I have written several times to say that there is a shortage of people."

Empress Dou looked at him with a smile.

Even if the Ministry of Revenue is short of people, it is not to this extent.

The old emperor: "If we let those scholars who passed the imperial examination fill the vacancies, we can't expel them for no reason after the New Year. We have to keep them in office and pay them a monthly salary. Sister, don't you think this is a loss? After the New Year, we won't need those people. I feel uncomfortable letting them receive a monthly salary for nothing."

Empress Dou's eyelids jumped subconsciously: "So..."

The old emperor's eyes lit up with a strange light: "Ask Wanshou to take over the position of secretary temporarily. He is a family member and doesn't even need a monthly salary!" Empress

Dou: "..."

Even the eunuch couldn't help but look at him sideways.

This is too stingy.

"Of course." The old emperor became more and more excited as he spoke, and his arrogance became three points higher: "As a princess, her own salary will still be paid according to the rules. She will not be short of food and clothing."

The old emperor: "Besides, it's time to let this girl see the world, so that she won't always think about that prince consort. A princess, a noble daughter of the royal family, can actually be bullied by a prince consort. It makes me so angry!"

Empress Dou glanced at him and thought that saving money was the key point. As for letting his daughter stand on her own... In his eyes, it would be better to arrange seven or eight big and strong maids to protect the princess than to go out and show her face.

Oh, no. Empress Dou calculated and thought that if Huachun became an official and stood on her own, she could save even the money for the maids.

"Oh right!" The old emperor slapped his forehead: "I almost forgot! I said I would reward Xu Yanmiao."

He looked at the eunuch: "Bring the pen and ink to the paper."

He raised the pen with the sound of grinding ink, and began to write on the blank paper. The black ink slowly flowed on the paper with his movements, forming rough handwriting.

"I have written a decree to reward Xu Yanmiao, the official of the Ministry of Personnel, with 300,000 yuan and 100 pieces of cloth."

This was the second time that the eunuch had heard His Majesty mention Xu Yanmiao.

When he walked out of the Pepper Room and went to the Emperor's private treasury to get the reward, he kept thinking about this name in his heart, and was very curious.

How did this small official from the ninth rank get the recognition of His Majesty? The emperor was able to personally draft the imperial edict. You know, the emperor would only give oral instructions to ordinary officials. If he wanted to issue an imperial edict, the imperial officials would be responsible for drafting it.

The eunuch couldn't find anyone to answer his question, so he decided to personally deliver the reward to Xu's house.

"For a new talent like this, although our family has never thought of forming a clique for personal gain, we should also make a good relationship with him."

*

Xu Yanmo brought the military official back to his home and wanted to treat him to hot pot.

But he went off the track.

The clerk of the Ministry of War pretended to be terrified: "Xu Lang! What are you doing! Attacking officials is illegal!"

Xu Yanmiao rolled his eyes at him and pointed to the side: "Look, we're here."

The clerk of the Ministry of War looked over and said in surprise: "Is this your residence?"

How could it be so exposed?

"Well, houses in good locations in Beijing are expensive, and the rent is not cheap either, so I'll rent this one."

Xu Yanmiao walked around the sewage in the low place, unlocked the door, and pushed the door: "But don't worry, I saved a lot of money to buy meat, and I will definitely enjoy this hot pot." The

clerk of the Ministry of War tried to follow in with light steps. The floor in the room creaked with every step. Looking closely, the floor was crooked and there were many gaps. In some places, small wooden sticks were used to support it horizontally or diagonally.

The clerk of the Ministry of War was terrified.

When the boiling pot was placed on the table, the legs of the table trembled, and the clerk's hands were shaking.

"How can you be so poor!" He almost collapsed.

Xu Yanmo was puzzled: "Why can't I be so poor? Old... ahem, the monthly salary of the emperor to the ninth-rank officials is only 1,050 wen, plus the miscellaneous food money, miscellaneous money, and servant money. I didn't take the two servants, and changed to 417 wen per month, with a choice of two welfare benefits. The total is less than 2,000 yuan. For this broken house, the monthly rent - oh, the house rent is 500 wen, and I still have to eat and wear clothes - if the court did not forbid it, I would have wanted to sleep in the yamen with my bedding."

The clerk of the Ministry of War blurted out: "You have never thought about greed..." You

don't have to be greedy, just accept some small gifts. Everyone in the clerk's office does this. After all, they are responsible for issuing documents. If they delay or hold up someone's documents, but don't do it too noticeably, according to the rules and regulations, no one can find fault.

It's easy for King Yan, but it's hard to bother with the little devils. In order to avoid being secretly misled by these little devils, most people will come and give them some gifts to make them look generous.

During a party struggle before, there was a party that didn't give gifts to these small officials. They deliberately held up the documents that didn't have gifts, and then quickly issued the documents of the other party. The other party got the upper hand and directly squeezed out one-third of the officials of the other party in the court.

Xu Yanmiao's eyes were pure and confused: "What?"

The clerk of the Ministry of War sighed: "Forget it."

Looking at Xu Yanmiao's clean and honest appearance, he doesn't seem like someone who would accept bribes.

He should find a way to help him in the future.

"Come, eat...eat that pot!" The clerk of the Ministry of War sat down on the chair, and the chair legs creaked. The clerk of the Ministry of War raised his buttocks again tremblingly.

Xu Yanmiao comforted him: "Don't worry, sit down, I've been sitting for several months, and it's completely fine."

"Oh oh." The clerk of the Ministry of War sat down tremblingly, daring to sit only half of his buttocks, ready to stand up at any time.

Xu Yanmiao sat on the chair next to him with a "bang". The wooden legs swayed and creaked. The military officials were worried that this broken chair would suddenly fall apart.

At this moment, they all heard a knock on the door.

"duang-duang-duang-"

Xu Yanmiao: "Who is it!"

The man outside had a particularly loud voice: "Xu boy, it's time to pay the rent!"

"Ah!" Xu Yanmiao immediately strode over. Wherever he passed, the ground was shaking. Those who didn't know would think he was as heavy as an elephant.

The door opened, and it was the thin figure of the landlord wrapped in a black shirt. The other party sniffed the air and smiled: "Eating meat? Congratulations."

Living in a house like this, being able to eat meat once a year is already very satisfying.

Xu Yanmiao took out five hundred coins and gave them to him, squinting his eyes and smiling, especially brightly: "Yes, yes! I just got paid a few days ago!"

During the Chu Dynasty, there was a tenant who collected firewood and fetched water for the master's family for three hundred days. The master gave him two thousand coins, saying "salary as a reward for your hard work." Later, salary became another name for monthly salary.

The landlord was also very happy: "Then you can eat slowly, I won't bother you. However, Xu boy, you should be careful, don't squander it all as soon as you get your salary."

Xu Yanmiao moved his eyes guiltily: "I know!"

He touched the remaining money in the purse again, and subconsciously calculated how many times he could eat hot pot this month... and thought about how much rice and flour were left at home.

Xu Yanmiao: "..."

"Forget it! Never mind! At most, I can eat breakfast and lunch at the imperial court! I won't have dinner!"

Xu Yanmiao said to himself optimistically.

At the entrance of the East Market, the eunuch stared at this place and asked his adopted son for the third time: "Did you take the right road?"

The adopted son was firm: "It's here. Father, you don't know. There is a piece of sunken land at the edge of the East Market. It was bought by someone and divided into 800 houses and rented to merchants and poor people."

As for why Xu Yanmiao lived here, the adopted son didn't know. He always knew that seeing is not necessarily believing. He had to check to know whether he was truly honest or just pretending to be honest.

Then the carriage could not go in. The big eunuch pressed his face with his palm and squeezed out a voice from between his teeth: "Lift it!"

The little eunuchs all shuddered.

This is 300,000 yuan! The East Market is very large. From the entrance to the sunken land, there is still half a mile!