Chapter 44
Arriving before the fifth prince Tong Yangfu was the emperor's edict, transferring Chu Qin to the Ministry of Works.
Just as Chu Huan and the system expected.
This imperial edict was brought and read out by Chen Jiu, accompanied by the Minister of Works and the Minister of Revenue. The former was smiling, while the latter looked unhappy.
The Minister of Works has a gentle temperament and a friendly smile. He looks like the kind of warm father who never shouts at others. It is hard to imagine that he almost cried while hugging the emperor's thighs in the imperial study.
"Master Chu, will you please follow me now?"
Minister of Revenue: “…”
I know Miao Shou Kong Kong is anxious, but why can't you wait for even half a day and come to snatch him away as soon as the imperial edict comes down?
The officials and their wives in the Ministry of Revenue looked at this and that. How could our Minister of Revenue actually fail in his attempt to snatch someone away?
What made them even more curious was: the Minister of Justice and the Chief Justice fought with the Minister of Revenue for half a month, so how come the Minister of Works was the winner in the end?
Chu Huan bowed and saluted, "Please wait a moment, Your Excellency, so that I can finish handing over the work at hand."
The Minister of Works smiled broadly, looking very easy to talk to: "Of course."
He didn't even move, just stood there and chatted with the Minister of Revenue about family matters, as if he was afraid that the Minister of Revenue would secretly trip up Chu Huan and not let her leave today.
The Minister of Revenue was also impressed by this old guy.
Under the watchful eyes and waiting of the two ministers, Chu Huan quickly completed the handover and followed the Minister of Works out of the Ministry of Revenue.
Although they were the same two familiar people, the Minister of Revenue could see from their backs that one was forced to do so and felt aggrieved, while the other was a villain who had achieved success and was arrogant.
He said bitterly, "One day I will snatch Chu Huan back!"
Everyone: “…”
The other side.
On the way to the Ministry of Works, Chu Huan asked, "May I ask, Your Excellency, what will I do at the Ministry of Works?"
The Minister of Works didn't answer directly, but instead resorted to a Minister of Revenue-style sympathy: "Lord Chu has only been in office for a short time, and perhaps he doesn't know that the Dasheng treasury has always been empty."
Chu Hua: "I've heard a little bit about it."
"That's easy," the Minister of Works said. "The treasury's offices have never been repaired. Now that we've received funding from the Ministry of Revenue, everyone in the Ministry of Works is busy with repairs. We're really short on staff, so we've transferred you from the Ministry of Revenue."
Chu Hua: "I know nothing about the machinery."
The Minister of Works lied with his eyes open: "But you are lucky. You have found the traps in Princess Anle's tomb many times. You are luckier than anyone else."
He said it twice, emphasizing that he would definitely attribute the system's success to luck.
Chu Huan: “…”
In order to hide the existence of the system, you worked really hard and even gave her a fashionable koi persona.
Chu Huan didn't want to take advantage of Qiao, but the koi character was really hard to mess up. The more famous she was, the easier it was to fail, not to mention that she was someone who would always thank her for her patronage during every lottery draw.
"Luck is too illusory. Your Excellency, please don't hold on to too much hope."
How astute is the Minister of Industry? He immediately understood the meaning of this sentence: Chu Huan was willing to cooperate with the work, but didn't want to use "good luck" as an excuse.
No matter what the reason is, as long as he can come to help, he doesn't ask for anything else.
"That's right, just take a look. If you can find any loopholes in the mechanism, that would be great. If you can't find any, I won't blame you. You're not good at this anyway."
Chu Huan: "Thank you, Lord Shangshu, for your understanding."
After some hypocritical courtesy from adults, the Minister of Works gave a brief introduction to the situation of the Ministry of Works.
The Ministry of Works is in charge of construction, military farming, mountains and lakes, water conservancy and other matters, which correspond to the four subordinate departments: the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Military Farms, the Ministry of Resources, and the Ministry of Water Resources. The relevant departments and their responsibilities are clear at a glance.
Chu Huan was transferred to the Ministry of Works, which was mainly responsible for civil engineering construction, including craftsmen.
The Minister of Works took Chu Huan on a tour of the Ministry of Works to familiarize herself with the working environment, and then hurried to the national treasury.
Most of the people from the Ministry of Works were here. Lumber piled up to form a wall, the ground was filled with various finished and unfinished products, tools and wood chips were everywhere, leaving only a few paths to step on.
"The construction schedule is tight, and the situation is quite messy, so be careful." The Minister of Works had lived and worked in the national treasury for nearly two weeks, and was very familiar with every detail of the earth and wood here. "Feel free to look around, I'm going to get busy now."
If he hadn't wanted to transfer people over earlier, he wouldn't have chased to the Ministry of Revenue's territory and almost got beaten up by the old man, the Minister of Revenue.
Anyway, both the people and the system are here, so his efforts and sacrifices are worth it!
Chu Huan: "Please do as you please, Lord Shangshu."
She was not talking nonsense. She really knew nothing about carpentry, mechanisms, etc. At most, she knew that places like study and bedroom could have secret rooms.
Her colleagues were busy comparing the design drawings and working according to the specified dimensions, but she couldn't understand anything and was like an outsider.
Chu Hua: [Tong'er.]
System: [Here we go~]
The official from the Ministry of Industry paused and sniffed quietly.
After being boasted about openly and secretly by their colleagues in the Ministry of Household Affairs for so long, they can finally have some fun!
If Miao Shou Kong Kong hadn't been planning to steal things from the national treasury, the Ministry of Industry might not have been able to snatch Chu Huan and the system. Thanks Miao Shou Kong Kong!
Eh, is this something I can be thankful for?
Chu Hua: [Is anyone greedy?]
She was used to working in the Ministry of Revenue, so she just asked casually and felt it was nonsense after she finished asking.
The entire imperial court knew the system's capabilities, and faced the threat of the treasury being drained of resources, so who would cut corners at this stage? Wouldn't that be asking for trouble?
Even the system feels that there is unlikely to be any results.
Who would have thought that just by searching, a lot of results would pop up.
The system exclaimed: [Oh my god!]
Chu Hua: [What's wrong?]
The system couldn't understand: [I just entered the keywords "national treasury" and "cutting corners", and I didn't expect hundreds of results to pop up. This is too - greedy, right?]
The Minister of Works paused, his heart pounding.
He can guarantee that he himself has not embezzled money, but he cannot guarantee that his subordinates are not corrupt, nor can he guarantee whether someone has used a more sophisticated method of cutting corners.
What a teammate! The Minister of Industry clenched his teeth tightly.
He asked Chu Huan and the system to come over to see if there are any loopholes and to prescribe the right remedies to prevent them from being left empty-handed. But after what you did, Chu Huan and the system's attention is now focused on cutting corners and embezzling money. Isn't the benefit still to the Ministry of Households?
After all this effort, he cried in vain in the Imperial Study! He was treated hostilely by the Minister of Justice and the Supreme Court Minister for nothing!
Chu Hua: [Can you arrange them in chronological order? I want to know who's been greedy lately.]
She was particularly curious about who would be so brave as to take on such a huge threat.
System: [Sure, wait a moment, let me take a look.]
Everyone pricked up their ears. They also wanted to know the name of this fearless warrior.
System: [Huh, it can be done this way? I've learned something new. Oh, I see!]
As it watched, it made sounds of surprise or exclamation, which completely aroused the curiosity of Chu Huan and the officials from the Ministry of Industry.
Even the guards guarding the treasury secretly looked inside: Why don’t you tell me something?
System: [This person is Lü Zhengye, responsible for timber procurement.]
Lü Zhengye? The Minister of Works had no recollection of the name.
The Minister of Works beside him explained softly, "He is Concubine De's younger brother. His family is in the timber business and his prices are very fair."
Minister of Works: "...cutting corners, isn't that just making a profit?"
The Minister of Works covered his face and said, "I didn't expect that either."
The two of them complained for a while, preparing to deal with Lu Zhengye, the bastard, later, but unexpectedly Chu Huan said: "I know this guy."
The Minister of Works, the Minister of Works turned their heads instantly: How do you know each other?
The officials of the Ministry of Industry were curious, confused, and bewildered. As colleagues, many of them didn't know Lu Zhengye, but Chu Huan actually knew him?
System: [How do you know him?]
Chu Hua: [Four years ago, natural disasters struck everywhere, and houses and farms in many places were sold at reduced prices. I bought a few.]
When I was renovating, someone introduced me to the Lu family, saying they had good wood. They mentioned Consort De, which almost seemed like a way to get close to her.
The system was completely stunned: [Buying a piece of wood can actually get you a concubine in the palace? Is that true?]
Chu Huan sneered: [Of course it's fake.]
[She simply relied on her sister being a concubine and her relationship with the emperor to amass wealth.]
[Do you know how much wood I have to buy to establish a relationship with Concubine De?]
System: [How much?]
Chu Hua: [I can build a star-picking platform.]
"Hiss—" Everyone in the Ministry of Industry took a deep breath, almost unable to breathe out.
The national treasury had little money, so the Star-Picking Tower was built as small as possible. The four-story building, including the decorations and objects used inside, cost a total of 10,000 taels.
This is too greedy!
The system didn't know how much it would cost to build a Star Picking Station, and was shocked when it checked.
[Ten thousand taels? That's too expensive! Well, I know it's expensive, but I don't know exactly how expensive it is.]
Chu Hua: [An average family would need at most fifty taels to build a brick and tile house. Ten thousand taels would be enough to build two hundred brick and tile houses.]
The system was so shocked that it almost jumped up: [What's the difference between this and extortion? ]
"Of course." Chu Huan laughed. "He could have just blackmailed me, but he was so kind as to give me a lot of wood."
system:【……】
Everyone: “…”
I’m impressed by this weird attitude!
Based on the system's understanding of Chu Huan, there is no way she would suffer this loss.
【Then how did you respond? 】
Chu Huan deliberately spoke in a clipped voice: "She's a royal relative, someone we ordinary people can't afford to offend. Of course, we'll run as far away as possible and will never spend ten thousand taels to get involved with Empress Defei."
The Minister of Works covered his lips with his hands, his eyes full of smiles, you mischievous girl.
"puff--"
"cough--"
Many officials from the Ministry of Industry present coughed or laughed at this remark, and then all of them started to fake cough.
Chu Huan glanced at it twice and didn't care: [The emperor has four concubines: Hui, Rong, Yi, and De. Defei is the last. Since Lu Zhengye didn't blackmail me, I ignored him.]
The system couldn't help but ask: [What if the blackmail comes right to you? ]
Chu Hua: [Concubine Yi likes my limited edition Hundred Flowers Wine, understand?]
The system nodded repeatedly: [Understood!]
Everyone in the Ministry of Works also understood: by taking the opportunity of offering wine, they could tell Concubine Yi what good things Defei's brother had done outside. Concubine Yi could get good wine and suppress Defei at the same time. It would be strange if she let go of such a good opportunity!
Chu Hua: [Back to the topic.]
The system continued to eat melons: [Lu Zhengye's official position was obtained by Concubine De's persuasion to the emperor. The price he offered was indeed fair, and the wood quality was not bad, so the Ministry of Works used it.]
Everyone in the Ministry of Works: That’s right!
System: [He hollowed out some of the wood, stuffed it with items from the treasury, and then shipped it out as waste wood. He stole a lot of money from the treasury.]
[There are a few over there. Sister Huan, why don't you go take a look? I'll be reporting to the Minister of Industry.]
Chu Hua: [Okay.]
Under the guidance of the system, Chu Huan walked to the pile of scrap wood, pretended for a while, and then took out a piece of wood the size of a palm.
The Minister of Works came over at the right moment and asked, "Lord Chu?"
Chu Huan bent her fingers and tapped it like a watermelon, and found that the sound was not right.
"Sir, there seems to be something wrong with this piece of wood."
The Minister of Works knew that there was something inside. He weighed it and found no mechanism. So he simply asked someone to bring a saw and cut the wood in front of everyone.
With a "click", the wood split in half, revealing the night pearl hidden inside.
There was silence at the scene.
The Minister of Industry's expression suddenly darkened: "Seal off the scene!"
Before Miaoshoukongkong arrived, Lu Zhengye stole from the national treasury and did not take the Ministry of Works seriously at all.
As soon as the news spread, the emperor was so angry that he took Lin You straight to the Ministry of Works.
At this time, everyone in the Ministry of Works was mobilized to saw through all the scrap wood in the scrap wood pile and dig out night pearls, oriental pearls, gemstones, jade pendants...
There are seven items in total, all of which are small but very valuable.
The emperor was so angry that he laughed: "Even wood can be made into various shapes, it's amazing."
System: [You still lack experience.]
The emperor's smile instantly vanished. Was he so inexperienced? It was clearly the enemy who was too cunning!
Chu Hua: [Yes, if he had seen how modern drug dealers operate, he wouldn't be fooled by such a simple trick.]
System: [Wood, stone, tea bags, drinks, books, tires... What can't be hidden? ]
Chu Hua: [Transporting poison through the human body is even more difficult to guard against. Some people package it up and swallow it, and some people force pregnant women to have sex. Compared to this thing, it's nothing.]
emperor:"……"
Everyone: “…”
That's because they really don't have much experience.
After this incident, the emperor's anger dissipated somewhat: "Lin You, I give you three days to investigate this matter thoroughly. No matter who the relatives of the people involved are, no mercy will be shown!"
This is not an opportunity to plead for mercy for Concubine De.
Yes, the emperor gave her brother-in-law an official position for her sake, but who knew that her brother-in-law had been stealing from the family, which was simply a slap in the emperor's face!
Lin You: "I obey your order."
The emperor turned to look at Chu Huan. "You've just arrived at the Ministry of Works and discovered such a major case. You're very kind. Is there any reward you would like?"
System: [Hmm? Is this something I can say?]
Chu Huan: [Of course not. If you accept it, it means you're greedy. If you don't, the Emperor will think you have no weaknesses and are difficult to control.]
emperor:"……"
The national treasury is no longer what it used to be. If this loophole had not been found, who knows how many good things would have been smuggled out. Moreover, Chu Huan did not take any of the treasures in Princess Anle's tomb.
So, he really wanted to take this opportunity to reward her with something.
As a result, Chu Huan and the system made malicious speculations about him.
The emperor's heart sank, but he was more speechless and helpless.
He was really curious about where Chu Huan learned the "officialdom secrets" from. She had never guessed his thoughts correctly once!
Chu Huan bowed and saluted, "Your Majesty, may I have a moment to speak?"
The emperor gave a look and everyone else stepped back, "Go ahead."
Chu Huan took two steps forward and whispered, "I heard that Miaoshou Kongkong is coming to the treasury. I have a plan."
"Oh?" The emperor became excited. "Tell me about it."
He was just having a headache about this, and then there was another incident of timber theft from the national treasury, which really upset him.
Chu Huan whispered her plan. The plan was a bit long and took a long time to talk about.
The emperor's eyes lit up as he listened. At the end, he patted Chu Huan on the shoulder and exclaimed, "My dear minister, you are truly a pillar of the country!"
This exaggerated praise was heard by the people from the Ministry of Works and the Embroidered Uniform Guards who were walking away.
After a while, the emperor looked up to the sky and laughed: "Hahahaha, my dear minister, you are worthy of being me!"
Everyone: ???
So, what did Chu Huan say?
System, you've been listening for so long, why don't you say a word?
Where's the melon-eating system you were promised? Have you forgotten your job?!
As if it heard their thoughts, the system finally spoke.
[Wow—Sister Huan, you’re so great.]
[Wow—this is even possible?]
[Wow, Kaka! — Sister Huan, you’re so awesome!]
[Wahahaha——]
The crowd became more and more curious: "..."
Tonger, have you ever heard of a bad review? :)
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