Cao Zhi looked at him, hands in his sleeves, and said, "Sir, do you think I should buy silver to buy jewelry and dresses for my wife?"
The Prefect of Jingzhao looked at him and thought to himself, "You're just in the Hanlin Academy, what kind of money could you possibly make?"
There's a saying, "A poor scholar is a poor scholar," meaning someone without power has no money. This guy may write well, but he's not very bright.
"I'm putting my words here. Go back and think it over carefully! It's best to discuss it with your wife, after all, this is a life for the two of you to live together, not just for you to make the decisions alone."
As he spoke, the Prefect of Shuntian pushed him out, earnestly urging him to go back and think it over, saying that the compensation money was enough for his salary for several years.
Cao Zhi was so angry he laughed. This Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture was actually siding with the criminal!
He saved the kitchen only because he discovered it in time. What if he hadn't? Not only would his house have burned down, but his two neighboring houses would have suffered as well.
Burning down houses is one thing, but what if someone dies?
Cao Zhi left the Jingzhao Prefecture in a huff and told Shen Qingyu about it when he got home.
"How could he, an official appointed by the imperial court, say such a thing!" Cao Zhi exhaled a ring of white breath from his nose, which looked quite comical in the cold winter. Shen Qingyu was stunned for a moment, then covered her mouth and laughed.
Cao Zhi realized that he had been acting like a bull, and he laughed along with his wife.
Before the two could say anything, there was a knock on the door.
The person knocking on the door was none other than Bai Sanyuan.
Bai Sanyuan exhaled a puff of white breath and smiled at the two of them.
"What's wrong? Did you forget something?"
Bai Sanyuan had handled most of the arrangements for Cao Zhi's wedding, and Cao Zhi thought that Bai Sanyuan had forgotten something, so he came to him for help.
After welcoming him into the house, Bai Sanyuan asked, "Did you arrest Cui Yan last night?"
Although it was a question, the other party was clearly already fully aware of the matter.
"Yes, that guy came and burned down my house late at night, so I handed him over to the authorities!"
Bai Sanyuan nodded. "What did the Jingzhao Prefecture say?"
Cao Zhi was furious about the matter. He told Bai Sanyuan what had happened that morning. Bai Sanyuan nodded and said, "Brother Cao, I have a favor to ask of you."
"Tell me! As long as it's within my power, I'll do it without hesitation!"
After all, this Brother Bai had handled most of the arrangements for his wedding, so he had to repay the favor.
“If Cui Maosheng wants to reconcile, Brother Cao, please agree to it.”
Cao Zhi immediately stood up in anger, "Old Bai, when did you become that corrupt official's mouthpiece!"
Bai Sanyuan was startled. After all, Cao Zhi was already quite burly, and standing there, he was more than half a head taller than him. Bai Sanyuan was almost scared to death.
Bai Sanyuan quickly waved his hands, "No! No!"
"How could I possibly ask Brother Cao to do something you don't want to do! What I mean is, a settlement is possible, but you want a thousand taels of silver as compensation!"
Cao Zhi's eyes widened. "Old Bai, what do you take me for?!"
After he finished speaking, Shen Qingyu pinched his lower back, causing him to sit back down in pain. Now that his mind was clear, he asked, "Does the Princess have any new instructions?"
Bai Sanyuan nodded and took a sip of hot tea. "I can't say the specifics, just keep it like this for now. Don't worry about Cui Maosheng causing trouble. I've already arranged for people to protect you."
Cao Zhi was not a coward, and he knew that Song Yaozhu was not one to manipulate power; she had her reasons for doing so. Therefore, he agreed without hesitation.
In the afternoon, Cui Maosheng received news that Cao Zhi demanded 1,000 taels of silver before he would agree to a settlement.
"This Cao Zhi is simply lawless!" Cui Mao was so angry he gritted his teeth.
He really wanted to just abandon that son, but he was still his own son, and if he didn't, his lineage would end!
If he could have a grandson, then the son's fate would be sealed. But this son hasn't left him a grandson, so the man definitely needs to be saved.
Now that he's rescued this person, he won't tolerate this kind of nonsense again! He needs to find him a strong wife to keep him in check, and then quickly give him a grandson.
Cao Zhi's offer of one thousand taels was a deliberate attempt to make things difficult for him, a way of telling him that he didn't want to settle. It was because he felt he couldn't afford that one thousand taels.
After all, an ordinary family in the capital only spends about twenty taels a year. Although he is an official, he is not a high-ranking one, and his maximum annual expenses are only one hundred taels, which cannot be listed in the public accounts.
Cao Zhi knew he couldn't come up with a thousand taels of silver and wanted to make his son hate him!
Cui Maosheng pondered for a long time, then got dressed and went out.
The beggar who was waiting across from the Cui residence saw him go out and quietly sent someone to deliver a message.
Cui Maosheng thought he was being very careful, but little did he know that someone had been watching him all year.
Bai Sanyuan was getting impatient with his stare. Song Yaozhu felt that Cui Maosheng was suspicious, but he had been very careful and had never given himself away.
Although Cui Yan is now a scoundrel, he frequents brothels or gambles heavily at gambling dens. This kid has surprisingly good luck with gambling; not only does he not lose, but he also manages to earn enough money for his next trip to the brothel.
Now that he's finally managed to cause a major incident, and it's still ended up in their hands, he has to push Cui Maosheng to reveal the person behind him!
"Cui Maosheng went to the homes of several colleagues to borrow money, and then shamelessly went to the Lu family, but was dismissed by the Lu family with ten taels of silver."
Song Yaozhu pursed her lips as she listened to the report from her subordinates.
“Keep a close eye on him. If he has a problem, this may be our only chance.”
Bai Sanyuan's expression also became more serious. After he accepted the order and withdrew, Song Yaozhu instructed Fang Rao to personally lead a group to follow them. Just in case they stumbled upon a big fish!
Fang Rao accepted the order and left. Song Yaozhu rested her chin on her hand and began to ponder. She still couldn't figure out where the batch of crossbows found in Jianzhou Road came from.
If these were lost from the Ministry of War's warehouse, the warehouse's accounts show that everything matches, indicating that the loss of these crossbows was not due to mismanagement by the warehouse department.
Furthermore, these crossbows did not bear any steel stamps, indicating that they were not weapons made by the Ministry of War.
Who took the Ministry of War's weapon blueprints, secretly manufactured weapons, and then sold them to Donglin?
When Xie Liwei came in, he saw that she had crumpled a piece of cloth into a mess.
"Didn't you say you were going to make clothes for the two children?"
Only after his reminder did Song Yaozhu realize what he meant.
She pushed the things in her hand forward and said, "I'm wondering if there's an iron mine we don't know about, where the people behind it forge weapons and then sell them to Donglin."
Hearing her say that, Xie Liwei seemed to remember something, got up, took the map of Da Chen, and unfolded it in front of Song Yaozhu.
“I remember eight years ago, there was an earthquake in a mine in Jianzhou. The earthquake killed hundreds of people, and the mine was subsequently closed.”
The two exchanged a glance and decided that the mine was worth exploring.
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