Shen Jinghong's words were like thunder in a clear sky, which startled all the civil and military officials, and then they were filled with rage and fear.
"Your Majesty! Lord Shen is wrong!" The Minister of Rites said loudly, "The system of favors and favors is the grace of the wise monarchs of Dachen. This move is to commend meritorious people and let them repay the country and perform their duties loyally. Secondly, it unites the clan and shares weal and woe. Only in this way can we be united. The system of favors and favors has been used for hundreds of years. How can we throw it out with the bathwater because of Zhuang Wenfeng?"
Shen Jinghong said slowly: "Lord Cai's words, can't the descendants be given favors, and the officials be disloyal to the emperor and the country? Will the clan be disunited?"
The Minister of Rites said angrily: "Lord Shen is making a sophistry! "I have absolutely no such intention!"
Shen Jinghong smiled faintly, but ignored him, and said loudly to everyone: "The system of favoritism has advantages and disadvantages. Now the disadvantages have emerged. Officials above the seventh rank can have one son admitted to the Imperial Academy to study, and they can become officials without taking any examinations. Taizu and Taizong established this good policy, thinking that officials above the seventh rank are mostly from well-read families, and their sons should also be knowledgeable and sensible. However, it was unexpected that most of them are playboys who enter the court to serve as officials, and playboys give birth to playboys. Over time, this group of parasites have eroded the foundation and pillars of the court from the bottom up!"
Liu Chen frowned as if As if pondering the truth behind Shen Jinghong's words, the Minister of Personnel glanced at Shen Jinghong coldly, stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, Lord Shen is indeed patriotic, but he is young after all and does not think things through. How can a national policy be easily abolished? The Ministry of Personnel failed to supervise the performance appraisal, and the fault lies with the Ministry of Personnel. As the Minister, I am willing to accept the punishment, but if Your Majesty is angry with all officials because of this, then aren't the others innocent? Moreover, there are quite a few officials who have been appointed officials by grace. If it is abolished, where should these officials go? How should the missing staff be supplemented? Without a superior, how should local government affairs be handled? And Please consider carefully, Your Majesty. "
Shen Jinghong said: "Your Majesty abolished the system of favor and patronage, not just for Zhuang Wenfeng alone. A rough look at the performance evaluation this time shows that more than a hundred favor and patronage officials have low performance, and there are many more who have not been carefully examined. It can be seen that the disadvantages of favor and patronage officials have reached the point where they must be eliminated. At the time of evaluation, those who are not worthy of their positions should be dismissed or demoted, and should not be lenient, otherwise they will be ashamed of the people of the world. There will naturally be someone to fill the vacancies, including Jinshi waiting to be filled, and loyal officials and talents who have been replaced by favor and patronage officials. "
Shen Jinghong said this and cast his eyes on Mu Zhuohua.
According to the agreement between the two, Mu Zhuohua should come out at this time and take out the memorial to list the extra expenses incurred by the favor and patronage system over the years. But Mu Zhuohua's face was not good, and her brows were slightly frowned. Receiving Shen Jinghong's signal, she glanced at Zhou Cishan, the Minister of Revenue standing in front of her, and her heart was hanging. She had already written the memorial to be used in the morning court yesterday, but for some reason she couldn't find it today. Mu Zhuohua has always been careful and would never miss such an important thing. She suspected that it was stolen. The biggest suspect is naturally Zhou Cishan. She has reviewed a lot of information in the past two days, and Zhou Cishan might have noticed it.
As the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, he reported the Ministry of Revenue information without the permission of the Shangshu and colluded with the Minister of Personnel. This move undoubtedly offended his superiors. But Mu Zhuohua had her own plans in mind. Even if she lost the memorial, she had to do these things.
Mu Zhuohua gritted her teeth and walked out of the queue.
"Your Majesty, I have something important to report!"
Mu Zhuohua had just finished speaking when he saw Liu Yan, who was standing in the front, suddenly move. He clasped his hands together and saluted, and said loudly: "Your Majesty, I have something to report."
Everyone's attention was drawn to Liu Yan. Liu Chen looked at Liu Yan in surprise. The eunuch had already run over and took the memorial from Liu Yan.
Liu Yan spoke clearly and calmly, "I checked the files of the Ministry of Revenue and accidentally discovered that the annual salary expenditure of the Ministry of Revenue is equivalent to 7,243,156 taels of silver. In the 14th year of Zhaoming, there were 14,653 officials in the court who received salaries, and 5,879 officials who were granted patronage. The number of people receiving salaries is more than 2,000 more than in the first year of Zhaoming, and the expenditure is 1 million taels more. At present, the court has long been full of redundant officials and redundant expenses. If this continues, the harm will become greater. It is urgent to clean up the bureaucracy."
Mu Zhuohua widened her eyes in astonishment, looking at the back in the distance, her mind was surging.
Isn't that what she wrote in the memorial! Why did Liu Yan say it!
Her eyes moved to Liu Chen's hand, and she suddenly understood-it was Liu Yan who stole her memorial!
Liu Yan also stood on Shen Jinghong's side. After a moment of silence, the scene broke out into a more violent conflict.
If the system of favoritism is abolished, it will be an unacceptable blow to everyone in the court. Under the system of favoritism, after they retire, they can let one of their sons enter the court as an official, so as to ensure the continuation of the family's prosperity. If the system of favoritism is abolished, how many people can pass the imperial examination given the difficulty? Could it be that they have worked hard all their lives, but their descendants have to study hard for ten years like those children from poor families!
Therefore, even if Liu Yan raised a clear banner to support the abolition of the system of favoritism, others would resist to the end.
Liu Chen looked at the noisy court and shouted coldly: "Shut up!"
A chime sounded in the hall, and everyone shut up at the same time, but it seemed that there was still a lingering sound.
"This matter will be discussed by the public first, and will be discussed in court again in three days. Today, the court will be adjourned."
After Liu Chen said this, he left with the respectful farewell of all officials.
All the officials left the hall cursing. Shen Jinghong was once a popular favorite, but now he became a villain that everyone avoided. Some looked angry, some avoided his gaze. Those who used to be brothers now walked away.
Mu Zhuohua walked a few steps slower and fell behind everyone. After a while, Shen Jinghong walked to her side.
"Sir Shen, this situation today should be within your expectations." Mu Zhuohua turned his head to look at him. The latter was smiling with bright eyes, without any displeasure of being abandoned by everyone.
"I will go even if there are thousands of people against me." Shen Jinghong smiled indifferently, "But why didn't you act according to the plan today?"
Mu Zhuohua pursed his lips and whispered, "My memorial fell into the hands of the Prince Regent."
Shen Jinghong was not surprised. He hid the knowing smile in his eyes and whispered, "The Prince Regent has a close relationship with Your Majesty and is a trustworthy person. With his support, you can achieve twice the result with half the effort."
Mu Zhuohua nodded absent-mindedly, and said, "There is too much resistance to abolishing the system of favors and favors. Even if the Prince Regent comes forward, I'm afraid it will be difficult to do as you wish."
Shen Jinghong raised his eyebrows, smiled at Mu Zhuohua and said, "What do you think I want?"
"Could it be..." Mu Zhuohua's eyes moved, and then he smiled slowly, "I understand. Lord Shen is far-sighted, and I admire him very much."
Shen Jinghong smiled and said, "It's really a pleasure to talk to Lord Mu, no need to waste words."
Mu Zhuohua smiled and said, "Then Lord Shen, please say a few more words. I'm afraid that now, except for me, no one in the court is willing to talk to you."
Shen Jinghong looked at Mu Zhuohua's beautiful eyes with a smile, and suddenly understood Princess Roujia's love for her. She is flexible on the outside but square on the inside, greedy for life but not afraid of death, worldly-wise but not worldly-wise. Given time, she will surely become a famous minister.
Princess Roujia once mentioned to him that Mu Zhuohua could be used, but not to hurt her. She wanted to keep Mu Zhuohua for her own use, but is it possible...
In this world, unless you truly love someone, how can you be willing to be used?
On this day, everyone was discussing the abolition of the system of favoritism, and everyone cursed Shen Jinghong, saying that cutting off someone's financial resources was like killing their parents, and Shen Jinghong's actions not only killed his parents, but also cut off his offspring. How could he get a good word?
Mu Zhuohua was interrupted by Liu Yan when she was making a report today, so no one considered her as an accomplice of Shen Jinghong and dragged her to join the army to attack Shen Jinghong. Mu Zhuohua listened to everyone talking loudly, and she frowned and echoed them.
At noon, Mu Zhuohua went to the Imperial Hospital. Mu Minghua's health had improved a lot and she could barely get out of bed. Mu Zhuohua told her about Zhuang Wenfeng's verdict, and Mu Minghua's eyes lit up, flashing with satisfaction.
"Good! Good! Good!" Mu Minghua said three times in a row with satisfaction, smiling, "On the day of execution, find a way to take me to see it."
Mu Zhuohua knew that she hated Zhuang Wenfeng, so he said, "Now that you are in the Imperial Hospital, it is not convenient for me to take you out, but if you really want to see it, you can report this to His Majesty through the imperial physician, and His Majesty will allow it." Mu Minghua was still very afraid of the emperor, and she felt a little uneasy after hearing what Mu Zhuohua said.
"Has His Majesty said how to reward me?"
Mu Zhuohua said, "His Majesty has already drafted an edict to reward you with a mansion, and an imperial memorial archway with a letter of loyalty and righteousness on it. With this memorial archway to protect you, no one will dare to bully you in Dingjing."
Suddenly getting what she wanted, Mu Minghua was speechless in ecstasy, but she just said with red eyes and trembling voice: "Okay... okay..."
Mu Zhuohua sighed and patted her shoulder: "There will be other gold and silver rewards in the future, you should take good care of your injuries... Eighth sister, you don't need to rely on others to live in the future."
Mu Zhuohua turned and walked out of the Imperial Hospital. When she reached the door, she suddenly heard a hoarse voice behind her.
"Seventh sister, thank you."
Mu Zhuohua didn't look back. She smiled faintly and said, "You should thank yourself."
Regardless of whether she had taken the wrong path or done the wrong thing, she should be grateful for herself for enduring humiliation and living towards death.
It was just dark when Mu Zhuohua left the government office. Today, the wind was strong and the snow was heavy. The umbrella couldn't block it, and it fell on her shoulders. Mu Zhuohua held the umbrella in one hand and felt her hand was frozen. She held the collar tightly with the other hand, trying in vain to block the wind that penetrated her bones.
"Master Mu."
Suddenly a familiar voice called her. Mu Zhuohua was stunned for a moment, raised her head from under the umbrella and looked forward.
Zhimo looked at her expressionlessly and said, "The prince invites you."
The luxurious carriage stopped in a remote corner. Mu Zhuohua walked forward, folded the umbrella and put it outside the carriage, shook off the snow on her fur coat, and then hunched over to get into the carriage.
As soon as the door opened, the warmth of the fragrance of Jialuo touched her cheek, and she forced an ugly smile with the corners of her frozen mouth.
"Greetings, Your Majesty."
Liu Yan hummed softly, took the copper kettle from the stove, poured an eight-tenth bowl of milk and handed it to her, saying gently, "Drink it."
Mu Zhuohua took the bowl in a daze. This familiar scene made her a little dazed. Her frozen fingers slowly regained consciousness, and there was a little numbness and itchiness.
"The milk is not hot, just right for drinking. Remember that you like sweet, so I added some honey." Seeing her in a daze, Liu Yan whispered again, "Drink it quickly to warm your body."
Mu Zhuohua suddenly came back to her senses and drank it in small sips from the porcelain bowl.
After Mu Zhuohua finished drinking, she put down the bowl. When she raised her eyes, she met Liu Yan's deep and gentle eyes. She pursed her lips and lowered her head, whispering: "The prince summoned me here. Is there something important?"
Liu Yan stared at her with his warm and smiling eyes, and said slowly: "I just came out and saw that the snow was falling heavily, so I thought of waiting for you to go back together."
Mu Zhuohua clutched the corner of her clothes, her heart pounding, and she was vaguely worried that Liu Yan would hear her.
Liu Yan looked at Mu Zhuohua's nervous look, smiled lightly, and asked: "Why don't you speak up? I thought you would ask me about the memorial."
Mu Zhuohua was silent for a moment, and then sighed softly: "I know that the prince took the memorial and submitted it on my behalf because he didn't want me to be like Shen Jinghong and be an enemy of the whole court."
His protection was the door that blocked the wind and snow, the warm fragrance in the stove, and the ubiquitous warmth that wrapped her, which seeped into her heart bit by bit.
A hand reached out and held her slightly cold fingertips in his palm. Mu Zhuohua jumped as if startled, but she didn't have the heart to break free from his hand.
Liu Yan gently held the soft little hand with a chill in his palm, and said softly with a smile: "You are finally a little honest in front of me, and don't pretend to be confused when you know the truth."
Mu Zhuohua whispered: "Why does your prince have to... That day, I have made it clear that people like me are not worthy of your care."
She thought of Liu Yan's gloomy face every day for the next two days, and thought that Liu Yan was really hurt by her ruthlessness. She always felt guilty and distressed for him. There are only a few people in the world who are good to her. She wants to protect herself, but she can't bear to hurt the kindness of others.
Liu Yan put a hand on her hair, gently brushed away the coldness after the snow melted, and sighed softly: "But I can't bear it..."
A few soft words twisted Mu Zhuohua's heart hard, and the sore feeling almost made her eyes red, but she was suppressed by her strong willpower.
"Although I am angry with you, I still can't help but want to be good to you." Liu Yan smiled and rubbed her hair. "I know that you are not afraid of making enemies with the officials. You are confident that what you do is just, and His Majesty will support you. But I always hope that your road will be easier. Let me shield you from the wind and snow outside. You don't need to feel burdened by this. I am happy to do it."
Mu Zhuohua lowered her head and obediently let him stroke her head. Her fingertips in his palm gradually warmed up, but she still let him hold them softly. The carriage moved forward slowly in the wind and snow. The body of the carriage vibrated rhythmically, and the warm fragrance filled her. She was always eloquent, but she couldn't speak at this moment. The warmth wrapped around the fragrance of Gala and seeped into every pore of her body, making her too lazy to even think of resisting him.
Liu Yan lowered his head to look at Mu Zhuohua. His thick eyelashes covered his smart eyes. There was a hint of moisture on his eyelashes, and he didn't know if it was melted snow or overflowing tears. She lowered her head and looked at her hand that was being held. Her pointed chin sank into the fur collar. Her fair and handsome face still had the smell of wind and snow, but a layer of light peach rouge slowly floated on it, making her look pitiful and cute, which made Liu Yan's heart sad and soft. This cunning cat finally became docile for a moment. He wanted to hold her in his arms, but was afraid of scaring her away again, so he could only suppress his impulse and slowly retract his hand.
"If you don't want to be a princess, I won't force you, and you don't have to hide from me. If you encounter any problems, just discuss it with me..."
Liu Yan was interrupted by Mu Zhuohua in the middle of his words: "Your Majesty, your princess is Miss Sun. Even if it's not Miss Sun, it will be someone else, but it will never be me. Now that I know your intentions, even if you don't ask for anything in return, I can't accept your kindness with peace of mind. This will not only hurt your Majesty, but also your princess."
Mu Zhuohua took a deep breath and said solemnly. Sighing, she slightly raised her face, her dark almond eyes were full of water, shining with a stubborn light that was hard to look at: "I don't want to be like my mother, indulging in love and dying of sorrow, nor do I want to be like my mother, being a concubine and hurting another innocent woman. The day my father married my mother, I believe the eldest lady must have been crying and sad. I don't want to be that kind of person."
Mu Zhuohua slowly and firmly pulled her hand out of Liu Yan's palm, folded her hands in front of her, bent down and kowtowed to Liu Yan, performing a solemn ceremony.
"Your Highness loves me wrongly, I dare not accept it, I just hope that Your Highness can find a loyal person and love each other forever."
Liu Yan lowered his eyes and looked at her bent waist, his palm suddenly felt empty, and his heart seemed to collapse. Her reaction was within his expectations. The little girl he liked was a unique color in the world.
Liu Yan recalled that Liu Chen had talked to him about Mu Zhuohua two days ago. Liu Chen frowned and recounted what Mu Zhuohua had said to him behind the rockery in the Royal Garden.
Liu Chen said, I originally thought that her mind and temperament were better than men, but at that moment I felt that she was more gentle and affectionate than those ladies from aristocratic families.
Liu Yan looked at the plum blossoms blooming outside the window in a trance, and a very shallow smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
"I have already known the vastness of the universe, but I still pity the green grass and trees."
He knew her and knew that she lost her mother when she was young and had a hard life since she was a child, but she did not have much resentment in her heart. She only sighed in her heart that those sisters and aunts who had bullied her openly or secretly were all pitiful people. But her gentleness was not weak and powerless. She was like a round pebble in a torrent, polished by the wind and waves to a bright luster, but still retained her hard side.
She claimed to be selfish and cold, but such a clear rejection was not her gentleness.
Mu Zhuohua knelt for an unknown amount of time before she heard Liu Yan sigh.
"I will not marry Miss Sun, nor will I marry anyone else, whether you believe it or not..." Liu Yan's warm palm fell on her arm, and he gently pulled her up, "At least, before that, don't leave me."
Mu Zhuohua stared at Liu Yan in a daze, his arm wrapped around her back, pulling her into his arms. Mu Zhuohua threw herself into his arms without any defense, leaning against his strong and warm chest, and heard the sound of his strong heartbeat. Liu Yan lowered his head and rested it on her shoulder, his warm lips and tongue rubbing against the delicate skin beside her ear, and he sighed softly.
"Zhuohua... I would rather you were still the same as before, close to me, plotting against me..."
Mu Zhuohua put her hands on his chest, her cheeks flushed, and said incoherently: "You, you have misunderstood... I, I am not playing hard to get!"
Liu Yan was amused by her flustered and cute appearance and could not help but laugh softly. He rubbed her head: "How many times have you lied to me? Do you really think I am weak and can be bullied?"
Mu Zhuohua's hair crown was almost loosened by his rubbing. She supported her shaky hair crown, avoided his palm in annoyance, and muttered softly: "You believed the lies, but not the truth..."
Liu Yan chuckled Liu Yan touched her blushing cheeks and
said, "No, I believe you, it's you who don't believe me. I won't marry any other woman except you. If you don't want to be a princess, I'll stay with you like this, it's okay." Liu Yan's words were light and shallow, but they hit Mu Zhuohua's heart hard. She raised her head and looked at Liu Yan's deep eyes full of smiles in astonishment, trying to figure out what he meant - was it what she thought...
But at this time, the carriage slowly stopped, and Zhi Mo's voice came from outside: "Your Majesty, we're here."
Mu Zhuohua came back to her senses. She hurriedly broke free from Liu Yan's arms, her face flushed, and her eyes were full of water. She glanced at Liu Yan guiltily, and then turned her face away again.
"Your Majesty... I'm leaving!"
Mu Zhuohua arched her hands randomly, gave Liu Yan a very perfunctory salute, and then turned around like she was escaping, pressing her hands on the door panel.
"Zhuohua." Liu Yan called her. Mu Zhuohua paused in pushing the door. She didn't turn around. She only heard Liu Yan say in a gentle voice, "I will take care of the abolition of the system of favoritism. This matter has nothing to do with you. You don't have to force yourself to take the lead."
Mu Zhuohua pursed her lips, frowned slightly, and a trace of helplessness flashed across her eyes. After a moment, she whispered, "Your Highness, if you indulge me like this, I will..."
What?
Liu Yan was expecting, but Mu Zhuohua didn't say anything. She pushed open the door and walked into the wind and snow.
The fragrance that belonged to her was also blown away by the wind and snow.
Liu Yan raised his hand to signal Zhimo not to close the door. He leaned against the door and watched her figure walk around the corner and disappear into the night.
Zhimo turned his head and looked at Liu Yan: "Your Highness, why should you compromise?"
Liu Yan smiled lightly: "If you can compromise, why do you feel wronged."
He has figured out one thing in the past few days.
Zhuohua liked him, but the love was not enough, not deep enough, not enough for her to take risks for him, to gamble her life, nor enough for her to give up her ideal of benefiting the world for him.
Then let him gradually increase the stakes, let him treat her well day after day, penetrate into her life little by little, and become her indispensable support. She said that she was selfish and cold, but in his eyes, this little girl was a person who truly valued love. She would not easily give her feelings to others, and was only willing to be attentive to the most important few people, so her love was even more precious because it was rare.
He had already opened the door in her heart, so why not take a few more steps? It would be
great if she didn't want to get married, she would always be there waiting for him, right?
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