Soon all the officials from the Ministry of Rites arrived and the account books were placed on the desk.
When the Minister of Rites learned that the emperor had actually asked a child to investigate the case, he simply bowed and said, "Your Majesty, even if the Ministry of Rites made some mistakes last month, asking a child to investigate, and a girl at that... isn't this..." a bit too ridiculous? Of course, the Minister of Rites did not dare to use the word "ridiculous" to describe the emperor.
The emperor smiled coldly, "How do we check it?"
The Minister of Rites said, "It is my fault that the account book is wrong. I am willing to take all the officials of the Ministry of Rites to check it overnight."
The emperor knew that these were old hands. If he really asked them to investigate, they might just make a big deal out of a small matter and then make a scapegoat. He pointed at the account books and said, "Since the people are all here and the account books are all here, let's investigate."
"This..." The Minister of Rites looked at the sky, but it was about to get dark.
The emperor just waved his hand and said, "Go and ask the palace servants to light up the lamps." Soon the palace servants came in, and the lanterns made the hall look like daylight. Behind the emperor were bright yellow palace lanterns. He sat on the dragon throne, pinching his brows with his hands, and said in a deep voice, "You guys check it out. I will watch you check it out."
"Yes..." At this point, what excuses can I have?
"Your Majesty, Lord Shen is here?" asked the eunuch on the side.
Shen Xiangjun, the emperor was suspicious. The eunuch beside him smiled and said, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten that you said today that if Xiangjun can sort out the account book, you will make her a Xiangjun?"
The emperor shook his head and said with a smile: "But you haven't figured it out yet? You are not like this usually. You are so quick to be called the county lord today."
The chief eunuch smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you like Shen Xiangjun. Even if she doesn't work out, what's wrong with giving her the title of Xiangjun?"
The emperor pointed at him and smiled, "You..." At this moment, he really liked this girl Shen Qingqiu.
First, who doesn't like smart people? This girl's photographic memory would make him happy for days no matter which of his sons she was given. Second, this girl was very straightforward. She dared to say anything at such a young age. If it weren't for this, he wouldn't be able to deal with the bunch of parasites in the court.
It was really a coincidence. Since she was the one who opened the door, it was not an exaggeration to confer the title of a county lady on her.
"Mr. Shen Xiang."
As soon as Shen Qingqiu came in, she saw Lai Fu, the chief eunuch serving the emperor, looking at him with a smile. She nodded at Lai Fu and said, "Eunuch, what's going on?"
Compared to the emperor's love for Shen Qingqiu, Lai Fu had a different feeling towards Shen Qingqiu. Outsiders always had that kind of look when they looked at eunuchs...but Shen Xiangjun looked at them all the same. Lai Fu had been able to get to his current position, so he was naturally very accurate in judging people.
"The Ministry of Rites has arrived, and so has the Ministry of Revenue."
The Ministry of Rites needs money, and the Ministry of Revenue is in charge of allocating it. Since the relocation will bring trouble, neither side will be able to take advantage of it.
Shen Qingqiu nodded, and just as she entered the hall and was about to salute the emperor, the emperor on the throne waved at her, "Qiu'er, come here."
The emperor was not shy and just called her by her nickname.
Feeling a little uncomfortable at first, Shen Qingqiu twisted his shoulders and walked over.
"It's late, Deng'an, this is the milk tea I asked someone to make, drink some for your eyes." Shen Qingqiu raised his head slightly, and under the light, the emperor's face was extremely kind, looking like an ordinary middle-aged man. The emperor handed the account book at hand to Shen Qingqiu, "Take a look at this one."
Shen Qingqiu flipped through the books quickly and soon wrote down several accounts that didn't balance. "No, no, no, none of these are right." She had already marked many mistakes in red pen in just one account book for March.
The accounts made by the people below were naturally smooth on the surface, and even the emperor himself did not notice anything wrong. When he saw what Shen Qingqiu said, he immediately looked at it carefully, but the numbers all over the page only made him more confused. He shook his head and looked carefully, but still did not find anything unusual.
Shen Qingqiu gently circled a few numbers with a red pen, "Look at it this way."
This was the total of the day's account, but these people deliberately made it confusing so that the auditors could not see it. Also, the ancient accounting method was too complicated, which gave these people an opportunity to take advantage of it.
The emperor now realized something was wrong. He looked down again. The people in the Ministry of Rites were still diligently checking the accounts. The emperor asked, "My dear ministers, do you find anything wrong?"
The Minister of Rites rubbed his eyes and said, "Your Majesty, there is nothing wrong for the time being."
The emperor nodded, but the smile on his face became more and more sinister. He touched Shen Qingqiu's little head and said, "Qiu'er, please continue investigating."
She nodded, took a sip of the milk tea, and then picked up another account book. She read it very quickly, but thinking that the emperor also needed to be quick, she took out a few pieces of white paper and made a table, which only listed the daily purchases and the silver used, and the regulations were very clear.
At this moment, even an ordinary woman would be able to understand the form quickly after taking a look at it. The emperor did not want to disturb her. After a while, he saw that she seemed a little tired and wiped her eyes with her fists. He then said, "You should take a rest first. The account books of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Revenue combined are at least several thousand, if not tens of thousands. You cannot finish reading them in one day."
Shen Qingqiu was just acting like this because he was too lazy to work for free. Seeing that the emperor finally asked him to stop, he put on a sleepy look and prepared to go off work.
I didn't expect that the emperor was addicted to hiring child labor. He asked, "Qiu'er was so fast at reading the account book today. Is there any other trick?"
The emperor naturally had his own ideas. He naturally didn't believe the investigation by the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Revenue, but everyone has their own expertise. If he wanted to ask someone to check the accounts in a short period of time, he might be fooled if he put someone who knew nothing about it in. And Shen Qingqiu was a child after all. Even if he really believed her and asked her to go, he was afraid that the people below would make a fuss.
Shen Qingqiu naturally knew what the emperor meant, and said, "In fact, the accounts are not bad, it's just that the account keepers are too chaotic, with entries here and there. As long as we ask people to classify everything and then add up the statistics of the various categories, the accounts will soon be clear." Shen Qingqiu just has quick eyes and strong mental arithmetic skills, so he can quickly construct the categories in his mind.
The emperor pondered for a moment. He couldn't really ask a child to investigate the case, but who could he really ask to investigate the case?
"Which minister in the court do you think is more suitable to investigate this case?" The emperor regretted the moment he asked the question.
He was really confused. How could he ask a child such a question?
"Why do you have to let the ministers investigate the case? Since it's theft, and it's your money, if you can't investigate it yourself, can't you let the princes investigate it?"
This sentence can be regarded as a wake-up call. The Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Revenue are the most important of the six ministries. No matter which other ministries are asked to investigate, they will inevitably be involved. But if the prince investigates, the people in the six ministries will naturally not dare to make things difficult due to his status as the prince. But what if... After all, he knows about the prince and officials forming cliques for personal gain.
"Then tell me, which prince should I send?" The emperor consciously tested Shen Qingqiu.
Which of my princes does a powerful family like the Gu family favor? Are there any other connections between them?
Shen Qingqiu didn't even think about it and said, "Ninth Prince Gu Yanwei."
The emperor was surprised when he heard this. No matter what, he knew that the Gu family would never choose the ninth prince as the crown prince... Even if it was his own son, he knew that the ninth prince would not live past the age of twenty-five. Who would support a short-lived king? "Why choose him?"
"I have a good relationship with him. He invited Lingdang and I to drink wine and pick grapes." Shen Qingqiu said.
The emperor laughed. He was really a child. He would choose whoever he had a better relationship with.
However, thinking from the side, it was appropriate to give this matter to Lao Jiu. With a body like his, it was impossible for him to get involved with officials... He also knew that he favored this son on the surface, but in fact, he did not give him anything. He took this opportunity to let him relax. If he did a good job, he would have an excuse to reward him. He would be happy to let him live outside the palace.
After all, he is his own son. Even if he can only live to the age of 25, the emperor hopes that his son can be happy and have a bright future.
"But can the Ninth Prince do it?" The emperor hesitated. What if he was bullied by those officials? "Whether he can do it or not, don't I have you?" Shen Qingqiu patted his chest. "Although I am not good at poetry and literature, I am very good at accounting and keeping accounts. If anyone wants to deceive the Ninth Prince, they have to get past me first."
When the emperor heard what Shen Qingqiu said, he smiled, "Then it seems that I really have to appoint you as an official."
Shen Qingqiu knelt on the ground, "Your Majesty, thank you for your grace."
The emperor didn't know whether to laugh or cry, "I haven't rewarded you yet?"
"Anyway, I know that the emperor's words are golden and will never be changed."
The emperor could only shake his head helplessly, "I was captured by a little girl like you."
——
Gu Yanran never expected the current situation. It was just her first class after entering the palace. She was expecting Shen Qingqiu, a vulgar man, to show his weakness in class, but she never expected that she would rise to the top! Not only was she given the title of Xiangjun, but the emperor even appointed her, the Ninth Prince, the Ninth Princess, and the Princess of Changhe to investigate the case.
Shen Qingqiu even got a set of small official robes!
A lady of the countryside is not considered a very noble lady, after all, there are so many princesses and lords in the capital. But the only proper official robe for a woman is the one worn by Shen Qingqiu! The emperor even asked someone to make a red one for her! You know, only the official robes of the first-rank officials are red, so why should Shen Qingqiu have the right? !
But at this moment, it was obvious that someone was more angry than her.
Then the eleventh princess Yongping fiercely overturned the table, and the ink on the table fell all over the floor, making Gu Yanran's shoes look a little mottled: "Father, how can you do this!" It was okay to pamper that sickly girl before, after all, she wouldn't live long, but who is she, Shen Qingqiu, and what right does she have!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
