"The grain account book?"
Emperor An's eyes sank, and the little eunuch guarding the hall hurried forward, took the account book from Qian Baokun and handed it to Emperor An.
After reading for a while, the account above was not quite clear. He looked up at the person kneeling down. Qian Baokun seemed to have known that the emperor was not good at this, so he took the initiative before Emperor An asked. Explained:
"There is no big problem with this account book at a glance, and the records are detailed between the transactions, but Weichen is in charge of the Ministry of Revenue and knows a little about the prices of money, grain and materials in various places."
"Before the flood last year, the price of rice in Jiangnan was 15 cents per dou. After the flood in July, the price of grain rose to 200 cents. However, the account was over a thousand cents per stone at the beginning of the year. Luo calculated that one dou was nearly a hundred cents. The strong man has two liters a day and six dou every month, but the official record is dozens of times..."
Qian Baokun told the story, saying the unreasonable parts of the account book. Although he had just taken a quick look at it, his years of experience in accounting have made him familiar with the problems in the account book.
And Emperor An, who had not understood it very well, also realized something wrong in the account book as he said.
Qian Baokun said, "Your Majesty only looks at the largest rice and grain transactions, and the prices are above the market price, and the grain in the warehouse is not as good as the silver and money paid."
"These are the most popular methods for those people below to use when they are in the ghost account. Just in this half of the account book, the shortage of silver and money in exchange for money and grain is as large as hundreds of thousands, not to mention the shortage of the account book. I don't know how much it has been deficit..."
Qian Baokun told the problem in the account book, and the expression on Emperor An's face also changed constantly.
"Qingran, the tutu, was a job in Beijing. After accidentally getting this account book on the way, she felt it was difficult. She was afraid that someone wanted to borrow the Qian family's hand to frame Lu Zhongshu and others, so she only planned to investigate the results in secret before reporting to Your Majesty. But who knew that today the Sanlang of the Lu family bullied the little girl. He said angrily for a moment, and Weichen only learned about this. "
Qian Baokun knelt on the ground and whispered the words he had thought about earlier:
"I am grateful to the priest, and I can only be in charge of the Ministry of Revenue. I also know that the grain is of great importance, so I came to Governor Xiao. Governor Xiao learned that Governor Xiao had this account book in my hand, and suspected that I lost it. Half of the account book was kept privately by the Lu family, so he used the dog's son to make trouble and entered the Lu family in the name of bullying the Lord of Yiyang County and his little daughter. "
"Weichen knows that this move is rash and easy to criticize, but if we miss this opportunity, it will be difficult to enter the Lu family. If they know the account book, it will be even more troublesome, so they agree. Together with Governor Xiao."
Speaking of this, Qian Baokun kowtowed heavily:
"I am arbitrarily making a decision, which makes Your Majesty embarrassed. I am willing to take the crime. Please punish me."
He has always been an extremely cautious person and has never caused any trouble.
When Emperor An saw the account book, his attitude had actually eased. Later, he heard that he took the initiative to find Xiao Yan, and the two of them were just searching for evidence of the grain, so his anger that was not much dissipated: "Then you guys this time Can you gain something? "
"There are some."
Qian Baokun took out some things again, but this time the "physical evidence" was not given to him by Xiao Yan: "These are all things related to the Lu family, all related to the court. Please check it out."
Emperor An looked at the things presented, looked down and looked at them. After seeing what was written above, his eyes slightly condensed, and his face instantly became cold.
"Are these things real?"
"I dare not deceive the king."
Emperor An's eyes became even heavier, and his eyes fell on the bloody names of people crossed out, and he felt shocked.
Most of these names are from the court, with varying official positions, but without exception, they are all people who have experienced various accidents in the past five years.
He either died, was demoted, or left the court for various reasons...
Several of the names of Emperor An also have the impression that he was demoted because of the rebellious case. He had long known that the Lu family was not clean in the court, and it was common to exclude dissidents, but he never expected that he had already arrived like this. The point...
Emperor An suddenly felt a sense of crisis. Is this court really his court?
If the aristocratic family is not eliminated, will he reach this point one day?
"Your Majesty, Governor Xiao asks for his meeting."
Someone suddenly came to report outside.
Andi's tone was filled with a hint of anxiety: "Let him in."
Nympho
Outside the Imperial Hall in the palace, Lu Chongyuan and others knelt on the steps, from the beginning to the fact that they were full of energy to condemn Xiao An, and later on, people were so hot that they couldn't kneel down.
As May approaches, the sun has begun to burn, and the old ministers are already old.
I thought they would begging each other to force Emperor An to show up soon, but who knew that Emperor An had not summoned him for a long time, and he didn't even send someone to persuade them to get up.
Lu Chongyuan had already fainted and vomited blood before, but his face turned pale and his eyes were dark.
The elderly Master Liang also felt sweaty on his forehead. When his body shook, he even felt like he retreated for a moment. He saw that everyone around him was kneeling, and he knew that if he retreated this time, the aristocratic family might become a big joke. , so I gritted my teeth and held it hard.
"Governor Xiao, Your Majesty is waiting for you in the inner room."
Just at this moment, someone was talking from behind.
The court officials on the steps turned around and saw the castration who was denounced by them calmly coming from the Baiyu Platform.
When he saw them, the dog thief raised his eyebrows condescendingly: "What are you doing kneeling here? Are you basking in the sun?"
"Xiao Yan!" The person with an anxious temperament was immediately furious: "You still dare to enter the palace?!"
Xiao Yan turned his head and said indifferently: "Why don't I dare to enter the palace?"
"You dare to say it!" The man glared, "You led someone to break into the Lu family, humiliate the Secretariat, and acted recklessly in ignoring the laws and regulations of the court. Today, we must seek justice from Your Majesty, so that you, the thief, will no longer be in trouble. Courtyard! "
Xiao Yan was not angry at all when he heard this, but instead laughed: "Envoy Lin said this as if I had broken into your Lin family. Although he knew that the Lin family was in recession over the years, most of the descendants were useless, but Anguo was back then. When the county duke was alive, the Lin family was so dangerous that even Lu Zhongshu's father had to bow his head and salute him when he saw him, but now..."
He tskated lightly,
"The Lin family seems to have become the Lu family's dog, and they are trying their best to make this governor look at him with admiration."
"you!!"
The courtier from the Lin family was immediately so angry that his face turned pale.
Xiao Yan ignored his almost gale-breathing eyes and only looked up at the other companies:
"The Lu family has a prince who needs support, and he said he was the first of the aristocratic families to advance and retreat with you, but this governor only saw you keep cleaning up the mess for the Lu family. Lu Zhongshu could fool you if he could not make any profit without giving up his mouth. I really admire you to stand up for him."
He looked at the oldest Taishi Liang: "The Taishi is almost seventy years old this year. The Liang family has only you, the pillar of the sea. If you kneel down in this palace, how can the Liang family be good?"
"The family is prey on the weak, and the Liang family should not follow the footsteps of the He family back then."
Master Liang's face suddenly became cold: "Don't provoke me!"
"It's just a truth, how can we instigate you? Grand Master Liang is doing his best to the Lu family, and he wants Lu Zhongshu to accept your position as Grand Master so that he can protect the descendants of the Liang family a hundred years later. But you are sure that he can really remember you and support me. Affection?"
Xiao Yan's voice was slightly cold: "But just one mistake, he could give up his grandson he once valued the most and protect the future of the Lu family. If one day he really encounters a crisis, you think the Liang family will be protected by the Lu family. He still became the pawn who saved the Lu family from charging into battle…"
"Xiao Yan!"
Seeing that Master Liang's face changed, Lu Chongyuan shouted angrily.
Xiao Yan laughed when he was furious and said, "Master Liang should think about it carefully. Don't try your best to raise a wolf that will kill people. You can use the century-old foundation of the Liang family to be a wedding dress and become a Lu family. The stepping stone for the emperor to compete for the deer."
After Xiao Yan finished speaking, he stopped talking and said, "I have to go in and face the saint. Please kneel down slowly. You guys, go and cover up the cold and fan the Grand Master Liang, don't let him be really hurt. Lost your body."
After saying that, he turned back and said, "Mr. Song, let's go."
Song Jinxiu stepped forward silently.
Lu Chongyuan and the others were shocked when they heard the word "Song". Then they found that the person following Xiao Yan looked familiar. After a closer look, it was the eldest son of the Duke of Song who had been sent to the imperial prison.
His body has become much thinner and he has become pale. His face is not as gentle as before, but there is a hint of coldness and gloom.
Song Jinxiu just lowered his eyes and followed Xiao Yan, not caring about the gaze around him. He hung his green robe on his body empty. When he walked past everyone, he did not stop at all. The two of them went straight into the hall and let the backs of them. Lu Chongyuan's heart skipped a beat.
"Shouldn't Song Jinxiu be in the imperial prison? Why did Xiao Yan take him into the palace?" The court official of the Lin family asked immediately.
The other person next to him also said anxiously: "Mr. Lu, the Song family was closest to your Lu family in the past, and the Song family's Dalang was also close to the Sanlang in your mansion. Xiao Yan took him into the palace at this time, and I'm afraid he would not be happy. …"
Lu Chongyuan instantly thought of the "evidence" that Xiao Yan brought people to search for Lu Zhinian. His face suddenly became dark and a trace of uneasiness emerged in his heart.
He turned his head and wanted to tell Master Liang to ask someone to ask His Majesty again, but he saw Master Liang staring at the gate of the Imperial Government Hall with calm eyes, not knowing what he was thinking.
"Old Liang?" Lu Chongyuan whispered, "You shouldn't really believe Xiao Yan's provocation..."
"Of course I don't know." Master Liang's eyes flashed slightly.
He knew that Xiao Yan's words were to instigate the relationship between the aristocratic family and differentiate his relationship with the Lu family, but those words were still rooted in his heart like seeds.
Is it right that he would do his best to support Lu Zhinian, and even let the Lu and Liang families marry each other and let the Liang family and the Lu family tie to death?
The Lu family has had a series of accidents recently, and Lu Qin has lost his leg. The Lu family Sanlang, who was originally the most optimistic, has also fallen to this point, and now he has no idea whereabouts. He has sacrificed his life to help the Lu family. If something really happens, Liang Home...
Grandmaster Liang said that he had never heard Xiao Yan's instigation and comforted Lu Chongyuan, but he did not refuse the little eunuch who came forward to fan the cooldown.
After seeing this, Lu Chongyuan's face became gloomy and he pursed his lips and hated Xiao Yan very much.
That dog thief really made the old guy in the Liang family have a rift with him...[i]
When Xiao Yan led Song Jinxiu to visit Emperor An, Emperor An put a small stack of things Qian Baokun gave him.
Qian Baokun had already received Enshe and stood up and waited aside. When he saw Xiao Yan bringing Song Jinxiu, he couldn't help but look surprised on his face.
Emperor An originally wanted to scold Xiao Yan, but when he saw Song Jinxiu, he frowned: "Why is he here?"
Xiao Yan said, "Weichen originally wanted to enter the palace to apologize, but halfway he received the news from the imperial prison, saying that Lord Xiao Song had something important to ask to see Your Majesty, so we brought him into the palace. "
When Emperor An heard this, he glanced at him: "Do you still know you are guilty?"
Xiao Yan looked respectful: "It was a big mistake to trespass the Zhongshu Ling Mansion. Before he got the sage, he made a decision and led people to search the Lu family. He also implicated Qian Shangshu and the three men in his mansion. Although His Majesty was generous, , but we can't make people talk about you for your own sake. We will go to the Criminal Department to receive the punishment later."
Emperor An calmly looked at him: "Do you know what crimes you have committed today?"
"The following offender will be punished by eighty rods, and will be sentenced to six years."
When Xiao Yan spoke, he seemed to be the one who was going to be guilty of his crime, and he was extremely calm:
"Although what I am doing today is understandable, I can offend the Secretary of the Central Committee and the Order of the State Council and do usurpation. If Your Majesty wishes to keep me and continue to do the work, I will go to the Criminal Department to receive a stick and be punished for eighty times to warn me. If you follow You, Your Majesty can also use this to appease the court officials of aristocratic families and give them an explanation."
When Emperor An heard this, he suddenly looked cold: "Rareless!!"
He was not that annoyed at first, but Xiao Yan's words seemed to poke his ventricular tube. The anger suddenly rolled upwards. He was not angry and grabbed the teacup and threw it at Xiao Yan: "A bastard is a damn thing. , I am the emperor, what explanation do I want to give them? "
Those people are just ministers, so what can they do if they are a noble family? Why should his dignified emperor bow to them and compromise? !
The tea cup shattered just half a step in front of Xiao Yan, Emperor An Di's face was cold with frost: "They colluded with the Southland Provincial Government, embezzled the grain transport funds, causing countless deaths and injuries from the Southland's floods and widespread riots. The people of the Lu family even assassinated government officials and fiercely eliminated dissenters. What crime did you commit by searching the Lu family?!"
Xiao Yan hesitated: "Assassinate government officials?"
He subconsciously glanced at Qian Baokun not far away, and saw Qian Baokun giving him a nod. Qian Baokun said, "Master Xiao, when we went to the Lu family before, didn't we find some things? I have already handed them all over to the emperor, including the ledger that my son obtained."
Xiao Yan opened his mouth: "Qian Shangshu, that account book..."
That ledger was found by my son, but without the search conducted by Master Xiao and his men at the Lu family's residence, it would have been difficult to uncover these pieces of evidence.
Qian Baokun was afraid that Xiao Yan might let something slip, so he quickly interrupted him, "Your Majesty knows that you came at my invitation, and also to purge the corrupt officials in the palace, which is why you led the Black Armor Guards to break into the Lu family. Your Majesty is wise and will certainly not blame Master Xiao for this."
Xiao Yan furrowed his brow, his lips moving as if to say something, but was stopped by Qian Bao kun, and a look of guilt appeared in his eyes.
Qian Baokun increasingly feels that Xiao Yan is not as despicable as the rumors say. Indeed, one must interact with people to know their true nature. He is indeed not wrong in helping the right person.