Chapter 1
“Hua’er, wake up”
Chu Hua was sleeping soundly when she was dug out of the bed. Under the assistance of two beautiful servant girls, she wore an oversized official uniform.
She sleepily yawned, “What time is it?”
Biological Mother, Mrs. Wen: “Earlier Yin hour (3 a.m.).”
Chu Hua:?
Calling her up at 3 a.m.! This was truly a biological mother!
The three words jolted her mind– forcing her to recall the years of social life where not getting off work meant no need to go to work.
Once the official uniform and official hat was put on, fifth-rank official in the Ministry of Justice biological father, Chu Ping, who was waiting outside the door, came in to explain: “Your elder brother is handling a matter for his Majesty. In order to avoid people’s attention, you will attend the court session for your elder brother during this time. Once the court session starts, hide in the corner. Don’t stand out and don’t speak.”
Chu Hua:??
Dressed as a boy and attending court for Elder Brother! Which smartie pants thought of this after finishing the toe digging?
“I’m shorter than Elder Brother by a lot. My ears have piercings. Skin colour is also not…”
Mrs. Wen pulled out a pair of thick soled high heeled official boots and smeared Chu Hua’s face, ear, neck, and hand with powder, making the skin color similar to elder brother.The preparation was quite thorough.
Definitely not a moment of impulse.
Chu Hua: “...must we commit the offense of deceiving the emperor?”
She didn’t want to die.
Chu Ping solemnly looked over: “His Majesty permits it.”
Chu Hua:???
Good gosh, deceiving the emperor with an edict in hand? You emperor and minister are playing something new!
*
On the road, Chu Hua followed closely behind Father and watched him greet his colleagues.
Occasionally some people approached and before they could start the small talk, they were diverted by Father. It was considered smooth sailing.
Dasheng had major court sessions and minor court sessions. Every 1st and 15th were major court sessions, where ninth rank above capital officials must attend. For minor court sessions, it was limited to sixth rank above.
Elder Brother Chu Qin was a recent runner-up scholar and was a seventh rank Hanlin Junior Historiography Compiler.
Chu Hua secretly clenched her hand into a fist. Attending court sessions was so dangerous, she got to get some bird nest from Mother to calm her nerves after returning.
“Chu Qin, what are you doing here?” A sixth rank Heron green robed, handsome male walked over to Chu Hua.
Chu Hua: !!!
This person was the latest top scholar, Liu Ziang. He was awarded the position of Hanlin Senior Historiography Compiler by his Majesty, a.k.a Elder Brother’s superior.
Going to be exposed!
Who knew, Liu Ziang gave Chu Hua a gaze, leading her to go over to their standing spot.
Chu Hua: “...”
Many thanks insider!
There were quite a number of civil ministers. Whether the fourth-fifth rank officials could enter the hall depended on the amount of those who took a request of leave. Sixth to ninth rank were all outside the hall. The civil ministers were on the left and the military commanders on the right. Simply a sea of black.
Chu Hua was 1.66m. With the inner and outer height increaser, she was still shorter than 1.84m Elder Brother by a lot. Also, her chest area had some bulging. The traces of girl dressing as a boy were quite obvious.
The few colleagues in Hanlin Academy acted like they were blind. There was no short of ‘Brother Chu’ and ‘Official Chu’ and with a sentence, they hid her in a corner.
Chu Hua: “...” There were quite a lot of insiders.
Whatever, when she get back, she could have less of Mother’s bird nest.
All of a sudden, [Ding, your gossip system is online.]
Chu Hua:???
That voice directly appeared in her mind. Despite the abruptness, there was a feeling of ‘transmigration golden finger arrived even when it was late’.
[Hello Host, I am Gossip System 188.] The system anxiously rushed to ask, [Bind?]
Chu Hua: [Are you anxious?] So anxious that the self introduction was skipped.
The system was a step away from wailing: [Insufficient energy.]
Chu Hua: [You should be a product of technology, how are you going to get energy in ancient times? Solar energy?]
System: [The more melons are eaten, the more energy is accumulated, referred to as gossip energy. Wait a minute, I'll connect to the wireless network, otherwise it won't be easy to eat melons. ]
Chu Hua was stunned. Can you connect to the wireless network in ancient times?
188 was a new system that had just been produced. Transmigrating to the ancient times consumed too much energy. Then it also spent energy to search for the most suitable host to bind. It was on red, at the verge of shutting down. So it hurriedly turned on the wireless and did not realize that it had accidentally turned on the sharing function.
With Chu Hua as the center, everyone within a radius of 50 meters heard a strange child’s voice: [Host, bind? ]
Emperor: ? ? ?
Officials: ? ? ?
"The Emperor has arrived——"
All the officials knelt down: "Long live the Emperor."
The Emperor sat on the dragon throne, still wondering about that strange voice: "All the ministers stand up."
The court began to discuss today’s state affairs. The first one to step forward was the Minister of Works: "I have a report to make..."
Chu Hua relied on a group of insiders’ protection him and smoothly abandoned post: [I've never heard of the melon-eating system. ]
Emperor: ? ? ?
Officials: ? ? ?
How could a woman speak in the court?
The Minister of Works paused for a moment before continuing: "There were heavy rains in the capital last month..."
Chu Hua: [Cut a melon and try it. ]
The Minister of Works: "..." Who is against me? !
Taking a deep breath, he continued, "The Star Picking Platform cannot be completed on schedule..."
All the officials secretly searched for the source of the voice. Chu Ping, who recognized the voice, was about to faint.
The system didn’t have much energy, and fearing being rejected by Chu Hua, it simply broke out an explosive news: [The third prince is not the emperor’s biological son.]
Chu Hua:? ? ?
[Hiss—serving such explosive one at the get go? Expand and tell me more! ! !]
Emperor:? ? !
Officials:? ? !
Who was so bold? Don’t want their head? !
The emperor’s face was dark, the Minister of Works stopped the report, and the whole court was so quiet that a pin drop could be heard. Chu Ping was almost scared to death.
As soon as it heard Chu Hua’s typical tone of gossiper, the system knew that it got the host this time!
System: [Twenty years ago, the emperor blessed a few beauties during his southern tour. One of the brothel girls gave birth to a daughter, but the weight of a princess and a prince is completely different. She left her daughter in the brothel, took a boy born by someone else, and brought the jade pendant given to her by the emperor to the capital. After blood recognition, she successfully entered the imperial family jade book.]
Emperor:? ? !
Officials: ? ? !
Abandoning the royal princess and confusing the royal bloodline, deserves to be killed!
Chu Hua: [It turns out to be a true and false prince plot, boring. ]
System: [No! Here comes the main point! The fake prince she brought over is of the royal bloodline of the previous dynasty. He had already got in cahoot with the generals of the previous dynasty. He is going to dig up the treasures of the previous dynasty to recruit soldiers and win over court officials to ascend the throne. ]
Emperor: ? ? !
Officials: ? ? !
The third prince was actually a remnant of the previous dynasty, trying to usurp the throne and restore the previous dynasty? Deserves to be killed!
Chu Hua: [Old routine, boring. If you can draw a treasure map...]
System: [What's so difficult about this? I'll take you to dig for treasure! ]
Chu Hua: [I can interact with you, system. Bind then. ]
System: [Okay! 】
The emperor with many children and no money in his private treasury: !!!
Officials with an empty treasury and no money to use: !!!
Take us with you!
It didn't matter whether there was money or not, the main thing was that treasure hunting is more interesting:)
Quick, quick, tell us in detail!
Speak clearly about the specific location, route of the treasure, and how many things are in it, so that they could arrange how many people to go to dig for treasure and transport it.
System: [I'm going to charge in the melon field, host, wait for me~]
Chu Hua: [Go ahead, I'll take a nap. Ah, getting up at three o'clock to attend the court, what kind of human suffering is this? I'm so sleepy. 】
The emperor and the officials were slightly stunned, not eating melons? Not digging for treasures?
This...
Forget it, state affairs was top priority.
The discussion of state affairs continued.
The emperor summoned his personal eunuch and whispered an instruction.
How many people heard the royal secrets in the court today? Was the story of the third prince true? Who was the female voice in the court today? Who was the person who inexplicably knew the royal secrets? All these must be investigated by the Royal Guard!
*
After the morning court ended, Chu Hua followed Liu Ziang and others to the Hanlin Academy. Liu Ziang pointed to a desk full of books and scrolls.
The Hanlin Academy was the emperor's literary attendant, responsible for the daily work of the court, including drafting imperial edicts, compiling history books, and lectures at the imperial lectures.
Chu Hua did not dare to touch the confidential documents and took a history book to pretend.
[System, eat melon! ]
Officials of the Hanlin Academy: !!!
The Royal Guard commander who just rushed over: "..." It's really you.
System: [Coming right up! What does the host want to know? You seem to be very interested in the emperor's green hat, how about I tell you about this? ]
Chu Hua: [System, you are too smart! Come on, tell me more, I happen to be idle. 】
Officials of the Hanlin Academy: !!!
They weren’t idle! This was a royal secret. If they hear it too much, something bad would happen. Don't tell!
Liu Ziang picked up a history book, "Brother Chu."
Immersed in gossip, Chu Hua didn't react. Liu Ziang ‘coughed’ twice to remind her: "Chu Qin."
System: [Host, the handsome guy is calling you. ]
Handsome guy Liu Ziang:?
Chu Hua: "Brother Liu."
Her voice was soft, while Chu Qin's voice was clear. This exposed her on the spot.
Fortunately, everyone present was an insider.
Hearing Chu Hua's words, the officials of the Hanlin Academy were more certain that the person who whispered the royal secrets in their ears was the fake Chu Qin that the emperor asked them to cover for.
Liu Ziang seemed to be deaf and handed the history book in his hand over: "Brother Chu, take a look at this."
Chu Hua accepted it and looked at it. It turned out to be "Jingshi", or an unofficial history. Why give her this?
The system was also reading: [What is the official revision of unofficial history? ]
Chu Hua: [Who said that the history books in the Hanlin Academy must be written by Hanlin officials? Can’t people buy unofficial history and read it when they are slacking off? System, you should know that there are four great joys in life, wedding night, promotion and wealth, slacking off at work, and getting paid to poo. ]
System: [Wow——]
Hanlin Academy officials: "..."
Royal Guard: "..."
Slacking off? Pooing? What the hell?
Liu Ziang: "...Brother Chu, take your time to read it. There’s no rush, I have others after you finish reading it."
In short, she could read anything, please don't talk about royal secrets in the Hanlin Academy!
Chu Hua watched Liu Ziang leave and flipped open the Jingshi: [Oh, the emperor of the previous dynasty actually had 760 concubines in the harem, one every day for two years, hiss - what kind of bliss is this? ]
The system corrected: [To be precise, it was actually 813. There are also concubines who were not given a status after being favored. ]
Liu Ziang silently noted it down and prepared to find a chance to correct the data.
Chu Hua sighed: [With this number, he would have died of exhaustion if Dasheng didn't rebel. ]
Hanlin Academy official: "..."
Royal Guard: "..."
How can you be so outspoken, little girl? !
An hour later, in the imperial study, the commander of Royal Guard presented today's investigation results.
1. People outside the range of 50 meters cannot hear it. The closer to Chu Hua, the clearer it can be heard;
2. Concubine Wang confessed that she did give birth to a princess and left her in the brothel. Whether the third prince is a remnant of the previous dynasty remains to be verified;
3. The voice in the court came from Chu Hua. There is no need to speak out loud. She can communicate with the system with her mind. No trace of the system has been found yet.
The emperor stared at it for a long time, his face was unreadable.
Just talking about the royal secrets in the court and everyone knew about it, Chu Hua’s head could be chopped off.
However, Chu Ping had worked diligently for more than 20 years and Chu Qin was risking his life to handle a matter for him. It was his idea to dress her up as a man and go to court for her elder brother and the truth that the third prince was suspected to be a remnant of the previous dynasty was discovered. It was not easy to kill her.
More importantly: the treasure of the previous dynasty. There were floods in the south every year and three million taels of disaster relief silver were embezzled. The national treasury had to pay another sum for disaster relief, but there was no money. He had many concubines and children, and he had to give gifts and rewards every year and festival. So his private treasury was really tight.
The treasures of the previous dynasty came at the right time!
After mulling it over and over again and repeated hesitation, the emperor still couldn't help but care about Chu Hua's interest in the number of green hats on his head!
"Summon Chu Ping."
If he didn't have it good, the little girl won't have a good life either! Haha.
When the news of the summons came, Chu Ping left the Ministry of Justice trembling with pity in the eyes of his colleagues who said ‘goodbye’.
As soon as he entered the imperial study, Chu Ping scrambled and crawled to the imperial table: "Your Majesty, my daughter is young and ignorant. Please look upon CHu Family’s loyalty, spare her life. I will definitely lock her up at home and not let her go anywhere!"
"Please stand up, my dear minister." The emperor's face was gentle, without any sign of anger, "She is still a child, I will not hold it against her."
Chu Ping was stunned for a moment. The petty and vengeful emperor didn't settle the account? The sun rose from the west today, right?
Anyway, it was good that nothing happened. He knelt down in a hurry to thank: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"
The emperor smiled and said: "I will not punish her, I will reward her."
Chu Ping:? ! !
Oh no, the emperor was angered silly!
Chapter 2
Relying on the unofficial history, Chu Hua successfully made it to the end of her shift. Eager, she got in her own carriage and happily hugged the soft pillow, "Starting tomorrow, I can sleep until waking up naturally!"
Chu Ping chuckled: "I have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"
Chu Hua: "Let's talk about the good news first."
Chu Ping: "Your elder brother has been promoted to the sixth-rank Hanlin Senior Historiography Compiler."
Chu Hua's face showed a pained expression: "...The bad news is that I have to get up at dawn every day to attend court, right?"
Chu Ping's face was full of praise: "Hua'er is so smart."
"Ah——" Chu Hua burst into tears. It was obviously a bad news and a worse news! This biological father can't be kept anymore!
Hearing the crying coming from the carriage, the royal guard spies disguised as passing civilians wrote down the news and sent it to the palace as quickly as possible.
Before the Chu family's carriage arrived home, the emperor in the imperial study received the news: [Miss Chu was so moved that she burst into tears when she learned that she had to get up early in the morning to attend court every day. ]
Originally dizzy from reviewing memorials, the emperor laughed out loud when he saw this.
Seeing her unhappiness was his happiness! Even such a boring memorial to pay respects could be reviewed twice more hahaha!
As soon as Chu Hua returned home, she ran to Mrs. Wen and cried without changing out of her official uniform, hat, and boots: "Mother, my father harmed me. You have to decide for me!"
Mrs. Wen, who was reading the storybook, was shocked and hurriedly hid the storybook, "Quick, quick, quick."
Attendant Liu and the maid swiftly took away the storybooks, fruits, and preserved fruits on the table, piled up the thick account books into a small mountain, and took out a sandalwood abacus, creating an atmosphere of order in chaos.
When Chu Hua passed through the screen and entered the inner room, she saw Mrs. Wen's delicate face was full of sorrow and her willow-leaf eyebrows slightly frowned. She looked at the thick account books piled on the table with bitterness.
Oops, she forgot that today was the monthly account checking day.
Chu Hua's smile froze, her toes turned slightly, and her tone became lighter, "Mother is busy, I won't bother you."
"Hua'er." Wen waved her hand, "Don't leave in a hurry."
The maids came forward one after another, half hugged and half gathered to take off Chu Hua's official hat, official uniform, and official boots, cleaned her face, rubbed her shoulders, soaked her feet, and peeled grapes and fed her juice.
After the thorough serving, Chu Hua felt comfortable physically and mentally. So how could she leave?
Mrs. Wen smiled and handed the bird's nest to her daughter. Along with it, she pushed the account book to Chu Hua's hand, "Hua'er, you've worked hard, try it. I asked someone to stew it for you early in the morning."
Chu Hua: "..." All right.
After drinking the bird's nest, she checked the accounts, took out white paper and charcoal pencil, used the pencil to draw fewer Arabic numerals instead of characters, and used the debit and credit accounting method to record the accounts on both sides, and quickly went through the accounts of each shop this month.
Seeing that her daughter had sorted out the accounts quickly and well, Mrs. Wen's eyes flashed with pride.
She was not idle either, using an abacus to check whether the final number was consistent with her daughter's calculation.
The mother and daughter each used an abacus and the wooden beads made a crackling sound in the quiet room until they finished checking the accounts for this month.
"Done!" Chu Hua lazily laid on the chaise, enjoying the hand-rubbing, shoulder-kneading, and leg-beating services of the beautiful maids, and casually pulled out a storybook from under the pillow.
"Hey——" Mrs. Wen's face changed slightly, but it was too late to stop it now.
" The Romantic Widow and the Pretty Scholar. When did the new storybook get published? Mother didn't even tell me." Chu Hua muttered. As she quickly flipped through it, she hollered in her heart: [System, come and read it together! ]
System: [Here I come~]
Mrs. Wen: ???
She was very familiar with her daughter's voice, but the other strange voice that sounded like a child? They said they were reading the storybook together, but there was no one in sight?
Mrs. Wen looked at Attendant Liu and other maids who came with her as a dowry and asked: Did you hear it?
Attendant Liu and the maids nodded hesitantly. They also heard it, but they didn't know what was going on.
A maid came: "Madam, Master invite you to go to the front yard."
Mrs. Wen thought something happened in the front yard, so she hurriedly took Attendant Liu with her. Unexpectedly, the first thing Chu Ping said when he saw her was: "Madam, did you hear it just now? The conversation between Hua'er and the system."
Mrs. Wen was stunned: "Master heard it in the front yard too?" Was the sound that loud? Could it be heard that far.
Chu Ping left out the key content of today's court and provided the general idea, "Hua'er is bound to the system. We can't see the system and only hear their conversation within a range of fifty meters. The emperor has ordered everyone to keep it secret, including Hua'er herself. This matter is related to the life and death and future of everyone in the mansion. Madam, you will send away the servant who is not tight-lipped today."
Mrs. Wen knew the importance of the matter and agreed at once. The servant who was not tight-lipped packed up and sent it to the manor overnight. Two young maids in Chu Hua's yard were also sent away.
Chu Hua knew nothing about this. It was too difficult to get up at three in the morning. She couldn't even open her eyes, so how could she notice whether the maids sweeping the yard were there?
She opened her bloodshot, sleepy eyes and was led to the position by Liu Ziang in the cold wind.
Today, many officials asked for leave. The two of them stood a little closer than yesterday, but it was useless. They were still blown by the cold wind outside the palace.
Chu Hua sighed deeply.
She couldn't talk to others openly in a female voice, so she could only complain to the system: [System, I finally know why so many people are trying so hard to get promoted. ]
The officials waiting for the emperor to come answered in their hearts: It’s either money, power, or beauty.
The system was very cooperative: [Why? 】
Chu Hua: [Because they can enter the hall after being promoted and don't have to be blown by the cold wind. It's so cold outside. If I go to court every day in the middle of winter and stand outside every day, I will get cold legs sooner or later. Just for these legs, have to desperately climb up. 】
Officials: "..."
System: [......]
It was quite novel.
Chu Hua was sleepy and cold, stamping her feet on the spot: [It's too cold. I'd better make a mistake and get my elder brother be demoted. 】
An official who was familiar with Chu Ping couldn't help but cast a sympathetic look at Chu Ping: You have a good daughter.
Chu Ping's face turned red from all the gazes. Stop thinking! Stop making pits for your elder brother!
System was shocked: [Are you serious? Making a pit for your own brother? 】
Chu Hua: [If he isn't my own brother, I wouldn't make a pit. ]
Because the eunuch reported that Chu Hua had started, the emperor hurried over and just heard this sentence. He couldn't help but feel pity for Chu Qin.
System: [He will cry.]
Chu Hua yawned: [It's easy to get cocky when you get promoted too quickly.]
System: [With your brother's calm personality, he shouldn't get cocky.]
Chu Hua: [That's because you don't know how much I have contributed to his growth!]
When she said this, the system immediately became excited: [Wait a minute, I'll go dig up some melons about you siblings.]
One minute passed, five minutes passed, and the system didn't come back.
This speed made the officials who were listening and the emperor who was hiding behind the door and eavesdropping anxious.
System, can you do it? !
Ten minutes later, the system came back full of wow: [Wow - you two are really, really... I don't know how to describe it.]
Emperor:? ? ?
Officials:? ? ?
Was this system truant at the age when it should be going to school? It couldn't even use an accurate adjective. Go back and learn again!
System: [Elder Sis Hua! When you were seven years old, you could actually cheat all the private money from Chu Qin, who was fourteen years old! I'll call you Elder Sis first for respect! ]
Then it muttered in a low voice: [I really want Chu Qin to download an anti-fraud APP. ]
The emperor and the officials were stunned by this old melon and immediately urged in their hearts: Hurry up! Say more!
Chu Hua didn't care: [I was using my own experience to tell him that scammers are everywhere and even relatives can't be trusted 100%. Once it comes to money, one have to be extra careful. ]
[Besides, I gave him a shop two years later, so that he doesn't have to do anything, just lie down and collect money every day. The private money that sits around won't make money on its own. ]
Emperor: "..."
Officials: "..."
Jealous face twisted!
They also want this kind of cheating sister who will give away shops and money!
System: [But you immediately cheated him of the private money he had accumulated with great difficulty in the past two years. ]
Emperor: "..."
Officials: "..."
Instantly changed from jealousy to speechlessness: Chu Hua, do you have a grudge with your elder brother's private money? !
Chu Hua: [System ah, you must not have seen that a group of thieves and bandits on the road from the capital to Songshan Academy that year. My brother was the only student who was not robbed, right? ]
The system shouted to wait and went to eat melons, exclaiming repeatedly: [Hiss, Elder Sis! You are so awesome, Elder Sis Hua! No wonder when I first came to Dasheng, I used melon energy to search for the most suitable binding object in Dasheng and you were the one! You are simply covered with melons. If I’m bound to you, I will never lack melon energy again! ]
[Wait, getting off topic. How did you know that there were thieves and bandits on the road who wanted to rob? 】
Officials and the emperor also wanted to know. Some even thought: It couldn’t be that those bandits are connected to Chu Hua, right? Otherwise, there was no reason to not rob Chu Qin alone. But Chu Hua should not be stupid enough to leave such an obvious loophole.
Before they continued to think, they heard Chu Hua sighing: [That year, the whole Dasheng Dynasty suffered from drought in the west, floods in the south, and snow disasters in the north. Natural disasters occurred frequently and the court did not provide disaster relief in time. There must be people who are forced to become bandits in order to live. 】
[Putting it nicely, the location of Songshan Academy is accompanied by the breeze and the bright moon, but honestly, it is a place where chickens don’t lay eggs and birds don’t poop. It is also a place where a group of weak scholars who can’t lift anything gather. Isn’t this a group of fat sheep waiting to be slaughtered? If they don’t target them, then it’s doing injustice to the favorable time, favorable place and favorable people. 】
Emperor:? ? ?
Officials: “…”
Was this how the favorable time, favorable place and favorable people are used? You also go back to study again!
Chu Hua: [I opened a grocery store at the foot of Songshan Academy. He can just go and get whatever he wants. What's wrong with going on the road without money? It’s a perfect chance for him to experience the life of being robbed. Look, didn't he take the initiative to learn martial arts later? No longer out of breath from carrying two loads of water. How great. ]
Chu Ping was numb when he received the gazes from his colleagues.
If his daughter hadn't exposed it today, he really didn't know that she had contributed so much!
After these two times, the system learned its lesson and didn't make random conclusions: [What is the demotion for? ]
[Oh, that's...]
The emperor and the officials were eating melons enthusiastically when they heard Chu Hua change the subject: [Huh? Why hasn't the emperor come yet? ]
Oh no! He forgot the time while eating melons!
The emperor hurriedly arranged his dragon robe and crown, preparing to appear majestically. Chen Jiu, the personal eunuch who was also immersed in eating melons, came back to his senses and cleared his throat, "The emperor has arrived--"
"Long live the emperor!"
"All the ministers stand up."
The officials began to discuss state affairs.
Chu Hua was closer than yesterday and heard more clearly. The Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Revenue, and the Ministry of Rites reported back and forth, and the focus of the topic was only one point: crying poor.
The childish voice of the system was full of disgust: [This emperor is so poor. ]
The emperor's face turned green.
Did it know how to speak? ! Was it him who was poor? The national treasury was poor!
The national treasury was poor because of natural disasters and officials' corruption. What did it have to do with him?
He spent money with his private treasury. What did the national treasury have to do with him? !
The officials looked up quietly, "..."
Oh no, the emperor's face turned so green that even the crown could not cover it!
Chapter 3
The three ministers of the Ministry of Works, Ministry of Revenue, and Ministry of Rites successively reported to the emperor and cried poor, which had both realistic and subjective reasons.
Realistically speaking: the biggest source of income for the national treasury was the court's monopoly business, such as official salt and official iron, as well as various tax items such as land tax, head tax, and commercial tax. The income wasn’t small.
In recent years, due to natural disasters and wars, the national treasury hadn’t had much surplus. In addition, this year's disaster relief and corruption have cost more than 6 million taels, suddenly stretching things a bit.
Subjectively speaking: they wanted to arouse the curiosity of Chu Hua and the system by crying poor. Through one-on-one conversation, they would learn the clues of the treasure of the previous dynasty and dig it out as soon as possible to fill the national treasury.
Unexpectedly, despite their discussion and preparation, the system did not follow their planned path.
Chu Hua: [The poverty of the national treasury is well known, let's not talk about it for now.]
Emperor: ? ? ?
Officials: ? ? ?
Why, why didn't she talk about it for now? !
Some impatient civil officials and military officers could not help but speak up to turn the topic back.
Just then, they heard Chu Hua's curious question: [There is no money in the emperor's private treasury? ]
Officials: Hmm? ? ?
It didn't seem so urgent, she could take her time.
The emperor sat on the high platform, taking in the expressions and small movements of the civil and military officials below, especially their anxiety when they heard "let's not talk about it for now", and their interest when they heard "There is no money in the private treasury".
These were the loyal ministers of the Dasheng Dynasty! Each of them wanted to see his joke!
The system did not reply immediately, obviously running to dig melons to eat.
Chu Hua wasn’t in a hurry either. Attending court sessions was so boring, so wait then.
The emperor was not sure how powerful the system was. He wanted to test the system's ability through this incident, but he was afraid that Chu Hua and the system would make the fact that he had no money in his private treasury known to everyone.
"Does anyone have any suggestions for the poor national treasury?"
Despite the risk of everyone knowing that the ‘emperor is poor’, he wanted to turn the topic back!
The treasury only had a few fixed sources of income, and the ministers could only find ways from the existing ones.
Someone suggested: "Increase the issuance of salt permits."
Dasheng's salt was a monopoly of the court, which was commonly known as official salt. When the court was short of money, it would issue more salt permits. Salt merchants buy salt permits and then use the salt permits to go to the salt field to get salt and sell it. This was a relatively conventional and fixed method.
Because they were familiar with it and knew the exact income that the additional salt permits could bring and the current situation of the treasury, many officials agree and echo it.
"I agree."
"I second the motion."
"No!" The Vice Minister of Revenue objected, "We just issued more four years ago. How much more are you going to issue? Do you think those salt merchants are idiots?"
The system heard this after eating the melon. Seeing the Vice Minister of Revenue's face flushed and he was close to madness, others didn't dare to refute their opinions.
[Elder Sis Hua, what's wrong? ]
Chu Hua: [It's about the year when my brother was not robbed. ]
System: [Yeah, what happened later? ]
Chu Hua: [Can't you eat melons yourself? ]
System: [Searching requires melon energy. Since I can eat ready-made ones, why should I spend melon energy again? ]
Chu Hua: "..." You make a lot of sense.
The Vice Minister of Revenue, who was originally angry, was stunned when he heard the words. It turned out that the system didn't know everything.
The officials had their own thoughts. In this case, they had many loopholes to exploit.
Chu Hua explained: [That year, before the New Year was over, we received news of the snowstorm in the north. The national treasury allocated funds for disaster relief and organized subsequent reconstruction work. Just when they could take a breather, heavy rains came and caused floods. The national treasury allocated funds for disaster relief, rebuilding homes, and building dams. The weather was getting hotter and hotter, there were droughts here and typhoons there. Didn't this mean money had to be spent again? ]
The system gasped: [No matter how much money there is, it can't be spent like this. ]
The emperor and the officials nodded silently, that's right!
No matter how wise and powerful the emperor was and no matter how good the ministers were at saving money, they couldn't help seeking money everywhere and had so many ways to spend it.
Chu Hua continued: [The weather was so extreme that many people have lost their lives. Who could have the mind for farming? There were droughts and floods. Grain could not be harvested and land tax and head tax had to be paid. In order to avoid the tragedy of people exchanging their children for food, Dasheng looked at the treasury that could not squeeze out a penny and could only pinch their nose to issue 5 million salt permits. Note that this was an increase, meaning it was an increase on the original basis. 】
【One salt permit is 200 kilograms of salt. This time, a full 100 million kilograms of salt were issued. Dasheng's salt fields can only produce 200 million kilograms of salt a year, which is equivalent to selling the salt for the next five years in advance. Salt merchants buy salt permits to do business. Who wants to spend money and wait so long? 】
【In order to sell so many salt permits, they used all possible strategies. Although they saved countless civilians, they also tried to find large salt merchants with abundant assets to reduce the impact. However, 100 million kilograms of salt was too much. Large salt merchants have their own sources of information and are unwilling to buy so much. Many small salt merchants came to buy, and later their families were broken up due to various factors. 】
The emperor and all officials were silent. Some of them didn't expect that Chu Hua, a girl in the boudoir, knew so much about the affairs of the court. Some felt that Chu Hua's words were clear and concise. Some military commanders who were not very smart even showed an expression of "So the Vice Minister of Revenue was angry about this" after listening.
The system sighed: [They are trying to save more people and have done their best.]
The whole court was silent for so long. With no one speaking, Chu Hua and the system might notice something was wrong.
The officials looked at each other and someone suggested: "Increase the tea permit."
Chu Hua: [Changing sheep.]
Emperor: "..."
Officials: "..."
Ahem, what are you talking about!
Next, the officials discussed how to increase the tea permit.
Back then, it was a helpless move to issue so much at once and they were still trying to clean up the mess of the move four years ago. Currently, the treasury was not yet at the point of exhaustion, so they have to take it slowly and carefully.
They want the treasures of the previous dynasty mentioned by the system, but they couldn't pin all their hopes on them. What if the treasures were small? What if it was difficult to dig? What if someone dug it up?
Chu Hua yawned while listening, [System, re-energize me. ]
System: [Okay! ]
One person and one system was so immersed with eating melons that they didn't notice that the ministers who were discussing lowered their voices, and the emperor on the high platform moved his butt uncomfortably.
The system deliberately used UC broadcast sound: [Shocked! The current emperor is poorer than the Minister of Revenue! Is this a distortion of human nature or a loss of morality? ! ]
Emperor: ? ? ?
What? He was richer than him?
Initially, the Minister of Revenue was delighted about eating the emperor's melon, but out of the blue, he was eating his own and was immediately in a state of fire and ice.
It was okay! He told himself that the system had only disappeared for a while and would not find out all the things he hid outside.
Chu Hua immediately became alert: [Didn't you go to the emperor's private treasury? Why did you go to the Minister of Revenue? ]
System: [I dug the melon from the emperor's private treasury, which has a specific direction. You can see how much stuff there is. But there is no specific concept of whether he was poor or rich in the Dasheng Dynasty. Afterward, I came back and wanted to ask you who to compare with. ]
[After coming back, I saw the Vice Minister of Revenue so agitated? So I went to check on him. My gosh, he is so poor that he wore his underwear from the front to the back. Despite the few holes in it, he didn't throw it away. I went to check on his boss out of curiosity and discover his greed. ]
Emperor: "..."
Officials: "..."
There was really no need. Really no need! How about giving the Vice Minister of Revenue two pairs of underwear as a friendship gift after leaving the court?
The old face of the Vice Minister of Revenue was red with shame. He felt that all his colleagues were looking through his official uniform to see if his underwear was worn inside out and how many holes there were. His lower body felt chills.
Chu Hua: [Very greedy? ]
System: [Too greedy! There is a hot spring villa outside the capital. The whole wall in the study is full of gold. In addition, there is a garden in the south of the Yangtze River. People sent gold, jade, antiques, calligraphy and paintings. Two million taels isn’t even enough to cover all these things. ]
In an instant, the eyes of the emperor and the Vice Minister of Revenue lit up. The monarch and his minister had a tacit understanding: Seize it! With these two million, the treasury could issue a lot less tea permits.
When he heard that the system knew so much, the Minister of Revenue's face turned whiter than the wall. His legs softened and he was about to kneel down to beg for mercy, but was forcibly held up by his colleagues on both sides.
Then, the emperor's threatening eyes arrived.
If he dared to slip up in the court and be discovered by Chu Hua and the system, his death was certain!
Outside the palace, there was a royal guard stuck within 50 meters of Chu Hua, listening and recording the conversation between one person and one system.
Hearing this, the royal guard commander quickly assigned people.
Dozens of royal guards rode out and rushed to the hot spring manor outside the capital.
Whether the third prince was a remnant of the previous dynasty and where he had colluded with the general of the previous dynasty had not yet been proven. However, this whole wall of gold could immediately confirm whether everything the system said was correct.
An hour later, the royal guard submitted the list of items seized from the hot spring manor to the imperial study.
The emperor also had a detailed list in his hand.
He took this list and compared it with the list of what the royal guards seized. Most of them matched.
The reason why it was complete was because Chu Hua felt bored with the court session and wanted to know how many good things the Minister of Revenue had and asked the system to report it bit by bit. It also had the function of identifying whether calligraphy and paintings were authentic, which was quite useful.
Emperor: "Lin You."
Royal Guard Commander Lin You: "Subordinate is here."
Emperor: "Seize it all."
The next day, Chu Hua followed her father to court and found that most of the officials passing by were upbeat.
How could they not be?
The property of the Minister of Revenue was seized overnight. That was two million taels and the national treasury was immediately full. They finally had a good sleep.
Only the Vice Minister of Revenue looked at Chu Hua with a little resentment and a bit of not knowing whether to laugh or cry.
His integrity was provened together with the huge corruption of the Minister of Revenue. His reputation was good, but... everyone knew that he was so honest that his underwear had holes to the point he wore it backwards!
Chu Hua:?
[System, why does the Vice Minister of Revenue look at me like this? ]
The Vice Minister of Revenue: !!!
Other officials: !!!
Oh no! Now it was exposed!
The Vice Minister of Revenue was extremely anxious. If this matter was exposed due to him, it was unknown how much damage it would cause to Dasheng.
The system laughed: [He’s probably not looking at you, but at the person behind you. Yesterday, the Vice Minister of Revenue was in a hurry to go to the toilet and the small door of the toilet was not closed properly. This person pushed it open and happened to see the Vice Minister of Revenue’s underwear was worn inside out and had a few holes. Then everyone in the Ministry of Revenue knew about it! ]
Chu Hua: [Hahahaha...]
System: [Hahahaha...]
One person and one system laughed wildly, while all the officials felt relieved amidst their amusement.
Although it was not very nice, they were indeed curious whether the Vice Minister of Revenue’s underwear was really ... ahem, comradeship, comradeship.
Still, it was truly hilarious hahaha!
The Vice Minister of Revenue: “…” So, I was the only one hurt?
Chapter 4
As Chu Hua walked, she asked: [System ah, how come the melon from the Vice Minister of Revenue come so quickly just now? ]
The Vice Minister of Revenue’s steps halted. Why was he still dragged in?
However... he and other officials pondered about it and felt that there was definitely something strange.
According to the usual style of the system, they would need to wait for a while for it to find the melon and read it before talking about it. However, earlier, based on the speed of replying in seconds, it was simply like talking about a melon that had already been eaten.
No way? All the officials had strange expressions.
System: [Yesterday, the Vice Minister of Revenue's performance in the court was simply pointing at other people's noses and scolding them as idiots. With such a tough attitude, I thought he might be framed, poisoned, or assassinated after returning, so I subscribed for melon. ]
All the officials were confused and felt that their IQ was looked down on.
What misunderstanding did the system have about them? Framed? Poisoned? Assassinated? Kill him on the same day after a few words by the Vice Minister of Revenue was seeking death faster, no? Did it treat the royal guard who monitors all officials as air?
Royal guards: "..." I have something to say but I can't, I feel frustrated.
Chu Hua only found this novel: [You can subscribe for melons? ]
System: [Hehe, this is the advanced feature of our gossip system. Quite unique, no other system has it. ]
After self praising, he colloquially spoke: [It's just like reading a novel. If you see a novel that piques your interest, you can subscribe to it so that you can see the update as soon as possible. Of course, this also requires melon energy, so I won't use it unless I am very interested or sure there is melon. ]
Chu Hua: [Every function of your system requires melon energy to use. A bit pricey. ]
System almost sobbed: [Isn't that right? Even my daily startup and standby require melon energy. If it’s modern times, I can use the wireless network. In ancient times, I have to use melon energy to build a network myself, otherwise it will inconvenient to eat melons. You don't know how much melon energy I spend in a day. 】
【It's because I feel bad about spending so much energy, I will take the initiative to enter the low-energy mode when you don't look for me; trying to spend as little energy as possible and use every bit of energy to the best effect. 】
Hundred officials: This system has many limitations.
Chu Hua didn't know if the system deliberately chose a child's voice, but for her, her heart softened a little when she heard the pitiful cry of a slightly milky voice.
【Then if you are running out of energy, come to me. I have a lot of ready-made melons. Can such melons replenish energy? 】
The system was very excited: [Yes, yes! Elder Sis Hua, you are so good to me! I want to follow you all my life! 】
Hundred official's ears moved slightly. What ready-made melons? The emperor hadn't come yet, could she tell them about it?
The emperor who hurried over: "..."
He missed the live version and could only read the paper version recorded by the eunuchs, invoking some slight regret.
Due to the extra two million in the treasury from seizing a corrupt official and obtaining a new usage for Chu Hua and the system, he was in a good mood last night and fooled around with the concubines. Unexpectedly, he didn't get up on time in the morning and missed it.
He was only 42 years old. To admit that he was old now? He was unwilling to accept it.
[Actually...] The system rubbed its hands, [I don't lack melon energy now, but can Elder Sis Hua make one for me? ]
If it weren't for the fear of being discovered, the emperor and all the officials would have applauded the system.
Chu Hua thought for a while: [Let me tell you a melon about my elder brother. ]
Chu Ping instantly raised his head. His face was miserable: Why did she make a pit for elder brother again?
System: [I have almost eaten all the melons about you and Chu Qin and can compile it into a book "The Blood and Tears History of Chu Qin Being Tricked in Those Years". ]
It had reached the level of a blood and tears history? The emperor and all the officials took a breath of cold air.
Soon, they remembered that although Chu Qin was cheated of his private money, he got a shop given by his younger sister. He didn't have to worry about anything and could just sit and wait to collect money. His younger sister opened a grocery store at Songshan Academy for him...
If it was all this blood and tears, they would want it too!
Chu Hua said indifferently: [I have more than one elder brother. ]
System: [Okay, I have a premonition of the arrival of the big melon, slurp! Sit in the front row and wait for the melon! ]
The emperor and officials learned and applied it on the spot: Sit in the front row and wait for the melon!
Chu Hua's tone became even lighter, as if talking about a stranger’s matter: [My second elder brother, Chu Qi is born to a yiniang. This yiniang promoted by Paternal Grandmother and is the niece of Paternal Grandmother's younger sister. My mother is kind, has a generous dowry, and is good at business. She doesn't care about that. On most days, she is filial to her parents-in-law and manages the Chu hosuehold. She never treats concubines and illegitimate children harshly. In her words: Things that can be solved with money are not headache. 】
Chu Ping was full of questions: Are you sure this melon belongs to your second elder brother, not your father, me?
Chu Hua continued: [Now that the background is done, let's talk about the person. Do you remember that when I was seven years old, I cheated my brother of all his private money? In fact, I also cheated Chu Qi at that time. Guess what? 】
System: [What? 】
The emperor and all the officials opened their mouths silently: What?
Chu Hua sneered: [Chu Qi agreed in person, gave me a jade rabbit, and said that he would go back to collect the silver and give it to me the next day. Then that night, he went to Grandmother with yiniang to complain, saying that I stole his favorite jade rabbit. Paternal Grandmother didn't even ask, convicted me, and forced me to kneel in the ancestral hall. 】
[My mother tried every means to dissuade it and fin the end, she returned the jade rabbit that Chu Qi gave me back to him, compensated him with a better jade rabbit, compensated yiniang with a white jade bracelet, and compensated the jade Guanyin in the room to Paternal Grandmother. 】
Hearing this, the emperor and all the officials’s fists hardened.
Many of them had played the trick of saying one thing in front of others and doing another behind their backs. It was normal for officials to cheat and dig holes for each other, but what was their age and their experience and their motive? And what was Chu Qi's intention?
It was normal for people to have schemes and calculations. Chu Hua did that to test her two elder brothers. And she really got a big melon out of it.
And Chu Qi...
If he didn't want to, couldn't he just refuse? Chu Hua wouldn't steal his money.
First agree to it, use the deposit to appease Chu Hua, then turn the tables, use the deposit as dirty evidence, use filial piety to pressure Chu Hua, and force Chu Hua to kneel in the ancestral hall. If Chu Hua's mother hadn't made a prompt decision to use money to settle it, who knew what would happen to the seven-year-old Chu Hua.
Chu Ping opened his mouth. He didn't know about this. Mrs. Wen had never told him.
For the first time, he realized that he didn't seem to know his wife, son, and daughter very well. Even his mother and concubine seemed to say one thing in front of him and do another behind his back. They kept it from him.
The system was fuming mad. Such a system that was so stingy with melon energy actually used melon energy to create the special effect of throwing rotten tomatoes and rotten vegetable leaves.
[Elder Sis Hua, you didn't let this go, right? ]
[Of course. ] Chu Hua smiled, [Two years later, I gave my elder brother a shop. Paternal Grandmother asked me why Chu Qi didn't have one? Guess what I said? ]
The system guessed: [You told her about what happened two years ago? ]
The emperor rubbed his chin: With this girl's personality, it must not be that simple.
Chu Hua shook her head: [I said: What poo eating are you thinking about? ! ]
System: [Oh! ]
Emperor and officials: Oh!
It was a bit unfilial, but have to say: It's satisfying!
More!
The system asked: [Then what? Then what? 】
Chu Hua: [Furious, she wanted to hit me and told me to kneel in the ancestral hall. That day, I stopped the monthly allowances of yiniang, Chu Qi, and concubine’s illegitimate daughter. In the past years, my mother gave them too many things, so that none of them knew what propriety was. So I taught them a lesson. The concubines and illegitimate can keep what they should have, and those that need not be given should be taken back. If it can't be taken back, the monthly allowances will be stopped until they are paid back. 】
System: [Wow! Anything else? 】
Emperor and hundred officials: Wow! Keep going! Hurry up!
Chu Hua touched her throat. Although she was talking in her mind, she always had the illusion that her mouth was dry from talking too much.
【Later, I asked my mother and my brother to use money to do business. Every penny earned belongs to the three of us. Everything the other took from the shop was deducted from the monthly allowance. If they took too much and refused to pay it back, I got someone to report to the Shuntian Prefecture. Before they could even leave the house, they were arrested. Who told Chu Qi to take the imperial examination and worry about his reputation? Ha, want to take advantage of me? Dream on! 】
The emperor was so delighted that he slapped his thigh.
This stingy, vengeful, and vindictive look was so much like him! He liked it!
It was a pity that she was a girl, otherwise he would definitely give her an official position. Wait, wasn't she now taking her elder brother's position? With such a personality that didn't suffer any loss and such ability to make money, wasn't it a pity not to go to the Ministry of Revenue?
The emperor's little thoughts were suppressed by himself as soon as they came up.
She was just promoted to the sixth rank the day before yesterday and couldn't be promoted again in a short time. The court was not his one-man show and if it turned bad, the censors might hit the pillars.
It was just that the emperor hid behind the door and didn't notice that the censors in the court were eating melons enthusiastically. In order to hear more clearly, the two old censors with poor hearing exchanged seats with others a little further back.
The system was quite satisfied with the melon. [Elder Sis Hua, your gossip is too brief. I need to check the details. Call me if you need anything.]
Chu Hua: [Go ahead. I am tired too. Let me sleep for a while.]
Emperor: "..."
Officials: "..."
She took a nap the day before yesterday, and was sleeping today? One day wouldn’t she just lie down? !
Too much! Too much!
Chu Hua didn't mean it. She never got up at three in the morning for three consecutive days.
Unfortunately, these days were the days for account checking. The monthly and quarterly accounts had to be reconciled. She had to continue working after leaving the court. She couldn't move the account book to the Hanlin Academy, right?
After waking up, she followed Liu Ziang back to the Hanlin Academy and immediately read the unofficial history with great energy.
Officials of the Hanlin Academy: "..."
The peeking royal guard: "..."
Chu Hua: [System, come quickly! 】
System: [Coming! 】
Chu Hua: [It is said here that the last emperor of the previous dynasty particularly liked to have fun with two women at night. Is it true? 】
The system searched and came back with a wow: [Wow - the ancients actually played so creatively? It's really eye-opening! 】
The officials of the Hanlin Academy and the royal guards quietly listened, how was it creative? How was it eye-opening? Tell them more!
Chu Hua coughed and said earnestly: [System ah, if you have good things, you should share them with good friends. You can't eat them all by yourself. This is not good. Look, I have a big melon myself, didn't I tell you? 】
The officials of the Hanlin Academy and the royal guards: That's right!
The system was in a dilemma: [It's not that I don't want to say it, but our melon-eating system has a minor protection setting. This kind of pornographic content will be blocked. 】
Chu Hua: "..."
Hanlin Academy officials and royal guards: "..."
Wait, though Chu Hua was not an adult, they were adults.
Everyone's eyes flickered, not knowing how to remind the system to continue; Chu Hua couldn't listen, but there were still many adults who could listen.
Chu Hua was not sure what the standard of underage was, whether it counted the previous life.
[Try to say a few words.]
System: [The last emperor of the previous dynasty ordered people to build an open-air white jade pool, poured more than 200 jars of precious wine into the pool, summoned the 30 most beautiful concubines in the harem at that time, roasted venison and beef on the spot, and made a real wine pool and meat forest, and then they beeped—, then beeped—, and then followed by beeped—]
Chu Hua was annoyed by the beeping: [I can't hear it, don't say it.]
System: [Okay.]
Adults who were listening with relish:? ? !
Damn it! Halfway through the yellow content, there was no more paper! ! !
Chapter 5
The conversation record in the Hanlin Academy was quickly sent to the Imperial Study.
Thinking that there were new melons to eat, the emperor put down the memorial that was giving him a headache.
Initially he wanted to eat some melon to relax, but ended up with the little girl and the system touching yellow content and they stopped halfway.
The emperor: "..."
What was the difference between this and the feeling of having to run for an emergency outside with his pants up when he was halfway through a happy thing with his beloved concubine?
Overboard! Simply too overboard!
No, he couldn't have it frustrating all by himself!
The emperor handed the record to his personal eunuch: "Chen Jiu, pass it on."
The first to receive the record were the first-rank officials of the Dasheng Dynasty, such as the Grand Mentor, Grand Preceptor, and Imperial Clan Director.
These people thought that the documents sent by the emperor's confidant Chen Jiu must be very important and opened them with a solemn face, "..."
Yellow content in broad daylight!
They didn't expect him to be such an emperor!
Though they angrily condemned it in their heart, their eyes honestly kept going. Then they abruptly discovered there was no more.
Yes, the yellow content disappeared halfway.
The reason was: Chu Hua was underage and since she couldn't hear it yellow content, she stopped listening. The half they read was what the adult royal guards heard and recorded.
The first-rank officials: "..."
Not let the royal guards write yellow content? They recorded everything they heard word for word, how dedicated!
Let the royal guards write? They were halfway through listening and were itching to see how the last emperor of the previous dynasty did it with thirty beauties in the wine pool and meat forest. Their interest reached the highest point when suddenly there was no follow-up.
Being left hanging and not being able to go up or down simply felt too aggrieved. For the first time, they understood the emperor's intention without much guesswork: since I am frustrated, why should you feel well?
The emperor was as petty and mean as ever, making them suffer.
The main first-rank officials sighed secretly and then passed the yellow content documents to the first rank officials in a serious manner.
They felt frustrated, so why should others feel good?
First-rank officials: "..."
As soon as they saw the yellow content documents, they knew the sinister intentions of these people, and then passed them to the main second-rank officials with a serious face.
Main second-rank officials: "..."
The documents were passed from one to ten, and from ten to a hundred, and the number of victims gradually increased.
In the end, no one escaped:)
Including Chu Ping.
Because he was Chu Hua's biological father, he was ‘cared for’ by his colleagues in the Ministry of Justice in turn. He was forced to read the same document a few times, and the key parts were deeply remembered.
Chu Ping: "..."
When he closed the document and handed it to other colleagues who had not yet been victimized, he was still thinking: How did the emperor's pettiness and bad intentions suddenly spread so widely?
Not long after, the emperor, who was working in the imperial study, learned from the commander of the royal guard that all the civil and military officials, including those who had asked for leave at home, had not escaped. He was so delighted that he completely gave up the image burden of being an emperor.
"Hahaha - letting Chu Hua attend the court for her elder brother is really the wisest decision in my life!"
Personal eunuch Chen Jiu: "..."
Royal guard commander: "..."
Your Majesty, are you not going to struggle anymore? This is not something to be proud of.
Irked, the emperor said: "Those old-fashioned people always say this and that to me, especially the imperial censors who rely on their age and the fact that they were the team left to me by the previous emperor and always threaten me by hitting the pillar."
"In order to prevent others from catching their weakness, they simply dragged the entire court into the water and made everyone go along with the flow and tacitly shut up. Have they never thought about who would grasp the weakness in the end? Do they dare to say that I told them to pass it on? Haha."
Personal eunuch Chen Jiu: "..."
Royal guard commander: "..."
They really didn’t dare.
Which ministers would dare to slander the monarch?
Besides, the emperor only shared the conversation between Chu Hua and the system with the ministers.
More than 50 meters away, they could not hear the conversations of one person. It was the hidden royal guard spies would eavesdrop, record and pass to the imperial study. Then the emperor passed it on after reading it.
They had to read even the daily chats, fearing that they might accidentally miss some useful information, and today was no exception.
It was still the emperor who was insidious. The two sighed silently.
When the emperor was in a good mood, he wanted to reward people. This was his habit for many years.
Before he opened his mouth, his shrinking private treasury flicked through his mind. The private treasury that couldn’t compare to the Minister of Revenue’s. The private treasury that all the civil and military officials knew was already very poor... The emperor’s smile withdrew; forget it, better be frugal.
*
Today, Chu Hua relied on unofficial history to get through the difficult shift time.
After returning home, she enjoyed the service of the beautiful maids, drank a bowl of bird's nest, and then got up to flip through the account book. While checking the accounts, she told herself: It's almost time, just get through these few days.
Only by constantly painting cakes for herself could she endure the boring daily reconciliation.
In the main courtyard not far away. On a rare occasion, Chu Ping did not go to the study after leaving the court, but instead came to Mrs. Wen. Mrs. Wen served her husband tenderly and attentively.
She had a very beautiful face. Despite her son Chu Qin being 20 years old, she still looked like a girl in her early 20s. When she went out with Chu Hua, people would believe that they were sisters.
Every time Chu Ping saw Mrs. Wen, he could not help but feel a little anxious about her appearance. He always felt that it was a bit of a waste to match such a beautiful and good lady with himself who was ordinary in talent and appearance.
Ahem, not really.
He worked hard to be promoted to the director of the Ministry of Justice and was already a fifth-rank official!
Chu Ping warned himself in his heart. After taking off his official uniform, official hat and official boots and changing into ordinary clothes, he waved his hand.
This was a signal to have a private conversation with his wife.
The attendant and maids in the room left tactfully and closed the door when they left.
Chu Ping took Mrs. Wen's hand and sat down on the bed. The bed was a very private object. The couple often made love on the bed and the words they talked on the bed were not so serious. Seeing that Chu Ping looked normal, Mrs. Wen listened quietly.
Chu Ping repeated the conversation between Chu Hua and the system in the court today. Mrs. Wen raised her eyebrows slightly and continued to listen without any expression.
After saying this, Chu Ping asked: "Why didn't Wanwan tell me?"
Mrs. Wen's given name was Wan. Her parents and friends call her Wan'er, but only Chu Ping called her Wanwan.
Mrs. Wen showed a gentle smile that was just right: "Wanwan doesn't understand politics and knows that it's not easy to be an official and can't share the worries of Husband in politics. I can only prevent Husband from suffering from the trivial matters in the inner courtyard. Since I can handle it, why bother Husband?"
Men were responsible for the outside and women were responsible for the inside. This had been the norm since ancient times. The residences of other officials were no exception. Few mistresses would bother their husbands with the inner courtyard.
The couple divided the work and cooperated to improve efficiency, but they also became estranged.
In the past, Chu Ping saw that everyone did this and never thought there was anything wrong.
But today, in the court, he heard Chu Hua say in such a cold tone that she was slandered by Second Elder Brother and bullied by his grandmother in her childhood. When compared Chu Qin and Mrs. Wen's protective behavior, his heart was as suffocated as if it was blocked by yellow mud.
"Did you know that the jade rabbit was given to Hua'er by Qi'er?"
Mrs. Wen: "I knew."
Chu Ping: "Have you explained it to Mother?"
Mrs. Wen smiled but did not say anything. At the sight of Chu Ping being persistent for an answer, she could only answer honestly. It was just her smile that became even bigger.
"People's hearts are biased. Mother doesn't like me who comes from a merchant family, nor does she like Qin'er and Hua'er born to me. The truth is not important, as long as this matter can be resolved."
Fortunately, old Madam Chu and Concubine have the same understanding as her, so they have never made a fuss in front of Chu Ping and have maintained peace for so many years.
Chu Ping mentally repeated ‘The truth is not important’ and his heart became even more oppressed.
"Similar things have happened more than once, right."
Hearing the affirmative tone of this sentence, Mrs. Wen knew that she didn't need to answer. Chu Ping knew it in her heart, so she really didn't answer.
Chu Ping remembered Chu Hua's words ‘Things that can be solved with money are not headache’ and this sentence from Mrs. Wen's mouth. It goes to show that Chu Hua had inherited the true teachings of her mother.
The only difference was: Mrs. Wen didn't care about money, while Chu Hua didn't really care either, but she was a little stingy and vindictive.
Chu Ping couldn't imagine how much his wife had been wronged when he didn't know about it. He hugged Mrs. Wen and said, "Wanwan has been aggrieved."
The gentle smile on Mrs. Wen's face, like a mask, slowly fell.
Before marrying into the Chu Family, her mother told her: You are a merchant's daughter, merchant's daughters are different from scholar's daughters. Since the Chu Family married you for money and Chu Family's madam is narrow-minded and nepotistic, you will definitely suffer some grievances once you marry in. Fortunately, Chu Ping is a man who knows what to do. You should keep him and live a good life. Money is something that you can't bring with you when you die. So don't worry too much about things that can be solved with money.
After marrying into the Chu Family, Mrs. Wen always kept her mother's teachings in mind. Even when she wasn’t pregnant for half a year after marriage and wanted Chu Ping to bring in a concubine and told her to make things more lively, she didn't say anything and did everything she was told.
At that time, Chu Ping hugged her and said, ‘Wanwan has been aggrieved’. He said it again today.
Mrs. Wen did not raise her head: "My husband knows now. Do you want to settle accounts later?"
"What accounts?" Chu Ping was surprised, "Giving more is your kindness, and taking it back is normal. You only give them the monthly allowances of concubines and illegitimate sons and daughters. No one can pick fault with you for it."
This was why Mrs. Wen was willing to marry Chu Ping and gave more money to maintain peace in the inner court: compared with some men who have concubines before marriage or even sleep with courtesans and spoil their concubines, Chu Ping was more normal.
"What about Hua'er and Mother..."
When it came to this, Chu Ping instantly had a headache.
In the past, the whole family tried their best to whitewash the peace in front of him. In the past, he was curious about the fact that his mother went to the other courtyard and the temple more frequently and assumed that his mother was a devout Buddhist. Who knew that the real reason might be that she didn't want to see Chu Hua?
Although Dasheng did not rule the country with filial piety and there was the fault of his mother's partiality and favoritism, which granddaughter would say to her grandmother ‘What poo eating are you thinking about’? This matter had probably reached the ears of all officials and their wives. What to do with Chu Hua’s future marriage?
Having a headache, Chu Ping fell on the bed with Mrs. Wen in his arms, "Let's just leave it like this."
He had never managed the inner court before, so he would not interfere in the future. It would be good for the family to maintain the status quo.
In other words: do nothing.
Mrs. Wen was slightly stunned. There was a more sincere smile in her eyes.
That night, after that communication, the two people who were closer to each other messed around and naturally got up late.
Chu Hua waited in the carriage for a long time but didn't see her father’s arrival. Seeing that they would be late if they didn't leave, she had to let the carriage take her there first.
Chu Ping, who got up late, hurried over, but still didn't catch up. Fortunately, the servants prepared a second carriage.
He went late and moved together with other officials' carriages, the travel went even slower. Before he could exchange many words with his colleagues, it was time for the court session and he had to hurry to his position.
Chu Hua didn't mind. They were all lowly workers. Who hadn't been late for work sometimes?
[System, do you have any melons? ]
The emperor and all the officials were immediately energized. The cold autumn morning was the best time to eat freshly baked hot melons!
System: [Yes, yes, I forgot to cancel my subscription to the melons from the Vice Minister of Revenue yesterday. ]
Vice Minister of Revenue:? ! !
Why me again? System, don't just grab the wool of one sheep! You have to learn to treat everyone equally!
System: [Yesterday, many officials gave gifts to the Vice Minister of Revenue after leaving the court. His wife was quite excited. She thought that he had finally changed his bad temper and got along well with his colleagues. So relieved, tears came. Who knew that opening one gift box would reveal underwear. And once all the gift boxes were opened, it would still reveal underwear. 】
[His wife's expression changed from excitement to confusion to doubt about life. Finally, she grabbed the Vice Minister of Revenue who had got off work and asked tremblingly: Since when did officials stop sending calligraphy and paintings and start sending underwear instead? Hahahaha, I am dying of laughter! 】
Chu Hua: [Hahahaha! 】
The emperor held the dragon throne tightly, laughing wildly in his heart: Hahahaha!
Vice Minister of Revenue: "..."
Officials whose reputations were damaged: "..."