Chapter 191 Halfway
As the year draws to a close, court affairs become increasingly busy. Every morning, court officials from Kyoto would enter the palace in the cold wind, all with serious looks on their faces.
Especially the Ministry of Households.
When it came to the final moment of silver settlement, all places were waiting for the Ministry of Revenue to count the money. Those who could get the money got it, and those who couldn't could use items to pay off the debt. Anyway, there was a long queue of people queuing in front of the Ministry of Revenue every day.
Due to special reasons, the emperor specially permitted several officials from the Ministry of Revenue to skip the early morning court sessions during these days. They only needed to go to the government office early every day to work. The Minister of Revenue would go to the palace and the Imperial Study once every three days to report on recent government affairs.
According to the time of the morning court, the Minister of Revenue went out to work, and the horse-drawn carriage rumbled towards the government office.
It was early in the morning and there was not even a ghost on the street, let alone people.
Occasionally, an octagonal palace lantern would flicker in the night, probably indicating that they were colleagues who were rushing into the palace for the morning court at the same time.
The Minister of Revenue closed his eyes and rested in the carriage. Suddenly, the carriage stopped moving smoothly. He opened his eyes instantly and asked, "What happened?"
The driver hesitated and whispered outside, "It seems that we have encountered a carriage from the Rong'an Marquis' Mansion, but the carriage is parked in the alley. I wonder if something has happened. Do you want to go over and take a look?"
When the Minister of Revenue heard the words "Marquis Rong'an Mansion", his sleepiness immediately disappeared and he became alert.
If we talk about the biggest case in the court right now, it must be the explosion case, and the key figure is Marquis Rong'an.
Rumor has it that this fur shop was given to the prince by Marquis Rong'an through Zhao Bingchun, the magistrate of Nanchong County.
Furs are similar to salt in that they are directly controlled by the imperial court. This time, something that the Crown Princess was preparing to send back to her motherland exploded in front of the shop, and the investigator of the case was the Crown Prince himself.
I heard that a few days ago, in order forced the third young lady of the mansion to block the Crown Princess in the shop. As a result, the Crown Princess forced her to confess a past event.
Was it Marquis Rong'an who facilitated General Su's death penalty ?
Although this matter has not been made public, it is now spreading all over Kyoto. People are saying all kinds of things in private. Many people even say that Su Qingqing was innocent at the time, and it was because Su Qingqing discovered that Marquis Rong'an was secretly running the fur business to enrich himself that Marquis Rong'an came up with such a vicious plan to harm Su Qingqing.
No one knew whether it was true or not, but the rumor became more and more outrageous, almost as fierce as the one about the fox demon causing trouble.
Naturally, this rumor spread to the palace, but the emperor never made a statement...
The Minister of Revenue didn't want to offend anyone, so he rubbed his fingertips in silence for a while, then chuckled, "No need, just wait here, we're not in a hurry at this moment."
There was not much noise in the alley originally, but it was unnaturally quiet all around. The occasional barking of dogs in the distance made the sounds in the alley even clearer.
"Oh, who was this? It turns out to be the Marquis of Rong'an Marquis' Mansion. I am so lucky today. I didn't expect to meet you. What's the matter, Marquis? Are you giving me money or my body?"
Marquis Rong'an looked angrily at the woman in front of him who had intercepted him halfway. He was furious but also found it unbelievable.
A woman who looked no more than thirty years old actually hijacked the carriage of the Rong'an Marquis Mansion early in the morning.
And he said such shameless words.
The woman looked at Rong'an Marquis and seemed to think that she had never seen such an interesting person before. "I don't mind that the Marquis is old. It is said that older people will be more caring, but I don't know if it's true or not.
I usually taste the boys, but after tasting you today, I feel like my life is complete.
How about it, Lord? Don't worry, I won't treat you unfairly. After the battle is over, I will seal your house with two hundred taels of silver."
Marquis Rong'an just felt that he had met a madman.
His chest heaved with anger and his breathing was heavy, but he couldn't utter a word.
Let him say anything!
He felt that he had dirty his mouth after scolding her, and finally, after holding it in for a long while, he roared with anger: "Get out!"
The woman opposite him smiled and reached out to pinch his face.
He had a face of a man in his forties with wrinkles on both sides of his cheeks. The scene looked weird no matter how you looked at it.
Marquis Rong'an subconsciously dodged and wanted to raise his hand to pat the outstretched hand, but for some reason, his whole body was so weak that he couldn't even raise his hand.
His eyes were filled with anger and his whole body was shaking. "Get away! Stay away from me!"
The woman looked at him with a smile, and finally pinched his cheek, "Oh, Lord Marquis, you have taken good care of yourself. At this age, your skin is still so elastic. If your face skin is so good, your butt must be even more elastic. I can't wait."
Not far away, the Minister of Revenue, who heard it clearly, was almost bursting with anger.
What the hell?
Early in the morning, Rong'an Hou, who was already in his forties, was molested?
Is he dreaming?
The Minister of Finance opened the curtain of his carriage and said to his equally shocked entourage outside, "Really?"
The question came out in a trembling voice, as if he was the one being teased.
My God, it’s almost the end of the year, and there is still such a shocking news.
The follower suppressed his urge to gossip and nodded heavily.
Minister of Revenue:!
There was no sound of communication in the alley across the street. Instead, there was another sound that made one's heart beat faster.
The sound lasted for... half a cup of tea?
It’s over in half a cup of tea?
The Minister of Revenue burst out laughing and looked towards the other end of the alley.
A woman got out of Rong'an Marquis's carriage and clapped her hands in disgust, "You really spoil my fun."
After saying that, she tapped the ground with her toes and flew away.
As she flew away, she did not forget to say to the people on the ground, "Don't worry, I can still afford the two hundred taels of silver. Take it and buy some medicine when you have time.
puff!
The Minister of Revenue was afraid that the sound would leak out of his mouth, so he quickly retracted his head and got into the carriage. He picked up the pillow beside him, covered his mouth with it, and laughed with his shoulders shaking.
Half a cup of tea!
OMG!
Only half a cup of tea!
What is this enough for?
The carriage from the Rong'an Marquis's Mansion stopped in the alley for about a quarter of an hour and then returned along the same route.
As soon as they left, the Minister of Revenue's carriage quickly went through the alley and headed straight for the Ministry of Revenue's government office. Within a cup of tea, the news spread.
By the time the news reached the Rong'an Marquis' Mansion, it was already noon.
Because of what happened in the morning, Marquis Rong'an was unable to attend court and had to submit a letter of leave. Since he came back, he has locked himself in the study and smashed things in a rage.
He had never suffered such humiliation in his life.
When his close confidant brought in the news that had spread outside, Marquis Rong'an was practicing calligraphy and meditating. When the confidant reported back about the cup of tea, Marquis Rong'an broke the brush in his hand with a snap.
"Bullshit! How can it be just half a cup of tea?"
