Chapter 675: The Unwelcome Visitor
After slowly moving away the huge stone weighing hundreds of pounds, Sun Shaozong quietly came out of . He first put the stone back to its original position, then leaned on the rockery to look outside for a few times.
After making sure that there were no uninvited guests, he went straight into the house to fetch some water and wash up.
He came back too late yesterday and Ruan Rong and the others had already gone to bed, so he simply went to Jia Yingchun to take advantage of his remaining energy and also conveyed her instructions to postpone having a baby.
Speaking of which...
Once we are used to "acting out of emotion", it is not easy to "stop at propriety".
As for contraceptive pills, it’s okay to use them once or twice occasionally, but using them for a long time will be harmful to your body.
Alas~
How come Prince Yi Zhong, who has been hanging around in brothels for many years, didn't invent Durex or something?
Muttering in his heart, not knowing whether he had 'ascended to heaven' or Prince Yi Zhong who had ascended to heaven, Sun Shaozong pushed the door open and went outside. He originally intended to have dinner with his wife and children.
But then I thought, even though I had just washed, there might still be some rouge smell on my body.
So he turned around and went to the front yard living room.
Just as he sat down on the armchair and was about to call the servants on duty to set out wine and food in the hall, Zhao Zhongji came hurriedly again, holding a few gold-embossed cards in his hand.
He held the pieces of paper in front of Sun Shaozong with both hands and reported, "Second Master, this is the gift of charcoal just sent by Jinmen Prefecture. Do you want to accept it directly or meet the messenger who sent it?"
Carbon tribute?
Sun Shaozong was stunned for a moment, then he suddenly realized that he was now a real "court official", and the local government with whom he had connections in the past would inevitably have to express his gratitude in summer and winter.
The "carbon tribute" in winter and the "ice tribute" in summer are both gray incomes of Beijing officials. They are naturally not included in the court regulations, but they are generally not regarded as bribes.
Of course, since it is semi-public gray income, the gift naturally cannot be too generous.
Sun Shaozong took the note and glanced at it. The first one was about Zhili Provincial Administration. Although Sun Shaozong had never performed the duties of a councilor, he had been listed in the Provincial Administration after all. Now that he had been promoted, it was natural for him to send some gifts.
The rest are several direct-controlled prefectures and counties led by Tianjin Prefecture.
All together, there was about 180 taels of silver in cash, and other local products and sundries could probably be worth about 100 taels of silver.
Tsk~
No wonder people talk about "getting promoted and getting rich" together.
If I could register my name in every province, I could collect several thousand taels of silver every year just from 'carbon tribute and ice tribute', not to mention the extra tribute I would receive on my birthday every year.
However, this is also because the Sun family is currently doing well. Even the Right Shaoqing Li Wenshan, who has the same official rank, may not be able to collect one hundred taels.
Let’s get back to the story.
Sun Shaozong put the note on the coffee table and asked, "Have Xiang Yi and Xiong Guang sent anyone here?"
"The tan tribute from Jinmen Prefecture was also sent through the Provincial Administration Commissioner's Office; as for Lord Xiong, he sent his family members to escort him."
"Then put all the other rewards into the treasury, and invite the people sent by Xiong Guang to come in and talk."
Xiong Guang was a disciple invited by Sun Shaozong when he was in charge of the examination. He was also the only one who passed the imperial examination and became a Jinshi.
Later, because he could not find a job, Sun Shaozong wanted to plant a nail in Tianjin Prefecture, so he went through the relationship with Minister Wang of the Ministry of Personnel and arranged a seventh-rank job for him in the Zhili Provincial Government.
In this way, the title of "master and disciple" was confirmed, and the degree of closeness in officialdom was probably even greater than that of ordinary distant relatives.
However, in the past two years, Sun Shaozong was far away in Huguang, and it was his eldest brother Sun Shaozu who had more contact with Xiong Guang.
But not long after, a servant in blue clothes and a small hat was brought in by Zhao Zhongji.
"I am Xiong Lang, a humble man. Nice to meet you, Master!"
"Get up and answer."
Sun Shaozong blew the tea stems and asked slowly, "When the master sent you to Beijing, did he give you any other instructions?"
"That has not happened."
The man shook his head first, then hurriedly said, "My master will escort the Korean envoys to Beijing in a few days. When the time comes, I will come to pay my respects to you, so I won't let the little parrot imitate me."
North Korean mission?
Sun Shaozong couldn't help but frowned, wondering, "Don't Korean envoys come to pay tribute in spring and summer? Why are they here now?"
Xiong Lang was just a servant, how could he know so much?
I only heard that the Korean delegation suddenly visited, and the Zhili Governor-General's Office has reported it to the court as usual. It is estimated that they will arrive in Beijing in a few days.
As for the rest, I know nothing.
Could it be that the situation in Liaodong has changed again?
If this is true, then my eldest brother has seized the initiative - it's a pity that the imperial court may not have the spare energy to attack Liaodong now.
…
After dealing with the incident of carbon tribute, Sun Shaozong spread out three pots and nine dishes in the living room, stuffed himself until he was about 80% full, then ordered Zhang Cheng to prepare the carriage and rush to the yamen.
When passing by Prince Beijing's Mansion on the road, Sun Shaozong subconsciously lifted the curtain and peeked in. He saw that the sprawling mansion, facing the rays of sunlight, looked even more magnificent and majestic.
But I don’t know whether Xia Jingui has convinced the long-legged princess.
It can be said that Sun Shaozong has no shortage of women nowadays, but when he thought of the notoriously fierce Wei who was about to humble herself before him, he couldn't help but feel a little restless.
It is precisely such a rouge and fierce horse that is more rewarding to tame!
I was thinking about what I could do and what I couldn't say all the way, and I arrived at the gate of Dali Temple.
Sun Shaozong was just about to report to the gatehouse when he saw a few green-robed clerks gathered together, whispering about something.
However, when they saw Sun Shaozong approaching, the clerks immediately stood with their hands lowered and said nothing more.
Tsk~
It seems necessary to gather a few lackeys as soon as possible, otherwise there will always be a lack of control over the major and minor events in this government office.
Sun Shaozong was thinking while rushing to the central flower hall - he lacked spies at the moment, but Wei Yi had been in charge of the Dali Temple for more than seven years, there was no way he would not notice such an obvious disturbance.
As expected.
As soon as he arrived at the flower hall, he saw the Dali Temple Minister Wei Yi, who was sitting at the head of the table with a sullen face. Without waiting for Sun Shaozong to come forward to greet him, he asked, "Sun Shaoqing, have you heard any rumors?"
As he spoke, his cloudy eyes were full of suspicion and vigilance.
This means...
Do you suspect that you are the instigator?
This is really unfair. I had to attend two rounds in a row yesterday, changing three opponents one after another, and I also had to take time out to plot against Princess Beijing. How could I have the time to spread rumors?
"Sun did notice some commotion among the petty officials below, but as for rumors and gossip, I don't know what they were saying."
"Of course it's still those losses!"
Wei Yi said angrily: "I don't know which villain is behind this, secretly spreading rumors that the temple is trying to make up for the deficit by not only embezzling the salaries of officials, but also deducting the annual rewards from the court!"
No wonder those petty officials looked so excited.
In this poor government office, more than half of the people depend on their salaries and New Year benefits. If they were to be deducted all at once, I'm afraid many people would have to go into debt to celebrate the New Year.
The reason why Wei Yi suspected himself was probably because of his attitude of watching the fun yesterday, which made him think that he was trying to take advantage of the opportunity to seize power.
This is really an unexpected disaster.
Sun Shaozong secretly complained, and then he clasped his hands and said, "Does the Minister of Justice really not have such thoughts?"
"Of course not!"
Wei Yi flicked his sleeves and said angrily, "I am currently trying to find ways to urge the Ministry of Revenue to allocate funds as soon as possible. How could I have ever thought about salaries or rewards?"
"That's easy."
Sun Shaozong smiled and said, "As long as we put up a notice to make it clear, the rumors will naturally have nowhere to stay."
"It is only right to put up a notice to make it clear."
Wei Yi stared at him fiercely, and said word by word: "But can we just let off the villain who spread rumors and caused trouble behind your back?!"
"How can this be possible?"
Sun Shaozong said generously: "If you trust me, please let me handle this matter. Within three days, I will arrest the villain who spread rumors!"
Wei Yi remained silent, and then examined Sun Shaozong for a moment before shaking his head and saying, "Why use a butcher knife to kill a chicken? Sun Shaoqing, if you have time, why don't you ask about the case of the Ministry of Revenue? Even several prime ministers in the cabinet are paying attention to this matter, and it cannot be delayed for long."
This clearly shows that he does not trust Sun Shaozong.
In this case, Sun Shaozong would not follow his wishes and get involved in the muddy waters of the Ministry of Revenue.
He spread his hands and said helplessly: "Sun is really willing but unable to do anything. As for Wei Ruolan's case, it has not been solved yet..."
"Your Excellencies!"
At this moment, a clerk suddenly rushed in and reported: "Lord Niu from the Zhenguo Mansion has come to visit unexpectedly, and he specifically asked to see Lord Sun!"
Huh?
This is really the case. Speak of Cao Cao and he will appear.
