Chapter 809 Robbery
The weather this winter is indeed a bit weird.
The whole night was fine, and when the sky was about to brighten, it was suddenly covered with dark clouds. When Sun Shaozong came out of the house, sporadic snow had already begun to fall.
But Sun Shaozong yawned all the way to the stable, and saw Liu Quan talking to Zhang Cheng in the straw shed, with a rather flattering tone in his words.
"how?"
Sun Shaozong raised his voice and asked directly: "You can't stay idle in just these few days?"
The two people in the straw hut were startled, and then Liu Quan hurriedly ran over to greet him, smiling, "Sure enough, nothing can be hidden from you, Second Master - I was born with a mean skin, and I don't feel anything when I'm busy, but I feel uncomfortable when I'm idle."
The fact that he felt uncomfortable was fake, but the real reason was that he was afraid that Wang Jin would take away his position as the second butler.
After all, Wang Jin had been jumping up and down some time ago, and he had won the support of many people in the mansion. Although Liu Quan was proud of his contribution, he couldn't help feeling a little uneasy.
“It’s a good thing to be busy.”
At this time, Zhang Cheng also pulled out the carriage that had been prepared long ago. Sun Shaozong got on the carriage and said, "Go to the housekeeper Zhao and see what he wants to arrange."
After hearing this, Liu Quan was obviously hesitant to speak.
In his opinion, the relationship between the second butler and the chief butler is basically one of competition, rather than superiors and subordinates - now that the second master has put himself in Zhao Zhongji's place, does it mean that the second butler's business is over?
However, Liu Quan did not dare to ask Sun Shaozong about his doubts in person. At most, he asked Zhang Cheng to help.
…
The carriage slowly drove out of the corner gate. While turning around, Zhang Cheng looked back and saw Liu Quan still standing there in a daze with his head down. He suddenly felt sorry for him - after all, they were old people who came to this house together, so naturally they had more affection for each other than the other.
He hesitated for a long time while holding the reins, and finally he mustered up the courage to speak: "Second Master, Liu Quan..."
“It’s a little bit drifting.”
Before Zhang Cheng could finish his words, Sun Shaozong's lazy voice was heard from the carriage.
Feeling a little bit dizzy?
Zhang Cheng thought for a long time before he figured out what it meant. It probably meant that Liu Quan was becoming arrogant because of his achievements.
Come to think of it, that's indeed the case.
Ever since Liu Quan came back from the south, he always spoke in an attitude of "I have handled hundreds of thousands of taels of silver", and even in front of housekeeper Zhao, he seemed unconvinced and indignant.
It seems that because of this, the call for Wang Jin to be promoted to the second butler suddenly grew louder.
But……
After all, Liu Quan had made many contributions. It would be unfair for him to be denied any reward just because of a few big words.
Zhang Cheng was struggling all the way, and when he arrived at the east corner gate of the Dali Temple, he pulled the reins, jumped off the shaft nimbly, and held the snow-proof straw raincoat in his hand, ready to help Sun Shaozong put on his clothes.
Who knew that after waiting for a long time, Sun Shaozong still didn't get off the car.
"Second Master, Second Master?"
After calling out twice without any response, Zhang Cheng could not help but lift a corner of the car curtain and look out, only to see Sun Shaozong leaning on a cushion, seemingly sleeping soundly.
I'm afraid that the Second Master...
Zhang Cheng couldn't help but imagine it in his mind, but he was in a dilemma.
If it was an official duty day, he would naturally wake up Sun Shaozong, but today the Second Master had an appointment with Prince Beijing and was going to the palace for a banquet at noon.
Coming to the yamen this morning was just to show my face and do my job.
Or...
Let Erye sleep in the car for a while?
Thinking of this, Zhang Cheng quietly put down the curtain again, picked up the hand warmer he had just dropped, and sat down on the shaft of the carriage with his hands folded.
Unexpectedly, before he could even sit firmly, a minor official came out of the yamen - this man seemed to be a close confidant of Wei Yi's hometown, and he was the one who delivered messages several times.
Seeing this person, Zhang Cheng did not dare to neglect him and turned around and called out, "Second Master, Second Master! Something seems to have happened in the government office again!"
Before he finished speaking, Sun Shaozong's sleepy face popped out from inside. He squinted his eyes to glance at the clerk who was coming to meet him, then retreated silently.
When he came out of the carriage again, he had regained his usual composure and dignity.
"Sun Shaoqing."
The clerk bowed in front of the carriage and said, "The Lord of the Court invites you to come over to discuss matters."
What the hell is this?
Didn’t the Ministry of Revenue transfer the money yesterday?
He was puzzled, but he knew he would know after they met. Sun Shaozong was too lazy to ask the clerk, so he gestured to lead the way and checked in when passing by the gatehouse.
…
It’s still the flower hall where the morning meeting is held.
However, this time, besides Wei Yi, there was also a strange man wearing a fifth-rank official robe waiting inside.
Seeing Sun Shaozong coming in from outside, Wei Yi slightly restrained his attentive smile, stood up and introduced the two parties: "This is Hu Changshi from the Zhongxin Palace - Hu Changshi, and this is Sun Shaoqing, the famous one in my Dali Temple!"
The chief historian of the central palace?
In Sun Shaozong's mind, Zhou Mo's remains first flashed through, and then a fat man who looked like Maitreya Buddha appeared.
The King of Zhongxin had always been a man of broad mind and strong body, and he only loved to rule the country behind closed doors. Especially after the Long Gen case, he rarely interacted with court officials.
Why did they send the Chief Secretary to the Dali Temple today?
Could it be that some important person died in the mansion?
While he was guessing, the Chief Clerk Hu also came forward, with a very humble attitude, bowed and said, "Your subordinate Hu Tai greets Lord Sun."
After Sun Shaozong returned the greeting, he said bluntly: "To be honest, I came here on the king's orders to ask Lord Sun to go to our house to investigate a theft case."
"Theft?"
"Yes, this case happened last night..."
It turned out that early this morning, the servant in charge of cleaning the study in the palace discovered that the bookshelf had been moved sideways, revealing a black hole more than half a person's height.
And this black hole is the private vault where King Zhongxin hides the treasures in his mansion.
After a personal inspection by King Zhongxin, he found that everything else was intact, except for a night-shining pearl, which was missing.
At that time, several managers of the palace suggested going to Shuntian Prefecture to report the case and catch the thief.
However, the Chief Secretary Hu Tai rejected this proposal and instead suggested that Prince Zhongxin report to the emperor and ask the court to send someone to handle the case.
"Why is that?"
When Sun Shaozong heard this, he couldn't help but frown and asked, "Could it be that this night-shining pearl has some special origin?"
Although the Night Pearl is precious, it is not necessary to report it to the emperor in a solemn manner - unless the Night Pearl is related to something else besides its own value.
Hu Tai's face flashed with admiration, and then he said seriously: "Master Sun guessed correctly. In terms of value probably not even among the top three in the private treasury, but it was taken from the crown of the King of Goryeo!"
This is interesting. The Korean delegation had just arrived in Beijing, and the national treasures left over from the previous dynasty were stolen overnight. Sun Shaozong would definitely not believe it if someone said there was no connection between the two.
But this is so blatant, and the method is too crude to be called a frame-up.
It's not an attempt to shift the blame. North Korea is currently struggling to take care of itself, so how could it have the time to care about the affairs of the previous dynasty?
Sun Shaozong pondered in his heart and asked again: "Since it is necessary to report to the court, why did Hu Changshi go to the Dali Temple?"
Hu Tai's expression suddenly became a little strange. He stared at Sun Shaozong for a long while before he slowly said, "Originally, the prince was ready to report to the court, but was stopped by the princess. And the reason I came here is because the princess recommended Lord Sun to supervise this case."
The princess consort of King Zhongxin seems to be...Niu Jizong's biological sister, right?!
