"It's not because you won't marry unless you are the King of Jin!" When talking about this matter, Xiao Jiu's voice was particularly aggrieved, "I am with you every day, but I am not as good as you seeing Xiao Ming. At that time, my mind was You were so cold that you took the initiative to find General Shen and offered to help you, but now that you have broken off your engagement with Prince Jin, our engagement will naturally count."
"Just a jade pendant?" Shen Yunchu touched his forehead to confirm that he had no fever, and said angrily: "Ajiu, please stop making trouble. Wei Zhuang also showed me an identical jade pendant and lied to me. I have a marriage contract with him. I was still thinking about this in my heart, thinking that there was some mystery in it. Now that I see you coming to bluff me, I know that there are all kinds of wonders in the world, but there are three identical jade pendants in this world. If this jade pendant is the If it is really a token of engagement, how could the charming girl of one family be promised to two men? Could it be that you came here deliberately to cause trouble for me today?"
Xiao Jiu stared at her for a moment, then suddenly raised his eyebrows and smiled, "Just think that I was making trouble unreasonably!"
Before Xiao Jiu finished speaking, Luo's mother's voice came from outside, "Jiaojiao, Butler Xu is asking for a meeting outside. He said that there is a decree from the palace and he needs to discuss it with Jiaojiao face to face."
"Let's invite him in." Shen Yunchu secretly thought that if there was a decree, the entire Shen family should kneel down at the door to welcome him. Why did Butler Xu come to Wutong Garden quietly? He thought there was another hidden reason behind Yi's decree. .
Butler Xu was originally the accountant of Shen Mansion. Before Cheng Siyang left, he said that Accountant Xu was a reliable person. After Shen Yunchu dealt with Butler Meng, he was promoted to Accountant Xu and became the steward. The curtain shook and Butler Xu came in with a half-bowed body. The robe was still the same one from a few days ago. It had turned white after washing. When he saw Shen Yunchu sitting at the dining table, he bowed respectfully and said, "I have seen Jiaojiao. It stands to reason that Jiaojiao is injured. Nubu It was time to bother me again, but suddenly a decree came from the palace, saying that the army rations in Han Valley were burned down by a fire. This season was the peak of the economy, and the Queen Mother issued an decree to have a knight's mansion to help her spend the time. In this difficult situation, those who have food will provide food, and those who have money will provide money. I don't dare to make the decision, so I came here to ask Jiaojiao for instructions."
Shen Yunchu secretly thought that Hangu's military rations, which were prepared for the Eastern Expedition Army, were burned by fire. Cheng Siyang and Chu Feiyang had just set out for the expedition. If they could not get the general rations together in a short period of time, it would probably affect the overall plan. , Shen Yunchu frowned and asked, "Has the Queen Mother set a minimum amount?"
"Returning to Jiaojiao, our wife is the princess and our general is the marquis, so the Shen Mansion has to pay at least 3,000 kilograms of grain. However, at this time, there was a shortage of food. Thinking that each government had no extra grain, the Queen Mother made an exception and allowed it. Silk or gold and silver should be paid on behalf of the government. However, if the amount is converted into fine silk and other property, the amount can be converted into grain, which is probably worth 5,000 kilograms of grain. Therefore, the Empress Dowager’s move may encourage various governments to directly hand over grain." Butler Xu said. Analyze the hidden intentions in the Queen Mother's decree as much as possible and weigh the pros and cons.
"A few days ago, the female relatives of each government were allowed to donate freely to help raise military supplies for the Eastern Expedition. Now a hard order has been issued. But in the future, will there be various conscriptions with clever names? How many palaces in the capital are willing to respond to the Queen Mother's request? "Yi's decree?" Shen Yunchu was the Crown Princess of the East Palace in his previous life, and was the person who helped Xiao Ming ascend to the throne of God. He knew a little about the government affairs of the previous dynasty, but he didn't understand that the Empress Dowager Wei was so violent and extortionate, and His Majesty actually sat back and did nothing. Wouldn't it be a disgrace to all the powerful people? Heart? "
"The Queen Mother said that after next year's harvest, the treasury will be converted into gold and silver for each government. The more you pay, the higher the interest will be. You will not take advantage of each government in vain. So Jiaojiao thinks that our Shen Mansion should pay How much food is appropriate?" Butler Xu was secretly surprised by Shen Yunchu's calmness and rationality. If he were an ordinary housekeeper, what he should be thinking about at this time is how to collect money and how to complete the tasks set by the Queen Mother. But at this time, Shen Yunchu actually You can also think that setting up clever names and imposing extortionate amounts of money is not a long-term solution.
"This is a good idea!" Shen Yunchu praised, "Human nature is greedy. The more you pay, the higher the interest. It sounds tempting, especially since our country in Liang does not allow private loan sharking. I think there are some greedy people. I am afraid that I will take the opportunity to make a loan shark to the royal family in a grand manner, but the royal family's money is so easy to earn. We were short of money some time ago, and this matter has probably spread. This time, the Queen Mother has decreed that we will only If you can do your best, you can collect a symbolic five hundred kilograms of surplus grain from our farm. For the rest, just move things from the warehouse. I think my mother understands the justice of the family and the country best, so she won't stop it."
"But -" Steward Xu hesitated, "After Steward Meng went there, the key to the warehouse was never found, so the finances in the warehouse were not counted and the amount is unknown."
Especially——
No key, can't get in!
Shen Yunchu sneered. In the past few days, Butler Meng had only excused himself by saying that he was short of money and made things difficult for her. However, he never moved the small treasury in charge of Webster. He thought that Webster's most valuable things were either placed in Cuizhuyuan or in hers. In the small treasury, he nominally handed over the control of the family to her, but he refused to give her the key to the small treasury, and refused to give her the financial power of the Shen Mansion. What kind of person was he in charge of the family? It was clear that he deliberately wanted to take the opportunity to give her away. She begged for mercy and once again gained the bad reputation of being stupid and incompetent.
But after all, God's calculations are not as good as those of humans. She thought that she would have to fight with Webster for several rounds before she could truly take over the power of the family. Unexpectedly, this inexplicable fire just gave her the opportunity. Shen Yunchu raised his eyebrows and smiled. Laughing, "My mother is sick, so Butler Xu can't bother her. He just breaks the lock in the warehouse and replaces it with a new one."
Smashed?
The corners of Butler Xu's mouth twitched slightly. This idea can only be made by someone like Auntie who doesn't follow common sense. However, he is just a steward. He has orders from above and just carries them out. "I'll take note of that," he said.
"In addition, the government has repeatedly paid financial expenses, and the expenses are really beyond its means. It is not a long-term solution for each hospital to cut back on clothing and food. We still need to discuss a countermeasure to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, a two-pronged approach." Shen Yunchu saw a grain of rice on the corner of Xiao Jiu's lips and quickly shook it off. She pinched the handkerchief for him and continued, "Last time, because of stealing money from the public accounts that Butler Meng had embezzled, we were able to survive the shortage of money, so we didn't ask each hospital to collect money from outside. This time The finances of the Hui Shen Mansion are really tight. For a house like Si Yiniang and Sanniang who often beat slaves to death, the number of slaves must be verified. Those who have been beaten to death will no longer receive regular money, and the meal expenses should also be reduced. Shrinking, what does Butler Xu think?"