In Kunning Palace, Xiyao was taking care of the affairs of the palace. Wang Gong bowed and handed over a booklet and said: "This is the purchase record of the palace in July. In the whole of July, the palace spent a total of more than 13,000 yuan.
money."
Xiyao probably opened it and looked at it, and asked as he read: "It's okay to have a lot of expenses in May and June, the late emperor's funeral, His Majesty's enthronement, and so many other things. But so much money was spent in July,
How is this going?"
The Ming Dynasty was obviously very frugal at this time. With Zhu Yuanzhang's personality, he certainly would not be too extravagant and would not cost the palace too much.
But after all, there were more than a thousand eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty Palace at this time. Many of the palace maids were eliminated through Yunxi, and there were still hundreds of them. The food expenses of these people alone, plus the food expenses of the emperor and other masters, plus Yunxi
He often spent more than 100 yuan on meals a day. This was at a time when the food supervisor did not dare to pay a black bill under Zhu Yuanzhang's pressure.
In addition, the daily maintenance costs of the palace buildings, the daily expenses of the concubines, various losses, ice in the summer and carbon in the winter, the expenses of the inner palace yamen, and other various expenses, are normally one for each month except the first month.
Around 10,000 guan. In the first month, there are ancestor worship, worship to heaven, and various ceremonies and banquets. The cost is a bit more, but it will not exceed 20,000 guan.
(The above data are my own estimation and are not supported by exact historical data.)
So Xiyao said that her expenses last month were a bit more.
Wang Gong said: "Reporting to the Queen, your Majesty spent money to support the down-and-out literati last month, and also gave many gifts to distinguished ministers..."
Wang Bu also said: "His Majesty the Horsemaster also ordered the construction of a rail carriage, which also cost a lot of money."
Xiyao looked at the booklet in her hand and said, "I know, and..." After that, Xiyao told them a few other things, and then asked them to leave.
When Wang Bu and Wang Gong withdrew, Ting Le, who was standing next to Xiyao, said: "Even if the extra money is included, it is not enough for three thousand guan. On the contrary, I think the money for all the palace purchases is too much."
It has increased a lot. It can be seen that they are lying, maybe they are greedy for money."
She didn't speak loudly, and there were only her and Hui Li around Xiyao at this time, so she spoke without any scruples.
Xiyao put down the book in her hand and rubbed her head with her hands.
Hui Li on the other side reached out to rub Xiyao's head and said, "Ting Le, please stop saying a few words. Wang Bu and Wang Gong are both old men who have been with the emperor for a long time. They hold high positions in the palace and are very powerful.
If you don’t have any relatives, what are you doing coveting a lot of money?”
Listening to the music, he still looked unconvinced. Xiyao said: "Wang Bu and Wang Gong don't need to be greedy for money. Your Majesty is not a stingy person, so there is no need to be greedy for money."
"But the people below them are not sure."
Huili said: "What are you going to do?"
Xiyao smiled bitterly and said, "What else can I do? I just write it down for now, and I'll deal with it later if it goes too far."
"Wang Bu and the four of them are all eunuchs trusted by His Majesty, so they will not be involved in this."
"But since His Majesty became the grandson of the Emperor six years ago, there are many eunuchs around him. There is no guarantee that no one will be involved."
"They don't have much money, and your Majesty is not someone who values money very much. If I punished you strictly, your Majesty would definitely not refute my matter; but the remaining eunuchs around him would be hurting others and alienating me.
The relationship with His Majesty is not good."
For Xiyao, the most important thing is to maintain the relationship with Yunxi and ensure Wenyuan's position as crown prince. The Ming Dynasty is not without money, so it is better to be more cautious in punishing minor corruption of internal officials.
Ting Yue and Hui Li are Xiyao's confidants. Although they may not be very intelligent, they know what Xiyao cares about most, so they will not persuade Xiyao to punish him.
However, Xiyao guessed wrong. Although Yunxi showed a certain degree of tolerance for the corrupt behavior of corrupt officials, it was not that he wanted to tolerate it, but that corruption could not be completely eradicated, so he could only tolerate it a little.
But things in the inner palace were different. Yunxi always regarded the palace as his home, and the court as a joint-stock company in which he controlled and others participated. Corruption in the company was fine, but problems at home would never be tolerated.
Yunxi would rather reward the people around him often than to let them be corrupt. When he was in charge of the Wenhua Palace, although he had many things to do and was impatient with the affairs of the inner palace, some corruption could not be discovered;
Once discovered, he will be severely punished. Unfortunately, Yunxi did not share these views with Xiyao.
Hui Li thought for a moment and said, "My Lady, the corruption in the inner palace still needs to be punished."
Xiyao didn't say anything. She knew that Huili always made decisions before acting and would not speak casually. However, Tingle stared at Huili with an incomprehensible expression: Your Majesty just said that she would leave it alone, why are you still mentioning this matter?
Huili continued: "My dear, the duties of eunuchs and female officials in the palace set by the late emperor overlap with each other. During the time of the late emperor, everything was fine with the emperor's skill."
"When Your Majesty first ascended the throne, he appointed Wang Bu and others to take charge of the affairs of the palace; the empress also ordered us to take charge of the affairs of the harem."
"Sooner or later, it will be decided who is in charge of what, and which yamen is in charge of what duties. It is always so chaotic."
"The eunuchs' corruption is a good reason why they have to give up some of their rights and transfer them to the six bureaus and one division."
"And there is no need for the empress to come forward in person. The Sixth Bureau has purchasing here, and the Twelfth Prison has purchasing; the Sixth Bureau has meals, and the Twelfth Prison has meals; they are in contact with each other, so it is not difficult to find their problems."
"Then the matter spread quietly, and when His Majesty is about to know about it, the empress can go to His Majesty and tell the matter, and then she can punish them legitimately and without suspicion."
Xiyao thought for a while and said: "The idea is right, but the method is slightly wrong. It is not good to spread it quietly. Your Majesty once said that the more you do, the greater the possibility of problems. If it is leaked, it will be
Sorry. Your Majesty doesn’t like this little trick."
"So it's better to wait until they are more greedy and let Ting Le or Shi Shu search for evidence. When the evidence is almost there, tell His Majesty to punish them justly."
"But one thing you said is very good. The purpose is to determine what each supervisor, bureau, and department is responsible for. Take the opportunity to squeeze some power from Wang Bu and others."
"Huili, you are in charge of Gong Zhengsi. Some of the yamen for female officials cannot take over, but the palace punishment matters are possible. And this is very important. I plan to take them all and hand them over to Gong Zhengsi."
After some planning, Xiyao continued to deal with the affairs of the inner palace. Today Yunxi was staying in Kunning Palace, so she had to finish all this quickly so that she could arrange things for the evening and make time to spend with herself.
's son.
At this time, a palace maid came in and said: "Your Majesty, your Majesty is here."
Xiyao immediately stood up and said, "Why did your Majesty come here at this time?" As he said this, he went to the door to greet him.
Naturally, it was another reserved 'program' for the couple. Then Yunxi hugged Xiyao and returned to the main hall.
Yunxi looked at Xiyao's table and said, "Are you dealing with the affairs of the harem?"
Xiyao immediately said: "It's not a big deal, I can just deal with it tomorrow."
Yunxi nodded. In his impression, things in the harem were not urgent, so he didn't care.
Yunxi said: "Xiyi is about to give birth."
Xiyao said: "She is about to give birth. The imperial doctor checked her pulse and said she should give birth at the beginning of next month."
Yunxi took Xiyao to visit Xiyi in the dormitory where Xiyi currently lives. Before going, Yunxi ordered: "The director of Mingtai Hospital and Dr. Liu Chun are here."
Xiyi was lying on the bed to rest. When she saw Yunxi coming over, she wanted to get up and salute. Yunxi said, "Why are you getting up? Have a good rest."
Xiyi is more like a child who has not grown up. Because Xiyao protects her in the palace and Yunxi also dotes on her, she still has the character of a child. When she heard Yunxi's words, she continued: "Then I will do it, Your Majesty."
Then I rested. My body has been feeling lazy lately and I don’t want to move.”
Yunxi didn't care. He rubbed Xiyi's belly and said, "The little one is about to be born."
Xiyao said: "Wenyuan will have a younger brother soon."
Yunxi turned around and said, "How did you know he was your younger brother?"
Xiyao was stunned for a moment and said: "The imperial doctor checked the pulse and said it belongs to the prince."
Yunxi said: "The imperial doctors all say he is a prince, so you don't have to believe him."
Then he turned to Xiyi and said: "Whether he is the prince or the princess, they are all my children, and they are all the same to me."
"When the little one is born, if it is a girl, you must not be depressed."
Yunxi now has two sons, and he doesn't care whether it is a son or a daughter. In his opinion, it is the same, both boys and girls are his children. But the country needs a male heir, so there must be
Now that I have a son, it’s nothing.
Of course Xiyi also wants a son. Although she is still a child, she also knows that it is better to have a son. But since Yunxi said this, she can only say: "Well, I understand."
Yunhe said a few words to Xiyi to comfort her, and then left Xiyi's dormitory with Xiyao and came to Xiyao's dormitory.
Xiyao realized that Yunxi probably didn't want to talk, but had something serious to say, so he asked the palace maid to come in and serve.
Yunxi said: "A few days ago, Xiyao and Ying'er gave birth to children one after another, but it made me very nervous. Especially Ying'er, who almost had difficulty in giving birth, which means she is walking through the gate of hell."
Xiyao felt very moved: in the past dynasties, few emperors really cared about the lives of their concubines, and they all cared about the lives of their children; but Yunxi cared about the lives of his concubines. It was also because of this that Xiyao fell in love with Yunxi.
Yunxi continued: "So, I am thinking of ways to reduce the risk of having children."