Rebirth of the Ming Dynasty: Sixth Generation of Glory, I don't want it

"Hahaha, this MoDian is really good at finding a place! Come on, come on, look!"

Zhu Gaochi didn't have time to read the words. He glanced at Zhang Xin, his eyes lit up and he started smiling again.

He casually raised the small bronze mirror hanging around his waist in front of Zhang Xin.

A small black dot the size of a sesame seed is right at the corner of Zhang Xin's eye, like a natural mole, adding a bit of charm to Zhang Xin's peaceful face.

"Go, tear mole, I don't want it!"

Zhang Xin took a look at it herself and wiped off the annoying black spot with her hand without even using a handkerchief.

"nice!"

Zhu Gaochi protested.

"But I don't like it!"

"But I like it!"

"You like order one yourself!"

"Women dress up to please themselves!"

"Bullshit! Please yourself first to please others!"

The two of them were bickering quickly. Zhu Gaochi was obviously stunned by Zhang Xin's last sentence. He was stunned for a long time before he sighed:

"My Crown Prince's Consort is very wise!"

"No match for the gentle and unparalleled prince—"

Zhang Xin took a look at this fat man who looked honest and harmless, curled her lips and spoke in a long voice.

You were asked to pretend, from childhood to adulthood, until you finally became the emperor, but you died after only one year.

"No curse words——"

Zhu Gaochi was not annoyed by Zhang Xin's provocation, and picked up Zhang Xin's calligraphy and started reading again.

"Not bad, not bad. This handwriting is really good. It has a bit of the flavor of my mother's handwriting."

"It's far worse than mom's. I think my eldest sister's handwriting is exactly the same as mom's."

Zhang Xin followed Zhu Gaochi and turned the page on the previous conversation between the two people, answering casually.

"I think it's not much different. It's gentler than my mother's. Forget about my sister, you tigress! What was your handwriting like before? Is it still there? Show it to me—"

Zhu Gaochi gave a very high evaluation and was very curious about the thin characters in the sleeves.

"No, the old lady said that after entering the palace and becoming the Crown Prince's Consort, it would be best not to leave any writings from the boudoir. They were all burned. Now this writing, maybe it's because I've been with my mother a lot recently, and it's improved. It's not good in the first place."

Zhang Xin ignored Zhu Gaochi's enthusiasm and replied indifferently.

During the years she stayed at her parents' home, she had too many thoughts and ideas, and her handwriting was angular. A smart person like Zhu Gaochi could see it. Before the wedding, she found an excuse to burn all the books.

The small regular script she could write was not the font she used most often in her previous life.

"What a pity. If I could keep it, I could show it to my future children."

Zhu Gaochi felt a little regretful.

"...Your Highness is really thinking too far ahead..."

Zhang Xin was speechless.

"It's not far. I'll have a baby soon to appease my mother and make some money. I've already postponed my wedding because of my cousin, and there are kids my age all over the place."

Zhu Gaochi retorted, then nodded and rolled up his sleeves to explain:

"In the future, frame all the Crown Prince's wife's calligraphy and keep it safe. Only by comparing them can we realize the progress and make further progress."

Zhang Xin's calligraphy was valued by Zhu Gaochi, so he was naturally very happy. When he stepped forward to take the paper from Zhu Gaochi, Zhu Gaochi started yelling again:

"Oh, what kind of paper are you using? It's all blurred at the back."

"I just wrote it casually, just the most ordinary kind. I don't plan to keep it."

Zhang Xin glanced at the small blurred hole on the edge of the words, motioned Zhu Gaochi to put the paper down, and then explained.

She was just killing time and was used to saving money, so she didn't use good paper that didn't absorb ink, and she had to let it dry for a while each time. They would hold it in their hands and look at it over and over again, obviously overwhelmed.

"We don't need one or two sheets of paper... Good handwriting needs good paper. Rewrite, rewrite!"

Zhu Gaochi still loved reading, and was especially delighted by good calligraphy.

I can't stand the fact that Zhang Xin writes well but refuses to use good paper.

"Save as much as you can. The expenses in the mansion are neither big nor small. I was just about to ask His Highness about this."

"Expenses?"

Zhu Gaochi raised his eyebrows.

"Yes, didn't mother take care of us and teach us how to manage the household? But looking at our family's income, it doesn't even match what it should be."

In fact, Zhang Xin knew about this. When she was the Empress Dowager and the Grand Empress Dowager, she worried about money every day.

But at this moment, she was just a new bride who had just entered the palace and was confused about her situation.

When she found something wrong with the account books of Yande Palace, she had to ask about it, so as to lay the groundwork for what she wanted to do.

"This is as long as several pieces of cloth..."

Zhu Gaochi frowned.

He didn't expect that his mother would teach Zhang Xin so quickly. Did she also start teaching about the embarrassment of the palace?

"Then let's make a long story short."

Zhang Xin rolled his eyes at Zhu Gaochi, motioned him to roll up his sleeves and pack his things, then he walked forward, pulling Zhu Gaochi's sleeve and walked out.

"Let's eat first and talk about it after we're done. Let me make this clear first. Today I'm going to make pork knuckles that Your Highness loves, but Your Highness can only eat a small portion. Mother said that you've finally lost some weight, so we have to give you some sweet treats."

"Then I really thank you--"

"You're welcome--"

"...I was speaking sarcastically!!!"

"Ah, I didn't hear that. I thought Your Highness was quite sincere. I was wrong. I take back what I said."

"..."

As speechless as Zhu Gaochi was towards Zhang Xin, he appreciated the pig's trotters made by Zhang Xin.

Appreciating that small portion of pork knuckle completely soothed his young heart that was hurt by Zhang Xin.

After serving tea, he happily began to tell Zhang Xin seriously about the huge deficit in the palace's current income.

"This matter has to be told from the beginning. It was the third year of Hongwu, when my father was ten years old. He had just been named the King of Yan."

Zhu Gaochi spoke in the tone of a storyteller.

Most of what Zhang Xin said next matched what she knew in her previous life.

In the year when my father-in-law was crowned king, a total of twenty-five members of the royal family were crowned vassal kings, stationed in the northern border and strategic locations across the country.

But at this time, the princes had not yet left the capital, as it was a routine ceremony to confer titles upon the emperor's grandfather after he ascended the throne.

It was not until February of the ninth year of Hongwu that the imperial court formulated the annual salary for princes. The annual salary of princes and dukes below the rank of prince was also reduced by half and then by half again.

Specifically, the prince's main income was 50,000 dan of rice and 25,000 strings of banknotes.

The rest were physical objects: 40 pieces of brocade, 300 pieces of ramie silk, 100 pieces of gauze and ramie each, 500 pieces of silk, 1,000 pieces of winter and summer cloth each, 2,000 taels of cotton, and 50 pieces of horse fodder per month.

In addition to the above two items, there are also 200 yin of more valuable salt and 1,000 jin of tea.

My father-in-law and mother-in-law got married and established their fiefdoms in this year.

My father-in-law was only sixteen years old at that time.

During the first ten years of his fiefdom, the annual salary was paid on time. Both the armored forces and the royal palace had relatively ample money and food, and the wars were fought fiercely. Generally speaking, there was a slight surplus.

"But the good times didn't last long—"

Speaking of this, Zhu Gaochi began to sigh.