The whole city knows we are locked

After Yan Chuyin left, a person flashed out from behind the screen.

This person has a tall and straight figure, eyes like torches, and his temples are slightly protruding. He is clearly a martial arts practitioner.He didn't wear an official uniform, and he didn't have any expensive decorations all over his body. When he walked on the street, he could directly blend in with the common people.

This person is about 30 years old.

The emperor's suppressed smiles poured out at this person, and he joked: "Even the Yin slaves know that you have a lot of children. Raising children is not easy, and it really costs money! It seems that I want to give you more rewards." !"

Cao Xiang immediately thanked the emperor solemnly: "Thank you for your kindness."

emperor:"……"

Although Yan Chuyin and Fatty Cao had a good relationship, even if Yan Chuyin stayed here, he would not recognize Cao Xiang.The Cao family is thriving, and some of the Cao family have a bit of a reputation among the dandies, while others have no sense of existence.Cao Xiang belongs to the category that has no sense of presence.Well, let alone Yan Chuyin, even if Fatty Cao himself is here, he probably has to react, maybe he will mutter in his heart, this person looks a bit like my first uncle!

Fatty Cao didn't even know that he had an uncle who could serve as the emperor!

Don't blame him.

Even those wily and calculating bosses in the capital probably don't know much about it.

Fatty Cao's father, Ding Guogong, must have known about it, but he never revealed it on any occasion.

Cao Xiang is the younger brother of a concubine of the current Ding Guogong.Each mansion has its own rules. I don't know how other families are. Anyway, in Duke Dingguo's mansion, the relationship between concubines and concubines has always been good.The first generation of Duke Dingguo wrote the rules of family division into the family rules, and the male concubine got 3 taels of property when he separated as an adult, and the concubine's female relatives got 2 taels of dowry when they married.The prostitute will definitely get more when the family is separated or married, because the prostitute will be supplemented by the mistress, and the mistress has been in charge of the family for many years, and the income of the mansion has been passed by her, so she must be much more generous, and the mistress still has dowry.

The family rules are there, and those who disrespect the family rules are hard to tolerate in the world.No matter how hard the concubines make progress, no matter how much they compete for favor, that's all they can get.If they are not motivated and do not compete for favor, the mistress will not deprive them of their due share.

In the final analysis, the struggle between the concubine and the concubine is a conflict of interests.Without conflicts of interests, the mansion would live in peace.

3 taels of property and 2 taels of dowry are really not small. According to family rules, these family properties and dowry include fields, land, villages, shops, and cash. As long as they are managed properly, it is no problem to be a little rich for a lifetime.For every Dingguo Duke, when dividing the family for his sons and helping his daughters get married, if he has ten sons, he must prepare at least 30 property when he divides the family. million dowry.

This is a very large expense!

So when Dingguo's mansion rented out the garden earned by the ancestors, no one in the capital thought it was strange.

In terms of marriage, most of the daughters of Duke Dingguo married poor Jinshi or mid-level military officers.Although the impoverished Jinshi may rise step by step in the future, they certainly have little power at present.Not to mention the military officer, as long as the country is generally peaceful, the status of the military officer is not much higher.Most of the concubines in Dingguo's mansion married merchant women or the daughters of mid- and low-level military officials.This is also the reason why many people in the capital look down on Duke Ding's Mansion.

However, the reason why the Duke of Dingguo married a merchant woman was not what the world thought. They were just coveting the dowry of the merchant woman and using the dowry to fill the government's financial deficit.They look at the daughters of merchants and military generals because they are more resilient and able to take on things in this era when the ladies are being raised more and more delicately.

For example, Cao Xiang, who was teased by the emperor at this time, his wife is the daughter of a silk merchant.

When Cao Xiang went out to work for the emperor, he often used "going to other places to do business to make money" as an excuse, but he couldn't make much money by running around.His wife not only needs to take care of family affairs, but also has to take care of outside affairs, and has to show her face from time to time.Because her husband is "incompetent", she will be ridiculed in some social situations. If she hadn't experienced in her own caravan before she got married, she would really not be able to afford so many things after she got married!

Cao Xiang and the great ladies would certainly not be able to get along together, although most of the great ladies could afford the words "manage the family properly", but it was not enough.The current wife is very suitable for him, and he really respects his wife.

But most people in the world don't see this layer.

It is said that Dingguo's mansion is in decline, but who knows that among the emperor's most trusted people, Cao Xiang, who is unknown and occasionally spreads a little reputation, only knows that this person is from the mansion of the country but addicted to business. ?

The males in Dingguo's mansion, in fact, the family did not prevent them from being successful, but it is a pity that the Cao family's males seem to have no talent for reading, and if they fail the imperial examination, they can only join the army.After the separation, most of the concubines went to join the army.However, the road to joining the army is not easy.Although troops are deployed in the northwest, southwest, and southeast coasts, it is easy to become a low-rank military officer, and promotion to middle and high ranks requires accumulation of military merits, which cannot be achieved overnight.

But even if they were just low-ranking military officers, including their in-laws and the in-laws' families of the girls in Dingguo Duke's Mansion, they would have a considerable news network in the army.The low-ranking military officers are closer to the soldiers, and even the slightest disturbance in the army cannot be concealed from this news network.The news was collected in the hands of Duke Ding, and finally presented to the emperor.

Could it be that Duke Ding is really just being bullied every time he enters the palace, so he wants to hold the emperor and cry?

of course not!

However, there are also some incompetent men in the Cao family, who want to be a dude with peace of mind after taking money from the branch.It is precisely because of the existence of these people that Dingguo's mansion can appear to be declining from generation to generation.Among these people, Cao Xiangyin seemed to hide trees in forests.What he holds in his hands is the most secretive force that belongs exclusively to the emperor.

The word "Dingguo" in Dingguo Mansion has never changed.

At this time, Cao Xiang had quietly obtained several statements from the Orphanage in Beijing.

Cao Xiang secretly interrogated the little steward Wang who was pushed out to take the blame. The reason why she didn't like children born with disabilities was related to her own real experience.Her mother only gave birth to her, and after her father died, her mother would rather have a boy born with a disability in the adoptive family than let her marry him. Later, she even wanted to marry a wife for the adopted son—because disability is not good Marrying a daughter-in-law required a large gift—sold her to Ren Yazi.Wang Xiaoguan has prejudice against children who are born with disabilities, and it is hard to say that he is not venting his anger.

And the reason why Xiaoguan Wang treats the dumb woman who is responsible for burying the child's body is because she sees the shadow of her mother in the dumb woman.The dumb woman also chose to adopt a male heir because she could not bear a son, but was kicked out of the house by her stepson.Manager Wang mourns his misfortune and is angry with him. Sometimes he feels that the dumb woman, like her mother, deserves to be kicked out of the house by her stepson. I have to take care of the dumb woman, give her thick cotton clothes, and give her meat.

After Wang Xiaoguan was sold at a young age, he later entered the palace and worked as a servant in the palace for more than ten years. After leaving the palace, he was arranged to go to the orphanage.Thinking about it now, it wasn't a coincidence that she was sent to the orphanage.

During those years in the palace, she must have exposed her inner resentment to some people.Those people knew what her weakness was, so they arranged for her to enter the orphanage, and then used her weakness to package her as the real murderer behind the scenes.

If it wasn't for Yan Chuyin's gang of youngsters, the affairs of the Orphanage would have ended with Wang Xiaoguan.

According to Cao Xiang's investigation, the person who really intervened in the matter of "Little Sister Mou" should be the chief steward of the Orphanage, Yun Guanshi.Coincidentally, this Manager Yun also left the palace.Over the years, at least a dozen children have been sent out one after another from Guanshi Yun.These children were "being" sick, "being" dead, and "being" buried, but they were actually sent to other places.Those who treat children are all doctors from the medical office, and the doctors are often from the womb.

"So, the harem has indeed been infiltrated." The emperor concluded.

Cao Xiangdao: "Manager Yun intends to train Manager An Xiao of the Girls' Home to be his successor. We conducted a secret interrogation on Manager An. Her husband is in charge of the Boys' Home and is a truly kind person. We used her husband to force her to let go, enough to let her go. It proves that there is indeed a problem with Guanshi Yun. But Guanshi An doesn’t know who is above Guanshi Yun.” These people are too careful. The older one was trained by Manager Yun for many years.In this way, she failed to get in touch with the real secret.

Cao Xiang didn't disturb Guan Yun.Before arresting her, the harem must be checked first to ensure the safety of the emperor.

"Where do you think this power comes from?" The emperor asked thoughtfully.

Cao Xiang pursed his lips and said solemnly: "We started with Wang Xiaoguan's account books and confirmed that Guanshi Yun sent away more than a dozen children one after another. Because every time she sent away a child, she would arrange merchants for Wang Xiaoguan. A sum of money, so that Manager Wang can enter the account." At first glance, it looks like the money that Manager Wang got from selling the child.According to Wang Xiaoguan's recollection, these merchants are different every time, but there are often foreigners in the team.

So Cao Xiang deduced that there may be shadows of foreigners behind this incident.

But foreigners simply can't sneak into the palace so silently.So there must be a force working with them.It's just that Cao Xiang hasn't found the thread so far, so he can't be sure where this force came from.

The emperor nodded when he heard the words, first affirmed the results of Cao Xiang's investigation, and then said: "Now they are telling us that we are hiding, just keep watching Manager Yun, and find out where those children have been sent by her hand as soon as possible."

Staring at Guanshi Yun, maybe he could find the "thread" in the palace through her.

At the same time, Zhou Wen's is Mou Xiaomei's side, and someone needs to control and instigate her.Because the matter was so important, the emperor entrusted this task to Cao Xiang.Cao Xiang took the order and left through the secret passage in the palace.

The house was quiet again.

The eunuch communicated outside, and the prince asked to see him.

The emperor announced it immediately.He has always attached great importance to the prince, and this importance is reflected in all aspects.What the crown prince wanted to talk about was Yan Chuyin's proposal in the early court, and he praised it as soon as he entered the imperial study, saying that the proposal was very good.

"...But I think that the blank volumes of the old imperial examination volumes can be sent to the library for free reading and reference by the world, but how did the current biography and the top ten Jinshi do the questions, and how did the top three For those who do the questions, their answer sheets might as well be printed into a book by the Imperial College and sold at a low price among the people." The prince said with a smile.

Although it is sold at a low price, can a scholar resist buying an excellent answer after reading the questions for free?Although the common people don't plan to take the imperial examinations, but seeing the low price, they might give their children a share for auspiciousness.

So there is definitely money to be made in this!Isn't it good to use the money earned to fill the treasury!

--------

After the prince left the imperial study, he went to the official department to find the second prince.

The second prince is currently studying in the six departments, and has been staying in the official department recently.The prince called the second prince out and said, "Father announced that you are going to the imperial study. It's a good thing. I'm going to assign you a serious errand. Are you happy?"

Second prince: "!!!"

The rotation of the six parts has not been completed yet, so there is a serious errand?

The second prince has a serious personality. He has always kept a straight face since he was a child, like a little old man, and this time is no exception.The crown prince nodded and praised: "That's right, it's quite a job to be so flattered or humiliated. Work hard!"

Second prince: "???"

Whether it's flattering or not?

No, brother, what did you misunderstand, I'm laughing!

I'm actually laughing!