Heartbreaker

The little mouse was terrified.He stood in front of me with a bruised complexion, obvious drops of sweat slid down his forehead, and he looked like he wanted to find a crack to get in.I knocked on the table, he gasped and bowed sharply, "Please forgive me for my previous rudeness, Your Majesty the King!"

"The rudeness before?" I smiled, "What rude things did you do, I don't remember."

The little mouse looked at me with a sad face, and said bitterly, "I'm really sorry, Your Majesty. I didn't treat you with due courtesy when you visited my house earlier. As the lord of a country, you are magnanimous. Please forgive my mother and I for our mistakes."

Heh, he chose to confess frankly instead of muddling through, which made me feel a little better.The little mouse stood in front of the table at a loss for a while, and asked cautiously amidst my rhythmic knocking on the table, "By the way, Your Majesty, is my brother here too?"

I tapped my fingers on the table, "Why, do you want to see him?"

He said nervously, "No, I am not qualified to make demands on you. My brother belongs to you, and only you have the right to decide these things. I know he must be very happy by your side. My brother loves you, I can see it at a glance come out."

"Really." I heard the flattery in his words, squinted my eyes and sneered, "What does it matter if your brother loves me or not? He is just a beautiful plaything. When I am happy, I hold him in my arms Pet him; when he's unhappy, he'll let me beat and scold him like a dog. Do you think I've taken a fancy to him, those damn eyes?"

The muscles in his shoulders tensed suddenly.A trace of daze and anger flashed in the eyes of the little mouse, which made me happy, and then he smiled weakly and helplessly, "Oh, so that's how it is..."

I sneered, got up slowly, and decided to get straight to the point, "I'll stop talking nonsense. Since you have passed the previous selection, I will give you a chance to prove yourself."

I lifted my chin and motioned him to sit on the sofa on the left side against the wall.The little mouse sat down neatly, and I spread out a thick account book in front of him, and asked, "Have you ever learned how to count?"

He shook his head.I raised my eyebrows, "Then how did you pass the previous assessment?"

He said blankly, "Of course anyone can count money."

I said, "Okay, I'll let you count the big ones this time." I turned the account book to a page and stopped, and said, "The account here, for some reason, does not match the actual expenses. Your interviewer The task is to figure out what's wrong with this account, and if you can fix it in 15 minutes—"

I swaggered and sat next to him, crossed my legs and said with a smile, "I will directly appoint you as the senior tax collector of the finance cabinet."

When the little mouse heard it, his eyes lit up as if he had been hit by a pie the size of a washbasin.He took the account book with great enthusiasm and carefully checked it.He didn't even ask me for the paper for his calculations. He hung one hand in mid-air and started counting fingers messily.

Little Jeremy the mouse probably didn't know it was a trap.I looked up at the ceiling with a sneer on my lips.I don't even want him to be my tax collector, the bloody bitch.The task of checking the accounts was actually done last night—after the final stage of screening and assessment was completed, it was secretly passed on to every candidate except this little mouse.This morning, it was said that it was the king's face-to-face, but it was actually the candidate's feedback on the account.

But it is a pity and annoyance that no one has been able to find out the oddity of this account, a bunch of fools!I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists, thinking that the little mouse was still happily waiting outside the door, so I pretended to be a live horse doctor, and let him come in for a try.

It's just that the time limit for others is the whole night, but only 15 minutes for this little mouse.

Just when I was carelessly counting to 10 minutes, the little mouse slapped his head and shouted, "I understand, I understand, Your Majesty!"

Holding the account book, he jumped up in the room, and the mouse's face became like a piece of tender fried ham.He half-kneeled in front of me and said excitedly, "Your Majesty, let me tell you what's going on—"

I frowned.He held up the ledger and said sternly, "In the ledger two years ago, there is a record about the construction of the first box-shaped building in the lower urban area, 'Moldy Beehive'. It records the raw materials for making clay red bricks. I spent seven thousand and eighty-two Soles, and every expenditure was detailed and accurate, without any loopholes or mistakes—”

His tone suddenly rose, "But I know that the bricks used to build moldy honeycombs are not clay red bricks at all, but gray bricks made of sand and lime!"

These words woke me up, "Gray brick?"

"That's right! Red bricks cost six hundred soles per ton, while gray bricks cost less than red bricks and are of inferior quality. The builders painted the gray bricks with red paint to pass them off as red bricks. When recording It is still reported according to the cost of red bricks, so there is a gap with the actual production consumption.”

I see.I asked him the price of raw materials for making gray bricks two years ago, and he answered fluently.I sat on the sofa with my eyes closed, and my mind was scrambling to calculate the difference between the two.

While I was thinking, the little mouse was looking at me nervously and expectantly, waiting for my answer.

After a long time, I opened my eyes, stared at him, and said word by word, "Sure enough, I think what you said is right."

The little mouse stared like a goldfish, "Then, that is to say, Your Majesty—"

"Well, that's right." I rubbed between my eyebrows, "Your interview passed. Within 15 minutes, my doubts were also resolved. I will fulfill my promise."

The little mouse exclaimed, trembling with excitement, and muttering thanks to God.Before he could cheer, I asked the last question, "How do you know that the bricks used to build that building are actually gray bricks?"

"Well, by chance..." He shrank his shoulders for a moment and scratched his head in embarrassment, "I'll tell you the truth. A year ago I... I saw a hole in the wall outside the building, and the children went into it , I followed and drilled in... Then I found an 'artificial red brick' with a gray core in the cross section of the hole..."

****

This is the end of the selection of the tax collector. I handed the list to the Finance Cabinet and walked into the dining room with a gloomy face.It doesn't hurt to keep the little mouse happy for a while.I thought to myself, and felt that my footsteps became a little lighter. Anyway, I have become an ant in my palm, and I will have a chance to crush him to death in the future.

After all, there are more important things ahead than cleaning up the mice.

In the hall, the servants were busy around the dining table. I strode in and said loudly, "Everyone stop. Tell the imperial dining room to ask them to cook more meat dishes at noon today. It doesn't have to be fancy, just enough. The ingredients are from The king's future menu will be deducted. When the meal is ready, it will be sent to the sword casting room, and I will not eat here at noon today."

The efficiency of the imperial dining room is very satisfactory, and the waste of ingredients is also decreasing day by day, probably because I once picked up the squeaky kettle and scalded the head chef's arm.When I walked into the noisy sword-making room, the hot steam rushing towards my face was like butter covered with cake dough, and the bright flames were like hideous ghosts dancing on the wall.Weak panting and rapid whistling were intertwined in the bellows. The blacksmiths placed the blades of their swords on the iron bench and beat them, and their naked upper body was covered with greasy and shiny sweat stains.The hammers rose and fell swiftly and powerfully in their hands, and the heavy and piercing clash between the metals was like a generous song.

The room was full of iron filings, and I looked at the raging stove through the flying dust in the air, as if I saw my own shadow in the red-hot hearth.I took off my fur and coat, and walked into the sword casting room with only a silk blouse. Soon my cheeks were burning hot, and my bare skin was covered with a thin layer of oil.

Seeing my wandering figure, several blacksmiths shouted respectfully, "Your Majesty!"

I nodded and waved my hand, "It's noon now, it's time to eat, you can stop now."

The blacksmiths stopped their work one after another and poured out of the steaming sword room.I glanced at the steel swords hanging on the wall, satisfied with the rows of dazzling edges.Thinking that they can cut off the heads of the mangy dogs of the Twilight Empire faster, I feel a lot better.

When everyone walked into the temporary dining room, they were surprised to find that the table was covered with delicious white bread, various fresh fruits and vegetables, hearty steaks that were difficult to eat, and several large barrels of wine.Then I stepped into the dining room and sat at the end of the round table in the hall. I smiled and spread my arms under the staring eyes of everyone, "Please, everyone. This is my hospitality. I have worked hard for several days in making ironware. Thank you for your support. The contribution made by the army, your credit, I will let every soldier who fights for the country remember in his heart!"

There were deafening shouts in the dining room. These tired blacksmiths stretched their brows, thanked me in unison, and then sat down at the table and gorged.

Laborers are always easy to please.I casually fork the noodles into my mouth, and they're grateful if you give them the right amount of favors, much more honest than those idle noble brutes.

Holding a crude wine glass filled with grape juice of the same color as the wine, I walked up to a blacksmith who was chewing on a barbecue.When he saw me, he quickly put down the bone in his hand, stood up and said, "Your Majesty!"

"You're welcome." I pushed him back to his seat and sat down.I glanced at the palm of his severed finger, and sighed, "I heard that you accidentally broke your own finger while blacksmithing. It's so sad, Parker, how are you feeling now?"

He was so flattered that he didn't know where to put his hands, "God, thank you for your kindness and kindness, Your Majesty! I feel very good now, there is no problem at all! It was my own accidental injury, no wonder others , can do something for the country and the army, it is my honor!"

I smiled good-naturedly, "Well, that's great to hear. Come on, let's drink to your health."

He picked up the wine glass tremblingly, moved as if he was about to cry, clinked glasses with me, and drank the wine in one gulp.I visited several blacksmiths one after another, and specifically called out their names one by one.Without exception, they all expressed their loyalty and gratitude to me.

After drinking the tenth glass of grape juice, I went to the design room, opened the door and went in. I saw Chichikov smoking a cigarette, and the palace craftsmen chatting with him.

"Your Majesty." Chichikov nodded slightly to me.The other palace craftsmen were about to say hello, but I waved my hand to signal them to leave.

Chichikov sat on a chair with his legs crossed and looked out the window leisurely, as if waiting for me to speak.I've worn the mask for so long, and I'm tired.I slumped on a chair, stared straight at a withered ancient tree outside the window, and whispered, "I killed everyone."

The smoke spread between the two of us, and I waved away the peppery smell in disgust, but Chichikov squinted his eyes and said, "Those sneaky people who are slandering your reputation in the lower city?"

"That's right." I leaned forward, squinted my eyes and sneered, "Those damned bastards were stalking the wind and talking nonsense. I cut their throats one by one, and no one survived."

He said, "How many people are there?"

I said, "Six people, in line with the number you said."

"That's good." The old man snorted, looked at my absent-minded face, and said, "Those are not spies from the Twilight Empire, at most they are poor people who are dissatisfied with the current ruling policy, or troublemakers who are afraid of chaos in the world."

"Yeah." I stroked the gold ring on my finger, and a woman's face flashed in front of my eyes - that man-in-law who was said to be Luo's childhood playmate.I have long thought that stinky woman was not pleasing to the eye, and now I let her be killed with a knife, but she died quickly.

"The rumors in the downtown area should stop for a while. If there are new incidents, I will let you know." Chichikov fed the meat strips to the centipede in the box, stroked the centipede's head from time to time, and let out a kind to obscene moan. Laughter, "What about the little undead, what are you going to do?"

The full luster on the edge of the gold ring stung my eyes, "...you mean that?"

"Ah."

I said in a low voice, "Your news is true?"

The old man snorted nonchalantly, with a haughty "believe it or not" look on his face, which made me want to open his nostrils to the sky.I lowered my head and thought for a moment, then got up suddenly, and strode out of the room.

Chichikov asked while feeding his precious centipede, "Where are you going?"

"Fuck my undead."

"I'm not kidding you, king."

"I'm serious too, old man." I turned my head and bit a few words between my teeth with a smile on my face, "I want to see with my own eyes, who dares to touch my belongings."