The Ming Dynasty started with caution

Yan Chengjin was not interested in the house of the Earl of Jianchang.

Walking into the mourning hall of the Earl of Jianchang, there was a bowl of rice and a straw mat on the ground.

Zhu Houzhao blinked in confusion: "Where is the coffin?"

Zhang Heling patted the straw mat and said sadly: "The person is dead, why waste the money?"

How cruel!

With the family background of the Earl of Jianchang, it is more than enough to buy a willow coffin.

I am afraid that the money has been adopted by the name of Shouning Marquis.

"What should we do when we bury him?"

Zhang Heling smiled proudly and said: "Just roll the straw mat into the mountains and burn it."

Zhang Yanling's servants cried bitterly, inhumane, inhumane.

Zhu Houzhao was happy: "Old Gao said you were a wolf and a dog before, but I didn't believe it. I didn't expect you to be a real inhuman."

Zhang Heling was furious and wanted to beat Zhu Houzhao, the dog-like nephew, to death.

But he didn't dare to hit the prince.

Zhu Houzhao was the best at complaining. After complaining to His Majesty, he went to complain to the Empress. He was very cunning.

Zhang Heling looked at Yan Chengjin and said angrily: "How can my nephew slander me like this!"

"I think that you did a good job." Yan Chengjin said.

Zhang Heling saved a lot of money for the court by doing this.

After the death of the princes and relatives, their descendants often asked the court for a lavish burial.

In this way, the utensils and various embroidery and burial objects that the Ministry of Rites had to prepare were no less than those for the ceremony and sacrifice.

Asking for a lavish burial was false, and the embezzlement of the court's burial objects was true. Only a very small part of the burial objects in the tomb were truly put down, and most of them were embezzled by the owner.

Zhang Heling rolled up his bedding and threw it into the mountains and burned it, which did not pollute the environment or occupy the people's land. It is worth promoting.

Zhu Houzhao looked at Yan Chengjin with a little contempt. Old Gao must not dare to offend him, so he said so.

Zhang Heling smiled and pointed at the servants crying: "These servants can also be sold for some silver, twenty taels each, do you want them, Lord Yan?"

The housekeeper who had been with the Zhang family for more than 30 years almost fainted, hugged Zhang Heling's thigh and cried: "Master, I will be your dog, don't sell it!"

Zhang Heling smiled and said: "No, no."

Before the housekeeper of the Zhang family laughed, Zhang Heling continued: "This is a gift, nephew, do you want to buy it?"

The housekeeper of the Zhang family fainted.

A group of guys who only know how to eat white rice are not as useful as dogs in Yan Chengjin's eyes.

"The subordinate just came in to burn incense."

He Neng burned incense on behalf of Yan Chengjin, and there was the eunuch Wei Tai from Kunning Palace.

It should be for Queen Zhang. Since ancient times, it is not easy for the queen to leave the palace, and it is necessary to avoid the gossip of civil officials.

In order to avoid Queen Zhang being too sad, Emperor Hongzhi did not allow her to leave the palace.

Yan Chengjin knew that if the news reached Empress Zhang, it would increase her trust.

Liu Jin also burned incense for Zhu Houzhao.

Yan Chengjin took out two taels of silver and said to the eunuch Wei Tai: "Please help me convey a message to the queen to mourn."

Wei Tai had no good feelings towards Yan Chengjin. Since Yan Chengjin entered the palace, the prince rarely came to Kunning Palace to pay respects.

He said sinisterly: "You don't need the silver. I will help you convey the message. Your Highness, come back to the palace with us?"

Zhu Houzhao knew that his mother must be sad at this time, so he followed Wei Tai back to the palace.

………

In Fengtian Hall,

Emperor Hongzhi thought of the Zhang brothers and asked Xiao Jing beside him: "Where is the Jianchang Earl buried? Has he occupied the people's good farmland?"

Xiao Jing hesitated and said: "Burned, thrown into the mountains."

Emperor Hongzhi's lips trembled slightly, surprised: "Burned, thrown into the mountains?"

Xiao Jing nodded: "I'm afraid this is the most careless funeral among the earls of the Ming Dynasty."

I have heard that Shouning Marquis is frugal for a long time, but I didn't expect him to be so frugal.

Seeing that Emperor Hongzhi was thinking deeply, Xiao Jing continued: "The Queen sent Wei Tai to send Jianchang Earl on his way. There is another matter that I want to report to Your Majesty."

Emperor Hongzhi said sternly: "Just say what you want to say."

Xiao Jing said: "Shouning Marquis inherited Jianchang Earl's money and wanted to sell the mansion given to Jianchang Earl by the court..."

"Humph! He is smart, did he sell it?" Emperor Hongzhi said angrily.

Xiao Jing said, "Not yet. I wanted to sell it to Yan Chengjin, but Yan Chengjin didn't want it."

Emperor Hongzhi said, "Pass my imperial decree to take back the mansion, shop, and farmland granted by the court to the Earl of Jianchang."

An imperial decree was sent to the Shouning Marquis' Mansion.

Zhang Heling never expected that the mansion would be taken back by Emperor Hongzhi before it was sold.

He had a minor illness and had not attended court for more than ten days. He was depressed at home.

The servant brought up a brocade plate and put the porridge on the table.

"Who put meat in the porridge? The mansion has been taken away. How dare you eat meat!"

The servant was very aggrieved. It was not the master's mansion that was taken away, and it was not for him to eat.

Zhang Heling said with regret, "From tomorrow on, meat is not allowed in the mansion to save money."

At this time, outside Xizhimen.

Two ragged people drove five cows into the city, but attracted the curious eyes of the surrounding people.

These five cows have black and white hair, huge bodies, and extremely sharp horns. It is obvious that they are not Ming cows.

A few fearless children came forward and wanted to touch them. Zhang Yanling pouted and raised his hand to drive them away, saying: "Don't touch them! You have touched them and made them lose weight."

Frightened, the children burst into tears.

Zhang Yanling smiled and said: "Go to my house, raise them for a few days and then sell them. I want five thousand taels!"

Zhang Yong clung to the cow rope tightly. His Highness liked the mount, but could not find the relics, so he offered five black and white sacred cows. For the sake of his loyalty, His Highness could not bear to punish him.

"Let's, let's go to the palace first, right?"

Zhang Yanling rolled up her sleeves, grabbed the reins and snatched it from her hands, and said angrily: "Zhang Yong, how dare you steal my Lordship's things!"

"This, this is what we want to dedicate to His Highness."

"Nonsense! It's obvious that you smashed my head and paid me compensation." Zhang Yanling snorted coldly.

Zhang Yong's face turned into an eggplant frown, and he regretted not smashing Zhang Yanling to death in the desert. When he returned to the capital, he did not dare to attack Zhang Yanling and threatened: "We will file a complaint against you to His Highness!"

Zhang Yanling took the cow rope and said happily: "Do you think I am afraid of Zhu Houzhao?!"

With that said, he happily led the black and white sacred cow and rushed to his mansion.

Each of these five black and white sacred cows is sold for 5,000 taels, which is 25,000 taels of silver.

Zhang Yanling had already thought about how to sell it.

Gentlemen with money gathered in Liangxiang, and some unseen gadgets were casually sold at exorbitant prices.

Ordinary cows cost one to two hundred taels of silver, let alone these five sacred cows.

Zhang Yong was stunned on the spot. The first priority was to enter the palace to find His Highness.

Without a summons from the palace, the people could not enter the palace.

The palace is too big and it snows heavily.

Da Xun, the supervisor of the shrine, would occasionally find some common people to wear the clothes of the supervisor of the shrine and go to the palace to help clear the snow.

But right now, it’s not the time for heavy snowfall...

Zhang Yong thought for a while and prepared to go to Donghua Gate to block the eunuchs. Among the twelve eunuchs who came in and out every day, there was always one he knew.

He was squatting at the door of Donghua Gate and saw a man riding on the wall. He turned over very skillfully and patted the dust off his body.

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty?"

Zhu Houzhao was frightened. He had just crawled out and was about to be taken back to the palace?

Looking around, I saw a homeless man coming over crying.