Chapter 76: Wishing You Flying High
Walking out the door, Fan Xian put down the cup of cold tea in his hand.
With a clang, the teacup rested accurately on top of another teacup on the desk, and the two cups were stacked on top of each other without much residual tea spilling out. Teacups pressed on the previous teacup, just a very common and casual small action.
He descended the stairs and Hong Zhu whispered a few words, and the two of them left the small building, walking along the stone path in the chilly palace, heading that way.
After sending Fan Xian out of the palace, Hong Zhu bypassed the Taiji Hall, went through the stone curved gate, and went to the imperial study to resume his orders. Along the way, he joked with the palace maids he saw, and said a few words to the little eunuchs, indescribably happy. Those eunuchs palace women heart also some surprise, thought Hongzhu small eunuch since his majesty’s side, identity status went up, along with the nature of the heart is also calm and ruthless a few points, today is out of what happened, let him happy into this?
Seeing the imperial study is not far away, Hong Zhu just wake up, know that their performance is a little over the top, hurry to live in the foot, from the side of the road in the rocks grabbed two handfuls of snow, to the face of the ruthless wipe, hard to the face of the hot skin cool down, only then put down the heart, coughed twice, learned the palace eunuch ancestor Hong husband Gong style, dead calm face, pushed open the door of the imperial study.
The emperor at this time is arguing with Shu Daishi in what, the voice is very high, the Shu Daishi is really bold, in front of the emperor’s face is not an inch, only vaguely listen to what is the river, the appropriation of money, the Ministry of households.
Hong Zhu vertical ears, waiting at the side, the atmosphere does not dare to come out, but the heart is clear to let Shu Daoshi bold and His Majesty top cattle, in fact, is for what.
This winter is the dredging of the river is a good time, under the door of the province of the Central Committee of the two months ago has been prepared by-laws, only to wait for the Ministry of households to raise the silver, will be organized around the states and counties, the recruitment of people, repairing the river. But did not expect the Ministry of households finally hard to get out so much silver, the gap is too large, seriously delayed the time to repair the river. So Fan Shangshu became a target, if not his majesty force to protect, how that Shangshu adults also have to resign.
Qing is in its prime, but the state treasury can not come up with enough silver! Door under the Chinese book asked the Ministry of the household, the Ministry of the household is a question three do not know, only said that the Palace call. But the palace has always used items from the treasury out of …… Is the treasury has now declined to such a situation? Inside the library, involving the Princess, involving the face of the royal family, and recently the Supervisory Yuan is checking the Cui’s, the spearhead of the library, at this time, the ministers in the courtroom is not good to ask the emperor face to face.
Thus, there was the trip of Grandmaster Shu to the palace, and it seems that the communication between this monarch and his ministers was not very peaceful.
The Emperor coughed and vaguely spoke of Fan Xian, Jiangnan and a few other vague words. Grand Maester Shu’s face finally looked a little better, and seemed to believe that Fan Xian would be able to solve Qing’s financial problems after he traveled to Jiangnan.
The old maester lowered his voice, but his face was worried: ”I’m afraid that time is too late, what if there is another big flood next year? Jiangnan things are mixed, Fan Ti Si even if the talent is too much, to clear up, I’m afraid it will take a year, even if the heavens favor next year, but the year after that?”
The emperor smiled and comforted Shu Wu, saying, “Fan Xian will leave in a few days, so he should be in time.”
Shu Wu answered and exited the imperial study with a smile. In fact, both the monarch and the minister were old and prudent, so how could they really stop worrying just because Fan Xian was such a youngster going to Jiangnan?
What’s more, Bachelor Shu was simply fighting for more than what was on the surface. As the head of the civil officials in the court nowadays, he needs a statement from his majesty, what to do about the inner treasury, and more crucially, after those two rumors came out one after another, what is the court or the palace going to do about Fan Xian?
Royal play mysticism, on many things secret, the court officials system can not stand this, people are on edge, always ask for a letter. Since the emperor explicitly stated the date of Fan Xian’s departure from Kyoto, on the one hand, it was announced that the inner treasury governance will definitely start, and will start very forcefully, on the other hand, it was through Shu Wu to tell the officials in the court that Fan Xian’s identity and so on ended for the time being, regardless of whether he is the remaining of the rebellious Ye family or the emperor’s illegitimate son, anyway, others have left Kyoto, so don’t make any blind guesses, and let the matter fade away!
“Hong Zhu ah.” The emperor suddenly snapped out of his contemplation and asked, “What was his reaction earlier?”
Hongzhu was stunned, hurriedly answered in a low voice: “Fan Tis eyes have hidden tears, face shows the color of relief …… had laughed three times in the building, but I don’t know why.” His young age, can personally follow the emperor side, natural resourcefulness than the average person to be stronger than three points, of course, know that his majesty in his mouth, is just out of the palace of the little Fan adults.
The emperor’s face slightly sank, then smiled and said, “This is good, after releasing the good unattached to work for the court.”
Hong Zhu gave a small smile and did not dare to answer, but was frightened by the emperor’s next words.
“Starting from next month, you go to the Empress’ side to wait for her.” The Emperor rubbed a piece of Meditation Jade in his palm and said casually.
Like a thunderbolt striking the little eunuch’s heart! With a plopping sound, Hong Zhu knelt straight down, lying on the ground, crying, “Your Majesty, slave …… slave didn’t know what he did wrong, please Your Majesty beat slave to death, but also don’t drive slave away.”
The emperor frowned at him and said in disgust, “What out of the blue! Let you go to the palace over there to be the chief eunuch, I promote you, but you are scared like this …… really can not be used!”
Hongzhu heart a mess, know that he made a mistake, face but still snot and tears flowed, wailed: “Nucai do not do what the chief eunuch, nucai would like to be at your side.”
“Oh.” The emperor looked at the small eunuch in front of him with a smile, said, “What are the benefits of being around me?”
Benefits of the two words can be used as a joke, can also be used as a knife to kill the head, Hongzhu froze from the ground and raised his head, flowing with tears on his face stained with some dust, he ravished said, “…… in the side of the emperor to serve …… lackey …… face glossy.”
“Glory?”
Hongzhu pounded his head like garlic, sobbing, said: “Nuns should be damned …… Nuns should not covet ……” His heart is clear as a mirror, eunuchs subject to a bribe, all the masters in the palace no one cares about, but on the see how these masters are in the mood.
“How much silver have you received?” The emperor looked at the little eunuch’s face full of dust and tears, the appearance is very ridiculous, actually laughed.
Hongzhu heard the laughter, heart slightly settled, nerdily returned: “slave in the imperial study for two months, a total of four hundred taels of silver collected.”
The emperor suddenly sank his face, chilling, coldly said: “Is that so? Then who bought the eight hundred acres of land in Jiaozhou for you? Your brother’s officialdom, and who gave you the doorway? You have big guts, less than a hundred days by my side, you made such a handiwork!”
Hong Zhu’s face was miserable, all thoughts were lost, bawling, “Nun knows the crime, Nun knows the crime.” He didn’t even dare to beg the emperor to spare his life.
“Who is it?” The emperor turned around, kicked off his boots, and sat on the couch to start correcting the medals again.
Hong Zhu’s face green a piece, white a piece, knowing that after all, it is impossible to hide, a clenched his teeth and said, “It is …… Fan Ti Si.”
The emperor’s face is unchanged, gently hmmm expressed doubt.
Hongzhu suddenly hands and feet, crawling to the emperor’s feet, tilted his face and sobbed: “Your Majesty, you can kill the lackey, but the sky can be judged, the sky can be judged, the lackey on your Majesty but loyal, never with the Tisch Lord secretly …… Tisch Lord is a good man, this thing is the lackey begged him to do, you spare him. ”
At this time the emperor only showed a hint of surprise: “Oh? You actually plead for him?” He immediately laughed and said, “This child, it seems that his popularity is much better than I thought.”
The emperor looked at the little eunuch’s big flowery face and scolded with a smile, “Get out of here, this matter Fan Xian has long been played by me, if I don’t like you to have some little wit, he would have already slaughtered you with a knife, and you actually pleaded for him.”
“Ah?” Hong Zhu’s face shocked with embarrassment and embarrassment, half a long time did not come back to God.
“Still not rolling?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” Hong Zhu cried and mourned, but in his heart, he was overjoyed, and did not get up, just crawled out of the imperial study, as for whether he was going to be driven to the Empress’s palace to be the chief eunuch, or some other way out, at this time, he already didn’t care.
Out of the imperial study, ran to the side room, Hong Zhu only calmed the sharp breathing, only to feel the back of the cold sweat is so cold. Receiving a towel, he haphazardly wiped the tear-stained sweat and dust from his face, and annoyingly chased all of his men out until he was sitting alone in the room when he began to be overwhelmed with afterthoughts.
“Little Lord Fan is right, there is nothing in this world that could have been hidden from His Majesty.” The little eunuch thought with palpitations, “If His Majesty allows you to be greedy, you can be greedy, so it’s better to simply do everything in the open.”
At this moment, his admiration for Fan Xian had been deeply planted within his bones, and on top of his admiration, he had a lot more gratitude and thanksgiving for Fan Xian. The other party was able to guess that His Majesty didn’t care about the little eunuchs around him being greedy for money, this was just that Lord Fan was too smart, and Lord Fan used this matter to hide the most important thing, which was the key, and in the future, if he got closer to Lord Fan, His Majesty wouldn’t be suspicious.
Thinking of that matter, little eunuch Hong Zhu’s eyes narrowed, indescribable gratitude, just soon to be transferred out of the imperial study, do not know whether in the future can help little Lord Fan.
In the carriage leaving the palace, Fan Xian was recuperating with his eyes half-closed, Gouda and the two tiger guards were supported by him under the carriage, and in the carriage was Su Wenmao. He closed his eyes and thought, although he can not judge qinian group, there is no palace eyes, but he is bumping into wang qinian, and by wang qinian to pick so many unattractive supervisory office officials to the side, for himself, the most can trust is this group of people, he wants to do something, then only trust them.
“Is there any tail on the matter of Yingzhou?” He asked with a frown.
Su Wenmao did not drive the car at this time, and carefully listened to the movement outside the car before he said softly, “Don’t worry, my lord, the governor of Yingzhou fell ill and died after he was released from prison, and didn’t go through the courtyard, and used your medication, so the coroner couldn’t find out.”
Fan Xian nodded, “If you can confirm that it is safe, that governor’s family should not be moved, this matter ends here, you should know what to do.”
Su Wenmao nodded, knowing that Lord Tiji was instructing him to keep it a secret, for this kind of shady private matter, Lord Tiji trusted himself to do it, which showed that he had finally succeeded in becoming his lord’s beloved.
However, as a beloved, he naturally had to consider for Fan Xian, and deep down he was still very disapproving of this matter. To secretly kill a grand governor, an official of the fourth rank, for so many years after the establishment of the Supervisory Academy, this kind of thing rarely happened. In the future, if nothing happens, once something happens, the whole Supervisory Yuan will be in bad luck – not to mention the fact that the governor has no faction and is a pure disciple of the Son of Heaven.
Seemingly guessing what Su Wenmao was thinking, Fan Xian sneered and said, “That governor killed people, took over their property, and even traveled with bandits. Slaughtering villages and destroying clans, this official only took one of his lives, which is already considered cheap.”
Su Wenmao said with concern: “Sir, that said, but after all, there has been no solid evidence, the captured mountain bandits bit their mouths extremely tightly and refused to testify against that governor.”
“Nonsense.” Fan Xian said, “If I could hold evidence, why would I bother using such tactics.”
Su Wenmao shook his head disapprovingly, “It’s still too risky after all. At the very least, His Excellency would write a folding letter to the Zhongshu, or even skip the Zhongshu under the door and directly report to His Majesty. Even though there is no solid evidence, His Majesty will take that governor in His Excellency’s honor.”
Fan Xian smiled and shook his head without saying anything else.
The matter of that governor was something that must not be known to His Majesty. He closed his eyes and leisurely recuperated, but his mind was spinning rapidly – the reason why he had to deal with that governor who was far away from the capital of the capital was because he had to sell the little eunuch, Hong Zhu, a favor, a heavenly favor, a favor that Hong Zhu had to pay back as soon as he remembered it in the future.
The small eunuch Hong Zhu who is now working in the Imperial Study Room is from Yingzhou, originally surnamed Chen. Was Fan Xian whole death of the governor when he was still the governor, once because of a certain mountain property, forcibly take away the Chen’s family property, bias Chen’s family is very out of the two scholars, naturally do not rely on the mountains and mountains, across the government over the state lawsuit, but also claimed that this lawsuit to the Kyoto to go.
The governor under the panic, ruthless killers, in the middle of the night, colluding with the mountain bandits, hard to Chen’s big family to the door!
I don’t know how many people died that night.
And Hong Zhu and his own brother was still a small child, playing in the mountains after forgetting to go home, is also considered fate, lucky to escape this pile of tragedy. Brothers are also smart, the night on the mountains, begging all the way to the Shandong Road, no longer dare to go to the government offices to sue, just a lot of hard work on earth to struggle to live. One day, the two brothers could not survive, Chen Xiaodi, is now Hongzhu will be practicing magical powers, crotch with blood cast in the palace.
After entering the palace, Chen Xiaodi cowering as a human being, by the older eunuchs bullied, by the damned old palace maid pinched buttocks, humiliation under the birth of fear, and even their own family name do not dare to say.
Coincidentally, one day, Chen Xiaodi picking water through the Hall of Contained Light side road, met the Hong old eunuch outside the house to sleep and recuperate, the old eunuch wearing only many years ago, not wearing the old clothes, Chen Xiaodi did not recognize each other’s identities to look at the old eunuch leaning against the broken bamboo chairs, the face of a few flies flying around, they feel that the old eunuch how to be so pitiful?
The same is the end of the world, Chen Xiaodi this person but also some warm-hearted, thinking of their own around nothing, they went back to the house to take a broken fan, began to play fan for Eunuch Hong catch flies.
Hong old eunuch woke up, not as common scene in the book that, pass the little eunuch Chen Xiaodi supreme power, accept him as a little brother, in the palace walk sideways, all around eating and drinking spicy. But a fan of grace, Hong old eunuch knew that the little eunuch did not have a family name, so he only gifted him a word.
Hong.
And because the old eunuch was lying on top of the bamboo chair, then casually let him call bamboo, this, is later when the red eunuch Hong Zhu name origin.
From that day onwards, Hong old eunuch no longer cared about the death of Hongzhu, even the words have not said a sentence, even if Hongzhu to the Royal Study Room, looking for ways to flatter Hong old eunuch, the old eunuch also no longer pay attention to.
But the little eunuch, after all, has a name, the name of Hong Zhu. Hong surname, in the palace on behalf of the unusual, and Hong old man did not express opposition, gradually, began to legend, Hong Zhu is Hong old eunuch’s new grandson, so no one dared to bully him, but on the contrary, but also to flatter him, what easy and decent work begged to let him do.
Hongzhu people and smart, experienced a childhood tragedy, the heart is also very calm, there are so many opportunities in front of us, coupled with the old Dai lost power, the palace personnel a few turns, actually let this little eunuch blessed prosperity, directly into the Royal Secretariat, began to do things at the side of His Majesty.
This is the so-called chance.
See more, know that the palace is the same thing, the governor is not a big official, Hongzhu heart of vengeance will begin to burn up the flame, but after all, he is young, do not know the doorway, do not know how to start, is it directly to His Majesty’s statement of their own grievances? He didn’t have the guts.
At that very moment, the heavens sent someone to him.
The carriage lurched a bit, and Fan Xian woke up leisurely, yawning, his spirit looking a bit dejected.
Hongzhu’s matter, was set out by him, and the subsequent means, also did not let Hongzhu know at all, just silently made this thing, only today told the other side.
Fan Xian is clear, to Hong Zhu in the palace development trend, watch the emperor’s degree of trust in him, but three years, this small eunuch will certainly have considerable influence, when he casually say a word, the six departments of the court more than a person to help him to help him sell his life, to help him take revenge, so he must be robbed in three years ago will do, and do cleanly, don’t coercion, don’t show favor, not to leave any trouble.
This is the superior means of giving favors.
The dead governor is yingzhou governor, Hongzhu record book is jiaozhou people, the two places are very far apart, when the extermination of too long in the past, long ago no one remembers, Fan Xian is not worried about someone will guess Hongzhu with this matter, this point, he is very careful, what people did not tell.
In the future, even if his majesty found out that the governor of Yingzhou died an unnatural death, and found out that it was the Supervisory Yuan’s hand, Fan Xian could also find a basket of reasons – as long as it had nothing to do with the people around him, and the palace was not involved in any important matters, the life of a governor was not as valuable as his own son’s life in the emperor’s eyes.
He lifted a corner of the carriage window, squinted and looked at the corner of the Imperial City behind him, which was already far away and blurred, and wished that his fellow eunuchs would be able to prosper in it.