After the imperial eunuch Xu Gao left, Zhou Kui, who was still lying on the bed with a headache, suddenly jumped up.

He pointed to the door and scolded: "Damn, I want the money to go to Lao Tzu, is Lao Tzu's money so easy to ask?" ”

After scolding at the air, Zhou Kui's angina was committed again.

The son-in-law asked him to donate money by name, so he couldn't help but donate, if he really took out 100,000 taels of silver, it would be better to kill him with a knife.

Zhou Kui sighed heartbrokenly: "Life, how can it be full of so much pain!" ”

In desperation, Zhou Kui's eyes suddenly lit up: My daughter is the queen, grace is rising, and now the father is about to be forced to death by his son-in-law, how can this daughter not stand idly by, right?

Zhou Kui was about to enter the palace and ask the queen for help.

He shouted: "Come on, prepare a sedan chair, this master wants to enter the palace!" ”

Zhou Kui's luxurious sedan chair had just left the gate of the mansion, but it suddenly stopped, and Zhou Kui in the sedan chair was almost overturned by inertia, and his crutches flew out of the sedan chair.

Zhou Kui said angrily: "Bastard thing, what's the matter? ”

The sedan chair man picked up the crutches and handed it to him, and said tremblingly: "Master, someone stopped the sedan chair in front of you......."

"Who ate the gall of a bear and a leopard and dared to stop the old man's sedan chair? Hurry up and leave, enter the palace quickly, if you delay the master's big event, you are good-looking! ”

Zhou Kui scolded and didn't take it seriously at all.

However, after a while, there was no movement in the sedan chair, Zhou Kui rushed out of the sedan chair in anger, and just wanted to scold, but he smiled awkwardly when the words came to his mouth.

"This father-in-law, didn't he go back to the palace? Why are you delayed on the road? ”

Xu Gaopi, who stopped the sedan chair, smiled without smiling, saluted Zhou Kui respectfully, and said, "Our family has been waiting here for the headache of the old father-in-law, so let's discuss the matter of the salary by the way." ”

Zhou Kui saw that he was unrelenting, and knew that he had met a difficult lord today, and he couldn't pull down his face when he pretended to be sick on the street, and all the people living around him were relatives of the emperor, didn't this trouble lose the face of the Zhou family.

Zhou Kui stubbornly said: "As a relative of the emperor, it is incumbent on the old man to help the country, dare to ask his father-in-law, have the other royal relatives donated?" ”

Xu Gao smiled and said: "Old Guozhang, you are the father of the country, you are the father of the queen's mother, you haven't paid yet, who dares to grab it in front of you?" ”

Zhou Kui gritted his teeth and said: "In this case, the old man will take out a month's salary, seven hundred taels of silver!" ”

Well? Seven hundred taels??

Xu Gao thought that there was something wrong with his ears, and after repeated confirmations, he was sure that he had heard correctly.

He was furious in his heart, and he joined His Majesty to make you a marquis, which is worth seven hundred taels?

Xu Gao smiled with a dark smile on his face, and said: "The emperor said, you have to donate at least 100,000 taels of silver, these 700 taels are afraid that they will not play an exemplary role, Jiadinghou!" ”

Xu Gao accentuated the last note of the three words in Jiading, and wanted to remind Zhou Kui, you are now a marquis, and Your Majesty can sell the marquis for more than 100,000 taels of silver, this is a great gift for the queen's face!

However, Zhou Kui didn't think so, when he heard about 100,000 taels of silver, he was sweating profusely, and scolded in his heart, what kind of Jiading, when he opened his mouth, he wanted to take away the old man's 100,000 taels of silver? This emperor's son-in-law is really mean and ruthless!

Life, why is it so indifferent?

Zhou Kui stepped on the cold sweat on his forehead and said: "One hundred thousand taels of silver, how can my family have so much money, in this capital, who doesn't know that I have a breeze on my sleeves and am full of poverty......."

Xu Gao secretly scolded: If you are poor, there will be no rich people in Beijing.

Zhou Kui is a native of Suzhou, and in his early years, he made a living by practicing medicine and divination on the streets, supporting a family of seven, a wife, two sons, and three daughters.

Queen Zhou was well-informed and well-informed since she was a child, and entered the palace through the national sea election, was canonized as the princess of Xin, and married Zhu Youzhen, the king of Xin.

After the death of the Emperor of the Apocalypse, there was no heir to inherit the throne, and after King Xin became the emperor according to his brother and brother, he changed his name to Chongzhen, and Princess Xin was immediately promoted to the queen of the main palace.

Because Empress Zhou was favored and favored by Chongzhen, and gave birth to a crown prince, many ministers began to tie up with Zhou Kui, the abbot of the country, and Zhou Kui was pulled to do any profitable business, and the wealth accumulation of the Zhou family rose rapidly, and he faintly became the richest man in the capital.

Xu Gao still put on that respectful attitude, but he said with a rather embarrassed attitude: "Oh, old Guozhang, our family is also here by order, and it's not easy to explain it when you go back like this, isn't it....... Why don't you go and beg the emperor in person? ”

Zhou Kui secretly scolded this Xu Gao for being cunning, and asked him to meet the mean and unkind emperor, wouldn't he step into the fire pit with one foot? He would never go, but he still had to deal with this dead eunuch.

Zhou Kui gritted his teeth and said: "You just go back and tell the saint, when I sell all the mansion and furniture, see if I can make up enough for 100,000 taels, if it is really insufficient, then I can't do it." ”

For the sake of silver, Zhou Kui was willing to let go, and planned to deny even the emperor's son-in-law.

This scoundrel look, so Xu Gao had no choice but to say: "Old Guozhang, why don't you express it, our family will go back to the palace to reinstate the decree." ”

"It's easy to say, it's easy to say, the old man is also going to enter the palace, do you want the father-in-law to go with the old man?"

Xu Gao hurriedly said: "The old slave doesn't dare, the old man, please ...... first."

Zhou Kui triumphantly returned to the sedan chair, and shouted for the sedan chair man at the top of his voice: "Get up the sedan chair!" ”

Several sedan chair drivers made a strong effort, lifted the sedan chair steadily, and trembled towards the Forbidden City.

Xu Gao looked at the sedan chair that was gradually walking away, spat fiercely on the ground, and said, "What is it!"

After scolding, he also took people to the Forbidden City.

Zhou Kui entered the Forbidden City, but instead of going to see his son-in-law Chongzhen, he went directly to Kunning Palace to find his daughter Empress Zhou.

Chongzhen learned that the old man informed him that he wanted to see the queen, and thought that the old man was going to discuss with the queen how much to donate, and he did not stop it, so he immediately approved it.

Zhou Kui was on crutches, trembling and following the eunuch to the palace back garden north of Kunning Palace, with a miserable look.

He looked around and asked curiously, "How did you bring the garden, the queen mother?" ”

Xiao Qinzi, the eunuch of Kunning Palace, said respectfully: "The queen mother is growing vegetables over there!" ”

Zhou Kui trotted a few steps with his cane and looked into the garden, and was suddenly startled at this look, Queen Zhou was really growing vegetables in the palace garden.

When Queen Zhou saw her father coming, she smiled from afar: "Father, why are you here?" ”

Zhou Kui stepped forward a few steps, looked at the girl in cloth, and said anxiously: "What's wrong?" Have you been deposed? ”

Queen Zhou frowned and said, "Father, what are you talking nonsense!" ”

Zhou Kui frowned and said, "You are a lady of the main palace, why do you dress like a village woman?" ”

Empress Zhou sighed and said: "You don't know, the current difficulties of the imperial court, Your Majesty is worried every day, and the emperor is on the front line, if there is no food, what will happen to the hundreds of thousands of soldiers on the front line?" What about the emperor? As the mother of the main palace, the daughter should share her worries for Your Majesty, save the expenses in the palace, and make a modest contribution to the Ming Dynasty. ”

Empress Zhou said again: "I heard that Your Majesty asked the emperor's relatives to help pay money, I don't know how much you plan to donate?" ”

Zhou Kui said casually: "Seven hundred taels a month." ”

Empress Zhou was surprised: "What? Donate only 700 taels? Do you still look like a countryman? Now that Your Majesty and the court have a difficulty, you as the emperor's relatives should share it, not to mention that Your Majesty is the husband of your daughter, why are you so stingy with money and only donate 700 taels, father? You're a shame on me! ”

Zhou Kui listened to Empress Zhou's tone with a lot of bias towards the emperor, and felt that something was wrong, so he quickly fell to his knees with a puff and began to cry poor.

He burst into tears and said, "Daughter, you can save your father!" ”