Ning Zhao also smiled, looked at the dark and dreary night, and suddenly became a little sleepy.

Ning Zhao was pulled to his feet by Jin Yuan, and the two slowly walked towards the main courtyard.

Earlier than Jin Yuan expected, Murong Cheng and Murong Ji returned to Kyoto in the afternoon of the second day, and the old emperor temporarily summoned Jin Yuan into the palace to observe the two of them.

In the Qinzheng Palace, several pavilion elders were there, Jin Yuan stood at the beginning, Murong Cheng and Murong Ji stood in the hall, and reported to the old emperor on the finishing matters of Zhigu Village.

Although the finishing matters are important, they are all tedious and trivial things, and the old emperor has no patience to listen to them one by one, but just listens to important things, and the key is this result.

"The construction of the official road in Zhigu Village was completely completed, and the people who were requisitioned and transferred all took the silver and thanked the emperor for his grace." Murong Ji said with a smile.

"Yes!" Murong Cheng also bowed to the old emperor, glanced at Murong Ji, and said with a smile: "There are also local and surrounding towns' squires and merchants, all of whom contributed to the previous fundraising, and now that the official road has been built, they have also helped a lot, and they also took the initiative to mention that after the opening of the official road, trade contacts will increase, and those who have more will pay taxes to the court according to the previous divide." ”

"Is that true?" The old emperor's eyes lit up, and he leaned forward.

Jin Yuan's eyebrows were also slightly raised, and after looking at Murong Ji, who was not very good, he probably understood what was going on.

"It's true!" Murong Cheng's smile deepened and he reassured.

At this moment, Jin Yuan interjected with a smile and asked, "His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has gained a lot from this trip, and the lower officials are really pleased for the emperor and the imperial court." ”

"But ......" Jin Yuan looked at Murong Cheng, and then looked at the old emperor, with a smile on his face, and said: "The people are grateful for the construction of the pipeline, and it is even more meritorious, but on the issue of taxation after the opening of the official road, the imperial court has not yet drawn up an exact charter, and besides, on the side of His Royal Highness the Prince, can you sign a contract with those squires and merchants?" ”

Murong Cheng's face was obviously stiff, but Murong Ji's expression looked a lot more relaxed, and then Jin Yuan's words said: "Yes, this king really doesn't know about the tax, there is no basis for empty words, does the crown prince and brother have a contract?" ”

Murong Cheng squinted, glanced at the two of them, and then arched his hand towards the old emperor and said, "Those squires and businessmen have all been guaranteed, and the political envoy of Zhigu Zhai is also present, and he can testify to the agreement." ”

The old emperor frowned when he heard this, and his body fell back to the back of the chair, without his previous excitement, and said in a faint voice: "What the King of Chu said is right, there is no basis for empty words, taxes are related to the treasury, and they must be bound by contracts." ”

The old emperor was happy, his face was a little unhealed, Murong Cheng wanted to say something to make up for it, but Jin Yuan intercepted him.

"What the emperor said is very true." Jin Yuan nodded in agreement, then looked at Murong Cheng again, and said with a smile: "However, His Royal Highness the Prince's trip to Zhigu Village is also hard work, if it weren't for the tacit understanding between the two princes, where could it be completed ahead of schedule, and there would be no businessman to reveal these secrets." ”

Murong Cheng's face was a little pale, and he smiled at Jin Yuan: "My father asked me and His Royal Highness the King of Chu to assist Lord Jin in handling the construction of the official road, and this palace will do its best, and thanks to Lord Jin's trust, this line of work can live up to my father's love." ”

"yes." Murong Ji also arched his hand towards Jin Yuan, his smile was more sincere than Murong Cheng, "It's all because Lord Jin has arranged it properly, so it will go so smoothly." ”

"His Royal Highness the King of Chu has a good reputation, and he doesn't dare to be an official." Jin Yuan returned the salute and said with a smile: "The two highnesses are both descendants of the Son of Heaven, so they naturally worry about the society like the emperor, and the lower officials are just arrogant to explain one or two, and the credit for the successful completion is naturally the two highnesses." ”

Murong Cheng sneered quietly, but there were many people around, and he didn't dare to make too many moves, so no one noticed the change in his expression.

It was Murong Ji, who smiled at Jin Yuan modestly, looked at the old emperor again, and said: "Previously, Erchen was still in Zhigu Village, so he heard about Lord Jin's affairs in Linxian, and the preliminary preparations were more troublesome than the ends, but Lord Jin went alone, and the matter was handled so quickly, this is really a place that Erchen should follow." ”

"It's good to know!" Seeing that Murong Ji went out and became diligent, the old emperor was in a better mood, smiled at Murong Ji, and said, "From now on, it will not hurt you to learn a thing or two from Lord Jin." ”

Naturally, you have Murong Cheng for this, but the old emperor didn't look at him, Murong Cheng was on fire in his heart, but he quickly put a smile on his face, and together with Murong Ji, he replied to the old emperor.

The matter of Zhigu Village is all over, and the closing matters are the same as Jin Yuan said, there is nothing particularly complicated, and it is quite easy to deal with, but Murong Cheng and Murong Ji have a heart of contention, although in the end, no one has a greater credit, but the gap between the two is already beyond repair.

However, both of them felt that it didn't matter, because of the old emperor, the two got along well before, and Murong Ji treated Murong Cheng with a little sincerity, but because the old emperor favored Murong Ji, Murong Cheng had already had a disagreement in his heart.

"Murong Cheng really talked about taxes?" Not long after Ning Zhao and Qin Yan came back from the store, Jin Yuan came back, and the two went back to the main courtyard.

Ning Zhao knew that the two of them were back today, and he heard Jin Yuan talk about today's Qinzheng Palace, so he asked, "If that's the case, he has made a lot of contributions this time." ”

"Things shouldn't be fake." While Jin Yuan changed out of his official robe, Ning Zhao handed him a brocade white regular robe, Jin Yuan took it and put it on, and then said: "But Murong Cheng is still a bad move, maybe the day of return is approaching and there is no time, and maybe something else has happened, anyway, in the end, he just reached a verbal agreement with someone, and did not sign any contract." ”

Thinking of Murong Cheng's expression in the Qinzheng Palace, Jin Yuan smiled again, and continued: "The emperor and the court only recognize the contract, even if you are the crown prince, you will not be convinced by one sentence, Murong Cheng must regret it now." ”

"Originally, it was a great achievement, and the King of Chu couldn't compare to it, but unexpectedly, it was just a kick in the door, tsk......" Jin Yuan sighed a little indebted, raised his hand so that Ning Zhao could straighten his belt for him, leaned over to Ning Zhao's ear, and whispered: "I guess, Murong Cheng should be dying of anger at this moment." ”

His ears were a little itchy, Ning Zhao shrunk his neck slightly, and couldn't help laughing, raised his hand and tapped it on his chest, and said with a smile: "My lord, isn't this called schadenfreude." ”

Jin Yuan smacked his mouth, thought for a while, nodded and said, "If it's against the prince, then I admit it." ”

Ning Zhao's smile deepened a little, as long as Murong admitted that she was not happy, then she would be happy.

If this matter is put on Murong Ji. Jin Yuan and Ning Zhaoxu would regret it, but it was a different matter for Murong Cheng.