When the whole court and the central government were shocked and surprised because of the change of the criminal department's Shangshu, or the rabbit died and the fox was sad, Qi Jiliang and Xu Yanche, the two noble relatives of the lords, suddenly disappeared from the capital, which naturally did not attract much attention. More people are concerned about who should fill this vacant position after Jiao Fang was transferred from the left waiter of the Ministry of Officials to the Secretary of the Criminal Department.

And on the cusp of this kind of storm, the emperor went out of the palace to see a mere commander to take concubines, although there were also a lot of royal history rumors on the heartbreak, but Zhu Houzhao is not the Hongzhi Emperor, all of them are left in the middle of the day, this day and reverted to the old clothes and Xu Xun went out of the palace to Lingji Hutong West Factory, and after returning to the palace, he did not go to Chengqian Palace, but directly pulled people to the Xiyuan Taiye Pool, looking at the palace that was being built in full swing.

After a while, he glared sideways at Xu Xun and said, "Hello, such a big thing, you dare to hide it from me for so long!" ”

"That is, because the emperor is the emperor, the minister dares to hide it for so long."

Although these words were awkward, Zhu Houzhao saw that Xu Xun was not in a hurry, and he didn't know the meaning of these words - it was because the emperor was him that Xu Xun was so bold. So, he snorted lightly, and his heart immediately felt a lot more comfortable, but he still squinted his eyes and reprimanded: "Clever words! For the sake of your military affairs, I will spare you this time. If you dare to make such a claim in the future, see how I clean you up! ”

"Yes, yes, not as an example!"

"By the way, let Qi Jiliang and Xu Yanche do such a big thing, is it reliable?"

"Your Majesty, it's just for them to make preparations. Dingguo Gong and Ren and the eldest princess have a lot of properties in Xuanfu Datong, and there is an old firewood who knows the situation in the north, so it shouldn't be a problem to contact the fire sieve, and just wait for the news. Besides, as long as this line is opened, the internal treasury problem that the emperor is most worried about can be alleviated by one or two points. ”

"You're right...... Alas, it costs money to ascend the throne, it costs money to build a palace, it costs money to reward ministers, it costs money to fight, and even I have to spend money to marry a daughter-in-law. Zhu Houzhao became indignant as he spoke, and then suddenly thought of something, "The first Liu Jin also said to me, if I am short of money, it is better to transfer back all the eunuchs and tax supervisors who were sent outside in the forefront, and send people out again, and let them pay three or five thousand taels of silver each, so that they can be activated." ”

What a bad idea!

Xu Xun is naturally extremely disdainful of this idea of accumulating money, but he is clearly opposed to Liu Jin and can't get along, this is not the time, so he rolled his eyes, and asked with a smile: "If the emperor really waits for money three moments at a time, and the inner treasury can't be connected, the minister is smashing the pot and selling iron, and he can squeeze out three or five thousand to lend to the emperor." ”

Zhu Houzhao was amused by Xu Xun's last sentence: "You said it well, aren't you afraid that I won't pay it back if I borrow it?" ”

"The emperor's golden mouth and jade words, if you really borrow it and don't pay it back, the minister can only admit it." Xu Xun deliberately made a bitter face, and then smiled heavily, "Besides, what kind of relationship does the minister have with the emperor, and he is a tight-lipped person, the emperor will not shout around if he doesn't pay it back." But if it's replaced by those stingy people who are worried about money, it won't be for sure. ”

Zhu Houzhao's face moved when he said this roundabout remark, and he immediately understood what Xu Xun meant. He was most annoyed that those ministers followed behind all day long and said that this is not allowed and that is not allowed, and as soon as he thought of adopting such a rule, he would have to make a lot of noise in his ears, and maybe he would be ruined, so he immediately threw Liu Jin's suggestion into the stinky ditch.

"Come on, let's talk about it!"

After putting aside the matter, the two monarchs and ministers stood under the weeping willow and said a few more words, and then an inner servant reported that Li Rong, the eunuch who was in charge of the celebrant and the seal of the seal, asked to see him. Xu Xun was going to retire and avoid it, but he was stopped by Zhu Houzhao, and when Zhu Houzhao ordered to pass Li Rong up, he looked at the little emperor with some confusion. What surprised him was that after hesitating for a moment, the young Son of Heaven actually coughed dryly and said, "Li Banban said to me before, and now the last thousand people have been screened, saying that there are several national colors and fragrances, let me go and see them in person." Liu Jin has been taking care of those nephews and nephews outside for the past few days, Gu Dayong is busy in the West Factory again, Zhang Yonggang is still getting started when he arrives at the Imperial Horse Prison, and the others are too busy to come, can you accompany me to take a look? ”

Xu Xun was almost choked to death by Zhu Houzhao's words - there are so many eunuchs in this palace, not all of them are too busy to do anything, and it is a good thing to accompany the emperor to see the future queen concubine, who wouldn't rush to it? So, thinking that he and Li Rong didn't deal with each other very much, and he became the target of public criticism when he spread the word, so he had to hurry up and express his embarrassment, who knew that Zhu Houzhao immediately pushed him back in annoyance.

"You have a good eye for picking women, why don't you want to help me pick one? Although Liu Jin and the others are loyal, can I still discuss women's affairs with them who are not below? Don't forget, the story you told to the queen mother has to be rounded for you! ”

Xu Xun, who was speechless when asked, had no choice but to step aside, even if Li Rong looked at him several times with a strange face after he arrived in front of Zhu Houzhao, he could only pretend not to see the dazzling gaze. Sure enough, when Li Rong heard that Zhu Hou didn't take care of the little fire clothes he had prepared a long time ago, and directly ordered him to get another set, he couldn't help but gasp when he fully understood, and only after a long time did he say carefully: "Your Majesty, the stakes are very high, please think twice." ”

"Li Banban, don't be verbose, just let you take me and him to see, and don't do anything else! I can tell you that if this matter leaks a little bit of rumor, I am the only one who asks! ”

When it came to this, Li Rong had to compromise, but he was depressed and vigilant in his heart, secretly thinking that the emperor would even put Liu Jin and them aside, but went to discuss with the ministers, which shows Xu Xun's position in his mind. So, along the way, he walked in front and observed Zhu Houzhao and Xu Xun who were two steps behind, and his brows furrowed even tighter when he listened.

"Having said that, Xu Xun, if you can find the beauty painted by Tang Yin in it, it will be complete."

Xu Xun realized that the little emperor was really worried about the woman in a painting, so he had to pour cold water and said: "It's just a painting, and I don't know the character of the surname, what if you are disappointed?" ”

"Why don't you know the character of the surname, I saw her walking on the bridge with an umbrella, but I also knew that the little boy with an umbrella on her side to protect her head could see that she was a careful and considerate person. Besides, maybe I have that fate? ”

Zhu Houzhao was full of interest, and unconsciously raised his head and looked around. He rarely comes to this place in the south of the West Garden, compared to the north and a series of buildings around the Taiye Pond, the palaces here are all old, most of them are even the old residence of the West Palace built during the Yongle period, the houses are low and old, and they don't look like the grandeur of the palace. In the end, it was Xu Xun who reminded him in a low voice not to take out the emperor's appearance, so he lowered his head stupidly, but he still muttered something in his mouth.

"It's too shabby to be a carefully selected beauty, and they actually live here!"

Whether it was Li Rong or Xu Xun, or even Du Jin and Li Rong's henchmen in the back, they all didn't dare to answer that talk. When I saw a small door in front of me from a distance, there were bursts of warblers and swallows across the high wall, but they were all in a Gyeonggi accent, and some people even sang twice. Zhu Houzhao suddenly raised his spirits because of this, but Li Rong frowned for a while-he had already ordered the stewards and eunuchs here to come, why was it still such a mess? He lowered his face and beckoned, and Du Jin immediately ran over, only to hear that Gonggong Li arrived, and there was no sound inside.

"This is Qiongfang Courtyard, where a total of 16 people live, and the quality is the best in this selection."

With this low reminder, Li Rong took the lead and walked forward, and Zhu Houzhao pulled Xu Xun and immediately followed. As soon as the group entered the courtyard, Zhu Houzhao saw the young girls who were all over the courtyard bent their knees and said a thousand blessings, just listening to the sound of Gonggong Li's screaming neatly and crisply, he immediately stared wide-eyed and looked around, looking very interested.

Unlike the women who were eliminated before, the last thousand people left behind this time will all stay in the palace. Unlike the later Qing Dynasty concubine selection heads, most of the concubines in the Ming Dynasty were under the care of the eunuchs in several selections, and finally the queen mother's choice, with the same background, some could fly on the branches to become the queen's concubines, and some could only be palace maids who worked hard all their lives, so they who had not taught etiquette knew that Li Rong was the one who controlled more than half of their fate, and all of them showed their most respectful posture.

"Get up." Li Rong glanced at Zhu Houzhao behind him, for fear that this master would feel that he was overbearing, so this sentence was also extremely kind, after seeing the girls standing up straight, many of them boldly looked at their faces, he secretly sighed that they didn't understand the rules, but on the other hand, he was also glad that this could make the emperor see these people better, but unexpectedly, only a moment later, there was a muttering of Zhu Houzhao and Xu Xun behind him, which almost didn't make him lose his breath.

"Just some of the best quality? What is the difference with those in the Chengqian Palace, the eyes are almost the same! ”

"Don't you take a moment, isn't that just the first glance? I don't know what the surname is. ”

"If you can't see it at first sight, it's not interesting to look at more eyes, otherwise how can it be called love at first sight? Besides, there are a thousand people, so why waste your efforts here and change places! ”

Seeing that Zhu Houzhao was obviously stubborn, Xu Xun had no choice but to step forward and whisper beside Li Rong: "Gonggong Li, since this is the case, then take it to other places." The emperor can't look at it, so don't waste time here. ”

Glancing at the women who were showy, he remembered that Du Jin had just come up and whispered that the steward eunuchs here intended to let them gather in the courtyard to talk at first, and it was also to arouse the emperor's curiosity, Li Rong couldn't help but secretly curse people for being smart, but he was indescribably annoyed in his heart. These women are all from rich families, and a lot of silver is stuffed into the house, and people are also born to be charming and smart, if the real emperor takes a fancy to it, it must be a good fate in the future, but now they are all in vain!

(To be continued)