Prime Minister Bai knew that the emperor handed over the matter of raising disaster relief funds to the king of Chu, and he also guessed that the king of Chu would take the opportunity to make trouble and find trouble for him.

Hearing the announcement from the porter that the prince of Chu had arrived, he was not surprised, and hurriedly took off his robe and came out to greet him, but when he walked out of the door, he couldn't help but be startled, Murong Mian took it, followed by a group of people who were pressed by the black, and hula poured into the courtyard of his house.

He was stunned for a moment before he greeted him and saluted, "The king of Chu has arrived, and the lower officials have missed the distance, so I hope to bear with me." ”

The prince of Chu snorted with his nostrils facing the sky, which was regarded as a return salute, and many officials behind him saluted Bai Cheng again, and for a while, the noise was full of people, and the noise made his brain hurt, and he couldn't bear it, so he went straight into the house.

After everyone sat down and served tea, Prime Minister Bai asked with a smile, "I don't know what the prince of Chu and the adults are doing when they go to the cold house?" ”

Murong Mian took out a folded piece of paper from his arms and spread it out in front of Prime Minister Bai, "This king has nothing to do but go to the Three Treasures Palace, and he is here to beg for money." The drought in the south is known to Prime Minister Bai, now the treasury is empty, and the emperor is also a clever woman who is difficult to cook without rice, and ordered the king to raise funds for disaster relief, and the prime minister is the mainstay of the court, and he should be an example. ”

Prime Minister Bai picked up the paper and looked at it carefully, it turned out to be the donations made by the adults, some more, some less, roughly add one plus, and there are also thirty or forty thousand taels of silver, he saw that the most donated is the university scholar Xiu Min, five thousand taels of silver, he is at the same level as Xiu Min, a cabinet, a prime minister, the emperor's left and right arms, since Xiu Min donated five thousand taels, then he also donated five thousand taels.

Then he smiled, "This is a good deed, of course the lower official can not be an exception, although the lower official worships the prime minister, and the salary is not low, but such a big family depends on the lower official alone, and the savings on weekdays are not much, the lower official originally left a sum of silver for the girl as a dowry, and first take it out to donate it for good deeds, which can be regarded as a little effort." The silver is not much, five thousand taels, please accept it with a smile. ”

Murong Mian smiled, "Prime Minister Bai Cheng is a well-known hidden rich family in our court, so donate five thousand taels?" It's too stingy. ”

"Wang Ye Mingjian, the lower officials have a clean sleeve, and they only rely on Yulu to support their families on weekdays, you look at so many people in my family, so many mouths to eat and drink, it is not easy for the lower officials, these five thousand taels are still moved out of the girl's dowry, no matter how much, the lower officials are really powerless."

Murong Mian seemed to be smiling, "The adults here have a lot of breeze on their sleeves, not to mention the four walls of the family, it's really difficult, and they also took the initiative to donate their savings, Prime Minister Bai has nothing to do with the breeze on his sleeves, and the matter here will not go to the emperor, everyone will open one eye, close one eye, and understand in their hearts." ”

slandered him like this in front of everyone, Prime Minister Bai Cheng's face was red, and he wanted to break with the prince of Chu with his throat, and secretly said that his reputation could not be ruined like this.

"The prince's words are bad, the lower officials are dedicated to the court, the world can be learned, they have never done anything against their conscience, they have always behaved in a proper manner, and they do things in a down-to-earth manner, even if they make trouble in front of the emperor, the lower officials are not afraid."

"Well said," Murong Mian smiled and turned his head to glance at Jia Tong.

Jia Tong cleared his throat, and his voice was loud, "On the seventh day of the seventh month, the Baifu Central Office begged for skill, and spent five thousand taels of silver, and the third lady's jade wisps of gold grinding and drinking alone cost three thousand taels. ”

Prime Minister Bai's face turned pale, "There is such a thing, the begging festival is run by the insiders of the lower officials, how much they spend, the lower officials don't know, and now they only know that the lower officials must be good at discipline." ”

Murong Mian was noncommittal, raised his chin slightly, and motioned for Jia Tong to continue.

"On June 29, Prime Minister Bai Cheng bought a copy of the ancient stickers of the Jin Dynasty from Baoruzhai and spent 15,000 taels of silver."

Prime Minister Bai blinked, "The prince has clearly checked, this is not a thing, Xia Guan has never been to Baoruzhai on June 29." ”

Murong Mian said slowly, "Could it be that the big shopkeeper has seen a ghost in the daytime?" Bring someone up. ”

Ning Jiu walked out quickly, and soon brought someone in, about fifty years old, with a goatee, small eyes, and a silk robe with bamboo leaf patterns, which was the shopkeeper of Bao Ruzhai.

Prime Minister Bai had a gloomy face: "Shopkeeper Chen, has this official gone to you to shop for things on June 29?" Tell the truth! Although he is a civil official, he speaks with great momentum.

Chen Da didn't dare to raise his head at the shopkeeper, and said in a snort: "Yes, on June 29, Prime Minister Bai Cheng bought an ancient sticker of the Jin Dynasty in Bao Zhai, spending 215,000 taels of silver. ”

"You're spewing blood!" Prime Minister Bai slammed the table and shouted, "Come on, tie up this thing that slanders the imperial court officials to see the officials." ”

"What kind of official, aren't we officials?" Murong Mian crooked his lips, "Prime Minister Bai is angry and embarrassed?" can spend 15,000 taels to buy a few pages of waste paper, but he refuses to take the money out for disaster relief. Liu Shilang of our water conservancy department, from the official of the third grade, the old mother of the family only spent less than 200 taels of silver, but donated 3,000 taels, this king has been seen in someone's house, the bamboo curtain is broken, and mosquitoes are drilled into it, Liu Shilang is reluctant to change to a new one, and he takes the silk lining and continues to use, which is the real breeze of the two sleeves. I don't know how long the 3,000 silver has been saved, and when I heard that the court was in trouble, I took it out without saying a word, which is a model of clean government. This time, every household of this king has gone through, and honest officials abound, but no one can take out 15,000 taels to buy a few pages, Prime Minister, I really want to go to the emperor and say, but there is more than this. ”

Prime Minister Bai made arrangements for his own home, he was ready to cry in front of the prince of Chu and cry poor, even the tea they drank was just ordinary flower tea, but he didn't expect the prince of Chu to go off the rails, and actually check him from the periphery, not only him, but also his sons who were not successful, all of them were ancestors who spent money, in front of so many people, if they were put out in the same way, he would really lose all face.

Seeing that Prime Minister Bai was silent, Murong Mian raised his voice and said, "Keep reading." ”

Jia Tong touched the skin of his mouth and opened his mouth again, "On June 20, Prime Minister Bai drank flower wine in the moonlight of the lotus pond, and rewarded a jade bracelet from the red-card girl Narcissus, worth three thousand taels of silver, and sent someone to send a pair of earrings over the next day......"

"Shut up," Prime Minister Bai Cheng was really annoyed and angry, "Lord Chu, the lower officials know that you are deliberately finding fault, such a slanderous person, the lower officials are not convinced, and they want to go to the emperor to complain!" According to the law of the dynasty, it was a felony for an official to commit prostitution, and of course he could not admit it.

Murong Mian saw that Prime Minister Bai was really anxious, and smiled slightly, "Prime Minister don't worry, these things are all inquired about by his subordinates, maybe there is a misunderstanding, it may not be necessarily, so let's do it, the prime minister and this king borrow a step to talk, if there is really any misunderstanding, it can be explained." ”

Prime Minister Bai is a smart person, and the king of Chu wants to force him again and again, but it's a big deal that the fish will die and break up today. Of course, it wasn't something he wanted, it was his miscalculation, seven inches in someone's hands, this silver can't be out, he secretly swallowed, the silver was donated, sooner or later it will be able to be retrieved, first pass this hurdle and then talk.

The prince of Chu and Bai Cheng came to negotiate, and a room of people outside sat and waited for the results. However, everyone is determined, and if it falls into the hands of the prince of Chu, Prime Minister Bai will not be able to escape.