All the gold for tribute naturally has requirements for fineness, but what the quality is, it is not up to the emperor to have the final say.

None of the courtiers below moved, and no one dared to be the first person.

Emperor Xi Chaosheng's face gradually became ugly, and his eyes swept over the bodies of these ministers who claimed to be his humerus in the past, and he snorted coldly.

At this time, the horse Qin Shou suddenly got up, his posture was long, and the horse chair was originally higher than the people around him, and he was very conspicuous when he sat down, but when he stood up, he was even more upright.

He bowed to the emperor, and the words were like ice beads bursting and stinging, "The minister has a thousand taels of gold, and I am willing to offer a thousand years for the queen mother!" ”

As soon as the words fell, a group of little eunuchs came in carrying several mouthfuls of boxes, and the boxes were specially tied with colored silk knots.

After the five lacquered red nanmu boxes were opened one by one, the dazzling light of the golden light shot out, making people can't help but squint slightly.

In the box, there are all kinds of gold bottles and utensils, as well as exquisite gold carvings, all of which are shiny and gold.

Concubine Yu pursed her lips slightly, her eyebrows flashed with disdain, others didn't know, but she was very clear, this thousand taels of gold was simply part of the stolen goods that Qin Shou had received on the Fengwo Cliff, he just found someone to melt the gold and cast it separately, and Shicai used it to please the queen mother, and brought the emperor's brother a long face.

She felt that this person was really treacherous, and an old fox like Shangguan Lin couldn't compare to him at all.

Emperor Xi Chaosheng rested his waist and abdomen with one hand, and behind his back with the other, slowly walked down the dragon chair, stood in front of a few boxes, and twisted up the triangular gold bottle, which was bright and clear golden yellow, obviously full of color, and quite heavy, it can be seen that it is also solid, and it is not adulterated at all.

Xi Chaosheng smiled with satisfaction, "The horse's intentions, I can see it clearly and clearly, it's a good one." ”

Qin Shou smiled slightly, "The saint praises falsely, everything should be done by a minister." ”

Xi Chaosheng nodded, patted him on the shoulder, and everything was self-evident.

He didn't care what the courtiers next to him thought, those few boxes, just stayed in the hall in a grand manner, looked around with his hands behind his back and said, "The gold of the horse is also seen by your Aiqing, and the gold you offer must be not bad." ”

When it came to this, the minister next to him had to bite the bullet and send the prepared money.

There are eunuchs who specialize in restraint, and there are also eunuchs who specialize in singing, the emperor looked at them one by one, and after seeing one, the eunuch behind him said in a loud voice, "The left middle waiter is one hundred and twenty taels of gold." ”

Most of these gold bottles are remelted, and they are cast into the shape of cups and plates, or incense burners, and they are served with various auspicious meanings.

Xi Chaosheng was not in a hurry, with a smile on the corner of his mouth, and he was very festive and talkative.

And the ministers who handed over the money and passed smoothly all quietly rolled their sleeves and wiped their sweat, as if they had been amnestied.

Finally, Xi Chaosheng walked in front of a Yanguan, who was a protégé of the Sima family in the past, and his official position was not high, but the Yanguan was too special and was not liked by the emperor.

The official was also pedantic and stubborn, and he actually took out a gold cup worth fifty taels, which was small and crude, and it was very perfunctory at first glance.

The smile on the corner of Xi Chaosheng's mouth turned cold, he glanced at the golden cup, and said lightly, "Such a dim gold, is Aiqing fooling me?" ”

This sound of Long Wei shouted echoed throughout the entire East Deer Park, and everyone in the hall couldn't help but hold their breath.

The official was very angry, and thought that this was above the court, and he brushed his sleeves and said righteously, "The ministers have few small salaries, so they can only take out fifty taels, and the ministers think that the matter of drinking gold is actually a forced move, which is inappropriate." ”

"Presumptuous!" Xi Chaosheng was as cold as ice, his eyes were as sharp as a knife staring at the official, pursed his lips, and did not hide his anger at all, "I think this person is unkind and unkind, and there is no filial piety at all, and on the grounds that the official position is very light, perfunctory to me. ”

In the past, most of the people in the morning were as warm as water, and most of the early dynasties would make people forget that he was still an emperor, so they still felt that he was not majestic.

However, at this moment, the impressing majesty and anger all over his body made the official tremble and fall to his knees with a thud.

Xi Chaosheng looked at him condescendingly, and said coldly, "Come on, take away this person's official hat and official seal, and demote him to a concubine, whether he needs to be hired!" ”

The official was stunned for a while, and when the forbidden army came to drag him out, he reacted and shouted loudly, "The saint spares his life, and ......the saint is gracious."

However, he flicked his sleeves and continued to look at the rest of the gold.

The courtiers next to him all bowed their heads and said nothing, feeling that their own money was insufficient, and they quietly made up for it.

Subsequently, Xi Chaosheng demoted several ministers one after another on the grounds of insufficient gold and color, among which the ministers who were demoted were either from the four major families, or from the Shangguan family, and then they were in collusion with the three kings.

Killing chickens and making an example of monkeys is nothing more than that.

Finally arrived in front of Shangguan Lone, Xi Chaosheng raised his eyes to look at him, only to see Shangguan Lone's eyes and nose, nose and heart, holding his hands and the appearance of the old god there.

In front of him, there was only one ingot of twenty taels of gold ingots, and even recasting was saved.

Xi Chaosheng said with a smile, "Shangguan Aiqing, isn't it also because the official I gave is light?" Not enough gold in the house? It's not to melt it. ”

Shangguan Xiao's black beard shook under his chin, and he replied with drooping eyelids, "Back to the words of the sage, Weichen thinks that the courtesy is light and affectionate, and then there is great filial piety, the affection can be reached, and the rites are all things outside the body, and they can't be fancied." ”

"Oh?" Xi Chaosheng stretched out his hand to pick up the gold ingot, and tossed it up and down, "Shangguan Aiqing has a lot to say, and I think so, but Aiqing's twenty taels are the least, does Aiqing think it's the past?" ”

Shangguan Lin's face remained unchanged, and he said again, "If you don't talk about the past, it depends on how the sage sees it." ”

There was a smile on the corner of Xi Chaosheng's mouth, but the smile didn't reach the bottom of his eyes, and it condensed into frost that couldn't be dissolved at the tips of his eyes, "So Aiqing thinks, how do I see it?" ”

Hearing this, Shangguan Lin finally lifted his eyelids, glanced at Xi Chaosheng, and said meaningfully, "The minister is frightened, and he doesn't dare to speculate on the holy will." ”

"What else would you not dare?" Xi Chaosheng's voice rose suddenly, and he smashed the gold ingots in his hand towards Shangguan Lone's face, "You dare to look at me to such a point, Shangguan Lone, do you want to do the opposite?" ”

Shangguan Lonely turned his head slightly, dodged the gold ingot, and still said lightly, "Weichen doesn't dare." ”

Xi Chaosheng sneered one after another, the Nine Dragons Crown on his head shook violently, obviously he was angry, he kicked the case in front of Shangguan Lone, and issued an order, "Spread my will, Shangguan Lone despises Tianwei, behaves informably, does not know the severity, takes away the power of the Suzaku Camp of the Shangguan family, hands over the Vermilion Bird Army Tiger Talisman, and reads it in Shangguan Lone, I can avoid the death penalty, but the living crime cannot be escaped, the rod will be punished fifty, and the post of general will be removed!" ”

As soon as this holy decree fell, the whole court was in an uproar, and the courtiers reacted at this time, today's golden matter was originally aimed at Shangguan's house, and the few people who were demoted at first were just hors d'oeuvres.

Shangguan silently shook his hand in his sleeve, and looked at Xi Chaosheng for a while, and then took off his official hat himself, but he didn't take out the tiger talisman of the Vermilion Bird Army.

"Minister, obey!" He put his official hat on both hands and knelt down on one knee.

Shangguan Xiao, who was standing behind him, dragged off his official hat and knelt down.

The eunuch took away Shangguan Lone's official hat, Xi Chaosheng pursed his lips tightly, he looked at Shangguan Lone expressionlessly, and was speechless for a long time.

At this time, King Gong, who was in the position of the prince in the front, suddenly stood up, he was still holding a wine cup in his hand, but his expression was strange.

Xi Chaosheng looked at him and listened to King Gong's words, "Sage, don't be impulsive, General Shangguan was also outstanding in the past, and his prestige was great, so he was demoted like this, I am afraid that someone in the Suzaku camp will criticize him." ”

Hearing this, Xi Chaosheng sneered, "Oh? In that case, what does Uncle Gong think? ”

King Gong shyly smiled at the general's belly, "Isn't it okay to let General Shangguan and the saint admit their mistakes?" As for the gold, you can make up for it later. ”

Xi Chaosheng's eyes were already full of murderous intent, and he looked back and forth on King Gong and Shangguan Lian, and finally said that it was death instead of death, "I don't know that the relationship between Uncle Huang and Shangguan Aiqing is so close. ”

These words made the vest cold, and the smile on King Gong's face was retracted, and he laughed a few times, "The sage said that he was laughing, I just felt sorry for General Shangguan." ”

Xi Chaosheng cut his hands behind his back and raised his chin, "Uncle Huang is so sorry, how about it for Shangguan Aiqing?" ”

King Gong was stunned, he didn't seem to react, his hand didn't hold it steady, and the cup fell to the ground and shattered into pieces, and his robe splashed with a ball of wine.

Xi Chaosheng's peach blossom eyes narrowed slightly, and sure enough, Commander Gu rushed in, knelt down and replied with an anxious look, "Sage, Shangguan Ye of the Shangguan family has mobilized the Vermilion Bird Army without authorization, and the entire palace is currently surrounded by the Vermilion Bird Legion. ”

Xi Chaosheng's eyes turned sharp, and the anger on his body was overflowing, and he asked Shangguan Shan, "The Shangguan family is really good, a son who has not yet become a famous person, can mobilize my Suzaku army, who gave you the courage?" ”

Shangguan Lin stood up slowly, he also flicked his robe, the corners of his mouth grinned, and he showed a strange smile, he glanced at Xi Chaosheng with contempt, turned around and hugged his hand to King Gong and said, "If King Gong doesn't dislike the old man Shangguan Lonely's old bones, the Shangguan family is willing to swear allegiance to King Gong!" ”

As he spoke, he lifted his robe and knelt down towards King Gong!

His move caused an uproar in the whole court, and the ministers next to him were shocked, and the courtiers of the Shangguan family also stood up, knelt behind Shangguan Lin without hesitation, and expressed their support for King Gong with wordless actions.

King Ning, who was sitting with King Gong, and King Shun, who had never had a sense of existence, glanced at each other, and both moved away from him, not mixing in.

King Gong didn't pay attention to the movements of King Ning and King Shun, he looked at Xi Chaosheng with a mocking face, glanced at the Queen Mother again, and said with a smile, "Queen Mother, saint, this is definitely not my wish, but I never thought of it." ”

The Queen Mother slapped the armrest, got up suddenly, glared at him angrily and said, "King Gong, good means!" ”

Xi Chaosheng didn't speak, but his expression was not very good-looking, and the Queen Mother said arrogantly, "Isn't it going to coerce the saint to write some Zen edicts next, so that you can sit on the dragon chair?" ”

The last word is elongated, bringing out an inexplicable chill.

King Gong was slightly puzzled in his heart, today's things seemed to be too smooth, and he said cautiously, "The imperial sister-in-law should not respond to me, I am not the material for a saint." ”

After he finished speaking, he turned his head to Shangguan and said, "General Shangguan, you don't trap me and be unjust. ”

Shangguan sneered, pointed at the heavens, and said, "Xichao gives birth to children, indecisive, born without opinions, how can such a cowardly person be called an emperor." ”

"If King Gong doesn't stand up, I'm afraid that time is running out, and the sun is shining." He also acted, and he said that he was full of tears.

King Gong was silent, nor was he humble.

Xi Chaosheng's face was pale, he knew that it was not good to be indecisive, but Shangguan Lin said this in front of the ministers, he still felt uncomfortable.

Concubine Yu, who had been watching coldly, couldn't see that the emperor's brother was being bullied, she snorted coldly, and said with a smile on her sleeves, "Bullshit!" Shangguan Lonely, the loyal and patriotic ways of the ancient sages have let you eat in the dog's stomach, and if you want to rebel, you can say it clearly, don't talk about these useless, chirp crookedly, this palace will look at your mouth and wrap your feet with a woman's footcloth. ”

She didn't give anyone a chance to speak, and the thunderbolt continued, "If you directly say in front of the ministers that your Shangguan family colluded with King Gong and wanted to rebel, the palace can still look down on you!" ”

"You actually said something hypocritical and contrived, which makes people disgusting, your old face is not too panicked, and this palace feels ashamed for the parents who raised you!"

"Your demeanor, this palace thinks that there is a folk saying that is very suitable for you."

Seeing that everyone was listening, Concubine Yu hooked her lips and smiled, her red lips were as bright as begonias, but with full disdain and sarcasm, "It's just that you want to set up an archway when you are a female cousin, and such a lowly Fengyue Ling female branch is more ashamed than you!" ”

Concubine Yu has always been a vicious talker, and how to make people unhappy.

These few words went out, and immediately made Shangguan Lone's face flush, and he was very angry, but the evil fire was nowhere to be sprinkled, even King Gong's face was not very good-looking.

And the courtiers next to him quietly lowered their heads, covered them with wide sleeves, and shook their sleeves and laughed.

"Heh......" Qin Shou chuckled.

Others didn't dare to laugh blatantly, but Qin Shou didn't have any scruples, seeing Concubine Yu such a cynicism, speaking politely, and leaving no room for it, in the past, these words were only scolded to him, but now when he saw her scolding others, a strange sense of satisfaction rose in his heart.

With this smile, all his eyes swept over, Qin Shou looked at the corner of his mouth and waved his hand, coughed very insincerely, and echoed the concubine, "The minister thinks that what the princess said is very reasonable, and it is really pertinent." ”

Shangguan was so angry that his face turned red in an instant, and King Gong raised his eyes, looking at Qin Shou, his expression was indistinguishable, and he couldn't see his emotions.

Qin Shou didn't think it was messy enough, so he added a sentence at the end, "I also think that General Shangguan still thinks about the princess's words, you need to know, as far as Kyushu knows, not everyone can get such a scold from the princess." ”

No, I used to scold him like that.

Shangguan Xiao felt that his mouth was sweet, and he swallowed the fishy smell that gushed out after biting the tip of his tongue, but Shangguan Xiao, who was standing behind him, couldn't help it, he rushed out, stomped his feet, and glared at Concubine Yu angrily, "Princess, it's too much to deceive!" ”