Chapter 481: The Goods Are Here
Editor: Atlas Studios
Two days had passed. Chen Qian had almost turned into a “husband-watching stone” at the entrance of the Qi Residence, but there was still no sign of anyone from the north. He looked at Qi Haoran with reddened eyes.
Qi Haoran said, “Since it’s snowing in the north now, isn’t it normal to be delayed on the road?”
Chen Qian’s eyes turned even redder. Just as he was about to cry, Qi Haoran suddenly pointed behind him and said, “It’s here.”
Chen Qian turned around and saw that the street behind him was empty. There was no one there. Chen Qian rushed up and grabbed Qi Haoran’s neck, shouting, “You lied to me again!”
Qi Haoran grabbed his hand and shouted, “I heard the sound of hooves. I’m really not lying to you. That’s the sound of a horse raised in my horse farm!”
“Bullsh*t. There are so many horses in a horse farm and you can still distinguish the sound of their hooves?” Chen Qian grabbed Qi Haoran’s neck and swayed back and forth.
When Chen Qian’s manservant saw the two masters fighting, he was anxious. Seeing Fei Bai standing lazily at the side, he said anxiously, “Aiyo, quickly come up and help break up the fight.”
Fei Bai said nonchalantly, “Your young master is just having fun with our Fourth Master. It’s fine. It’s not your young master who is being strangled. Why so anxious?”
He casually glanced at the street and jumped up. “Master, the guards in the residence are here.”
Chen Qian turned around and saw that the two of them had arrived very quickly. Chen Qian’s eyes lit up as he looked at them. “Where’s that item?”
The two guards ignored him and greeted Qi Haoran. Qi Haoran waved his hand and asked, “Where’s the thing I want?”
A guard took out a box from his pocket and handed it to Qi Haoran, which he opened. Inside was a package wrapped in oil paper. When he opened it, there was a layer of silk cloth inside. Before Qi Haoran could open it, Chen Qian snatched it over and eagerly opened it. Inside was a bright yellow memorial. As time passed, the bright yellow color had become a little dimmer, but it now looked even more low-key and luxurious. This was the mark left behind by time.
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Chen Qian opened it and flipped to the back. On it was the stamp of the jade seal. Chen Qian was overjoyed. “That’s right, this is it!”
Qi Haoran pursed his lips and waved his hand. “Here, I’ve given you the thing. You can’t pester me anymore.” He really wanted to turn around and leave. Thinking of Fan Zijin’s instructions, he grabbed Chen Qian back.
Chen Qian looked at him warily. “What do you want?”
“I’ve promised Zijin that when the item arrives, I’ll let him admire it. He’s on a break in a few days and if he wants to see it, you’re not allowed to hide it.”
Chen Qian weighed the probability of persuading his father and finally nodded. “No problem.” He looked at his guards and said, “You have to get your guards to protect me and bring me back.”
“Who would rob you?” Qi Haoran muttered, but he still mobilized six guards from the residence to escort him back to the Chen residence.
Chen Qian sat in the carriage and asked the six guards to protect him from all sides. He hugged the silk bag tightly in his arms, feeling very nervous. He only felt better when he returned home.
Chen Qian ran to his father’s study happily and shouted, “Go, invite Grandfather and Father back!”
Chen Fang and Chen Cheng had been a little absent-minded during the past two days. Coupled with Chen Qian’s sudden leave of absence, everyone thought that something big had happened to the Chen family. Now that they saw the Chen family’s servants reporting and the two of them were leaving early, they craned their necks to secretly inquire, but they couldn’t find out anything.
The two of them rushed back to the Chen residence and took out the item to appraise it. In the end, they concluded that it was indeed an authentic piece.
The Chen family looked at the words on the memorial that were restrained but still looked very noble. “This is what Emperor Shizong advised his descendants. He hoped that the descendants of the royal family could protect the country and fight for the interests of the people. However, who would have thought that in less than a hundred years, the Great Zhou would lose half of its territory…”
The “Emperor Shizong’s Admonishment Memorial” was written by Emperor Shizong after his health was poor and he became increasingly dizzy. However, who knew that this item would flow from the palace to the common people? One day, it was actually exchanged into the Chen family in such a way.
Chen Sheng didn’t think too much about it. He just put the things away in a cherished manner and said, “Father, on my birthday, I want to invite one or two good friends to let them admire it.”
Chen Fang glanced at him and said, “Keep this thing yourself. Don’t take it out so easily.”
Chen Sheng choked. “Why?”
“This is personally written by Emperor Shizong, different from your previous copy. It’s meant for the descendants of the royal family. If word gets out, can you still keep it? Even if the Emperor doesn’t ask for it, do you dare to keep it?”
Chen Sheng choked. This was as uncomfortable as him being the number one in the world but he was the only person who knew about it.
Chen Sheng could only look at the treasure regretfully. It seemed that this thing could only be hidden.
However, the few of them did not know that the Emperor already knew that the item was in their hands, but he had no intention of taking it back.
Looking at his ancestor’s admonition and thinking of the prosperous and powerful Great Zhou a hundred years ago, Emperor Jingyan would feel ashamed when he looked at the Great Zhou under his rule.
Recently, the Imperial Court had been rather chaotic. Before the new year, the Emperor had fired a few officials, and three or four local officials had been implicated. Therefore, everyone was even more careful in handling matters, afraid that they would offend the Emperor, who was becoming more and more moody.
This was not only reflected in government affairs, but also in the preparations for the palace banquet.
When it was the new year again, the palace began to prepare for the banquet. The Ministry of Internal Affairs had originally planned to do the same as last year, but the Emperor was displeased. From last year onwards, in order to hold the Imperial Examination for two consecutive years, he had already scrimped and saved a lot. It was not easy for him to have a chance to spend money openly, but the Ministry of Internal Affairs actually wanted to be perfunctory about it?
Therefore, the Emperor directly ordered that this year’s palace banquet would be held in the Changming Palace.
The Changming Palace was on Changming Mountain in the suburbs. Because there was a hot spring on it, it was like spring all year round, so the Emperor had gotten someone to build a palace on it. After 12 years, more than half of it had been built. It was more than enough to hold a palace banquet.
However, this way, the expenses would be much higher. Where would the Ministry of Internal Affairs get so much money?
The Emperor thought that he had been more thrifty in the past two years, but his expenses were still ten times that of Emperor Shizong’s. From this, it could be seen why everyone missed Emperor Shizong so much. It was because he was really a thrifty and good Emperor.
Alright, back to the main topic. The Ministry of Internal Affairs did not have any money, so they could ask the Ministry of Revenue to pay for it first. The Ministry of Revenue was also suffering. After the new year, it would be spring. Spring plowing and spring planting would cost money, right? All kinds of water conservancy projects also demanded money, but the palace banquet had to be held. They had no choice but to scrimp in other areas. In the end, the most affected area was the money for armaments.
Since the country had to fight wars every year and replenish their military supplies every year, they could just prepare less next year. It wasn’t as if they could skip holding the palace banquet, right?
However, the Ministry of War was unwilling, so they quarreled with the Ministry of Revenue. Then, someone said, “Why are there wars every year? Did the Ministry of War not do anything, or did they deliberately delay the war?”
There were also imperial censors who suggested that the Emperor cancel the palace banquet, but such voices were criticized the moment they came out.
Seeing that his ministers were arguing, the Emperor took the opportunity to not go to court. He was happy to sleep in. Anyway, the order had been issued, and the people below did not dare to disobey.