"Father-in-law Xu laughed, we didn't start to check, how could we know that the amount of silver deposited was wrong..."Lu Qihuo stopped, he stared at Xu Yingyuan with wandering eyes under the firelight, until Xu Yingyuan's eyes avoided his gaze.

Lu Qi said word by word: "Gonggong Xu, this is Your Majesty's silver, and this is under the Palace of Heart Cultivation." ”

Xu Yingyuan stared at the shadows behind Lu Qi, and squeezed out a sentence from his throat, "The world of the Ming Dynasty is the property of His Majesty, and our eunuchs are His Majesty's domestic slaves." This silver is in our pocket or in this silver vault, in fact, there is no difference, why does Gonggong Lu have to divide it so clearly. ”

Lu Qi was finally annoyed, "How can this be reasonable, what kind of person is Gonggong Xu's miscellaneous family." At the beginning, I was just a servant of boiling water in the mixed hall, and if it wasn't for His Majesty's hand-picking, I would have been able to be promoted to the deputy steward of the Qianqing Palace. Your Majesty treats me like a mountain, Qi will never do such a traitorous thing, you and I should go to Your Majesty and say it. ”

Lu Qi's style of pulling out his legs and leaving without saying a word is really not like a steward eunuch. But Xu Yingyuan reacted instantly, now he can't let Lu Qi go away and let him go to His Majesty to complain, then it is estimated that he will have to go to be with Wei Zhongxian.

For Xu Yingyuan, King Xin's accession to the throne is a matter of pie in the world. There is a world of difference between the eunuchs next to the prince and the eunuchs next to the emperor, but he hasn't tasted any benefits now, just because he has a few more words with this unkind bastard, he has to pack up and get out, which is too unacceptable.

Xu Yingyuan's body reacted much faster than his thoughts, and as soon as Lu Qi turned around, Xu Yingyuan fell to his knees and hugged Lu Qi's thighs.

Xu Yingyuan pleaded his snot and tears to Lu Qi to admit his mistake and beg for mercy, saying that he was just a moment of wealth obsession before he said something out of tune, and asked Lu Qi not to complain to Chongzhen.

There were only Xu Yingyuan and Lu Qi who came down to check the silver treasury, so Xu Yingyuan, who was of higher rank, knelt down and begged for mercy from Lu Qi, who was of lower rank, without any psychological burden at all. However, Lu Qi had never seen this kind of scene before, and he suddenly became a little flustered.

It is a felony to be cheap and expensive in the palace, if this scene is seen, Xu Yingyuan will certainly be removed from his post and exiled to other places, Lu Qi is lucky to be exiled, and if he is unlucky, he will abandon the market.

"Grandpa Xu, please get up and speak. What kind of system do you have like this, if this is seen, how will my father-in-law gain a foothold in the palace in the future. Lu Qi tried several times, but he couldn't break Xu Yingyuan's hand, so he had to persuade him with good words.

"If Gonggong Lu complains to His Majesty, there will be a future in the miscellaneous family. As long as Gonggong Lu promised not to reveal today's events to His Majesty, the miscellaneous family would let go. Xu Yingyuan said and raised his hands again, hugging them tighter.

Seeing Xu Yingyuan's appearance as a street scoundrel, Lu Qi was also ridiculous. After the two stalemate for a while, Lu Qi finally compromised. Hearing that Lu Qi personally promised not to mention today's events to His Majesty, Xu Yingyuan stood up in a hurry.

He took Lu Qi's hand and said, "The miscellaneous family got up because they believed in Grandpa Lu's character. Father-in-law Lu, you can't deceive the miscellaneous family, you won't sell the miscellaneous family to Your Majesty as soon as you turn around, right? ”

Lu Qi shook off Xu Yingyuan's hand and said disdainfully: "Is the miscellaneous family that kind of person?" That's all the miscellaneous sayings, believe it or not. If Gonggong Xu is not available, then the miscellaneous family will check it by himself. ”

Seeing Lu Qi walking towards the inner library, Xu Yingyuan hurriedly took down his torch from the wall and followed Lu Qi closely, he shouted: "Father-in-law Lu, let's go together, don't leave the miscellaneous family..."

“… There are 296 silver boxes in the warehouse, totaling 50 taels of horseshoe silver, 29,600 ingots, and 1.48 million taels of silver; There are 26 gold chests, 50 taels of horseshoe gold, 2,600 ingots, 130,000 taels of gold, about 520,000 taels of silver..."Lu Qi reported to Chongzhen with a glance.

Xu Yingyuan, who was beside him, looked a little nervous, and secretly looked at Lu Qi beside him from time to time.

Zhu Youzhen interrupted Lu Qi with some confusion and asked, "Is this 130,000 taels of gold only worth 520,000 silver?" ”

Lu Qi, who didn't know much about the price comparison of gold and silver, could only explain: "The exchange of one tael of gold for four taels of silver is stipulated by Taizu, and the palace has always been converted according to this price. ”

Wang Chengen looked down at his feet and said nothing, when Zhu Youzhen wanted to ask Wang Chengen, he had been wanting to do something, so as to overshadow Lu Qi's Xu Yingyuan, and suddenly said: "Your Majesty, now the gold and silver comparison outside the palace is not the price set by Taizu for a long time. In the capital, one tael of gold can be exchanged for about five taels of silver; In Nanjing, one tael of gold can be exchanged for about six taels of silver; I heard from those merchants that in Fujian and Guangdong, one tael of gold could be exchanged for six and a half taels to seven taels of silver. ”

Xu Yingyuan solved Chongzhen's doubts, but Wang Chengen suddenly looked up at Xu Yingyuan, he was surprised that this person dared to tell the truth to Chongzhen. Wang Chengen naturally knew about this comparison of gold and silver. In fact, in the last years of Chengzu, gold and silver were basically fixed at a price of 1:5.

But no one in the palace would be stupid enough to tell the emperor about this fact, and it was possible to charge an additional fee for collecting gold from local taxes, and it was also possible to receive an additional rebate when spending gold from the inner treasury. As soon as they came and went, the eunuchs in the palace took 40% of the profits, and this income would basically be divided among the eunuchs.

In the face of the huge vested interest groups in the palace, even Wang Chengen did not have the courage to take the initiative to tell Chongzhen the truth about the comparison of gold and silver and silver money. And Xu Yingyuan was good, he ran away from Nanjing, and when he came back, he didn't know whether he was alive or dead and exposed this shady scene.

Xu Yingyuan saw that he had attracted Chongzhen's attention, and he was even more proud. couldn't help but continue: "In addition to the difference in the price of gold and silver between the north and south capitals, the price of silver and copper coins is also very different. The official price of copper coins is 700 Wen for 1 tael of silver, but in the capital, it is 600-650 Wen for 1 tael of silver, in Nanjing it is 1000 Wen for 1 tael of silver, and there is a kind of private minted small money 5500-6000 Wen for 1 tael of silver..."

After listening to Xu Yingyuan's explanation, Zhu Youzhen couldn't help but say with emotion: "Listening to your words is better than reading a book for ten years." Sure enough, the ancients said well: It is better to read 10,000 books than to travel 10,000 miles. Xu Yingyuan, you went out of Beijing, but you really gained knowledge. ”

Then Zhu Youzhen instructed Lu Qi: "Lu Qi, you register the silver inventory in the Heart Cultivation Palace, and this silver treasury will be temporarily handed over to you for management." This gold and silver are hidden in the ground, but they are just dead things like earth and stone, and I will use this money to do something after a while, so take care of it. ”

"The minister must obey His Majesty's orders and work hard." Lu Qi replied a little nervously.

Finally determined that Lu Qi would not tell Chongzhen, Xu Yingyuan's nervous mood finally relaxed. As a eunuch brought in the food box, Xu Yingyuan, Lu Qi and others were all sent out of the room by Chongzhen.

Wang Chengen walked outside the door, and after seeing that there was no one around, he stopped and said to Xu Yingyuan: "Gonggong Xu is really out of the limelight today, but if you do this, what will the leaders and eunuchs of the various yamen in the palace think, do you know?" ”

Xu Yingyuan was a little confused, he looked at Wang Chengen and said with a smile: "Why do you have to talk around the bush, both of us went to Your Majesty's side to wait before Your Majesty was crowned king." After so many years of colleague love, do you still want me to guess the riddle? ”

Wang Chengen can't do anything about Xu Yingyuan, but after all, he and Xu Yingyuan are old people around Chongzhen, and they have always taken care of each other, and he also knows that although Xu Yingyuan has a good personality, he is a forward-looking goods.

At this time, he also had to open his mouth to wake him up, saving Xu Yingyuan from offending the leaders and eunuchs in the palace, and he was still at a loss.

Sure enough, after Xu Yingyuan listened to Wang Chengen's suggestion, his face quickly turned white. "This, this, I didn't think about it so much at the time. I just want to show a thing or two in front of Your Majesty, I haven't seen Your Majesty for more than a month, and I always feel that Your Majesty treats me a little distant, so I want to make Your Majesty happy. Heaven and earth conscience, I really didn't want to smash everyone's jobs. ”

Wang Chengen shook his head and said with a sigh: "You, how many times have I advised you, let you be cautious in your words and deeds in front of Your Majesty." Can you and I get this far? Don't look at you and I are so beautiful, it's all nothing. There is a crocodile pool in this palace, you and I have never had any roots in the palace, and today's status is all from the favor of His Majesty. To be honest, in the palace, I only dare to believe that we believe in the old people from the palace, and everyone else wants to see us unlucky, so as to make room for them? ”

Xu Yingyuan thanked Wang Chengen, and then pleaded: "Princess, you have always known that I am a brainless person, and if Your Majesty praises me a little, I don't know that the sky is high and thick." But now I've said what I shouldn't have said. I beg the prince to give me an idea of how to end this matter. If these eunuchs in the palace heard that I had revealed these things to Your Majesty, they would not tear my heart apart. ”

Wang Chengen looked at Xu Yingyuan whispering to him for help, and couldn't help but feel a little proud in his heart. In the past few days, the power of the metropolitan governor has become bigger and bigger in the palace, and Wang Dehua, who is in charge of the metropolitan governor, has become more and more domineering, and he feels a little like he wants to say goodbye to himself.

Originally, the chief eunuch ranked first in the palace yamen, and now many chief eunuchs have complained to him, saying that the eunuch has completely squeezed out the power of the celebrant in the inner court, which is completely inconsistent with the ancestral system.

And Lu Qi, the deputy steward of the Qianqing Palace personally promoted by Chongzhen, is also more and more valued by Chongzhen, and some things are no longer handed over to him. This made Wang Chengen, the official eunuch in charge of the Qianqing Palace, feel like he was being set aside.

Wang Chengen also knew that although Chongzhen did not arrange the eunuchs from the Xinwangfu to the yamen according to the usual practice, Chongzhen would especially give the eunuchs from the Xinwangfu to handle all important matters. It can be seen that in Chongzhen's heart, the most trusted are the old people who believe in the palace.