Without money, what is the point of being a traitor?

Chapter 567 It turns out that everyone is...

Pei Yuan felt that he was the one who brought Song Chunniang into the officialdom, and criticized her in a responsible manner, "You are now an official appointed by the court, so you should be more particular about what you do."

Song Chunniang was a little rebellious about this and responded with confidence.

"I didn't frame anyone, and I didn't frame anyone."

"He feels guilty and insists on giving me the house. What can I do?"

Song Chunniang even said with pride, "Since I became the Chief of Criminal Affairs in the Western Factory, I have never wronged a good person. I can be said to have a good reputation. I don't know how good my reputation is in the court and the country."

Pei Yuan thought to himself, that’s true.

Because most of the bandits under Song Chunniang's command were gangsters recruited by her, and they were quite corrupt.

Just looking at the recent cases that Pei Yuan knew about, because the Western Factory took too much when it searched the houses, in the end many of the officials who were convicted were simply dismissed and sent back to their hometowns because they did not have enough stolen money.

When Liu Xuan, the prefect of Zhuozhou, was leaving office, something happened. Because it involved matters related to the imperial farm, the emperor was furious and ordered the Western Factory to arrest him.

As a result, he was intercepted on the road by Song Chunniang and her men.

At that time, all the things were packed in boxes in the car, which was very easy to carry.

Daigo and his companions drove the cattle away, and when they reported to the court at the Western Factory, they boasted, "There is nothing else but two baskets of books."

Zhu Houzhao was greatly shocked and promoted the prefect of Zhuozhou, who had already retired and returned to his hometown, to the position of co-director of the Liangzhe Salt Transport Commissioner's Office.

Thinking of this, Pei Yuan was no longer worried that Song Chunniang had no money to handle this matter.

He reluctantly took his hand away and reminded her again, "Do it well and don't let Yunjun suffer."

Song Chunniang was about to get married, and she had no intention of getting entangled with Pei Yuan.

Seeing that Pei Yuan was not greedy, he flicked his fingers and said, "Let's go. Don't forget to pick up the bride for me when the time comes."

Song Chunniang didn't use any force, but she scared Pei Yuan enough.

The warmth and leisurely communication between good friends was also completely destroyed.

In the days after Song Chunniang left, while Pei Yuan was waiting for good things to happen to him, he gradually turned his attention to the current situation.

In the next two days, Zhu Houzhao indeed leaked the news that the people in the capital were uneasy because of the commotion caused by the four outer armies.

Zhu Houzhao decided to learn from his mistakes and move the barracks of the four outer armies outside the city.

The civil servants who had received news of the incident a long time ago knew that Zhu Houzhao was up to no good.

The Six Ministries' Chief Censor even directly asked Zhu Houzhao whether he had any intention of inspecting the border towns.

Zhu Houzhao saw that the situation was not good, but he did not insist on anything.

This time he had a backup plan, so he requested that the Taiping Warehouse, which was granted to Yongshou Earl, be changed into Zhenguo Prefecture.

The people of Mingyu and Jiqing districts would be relocated, the scope of Zhenguo Prefecture would be expanded, and an adopted son's palace would be built nearby.

Zhu Houzhao changed his words so quickly that many court officials who had urgently organized a group felt that they were being set up.

Many people suspected that Zhu Houzhao’s original purpose was for the so-called Zhenguo Mansion. After all, all previous actions were centered around Taiping Warehouse.

The so-called Xuanfu or something like that is most likely false news deliberately released by Zhu Houzhao.

As for why Taipingcang was first changed to Yongshoubo Mansion and then to Zhenguo Mansion, and what the Zhenguo Mansion was all about, the ministers did not have much idea.

Maybe it’s because of my middle school years, probably.

Zhu Houzhao's new proposal was passed smoothly in the eerie silence.

It wasn’t as if the court officials had suddenly become amiable.

The reason.

The thing is that the old man is very bad. There are big bombs in Mingyufang and Jiqingfang now, and it is the right time to explode.

The changes in this matter made Pei Yuan somewhat passive.

In order to ensure the accuracy of the intelligence, Yang Chi also made several indirect attempts to hint at Wei Ne.

In addition, what made Pei Yuan feel even more troubled was that in order to stabilize the morale of the four outer armies, Zhu Houzhao also issued an order to "send 10,000 taels of silver from the Imperial Household Department to the Zhenguo Mansion to buy additional horses."

The matter of "horse price silver" is still in the "private settlement" stage. Shanxi is stepping up its efforts to hunt for the culprit, and the Xingtaipu Temple in Taiyuan is also cooperating by keeping silent.

However, this was not the first time that the imperial court had stood in the way of Zhu Houzhao on financial matters.

If the two sides argue back and forth a few times and someone takes advantage of the heat to bring up the Shanxi issue, it will be difficult to deal with.

Pei Yuan is not short of the 30,000 taels of silver now, but things have come to this point and it can no longer be resolved by simply returning the silver.

The interests of the Shanxi Dusi have been verified through blood and fire.

Before they knew it, the auspicious day for Song Chunniang to marry Zhang Yunjun had arrived.

Pei Yuan was pulled out of bed by his good friend early in the morning to help with the arrangements.

Thinking of Zhang Lian's serious face, Pei Yuan felt a little guilty and asked again and again, "Is your father-in-law really not coming back?"

Song Chunniang said, "He is the provincial governor in Shanxi. How can it be so easy for him to return to Beijing? And he knows that Zhang Heling hates him. How can he vent his anger at this time?"

Pei Yuan also shared his speculation with Song Chunniang with a mean heart, "If your father-in-law knew the consequences of offending Zhang Heling would be like this, I'm afraid he might not have dared to be so tough at the beginning."

Pei Yuan even suspected that Zhang Heling's vicious revenge had in fact broken Zhang Lian's will.

It was just that Zhang Lian was too popular at the time and was burdened by his fame, so he had to hold on with a strong exterior but a weak interior.

The fact that Zhang Lian chose to quietly give his daughter to someone as a concubine instead of showing off his might and unyielding power in front of the world is already very telling.

After all, no one is a saint.

Zhang Lian's absence made Pei Yuan feel a lot more relaxed.

After all, in the minds of the Zhang family, Zhang Yunjun was Pei Yuan's concubine, but in order to give an explanation, they used Song Chunniang's official identity to cover it up.

It was still early, so Pei Yuan first followed Song Chunniang to her new house to help check if there was anything that needed to be checked or repaired.

Song Chunniang's new home was in Mingzhaofang, not far from Baodafang, Pei Yuan's old home in Dengshikou.

Bao Da Fang is located outside Dong'an Gate. Because the imperial court clearly stipulated that "the imperial guards must enter the palace through Dong'an Gate", most of the military officers of the imperial guards lived in Bao Da Fang. This made it more convenient for them to enter the palace and take up their duties.

Later, when the imperial court established the East Factory, in order to control the imperial guards and other imperial guards, the East Factory Yamen was set up in Baodafang. Some high-ranking eunuchs also set up their private residences in Baodafang.

The Zhihua Temple where Pei Yuan usually works is also in Baodafang. In addition, his immediate superior is in Nanjing, and the Northern Pacification Office has no control over him. He can also happily take a commission from the incense money of major temples. Basically, he has the three major requirements of "high money, little work, and close to home".

The residents of Mingzhaofang were mainly military officers and their relatives, and occasionally there were also some private residences of civil officials.

For example, someone who wants to enjoy a good life in private but doesn't want to be too high-profile in front of Chengqingfang where most of his colleagues are.

The house that Song Chunniang stole was a similar case.

Judging from the outside, the three courtyards are not unusual. It is the layout of an ordinary fourth-rank official, and is worthy of the status of the Shaoqing of Yuanma Temple.

After passing the quaint and elegant front hall and entering the atrium, Pei Yuan saw the rich and prosperous scene with exquisite carvings and paintings. He looked around several times and was extremely envious. He really wanted to ask the Shaoqing of Yuanma Temple if he wanted to make friends with him.

At this moment, the house was decorated with red and colorful decorations, and many subordinates from the Western Factory and the Embroidered Uniform Guard were helping out.

Pei Yuan actually saw a few young eunuchs helping to sweep the floor.

Pei Yuan was dumbfounded and pulled Song Chunniang over and asked, "Where did this come from?"

Even though the Western Factory was a department of the Inner Court, the eunuchs who could work in the Western Factory had high status and were unlikely to obey Song Chunniang's orders.

Song Chunniang did not answer, but asked in return, "If Jiao Yan'er can have it, why can't I?"

Song Chunniang has her own yard in the backyard of Pei Yuan's house, so naturally no secrets can be hidden from her.

Pei Yuan was afraid that this girl would commit suicide, so he could only stare at her and say, "That's the hostage that Bi Zhen, the eunuch guarding Shandong, left with me. What do you think?"

Song Chunniang's momentum immediately weakened a bit, and she explained, "I asked Zhang Rui for it."

Pei Yuan was speechless, "Is Zhang Rui crazy?"

Zhang Rui is really not crazy.

According to Song Chunniang, the East Depot's men have not been very handy recently. First, they said that they sent people south and there was no one to do the job. Later, although the people came back, for some reason, they still asked the West Depot to borrow people when they encountered trouble.

It so happened that Zhang Rui, who was investigating a group of corrupt officials as part of his "three first moves after taking office", always encountered insufficient evidence, which put Zhang Rui in a very passive position.

It just so happened that the West Factory, which was helping with the investigation, also had the authority to guide the work of the East Factory.

This is very painful.

Fortunately, the governor of the Western Factory, Gu Dayong, was in Shandong investigating the Luo Jiao case and was not in Beijing, which reduced Zhang Rui's pressure a lot.

In addition, Song Qianhu, the head of the Western Factory who currently holds more power, is easy to talk to, and the relationship between the Eastern and Western Factories has become harmonious overall.

The last time Song Chunniang asked Zhang Rui to help inquire about the residence of Shaoqing of Yuanma Temple, she had mentioned that she planned to use it to get married in a few days.

Zhang Rui looked very strange, and out of curiosity, he asked about Captain Song's marriage, and learned that she had her eyes on the daughter of a court official...

This made Eunuch Zhang feel excited for the first time in a long time.

It turns out that everyone is LGBT.

This feeling of meeting a few of the same kind is no less than the passionate resonance between Zhang Yong and Yang Yiqing.

Eunuch Zhang expressed his opinion on the spot.

——We can pretend not to hear other favors, but we will definitely help with this one!

So Eunuch Zhang not only enthusiastically helped to get the house, but also readily helped to arrange for some young eunuchs when Song Chunniang asked if he could get some.

After listening to this, Pei Yuan scratched his head and roughly understood what was going on.

The decision of the East Factory sending a large number of soldiers to the south to collect taxes was based on his suggestion to Zhu Houzhao.

The news spread by Hangzhou prefect Liu Zhishu, which led to the attack on the Dongchang guards, was also due to his tip-off.

Afterwards, it was Bi Zhen who advised Zhang Xiong to conceal the casualties and falsely report the results.

After Zhang Xiong returned to the capital, he naturally did not dare to let those guys from all walks of life go on missions. The East Factory could only borrow personnel from the West Factory repeatedly to handle cases.

As a result, he encountered Song Chunniang, who had no bottom line when it came to greed. The result of the case naturally made Zhang Rui doubt his life.

Pei Yuan looked at the eunuchs thoughtfully and asked Song Chunniang, "Are these guys reliable?"

Song Chunniang said, "It's reliable. Zhang Rui said that he had destroyed their files. If anyone really asks about it, they can say that they wanted to castrate themselves and enter the palace, but were rejected."

Pei Yuan thought about it and felt that it was not a big problem.

Every year, there were many people who castrated themselves and then used their connections to enter the palace, such as the famous Wei Zhongxian in later generations.

However, some people who did not have the necessary connections would be punished by the court and refused to be hired.

Many of these people would become slaves and servants in some official families.

Compared with using the eunuch as a handle to threaten Song Chunniang, Zhang Rui, who secretly gave the eunuch away, is more guilty.

Pei Yuan thought for a moment and whispered to Song Chunniang, "Have someone keep an eye on them. If they are reliable and have no connection with Zhang Rui, they may be useful in the future."

Song Chunniang glanced at the eunuchs. As Pei Yuan's trusted subordinates, she naturally didn't need to ask why. She simply said, "No problem."

Because it was his best friend's wedding, Pei Yuan didn't have to be as reserved as he had been when Chen Xinjian got married, and he curiously went to take a look in the bridal chamber.

There were several women inside helping to make the beds.

According to Song Chunniang, they were some of her elders in the Changfeng Escort Agency, some of whom were even known as certain female knights.

Pei Yuan took a few looks and found that there were two young women who should have been very spirited when they were young, but now their looks had faded. Not only did they not have any mature charm, but they looked a bit frivolous and mean.

Pei Yuan looked at the red brocade on the bed and started to have a headache about his marriage.

Although there is still no news from Captain Han, I should start preparing myself.

But if we choose the old house in Dengshikou, it doesn’t seem appropriate.

Although Jiao Yan'er is currently living in Puxian Temple, we can't just move her things away without saying a word and let her see a new mistress of the house when she returns.

Pei Yuan thought about it, was distracted for a moment, and then focused again.

Looking at the wedding bed in front of him, Pei Yuan remembered what Song Chunniang had promised him. He leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Is it me and her tonight, or are we together?"

Although Pei Yuan and Zhang Yunjun did not reach the point of physical contact, they did have a taste of the situation under the temptation of the evil woman Song Chunniang.

Speaking of which, Pei Yuan still liked that weak girl. That kind of soft and weak unique style really made Pei Yuan miss her for a long time.

When Song Chunniang heard Pei Yuan's question, she was stunned for a moment.

Then the smile on his face slowly froze.

Pei Yuan asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

Song Chunniang blinked twice, and the joy on her face disappeared visibly.

Pei Yuan noticed that she was suddenly depressed and asked again, "What's wrong?"

Song Chunniang's eyes seemed to be empty. After a while, she frowned and said unhappily, "Didn't I promise you?"

After saying that, he was not in the mood to watch anymore and took Pei Yuan out of the house.

Pei Yuan didn't think much about it.

Zhang Yunjun is already delicious enough, and having a good friend around would naturally be icing on the cake. If not, tonight would not be any less exciting.

Pei Yuan looked at the sky, smiled and leaned close to Song Chunniang's ear and said, "Then I'll go pick up the bride."

(End of this chapter)