Ming Dynasty: I risked my life to teach the prince, the emperor begged me not to die

Chapter 250: Four Eyes Met, Stunned

Liu Yizhi couldn't understand why a commoner would alarm the Minister of Revenue and make him release the person personally.

In the duty room of the Minister of Revenue, Minister Wang, a third-rank official, was standing in front of Qin Hong, like a child who had made a mistake, and was being severely reprimanded. He was asked to strengthen the professional knowledge education of all officials in the Ministry of Revenue, conduct internal inspections, and demote or expel some unqualified officials.

In short, the Ministry of Revenue is a highly professional government agency. If you don't have the ability, you shouldn't work there.

Wang Yan didn't know where Shangshu Qin's anger came from, but he kept admitting his mistakes and said that he would strengthen the assessment of internal officials.

At the small court meeting early the next morning, Liu Yizhi, the head of the Ministry of Revenue, who stood out in the crowd, looked a little frightened.

He seldom had the opportunity to meet these high-ranking officials in the ministries and halls on a daily basis, let alone Emperor Hongzhi. People of his level had no chance to meet the emperor.

It stands to reason that being able to see the emperor would bring honor to the family, but now Master Liu feels a little uneasy.

Emperor Hongzhi said in a deep voice: "I will not discuss other matters with you today. I just want to ask you, are your subordinates competent for their work?"

"I have treated you well. The country needs you to govern, and the court team is a role model for all officials in the world. But if you can't even do your job well, or even say something ridiculous, where is the dignity and credibility of the court?"

"Be a joke to the local officials? Or be a joke to the people?"

The six ministries of the cabinet were all at a loss as to what to do.

Emperor Hongzhi sneered and said, "We have a chief in the Ministry of Revenue. Sir Liu, please come out."

"This Lord Liu is very impressive. He summoned the merchants to the Ministry of Revenue and personally embarrassed himself in front of them."

Liu Yizhi's heart skipped a beat, and he said in panic, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I know my crime."

Emperor Hongzhi taunted, "What crime do you know? Tell me what commercial tax is?"

"You can use the city tax to collect taxes that have already been collected, right? I can just pick up a clerk from the 9th-rank taxation department from the two capitals and thirteen provinces, and he can't say such stupid and unprofessional words!"

"But you, a subordinate of the Ministry of Revenue of the imperial court, can do it!"

Liu Yizhi's expression suddenly changed. Wasn't this the content of his conversation with Chen Ce yesterday? The emperor actually paid attention to it personally...

"Your Majesty, I am deeply terrified. Please forgive me." Liu Yizhi said in silence.

Emperor Hongzhi was furious and said, "What crime have you committed? You have disgraced the people of the Ministry of Revenue, the people of Minister Qin, and the face of the court. What does this have to do with me?"

"What shame do I have now that I cannot afford to lose?"

The ministers of the six ministries of the cabinet all turned their eyes to Liu Yizhi, which made Liu Yizhi so frightened that he felt ashamed.

"The Ministry of Personnel should go back and check. If there is a vacancy in the taxation department, send Sir Liu there to learn from him, so that he won't say something ridiculous and make others laugh at him!"

"The imperial court cannot afford to lose face like this!"

The Minister of Personnel stepped out and bowed, saying, "As you wish."

Liu Yizhi said tremblingly: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I…"

How majestic he was in front of Chen Ce yesterday, how powerful his official authority was, and how confident he spoke. But now he looks so embarrassed.

He wanted to explain, but he was at a loss for words. He didn't know how to explain, and he didn't even have the courage to beg for mercy. He did not deny that he was a workplace slacker who was just filling in the gaps.

If he didn't cause trouble for Chen Ce, no one would pay attention to him and he could continue to work in the Ministry of Revenue.

Liu Yizhi regretted it so much that his intestines turned green. If he had known earlier, he would not have caused trouble for Chen Ce.

……

Huaihua Hutong. "Little brother, where did you go yesterday?"

Zhu Houzhao asked Chen Ce curiously that he and Liu Jin came to Huaihua Hutong to look for Chen Ce yesterday but couldn't find him.

Chen Ce said, "He was taken away by the Ministry of Revenue for questioning."

Zhu Houzhao asked hurriedly: "What? What does the Ministry of Revenue want to see you about?"

Chen Ce hastily told Zhu Houzhao what happened yesterday, and Zhu Houzhao was furious!

Liu Jin was so angry that he laughed. He said sharply, "This bunch of shit officials in the court should be disciplined. They are so arrogant after passing the imperial examinations. Do you think they can govern the country? Shit!"

Zhu Houzhao snorted in agreement and said, "No wonder you said before that governing a country starts with governing the officials. How can this country be governed if these officials who know nothing are mixed in the team?"

The master and servant shared the same hatred and stood up for Chen Ce.

"You bastard! I'm going to take care of him!" Zhu Houzhao cursed inwardly, and then said, "That's not right, little brother. Don't you have the inner factory to protect you? Why don't you let the inner factory take care of this guy? Catch him and let the inner factory torture him!"

Chen Ce said speechlessly: "Didn't you say that the inner factory is not allowed to monitor civil servants?"

Zhu Houzhao was speechless and could only comfort Chen Ce, "Don't worry, little brother. He won't come to trouble you later."

Chen Ce was not worried and did not take it to heart.

It was obvious that the head of the Ministry of Revenue was just a small cannon fodder. Chen Ce suspected that the person behind him was either Jiao Fang or the senior official of the Ministry of Revenue who came to the yard looking for him a few years ago.

At that time, Chen Ce refused to meet the other party because of Mrs. Wu's illness. If the other party was narrow-minded, he could easily do such a thing.

I just don't know who instructed the head of the Ministry of Revenue, but no matter what, the head of the Ministry of Revenue is just a pawn, and Chen Ce doesn't bother to argue with him.

"what!"

Zhu Houzhao seemed to remember something and said to Chen Ce, "My dear little brother, how did you draw that picture? Can you teach me?"

Chen Ce: “?”

"What kind of painting is that?"

Zhu Houzhao's eyes glowed green as he said, "It's the painting I drew in the Plum Garden a few years ago. You left in a hurry that day, so you didn't know that your painting has been sold at a high price of eighty taels per piece!"

Chen Ce took a deep breath. He was not a celebrity, so how could the sketch be accepted by the people of the Ming Dynasty and sold at such a high price?
Zhu Houzhao wanted to learn, but not for the purpose of making money. Making money was secondary and not presentable. He was the crown prince and had not yet fallen to such a level, relying on selling paintings for a living. If this matter were to get out, his father would beat him to death.

He simply thought that Chen Ce's paintings were very realistic and vivid, and he wanted to learn from them and paint a picture for his father and mother to show off.

Painting is, after all, a mere trick. It is only a pretense of elegance in front of authentic scholars and is even less worthy of mention in front of high-ranking officials in the court.

Chen Ce didn't care about these things, but since Zhu Houzhao was interested, it would be a good idea to cultivate his sentiments.

"This is not difficult. You can learn it in three to five days. I can't say I'm teaching you. At most, we can learn from each other."

Zhu Houzhao said happily: "Yes, yes! Let's learn from each other!"

Look at the level at which this little brother speaks, it’s so pleasant to listen to!
Zhu Houzhao asked Liu Jin to prepare pencils. Although Liu Jin did not know what a pencil was, he could still understand it as a small stick of finely ground lead.

The morning sun shone into the small courtyard. On a stone bench, Chen Ce was teaching Zhu Houzhao how to outline a portrait's face bit by bit.

At this moment, there was a knock on the door. Liu Jin went to open the door, then hurriedly jumped aside, covering his face!
Oh my god! Why is Minister Qin here? Prince, run!

Qin Hong was smiling, but when he saw Zhu Houzhao, his smile suddenly froze. When their eyes met, Zhu Houzhao was also stunned.

(End of this chapter)