Joy of Life: I am a Han Dynasty succubus, and I rebel from the beginning

Chapter 139: Don’t let the water be too clear to have fish, let the bad atmosphere of the officialdom blow in.

Prince Jing cursed at Li Hongcheng like a real old farmer.

"How could I not know? If you were not my son, I would say this."

"Stop hanging out with the emperor's second son in the future. It's been so long, and he hasn't made any progress at all."

Li Hongcheng felt aggrieved. No, he was just advising Prince Jing not to praise Liu Hong so much.

Liu Hong really can’t bear it at the moment!
Daqing was founded on the virtue of gold, and the court robes were white. Emperors of all dynasties even called themselves descendants of the White Emperor.

When the current Majesty was offering sacrifices in the temple, he openly called himself the son of the White Emperor, and the temple priests did not explicitly object.

Prince Jing said that Liu Hong was the son of the Red Emperor. Isn't that comparing Liu Hong to Emperor Qing?

"Humph! Go away..."

Prince Jing snorted a few times and drove Li Hongcheng away.

Looking at the rice ears, he fell into deep thought again.

When Liu Hong returned to the Minister's Mansion, he found that there were few visitors and most of the gifts he received were visiting invitations.

"Ji Xin, what's going on?"

Ji Xin waved his hand, asked his personal soldiers some questions, and then spoke reluctantly.

"Sir, now that the East Factory is about to be established, the Supervisory Office has stepped up its supervision of all officials, and Fan Xian has teamed up with Censor Lai of the Metropolitan Censorate to investigate corruption. Those officials are frightened."

Then he handed the visiting card to Liu Hong. It was obvious that he was either inviting Liu Hong to his house for a chat or planning to visit Liu Hong.

A typical roundabout way to save the country.

You can't accept bribes, right?

Then why not go to the official's mansion to get some local specialties, or visit Liu Hong and bring some local specialties?
"The group of censors in the Metropolitan Censorate really don't understand one thing: it's better to open up than to block!"

Liu Hong shook his head and sighed softly.

"Master Liu, are you okay?"

In an unknown corner, Xin Qiwu's fat face suddenly appeared, with a flattering smile on his face that seemed to be dripping with water.

"Lord Xin? How do you have time to come to my house?"

Liu Hong deliberately spoke in surprise.

Xin Qiwu chuckled and looked quite funny.

"Master Liu, you and I are both disciples of the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace. Naturally, we need to walk around on weekdays."

"Lord Xin is indeed a capable general under the Crown Prince. I didn't expect that as the Junior Secretary of the Honglu Temple, he would also be so responsible for other matters."

Liu Hong's words were half sarcastic and half praising, and for a moment it was hard to tell whether they were good or bad.

"Speak further, my lord."

Xin Qiwu winked at Liu Hong and quietly pushed Liu Hong into a corner.

When the guard saw Xin Qiwu touch Liu Hong, he instinctively wanted to draw his sword, but then let go.

After all, you are a seventh-rank warrior who came from the battlefield. How could you be assassinated by a powerless scholar?

"Sir, take a look! These are some local specialties I prepared. I hope you don't mind."

Xing Qiwu carefully took out the sandalwood box from his arms.

This box alone is worth a fortune.

Liu Hong's expression eased a lot and he gently stroked the box with his fingers.

"Master Xin is very thoughtful, but how can I help you?"

"No, no! I hope you don't mind. It's just that I have several nephews and nephews who are among the eunuchs and I also want to make some progress!"

"Easy to say, easy to say..."

Liu Hong spoke perfunctorily and opened the box carelessly.

His face suddenly turned ugly and he reached out to take out the pastry.

"No, Lord Xin, is this what you call bribery?"

"You call this asking me to do something for you?"

"Use this to test the cadres. Which cadre cannot stand such a test?"

Xin Qiwu watched Liu Hong take out the pastries from the box and his pupils shrank.

No! You opened the gift in front of the gift giver? That's a bit rude, right?

He forced a smile.

"Lord Liu, the Honglu Temple is a department with little money. It cannot be compared with the nobles in Kyoto. Moreover, the Censorate has been investigating severely recently."

"So... Lord Xin, do you think that since you and I are both disciples of the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, we are easy to talk to? Do you think that I dare not turn against the Crown Prince?" Liu Hong fumbled with his fingers for a while again, but found nothing except a dozen silver bills with a face value of five hundred taels.

The control of the East Factory is only worth a few thousand taels?
It's really disrespectful.

"My Lord, this is what the East Palace wants. Besides, isn't your reputation worrying recently? I also want to help you improve it."

Xin Qiwu was so anxious that tears were about to fall.

He has lost his mind and actually used the Eastern Palace to pressure Liu Hong, which will only produce a counter-productive effect.

Besides, it’s difficult to be Xin Qiwu!

The Crown Prince arranged for 30,000 taels of silver, but the officials of the Eastern Palace divided some of it among themselves, leaving only 5,000 taels.

Xin Qiwu cut his meat and put in a few five-hundred-liang silver notes.

"Master Xin, please go back! I can't do this."

Liu Hong casually threw the box to Xin Qiwu.

His expression did not ease at all after Xin Qiwu's explanation.

"Don't try to fool me with the idea that if the water is too clear, there will be no fish. I can refuse to accept it, but you can't refuse to give it to me!"

Xin Qiwu's face turned bitter, and he wanted to continue to explain himself.

Unexpectedly, the guards around him stepped forward and stopped Xin Qiwu.

All they could do was wait for Liu Hong to enter the Minister's Mansion on his own.

In fact, it’s no wonder that Liu Hong was so angry about this matter.

Originally, these were just matters between Donggong and Liu Hong, where they gave each other face and went through the formalities.

It just so happened that the officials of the Eastern Palace took advantage of the situation and left Liu Hong with some money.

Do you really think that you can rest easy once Liu Hong is recruited into the Eastern Palace?

No wonder the prince has always been in a weak position. With a bunch of stupid teammates behind him, it is difficult for the prince to achieve anything.

I may not accept gifts, but if you don’t give me any, do you think you look down on me?
Since you look down on me, why should I do things for you!
Zhang Liang had been in the chamber, listening to the conversation between Liu Hong and Xin Qiwu.

There was not much comment on Liu Hong's behavior.

"Sir, the Spring Examination is approaching, and many talented people in Kyoto are eager to participate. Do you think we should recruit some of them?"

This is as it should be. Liu Hong now has his own troops under his command in the city defense army, the garrison division, and Qianlong Bay.

However, the only weak force is the officialdom, with too few die-hard members.

Er Gouzi, who was originally a fourth-rank official and could barely handle things on his own, has now been transferred to be the commander of the Kyoto City Defense Force.

The power of the officialdom is even weaker.

"You go and arrange this matter! I can trust you to do it."

Liu Hong nodded and thought for a while, then wrote down the names of Cheng Jialin and Yang Wanli.

After hesitating for a while, he also wrote down Hou Jichang's name. This person can be used, but not for a major role.

When Zhang Liang saw the three names written by Liu Hong, he immediately laughed.

"It turns out that the adults have also been prepared."

Liu Hong had no preparation at all, he was just trying to steal Fan Xian's girl, he was used to it.

After Zhang Liang got the name, he left in a hurry.

Now that the spring examination is approaching, too many scholars have sent in their visiting cards, and he also has to examine whether they have real talent and knowledge.

About two hours later, Liu Hong slowly drank a cup of tea.

"Sir, the Junior Minister of the Honglu Temple, Xin Qiwu, is here to visit you again."

Ji Xin came to report, wondering in his heart, he was a third-rank official after all, how could he be so shameless.

Liu Hong had already scolded him, but he came again after a while.

Xin Qiwu was sweating profusely as he carried a large number of gift boxes and placed the items outside Liu Hong's mansion.

Liu Hong picked up a gift box at random and his expression immediately relaxed.

"Are antiques, calligraphy and paintings also quite elegant? They are perfect for washing away the solemnity of being in the army for so many years."

"Yes, yes, Sir Liu, this is very wise."

Xin Qiwu didn't look like a third-rank official at all, and nodded with a wry smile.

After he brought the gift box to the prince, the prince got furious for the first time and killed a large number of officials from the Eastern Palace.

Now he was preparing to submit a petition to apologize behind closed doors! And he was also given a death order by the crown prince.

(End of this chapter)