Dugong

Chapter 41: Offering Auspiciousness
After Li Ping'an made up his mind to jump off the boat, instead of distancing himself from his godfather, he resumed visiting him every morning and evening.

The time is later than that of other grooms, so as to highlight the status of Eunuch An.

During the day, he paid attention to Eunuch Sun's actions, and at night he kept an eye on the tribute treasury.

Zheng Li Wuying's performance became more and more skillful and advanced. His whole body blended into the night like green smoke, and it was difficult for night owls to notice him passing by.

It was noon that day.

Li Ping'an came back from the imperial kitchen and was about to take a nap in the master's room.

Xiao Yuzi hurried over with two eunuchs and bowed to report, "Godfather, the officials from Lingnan Prefecture and Yangchang Prefecture who are escorting the tribute have arrived in the capital and request to see you."

"Why do you want to see us?"

Li Ping'an raised his eyelids, and a little eagerness rose in his heart.

According to normal procedures, local officials do not need to meet with the person in charge. As long as the tribute is inspected by the eunuchs and confirmed to be correct, it can be put into storage.

If someone asks for a meeting like this specifically, he must have something to ask for, and asking someone to do something for him requires paying a small gift.

Li Ping'an was glad that he had placed spies in key positions, otherwise if the eunuchs below could get away with it, he would not only not get any benefits, but would also be held responsible for negligence if something went wrong.

Little Yuzi replied, "Godfather, you don't know that the Lingnan prefect is accustomed to passing off inferior goods as good ones. This time, he must be begging you for mercy."

Li Pingan glanced at the two eunuchs behind Xiao Yuzi and asked, "Is this a safe approach?"

Xiao Yuzi introduced them, "These are Xiao Jingzi and Xiao Xingzi. They have been in charge of verifying the tribute from Lingnan for many years and are very familiar with the ins and outs of it."

The two eunuchs came forward and kowtowed, and Xiao Jingzi explained in a low voice.

"Your Excellency, the common tribute from Lingnan is taro and oyster sauce. The quality of taro is judged by its appearance and size. As long as it is pest-free and no smaller than three-tenths of a pound, your Majesty will not notice anything unusual if the appearance is slightly inferior."

Li Ping'an nodded slightly. He had seen how taro was prepared in the imperial kitchen. After being peeled and cut into pieces, it was steamed and sprinkled with honey syrup. It was impossible to tell the original appearance and size.

What's more, Your Majesty cooks so much food every day, and you may not be able to eat a bite of taro for ten days or half a month. How can you tell whether it is good or bad?
"Little Jingzi, right? Do your job well. Our family will never mistreat capable people!"

Xiao Jingzi kowtowed and thanked him. With these words, the charges against herself and Xiao Mengzi for accepting bribes and allowing Lingnan Prefecture to pass off inferior goods as good ones were finally cleared.

Xiao Xingzi, standing by, chimed in, "Your Excellency, the palace's fuel consumption standards for tributes are ridiculously high. It would be difficult for any prefect to meet them."

Li Pingan's eyes lit up: "Why do you do this?"

"Of course it's for the money."

Xiao Xingzi said, "If Lingnan Prefecture is sensible enough to give us the money, we will turn a blind eye. If they dare not give it, we will investigate them and find fault with them, and order them to return the fuel."

Li Pingan asked again, "Lingnan is thousands of miles away from the capital. If we waste fuel and return it, won't it break down?"

Xiao Xingzi said disapprovingly, "It's broken, so let's just collect it from the farmers again. We can't let them down in any case."

"That makes sense!"

Li Ping'an nodded in agreement. When his elder sister and younger brother were almost starving to death, his parents kowtowed to every household, and even the farmers who had food refused to open their doors.

Everyone sweeps the snow in front of their own door, and don't care about other people's frost.

There are indeed people who have lost their families because of the oyster sauce tax. It is all the fault of those corrupt officials. It has nothing to do with our family.

Li Pingan asked, "Is Yangchang Prefecture also trying to pass off inferior goods as good ones?"

Xiao Yuzi said, "The tribute from Yangchang Prefecture is tortoise shells and rhinoceros horns. There's no requirement for quality, just quantity. From what the official said, it seems he has other requests."

"Then let's meet."

Li Ping'an was eager to ask for help so that the power in his hands could be turned into real money.

……

Eunuchs are His Majesty's slaves and private property, and an extension of His Majesty's will. Their entry and exit from the palace are strictly controlled. The purpose is, firstly, to prevent eunuchs from leaving the palace and abusing their power, and secondly, to prevent outsiders from sneaking into the palace.

However, it is not completely prohibited, and there are reasonable and legal ways to leave the palace.

For example, accompanying the emperor on trips and conveying imperial edicts, supervising the construction of imperial mausoleums, palaces, etc., and leaving the palace to purchase supplies.

The third method used by Li Ping'an.

First, write a note to the Imperial Household Department to apply, stating the location and reason, the time of entry and exit, etc. The Imperial Household Department will send someone to verify, and if the reason is reasonable, they will issue a pass to leave the palace. According to the palace regulations, anyone who leaves the palace without a pass will be executed.

The Tribute Department dealt with local officials all year round, and the eunuchs in the department went in and out of the palace quite frequently.

Li Ping'an used the excuse of "supervising and verifying the tribute from Yangchang Prefecture" to get the approval smoothly, got the palace entry and exit badge, and went straight to the tribute hall with Xiao Yuzi.

The waist badge can only be used during the day and must be returned to the palace before sunset.

Those who fail to return on time will be punished with thirty strokes of the cane at the lightest and death at the worst.

The scope of performing official duties is strictly regulated, and loitering is strictly prohibited. If someone is found to have deviated from the route, they may be suspected of "favoritism".

en route.

Li Ping'an looked at the streets of the capital with great interest. He had hurried past them last time and didn't look carefully, so he didn't have any impression of them.

The accompanying Xiao Yuzi was a seasoned palace hand. Seeing his godfather's interest, he introduced him attentively, "The northern part of the capital is the most prestigious. Merchants are strictly prohibited from running shops. All the houses are government offices or residences of nobles.

This is the palace of Prince Rui, your Majesty's brother. It is said that Prince Rui made great contributions to your Majesty's ascension to the throne.

This is the Ministry of Rites. Every three years, a scholar goes there to take the imperial examination...

This is the Duke of Rong’s Mansion…”

After passing through numerous streets and alleys, we arrived at the residence of the local tribute-paying officials. The two-story house looked a bit shabby among the luxurious mansions nearby. The plaque at the door had three gold-plated characters "Hui Gong Hall" written on it.

The gatekeeper recognized Xiao Yuzi and the other two and hurried forward to bow.

"Greetings, Eunuch Yu. What business have you come on today?"

Xiao Yuzi is a timid little eunuch in the palace, but he is a majestic eunuch outside. He carries the will of the emperor and is three levels higher than the official he meets.

"Which room do the officials of Yangchang Prefecture live in?"

"Father-in-law, please follow me."

The officer bent over and led the way, bringing Li Ping'an and the other man to the east wing of the second courtyard: "Master Kang lives here."

Xiao Yuzi pushed open the door and bowed to invite Li Pingan in.

Kang Yagang, who was in charge of escorting the tribute, heard the noise, looked up and saw two eunuchs coming in, and hurriedly stood up to greet them.

"Greetings, Eunuch Yu. May I ask who this gentleman is?"

Xiao Yuzi said, "This is our godfather, Eunuch An, the head of the Tribute Department, and the younger generation of the old ancestor of the Internal Affairs Department."

Kang Yagang bowed deeply and said, "This subordinate pays his respects to Eunuch An."

"No need to be so polite, Lord Kang."

Li Ping'an was all smiles. It was the first time in his life that a respectable official saluted him. It was something he had never dared to dream of before. It was really refreshing.

Unfortunately, time and rules do not allow it, otherwise I would definitely catch Sun Baopi and make him kowtow to me, and I would not stop until his head was smashed.

The two exchanged a few pleasantries and sat down on either side.

Li Pingan got straight to the point and asked, "What does Lord Kang want to see us about?"

Kang Yagang said, "Eunuch An, you may not know this, but when Prefect Qian was preparing tribute, he discovered a piece of white jade with the Bagua pattern growing on the back of a century-old tortoise shell!"

Li Ping'an raised his eyebrows. How could jade grow on the turtle shell? It was obvious that someone had carved it and embedded it in, but no one pointed it out.

"Such a mysterious tortoise shell can be called an auspicious omen. Could it be that Lord Kang wants to take the tortoise shell back as an offering of good fortune, and our family has agreed?"

Unexpectedly, Kang Yagang shook his head slightly: "Your Majesty likes auspicious signs, and many places have presented them to you. Now that auspicious signs are everywhere, ordinary phenomena are no longer pleasing to the Holy Emperor."

Li Pingan asked, "What does Qian Fuyin mean?"

"Prefect Qian's point is, since offering tributes won't work, then let Your Majesty discover the auspicious signs yourself."

Kang Yagang said, “Please, Eunuch An, place the jade and tortoise shell in a prominent place and write good words about it in the tribute account book.

When Your Majesty discovers it for himself, it will reveal the true auspiciousness bestowed by Heaven, and even the upright officials will have no right to interfere!"

(End of this chapter)