HLnovel Chapter 333 Just missing
Chapter 333 Just missing
Xiao Mo gave the porridge to the old woman guarding the gate and had to leave for the time being.
The two of them have been together for such a long time that he has some understanding of Ye Jintang's temper. As long as she doesn't calm down, he has no chance of setting foot in Wutong Courtyard.
It was already past noon when Ye Jintang slowly woke up.
While helping her wash up, Luzhu told her what was happening outside.
"Your Highness, would you like to try the rice porridge that the prince sent over? I heard from Jiang Heng that the prince personally queued up to buy it, and his hands were frozen red when he came back."
"Ah."
Ye Jintang responded. She had also heard of that porridge shop. It had been open for more than 20 years. The shop was not big, but business had always been good.
"Okay, I'll bring it right away."
Ye Jintang had just finished his porridge when Xiao Mo received the message in the study.
Ye Jintang didn't throw away his porridge, it seems he still has a chance today.
Several counselors in the study looked at Xiao Mo and frowned for a while, then couldn't help but curl up the corners of their lips. They were worried, what happened to the prince today? He was so weird, could he be possessed by evil spirits?
"Your Majesty, we have already checked all the tax items in the city. There are several items that are quite different from the account books. We will have to send someone to check them carefully."
As he spoke, a counselor handed the sorted account book to Xiao Mo.
Just with the road permit, Hua Cailiang could steal hundreds of thousands of taels of silver in a year, not to mention the other major items.
It can now be found that there are more than 4 refugees who have been released to do hard labor, and they bring Hua Cailiang hundreds of thousands of taels of silver every year.
This is what we can find for now, there are many more that cannot be found and are hidden in the dark.
Xiao Mo flipped through the account book page by page. The more he read, the more disappointed he became. The entire Ningchuan City was not much better than hell on earth.
Under heavy taxes, the common people could barely survive.
"Our people have been investigating taxation recently, and the Hua family should have received the news."
"Well, I wonder how Hua Cailiang will deal with this."
Xiao Mo was also quite curious. Hua Cailiang knew that he could not hide his tax evasion, so how would he solve the problem?
As long as he is given some time, he will have enough evidence in his hands, and the Hua family will not be able to escape even if they want to.
If he can think of it, Hua Cailiang can definitely think of it too, and he will definitely not wait until he collects evidence before taking action.
"Send someone to keep an eye on the Hua family, and report to me immediately if there is any movement."
"Yes."
"Your Highness has one more thing to say. The Winter Solstice is coming soon. Ningchuan City has a tradition of offering sacrifices to the heavens during the Winter Solstice. I wonder if Your Highness has thought about offering sacrifices to the heavens during the Winter Solstice and holding a Winter Solstice banquet."
"Just follow the usual practice. I will lead the people to offer sacrifices to the heavens, and the Winter Solstice Banquet will be held by the princess."
"Yes."
Afterwards, everyone started talking about some details of the Heavenly Sacrifice. In previous years, Hua Cailiang led people to offer sacrifices to the Heaven, and it was held in a very grand manner. Since Xiao Mo had just arrived in Ningchuan City and was participating in the Heavenly Sacrifice for the first time, naturally he couldn't be too shabby.
"All the details were made to the highest standards. I remember that the offerings made by the kings and nobles to heaven could be twelve in number."
"Yes, the maximum number of offerings Hua Cailiang used for the Heavenly Sacrifice was six, that is, six cows and sheep. Your Majesty can use twelve."
"Very good. The winter solstice heaven sacrifice ceremony should be of the highest standard. I want to let the officials and common people in the city see who is the master of Ningchuan City."
"The higher the specification, the more silver you need to spend. If you use the highest specification, I'm afraid it will cost tens of thousands of taels of silver."
"That's easy. Just write a set of rules and give it to the princess. Don't worry about the money."
"Yes."
The counselors looked at each other in bewilderment. It turned out that the power of the palace was in the hands of the princess. Even if the prince needed money, he had to ask the princess for it.
The Winter Solstice Heavenly Worship Festival is a major festival in Ningchuan City second only to New Year’s Eve, so Ye Jintang had naturally heard of it.
"My queen, the prince is outside the courtyard gate right now. He said he wanted to discuss the winter solstice heaven sacrifice with you."
Luzhu hurried into the house, where Ye Jintang, Liuli and Master Mu were grinding medicinal herbs together.
"Just say I'm busy and let him figure it out."
Ye Jintang didn't even raise his head and continued with the work in his hands.
Luzhu went out for a while and came back with some papers.
"My lady, this is what the prince asked me to give to you."
After taking a look at the words on the paper, Ye Jintang finally stopped what he was doing and carefully read the general process and items needed for the winter solstice sacrifice written by his advisers.
Ye Jintang took a quick look and handed the key hanging on his waist directly to Luzhu.
"Go get a hundred thousand taels of silver and give it to Jiang Heng. Say it's for the Winter Solstice Heaven Festival."
"The Queen won't give it to the Prince?"
"Just go when I tell you to go. Why are you talking so much nonsense?" Ye Jintang glared at Luzhu unhappily, and she ran away in fear.
Ye Jintang was not the kind of person who would make a fuss. She thought one thing was one thing, and the Winter Solstice Heaven Sacrifice involved the entire Prince Qin's Mansion, so she naturally had to take it seriously. As for her relationship issues with Xiao Mo, this matter could not be resolved with just a few words.
Sister Mu, who was standing by, also heard about Duan Linghui's situation. She consoled him, "Jintang, you and the prince are husband and wife. If there is anything, you can sit down and discuss it properly. Avoiding each other like this is not a solution."
"No rush, let's leave him alone for a few days first."
Ye Jintang has been waiting for a result that would allow her to make a decision, a result between Xiao Mo and Duan Linghui.
Master Mu shook her head helplessly and changed the subject to talk about the elixir of life pill.
"Jintang, can this so-called low-quality longevity pill of yours be effective? Don't let us go through so much trouble and end up with nothing in the end."
"Master, rest assured. I will not let you down."
Last night Ye Jintang discovered that she had already collected all the medicinal materials for making the elixir of life pills, so she took immediate action today and called both Master Mu and Liuli over to help her figure out how to make the elixir of life pills.
Several of the herbs needed to be extracted, but she really didn't know how to do it, so she had to ask Master Mu for help.
But she didn't dare to tell Aunt Mu about medicinal ingredients like snake fruit, so she could only say that it was a low-end version of the longevity pill without snake fruit.
Ye Jintang was busy as hell and had no time to deal with Xiao Mo's troubles.
Xiao Mo, who hadn't seen Ye Jintang for a day and a night, was not as calm as her.
After discussing matters in the study until noon, Xiao Mo had no appetite at all as he looked at the deserted dining table.
In the past, Ye Jintang would always have lunch with him at this time, and the two of them would chat together.
Now he is alone.
"Your Majesty, is there no dish that suits your taste? Try the soup I cooked for you. When we were at the border, you and your elder brother loved the soup I cooked the most."
When Duan Linghui spoke, Xiao Mo realized that she had come to serve him dinner without him noticing.
"Linghui, you are Duan Feng's sister. You come to the palace to stay for a while so that you can marry into a good family in the future. You should go to the princess, not me."
Xiao Mo glanced at the bowl of greasy soup and didn't know what to say.
In the past, when they had nothing to eat or drink at the border, they naturally liked this kind of oily soup, but times have changed now, and how could Duan Linghui's cooking skills compare to those of the chefs in the palace.
He just took a look and didn't even want to touch it.