minions live

Chapter 759 As Before
Xingji City Qinglong Street

Pingliang Prince's Mansion

As the twelfth lunar month approaches, the weather is getting colder and colder.

The King of Pingliang's heart was colder than the weather outside.

Hey~
He was restless and had let out his umpteenth long sigh.

"This year-end is going to be tough."

Ren Ning had already announced this to the world through the newspapers a while ago.

Starting next year, the royal family will reinstate the system of ranking and demoting titles recorded in the official annals of the imperial ancestral temple.

At that time, in all the princely mansions, the capable will be promoted and the mediocre will be demoted.

This made the descendants of the emperor in various places completely restless.

But no one dared to object; at least not publicly, none of the princes' or princesses' residences voiced their opposition.

Even many members of the royal family voiced their support.

Because that was a rule set by the founding emperor of Yun Chui.

It is the foundation upon which their power and status are built.

Hey~
The King of Pingliang looked around, gazing at the familiar main hall before him, and sighed silently once more.

Perhaps after this year, his ancestral princely mansion will become a county princely mansion, or he may even lose his princely title and become a commoner...

How can this be good?

In a state of confusion and agitation, the study door was suddenly pushed open with a creak.

Call ~
A biting wind, carrying snowflakes, rushed in.

The King of Pingliang, who was roasting the earthworm, was already drowsy when the cold wind blew on him, and he felt a chill all over his body.

He shuddered violently.

"You bastard..." King Pingliang roared in fury.

Someone actually dared to cause trouble at this time; they must be tired of living.

"Your Highness, good news, great news!"

The King of Pingliang was taken aback, and only then did he realize that the person who had suddenly barged in was his old steward.

He asked rather irritably, "What good news?"

“Your Highness,” the old steward said, oblivious to his master’s dark expression, “this old servant just received news that Lin Hanmo returned to the Marquis of Annan’s residence last night.”

"So what if they go back?" The King of Pingliang was somewhat bewildered and couldn't help but swear, "What's it to me!"

If Lin Hanmo doesn't return to the Marquis of An'nan's residence, is he supposed to come to his Prince of Pingliang's residence instead?
"My good prince," the old steward realized that his master was in a bad mood. Although he was disappointed in his master, he could not express it.

"Think about it carefully."

He pointed eastward.

"Everyone knows that the Central Army suffered a major defeat in Huayang County, with heavy casualties. Afterwards, the imperial envoy discovered that generals at all levels had been embezzling and misappropriating funds, with the amount of gold and silver involved being extremely staggering."

"According to imperial law, either of these two crimes is a capital offense, yet Lin Hanmo was able to return home safely. What does that mean?"

The King of Pingliang finally sat up straight.

However, his head, still groggy from being roasted by the earth dragon, was too weak to do anything but look longingly at his old steward.

"What does it mean?"

cough.

The old butler couldn't help but cough.

Fortunately, he understood his master's temperament, otherwise he would have been driven to his death by anger.

"Your Highness, the other day, Old Li, who was in charge of purchasing for the Prince's residence in the front courtyard, told this old servant something. Would you like to hear it?"

The King of Pingliang was impatient, but knowing that the old steward wouldn't speak without reason, he nodded.

"Go ahead."

cough.

The old butler cleared his throat again.

"Your Highness, last time Old Li went out to buy things, he found a tavern in Miaoqi Lane that was offering excellent osmanthus wine at a 30% discount, but in the end he didn't buy it."

what.

The King of Pingliang couldn't help but swallow hard.

"Could it be the century-old brew from Chen Family Village in Luogui County, Baihua Prefecture? That flavor is so mellow..."

cough!
The old butler was speechless when he saw his master suddenly shift his attention.

"Your Highness, this old servant knows that the century-old osmanthus wine of Baihua County is the best, but we are talking about the price now."

Ok?
The King of Pingliang then came to his senses and felt a pang of heartache.

"Why isn't Old Li buying the osmanthus wine at a 30% discount?" Because he was worried about the reputation of the Prince's mansion, the Prince of Pingliang had recently spent a lot of money bribing his subordinates, and now he was a little short of money.

Ha ha.

The old butler chuckled softly.

“Your Highness, Old Li has been in charge of purchasing for the Prince’s Palace for many years and knows the basic prices of various wines. Although Miaolinfang Tavern is officially offering a 30% discount, the owner secretly doubled the price first.”

"If I buy it, I'll lose a lot of money."

"I see." The King of Pingliang understood and immediately felt disgusted. "Our ancestor was right, indeed there is no merchant without cunning."

cough.

Seeing that his master still hadn't reacted, the old steward had no choice but to cough again.

He steered the conversation back to the main topic.

"Your Highness, Lin Hanmo, or rather the entire An'nan Marquis's mansion, was originally destined for death, yet they have been able to return home safely. Don't you find that a bit strange?"

The King of Pingliang was startled.

He looked at his old servant with hesitation.

"You mean His Majesty's promotion and demotion of noble titles is the same as the price of the wine sold in this tavern?"

"A demotion in name only, but a promotion in reality?"

The old butler remained noncommittal, simply stroking his gray beard leisurely.

He suddenly changed the subject.

"Your Highness must have heard of the recent rumors circulating in Star City, right?"

The King of Pingliang nodded slightly.

He does know that.

After the new emperor ascended the throne, he did not bestow any great titles or rewards.

For example, the Jinlin Guard was still in Du Ziming's hands, and the Six Ministries were still the same as before. It could even be said that, apart from the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Works, which had committed offenses in the early years, almost no one had changed their personnel.

But at some point, rumors began to circulate among the people.

The new emperor is not refusing to bestow titles or rewards, nor is he refusing to replace or remove any officials; rather, he is waiting for the right time.

That's the end of the year.

At the end of each year, the Ministry of Personnel would assess the conduct and performance of officials at all levels throughout the year for the monarch's reference.

It is said that the new emperor wanted to obtain accurate evaluations from all officials before making a decision.

"real or fake?"

As soon as the rumor spread, many people immediately expressed their doubts.

But soon everyone believed it.

"Civil officials manage domestic affairs, while military generals defend foreign lands. His Majesty has been engaged in military campaigns for many years and is only familiar with military generals, not civil officials..."

Without understanding this, Emperor Taixi could not decide who would ascend and who would descend.

Since that's the case, we might as well keep things as they are for now.

At least the officials in the six ministries are still quite competent.

Otherwise, during the reign of Emperor Changxing, given his frequent illnesses that prevented him from attending court, the empire would have been in chaos long ago.

"What does this have to do with the Prince's Mansion?" The Prince of Pingliang clicked his tongue, not taking it to heart at all.

Don't be fooled by their aloofness and superiority; that's only in front of ordinary people.

At other times, to avoid suspicion, not only should one not discuss matters of the court, but one should also pretend not to see officials from the Six Ministries when encountering them on the street.

Otherwise, if the Imperial Guards see it, it will be a big problem.

"Your Highness, His Majesty is not familiar with Xingji City. In order to maintain the stability of the court, he did not dare to make major changes to the civil service system, and the high-ranking generals' mansions were only temporarily defused."

"Therefore, this old servant estimates that the prices of wine in each prince's mansion will be lowered in name but raised in reality, or even remain unchanged, just as you just mentioned, in order to stabilize people's hearts."

"Isn't this good news?"

The King of Pingliang suddenly realized and was overjoyed, "You're right, it is indeed good news."

Before the master and servant could finish speaking, the voice of a doorman came from outside the hall.

"Your Highness, the Imperial Clan Court has sent word that you are requested to go to the Imperial Clan Court immediately for a meeting."

The master and servant exchanged a surprised glance.

"What are we going to the Imperial Clan Court for?" The King of Pingliang's legs felt weak.

For these sons and grandsons of the emperor, the Imperial Clan Court was a place for deliberation, and also a prison exclusively for the imperial family.

“Your Highness, don’t worry,” the old steward chuckled. “His Majesty has made up his mind, so nothing serious should happen.”

"As usual, when the end of the year approaches, the clan elders and the royal family will probably summon all the princes to discuss the New Year celebrations and distribute New Year's gifts."