Traveling through Tianlong: Starting from the Zhenlong chess game

Chapter 152 Mr. Zhao visits the Ministry of Industry, and a mysterious woman rescues Wanqing

Zhao Mu placed A'Zhu, A'Zi, and Mu Wanqing in a teahouse near Hubu to wait temporarily. Zhao Mu, on the other hand, went to the Ministry of Revenue alone to negotiate the purchase of the "Yingguogong Mansion" left by Grand Master Pang.

Zhao Mu's negotiations with the Ministry of Household Affairs to buy this "foreclosure house" went very smoothly.

As a relative of the emperor, Zhao Mu had no problem buying this apartment, and he didn't even need to check his identity. Moreover, Duke Yingguo's mansion has always been a worry for the Ministry of Revenue. Because no one has subscribed for it for so many years, the Ministry of Revenue even has to spend its own money to carry out necessary maintenance on this old house. Moreover, this house was sealed by Emperor Renzong's order back then, so they did not dare to buy it at a discount.

Now that Zhao Mu has bought this hot potato, it can be regarded as a worry for the Hubu officials.

He was able to collect all the house deeds so quickly because Zhao Mu knew the unspoken rules of officialdom very well. Zhao Mu paid 520,000 taels this time. The 500,000 taels were the purchase price of the house. The remaining 20,000 taels were not included in the account and were treated as "agency fees" for them.

The officials at the Ministry of Revenue also knew this very well, and they did not claim that they had collected too much money. Moreover, when filling out the form, it was said that the money for the house purchase was a "legacy" left to Zhao Mu by Prince Dongping County, without specifying the source of the money.

It took less than an hour from Zhao Mu entering the door of the Household Department to writing the title deed of the house. If it had been anyone else, I'm afraid this matter wouldn't have been completed within three to five months.

However, after Zhao Mu finished this matter, he did not go directly to meet A'Zhu and the others. Instead, he went to the Ministry of Industry.

Zhao Mu's twenty thousand taels of silver were not given in vain. Before leaving, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue not only saw Zhao Mu out in person, but also issued an official letter from the Ministry of Revenue to Zhao Mu, asking him to go directly to the Ministry of Works and then invite the Ministry of Works. Repair the Duke Ying's mansion for him.

The general meaning of the official letter from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development is that the house has been in disrepair for many years and is not suitable for habitation. On behalf of the Marquis Gao Yi, he bought this hot potato. As the previous owner of the house, the Household Department has the responsibility and obligation to maintain and repair the house, but the Household Department did not repair it before because of "lack of money" and "lack of time." So the house was sold and had to be repaired by the Marquis. The money for house repairs is provided by the Household Department.

After the Ministry of Industry saw this official document, not only did it not find it troublesome, nor did it "kick the ball", but it was very happy to take over the job.

After Zhao Mu read the official document and the response from the Ministry of Revenue, he couldn't help but smile. I lament the insatiable greed of these evil bureaucrats in the old society.

The reason why the Ministry of Works happily accepted this job is because there is a lot of money to be made. As soon as the work starts, the officials of the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Works will be able to make some money. The simplest thing is that it originally cost 50,000 taels to repair the house, but the Ministry of Works reported 80,000 taels to the Ministry of Household Affairs. After the accounts were written off, where did the remaining thirty thousand taels of silver go? Don't know about this.

However, no one lost money on this transaction. Zhao Mu saved a lot of house repair costs, and the officials of the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Households made a profit. As for the five hundred thousand dollars from selling the house, because it was seized by the emperor's decree, it was directly put into the emperor's internal funds.

As for who lost? Anyway, Zhao Mu, the Ministry of Household Affairs, the Ministry of Industry, and the little emperor all suffered no losses.

The Ministry of Industry agreed that Zhao Mu would inspect and accept the house in one month. After Zhao Mu finished all this, he left the Ministry of Industry with satisfaction.

But when he returned to the teahouse where Mu Wanqing and the others were housed, he heard the commotion in the teahouse.

"Little girl! I have to see how you look today!"

"Only my husband can see my appearance. Who are you!? If you are wise, get out of here. My aunt is in a bad mood today!"

"Who am I? Today I am your dear husband! My husband will make you happy today. Hahahahaha." Hearing this voice, Zhao Mu couldn't help but chuckle, and then came to the teahouse with great interest . He wanted to see who was so talented. Dare to provoke your own aunts and sisters.

After Zhao Mu went upstairs, the tea patrons upstairs had already retreated to the side, and only Mu Wanqing was left sitting in the corner of the teahouse. But A'Zhu and A'Zi disappeared.

There were many naughty slaves around Mu Wanqing, and the one who led the way in teasing Mu Wanqing was a handsome and noble young man.

This man's back was turned to Zhao Mu. Although Zhao Mu could not see the man's appearance clearly, Zhao Mu could conclude from the manly robe he was wearing that this man was not a prince, but also a heir apparent.

Mu Wanqing ignored this person's words. She still said coldly: "If you are sensible, get out of here! Otherwise, my aunt will make you walk around without food!"

Mu Wanqing restrained her temper and did not take action directly because Zhao Mu had reminded them before that they should not cause trouble in a place like the capital. If you want to seek revenge, it's not too late to go at night. In public, do not do anything unless necessary.

But when this person saw Mu Wanqing, he remained motionless, thinking that the other person was afraid of his power. He became more and more unscrupulous, and then said: "Girl! Today you just show me the changes. Otherwise, I will let them strip you naked and throw you on the street!"

Zhao Mugang was about to step forward to help Mu Wanqing when he heard someone sitting at the table in the distance say: "Prince Chai is really so majestic, molesting a common girl in broad daylight. What a crime this deserves!"

Hearing this voice, Zhao Mu stopped in his tracks.

He followed the sound and saw a woman wearing white clothes and a headband, disguised as a man, sitting there. She was playing with the folding fan in one hand and gently shaking the tea cup in her hand with the other.

"Let's see who came out to stand in the way today!" Chai Shizi looked at that person and said.

Zhao Mu also saw clearly the face of this disciple at this time. He recognized this person at first glance.

This person is none other than Chai Qing, the young master of the Shang Wang family. This man was several years older than Zhao Muxu, and Zhao Mu's only comment about him was that he was "less of a thing than himself."

It's just that Zhao Mu is a little curious, when did he become the heir apparent?

Although Zhao Mu had been away from the capital for many years, he clearly remembered that Princess Shoukang, the principal concubine of King Shang, had two sons, and the Chai Qing in front of him was the youngest son of Princess Shoukang and King Shang in middle age. My son loves me very much. But according to the inheritance law of the Song Dynasty, it is the eldest son inheritance system. No matter what happens, it won't be his turn to inherit. If anyone is favored, he should be the king of Dongping County, Zhao Mu, not his eldest brother Zhao Yong.

At this time, Zhao Mu thought of a possibility, that is, the eldest son of King Shang, Prince Chai, who asked Zhao Mu to plead guilty, might be dead. Zhao Mu couldn't help but feel happy when he thought of this. Although Zhao Mu did not intend to retaliate, if this was indeed the case, then he would be quite happy.

But Zhao Mu also guessed correctly. Just a year ago, Prince Chai contracted tuberculosis due to excessive drinking and sex, and died before he could inherit the title of king. And his position as eldest son was inherited by his younger brother, Chai Qing in front of him.

Although he knew Prince Chai, Zhao Mu took a closer look at the woman disguised as a man, but he couldn't recognize the young lady from which family she was. But looking at her dressed in men's clothing and her heroic demeanor, she might be from a family of generals.

Zhao Mu originally wanted to step forward to stop him, but now that he had a good show to watch, it wouldn't hurt to go later. He wanted to see how the show ended. He was more concerned about who this girl with such a chivalrous mind was.

(End of this chapter)