After the banquet was over, Xian Ruxing wanted to discuss something with Yang Yiqing, but was called away by Jiajing before he could speak.
The two returned to Qianqing Palace, and after retreating to the left and right, the young man looked straight at her, his eyes full of joy and admiration.
Xian Ruxing's heart skipped a beat when he saw this, and he immediately said: "Don't get me wrong, the smoke and fog are all prepared by me. I use dry ice. This dry ice... is the kind that smokes, ugh , I can’t explain it clearly anyway, there’s still a little left, so you can play with it if you like.”
She bought the dry ice on Taobao in her previous life because she thought the fairy-like dishes in hot pot restaurants were fun. But after buying it, she was too lazy to use it, and there wasn't much in total. Today's banquet was hosted by the little emperor for her, although there was no dry ice. I was very interested, but when I saw his enthusiastic look, I felt it was hard to disappoint him, so I just took it out and used it. Now I was worried that Zhu Houcong would associate it with gods, so I hurriedly explained it clearly.
"What about those glowing auspicious clouds?"
"Ah, you are talking about this." Xian Ruxing smiled and took out a circular tube from his body, "Recently, the Leopard Room has researched glass. I used that thing to make several homemade projector lamps. In fact, the effect It's not as good as expected, but fortunately half of the candles were extinguished during the banquet, so the environment was dark enough to cast a strong light."
At this point, Xian Ruxing felt depressed again, why were antibiotics, glass, and soap, the so-called three magical tools of time travelers, not working on him, but two of them were poured on soda ash.
The formula of burning quartz and soda ash to finally get glass was mentioned in all the time travel novels she read, but in actual operation, she found that it was not the case at all. First of all, because there is no way to industrially produce soda ash, she can only rely on mining now. Alkali ore can be obtained from alkali ores. Although in theory it can be replaced by purifying plant ash, Xian Ruxing estimated that if he wanted to establish a complete production line, the plant ash required would probably burn half a Ming dynasty...
Due to the lack of raw materials, large-scale production is destined to be impossible, and the temperature of the furnace is not enough, and the final product is not transparent enough. As a result, it is simply impossible to achieve bright and clean windows in every house like in the previous life.
After thinking about it, I can only use the produced glass to make gadgets and take the high-end route.
Zhu Houcong listened in confusion, and saw Xian Ruxing talking and ignoring him. He was a little depressed. After a long time, he pulled the other party's clothes and asked with a little unwillingness: "But even if it's not a miracle, it's you." Made by my own hands. Part of the reason why you are so busy today must be for me. I am boasting in front of all the ministers, and you worked so hard to prepare these so that I would not lose face, right?"
“Of course.”
Seeing her being so calm, Zhu Houcong felt a little shy. He hesitated for a long time and hesitated: "What does this mean? You don't have to take it to heart what I do in the future. No, you can take it to heart. That's right. That's right. …”
His cheeks were hot and his heart was beating like a drum. Even he couldn't help but wonder about this, secretly thinking Zhu Houcong, Zhu Houcong, what's wrong with you? He subconsciously wanted to change the topic, but when he looked up, he saw that Xian Ruxing's eyes were straight, his mind was wandering, and his mouth was open. He kept mumbling about glass and how much it cost.
Zhu Houcong: "..."
…
Because the quality of the fired items was not up to standard and the quantity was not large, Xian Ruxing felt that he could not just throw it away, so he asked a craftsman to make a glass lantern. He referenced the design of the previous projector lamp and painted it on the glass with colored pigments.
Various patterns, when the lanterns are turned on, the colorful light and shadow projected are extremely beautiful.
With the natural advertisement at the banquet, and the Chinese Valentine's Day coming soon, although this kind of glass lantern is expensive, it is not worried about sales. In fact, many glass products were introduced to China as early as the Qin Dynasty, but most of them were
Lead-barium glass made in Egypt and other places feels very heavy to the touch and is resistant to heat. It contains ingredients harmful to the body, and it is easy to get sick if used for a long time.
The glass lamps made by Xian Ruxing are much lighter and significantly stronger. They can be preserved and used for more than ten years. In this way, they are not very expensive. At least many of Fang Lingji's loyal customers buy them.
After that, it quickly became popular among the noble ladies in the capital.
However, after all, lanterns and the like are just small items, and the prices are high. Xian Ruxing didn't point out that they could make a lot of money, so he slowly produced them and put them up for sale. Suddenly one day, Fang Lingji's store manager found him.
With a confused look on his face, he said: "Master, we don't have enough glazed lamps in our store. In the past few days, customers have been complaining that they can't buy them. Do you think we can hurry up to the Leopard Room?"
"Ah?" Xian Ruxing wondered, didn't a batch just come on the shelves? Logically speaking, it shouldn't be so fast?
The store manager explained: "That's true, but in the past few days, a regular customer has packed all the lanterns as soon as he came over. Our production speed cannot keep up with his sales speed."
"Who is taking advantage of someone like that?" Xian Ruxing asked subconsciously. You must know that nowadays, glass ornaments cost about ten taels of silver each, while glass lamps cost twice as much. Even in the capital city where prices are high, this money is enough for an ordinary person's family to spend for the whole year.
Sold.
"It's Wang Qiong, Wang Shangshu."
Hearing this name, Xian Ruxing couldn't help but froze for a moment, then frowned slightly, Wang Qiong...
She originally thought she was just some rich man, but turned out to be an official of the imperial court, and he played such an important role. She couldn't turn a blind eye. The other party's obvious actions must also be conveying a message to her.
Xian Ruxing sighed and personally wrote a greeting note to Wang Qiong.
Sure enough, Wang Qiong responded almost immediately after receiving it, and the two parties agreed on a time to meet, and the location was set at his house.
To be honest, Xian Ruxing has been to many duke mansions since he time traveled, including many veterans of the Four Dynasties like Fei Hong and Yang Yiqing, but he has never seen one as exquisite as Wang Qiong's mansion. Just walking this way
, everything you look at is beautiful, and even the flowers and plants planted are all of rare varieties. When you enter the hall, you can see the glazed lanterns hanging everywhere. These are the things that all the young ladies in the capital bring.
It is portable and is placed here and there as a decoration, which shows how arrogant it is.
When Wang Qiong saw Xian Ruxing, she stood up and greeted him enthusiastically. He was already in his early sixties this year, but he was extremely well maintained and looked like a middle-aged man. His beard was also trimmed in a stylish way.
Strong fragrance.
Xian Ruxing suddenly remembered that Zhu Houcong complained about his words to Wang Qiong and choked his eyes. He couldn't help but find it funny, but his face was still gentle and elegant. He held his hands and said: "Wang Shangshu, I am here to thank you for patronizing my business. It is a small business. Thank you for your support."
"
"No, no, it's just that things are just to my taste. Real people, please don't say that." Wang Qiong quickly shied away.
Xian Ruxing is a woman, even if she is an outsider, she will inevitably be looked down upon when interacting with others. Although many court officials do not show it directly, who Xian Ruxing is can be felt even if the other party does not say it.
But Wang Qiong did not treat him differently at all. Not only that, this dignified and powerful second-rank official of the Sixth Ministry of Finance treated Xian Ruxing with utmost flattery, even with a hint of "licking" in his words.
I have to say that with Wang Qiong's career ups and downs over the years, if he really wants to lick someone, even if Xian Ruxing is of such a high rank, it is inevitable that he will feel a little presumptuous.
Thinking of the life of Wang Shangshu, I couldn't help but cheer up. I warned myself not to indulge in licking my merits. He changed the topic and said: "I haven't congratulated Shangshu on his promotion. He is the only one in the dynasty who has been promoted to the Three Sovereigns. It is true that Jane is in the heart of the emperor."
ah."
"Oh, you don't want to offend me, if you are a real person, if you are talking about Jane being in the emperor's heart, who can be better than you." Wang Qiong declined with a smile, and offered another flattery.
Xian Ruxing was not in a hurry and just followed him in circles. In the end, the two of them flattered each other for an hour. If anyone else was around, they would be amazed.
In the end, Wang Qiong couldn't bear it anymore. He had something to ask for, so he could only speak first: "Now that the real person is walking in front of the emperor, do you know that your majesty asked the Ministry of Accounts to investigate the old accounts of the late emperor?"
Xian Ruxing knew that the drama was coming and nodded to show that he had heard about it.
Wang Qiong sighed heavily and said sadly: "Qian Ning and Jiang Bin were sacked before, and all the thousands of gold coins taken from their houses were handed over to the state treasury. They were shown to His Majesty before, but now a year has passed, and Wan Zai suddenly said...
Check again, the previous Minister of Household Affairs has resigned, where can I find the account books?"
His words were quite aggrieved, as if he wanted to be loyal to the country but was unable to do so.
Xian Ruxing watched his performance silently and sneered in his heart. If others had said this, he might still believe it. But for this Wang Shangshu, anyone who knew what kind of person he was knew that this was just a show.
Without him, it's just because Wang Shangshu's reputation among the government and the public is really not good.
Wang Qiongnai was a Jinshi in Chenghua for 20 years, and later served as the director of the Ministry of Industry. He was also in charge of local water transportation. As we all know, the water conservancy construction in the Ming Dynasty was almost equivalent to nothing. Wherever the dike broke, the people were temporarily compensated for the disaster, and the court issued some
The money itself was not much, and it was even more miserable when it fell into the hands of local governments. However, Wang Qiong worked hard during his tenure. He not only personally led people to manage the Cao River, but also rectified local floods.
Later, he was transferred to the Ministry of War, and worked his way up to the position of Minister. He suppressed several rebellions in the process. When Zhengde left Beijing, he carefully deployed defenses. He even anticipated the rebellion of King Ning in advance and personally promoted Wang Shouren to defend Jiangxi.
In the past dynasties, civil servants were not very good at handling practical affairs, but Wang Qiong was not like that. He had been an official for decades and could be said to be doing everything he could. Even Xian Ruxing had to sigh that he was indeed a capable person.
But such great power also has a fatal flaw, which is greed.
Forget about being greedy, after all, there are almost no officials in the Ming Dynasty who are not greedy, otherwise they would not be able to support their families with their little salary. But Wang Qiong is not only greedy, but also likes to make friends with sycophants, from Liu Jin at the beginning to Qian Ning Jiang Bin. As a scholar, he
, for the sake of fame and wealth, he can even bow to eunuchs, which is very despised by others.
Not only that, he was also very keen on ostracizing his colleagues. Anyone who disagreed with his political views would try every means to frame him. When he saw Yang Tinghe becoming an official some time ago, he immediately read several books about him, hoping to win the emperor's favor.
Now that he has been transferred to the Ministry of Household Affairs as Minister, Jiajing has once again uncovered the Qian Ning Jiang Bin matter, and he knows who the target of the attack is.
"Wang Shangshu," Xian Ruxing said, interrupting the other party's chatter, "since you and I know what we are talking about, why bother to say more? It's going to be dark soon. Do you still want to keep Pindao here to eat?"
Wang Qiong was stunned for a long time, and said with a wry smile: "I just want to know where I went wrong." It was clear that the emperor ordered people to put away the account books at that time, saying that he would forget about the things that happened during the Zhengde period, and that he would grow up with him.
Talking about it, praising him again and again, how come everything has changed in just a few days...
Xian Ruxing looked at him and said calmly: "You were wrong because you shouldn't have participated in Yang Tinghe."
Zhu Houcong himself was extremely smart and extremely arrogant. Even with the influence of Xian Ruxing, he would still show his mean and cold side from time to time. Of course he hated Yang Tinghe, but ministers could not say such things. Now that Yang Tinghe has left, Wang Qiong
He couldn't wait to file a complaint, almost telling the world clearly that he was speculating on the holy will. The current emperor was a petty person, and of course Zhu Houcong couldn't stand it.
Wang Qiong's face was gray and his figure was shaky when he thought clearly. As ministers, they were most afraid of being rejected by the emperor. He had made many enemies over the years, and his hands and feet were not clean. If he was really demoted, he might not be able to escape the confiscation of his house.
The fate of exile.
"Taoist Master Xian, as long as you can save Wang's life, you will give everything you have in Xiayuan, and you will be the only one who will follow your lead from now on!" He did not hesitate and directly told Xian Ruxing that he would give anything. Wang Qiong saw clearly that if there was no money
It doesn't matter if you die, but if you die, you really have nothing.
Xian Ruxing shook his head, "There is nothing I can do about this matter."
Seeing that Wang Qiong wanted to speak again, he quickly explained: "It's not that I don't want to help, the main minister has violated a big taboo now. Even if Pindao opens his mouth and temporarily protects you, His Majesty will always remember it in his heart, and it may happen at any time.
Turn it out."
"Then what should we do?" Wang Qiong was completely panicked by this matter.
Xian Ruxing suggested: "There is no way out. You are now despised by His Majesty, Minister. As long as you do something that makes Long live happy again, it will be fine. You are in charge of the Ministry of Household Affairs. What is the most troublesome thing for the court now?"
It’s only right to have a few.”
Wang Qiong was stunned. After thinking for a long time, he suddenly realized it, but then he was in a dilemma.
Xian Ruxing said nothing, just waiting for him to make a decision. She believed that with Wang Qiong's mind, he would definitely make the right choice.
Sure enough, Wang Qiong's expression changed several times, and finally he sighed dejectedly. At this moment, he seemed to have aged more than ten years. At this time, he really looked like an old man over sixty years old. He said to Xian Ruxing tiredly.
Thank you, "Master, please forgive Wang for having some things to do next, so I won't keep you for now."
Xian Ruxing expressed his understanding, and then turned around and left under the leadership of his servants.
After taking only two steps, Wang Qiong's slightly unwilling voice suddenly sounded behind him, "Taoist Master Xian, I once heard a friend say that I think you and I are somewhat similar in our behavior. When we met today, we really hit it off. If you are in my position,
Location, how would you choose?”
Xian Ruxing paused slightly and said calmly: "Wang Shangshu is joking. I am just an idle Taoist. I got to where I am today thanks to the grace of the Tian family. How can I compare with you."
Although they are indeed both well-rounded and doers, and Xian Ruxing is as meticulous about food and clothing as Wang Qiong, every penny she spends is earned by herself. Xian Ruxing does love power, but she does not
Nostalgic for power, if I were Wang Qiong, I would probably just quit at this point. Although I might be down and out, it shouldn't be difficult to keep my name. In the end, the other party is still not willing to give in, and besides...
Xian Ruxing sneered, she would not leave so many flaws.
Wang Qiong looked at the back of the female Taoist priest and sighed again.
The future life is terrible...
The next day, Wang Qiong, the Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, suddenly stood up before leaving the court and bluntly said that the national treasury is tight now, and there is still a large number of clan members to support every year. Now the salary given to the feudal king alone is an astronomical figure. So I hope
The imperial court can cut down the vassals again and reduce the burden on the people.
As soon as this statement came out, the whole court was in an uproar.:,,.