The beauty of the Hou family and the king's plan

Baozhao came early to pay respects at Rongde Hall today.

Miss Shen Jing rarely went out since the decree was issued that day. It was said that the emperor had assigned a nanny from the palace to teach her the rules.

The palace is not like home, rules are more important than anything else. If one makes a mistake, the family will be implicated. Therefore, every time a selected girl enters the palace, she has to learn the rules for a period of time.

For someone like Shen Jing who was not a regular contestant, the palace would send a nanny if they remembered her, but if they didn't remember her, just forget it.

But the Ning'an Marquisate was appointed by the emperor himself this time, and outsiders only thought that the Ning'an Marquisate was in the prime of its power. Shen Baozhao was afraid that Shen Jing had temporarily won the emperor's heart.

While thinking about things, he noticed that the third wife, Mrs. Tang, and the fifth daughter, Shen Chan, had also arrived at Rongde Hall.

The three of them greeted each other without saying much.

The old lady hadn't finished washing yet, so the three of them had to sit and wait. After a while, the first lady, Wang, arrived late.

He walked hurriedly, and his eyes were dark, as if he had not slept well. Perhaps he was worried that the Ning'an Marquisate could not pay back the thirty thousand taels of silver from the Loyalty Earl these past two days.

Aunt Lan brought news that the eldest master had been resting in the west wing for several days in a row and had not shown up at Wang's place at all.

I think Wang was also anxious. If the two families fell out, how could she, who was caught in the middle, have a good life?

The old lady was not in a good mood today. After everyone greeted her, she waved her hand and prepared to leave.

Unexpectedly, at this time, Nanny Wang came in hurriedly and whispered to Wang.

Wang was so frightened that she knocked over the teacup on the high table, and everyone's eyes turned to her.

The old lady also looked at her with doubtful and dissatisfied eyes: "What's wrong with you? You are so reckless. How old are you?"

Wang Shi didn't care to listen to the old lady's reproach, nor did she care that Bao Zhao, Tang Shi and others were still present. She said anxiously, "News just came from the outer courtyard that people from the Ministry of Revenue and officials are causing trouble in our shop."

The old lady was also shocked after hearing this, and quickly ordered someone to go to the yamen to ask the master to come back.

A hint of surprise also flashed across Third Madam Tang's face, but soon her expression became expressionless again.

Instead, she looked at Baozhao who was sitting on the rocking chair opposite her, and was surprised to find that her niece was also as still as a mountain, as if she had known it for a long time.

Shen Baozhao was actually moved. She had not expected the Ministry of Revenue to act so quickly. She thought that she would have to wait until at least noon to get the news.

The old lady didn't have time to ask everyone to leave at this moment, and just waited for the master to come back.

Meanwhile, the master received a silver note of thirty thousand taels from the Princess's Mansion yesterday. This morning, he handed the note to the Prince of the Loyalty Earl in front of the yamen in exchange for the document he had signed earlier.

At the moment, he was in a good mood and drinking tea in the government office. The eldest master thought that Shen Jing could enter the palace, and the matter of accidentally injuring the wife of the Loyalty Earl was resolved. Everything was going in a good direction.

The entire Ministry of Rites followed his lead and hummed a little tune in a relaxed manner.

Steward Li hurried to the government office and stumbled before the master.

The master frowned in dissatisfaction: "What happened? You are so reckless."

"Master, please go back and take a look. Something happened at home. People from the Ministry of Revenue are causing trouble in our shop."

The master got anxious when he heard this. What was the Ministry of Revenue doing in his own shop? The deed tax of the shop had never been in arrears. Could it be that the under-reported deed tax had been discovered?

He hurriedly followed Manager Li out of the office and rushed to the shop.

The first shop that the Ministry of Revenue took over was a clothing shop on Duobao Street. Duobao Street was crowded with people, with a wide variety of goods and high prices, but the families of dignitaries loved to visit the shops here.

The shop that Nanhua County Lady brought as a dowry is located in the center of Duobao Street. Therefore, the business is very good and the profit must be good.

Three or four officials from the Ministry of Revenue and six runners came, and about ten people sat in the shop drinking tea.

The shopkeeper stood aside, hunched over, wiping the sweat off his forehead with his sleeves. He was anxious, looking at the door, wondering why his master hadn't arrived yet.

The eldest master had not arrived at the shop yet, but the second young master Shen Jiemin arrived first.

Shen Jiemin only heard that the Ministry of Revenue had come to the shop to cause trouble, so he rushed into the shop with his servants.

He saw that the head of the Ministry of Revenue was just an official of about his age. Although he was tall, he looked like a weak scholar.

He did not take the other party seriously at all, and asked angrily: "May I ask why the Ministry of Revenue is causing trouble in my shop?"

"It's so early in the morning that I can't do business. Will your Ministry of Revenue compensate for the losses?"

"Before you start looking for trouble, you should find out whose shop it is. Don't rush into any shop like a mad dog." The officials from the Ministry of Revenue looked at each other. It turned out that the Ning'an Marquis' Mansion thought that their Ministry of Revenue was short of money and was looking for trouble to get benefits.

But the pale-faced scholar who was in the lead said nothing, and neither did the others.

Shen Jiemin continued, "If you can't give me a clear answer today, then don't leave. I want to ask Minister Sun if he knows what his subordinates did behind his back."

Sun Shangshu is the old Shangshu of the Ministry of Revenue. He has been working diligently in the Ministry of Revenue and has devoted all his energy to the national treasury. He is a good boss who is loved by his subordinates.

He also had a very good reputation in the court, and the previous emperor even jokingly called him "Dali's money bag." And this year, rumors had spread that Shangshu Sun was getting old and in poor health, and was preparing to retire.

When the officials of the Ministry of Revenue heard Shen Jiemin mention Sun Shangshu with no respect, they could no longer tolerate it. One of them stood up and said, "Our Shangshu doesn't need to know about this. Today, our Ministry of Revenue must take over this store."

Seeing that the other party refused to give in, Shen Jiemin got angry and waved his hand at the servants: "Kick these people out."

The servants swarmed forward, and the constables protected several officials from the Ministry of Revenue behind them. They did not dare to draw their swords from their waists for fear of hurting anyone by mistake.

Who would have thought that the servants brought by Shen Jiemin were extremely fierce and started beating the officials. The officials were no match for their fists and legs, and their faces were covered with bruises.

Upon seeing this, the pale-faced scholar who was the head of the Ministry of Revenue drew out the broadsword of the official closest to him and split a rocking chair beside him in half.

With a "bang", a high table on the side was kicked over. Some of the servants were frightened and stopped in their tracks.

The officers also came to their senses and drew their swords from their sheaths.

This time the servants didn't dare to confront him head-on anymore. Seeing this, Shen Jiemin even wanted to order others to step forward.

The master finally arrived and walked into the shop. Seeing the tense atmosphere, he hurried to stop it.

Seeing the bruised faces of the other party, he slapped Shen Jiemin in the face with a "slap" sound and cursed: "Rebellious son, what are you doing?"

"Dad, they came to the shop to cause trouble." Shen Jiemin explained, covering his face.

Unexpectedly, the master didn't listen to him at all. He bowed to the people in the Ministry of Revenue and said, "Everyone, my son is ignorant and caused a misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding, Minister Shen thinks this is just a misunderstanding?" asked a cold voice.