Use a substitute on your wedding night to scatter the ashes of your entire family

As soon as the second day of the first lunar month passed, Ling Heng returned to the Ministry of Rites and began to prepare for the funeral of the Duke of Huguo.

Years ago, only one imperial edict was delivered to the Ministry of Rites, and nothing else.

He was the best at guessing Emperor Jingzhang's thoughts, and he understood his father's intention with just a moment's thought.

Not only must the funeral be conducted in a dignified manner, but the people of the entire capital city must also see the emperor's great grace.

And the national treasury cannot be asked to spend a single cent.

Ling Heng thought of what to do almost immediately.

Of course, he was only responsible for giving advice and gave all the credit to Song Changyu who was about to retire.

Song Changyu was originally going to retire after the ancestral ceremony was over, but Emperor Jingzhang asked him to finish the funeral of the Duke of Huguo before he could leave.

As a second-rank official who is about to leave office, his achievements are of little use to him.

But since it was he who helped to resolve the situation, Song Changyu would of course mention it in front of the emperor.

He is still young and needs to stay conspicuous. Just a mention is enough.

"Sir Song, although the emperor has issued an order, what should the Ministry of Rites do about this funeral? How can we make it both grand and appropriate? Our Ministry of Rites must first have a set of rules."

Song Changyu knew it clearly in his mind. Although the emperor issued three imperial edicts that day, which on the surface seemed to be showing great favor to the Duke of Huguo's Mansion, it was all because of the cowardice of the He family that forced the emperor to do so.

How could the emperor have no resentment in his heart?

Because he had won the emperor's reward for his excellent ancestral ritual, Song Changyu had a slightly changed opinion of Ling Heng and was willing to listen to Ling Heng's opinions. He hurriedly asked, "I wonder what the rules and regulations that His Royal Highness Prince Heng mentioned are?"

"Sir Song, think about it. The war with Northern Qi has been going on for several years, and no one knows how long it will last. Although Xia has signed a temporary ceasefire agreement with our country, their troops have not yet withdrawn. Zhao is also eyeing us covetously. Maintaining troops and fighting wars is a huge expense."

"Inside, the war with the Liangzhou bandits has already begun, and the Ministry of Revenue has just allocated 200,000 taels of silver. There was also a snowstorm in Fenzhou, tens of thousands of houses collapsed, and hundreds of thousands of people were affected. They need food and clothes, and all of these cost money."

"Your Highness Prince Heng means..."

Ling Heng nodded. "I just went to the Ministry of Revenue. The Minister of Revenue, Marquis Yongning, complained to me. He said that the Ministry of Revenue did not have much money. He could not afford to hold a grand funeral for the Duke of Huguo."

Song Changyu paced back and forth in the room for a few steps. After a while, he figured out what was going on. He looked at Ling Heng with a meaningful look.

Who said that His Royal Highness Prince Heng is gentle as jade, humble and polite? There is a beast living in his heart.

Of course, you can't go against a beast, so Song Changyu walked up to Ling Heng, his attitude was much more respectful than before: "Your Highness Prince Heng, this old minister remembered something. Twenty days ago, the emperor awarded the Duke of Huguo a large sum of silver in compensation, a total of 40,000 taels. This money is more than enough to hold a grand funeral."

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Ling Heng bowed and smiled, "No wonder my father is reluctant to see Lord Song retire. In my opinion, Lord Song is still young and strong."

The two looked at each other and laughed. Song Changyu cursed in his heart that Ling Heng was not only a beast but also a cunning fox.

He decided that he would leave as soon as the funeral of the Duke of Huguo was over.

Ling Heng cursed Song Changyu in his heart, calling him a piece of shit.

Song Changyu is an old fox, so how could he show up on his own? He immediately called the two assistant ministers on his left and right to come over.

"My Lords, you all know that if it weren't for the funeral at the Protectorate Mansion, I would have gone home to retire by now."

The two gentlemen complimented me very much.

Song Changyu waved his hand and got straight to the point: "Although the emperor has allowed me to handle this matter and leave, the candidate for the Minister of Rites has not yet been decided."

The two assistant ministers on the left and right looked at each other, trying their best to fight for that position. Seeing that their old minister had something to say, they hurriedly said, "Master Song, please tell me what you want to say."

Song Changyu then repeated what Ling Heng had just said, and concluded: "Whoever can accomplish this matter and do it beautifully will have done a great deed. Years ago, the Emperor asked me if I had a suitable candidate for the position of Shangshu, but I did not ask at that time."

He glanced at the two of them and said with a smile, "You two have been with me for many years and have worked diligently. I have also taken a fancy to you. But to me, I have to take care of you. Who should I recommend to sit in the position of Shangshu? It depends on how well you do your job."

The two assistant ministers on the left and right looked at each other and understood what was going on.

But this is a very difficult matter to handle. Not only is it difficult to handle, it is also very immoral. Not only do we have to make the He family feel grateful, but we also have to make them pay out of their own pockets, and the common people cannot know about it.

But this is the only way to sit on the position of Shangshu, and the two immediately expressed their attitude: "Please rest assured, Lord Song, we will not fail in our mission."

People die for money, birds die for food, and for the sake of their own official careers, they don't care whether they are moral or not.

Besides, apart from a baby boy in swaddling clothes, there are only women and children in the Duke of Huguo's mansion. I don't think they can cause any trouble.

Old Madam He had long witnessed the shamelessness of Emperor Jingzhang. After she understood the purpose of their visit to her, she could only swallow the bitter herbs back into her stomach along with the blood, and asked the old nanny Cuizhi to give them the 40,000 taels of silver.

Watching them leave, Cuizhi felt very sad. All the men in the He family lost their lives because of the bastard Ling Yun, and now he is not only still alive, but the funeral was said to be handled by the Ministry of Rites, but in the end, they had to pay for it all.

"Madam, does the emperor know about this?"

Madam He held her forehead up tiredly and waved her hand: "It doesn't matter whether you know or not."

As soon as the imperial edict was issued, if Emperor Jingzhang had been interested, he would have asked the Ministry of Revenue to allocate the money long ago.

Old Nanny Cuizhi wiped away her tears and choked up, "Madam, I will go to find Princess Heng and ask her to come to the palace to help find out if the emperor asked the Ministry of Rites to do this. If not, even if I have to sacrifice my life, I will beat the drum again and ask the emperor to give me justice!"

When Madam He saw that the old nanny was about to leave after she finished speaking, she shouted, "Cuizhi, come back here!"

"Madam, they are going too far! The old general and his men are still alive, how could they do this?"

Madam He slammed her cane on the ground and said, "Where do you want to put Princess Heng? The Ministry of Rites dares to do this, doesn't the Emperor know? He just didn't say it clearly!"

"Madam, I feel so bad. Princess Heng is the princess of a royal family and the eldest daughter of the General's Mansion. Her words carry more weight than ours. What they are doing is like stabbing you and the ladies in the heart."

Madam He sighed deeply, "Cuizhi, how can I not know that you are upset? I am also in great pain, but what can I do? All the men in our He family who can go to the battlefield are dead."