The prince is more stable

Chapter 140 Two Women Meet
After Xiao Guangjing left, Zhao Xiaoqian was still sitting in the gambling house, looking at the people walking on the street outside the window, wondering what he was thinking.

After a long time, Wei Jie and Cai You went upstairs, but did not dare to disturb him. They just stood quietly by.

After being in a daze for a while, Zhao Xiaoqian came back to his senses and suddenly asked, "Brother Li Yan, there are three people in charge of official business in the Imperial City Department. Besides you and me, there is another one on the Song-Liao border. Where does this person come from?"

Wei Jie said, "Marquis, the other official is named Zhen Qing, thirty-seven years old. He was once the commander of the Upper Fourth Army's Pengri Army. Later, he was transferred to the Imperial City Division as a clerk. Two years later, he was promoted to official. He was sent to Zhending Prefecture by the government to set up an Imperial City Division station and recruit scouts to gather information on the Liao army."

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded and said, "How many hidden bases does our Imperial City Division have within the Liao territory?"

"There are four in Shangjing, and there are about forty spies, including both Song and Liao people."

"Send a secret letter to Zhen Qing, telling him to expand the station and spies. The number of people he has is useless. If he wants to get firsthand information, he might as well be bolder. Infiltrating a few servants from the mansions of powerful officials and calling them spies? That would be working like slaves for the enemy."

"Would you hire a few beautiful prostitutes to lure them into a honey trap? Would you pretend to be a merchant giving money to the sons of the rich and powerful? Would you gather evidence of an official's crimes and use it as leverage to control him?"

Wei Jie smiled bitterly and said, "I know how to do it, but..."

"What?"

Wei Jie sighed, "It's so expensive, Lord. Everything you mentioned requires a lot of money. The money allocated by the Ministry of Finance to the Imperial City Department every year is barely enough to cover the salaries of my brothers. There is really no money left for anything else."

Zhao Xiaoqian subconsciously covered his cheek because his tooth hurt.

Why the hell is everything related to money, and money happens to be Zhao Xiaoqian's weakness.

A penny can kill a hero, and it can also kill a county marquis.

"Cai You, your father is the Minister of Revenue. Can you allocate more money to the Imperial City Bureau?" Zhao Xiaoqian asked.

Cai You and Wei Jie both opened their eyes wide in astonishment.

Looking at the expressions of the two, Zhao Xiaoqian immediately realized that he might have asked a stupid question...

"Marquis, my father is the Minister of Revenue, but he has no control over the court's financial expenditures. That is the responsibility of the Ministry of Revenue." Cai You said with a wry smile.

Wei Jie looked at Zhao Xiaoqian quietly. It seemed that this county marquis didn't know much about the official system of the court. It was strange. He was obviously born into a royal family, so how could he not even have such basic common sense?

"For a county marquis, the imperial court is divided into two offices and three departments, each with its own duties. The 'two offices' refer to the Council of State and the Privy Council, which separate military and political affairs. The 'three departments' refer to the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Salt and Iron, and the Ministry of Revenue and Transportation."

"The Ministry of Revenue is in charge of household registration and local taxes. The Salt and Iron Administration is in charge of the official salt and iron mines. The Ministry of Revenue is in charge of the national treasury's revenue and expenditure..."

"If the Imperial City Department wants the court to allocate funds, it can only go to the Ministry of Revenue. The Ministry of Revenue cannot do anything about it."

Zhao Xiaoqian looked at Cai You with a look of disappointment on his face: "Your father is useless. He can't even manage money. How did he get by?"

Cai You's face twitched violently. He took a deep breath and then smiled. "The Marquis is right. My father still has a lot of room for improvement..."

Zhao Xiaoqian scratched his head irritably and said, "Let's put it aside for now. I'll bring it up with the emperor someday. What's the point of the Imperial City Bureau having no money? They're not good at anything."

Turning to look at Wei Jie, Zhao Xiaoqian said, "Send someone to tell Qian Zhongshen that the Song and Liao countries will have formal negotiations in three days. If we don't negotiate now, these guys will be able to eat and drink for free in our Song Dynasty forever. Send them away immediately after the negotiations are over!"

…………

Drunken flowers in the backyard.

Di Ying, dressed in men's clothes, was waving a folding fan in her hand, opening and closing it from time to time, having a lot of fun.

Behind Di Ying, Yuan'er, who was also dressed in men's clothes, stood with her hands on her hips, looking unwilling to submit to anyone. She glared fiercely at Jiang Miaoxian in front of her, with a very powerful aura.

The two girls finally met today.

It is not easy to see Jiang Miaoxian. You can't see the top courtesan of Zuihuayin just by dressing up as a playboy in men's clothes.

What's more, the courtesan has long refused to see outsiders and is now living in seclusion in Zuihuayin.

Di Ying's ability to see Jiang Miaoxian today was largely due to money. She threw several ingots of silver to the brothel owner, who happily accepted them and happily led the master and servant to Jiang Miaoxian. Jiang Miaoxian was the concubine of the Prince of Chu, and the brothel owner naturally wouldn't dare let outsiders see her. But Di Ying and her servant were different.

The brothel owner, who had been working in brothels for many years, saw through Di Ying's identity as a woman disguised as a man from the first sight.

The skills of Di Ying and his servant are really not good enough.

Men cannot see Jiang Miaoxian casually, but women naturally have no problem with it. What's more, he can get a few silver ingots for free. How can the shopkeeper resist money?
So at this moment, Di Ying sat in front of Jiang Miaoxian. At first, she didn't even have the mood to observe Jiang Miaoxian's appearance. She was still secretly feeling sad about the few silver ingots she had just given out.

The Di family had some wealth, but was not too wealthy, and Di Ying did not have much money in her pocket.

Especially since she had spent all her money today just to see her love rival, Di Ying felt that she had suffered a great loss no matter how she thought about it.

As for Yuan'er behind him, she was standing with her hands on her hips and looking very arrogant. It was purely Di Ying's instruction. In short, she had to help the young lady maintain her aura. The mistress of the main house could not lose her momentum, and it would also be a good way to give the future concubine a severe warning.

So the master and servant, one was worried about the money, and the other was trying to maintain his aura. They both had their own thoughts and forgot about their business in front of Jiang Miaoxian.

Compared to the pretentious auras created by the master and servant, Jiang Miaoxian was much calmer.

Although I couldn't help but feel a little nervous, I appeared calm and composed on the surface.

There is a tea table in the middle of the yard. Jiang Miaoxian carefully roasts the tea leaves, then stirs them with a tea whisk, and grinds the tea leaves into porridge in boiling water.

This is the Fen Cha, also known as Dian Cha, which originated in the late Tang Dynasty. The Hakka Lei Cha of later generations inherited it and has been passed down to this day.

The way Jiang Miaoxian was serving tea was quite pleasing to the eye. Her eyelids were drooping, and a few strands of messy hair from her temples hung down beside her cheeks, perfectly framing her stunning face. Her long eyelashes trembled slightly, which made people feel pity for her.

Even though Di Ying was a girl, she couldn't help but admire secretly at this moment.

You can call a man fickle, but you can never question his aesthetic taste.

The woman he fell in love with was indeed no ordinary person. She was truly stunningly beautiful. No wonder she was a famous courtesan in Bianjing City, and it was difficult for ordinary people to see her even if they spent a fortune.

A cup of tea that looked like green porridge was brought to Di Ying, and Jiang Miaoxian lowered her eyelids and brows.

"Tea, sir."

Di Ying took it subconsciously and looked at her with raised eyebrows: "Do you know me?"

Jiang Miaoxian shook her head: "I don't know him, but I've heard of him."

"Have you heard of me? Who told you?" Di Ying asked curiously.

Jiang Miaoxian stood up and walked to Di Ying, suddenly knelt down on her knees and bowed her head.

"Jiang Miaoxian pays homage to the mistress."

The master and servant were startled. Di Ying subconsciously stepped aside and asked in a panic, "You, you, what are you doing?"

Yuan'er behind her reacted and secretly poked her on the back: "Miss, mistress! You are the mistress!"

Di Ying also reacted and looked relieved.

Yes, I seem to be the mistress, the mistress of the county marquis’s family, the principal wife, and worthy of this respect.

Di Ying immediately smiled happily: "No need to be polite, please stand up."

Then Di Ying immediately reacted.

No! Did I just accept Jiang Miaoxian's greeting?
Doesn't that mean that I allowed her to come in?

She hadn't even shown him any signs of power, so why did he agree to it so easily?

Cunning woman!
(End of this chapter)