The grass in the factory should be plucked

The old emperor has been particularly fond of reading the daily newspaper of the East Factory recently. I don’t know what’s wrong with the East Factory all of a sudden, but there are a lot of strange things in the daily newspaper.

The stupid son of Censor Wang climbed over the wall to catch crickets at the neighboring house of Mr. Li, and bumped into Mr. Li's ugly daughter. Mr. Li was worried that his daughter was too ugly and couldn't get married, but he didn't expect that a son-in-law would fall from the sky and they got a good marriage together.

Academician Gao from the Hanlin Academy was henpecked and secretly took a concubine. As a result, Madam Gao chased him across three streets with a kitchen knife.

and so on...

Even the emperor likes to read gossip about his subjects' families.

The old emperor’s favorite hobby before going to bed now is to read the daily newspaper of the East Factory. If it is delivered late one day, he will send someone to urge it to be delivered.

Every time Jiang Li was sent out to "eavesdrop", he would habitually release two mice into this house to collect daily intelligence on officials for the East Factory.

Rats love to sneak into other people's warehouses, so any good things hidden in that storehouse will appear in the East Factory's daily newspaper.

"Taichang Temple Minister Yuan Shen loves wine. He has a collection of countless fine wines at home. The most precious one is a jar of Lanling wine brewed by the wine fairy Hu Dongzhi himself..."

"There are many antiques and treasures in the storehouse of Zhang Yu, the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, including a set of gold-inlaid agate cups, two gilded silver pots with flying birds holding cups, a jade mountain with the Luoshen pattern, and ten boxes of East China Sea night-shining pearls..."

The old emperor frowned. Why was Zhang Yu's family so extravagant? The Minister of Revenue was in charge of the taxes of the whole country. Could it be that this fellow was stealing and embezzling taxes?

We have to let Liao Wuyong investigate thoroughly!

The old emperor continued to read.

"Zou Liang, a doctor in the Ministry of Revenue, has many wives, concubines, and children at home, but he is short of money and his storehouse is empty. All jewelry, headwear, and expensive clothes are in the hands of his wife. Whenever the girls in the family go out to a banquet, they must apply to the mistress for their use, and must return them in time after returning home..."

The old emperor couldn't help but burst into laughter. Zou Liang was too miserable. In order to maintain his decency, he even implemented the "sharing system" for the jewelry, head ornaments and clothes of the female members of his family. It was obvious that he was an honest official and he could be promoted.

At the court meeting the next day, after the emperor listened to the government affairs, he couldn't help but make a few jokes.

"Mr. Yuan, I heard that you have a lot of fine wines at home, including the Lanling wine brewed by the wine fairy Hu Dongzhi. I wonder if I can drink a glass with you, my dear?"

This Lanling wine is Yuan Shen's favorite. He usually doesn't want to drink more than one sip. The emperor actually found out! Damn those Dongchang villains!

He had to say with a bitter face: "I originally wanted to present this wine to His Majesty, but unexpectedly His Majesty knew about it in advance. Isn't it a little less interesting?"

"Haha, my dear minister, I accept your kindness. Come, give you a hundred taels of gold!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness!"

Yuan Shen knelt down to express his gratitude, but complained in his heart that this Lanling wine was worth more than a hundred taels of gold, what a huge loss!

"Mr. Gao roared like a lion at home yesterday. I heard it all in the palace. It's time for you to act like a husband!" The emperor smiled and turned to Mr. Gao.

There was a sudden burst of laughter in the court.

Gao Xueshi was filled with shame, and he stepped out of the group and bowed to the ground: "I am ashamed."

The emperor smiled and glanced at the officials in the court. Wherever his eyes fell, the officials were all trembling with fear, fearing that they would be the next one and would be exposed in public by the emperor.

How come His Majesty suddenly has such a bad taste!

"My dear Zou..."

Zou Liang's scalp tingled, and he quickly stepped out of the line and knelt down: "I am guilty!"

The emperor smiled and said, "What crime have you committed? I just want to commend you for being an honest official and having a clean family. The jewelry and head ornaments of the women in your family are all managed by your wife, and they take turns to wear them. This frugality is truly a model for all officials."

Zou Liang's family privacy was exposed in public. He was so ashamed and angry that his face turned red.

"I hereby declare that Zou Liang, the doctor of the Ministry of Revenue, is an honest official and has a good family tradition. He is promoted to the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue and is awarded 5,000 taels of silver."

Zou Liang was promoted twice in a row, and he was overjoyed. He fell to the ground and shouted: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace! I will devote my whole life to repay your kindness!"

The officials were envious and jealous, and at the same time extremely frightened. The emperor never left the palace, and he knew every trivial matter in the families of officials. Needless to say, they knew it was all the work of the East Depot!

The East Factory spies are omnipresent, it's really scary!

After the court session, the old emperor's face darkened and he asked Liao Wuyong, "What's wrong with Zhang Yu? Why is his family so extravagant?"

Liao Wuyong reported back, "The East Factory is investigating. The secret guards are hiding in Zhang Yu's home every day, but no one has been found yet. I will urge them to ask Captain Xie to send more people to find out the reason as soon as possible."

"Well, you should do this as soon as possible."

The old emperor had a gloomy expression. If Zhang Yu dared to embezzle taxes and steal from the emperor, he would definitely execute his entire family!

After leaving the palace, Zou Liang even walked in a floating manner. He went straight to the East Factory to look for Xie Chang'an.

He wanted to thank Liao Wuyong in person, but not everyone could see the Governor. It was easy to see Xie Changan, as he was the Governor's adopted son, so thanking him was the same.

Xie Changan was inside the yamen, holding a pot of fresh mutton and feeding the little eagle mouthful by mouthful.

He never imagined that one day he would be able to talk to animals!

Xie Changan was both intrigued and curious. He kept asking the little eagle questions and never got tired of it.

"Chengfeng, can you speak human language?"

The little eagle tilted his head to look at him, with an expression that said "Are you stupid?", and cooed, "Brother, can you speak our eagle language?"

Xie Changan choked: "Of course I won't. Why can you and I... communicate with each other so well?"

Xiaoying tilted his head: "Because my sister helped me to sign a contract with you. My brother and I communicate through the contract."

"Contract?" Xie Changan was shocked, remembering that day Jiang Li did use his spiritual sense to send something into his purple palace, and then he could hear Xiaoying's voice.

Is that the contract?

Can you actually make a contract with an animal? Is this the legendary divine power?

He asked again tentatively: "Who is your sister?"

Xiaoying said in a daze: "Chengfeng doesn't know, Chengfeng only feels that sister's spirit is very powerful, and Chengfeng likes sister's aura very much!"

Xie Changan was silent. So Jiang Li's origin was extraordinary! The breath that could make living beings like it so much should not be some evil demon.

Xiaoying then said, "Chengfeng also likes brother's scent."

Xie Changan laughed and said, "You are good at flattering people. But your sister is like me? She is not some kind of spirit who has transformed herself into a human being, right?"

The little eagle cooed, "Sister is of course just like brother, we are both human beings! Sister will be angry if she hears brother say that!"

After hearing this, Xie Changan felt a little relieved. No matter whether she was a banished celestial being from heaven or a reincarnated deity, as long as she was a human being in this life, it was enough.

At this time, Yin Jiu came to report that Minister Zou was here to visit.

Xie Changan's eyes were stern: "Hurry up and invite me."

Zou Liang walked in with a smile: "Commander-in-chief, I haven't seen you for a long time. You are more elegant than ever."

Xie Changan did not stand up to greet him, but sat on his seat with his horse and sword in his hands.

He held a young eagle on his arm. The eagle had round eyes and looked very energetic.

"Is this a falcon? What a spirit!" Zou Liang's eyes lit up and he exclaimed in praise.

Xie Changan did not answer, but with an arrogant look on his face, he asked calmly, "Minister Zou came to visit suddenly, what advice do you have?"