Seeing Zhu Houzhao leave, Zhang Yuan finally breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to leave the palace to see Chen Xi.

"This master will never know what he wants to do next. If he thinks of old things from time to time and insists on putting the blame on me, what should I do? I have to think of a way to deal with it!"

Zhang Yuan was a little worried. He should have gone to see Chen Xi immediately. In addition to talking about Zhu Houzhao's summons the next day, he also had to talk to Chen Xi about his three sons.

"I am powerful now, and I can't let my three children live a hard life with the Shen family... I want to promote them so that they can enjoy the glory for generations. The Shen family is not only the fifth family, which can shine through the ancestors, but our second family is still promising... Well, I will look for Wulang's hereditary Jinyiwei hundred households to see if they can be promoted to a thousand households in the future..."

With power, Zhang Yuan was jealous when he saw other deacons and eunuchs promoting their adopted sons one by one.

He felt that his power was much greater than those eunuchs, so why could not favor his son? Other eunuchs could only accept adopted sons, while he had their own sons, and there were three more.

However, among the three sons, only Wulang Shen Yongqi has certain ability and works with Chen Xi. The other two sons are currently in their hometown in Ninghua. They probably have never seen any world and cannot be entrusted with important tasks for the time being.

When Zhang Yuan thought of going to see Chen Xi, he felt a little excited. Now that he has become the number one eunuch in the palace, he no longer has to whisper to talk to Chen Xi.

However, when Zhu Houzhao thought of giving Chen Xi, he thought he should go to the inner treasury first and informed Li Xing, the eunuch who was in charge of the seal.

Li Xing had a close relationship with Zhang Yuan. Zhang Yuan had Zhu Hou in charge of the inner treasury according to the order, so he promoted Li Xing and asked Li Xing to serve as the eunuch in the imperial palace, a very well-off yamen in the palace. Li Xing was responsible for the distribution and transfer of satin, gold, silver, jade, teeth and feathers in the palace.

Zhang Yuan no longer needed to do anything in person, so he directly assigned his servants to call Li Xing.

When Li Xing saw Zhang Yuan, he seemed to be like his son seeing his biological father. He went up and asked about his well-being, and said with a smile: "...Eunuch Zhang, what's the matter with you? You should come here at a young age?"

Zhang Yuan was arrogant and said, "Your Majesty passed on the decree and rewarded the Minister of War Chen with 5,000 guan. You can prepare it, and our family will take it here!"

When Li Xing heard this, he hurriedly said, "Don't joke, now the inner warehouse is empty, how can I dispatch five thousand guan? Isn't this a difficult situation?"

"What?"

When Zhang Yuan heard this, he became very angry and thought, when Liu Jin was in power, not to mention five thousand guan, even ten thousand guan or twenty thousand guan was not a problem. Why did the internal warehouse hand over to you, Li Xing, even taking out five thousand guan?

Li Xing said in a difficult situation: "Eunuch Zhang, don't get angry. The young one is not trying to make excuses you. Today is different from the past. When Liu Jin was in power, the palace was flattered to him. The money he received was not his own greed for pleasure. Most of it was filled into the inner treasury for His Majesty to spend money on his daily life. But now the small one carries the warehouse inside his palm and finds that the warehouse has been empty for a long time... Who would have thought that His Majesty would spend so much!"

If you don’t be a leader, you don’t know how expensive it is.

Zhang Yuan used to not know what it would be like to be a palace home. He didn't have his turn to take care of this kind of thing before. Now he realized that he wanted to fill the treasury with money and to keep Zhu Houzhao alive and living a life of living in the world. This is not something he could deal with.

Zhang Yuan frowned and asked, "How long has it been? Take the accounts and take a look. Our family wants to know how much the monthly expenses of the inner warehouse are!"

Li Xing did not dare to delay and quickly gave the account book to Zhang Yuan. When Zhang Yuan saw the content on it, he almost vomited blood.

Li Xing explained: "...Eunuch Zhang, now all the expenses of the leopard house are provided by the inner warehouse, and they must maintain the daily needs of the palace. In the past, the expenses in the palace were about 360,000 taels per year, but now the daily expenses of the leopard house alone are two or three thousand taels per day. In a year, the leopard house alone will cost nearly one million yuan. The deposit of the former silver in the inner warehouse has long been filled in the bottomless pit of the leopard house!"

Zhang Yuan felt like he was crying but not crying.

It is absolutely unrealistic to ask him to get a million taels of silver back, and it is even more difficult to rely on the money allocated to the internal treasury from the Ministry of Revenue to support the Leopard House.

Zhang Yuan said: "This... how is this possible? It's just a leopard house. The cost is so large in a day? Didn't there be any money to repair the palace inside in the past?"

Zhang Yuan came from a poor family and couldn't understand what it meant to spend two or three thousand taels a day. In his opinion, this was a very outrageous number, and the leopard house actually consumed such a huge amount of money in a day, which made him feel very incredible.

Li Xing explained: "The Ministry of Works spent all the money on the repair of the palace, and it was used for special purposes. Usually, I went to Guangyingku accounts. How could a small person turn the money into front of you, the father-in-law?"

Zhang Yuan was extremely upset and thought to himself: "No wonder Liu Jin was appreciated by His Majesty. Under his management, the inner mansion was not only not short of his limits, but also had surplus every month. His Majesty had money to reward the singers, dancers and juggling teams, and even occasionally rewarded the heroes. The money he spent on repairing the house for the Shen family last time was enough 10,000 taels. Now it was my turn to be the head of the family. How could he be like Liu Jin?"

Before, Zhang Yuan always thought that he could do better than Liu Jin, but now he realized that there is a big gap between him and Liu Jin.

But then he began to comfort himself: "The reason why Liu Jin was able to be a good home in Leopard House was because he secretly greedy for money. The money he handled was probably three to five million taels a year. What is it to take out a small part of it to fill Leopard House? Unfortunately, I can't control the government now, so power has returned to the hands of those civil servants... If I could replace Liu Jin, wouldn't it be as wealthy as a country?"

Seeing Zhang Yuan pondering there, Li Xing couldn't help but ask in a hurry: "Eunuch Zhang, are you okay? Where did you think of these five thousand taels of silver?"

Zhang Yuan glared at Li Xing and said, "You must be responsible for this matter... If you ask our family, who will we ask? Don't you have a wide connection outside the palace? Now you go out of the palace to raise silver. Be sure to collect 5,000 guan in a short time according to Your Majesty's instructions. Don't say that you are in charge of the internal transportation warehouse and you are not greedy for a penny. In the past, you made a lot of money by building the imperial tomb..."

When Li Xing saw Zhang Yuan's fierce gaze, he was a little scared, and shuddered, and said tremblingly: "I... I can only do my best!"

...

...

The rules in the palace are layer by layer.

Zhang Yuan threw the problem to Li Xing, and Li Xing would not bear the deficit of 5,000 taels of silver alone.

After Zhang Yuan left, Li Xing immediately summoned the people under his command and muttered constantly: "Eunuch Zhang is much more stingy than Eunuch Liu... Although I was not compatible with Eunuch Liu at the beginning, he would not make things difficult for me. Now it seems that he gave me a fat job, but in fact he is a yamen that has emptied his foundation and wants me to pay it back. How can this be made? No, I must make up for the money. Even if I can't make up, I will never pay a penny by myself!"

Eunuchs love money. In a closed place like the palace, as a very special group, these people cannot stay behind, but only money can make them feel safe.

People who regard wealth as their destiny will never use their own money to fill the gap. Only Liu Jin is more open-minded and generous than these people and knows how to choose.

Zhang Yuan walked out of the palace and felt extremely unhappy and worried about the expenses of the leopard room.

"It's not possible to continue like this. Let's not talk about the money spent every day in the leopard room. If His Majesty turns around and wants to reward someone, where will I get the money? At that time, His Majesty proposes to reward, but I say there is no money. How can Your Majesty have the face? If His Majesty is embarrassed and punishes me, I will lose my life... Things are difficult. If you don't do well, you may lose your life. It's best to hand over the power to control the inner treasury to others!"

Now Zhang Yuan has begun to give in, no longer as powerful as before.

When he left the palace, the carriage was ready, and the eunuchs and guards on duty were respectful to Zhang Yuan, but what disappointed Zhang Yuan was that none of these people took the initiative to get the money.

After getting on the carriage, Zhang Yuan thought about it.

"What if I was like Liu Jin, greedy for money? After getting the money, I handed over part of it to the leopard house for the cost, and keep the rest of it to raise my wife and children, how good would it be? But the problem is that I have not been to the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of the rank of

"Well, it seems that the next step I will strive to be the eunuch in charge of the boss, the eunuch in charge of the seal. At least... it shouldn't be a eunuch in Bingbi, right?"

When he was about to arrive at the door of Shen's house, Zhang Yuan figured out something.

"I have the support of Your Majesty, and the Empress Dowager also regards me as her own person. My uncle even thinks that I am a confidant and reward him with great rewards. There is also a capable nephew Shen Xi in the court. This time I happened to visit the Shen family. Why not discuss with him and let him propose to Your Majesty that I will take over the Sili Superintendent?"

Thinking of this, Zhang Yuan felt a little more hopeful. He was originally going to see Shen Xi with a arrogant attitude. After all, his status has improved. He doesn't need to beg Shen Xi, and his son doesn't need Shen Xi's support. He can let his son gain power by himself.

Now that he thought that Shen Xi could help him as the eunuch in charge of the seal, he wanted to curry favor with his nephew who was deeply trusted by the emperor so that he could get the job he had always dreamed of.

“Well…”

Just as Zhang Yuan was thinking about it, the carriage stopped at the door of Shen's house.

...

...

Zhang Yuan came to Shen Mansion and was originally planning to show off his power.

Everyone thinks that Shen Mingyou is dead, and his reputation in the Shen family has always been poor. Now he feels good about himself and thinks he has become a success, so he wants to "return home in glory" and have a good reputation.

Shen Xi returned to the mansion after dark. He just entered the study and sat down. After finishing the official documents, he returned to the inner courtyard. He learned that there were envoys sent from the palace at the door.

Shen Xi never thought that Zhang Yuan was coming. When he met him out in person, he felt a little sank when he saw Zhang Yuan looking up at the lintel of the Shen family.

"Eunuch Zhang?"

Those who accompanied Shen Xi to welcome Zhu Qi and Zhu Shan. They had never seen Shen Mingyou before and did not know each other.

Shen Xi disappeared when she was nine years old, and Shen Xi met the Zhu family when she participated in the provincial examination at the age of twelve.

Zhang Yuan lowered his head and looked at Shen Xi with a smile, with a slightly cold smile, "Mr. Shen, your mansion is so majestic. Look at the huge word Shen, is it a personal note by Your Majesty's emperor's emperor?"

After the Chen House encountered a fire, Zhu Houzhao allocated silver to repair it. Not only did the building burned by the fire, but even expanded it. Later, Zhu Houzhao wrote a plaque on the door of the Shen family house by himself. Although Zhu Houzhao was not very knowledgeable, he could barely read the word "one hand" because it was written by the emperor and it was a unique momentum when hung.

Chen Xidao: "It's a bit inappropriate for Eunuch Zhang to come here? Isn't Eunuch Zhang afraid of meeting old people?"

Zhang Yuan smiled and said, "Mr. Shen, are you reminding us to be careful? You are wrong. Many things have become the past, and people are not new or old. So what if you see them? Now our family is neither human nor ghost, and we don't expect others to recognize them. This time, we just came to pass the message according to His Majesty's instructions. I wonder if Mr. Shen welcomes our family to sit in the room?"

Chen Xi looked at Zhang Yuan, but he didn't want to invite Zhang Yuan into it.

Although there are not many people in the Shen family who recognize Shen Ming, there are a few, such as Lin Dai and the earliest maids in the family.

If Zhou's trouble comes, things will be even more troublesome.

But if you think about it carefully, even if the Shen family knows that Shen Mingyou is alive, they will probably be surprised. There is no other impact. Zhang Yuan is Zhang Yuan, and Shen Mingyou has become a thing of the past.

With a hint of unspeakable mood, Chen Xi made a "please" gesture.

As an emperor envoy, Chen Xi had no reason to block Zhang Yuan outside the mansion. Moreover, Chen Xi understood that Zhang Yuan's status in the court has now risen rapidly, and this time he came, he would inevitably involve matters such as cooperation and alliance in his words. It is more appropriate to talk about such topics in secret places.

Zhang Yuan and Chen Xi entered the mansion together, and after stepping through the threshold, he looked around and was very curious about the structure of the Shen family's house.

Zhang Yuan always regarded himself as a member of the Shen family, dreaming that one day he could shine his ancestors, although he did not dare to admit his identity until now.

"Mr. Shen, where is your study?" Zhang Yuan saw Chen Xi leading him around the main hall, and knew that Chen Xi didn't want him to enter the hall, so he frowned and asked.

Chen Xidao: "Eunuch Zhang just comes with me!"

Chen Xi led the guests forward all the way, and avoided any maids on the way.

The maids of the Shen family are also divided into old and old. Now the real old maids of the Shen family, such as Xiaoyu, Hong'er and Lu'er, have long become veterans. They usually enjoy their fortunes with their masters and are in charge of some of the responsibilities in the family, and do not need to do miscellaneous work. Therefore, they did not meet anyone who knew Zhang Yuan along the way.

Chen Xi took Zhang Yuan into his study.

Zhang Yuan was in Shen Mansion and was very curious wherever he went. He observed carefully all the way. After arriving at the study, he did not find a place to sit down immediately, but stood there and looked left and right.

"Eunuch Zhang, please sit down!"

Chen Xi said politely.

Zhang Yuan turned around, looked at Chen Xi, and smiled and said, "Qilang, do you have to be so disgusted when you speak in private? You have to call our Eunuch Zhang?"

Chen Xi looked at Zhang Yuan's face with a glossy face and thought to himself: "If you don't call me, what's that name? Should you call me your second uncle? You don't look at your identity! I have never done good things in the Shen family before, and what I did after entering the palace may not be open and upright. Now I just rely on the favor of Your Majesty and the support of my relatives to suddenly ascend to the high position... Liu Jin has not lost his power yet, so you are content and feel at ease?"

Chen Xidao: "Eunuch Zhang has always been a deacon in the palace. If you don't call him that, what else can you call him?"

Zhang Yuan was going to get close to Chen Xi, but when he heard Chen Xi's words, his face was obviously frozen. Then he seemed to understand something, lowered his head and sat on the chair.

Chen Xi also sat down at the chair behind the desk and asked, "Eunuch Zhang should be here to pass on the imperial orders of Your Majesty. I wonder what your Majesty has to give?"

Zhang Yuan's tone was cold: "Since Mr. Chen is doing his job, then our family will just say it directly. Your Majesty summons you to the palace tomorrow and ask about the war on the front line. You'd better prepare in advance... The place where you meet is the Ganqing Palace. It's hard to say. It's probably after the palace gate of Tianliang opened, and this is what Your Majesty asked our family to spread."
To be continued...