Rehe Palace, Xiyu, Songhe Qingyue.

Cao Yong, Yiduli and others stood in front of the ruins, all with heavy faces.

Songhe Qingyue is the place where the Empress Dowager will escape the summer heat every year. Although this collapse is only the side hall behind, from this to that, who can guarantee that the renovation of the palace in front is fine?

Even Cao Yong was shocked and sweated coldly.

If the collapse is not the side hall or the main hall, then the officials in the project will not be punished and dismissed from office and exile will be considered light. If it is more serious, something is not happening now, and something happens when the empress dowager moves in, then let alone wearing a black gauze, it is all right to say whether it can keep your head safe.

What's this matter?

Emperor Kangxi claimed to be "benevolent and filial" to govern the country, but the officials below collapsed the empress dowager's harem. It would be strange if he could spare these people.

There were a lot of broken pine wood in the rubble at the scene, and a strange smell was filled with the air.

Cao Yong took a few steps forward, squatted down, and pulled out a piece of wood from the rubble. The diameter was half a foot, and it looked like it was made of purlins.

It was obviously pine wood, but it was light in my hand, with cracks and chords on it. Even if Cao Yong was not a carpenter, he could tell that it was a bad piece of wood.

Cao Yong held the wood in his hand, looked back at Dong Changhai, the construction officer who followed him, and said, "Mr. Dong, is this wood used like this?"

Dong Changhai blushed and replied, "Sir, put the rafters on it and cover it with tiles before painting."

Cao Yong was even more grateful when he heard what he said.

Fortunately, there is a problem now. There is still one month before the Shengjia reaches Rehe, so there is at least time to remedy it.

In addition to rebuilding this side, several other places where construction is still underway must be stopped first.

Putting down the broken wood, Cao Yong picked up another tiles and looked at them. Finally, there was nothing to see on this surface. He was an amateur and couldn't make up his mind. He raised the tiles to Dong Changhai and asked, "Mr. Dong, is there anything wrong with this tiles?"

Dong Changhai took the tiles, looked up and down, and said, "If you want to know, it is a tiles burned from the official kiln. It seems that Beizhi is fine."

The buildings at this time were all brick and wood buildings. The side hall that was repaired this time was actually equivalent to the roof being flipped.

Even if the tiles have flaws, they just look wrong from the outside; the wood used as a bracket is not good, which makes it impossible to support it, and collapses when the tilesman reaches the roof.

Do you want to be the commander-in-chief of the project?

Cao Yong glanced at everyone and said to Yiduli: "Send the order and all projects will be suspended..." He said this, pondered for a moment, and said: "Ask the officials in charge of various departments to divide the current engineering personnel into two shifts."

The officials accompanying him were originally anxious, especially Yiduli. In addition to being unable to take responsibility, he was also worried about Cao Yong's side.

The collapse of this palace has always been the most royal taboo.

If the officials below pushed down Cao Yong, saying that it was because the Ministry of Internal Affairs saved money, so Cao Yong would be unable to bear it and leave.

However, seeing that Cao Yong was not panicked and his speech and behavior were very organized, Yiduli's originally anxious mood gradually calmed down.

He responded and took several officials to pass the orders separately.

Cao Yong looked at Dong Changhai and said, "How many years have Mr. Dong been in the Construction Department?"

Dong Changhai looked down at the wood in the rubble, not knowing what he was thinking. After hearing Cao Yong's words, although he did not understand the meaning, he still replied in a regular manner: "After the words of the master, I have been working as a pen for 42 years in the form of a pen and post, and I have been working in the Construction Department for thirteen years."

Cao Yong nodded, pointed to the main hall next to the south, and asked, "How many places have been repaired there? If you also use such wood, what do you think will happen there?"

Dong Changhai followed Cao Yong's gaze, his face turned pale, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Sir, the outer eaves of the main hall have only been replaced with new wood... but the side hall, like this place, is a flipped roof..."

Cao Yong listened and continued to ask: "How many projects are there for changing the roof like this? How many projects are there for not changing the roof wood?"

Dong Changhai thought for a moment and replied: "In addition to this one, there are three places where the roof is changed, the 'Pear Blossoms with the Moon, the Wind Springs Clear Listening, and the Green Maples and Green Island'. There are Qushui Lotus fragrances and the sounds of springs far and near. In addition, the Yunfan Yuefang is also repaired, which is also made of bulk wood."

When Cao Yong heard this, he thought about the place in his mind. There were already seven places in total. How much wood is needed? The construction period is less than one month left, and it seems a bit messy.

"Where is the wood warehouse?" Cao Yong asked, "If Lord Dong knows, please take me over and take a look."

Before Dong Changhai could respond, he heard the sound of rapid footsteps. Qi Min, the chief general of the palace who had just received the news, came quickly in his regular clothes. Behind him were the Fengchen Academician Wailang Qu Feng who came to Rehe with Cao Yong, and several low-level palace officials.

Seeing the scene in front of him, Qi Min was also stunned.

After a while, he woke up and pointed to the collapsed roof in front of him, saying, "Mr. Cao, this is... this is... how can this happen? How can this be done?"

Although he was panicked on his face, when he finished speaking, something strange appeared in his eyes.

Cao Yong also served in the office for seven or eight years, and there was no way to hear the hidden meaning.

The repair of the palace affairs was originally an responsibilities of the Office of the Internal Affairs. Qi Min, the chief supervisor of the palace, was just "cooperating". The nominal chief manager was also Cao Yong, the chief supervisor of the Office of the Internal Affairs.

Qi Min first said this sentence without knowing it, then he had no idea. He divided it into two parts and pushed Tai Chi to Cao Yong.

Cao Yong sighed in his heart. He was employed by the head of the Office of the Internal Affairs Office. No matter how much he defended, he could not get rid of his relationship. However, he should not let Qi Min be too arrogant.

There are the most people in this world who "get more and more" in their intimacy.

He did not answer Qi Min's question, but said, "Sir, let's go to the timber warehouse first to take a look and then make a conclusion."

When Qi Min heard about the "wood", she looked a little unnatural. Cao Yong only did it but didn't see it, and said to Dong Changhai: "I'd like to ask Lord Dong to lead the way."

The wood warehouse is not far from here, and after a quarter of an hour, we arrived.

The guardian here is a Dian Li, who is in his forties and looks very rich. He has a big belly and smiles, not like a minor official, but like a rich man in the countryside.

Seeing several adults coming, Dian Li hurriedly bowed and said it was a timber warehouse, but it was a timber farm. Many woods were piled into wooden mountains and placed in the open air.

Only some of the precious wood is stored in the warehouse.

The wood on the site has columns more than one foot thick and many purlins. From the color, it is obvious that it is new wood and old wood that has been over the years.

There were also some wood with residual red and green paint on it. There were several piles, which Cao Yong picked up and looked at. I don’t know if it was good, but the wood was much denser than what he had seen on the ruins before.

Cao Yong asked someone to ask the clerk. As expected, the wood was removed from several palaces that were repaired.

Cao Yong looked at it, then looked at the pile of Chen Songmu in the original color.

Although pine wood is the main wood for building houses, pine wood is also very fond of insects. Under the pile of old wood, there are fine white wood chips as fine as powder.

It’s really a waste of money to remove the good and sturdy wood and use these insect-eaten old “new wood” flip covers.

The fellow practitioner Tangquan Palace is different, and there are many side halls that have not been built there; but the Rehe Palace is repaired in the garden.

The memorandum of the garden repair was only available after I published the bidding, and Cao Yong clearly remembered this.

When he was using money, the bidding processed by Cao Yong, the head of the Office of the Internal Affairs, failed, which would only make him more and more incompetent.

This practice palace is just an excuse, but some people are jealous of the money they earned from the Interior Affairs Office and can't help but reach out.

It was not until now that when he saw the collapsed side hall and compared the woods in front of him, Cao Yong understood. But he didn't know what role Qi Min played in it?

Just by his exiled royal family general, he should not have that big appetite.

"Mr. Qi, how much money did you spend on this project wood bidding?" Cao Yong frowned and asked, "If I remember correctly, the amount of the 800,000 taels of silver will be a lot of money."

Qi Min looked at the wood in front of her and felt a little distressed, knowing that it was broken on the wood.

If it weren't for the previous "bounty" and the Sixteenth Prince, Qi Min wouldn't have taken Cao Yong very much. With his previous understanding, he also knew that the Cao family was at the time of the holy favor.

He laughed awkwardly and said, "As these days, I have been busy day and night to rectify public orders, and I don't know the details of the project here." Speaking of this, he asked Qu Feng, "Which merchant provided the wood this time? It's really a brutal businessman, it's so hateful."

Qu Feng was stunned when he heard this, then came over and bowed and replied, "It's the old merchant Shijia of the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

Qi Min was furious when she heard this, stared at Qu Feng, and said, "You...you...you are right. That guy is indeed a treacherous villain. It is really hateful to use such a bad guy to fool the work of the Interior Office."

Qu Feng's face turned red, and he silently retreated aside, silently silently.

The atmosphere was a bit weird. Cao Yong looked at the two people in front of him and always felt that something was wrong.

Regarding the so-called wood supply, Cao Yong knew that it was lying with his eyes open. The wood was no better than other things. Ordinary merchants could intervene with their relationship and financial resources.

Wood such as pine wood mostly comes from the Northeast. After the Qing Dynasty entered the pass, the Northeast became a private land, leaving it as a retreat for the Eight Banners. The mountains, forests and swamps were mostly in the hands of the court, so how could merchants intervene?

Even if there are timber merchants who supply the Office of the Internal Affairs, they still produce some precious wood in the south. Sometimes, there is no wood at all, just empty the account, and then use the timber from the Office of the Internal Affairs to support the worker.

Cao Yong had heard Yi Duli talk about the tricks in this.

Although these "crossing river dragons" are difficult to defeat "local snakes" and cannot interfere in the repair project, they are all crystal-hearted and their eyes and ears are not decorations.

Thirteen lives, and this Shijia who was thrown out to the jar by Qi Min.

Cao Yong clenched his fists and felt really depressed. But he was not a fool, and now he can't even remove it, let alone rushing to hold others accountable.

The matter of wood came to an abrupt end.

The reason why the tongue can kill people is the same in ancient and modern times. If he said a few more words and scared Qi Min, the unlucky historian would be afraid that he would be unable to escape the house and behead him.

Now, Cao Yong can only comfort himself with the saying "A gentleman takes revenge, it will not be too late for ten years." If the construction period cannot be completed in late April, Kangxi will punish him and he will take up the majority.

Time is tight, so you can only work on the project first and then talk about the next thing.

"Several palace repairs are checked in turn. If the wood is worm-eaten, it will be reworked." Cao Yong turned around and ordered Dong Changhai and Qu Feng to say, "Mr. Dong, Lord. It will be hard for the two. Lord. From east to west, Lord. From west to east, each brings people to check."

Speaking of this, he took out his pocket watch, looked at Shichen, and said, "It's two minutes now (2:30 p.m.). One hour later, the two adults will come here to meet with me."

Dong Changhai and Qu Feng responded and each led a few minor officials down.

Qi Min hesitated for a moment and asked, "Sir... If you return to work, how can you finish it? There are still less than a month left? Fortunately, Songhe Qingyue is the Queen Mother's bedroom, which has a great relationship..."

Cao Yong looked at Qi Min and said, "What does that mean by Master General?"

Qi Min swallowed and vomited. He was afraid of taking responsibility and did not accept it. He said: "This official's duty is to take care of trivial matters in the palace on behalf of the emperor. This repair is the responsibilities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, so he will naturally be the master."

At this point, Cao Yong was still thinking about a lot of things and was too lazy to talk nonsense to him, so he said, "Now, there is another thing that needs to be prepared by the adults to be more thorough."

When Qi Min heard this, the corner of her mouth moved, and she squeezed out a little smile and said, "Sir, I am just a joke. I am just a false name and a free agent. I really have no ability. But the adults are full of talents."
To be continued...