Yi Xin as a concubine

Chapter 218 Cold-Faced Yama Appears

After arranging the matters in the courtyard, Chu Xingchen left.

He did not have much time to complain about himself. The greater the power, the less freedom he had. Every move he made affected the lives and deaths of too many people. Ever since he took up the banner of the Chu family under the arrangement of his grandfather and brother, he had no choice.

Before closing the door, he took a deep look at this courtyard that made him feel at ease. In the end, he said nothing and left resolutely.

Yesterday's ceremony was considered a success, and all that was left was feedback from all parties. Before that, Baoer had prepared a gift for him, but he hadn't used it yet. Good steel should be used on the blade, so how could he let Baoer's efforts go to waste?

When they arrived at the front yard, quite a few people were already standing in the palace. They lined up consciously, as if they were attending court, and stood on both sides. While Chu Xingchen had not arrived yet, they were talking in low voices with people they knew.

Chu Xingchen came in from the back hall and went straight to the throne. He tapped his fingers lightly, and the bell rang. The hall suddenly fell silent.

After more than half an hour of court meeting, everyone felt sweaty. The king was really terrible today.

I don’t know if it was an illusion, but the young monarch who was warm and vigorous yesterday turned into a cold-faced devil overnight. His whole body was cold, as if a vent was opened in the warm hall and it was chilly.

However, cold noodles also have their advantages. They can increase work efficiency and solve problems that would have taken a while to resolve in just a few words.

Xiang Qing was a little restless today, looking towards the door from time to time. Jinxiu, the newly promoted personal maid, poured her a cup of tea and leaned over to whisper to her.

"Madam, please don't be anxious. The king hasn't touched a woman in all these years. Those two were carefully trained by someone I hired. They both have some skills to cling to people, and they also used spices to enhance aphrodisiacs. I'm afraid they won't be idle this night."

The maid's eyes were frivolous and her tone was ambiguous, which made Bijun and the other two who were guarding the door feel uneasy. They always felt that there was something they didn't know.

The three of them were originally arranged by the master to take care of and monitor the lady's every move. If the lady really did something bad under their noses and they knew nothing about it, it goes without saying what will be waiting for them.

Just when the three maids were feeling uneasy, Chu Xingchen, with Wangchuan, approached from afar, wrapped in ice.

The three of them knelt on one knee almost subconsciously, with their heads lowered, not daring to breathe.

Xiang Qing had just finished listening to Jinxiu's analysis and was feeling very happy. She was thinking about how to win over Chu Xingchen's heart through the two sisters and make him stay away from Xin Baoer. Then she could easily control that little bitch.

The smile on his lips had just risen when he was startled by the sound at the door.

Facing the gloomy face of the man, Xiang Qing smiled guiltily and said calmly, "Achen, how come you have time to come to my place today? You haven't had your meal yet, I'll go prepare it now." After that, she pulled Jinxiu and was about to walk out.

Chu Xingchen did not stop them. He walked to the main seat expressionlessly and sat down, watching coldly the backs of the two people fleeing in panic.

"Madam, there is no need to bother. The king has already used it. Madam, you should sit down and chat with the king!" Wangchuan stood guard at the door and opened his arms to stop the master and servant who wanted to go out.

Xiang Qing was now certain that what she had done had been exposed. She turned around with difficulty, met Chu Xingchen's cold face with a bitter face, and swallowed fearfully.

"Achen, do you have something to talk to me about?" She still had a fluke mentality. As long as she didn't admit it actively, he couldn't do anything to her.

"You don't know?" Chu Xingchen's words were almost as cold as ice, making people's hearts and livers tremble and shiver.

Xiang Qing continued to play dumb, "What do I know? My housekeeper rights have been taken away. No one in this mansion listens to me. I didn't even leave this yard yesterday."

Chu Xingchen was so angry that she laughed. She was smart and knew how to divert the blame and frame her.

"What about you? Your master knows nothing, so you should know." Chu Xingchen fixed his eyes on Jinxiu and asked in a cold voice.

Jinxiu had never experienced such a situation before. She had only been in the mansion for a short time. If she had not been eager to show off, she would not have given such an idea to her master. Now it was obvious that she had hit a wall.

His legs went limp and he fell to his knees, kowtowed and begged for mercy, crying incoherently, "I was wrong, it wasn't me, please forgive me!"

"Oh, what's wrong with you?"

Wangchuan couldn't help but glance at his master. He was so irritated that he started to speak in a sarcastic tone.

"I... no, I... I don't... know." Jinxiu subconsciously looked at her master, but was glared at fiercely by Xiang Qing. She was so scared that she didn't dare to speak.

"Okay, you two, master and servant, don't push each other around. If you don't know what you did wrong, you can go and see if those two women are dead. If you don't want to end up like them, give Gu An some points."

Chu Xingchen was annoyed by the crying appearance of the master and servant. His remaining patience was completely exhausted, so he stood up and walked out.

"Since you don't have the heart to manage the household, just stay in the yard. When you learn to be quiet, you can go out again."

How could Xiang Qing be willing to accept this? But no matter how she cried and made a scene, Chu Xingchen did not turn back.

"If it happens again, the three of you will go back to the island and be trained again." After walking out the door, Chu Xingchen said coldly to the three people who were kneeling upright.

"Yes." The three of them said in unison, and then they breathed a sigh of relief.

……

With the accession of King Dingbei to the throne, the new political power in the north became more and more perfect, the top followed the example, the government orders were communicated, and everything was moving in a good direction.

The biggest problem now is the non-cooperation of those big families. Chu Xingchen's understanding of the shamelessness of these people has deepened to a deeper level.

"Get lost, those bastards. They clearly promised us the money and food quota, but now they are not keeping their promise. They either keep dragging their feet with all kinds of excuses, or they just give us a little bit, like they are sending away beggars."

The head of the Ministry of Revenue was named Zhang, also an old official of the previous dynasty. He was the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue before he was exiled. Once the small court in the north was established, he naturally became the head of the Ministry of Revenue.

When he took over the financial power from Xin Baoer, he was very proud for a while, but the wealth of one family is just a drop in the bucket compared to one-fifth of the country, and he soon ran out of money.

The noble family that had originally agreed on the terms was no longer cooperating and was obviously trying to raise the price, which made Manager Zhang, who was in charge of the contact, extremely anxious and his temper became even more irritable than usual.

Century-old families all have their own character, and they are not really without the desire to save the world. When the disaster just happened, they also provided money and materials to help.

But everyone knows the truth of "helping in emergencies but not helping the poor". The world is getting worse and worse, disasters are becoming more frequent, and more and more people are displaced. This is not something that can be changed by just one or a few families.

Moreover, if they provide too much funding, it will lead to a serious loss of family resources. When the disaster is over, they will inevitably fall behind other families. This is something that absolutely cannot happen.

Although the aristocratic families seem to be in harmony, in fact, there are huge conflicts of interest. As one gains while the other loses, it is very likely that the foundation will be shaken. No patriarch dares to gamble with the fate of the family.

If you want people to pay money willingly, there must be sufficient incentives, and the benefits are not just money, but also power and fame.

Chu Xingchen had foreseen this situation, and Xin Baoer had already discussed a plan with the Xin family, and they were just waiting for the right opportunity to implement it.

Xin Baoer had already paved the way for this opportunity, but he had not used it until now, just waiting for this moment.

Previously, Xin Baoer had invited some people from various refugee resettlement villages to join Chengping Jun. Originally, she was planning to build momentum for Chu Xingchen at the coronation ceremony, but Chu Xingchen himself calmed down the situation, and that group of people temporarily lay dormant.

The reason why the aristocratic families are not making smooth progress now is simply because they feel that their foundation is unstable and the people's hearts are still wavering. If they want to buy off and appease the people with materials, they must have the support of money and food. In the entire northern land, only the big aristocratic families like them have money and food.

So even though they signed the contract, they were not in a hurry to fulfill their promises. They even felt that as long as they still had money and food in their hands, they could easily control Chu Xingchen, and they did not take this temporarily transformed royal court seriously.