Chapter 223: Volume 1, Chapter 223: The Fearsome Unspoken Rules

Han Xinglan was busy and wouldn't be free for a while, so he had Shi An make the trip in person. Shi An saw Noble Consort Rong and replied respectfully, "His Majesty says that if you have something urgent, you may have this servant relay it. If it isn't urgent, His Majesty will come over to listen to you after he finishes his work."

Rong Luoge knew Han Xinglan was busy, but hadn't expected him to be this busy. Being an emperor wasn't easy—working overtime with no overtime pay.

"What is His Majesty busy with?" Rong Luoge asked casually.

If any other consort had asked, Shi An would have shot back a retort long ago. What a joke—was His Majesty's business something one could ask about?

But when Noble Consort Rong asked, he didn't dare hide anything and said directly, "It's about the glazed tile workshop. His Majesty is currently meeting with the manager of the private kiln. The manager has modified the kiln furnaces of the glazed tile workshop over the past few days, and has come to present the blueprints to His Majesty for review, as well as to discuss the subsequent firing of the private kiln."

Rong Luoge had nearly forgotten about this matter, so she said, "My matter isn't urgent. Go back and report to His Majesty, tell him not to rush. It won't be too late to discuss it when His Majesty returns."

Shi An nodded promptly, "Yes. If Noble Consort has no other instructions, this servant will take his leave."

Shi An didn't tell Noble Consort Rong that he himself was currently busy as a dog too. Everything around His Majesty was relayed and managed by him. Before, he still had his disciple Yuan Bao, whom he trusted enough to order around. Now that Yuan Bao had been sent by His Majesty to serve at the Noble Consort's side, many matters couldn't be passed on to others, and for fear of leaks, Shi An had to handle them all personally.

"Go ahead," Rong Luoge said with a smile. "Thank you for your trouble."

Shi An was truly overwhelmed by the favor. He was used to a word of praise from His Majesty, but praise from the Noble Consort was exceedingly rare. "It is this servant's duty to serve you—it doesn't deserve the word 'trouble.' This servant takes his leave."

Shi An wouldn't dare offend Noble Consort Rong. If this one truly gave birth to His Majesty's eldest son, her future prospects would be immense. Besides, even setting aside whether she would earn favor through bearing a child, with the Noble Consort's own abilities, he still wouldn't dare offend her.

Shi An returned to the front hall and reported the message in full. Han Xinglan gave a slight nod. Since it wasn't anything particularly urgent, he felt much more at ease.

He looked again at the blueprints submitted by the private kiln manager. Quite a few things had already been annotated on them. Having consulted various texts, he knew the basic procedures for building a kiln, so he could tell whether there were any problems with these private kilns.

An emperor couldn't be completely ignorant, taking whatever the people below said at face value. He also decided to personally go take a look on the day of the kiln firing.

There was also the plan Luoge had proposed—using the private kiln as a center to build a new market district integrating manufacturing and trade. He was still considering how to lay out the blueprints. That was why, when the glazed tile kiln was originally constructed, he had expanded the site of the new kiln considerably outward. This way, if a market district were built around it as a center, the land should be barely sufficient.

Xiao Shen had returned victorious this time. It would not be appropriate to bestow too many rewards, or else it would be putting him on the fire to roast. The military merits should be slightly suppressed. She planned to have Xiao Shen take on a concurrent role overseeing the glazed tile kiln.

The words "concurrent role" were apt. He felt Luoge had put it quite precisely.

By the time he finished studying the blueprints, the sky outside had gone completely dark. Only then did he stand up and hand the blueprints to Shi An. "Send the blueprints to Dong Gongli. Tell him to rebuild the areas I have marked. I will go on the day of the kiln firing."

Shi An hurriedly took them. "Yes, this servant will go right away. Your Majesty, are you heading to Yuzhao Gong?"

Han Xinglan nodded. "Is there anything else?" As he spoke, he frowned. Surely no one would be so tactless as to come block his way when it was already dark.

"Nothing else. It's just that earlier you had this servant fetch a set of glazed wine pots from the storehouse."

As soon as Shi An said this, Han Xinglan remembered. "Have someone bring it along. Go do your work first, and come back for duty later."

Shi An promptly assented. He went out the door, had someone bring along that set of glazed wine pots, and watched His Majesty leave before hurrying off to deliver the edict.

The matter of the private glazed tile kiln was naturally of great importance. The news hadn't been spread yet, so he had to make the trip in person.

The people around His Majesty had already been screened once, but it wasn't enough. He still needed to screen them again, then promote a few capable ones to run errands for him—otherwise, even with eight legs, he alone wouldn't have enough to go around.

Han Xinglan walked beneath the stars all the way to Yuzhao Gong. From afar, he could see two palace lanterns hanging outside Yuzhao Gong, their warm yellow glow flickering in the pitch-black night, warming a weary heart.

Striding through the palace gates of Yuzhao Gong, he found Rong Luoge carefully studying the secret accounts submitted by Hu Zongxi. The more she read, the more appalling she found them. These people truly didn't know how the word "death" was written. This was more than boundless greed—this was risking their lives for money.

Hearing the sounds of greeting from outside, Rong Luoge knew Han Xinglan had returned, so she rose and went out to welcome him.

As Han Xifeng entered the door, he saw Rong Luoge lift the bead curtain and come out from the inner hall. He quickly quickened his pace. "Why are you coming out? It's getting colder and colder—be careful."

"There's a stove burning in the hall, it's not cold at all. Was Your Majesty cold walking all the way here?"

"I'm a grown man with plenty of fire in me—I'm not cold."

Even so, when Rong Luoge took his hand, she felt it was somewhat cool. She pressed her hand warmer into his hands and said with a smile as they walked inside, "Would you like something to eat?"

"No need, I already ate up front. What was the matter you wanted to discuss with me earlier?" Han Xinglan sat down on the heated kang and asked with a smile.

Rong Luoge pushed the ledger forward on the gold-trimmed, openwork-carved kang table. "Read this first."

Han Xinglan reached out and picked it up. After flipping through a few pages, his expression turned serious. "Where is this ledger from? It looks like it's from the Inner Court Bureau."

"It is from the Inner Court Bureau," Rong Luoge said. "When you dealt with the former Chief Steward previously, this ledger never surfaced. Now someone has submitted it."

Han Xinglan's expression turned ugly at once. "What exactly is going on?"

Rong Luoge took the tea cup that Rong Xin brought in, gently placed it before Han Xinglan, and then recounted the matter in careful detail from start to finish.

After hearing it all, Han Xinglan gave a cold laugh. "These dog-like wretches truly want wealth more than their lives. From the looks of it, the Inner Court Bureau has indeed been colluding from top to bottom as one. Even with a Chief Steward dead, it doesn't stop the people below from continuing their schemes."

Rong Luoge had also seen it clearly by now, so she said, "County magistrates come and go, but the clerks remain—the Inner Court Bureau isn't much different. It's like how the King of Hell is easy to meet but the little demons are hard to deal with. The Inner Court Bureau has endured through several dynasties. The rules by which these people operate in private have likely long since become an iron plate. Even the death of a Chief Steward cannot shake that iron plate."

How to put it—it was like no matter who served as Chief Steward, they couldn't change the unspoken rule of the Inner Court Bureau colluding from top to bottom to extort, embezzle, and shortchange the inner palace for profit.

Once this kind of unspoken rule took shape and everyone tacitly accepted it—that was the most terrifying thing of all.

Otherwise, would a single Chief Steward dare sell an egg to the emperor for thirty taels of silver?

That would be impossible.

Only with the entire Inner Court Bureau united from top to bottom could they manage something so airtight.