"Hongxuan, you were in charge just now. What do you want to say?" Li Shimin's eyes were extremely sharp. He immediately noticed that Li Jingyun was distracted.
Li Jingyun quickly came back to her senses. "Ayie, I was thinking about Pei Mingli. Does he really have a thousand taels of gold? Is it particularly easy for him to make money? He didn't even frown when he said he had a thousand taels of gold."
Her elder brothers and sisters all turned around to look at her.
Could it be played like this? Ask Ayie back?
Li Shimin smiled. "Think again. Just now, the officials who bid dozens of taels of gold in the courtroom were so enthusiastic. They beat their chests and stamped their feet, saying how much they wanted to build the library in their own wards, but unfortunately they didn't have enough family wealth."
Li Jingyun recalled what had just happened. There were indeed a few officials who behaved extremely exaggeratedly.
An old gentleman could only offer a little over a hundred taels of gold. He knelt on the ground, sniveling and crying. A circle of people around him comforted him, using a lot of classical Chinese that she didn't understand.
The general idea should be to praise him for thinking about the common people and emphasizing that the scholars all over the world were important, but his own life was also important.
Later, when she saw the old gentleman being helped up from the ground, he was smiling very happily.
This was just to gain a good reputation.
With Pei Mingli, who had five hundred taels, six hundred taels or even a thousand taels of gold, he definitely wouldn't be selected. He just cried a bit, and when he went back, the people in his ward would be extremely grateful to him.
But what did this have to do with Pei Mingli?
"A thousand taels of gold. People in the market will talk about it for a long time. His reputation will spread far and wide. With a good reputation, his business will be easier to do!"
Li Jingyun suddenly realized.
So this was the idea they had in mind!
Most of these people just wanted a good reputation. They didn't really want to build the library.
"That's right, exactly." Li Shimin said.
Li Chengqian pulled Li Jingyun over and said seriously, "If there are any people who rely on their seniority to act willfully in the future, you can just punish them directly. Charge them with the crime of roaring in the courtroom."
Their actions clearly showed that they didn't take Princess Li Jingyun seriously.
They just thought she was a little girl and were just fooling around with her.
Li Jingyun looked at Li Shimin. Seeing Ayie nodding, she immediately agreed. "I understand!"
At this moment, in the Pei family's residence.
Pavilions, terraces, and towers, small bridges over flowing water, carved beams and painted rafters. All kinds of rare flowers and exotic plants were thriving under the summer sun.
Pei Mingli met Wei Tong, the supervisor of the Imperial Library, leading a group of people out on the roadside. "Pei Mingli, your courtyard is well-built. It's just right for summer heat relief. We've seen the books in your family. We didn't expect you to be so fond of books. Don't worry. I'll definitely report the truth to His Majesty when I get back."
"Hehe, thank you, sir."
If he hadn't talked to Li Shimin and didn't know Li Shimin's plan before, he should have been very happy to hear this.
Now he just wanted to smile bitterly.
As soon as Pei Mingli got back, He Niang quickly greeted him. "The officials from the Imperial Library just left. You're back so soon, sir. Are you tired from sitting for too long? I've cooked some porridge. Have a little to fill your stomach, sir."
"Okay. The apricot porridge you cooked is so fragrant and sweet. I've been craving it." After Pei Mingli got back, he didn't even take off his shoes. He just lay down on the Hu bed. It seemed as if he could see large amounts of gold drifting away from him.
The rare flowers and exotic plants in the yard and every ornament in the house were waving goodbye to him.
When He Niang brought the porridge over, seeing Pei Mingli looking so dejected, she couldn't help but be curious. "Sir, what on earth happened? Were you scolded by the princess? No, if you were scolded by the princess, you shouldn't look like this. Were you rebuked by His Majesty?"
"It's not a rebuke. You'll know when His Majesty's imperial edict arrives later." Pei Mingli drank the sweet and delicious porridge. He didn't have the mood to explain everything to He Niang.
Was this what they called "lifting a rock only to drop it on one's own feet"?
Before he went, he had overacted and made too many preparations. People on the streets were all saying how noble his character was and how he was willing to spend all his family wealth to win the library for Yongle Ward.
The flattery had almost made him forget his original intention. He just wanted to take this opportunity to promote himself and his goods.
He was also a bit shocked when he said he had a thousand taels of gold.
It wasn't certain that the library would be built in Yongle Ward. There might be other families with a large collection of books who were also willing to bid. He was just making a bid. It wouldn't cost him a thing.
Who would have known that he had been outwitted by His Majesty and the princess, father and daughter.
Sure enough, not long after, the imperial messenger Liu Bei arrived. Pei Mingli got up to receive the edict. "Considering that Pei Mingli is wholeheartedly dedicated to building the library for the people, he is hereby appointed as the supervisor of the library construction in Hedong Circuit. He shall prepare the silver and books by himself."
Look at how carefully this imperial edict was written!
All of them, whether they were officials or himself, had said that building the library was to provide convenience for the common people all over the world and to produce more reasonable and educated scholars. They didn't mind spending a little more money.
Now it was good. Their wishes were fulfilled, but they had spent all their money and had nothing left.
"Your servant Pei Mingli receives the edict and thanks His Majesty." Pei Mingli took the imperial edict and forced a smile.
Liu Bei said, "Congratulations, Supervisor Pei. I still have to deliver the edict to other families. I'll take my leave first."
"I'll see you off. Thank you for making this trip." Pei Mingli and He Niang went out together to see him off. They didn't come back until the person was out of sight.
He Niang was curious and asked a series of questions. "What kind of official position is the supervisor? Why are you still so depressed even though you've become an official, sir? Why is it the library in Hedong Circuit? Isn't it supposed to be in Chang'an?"
"Because it's not an official position at all. It's just a title His Majesty gave us. I did win the bid for the library, but it's the library in Hedong Circuit, which is completely different from the one in Chang'an. I still have to pay a thousand taels of gold, and I have to lend out the books in our family."
After Pei Mingli finished speaking, he let out a long sigh.
He adjusted his mentality a bit and was even more curious about the attitudes of the other officials.
They had acted so enthusiastically in the main hall just now, as if they would immediately smash their heads against a pillar if they weren't allowed to build the library.
Now it was good. Their wishes had been fulfilled. Wouldn't they be so happy that they would vomit several mouthfuls of blood and collapse on the ground?
"What? How could this happen? Was it the princess? No, no, no. It was His Majesty!" He Niang finally understood why Pei Mingli had looked so lost when he came back.
If this happened to anyone, they would go crazy.
"Yes, it was His Majesty." Pei Mingli went back and finished the last mouthful of apricot porridge. His heart calmed down a bit. "His Majesty also promised that after the library is built, I'll be appointed as a junior secretary in the Ministry of Works, a sixth-rank official."
He Niang's mind was in a complete mess now. She went downstairs to serve the dishes, leaving Pei Mingli alone to calm down. Things had come to this point and couldn't be changed.
Although a thousand taels of gold was a large amount, it was even more difficult to enter the imperial court as an official.
The current His Majesty attached great importance to the Ministry of Works because of Princess Chengyang. Maybe her husband would be promoted all the way up.
It was said that the position of the Minister of the Ministry of Works was still vacant.