The Imperial City Guard has been quite fierce these days, and they have taken away seven or eight people from the inner temple of the Temple Front Guard one after another, never to be seen again.

  The imperial court also ordered the Privy Council to change the inner palace guards' shifts.

  The emperor has no secrets. As for what happened in the inner courtyard, the officials of the government office also have some knowledge. The imperial family did not ruthlessly kill everyone, and to execute only the entire inner palace guard is already considered merciful.

  These days, every day there are imperial concubines who go to the Ciming Palace to undergo a rigorous physical examination. Then... Empress Cao had three pregnant concubines beheaded one after another.

  Empress Cao was so ruthless that no one in the government dared to speak out, not even the Imperial Censorate, which was known for its outspokenness, dared to submit a single memorial.

  Zhao Zhen knew that this little mess of his had probably already caused a stir throughout the city.

  Recently, he didn't even attend the morning court, and not even Zhao Zhen from Wende Hall went. As Ciming Palace expanded its scope of self-examination, things made him more and more worried, and he simply had no face to see the officials.

  "Zhang, do you know the consequences of your pleading for Chen?"

  These days, Empress Cao has been quite annoying. Zhang Shi relies on the imperial family's favor and actually dares to point fingers at the dirty affairs of the inner court.

  Now, he actually dares to plead for a palace maid who has lost her body!

  "Elder sister, Chen Shi has never been favored by the imperial family and does not have a rank, she is just a miscellaneous servant. The imperial guard being on good terms with her is also not causing chaos in the palace, it's just that when the time comes, Chen Shi will leave the palace and get married."

  "The imperial family has always been lenient, but now the chaos in the palace has made the inner court as cold as a cicada in winter. The court is also afraid to intervene. Eldest sister, let Chen's case go, for the sake of the officials and even the people of the capital, it may not be a bad story, and it can also alleviate your recent depression."

  Zhao Xi has also been paying attention to the chaos in the inner courtyard these past few days.

  To be honest, he can't quite accept this way of being beaten to death either.

  It's not that he thought it shouldn't be handled, nor was it because he pitied those damned concubines. It's just that palace maids like Chen Shi... Anyway, Father wouldn't have looked down on them either, and keeping them in the palace would be a waste. If what Zhang Shi said is true, then letting go might not be a bad thing after all.

  He also knew that the officials in the imperial court were now enduring and waiting for the situation to develop. If something went wrong, they would start to present their memorials one by one. Although they wouldn't directly say "the old man is occupying the toilet without doing his business", they would find fault with trivial matters and make things difficult.

  It is said to correct the behavior of emperors and kings, to rectify their gains and losses, but in fact it is just a vent for the imbalance in one's heart.

  They are all human beings, and so-called emperors, for these scholars, the emperor is just a person with the title of Your Majesty.

  From several interactions between the emperor and his father, Zhao Xi did not see the kind of respect that a subject would have for an emperor, but rather more instances of picking faults.

  Even the successors of this empire, when they met with scholars in Zisheng Hall, were only polite on a ceremonial level and did not show much reverence.

  It's as if they were on opposite sides.

  Scholar-officials, as the elite of this era, having extensively read about historical changes, how can you not understand the significance of imperial power being divinely ordained?

  Zhao Xi went downstairs after school and was in Wen Shu, but some words still entered his ears and into his heart.

  He discovered for the first time that Zhang was not a vase who gained favor through her skin, at least these two sentences made him want to applaud.

  So-called strange things turn into good things, or good things turn into bad things, are all due to needs, and also a way to shift topics and contradictions.

  As for the chaos in the inner courtyard, whether killing a chicken to scare monkeys or using warning as an excuse, it's definitely not possible to continue like this.

  It has extended from concubines to palace maids, and it's no longer just a simple punishment for misbehavior, but seems to have a hint of venting frustration.

  "You'd better go and beg for a special pardon from the authorities!"

  Empress Cao ultimately did not get angry and confused, still retaining her clarity.

  ……

  "Father, the chaos in the inner courtyard has led to the early arrangement of my children being driven out, eight or nine out of ten. The inner palace is in disarray, and losses are almost total. This is due to my incompetence."

  Zhao Zongcheng bowed his waist to King Chen of Yunnan. The matter was already settled, and at the same time, it also ruined his many years of operation.

  Four of the previously operated geishas are now all gone. Three were beaten to death and one hanged herself.

  It was all in vain for Nei Dian Ban Zhi, and everything was swept away by the Imperial City Guard. In other words, all his preparations for Shi San were rendered useless due to this action.

  It turned out that it fulfilled Zhao Zhen's reputation for benevolence! It also happened to fulfill a pair of inexplicable guards and palace maids.

  Although I was destined for a humble life, at least I managed to survive.

  "Zong Sheng, let's just drop it!"

  King of Junan somewhat believed that Zhao Zhen was favored by heaven.

  It was supposed to be a life of extinction for offspring, but the three sons Zhao Xie unexpectedly revived, and then one after another broke their own preparations.

  He even suspected that this chaos was also related to that wicked little brat.

  Every time he thinks of that sturdy and clever little kid, he shudders a bit, always feeling that the child can see through everything.

  When there was an imperial edict entering the palace, and once again recounting the rumors of a single room, Zhao Zhen finally had the face to discuss official business with the officials.

  Zhao Xi accompanied the empress to sort out the first batch of cookies' income. This was also the empress's first time carefully calculating costs and profits, and it could be said that she truly took Xi'er's snacks seriously.

  Zhao Xi watched as the empress directed the female officials to calculate with an abacus, which was quite delightful.

  A pair of small hands, freely pushing the beads up and down, producing rhythmic collision sounds, which is a wonderful enjoyment for both visual and auditory senses.

  It's just the way of keeping accounts after each number comes out, making Zhao Xi vomit!

  What's all this? With such an accounting method, I'm afraid only the person who did the accounting at that time can understand what's going on. Others will have a hard time figuring it out, even if they spend three to five days looking at just one page of accounts.

  Zhao Xi is not a professional accountant, but for the kind of borrowing-style accounting method he has seen before, he still has a general understanding, at least it's clear at a glance, even if it's an outsider, just mention it casually, and you can understand the general idea.

  It feels like they are using this accounting method just to play tricks, to deceive people. At least Zhao Xi felt that if he were doing the accounts, he could use various methods to confuse these financial statements, so that the auditors couldn't find any problems.

  Can't take it anymore! Zhao Xi looked at the records from raw materials, to labor costs, and then to shipping and sales, the more he looked, the dizzier and more confused he became.

  "Mother, can we use this method for keeping accounts?"

  Brushes are not good at drawing lines, Zhao Xi let Wang Zhongzheng find a sample of the memorial, sideways, and finally drew out the table, and then simply wrote in and out.

  Originally wanted to follow the later generations to write borrowing, afraid of having to explain borrowing for half a day, so simply wrote it as going in and out, making it easier to understand.

  "Xī ér, this is what method?"

  "Your Ladyship, expenses include all expenditures, from flour to personnel rewards, as well as the final inner courtyard expenses, can be counted as expenses, just list them."

  "Input is selling out all inputs, including cake formulas and cookie batches, just need to list them."

  "The two items of income and expenditure are summarized on each page, naturally reflecting the profit or loss. Finally, it can be directly reflected by decade, month, quarter, or year."