Chapter 46 Taking shortcuts

"What's the idea?" Liang Yunyan wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

Liang Ruosheng said: "In terms of family background, you can't compare to Chen Qingyin's family who can bring help to Dad. In terms of money, you are not as good as the Chen family."

Before she could finish her words, Liang Yunyan's face fell and she said angrily, "Even you look down on your mother, don't you? I am not as good as her, so what? I gave birth to a son for the Hu family, so does she have the ability to give birth to one too?"

Liang Ruosheng was helpless and sat next to Liang Yunyan to persuade her: "Mom! You have to be more tolerant than Chen Qingyin. Although you are not as good as her in everything, you have me."

Liang Yunyan seemed a little dissatisfied. She curled her lips and looked up and down at Liang Ruosheng.

"what can you do?"

It is not as important as having Rong'er, a male.

Liang Ruosheng tutted, "I can give you some ideas. The last time my father came back, I heard him tell the servant next to him that he wanted to compete for the job of expanding the moat."

"You know, expanding the moat is a lucrative job, especially now when there is no war to fight. Father, as a general, has too little time and it is easy for him to lose his position, so Father needs to perform well, and this job is a great opportunity."

"The person in charge of this task is the Minister of Works. The Ministry of Works has so many affairs to deal with every day. Father can definitely strive for the expansion of the moat and make some money from it."

Liang Yunyan thought for a moment and said hesitantly, "I heard what he said, but the Minister of Industry is not easy to approach, and he repeatedly returned the gifts he sent."

Liang Ruosheng laughed and said, "You need my help here. Tomorrow, no matter what, you must invite Dad here. I will tell him how to successfully please this Shangshu."

"You? How did you know that?"

"Keep it secret for now, I'll tell you tomorrow."

The next day, Liang Yunyan came back from Old Madam Hu and eagerly dragged Hu Yunshen along.

Hu Yunshen has been in a bad mood recently because of Chen Qingyin's matter.

"What's the matter? There's still something to do in the military camp." He said and wanted to leave.

Liang Yunyan quickly pulled him into the house: "It's Ruosheng who wants to talk to you."

Liang Ruosheng came forward holding a teacup and said, "I heard that Father has been having a headache trying to get the job of expanding the moat, so I wanted to give Father some advice."

Hearing this, Hu Yunshen paused, frowned and looked at her in confusion.

"What can you suggest?"

"The Minister of Works, Lord Du, prefers beautiful women to gold and silver, so he refused to accept the gifts that my father had been sending him."

Hu Yunshen frowned. He had heard that Lord Du liked beautiful women and loved listening to music the most.

However, the imperial court expressly prohibited officials from entering places of entertainment. Violators would be imprisoned at the very least, or dismissed from office and exiled at the worst.

"You want me to invite the Minister of Industry to listen to music?"

"That's right. We can't go there openly. I heard there's a hidden brothel in the capital. On the surface it looks like a restaurant, but in fact many dignitaries go there to listen to music."

Liang Yunyan and Hu Yunshen looked at Liang Ruosheng at the same time.

"Where did you hear this?"

"I..." Liang Ruosheng was at a loss for words.

In her previous life, she served in the palace. What kind of private affairs of dignitaries had she not heard of?

Even though the court had clearly prohibited those high-ranking officials from indulging in beauty, they all kept concubines in private and had a lot of fun with them.

Liang Ruosheng's eyes rolled: "Father, I'm telling you the truth, I often dream that there are immortals reminding me how to bring you blessings. This is also what I dreamed about."

Hu Yunshen was particularly surprised when he heard this: "Immortal?"

Liang Yunyan suddenly remembered: "The last time I played the palace song, it was also Ruosheng who dreamed of the immortals guiding her. Later I learned that it was a palace song. Brother Shen, Ruosheng is our daughter and will not harm you."

Liang Ruosheng nodded gently: "Father, just give it a try. Invite that Lord Du to the restaurant and serve him well. Once he is happy, this task will definitely fall on your head."

Hu Yunshen thought for a moment: "Let me think about it, that place isn't cheap, is it?"

Liang Yunyan looked around and gave the valuable furnishings in the room to Hu Yunshen.

"These are Chen Qingyin's things, Brother Shen, just pawn them. I'm sure you can get a lot of silver in exchange."

"This…is not good."

"Chen Qingyin is your nominal wife, Brother Shen. You want to fight for this job for your own future and the Hu family's, so she should have paid something."

Liang Ruosheng nodded and said, "Father, that's right, just keep it. My mother and I hope you can have a bright future and rise to prominence!"

Hu Yunshen finally agreed.

After all, there was no harm in giving it a try, and the things used to please the Minister of Works were obtained by pawning Chen Qingyin's dowry.

Even if the money is gone, I won't feel bad.

Hu Yunshen held Liang Yunyan and Liang Ruosheng in his arms.

"I am so blessed to have you and your daughter!"

Liang Ruosheng giggled, seized the opportunity, and made an excuse to leave the house.

Liang Yunyan finally found an opportunity to serve Hu Yunshen, and soon the sounds of making love could be heard in their room.

The sound of Yoyo under the window farted loudly several times, but who would have thought that they had already closed the window this time.

Yoyo was furious, and Jiji cursed: "You two bastards! Disgusting!"

Following Liang Ruosheng's suggestion, Hu Yunshen really invited the Minister of Works.

Next, he paid money to let the Minister of Works enjoy the feeling of being surrounded by beauties in the restaurant, and he also invited the best singing boy in the brothel.

Finally, the Minister of Works gave in and took the initiative to hand over the task of expanding the moat to Hu Yunshen.

That day, the Minister of Works drunkenly reminded him, "The court has allocated a total of 100,000 taels of silver, all of which will be used to expand the moat. But in fact, it doesn't cost that much. You can repair it as you see fit, but don't be too greedy, so that the Ministry of Revenue will find out when they review it."

Hu Yunshen laughed and bowed: "Thank you Lord Du for the reminder. I am very grateful."

After saying that, he clapped his hands, and the young man who played the music came out. When the Minister of Works saw her, his eyes widened.

Hu Yunshen lowered his voice and said, "Master Du, it is said that this young man is only fourteen this year."

The Minister of Works narrowed his eyes and smiled, his large face was greasy and full of a hideous smile.

"I like."

Hu Yunshen left on the pretext of having something to do, leaving the Minister of Works to enjoy himself alone.

After he returned home, he took the initiative to share this happy event with Liang Yunyan and Liang Ruosheng.

Hu Yunshen took the lead in taking out two silver notes of one hundred taels from the one hundred thousand taels of silver given by the court and threw them directly to Liang Yunyan.

"Take it and go shopping. Buy whatever you want. This is just the beginning!"

Liang Yunyan and Liang Ruosheng's eyes lit up.

Youyou heard their plan under the window and ran to tell Hu Mianmian at night.

With a full moon in the sky, Hu Mianmian sat cross-legged in meditation, absorbing the essence of the sun and the moon while listening to Youyou denouncing Hu Yunshen's actions.

"Everyone says that monsters are scary, but I think human hearts are the scariest! If he continues to be so greedy, how fragile will the moat of the capital city become?"

Hu Mianmian opened her big watery eyes, and the little guy snorted coldly.

"These few people only know how to think of crooked tricks. I will never let them succeed."

She thought about it, and a sly smile appeared on her little face: "Yo Yo, come here, I have something for you to do."