Chapter 49 Chapter 49 is the only genuine version...
"...I embezzled the money from the account and used it to support my mother's family."
Ji sat in the rain, letting it soak her through.
"Over 100,000 taels of silver were subsidized."
"Since you insist on checking the accounts, I have no choice but to burn them."
The rain washed over her cheeks, and the red marks from the high temperature turned into small blisters.
The rain poured down heavily, and soon the fire in the warehouse was out.
Apart from this warehouse, no other place was affected.
Ji was ill.
That night, she suddenly developed a high fever, burning all over. The headmaster hurriedly reported it to Gu Zhizhuo, who paused as he flipped through the account book and said, "Go get the doctor."
"Make me another pot of strong tea."
After saying that, she lowered her head and flipped through the account book again.
The Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion has a lot of assets. Ji has been married for eight years, and the accumulated account books are in the hundreds of boxes, which cannot be finished in a short time.
She had too much to do and didn't have time to waste on Ji.
So, she simply let Ji point out the problematic account books himself, which would save trouble.
As for Ji's insistence that she only embezzled money to support her parents' family, that's just for show. Who knows how true it is? It's better to believe that she is a girl of destiny than to believe Ji.
Gu Zhizhuo flipped through the pages hurriedly.
The candlelight was on all night, and the two maids also kept her company all night. Qingmei nudged Qiongfang lightly with her elbow, and the two exchanged glances. After a while, Qiongfang brought in two plates of snacks from outside.
"Girl, we have mung bean cakes and rose cakes. Which one would you like?"
Gu Zhizhuo didn't even raise his head: "Mung bean cake."
Puff pastry ones are too dirty for your hands.
A plate of mung bean cakes was handed to her, each one was only the size of a copper coin.
Without even looking up, Gu Zhizhuo picked one up and put it in his mouth, washing it down with strong tea while flipping through the account books. In a short while, he had devoured it all. During the morning visit, Gu Zhizhuo reported the whole incident to the Madam Dowager, briefly explaining that Ji had secretly sold off Gu's assets, embezzled the remaining funds, and used a large amount of gold and silver to subsidize her mother's family.
"My granddaughter hasn't finished her calculations yet. In the twenty years of Taiyuan alone, more than 100,000 taels were moved."
"She also secretly sold off two mountain orchards."
Madam Gu was almost stunned by what she heard. In her knowledge, such a thing had never been even thought of.
She was so angry that she slammed the table.
For the lady who had lived in a world of wealth and luxury since childhood, tens of thousands of silver coins were actually nothing. However, she could not tolerate the fact that this silver coins were given to others for no apparent reason.
If the Ji family really encountered any difficulties, and she came to talk to her and asked for some money to help them, would she refuse?
What’s the difference between privately embezzling money and stealing?
And it's only been one year.
How much subsidies has she given out over the years?
Is the Ji family a bottomless pit?
"I haven't finished looking through the other account books yet, Grandma. For now..." Gu Zhizhuo paused and said bluntly, "Lock them up first."
The lady nodded and agreed.
"Also, the Ji family took so much money from us without even saying hello. I plan to have the steward send guards to arrest them. Either pay the money back or report to the authorities."
The lady hesitated for a moment: "But, the Ji family is our in-laws after all, so this is not a good idea."
"If they were relatives, they wouldn't encourage Madam to embezzle the money secretly."
"Not sending it directly to the government is already the greatest kindness our Gu family has shown."
The lady thought about it again and again.
"Grandma, my wife set a fire yesterday. If it hadn't rained and it had caught fire all of a sudden..."
She frowned slightly, sighed softly, and hesitated to speak, "I was scared."
As soon as these words were spoken, the lady's face changed immediately.
Yes.
Deficit, misappropriation, and arson! The Ji family's education is terrible.
"I'll do as you say!" the old lady said with lingering fear. "I'll do as you say!"
Gu Zhizhuo arched his eyebrows and said, "Grandma is wise. With you at home, your granddaughter feels much more at ease."
Of course! The lady-in-waiting looked even more pleased. She cleared her throat and sternly ordered, "Madam Zhu, take someone to lock up the main courtyard. Since Ji is ill, don't let her out again. And Yan'er, he's already moved to the front courtyard. He should study and practice martial arts with the teacher in the future. Don't always go back to the main courtyard when you have nothing to do. It's really not a good look."
"Send someone else a sign. Ji's marriage was granted by imperial decree. I have to go to the palace and explain the reason. This is outrageous!"
"Yes." Nanny Zhu agreed respectfully, and couldn't help but glance at the girl who was sitting there eating white fungus and red date soup.
In terms of status, the lady is the eldest daughter's mother, and she is also the wife of a duke appointed by the emperor. Regardless of state etiquette or family etiquette, the eldest daughter must be filial to the lady as if she were her own mother and treat her with respect.
However, it would be different if the lady made a big mistake first and then the lady-in-waiting took charge and made the decision.
The Madam is under house arrest, and from now on the eldest daughter will be the only one in charge of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion!
It was obvious that a few months ago, the eldest girl had a strained relationship with the lady, but now she treated the lady as if she were her own mother, trusting and relying on her. She couldn't even manage the servants in her own yard. All the rumors about her being jealous, spoiled, and vicious... came from her own yard.
now……
Could it be that he was pretending before?
Nanny Zhu didn't think any further and immediately called a few maids to go to the main courtyard together.
When Nanny Zhu had finished everything and came back to report, she told the lady that the blisters on Ji's face had broken and were very red and swollen. The doctor said that it would leave scars. Gu Zhizhuo listened for a few seconds and then took his leave.
She went directly to the front yard and asked the chief steward Chen Jin to transfer ten accountants.
"Also, transfer some people to Jiangnan to capture Ji Huacheng and the Ji family's patriarch and head of the family and bring them to the capital. Leave the others where they are and keep them under guard. Don't make too much noise."
Chen Jin is the chief steward of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, in charge of everything in the mansion.
He had received Gu Baibai's order early in the morning, asking him to listen to the eldest girl from now on.
He agreed to all of them, and seeing that Gu Zhizhuo had no other instructions, he went down to do it.
Gu Zhizhuo rubbed his head, feeling extremely sleepy.
"Go back and sleep!"
"girl."
Qingmei frowned and asked, "Why is it the 20th year of Taiyuan?"
The Ji family came to the capital and had a falling out with the lady, and didn’t Ji Chenghua make his fortune in the 22nd year of Taiyuan?
"In the 20th year of Taiyuan, Madam just married into the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion, right?"
She thought about this problem all night but couldn't figure it out.
"Yes." Gu Zhizhuo turned around and smiled at her, his tone without any emotion, "Why?"
Qingmei: "..."
Gu Zhizhuo rubbed his brows and walked towards the inner ceremonial gate.
When Qingmei first went to the warehouse to check and came back to report, she found something was wrong.
The boxes from the 20th year of Taiyuan burned the most vigorously, which means that these were the ones that Ji Shi ignited at the beginning. These were the ones she wanted to burn the most, not the ones from the 22nd year of Taiyuan.
Gu Zhizhuo specifically compared the period before and after the 22nd year of Taiyuan.
Even if she just flipped through the accounts after the 22nd year of Taiyuan, she would find some discrepancies. However, the accounts after the 20th year of Taiyuan were too perfect.
For example, these two mountains were first recorded as having no output due to wildfires six months in advance, and then at the end of the year, they were recorded as having been exchanged for fertile farmland.
It's like they're deliberately using the imperfections behind to attract attention and cover up the real secret.
If Ji Shi had not burned the 20th year of Taiyuan first, Gu Zhizhuo would most likely not have discovered it.
Gu Zhizhuo sighed, "Just now, I didn't tell Madam Tai that what Ji sold off were actually two iron mines."
Qingmei covered her lips tightly and almost let out a cry.
Iron is a national treasure, and iron ore has belonged to the imperial court throughout the dynasties.
The two iron mines of the Gu family were spoils of war of my great-grandfather, and Emperor Taizu granted him permission to keep them.
However, since the Gu family held military power, it would be extremely taboo for them to also own iron mines. Ever since my great-grandfather, he had people plant fruits and vegetables on these two mines, treating them like orchards. Every year, the first batch of fresh fruits would be delivered to the capital at full speed.
When she was a child, her grandfather took her and her brother to pick fruit.
After my grandfather passed away, no one knew that it was actually an iron mine.
Later in the previous life, these two mountains became Xie Jing's private property. They were one of the great gifts bestowed by the emperor when Xie Jing entered the Eastern Palace.
She once thought that this was the "trophy" looted from the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.
And now...
It turned out that these two mines had not belonged to the Gu family as early as the 20th year of Taiyuan.
Zheng Qi said that it was the man sitting on the throne today who was in charge of the task and brought officials from the Ministry of Rites to Jiangnan to welcome the bride.
He had known Ji for a long time.
So, could it be that Ji gave this mine to him under the guise of selling it?
This realization made Gu Zhizhuo feel a chill in his heart for no reason.
She held the restraint at her waist tightly and walked forward silently.
There was a heavy rain last night, and the water stains on the ground had not dried up yet. By the time I returned to Lingxiao Courtyard, my embroidered shoes were soaked.
She took off her shoes, stared at the pearls on them in silence for a long time, and finally fell back on the beauty bed.
She originally just wanted to take a nap, but ended up sleeping until dusk. Half asleep and half awake, she vaguely heard a familiar cat's meow, and her sleepiness disappeared immediately.
Her eyes lit up, and she rang the copper bell on the table, calling Qiongfang in. She casually put on her shoes and ran to the window. As soon as she opened the window, a tabby cat jumped up and touched noses with her affectionately.
"Are you here to play with me?"
"Meow."
Gu Zhizhuo told Qiongfang to prepare some food for the cat.
When she changed her clothes and went out, food for the cat and people were ready. The cat sat on the table and she sat at the table, and they ate together.
After eating, the cat shook its fur, and the collar on its neck sparkled in the sun, making its fur look even more shiny and smooth.
"Hey, you got a new collar."
Gu Zhizhuo beckoned her finger and it came over to show her the collar.
This time it was a gold necklace, still inlaid with many gems, the kind that dazzle the eyes. In the middle was a golden cat's eye, exactly the same as its eyes, incredibly beautiful.
"He's really not afraid of you being arrested."
Gu Zhizhuo estimated that this gold necklace was more expensive than her most expensive headwear.
Not only is it inlaid with so many gems, but there are also two small jade pendants hanging under the necklace... Hmm, it seems a little familiar.
How could she not be familiar with it?! This incredibly ugly talisman was carved by her own hands!
Gu Zhizhuo pinched the small jade pendant on its neck and looked at it.
The broken part of the small jade pendant is polished very smoothly, and it is indeed from the same piece.
"Is it broken?"
She muttered to herself.
This one is engraved with a peace charm. It's a little ugly, but there's nothing wrong with it. Has Shen Xu run into bad luck again?
Gu Zhizhuo let go of his hand and touched its head.
You can't tell from Chen Xu's face, but he is quite fond of cats. The talisman that has warded off a disaster is of little use to people, but it is still enough to protect kittens and puppies.
"Meow."
The cat meowed coquettishly, hooked her hand with its paw pads, and its golden eyes were extremely bright.
Gu Zhizhuo suddenly realized: "You want me to go out with you?"
The cat used its tail to hit Gu Zhizhuo's arm a few times.
Gu Zhizhuo looked at the sky and thought that if she went out now, she could still go see the young master. Thinking of this, the fatigue of the past few days was swept away and she felt refreshed.
She took out a new jade pendant from the drawer of her dressing table. It was carved in the past two days and had a complete calming talisman on it. It was perfect for the young master to wear while he was recuperating.
"Let's go."
The cat understood. It jumped onto the windowsill, stretched, and waited for her with its tail raised.
Gu Zhizhuo asked Qiongfang to stay at home to look after the house and took Qingmei out.
The cat clung to her shoulder, contentedly feeling the unlucky scent on her body that made it happy and joyful.
"Meow!"
After leaving the yard, the cat urged a few more times and wagged its tail, seeming to be in a hurry but not so anxious at the same time.
"Big sister."
Gu Zhizhuo paused and looked towards the voice: "Weiwei."
It’s Gu Zhiwei from the second house.
Gu Zhiwei was born beautiful and pretty. She was about the same age as Gu Zhinan, one was eleven and the other ten.
There was supposed to be another girl born to Gu Zhiwei, but she died at birth.
"Cousin Zhuo."
With Gu Zhiwei was her maternal cousin, who was a year younger than Gu Zhizhuo.
"Ying'er, you're here to play, right?"
Xu Ying'er, with her thick bangs covering half her face, smiled shyly at Gu Zhizhuo, mumbling something inaudible. Gu Zhizhuo raised his eyebrows and waved at her.
Xu Ying'er was stunned for a moment, walked over, and looked at her with some confusion.
Gu Zhizhuo took a pearl flower from her hair, raised his hand to push aside her bangs, and the moment his fingertips touched her slightly cool skin, she could feel Xu Ying'er dodge slightly.
"Don't move."
Gu Zhizhuo used pearl flowers to fix the bangs on both sides of her head above her forehead, revealing her smooth and full forehead. Two crabapple pearl flowers bloomed lightly in the wind. Xu Ying'er smiled shyly, her face more beautiful than the flowers.
"This is so beautiful."
Gu Zhizhuo was satisfied.
Xu Ying'er and Gu Zhiwei are indeed cousins. They look very similar, especially the shape of their eyes, as if they were carved from the same mold.
The Xu family is also a family of officials, so how could they raise a little girl to be so timid?
Xu Ying'er said timidly, "Cousin Zhuo. Zhuhua..."
"It's for you."
"But..." Xu Ying'er touched her temples anxiously.
She can't have it.
Gu Zhiwei pulled her hand down and deliberately pouted, saying, "Big sister, you are partial. I want one too."
"You have it." Gu Zhizhuo raised his hand and called a little maid over. "Go to my place and ask Qiongfang to bring all the new pearl flowers she bought last time. Second sister, you can choose for yourself."
She tapped the tip of Gu Zhiwei's small nose: "It's finally done now, right?"
"Big sister, you are so kind." Gu Zhiwei pulled Xu Ying'er and smiled brightly, "Cousin, don't be embarrassed. Big sister often buys us pearl flowers. Please accept them. I will pick some for you later. Take away all the beautiful pearl flowers from Big sister."
Xu Ying'er felt a little relieved. She smiled shyly and said, "Thank you, cousin Zhuo."
"Meow."
The Qilin cat squatting on Gu Zhizhuo's shoulder stared at her with its big round eyes. It stretched out its little paws and patted her face, as if urging her.
"Okay, okay, I know."
"You guys have fun, I'm going out for a while, I'll bring you some delicious food when I come back."
Gu Zhiwei's eyes lit up and she agreed happily.
Xu Ying'er stared blankly at Gu Zhizhuo as he left, and said with some envy, "Your elder sister is so nice."
"That's right." Gu Zhiwei's eyes curved, "I like big sister the most. Cousin, don't worry about living here. With me, no, with big sister here, your uncle will never be able to take you away by force."
"What? Marrying you to an old man just for your brother is too much. You are only thirteen years old, and your uncles..." Are you sick?
Xu Ying'er pursed her lips and said nothing.
She ran away secretly. This was the most daring thing she had ever done in her life. If she was caught again, then she, she...
Gu Zhizhuo hurried out the door.
She didn't ride a horse; riding in broad daylight would have been too conspicuous. She simply took a carriage and had it stop on a street not far from Chonglou Lane.
The Xie Mansion is located in Chonglou Lane, so walking there won’t attract too much attention.
No matter what, you have to pretend.
"Meow."
The cat had been quiet in the carriage until this moment, when it suddenly jumped out of her arms, hooked her calf with its tail, and ran in the opposite direction of Chonglou Lane.
He ran a few steps, then turned around and meowed at her.
"Here I come."
Gu Zhizhuo agreed and followed.
Not long after walking, a strong smell of blood hit my nose.
If I remember correctly, the street in front is the one that was blocked by the East Factory last time.
She later asked Zheng Qi to find out, and found out that it was the residence of Zheng Shilang, the Minister of Personnel, that was sealed off, but she could not find out why.
The entire street was still closed, and there was no one around. Gu Zhizhuo was still at the end of the street when the guard from the East Factory looked over. She had just taken two steps closer when the guard unsheathed the long sword in his hand and held it in front of her.
The cat ran inside for a while, but when she saw that she hadn't caught up, it turned back and meowed.
Fanzi looked at the cat, then at her, and hesitantly put down the knife.
This is the master's cat, right?
"Meow."
The cat's eyes suddenly lit up, and without bothering to urge Gu Zhizhuo, it ran forward on all fours.
Gu Zhizhuo's mind moved slightly. Sure enough, Chen Xu walked out of Minister Zheng's house. His red clothes were as red as fire and blood. Even from such a distance, she could keenly feel that the aura on him was far more dangerous than the last time they met.
Wu Shang handed over a white towel with both hands.
Chen Xu wiped the wet blood from his hands and threw it away, a low sneer of disdain escaping from his lips.
The cat meowed softly at his feet. Shen Xu raised his eyes and looked at Gu Zhizhuo, his eyes filled with condescending contempt and bloody cruelty.
The door to the Minister's residence stood wide open, and two guards carried out a stretcher. On it lay a person covered in a white sheet, speckled with dark red blood. As they crossed the threshold, the stretcher tilted slightly, and a skinless arm slid down, revealing a bloody limb. Blood trickled down to the ground...
Chen Xu said calmly: "It's sealed."
There was no fluctuation in his feminine voice as he stepped onto a black lacquered carriage. After a while, another blood-stained white towel was thrown out of the carriage.
The carriage slowly moved out, and Shen Xu silently turned the Buddhist beads in his hand. Suddenly, he heard someone knocking lightly on the wall of the carriage.
He knew who it was without even having to think about it, as he was so brave that he pulled open the car curtain impatiently.
Chen Xu raised her eyelids, and the two knives against her neck were put back into the scabbards. Immediately afterwards, the guards holding the knives also retreated far away.
"What's up?"
The corners of his mouth seemed to be smiling, and his whole body exuded a mad and wanton aspiration to slaughter all living things.
"Chonglou Lane, you can go there if you want, no one will stop you."
"Meow."
The cat clung to the car window and called out to Gu Zhizhuo in a coquettish manner.
Gu Zhizhuo's gaze rested on his brow for a few moments, and he began to understand why the cat ran to find her.
Chen Xu impatiently pressed the cat's head and pulled it down, his peach blossom eyes narrowed dangerously. Even without saying a word, his eyes were full of the words "Either get out or die, don't bother me."
Gu Zhizhuo thought for a moment, then took out the newly carved jade plaque from his purse and handed it over reluctantly: "Here, a thank you gift."
Shen Xu didn't answer. Between him and Xie Yingchen, they were now on equal terms. He didn't owe him anything for the time being, so he didn't need a thank-you gift.
"Thanks, Cat."
Xie Mao helped her write this prescription.
"promise."
Gu Zhizhuo stretched his hand forward again. In his clear eyes, he could see no calculation or flattery, nor any fear or disgust.
After a while, he finally condescended to pick up the jade token with two fingers and let down his long sleeves.
Gu Zhizhuo shook his stiff arms. He almost couldn't help but drop them and leave.
"And this." Gu Zhizhuo took out a handful of mints from his purse. "It's for refreshing. I made it myself."
This time she was smart and put the mints directly on the small table in the carriage.
"Come and play with me again."
She said this to the cat, but the next moment, the curtain of the carriage fell down with a snap, which scared her.
"Moody."
Gu Zhizhuo muttered something, stepped aside, and let the carriage go first.
Chen Xu peeled a mint candy and put it in his mouth. A cool feeling rushed to his forehead, dispelling the bloody smell that lingered on his nose for a long time. After a while, he threw away the Buddhist beads and pinched the jade token in his palm.
"The first one..."
Minister Zheng’s residence was raided.
In just three days, all the people in the mansion were thrown into the imperial prison, and Minister Zheng was even skinned and tortured to death and thrown into a mass grave.
The whole court was in uproar.
Impeachment memorials piled up on the emperor's desk.
Minister Zheng was an official appointed by the imperial court. He killed people without a trial by the three courts and even used such torture. His arbitrariness was so outrageous that it was shocking. Some people even wrote memorials with strong words, asserting that if the emperor did not issue an order to punish severely, Daqi would repeat the mistakes of the previous dynasty where eunuchs monopolized power and disrupted the government.
The emperor flipped through the memorials and said impatiently, "Send them all back to the Imperial Household Department and have them sort them out before sending them back."
Li Deshun agreed to his promise. The Imperial Household Department was the Imperial Household Department of Governor Shen. There was no difference between sending these memorials back to the Imperial Household Department and handing them over to Governor Shen for him to handle.
He winked at his apprentice, and several young eunuchs came over. They swiftly sorted out all the memorials on the desk, then quietly retreated with the memorials in their hands.
"you say."
The veins on the emperor's forehead throbbed as he stared at the imperial physician kneeling below him.
The imperial physician had just returned from Xie's residence.
"The eldest son's pulse has stabilized."
I'm afraid I won't die. He swallowed hard, but he didn't dare to say it.
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