"Very good!"
Upon hearing the news about hanging the banners, Gu Shaoqing readily agreed.
Lu Qiqi breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing his words.
She said, "When I heard the news, I rushed over. On the way, I was worried that Tianlang Escort Agency might damage its reputation in the underworld."
It seems I was overthinking it; your words put my mind at ease.
The two looked at each other for so long, and didn't hold back their words. Gu Shaoqing smiled and said, "If this were in the past, I might have considered it."
Now I understand. If I want to strengthen the Sirius Escort Agency, I need to quickly find a powerful ally while I still have external assistance.
Lu Qiqi brought the good news about hanging the banner to the escort agency, while Lu Yao was curious about what the escorts had seen and heard along the way.
She sat to one side, blinking her big eyes, listening to the bodyguards chatting together.
A muscular bodyguard said, "You know what, something really strange happened this time we went to the capital."
"Old Yu, stop keeping me in suspense and tell me already!"
The bodyguard, who was called Lao Yu, said, "That day, I was fetching water in a village in Heshun Prefecture when I came across a group of villagers worshipping a god."
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a broken stick. I was so frightened that I ran away without even fetching water.
As soon as he said this, laughter erupted from inside the room.
"Haha, Lao Yu, no offense, but why are you acting so strangely after just two escort missions?"
"You didn't see the young couple being affectionate through the window and then made up this lie because you were embarrassed, did you?"
"I've never heard of worshipping tree roots before. Don't make up stories to scare children."
After being repeatedly rejected by the bodyguards, Lao Yu's expression turned somewhat unpleasant. Knowing that his words were unlikely to be believed, he turned and walked out without looking back.
Even when he heard apologies behind him, he didn't turn around and walked straight out of the security company.
Lu Yao listened with great interest, treating it as a strange and unusual tale.
Gu Shaoqing escorted Lu Qiqi downstairs and heard the voices of the bodyguards laughing and talking.
Fortunately, the bodyguards didn't tell any dirty jokes, which relieved him.
"Ayao," Lu Qiqi called out, "Let's go back to the manor."
When Lu Yao heard her sister call her, she responded and ran over.
She held Lu Qiqi's hand and asked, "Sister, are there really places where people worship tree roots as gods?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Qiqi, unaware of the context, instinctively replied, "I've never heard of it either, perhaps it's a tradition of some mysterious tribe."
...
Inside the study of the Minister of Revenue's residence.
"Smack!"
Qian Lishe slapped Qian Heng across the face. His hand stung from the impact, but his anger remained undiminished.
He pointed his right finger at Qian Heng and cursed, "You two siblings dared to do such a big thing behind my back! If you weren't already in a mess, were you planning to keep it a secret forever?!"
Qian Heng's face instantly turned red and swollen from the slap, the handprint on his wheat-colored face looking somewhat terrifying.
Qian Duoduo stood to the side, not daring to raise her head when she heard Qian Lishe's curses. She could only shrink her head and stand in the corner, tears falling like broken pearls.
Upon hearing the news, Madam Qian rushed over to help.
She had just reached the study door when she heard the cursing. Ignoring everything else, she pushed the door open and barged in.
When she saw the red marks on Qian Heng's face, her heart ached terribly.
"Sir, what are you doing?"
"Heng'er is our family's only son, what if he gets seriously injured!"
Qian Lishe and Madam Qian have always treated each other with respect. If it were Madam Qian pleading for him in the past, she would usually downplay the matter and not treat him coldly.
But today is different; the brother and sister have committed a grave offense this time!
Qian Lishe said with a gloomy face, "I have more than one son. If my legitimate son is ruined, I still have my illegitimate son!"
Since ancient times, there has been a distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children. For Qian Lishe to say such things, Madam Qian knew that he was furious.
Therefore, she didn't dare to speak loudly. She could only walk up to Qian Heng, carefully stroke his reddened face, and look at him with heartache.
Qian Lishe has already understood the cause and process of the incident, and also knows that there is a large amount of Xuan paper sitting idle in the paper mill.
It's really frustrating to have anger that you can't vent.
He didn't want to see the mother and her two children right now, so he strode out of the study and went straight to Aunt Liu's courtyard.
The following day, at the Imperial Palace.
Qian Lishe racked his brains last night, but couldn't come up with a good way to fill the deficit, nor could he find an idea to sell the Xuan paper.
After being comforted by Aunt Liu, she ran to the emperor to complain after court.
"Your Majesty, all the students in the country are using bamboo paper, and a few days ago there was even a dispute about it at the government office."
Bamboo paper is now being used in the capital and throughout the Jin Dynasty.
If this continues, won't even memorials to the throne be written on bamboo paper?
If the people of Da Yu find out, wouldn't we become a laughingstock?
The emperor listened to his words without changing his expression. A few days ago, the students had fought fiercely at the academy, and an imperial censor had brought the news to his ears the next day.
The emperor was already aware of Qian Heng's involvement among the students who stirred up trouble, but he simply didn't point it out.
Qian Lishe still doesn't know how to restrain himself, simply because he relies on the powerful family behind him.
It seems that promoting those from humble backgrounds is of utmost urgency, otherwise the Great Jin Dynasty will one day be destroyed by these aristocratic families with kinship ties!
After listening to Qian Lishe's complaints, the Emperor asked in a calm voice, "Minister Qian just said that the students were fighting in the academy. How come I heard that your eldest son was also involved?"
"this……"
Qian Lishe dared to use the students' disturbance as a pretext because he thought the emperor valued future pillars of society, but he never expected that the emperor would actually hear about it.
This left him speechless for a moment.
The emperor saw right through his little scheme and reprimanded him, "Minister Qian, do you know when to stop?"
Don't wait until the censor impeaches you to realize your mistakes!
Qian Lishe understood the emperor's warning and immediately broke out in a cold sweat, nodding repeatedly in agreement.
Seeing his appearance, the emperor had no intention of letting Lu Qiqi's family become the only powerful one.
Moreover, Qian Lishe was right about one thing: if this trend continues, it's inevitable that all memorials will eventually become mere bamboo paper.
The emperor said, "In that case, I will have someone issue an edict that from this day forward, all examination papers, sales and rental contracts, and even memorials to the emperor shall be written on Xuan paper."
As for whether bamboo paper is used for scrolls or for students to write articles on a daily basis, that is entirely up to them.
Qian Lishe, who had been dejected, immediately perked up upon hearing the emperor's decree.
Just a few items can buy a lot of Xuan paper, which is a great thing for a monopoly.
He immediately knelt down and performed a deep bow, saying, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
The emperor hadn't slept well last night, and after the morning court session, he had to clean up the mess. Although he didn't show it on his face, he had long harbored resentment towards Qian Lishe.
Now, taking this opportunity, I reminded him again, "Minister Qian, you have been delaying the matter of the empty national treasury. If you do not come up with a good solution, I will punish you for incompetence!"
Upon hearing this, Qian Lishe was afraid that the emperor would find out something, so he quickly apologized while also thinking about how to fill the vacancy.
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