Haixi Bo collected 30,000 taels of silver and handed it to Lord Gu in person.
His eyes were filled with anger. "I sold all my property to come up with this much money. If Lord Gu is still not satisfied, then you can put me in prison. But even so, I can't come up with any more money."
Lord Gu laughed.
The Minister of Revenue only asked him to clear the arrears and recover some of the debts.
I thought it would be good if Haixibo could get 10,000 or 20,000 taels.
I didn't expect that Hai Xibo would take out 30,000 taels in one breath. This was a pleasant surprise.
Of course, Lord Gu didn't know that there were three or four thousand taels of silver in it, which was Gu Yue's dowry.
With the money, you can get the job done.
Lord Gu said to Hai Xibo in a friendly manner, "My dear in-laws, you are too polite. I would never arrest anyone. It is absolutely not the case."
Haixi Bo was full of contempt and sneered, "Master Gu has a bright future."
Just based on his shamelessness, when asking for money he calls you "Uncle", and after taking the money he calls you "In-law", Lord Gu's career will be smooth sailing. He is definitely a treacherous minister.
Lord Gu pretended not to understand Hai Xibo's sarcasm.
He laughed heartily, "My dear in-laws, you are busy with official business. I will not disturb you. Goodbye!"
With a wave of his hand, the yamen runners carried boxes of silver out of Haixibo's mansion and went directly to the Ministry of Revenue to report.
The 30,000 taels that Lord Gu recovered from the Haixi Marquis's Mansion was actually the largest amount of money the Ministry of Revenue had recovered in recent days.
The Minister of Revenue was overjoyed and praised Lord Gu again and again, saying that Lord Gu was a capable official and that the position of prefect of the capital was a waste of his talent.
Lord Gu couldn't help but say a few words of humility, "Old Lord, your praise is too much. I just want to never let Your Majesty down, be loyal to Your Majesty, and share the worries of the court."
"Great! If everyone is as loyal as Lord Gu, there will be no problem in clearing the debt."
The Minister of Revenue fed Lord Gu a lot of magic potion, which made him dizzy.
Then when the time comes, he will throw out a new task.
Lord Gu took a closer look and wished he could poke his own eyes out.
If the Haixibo Mansion is a super difficult mode, then the next task is of hell-level difficulty.
Lord Gu instantly woke up from the drug.
His face was as pale as snow. "Are you trying to frame me, old man?"
The Minister of Revenue laughed heartily, "Master Gu just loves to joke. I am confident in your abilities, and that is why I have entrusted you with such an important task. This outstanding debt must be yours."
Lord Gu wiped his face and said, "The Haixi Marquis's Mansion still owes nearly 100,000 taels. I cannot give up halfway. I must continue to pursue the repayment of the Haixi Marquis's debt."
The Minister of Revenue said considerately, "We have successfully opened a gap in the Haixi Marquis's residence, and the subsequent recovery work will be taken over by others.
I have assigned you another recovery mission because I cannot bear to see you and Haixi Bo become enemies.
We are good in-laws, so we can't turn against each other just for a little money. If that happens, your daughter will be in a difficult situation."
Lord Gu gritted his teeth.
It is said that the Minister of Revenue is a thief and an old fox because he is old and still alive. This statement is indeed true.
He had already fallen out with Haixibo, and now the Minister of Revenue hypocritically said that he was thinking about him. How hypocritical and shameless.
If you really want to consider him, you shouldn't let him be responsible for the arrears of the Haixi Marquis' Mansion. And you shouldn't let him be responsible for collecting the arrears of the Ning Wang Mansion.
Lord Gu's face turned pale. "Please forgive me, sir. I can't do anything about this matter."
The Minister of Revenue looked at Lord Gu with a half-smile, "Are you really unwilling?"
Lord Gu was absolutely certain that he was unwilling to accept this job.
The Minister of Revenue tapped the table lightly and said in a gentle tone, "Today I came to the palace to see His Majesty. His Majesty said that most of the officials in the capital are just sitting there doing nothing but eating and drinking. We must take this opportunity to clear the arrears of the Ministry of Revenue and dismiss a number of officials who dare not or are unable to do their job, or even punish and exile them.
At the same time, we must promote a group of capable and courageous officials. "Given your abilities, Lord Gu, if you are willing to contribute to clearing the arrears of the Haixi Marquis's residence, I recommend you for a promotion. The position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue is vacant."
Lord Gu's expression kept changing and his eyes were erratic.
How to choose.
The Minister of Revenue continued to persuade him, "The opportunity is right before your eyes, Lord Gu, don't miss it. If you miss this opportunity, you will most likely retire as the prefect of the capital for the rest of your life. Are you willing to accept this?"
Lord Gu is young and strong, and of course he is unwilling to see his official career come to an end.
He wanted to go further. Like countless other scholars, he wanted to become a general or a prime minister, to enter the imperial court, to become a high-ranking official, a close minister to the emperor. A single word could shake the capital.
It can be said that this is the dream of every scholar.
The Minister of Revenue placed the bait in front of Lord Gu, waiting for him to take the bait.
Seeing that the other party was still hesitating, he simply revealed the shocking news.
"I know what you're worried about. You're worried about offending Prince Ning and losing your place in the court. I can assure you, there's no need to worry. His Majesty has long been disgusted with the princes, using the analogy of pigs and dogs. Go to Prince Ning to pay your debts. Even if you offend him, you still have His Majesty as your backer. Even if the lawsuit comes before His Majesty, he will definitely stand by you."
Lord Gu was skeptical, "Really?"
"This is absolutely true. Even if you haven't witnessed it yourself, you've certainly heard about how His Majesty treats the other princes. From the Crown Prince down, no prince has ever been treated with any favor by His Majesty."
Lord Gu frowned, "Your Majesty hates the princes so much, then the Crown Prince..."
"We will not interfere with the Crown Prince's affairs. Don't worry, I have already arranged for someone else from the East Palace to pay off the outstanding debts."
Lord Gu breathed a sigh of relief.
The Minister of Revenue took the opportunity to hand him the document, "Master Gu, take it. This task belongs to you."
Lord Gu's scalp was tingling. The thin document was like a hot potato, and he felt like his hands were not his own.
"Old sir, if I can successfully pay off the debt owed by the Ning Palace, I beg you to spare my life and not assign me any more missions. I still want to live a few more years."
The Minister of Revenue said cheerfully, "Look at what you said, is it really that serious?"
Lord Gu nodded heavily, it would only be more serious than he said.
The Minister of Revenue promised him, "Don't worry. After clearing the arrears of Prince Ning's Mansion, I will arrange some easier work for you. I will fulfill my promise to you."
Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, a high-ranking official of the imperial court.
Lord Gu was moved.
He gritted his teeth and took on this difficult task.
This time, Lord Gu did not rashly take his men directly to the palace to ask for money.
The Haixi Marquis's Mansion is the Haixi Marquis's Mansion, and the Ning Wang Mansion is the Lin Wang Mansion.
These are completely different objects and the nature of the matter is also different.
He dared to break up with Haixi Bo, but he didn't dare to slap King Ning in the face.
He also wants to live a long life and doesn't want to die in an unclear manner one day.
After much deliberation, Lord Gu finally decided to target Gu Jiu.
He sent a housekeeper to the palace with a letter, saying that he had not seen her for a long time and missed her very much. If she had time, she might as well go home and visit.
After receiving the notification from the doorman, Gu Jiu asked someone to invite the butler Gu Quan to the flower hall in the east courtyard.
It was Gu Quan’s first time here and he was a little nervous.
It wasn't until I met Gu Jiu that I finally settled down.
"I pay my respects to the Madam."
"No need to be polite. My father asked you to come here. What's the matter?"
Gu Jiu didn't exchange pleasantries and asked straight to the point.
Gu Quan bowed and replied, "During the Chinese New Year, Madam was unable to return home for some reason, and Master was very sorry. Master hopes that Madam can return so that the family can be together and have a good time."
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "It's not a festival, so if I go back now, my family won't be able to gather together. Butler, you should tell me the truth. What is the purpose of the master sending you here?"
Gu Quan was embarrassed.
Gu Jiu understood.
She said, "I heard that a few days ago, my father and his guards blocked Haixi Bo's doorstep and successfully collected the 30,000 taels of debt. This 30,000 taels is the largest amount of debt the Ministry of Revenue has ever collected. My father's name has also caught the eye of His Majesty."
Gu Quan lowered his head. "Master has been busy with the Ministry of Revenue these days, and he's been exhausted every day. Thinking of Madam's wisdom and advice in the past, she will definitely be able to help Master resolve this difficulty this time."
Gu Jiu raised his eyebrows, "So, father is going to pay off the palace's debt next?"
Gu Quan was shocked and confused, "How could Madam know this?"
Gu Jiu smiled. "How this lady knew about this is not important. Let me ask you, father asked me to go back. Is it because he wants me to persuade the prince to take the money out and pay off the debt owed to the Ministry of Revenue?"
Gu Quan had no way to deny it and could only nod in agreement.
Gu Jiu bent his hands and tapped the table lightly.
One after another, the blows hit Gu Quan's heart, making him more and more nervous and uneasy.
Gu Jiu’s current status is not ordinary. She is the wife of the royal palace and has her own dignity.
Inside the flower hall, there seemed to be an invisible pressure, oppressing Gu Quan. Gu Quan's head lowered lower and lower, and he wanted to lie on the ground and surrender.
Gu Jiu smiled softly, "Go back and tell the master that there are many things to do in the mansion recently. I will go back to visit him when I have time.
As for the outstanding debts from the Ministry of Revenue, I will find an opportunity to raise this with His Majesty. Whether this will be successful or not, I cannot guarantee.
However, the methods used on Haixibo must never be used on the prince. Haixibo has dignity, and the prince has dignity. It depends on who is more shameless.
Gu Quan heaved a sigh of relief after hearing this, but then his heart began to lift again when he heard the last sentence.
He was speechless, unable to believe it, "Your Majesty, please don't..."
"The prince is indeed very shameless."
Gu Jiu helped Gu Quan and said what he had not said yet.
Gu Quan was terrified and looked around, fearing that these words would reach the ears of Prince Ning and everyone would be in trouble.
Gu Jiu waved his hand, "Don't be nervous. Not to mention that these words won't reach the prince's ears, even if they do, the prince won't do anything."
Prince Ning crossed the bottom line and became a reckless person. He didn't care what others thought of him.
Even though he knew that Gu Jiu was complaining that he was shameless, he would just scold him at most.
However, because Liu Zhao was still in the Zongzheng Temple at this time, the prince felt guilty and had to be more indulgent towards Gu Jiu.
Gu Quan breathed a sigh of relief.
Gu Jiu suddenly asked, "What's going on in Haixibo Mansion recently?"
"movement?"
Gu Jiu smiled. "Father forced Haixibo to pay thirty thousand taels. How could Haixibo and his people be polite to Gu Yue? No news came out? Didn't Gu Yue ask for help from our family?"
Gu Quan shook his head and said, "Madam, I haven't heard anything about Third Aunt these days. She hasn't sent anyone back to the mansion either."
Gu Jiu thought about it and thought that with Gu Yue's personality, either she couldn't leave the house, or she was planning something bad.
She instructed Gu Quan, "Remind the master and his wife that they should send someone to the Haixi Marquis's mansion to take a look."
She was worried that the Haixi Marquis' Mansion would kill Gu Yue, and she was also worried that Gu Yue would kill the people in the Haixi Marquis' Mansion.
No matter who kills whom, the consequences will be unimaginable.
It is not a good thing that both families are implicated because of her.
Gu Quan accepted the order and said that Gu Jiu was kind-hearted and would still care about Gu Yue's safety.
Gu Jiu didn't explain and asked Deng Cunli to send Gu Quan out.
After sitting in the flower hall for a while, Gu Jiu asked Nanny Fang, "Where is the princess now?"
"It should be in Chunhe Hall. The palace has just hired a few singers, and the princess is in high spirits and has asked them to sing. The two concubines and the beauties are also here."
It had only been a few days since things got quiet, and the princess was already interested in listening to people singing.
As for Liu Zhao who was imprisoned in the Zongzheng Temple, no one cared about him except her.
Poor Liu Zhao, he is having a miserable time.
She asked again, "Where is the prince?"
"The prince is in Bixi Pavilion, drinking and painting with several gentlemen."
The so-called gentlemen were all guests of the palace. Although they were called guests, they were actually the prince's advisors.
Since Prince Ning is drinking and painting with his advisers, it is not appropriate to go over there at this time.
She stood up and said, "Follow me to the council hall."
She originally wanted to go directly to the accounting office, think about it, and decide whether to take a roundabout way to get the real data.
If she rashly went to the accounting office to check the accounts, the people there would definitely not tell her the accounts.
After finishing all the New Year's affairs, Princess Pei did not assign any new tasks to Gu Jiu.
Therefore, she was very free during this period.
She is also happy to enjoy this leisure time and does not want to take on any work for the time being.
It won't be too late for her to seize power after Liu Zhao is released from prison and has a clear understanding of the situation.
On the other hand, Ouyang Fu and Xiao Qin'er spend a lot of time in the meeting hall every day, dealing with various trivial household chores.
But the two of them enjoyed it.
This is the right.
As long as you have power in your hands, no matter how hard or tiring the work is, you will not feel it is hard or tiring, but instead feel very proud.
So, when Gu Jiu stepped into the meeting hall, Xiao Qin'er acted proudly.
"Why are you here, sister-in-law? You haven't been here for a long time, right? You are a rare guest."
Gu Jiu raised an eyebrow and smiled, "As the eldest daughter-in-law of the royal family, do I need to report to my fourth brother's wife where and when I want to go?"
Xiao Qin'er covered her lips and smiled, "Sister-in-law is just being stubborn. Why don't you go and ask Mother for help? Seeing your respectful attitude, Mother might even assign you some errands if she's happy."
Gu Jiu suddenly realized, "So Fourth Brother's wife begged for her job? Sorry, I never like to ask for help when I do things."
Xiao Qin'er curled her lips in disdain.
Gu Jiu is just being stubborn and even has the audacity to say that he never likes to ask for help from others.
Humph, one day, you will need help from others.
Gu Jiu found the palace steward and said, "The first month of the year has passed. Shouldn't we settle the expenses during the New Year period?"
The housekeeper nodded and said, "I was just looking for someone to make an account book."
Gu Jiu said, "I was responsible for this matter in the beginning. As the saying goes, a good beginning and a good end, the account settlement will still be done by me. Finally, it will be up to you, the adults, to check for any omissions and fill in the gaps."
"Will this be too tiring, ma'am?"
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "It's not hard. Things should be done from beginning to end. Lord Jialing doesn't need to worry about me."
The palace steward was very busy and lacked manpower. He was more than happy to have Gu Jiu willing to help share the burden.
A pile of account books were placed in front of Gu Jiu.
Gu Jiu took out the abacus and started to calculate the accounts without distraction.
I was so busy that I stayed busy until dark.
Not only did she calculate all the accounts during the New Year period, she also shared the burden with Ouyang Fu and helped to check the accounts.
Relying on this local account book, Gu Jiu sorted out the details and calculated the monthly expenses and annual surplus of the palace.
According to her estimation, there should be no less than 40,000 taels of silver in the palace's accounting office.
According to the rules of previous years, these deposits will be used to make money.
However, this year, the situation took a sharp turn for the worse at the beginning of the year, and too many things happened in just two months.
Neither Prince Ning nor Princess Pei dared to invest the money at this time, for fear of being targeted by the palace.
But Gu Jiu has already set his eyes on the money.
It's already dark today, it's too late.
Tomorrow, she would have to find Prince Ning and Princess Pei to discuss Liu Zhao's treatment.
Gu Jiu handed the account book back to the governor, and then left the meeting hall with his men.
Xiao Qiner stretched lazily, looked at Gu Jiu's back, snorted, and muttered, "Pretentious."
Ouyang Fu advised: "Fourth sister-in-law, please be polite when you see your eldest sister-in-law."
Xiao Qin'er smiled contemptuously, "Why should we be polite to her? Second sister-in-law, if you want to curry favor with her, don't drag me into it."
Ouyang Fu frowned slightly, "Sister-in-law is a good person, you have a prejudice against her."
"You're right. I have a prejudice against her. So you don't have to persuade me."
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