Gu Jiu came to Chunhe Hall, paid his respects and sat at the lower seat.
Pei's face was as gloomy as water. "You are so hard to please! People who don't know you would think you are the master of the palace. This princess has to stand aside in front of you."
Gu Jiu blinked, "Who made mother so angry?"
"Who else could it be but you? Gu Jiu, don't act stupid in front of this princess."
Gu Jiu lowered her head and smiled, "Mother, please calm down. I'm not playing dumb. I'm just confused. Are you angry because there are rumors slandering me and damaging the reputation of the palace? Or are you dissatisfied with me and think I'm the person described in the rumors?"
"It's really rare. You also know that because of you, there are rumors flying everywhere." Pei smiled sarcastically.
Gu Jiu raised an eyebrow, "Mother hasn't told me why she's angry yet?"
Pei snorted coldly, "What's the difference?"
Gu Jiu said as a matter of course: "Of course there is a difference. If it is the former, I am grateful to my mother for standing up for me. If it is the latter, I have no choice but to make a few arguments to clear up the misunderstanding."
Pei smiled coldly, "You are quite shameless. This princess asks you, is it true that you were kidnapped and imprisoned?"
“Of course it’s true.”
Pei's face fell. "What else can I say? You've ruined your reputation. Not only your own, but also Liu Zhao and the palace's reputation."
Do you know how harsh the talk is these days? Liu Zhao will be pointed at wherever he goes.
The situation is so serious, yet you stay in the East Courtyard all day without leaving your room. Do you think that if you don't come out, the problem will be solved? This princess tells you, no way!
Gu Jiu smiled faintly and was not angry because of Pei's attitude.
She said softly, "I don't think that the problem can be solved if I don't come out. I came to see my mother with the intention of solving the problem."
Pei chuckled twice. "That's nice of you to say. You said you wanted to resolve the problem, but I want to ask you, how do you want to resolve it? Do you want to ask to be divorced? If you have this awareness, I would like to sincerely praise you for your decisiveness. If not, then please stop using sweet words and nonsense in front of me."
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "Just now, Mother mentioned the young master, saying that wherever he goes, people point fingers at him. Is this true?"
"How can such a thing be false? Do you think that this princess is lying to you?" Pei was dissatisfied, and her eyes were filled with cruelty as she stared at Gu Jiu.
Gu Jiu shook her head. "Mother, you misunderstood. I haven't been out lately. I just wanted to verify something. Mother, have you ever thought that if I clear my name and leave the marriage, the green hat on the young master's head will be firmly fixed and can never be removed. Then it will be like yellow mud dripping down your crotch."
At this point, Gu Jiu smiled softly, "It's not shi, but it is shi."
"You..." Pei obviously didn't expect Gu Jiu to speak so vulgarly.
Gu Jiu interrupted her and continued, "Only if the palace steps in to curb the rumors and catch one or two examples of them can these rumors gradually disappear."
Pei sneered, "Do you think that if you do this, others won't laugh at Liu Zhao? How naive!"
Gu Jiu lowered his head and smiled, "Is Liu Zhao afraid of being laughed at? He has always been a fearless person. If someone dares to laugh at him in front of him, he will have his own way to embarrass the other person.
Of course, what the mother said made sense. Even if the palace stepped in to curb the rumors, it couldn't completely eliminate them. Those who didn't believe it would still not believe it.
But there will always be some people who, because of the palace's position, will think carefully and try to figure out the truth of the matter.
With the palace stepping in, others inevitably think that only after confirming that nothing happened can the palace intervene to curb the rumors. This has helped win back some people.
The rest of the people were half-believing, half-doubting. After a while, when the storm had died down, I'd take my brother out for a drink and appear before everyone openly and honestly. Then even those half-believing, half-doubting people would have to side with me.
After all, if ordinary people encountered something like this, even if they were innocent, they wouldn't be able to face the scrutiny of others as calmly as I did. When faced with rumors, the only way is to be open and honest."
Pei sneered, "You have a nice idea."
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "Don't forget, mother. I am the eldest daughter-in-law of the prince's mansion. My reputation also represents the reputation of the prince's mansion. Now is a critical moment, and the court is discussing the selection of the crown prince. Are you sure you want to allow rumors to slander the prince's mansion? Aren't you afraid that it will affect the prince's reputation and, in turn, his impression in the eyes of the court officials?"
Pei's face darkened. "Divorce you, and everything will be over."
Gu Jiu lowered his head and smiled, "Even if I want to divorce my wife, mother, are you sure it's in time? If I remember correctly, the grand court meeting will be in five days.
I don't believe that five days plus a divorce will quell the rumors in the capital. With the divorce, the rumors will only spread and intensify, which is completely contrary to what my mother originally thought."
Pei narrowed her eyes slightly.
It was the first time she had seen a woman divorce her wife over a matter that affected her future, and she had spoken so calmly and discussed it with reason and evidence.
Do you really not care, or are you confident?
"From what I see, you don't seem to care whether you are divorced or not."
Gu Jiu pursed his lips and smiled, "Because my daughter-in-law knows that divorcing her is the worst option, and Liu Zhao would never do such a thing. The prince would not allow him to do so either."
"Why do you say divorcing your wife is the worst option?"
Gu Jiu spread his hands, "Isn't this obvious? Divorce his wife, and Liu Zhao will be cuckolded forever. We can live in harmony for the rest of our lives, and then give Yu Ge'er a brother or sister tomorrow, which will make the rumors self-defeating."
"You're really dreaming! How big is Liu Zhao's heart to repeatedly protect you and even want to have children with you."
Pei was almost angry to death.
Gu Jiu frankly asked, "Where can mother find a daughter-in-law as capable as me?"
Pei was about to refute this, she was very unconvinced, "You are capable? You are jealous and you won't even let Liu Zhao take a concubine. How can you call that capable? I don't see anything you are capable of."
Gu Jiu smiled calmly, "Liu Zhao's expenses this year, as of today, total 135,322.5 taels of silver. 35,000 taels have been withdrawn from the public account. The remaining 100,000 taels were all provided by a jealous woman like me."
By the way, of the 100,000 taels, 70,000 to 80,000 taels were spent on errands related to the palace. For example, this time, in order to ensure that the prince could return to the capital on time, at least 40,000 to 50,000 taels of silver were burned, and the public treasury did not spend a penny.
The guards need to receive rewards when they go on missions, and with the money for settling in, it is a considerable expense.
Since my mother dislikes me so much, why not ask the accountant to pay me back the money Liu Zhao owes me first? Then, I'll write a divorce letter and I'll move out of the palace immediately with my dowry and servants."
"You, you are simply ridiculous!"
Pei was completely unable to understand Gu Jiu's train of thought.
A woman who is not ashamed of being divorced seems to be looking forward to it.
"Do you know that a divorced woman can never hold her head up high for the rest of her life?"
"Really? My daughter-in-law doesn't know. Anyway, my son is General Fengguo, and I am General Fengguo's mother. And I earned this title for Yu Ge'er, without any influence from the palace. Plus, I have money, so I can live comfortably after being divorced. I don't think I will be embarrassed."
After saying this, Gu Jiu grinned at Pei, his smile exceptionally bright.
Pei was blinded by her smile and felt very upset.
"Do you have any sense of shame?"
Gu Jiu said frankly, "My daughter-in-law didn't do anything shameless, why should she feel ashamed?"
Pei's eyes were sharp. "You said you spent 100,000 taels on Liu Zhao. Do you have any evidence? Where did you get so much money?"
Gu Jiu laughed. "I have receipts for every expenditure, with signatures and seals on them. They can't be faked. As for why I have so much money, mother, do you really not know? Just one project outside the South City Gate has invested three or four million taels. Do you think I can be without money?"
"What? You actually invested three or four million taels? Where did you get so much money?" Pei was obviously stunned by the number that Gu Jiu blurted out.
Not to mention three or four million taels, even if it was three or four hundred thousand taels, the Pei family would be shocked, okay?
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "Of course, I borrowed this much money from the Shaofu Bank. I have so much money in my hand, and if I can just slip a little through my fingers, I can easily come up with 200,000 or 300,000 taels, let alone 100,000 taels. If mother doesn't believe me, you can send someone to the Shaofu Bank to ask how much I borrowed."
“You, you…”
Pei was breathing rapidly, her face was pale, and she was greatly shocked.
"You borrowed so much money from the Shaofu. How are you going to pay it back? Can you afford it?"
Gu Jiu said casually: "As long as the project outside the South City Gate continues, I can afford it. So even if I am dismissed, the Shaofu will support me.
Because I was the largest customer of the Shaofu Bank, they were reluctant to let me go bankrupt. Not only did they not let me go bankrupt, but they also lent me more money to allow me to continue the Nanchengmenwai project.
If you don't believe me, please ask Liu Zhao to write a letter of divorce, and come back in six months to see how I'm doing."
"Ridiculous! Absolutely ridiculous!"
Pei didn't understand finance, and didn't know what kind of magic potion the people from the Shaofu had been fed, but she subconsciously believed that what Gu Jiu said must be true.
The Shaofu will definitely support her.
In just a few years, Gu Jiu moved around and, using the title of Madam Zhao and various money-burning projects, built a huge network of relationships in the capital.
This network of relationships is no longer entirely supported by the palace.
Even if she left the palace, some people in her network would leave, but there would also be a group of people who would choose to stay.
Gu Jiu alone can continue to operate this network of relationships.
Because Gu Jiu also has a son, Liu Yu.
Liu Yu's title was earned by Gu Jiu collecting money for the emperor.
If she could win a title for Liu Yu, she could win an imperial decree for herself, and maybe she could even win a title for Liu Yu a second time.
Gu Jiu already has the confidence and capital to be arrogant.
No wonder she remained so calm in the face of rumors.
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