Gu Jiu has been very depressed these days.
The emperor wanted to set up Xinmin County outside the south city gate, and Gu Jiu fully supported it.
There were more and more people outside the South City Gate, and her guard team alone was seriously insufficient in number of personnel.
If an accident occurs, officials will not be able to arrive in time.
But the Minister of Revenue happened to cause trouble for her.
The Ministry of Revenue wanted to collect taxes at the market outside the South City Gate, and she had no objection, as it was only a matter of time.
However, in addition to collecting taxes, the Ministry of Revenue also wanted to take the opportunity to interfere in the management of the market, but Gu Jiu firmly opposed it.
"The tax collectors at the Ministry of Revenue are only responsible for collecting taxes. The market management office will take care of other matters. If they can't handle it properly, it won't be too late to ask the government to intervene."
"There's no precedent for this. All markets in the capital are under the jurisdiction of the government. With the establishment of Xinmin County, the market outside the South City Gate will, as usual, be under the jurisdiction of the government."
hehe!
Gu Jiu disagreed. "I understand that the Minister wants to send someone to take over the South City Gate Market. But I doubt the integrity of the government officials. The reason the South City Gate Market has been able to develop is because it has never relied on government management. It has never relied on government management, and it will not rely on government management in the future."
"Madam Zhao, are you trying to put yourself above the law?"
Gu Jiu raised an eyebrow and smiled, "Sir, do you want to collect taxes? Do you want to collect a lot of taxes? If you send people to manage the market, are you sure you can collect more taxes than you do now? Are you sure the people below won't do anything to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs?"
The Minister of Revenue snorted, "Madam Zhao, please don't think the tax officials are so filthy."
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "Your Excellency is still strong and healthy at this age. Barring any unexpected events, you can still work for another ten or twenty years. Have you ever thought about going further? Xinmin County is the cornerstone of your advancement. Are you sure you want to destroy this cornerstone?"
"It's not as serious as you say."
Gu Jiu said, "Whether it's as serious as I said, you know it better than anyone else. My people are in charge of the market, and we are hoping that the market will become more and more prosperous and that more and more merchants will come to Xinmin County to do business.
The people in charge of the market at the Ministry of Revenue are hoping to make a little more money this month than last. They don't care whether the market is busy or not. There's nothing to do here anyway, so at worst they can find work elsewhere. If the market collapses, it won't affect their salaries.
The Minister of Revenue frowned, "Do you really not trust the government officials?"
"Your Excellency has misunderstood me. If I didn't trust the government, why would I cooperate with it? I simply don't trust the people working there. Instead of the Ministry of Revenue sending people to manage the market, why don't I send people to manage it, and the tax officials of the Ministry of Revenue can just collect taxes."
"You just don't want to hand over power." The Minister of Revenue revealed the truth in one sentence.
Gu Jiu smiled softly and did not deny it. "Outside the South City Gate, it will take at least another five or ten years to build. During these ten years, I hope that the area outside the South City Gate can be under my control without any constraints.
Ten years from now, when the area outside the South City Gate has taken shape, I will voluntarily hand over management rights to the government without your reminder."
The Minister of Revenue frowned, "Ten years?"
"Ten years seems too short to me. How about you allow me to run the business for thirty to fifty years?"
"snort!"
The Minister of Revenue waved his hand, "Only ten years, not even a day more."
Gu Jiu smiled happily, "Then it's settled. Please give me a piece of paper, so that I can have a legal basis."
"You don't trust me?"
"Your Excellency, you're joking. How could I not trust you? I'm just doing this as a precaution. As the saying goes, if the name is not right, the words will not flow. Only when the name is right can the words flow. When we do things, we must pay attention to the source."
"You're such a talker! I can't even beat you. Well, I'll just give you a piece of paper."
The Minister of Revenue compromised.
Gu Jiu was satisfied. He took the official document, said thank you and was about to leave.
When I came out of the signing room, I saw Gu Yu guarding the door.
"Brother Gu! Why didn't you tell me you were here? Let's go out and find a place to talk."
Gu Jiu was in a good mood and smiled brightly when he saw Gu Yu.
Gu Yu was also in high spirits, so he followed Gu Jiu out of the Ministry of Revenue and asked for a private room in the teahouse.
"Congratulations to Fourth Brother Gu on becoming the first county magistrate of Xinmin County."
Gu Yu immediately stood up and bowed to express his gratitude.
Gu Jiu quickly dodged, "What are you doing, Fourth Brother Gu?"
"Although Sister Xiaojiu didn't say it, I also know that with my qualifications, I was able to serve as the county magistrate of Xinmin County. Sister Xiaojiu must have made great efforts. Otherwise, such a good opportunity would never have come to me."
Gu Yu saw it clearly.
Gu Jiu laughed, "Brother Gu, don't be polite with me. Sit down and talk first. I admit that I did contribute a little to this matter. But I also have selfish motives.
I hope that after Fourth Brother Gu becomes the magistrate of Xinmin County, he can lead everyone in the county government to fully cooperate with my plan.
In addition, I have a few people on hand who I would like to arrange to work as minor clerks in the county government. I would like to ask Fourth Brother Gu to help me."
Gu Yu smiled and said, "Don't worry, Xiaojiu sister, just report your people. I can still arrange a few minor officials. It's no problem to cooperate with your plan.
I think the people above agreed to place me in the position of Xinmin County Magistrate because they hope I can fully cooperate with you to resettle more refugees and develop Xinmin County."
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "Fourth Brother Gu is indeed very insightful. Construction on your county government office won't begin until after the New Year. During this time, if you have time, you might as well work in the public housing in the market. The tax officer from the Ministry of Revenue is also there."
Fourth Brother Gu will have to deal with the tax officials frequently in the future, so take this opportunity to build a good relationship with them. Once the county government is established, both sides will be able to cooperate better."
Gu Yu nodded, "Sister Xiaojiu is really thoughtful. I've been free lately. Starting tomorrow, I will go to the market every day to work, just to get to know the situation in Xinmin County in advance."
Gu Jiu laughed and said, "When Fourth Brother Gu takes office, I will give you something good."
"What?" Gu Yu was curious.
Gu Jiu didn't keep the question secret and said directly, "Xinmin County population, tax, and land register."
Gu Yu was overjoyed. This booklet was more valuable than any other gift. It meant that before he officially took office, he had already grasped the basic situation of Xinmin County. In the future, anyone who wanted to deceive him would have to consider whether they had the ability to do so.
"Thank you, Sister Xiaojiu."
Gu Yu thanked him solemnly.
Gu Jiu pursed his lips and smiled, "Fourth Brother Gu is good in everything, but he is too polite in front of his family."
Gu Yu smiled embarrassedly.
After discussing the business, Gu Jiu asked about family matters.
"How is my father these days?"
"My lord, you're fine. You just can't stand the loneliness. But you have to observe the mourning period, so you can only stay in the mansion all day and can't go out for the time being."
Mr. Gu's mourning period has not yet passed, and he has to arrange Gu Shan's wedding. It is indeed not easy for Mr. Gu to go out and meet friends during this period, as it would be too conspicuous.
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "My father deserves to be tortured."
Over the past few years, Master Gu's overall fortune has been very smooth. Because of this smoothness, Master Gu has become less cautious and more arrogant.
It would be a good idea to temper his temper while he is in mourning.
Gu Yu pondered for a moment and said, "I wonder if the master has written to you."
"What's the matter?" Gu Jiu had received letters from Lord Gu during this period, and the letters were all about family matters.
Gu Yu guessed that Master Gu was too embarrassed to say it directly in the letter, so he mentioned it vaguely, "Because of the Cai family's affairs, Master is a little worried. As a relative of the royal family, I'm afraid he feels the same way."
Gu Jiu was stunned at first, then he started laughing.
"I didn't know he was so guilty. The Cai family case actually frightened him."
Gu Yu coughed lightly and said, "When you are in the officialdom, there will always be times when you can't control your own affairs."
Gu Jiu smiled knowingly, "Don't worry about his guilty conscience. It's better to scare him with the Cai family."
"The Cai family case?" Gu Yu asked in a low voice.
Gu Jiu shook his head. "It will take a while to find out. The earliest we can get any news is next spring."
"So the Cai family is in great danger this time?"
Gu Jiu nodded, "About the same."
It is because more and more witnesses and evidence have emerged that this case has been delayed again and again.
Prince Ning was determined to make the Cai family case an ironclad case, preventing anyone from overturning it. Therefore, he put a lot of effort into collecting evidence.
Prince Ning did not want his case to be overturned in a few years due to insufficient evidence, which would slap him in the face.
But after all, it was a case that happened twenty years ago, so evidence is not that easy to collect.
Fortunately, Prince Ning is patient. Even if the case takes one or two years to try, it doesn't matter, as long as it can be turned into a solid case.
All the adult male members of the Cai family, except for one or two scholars, were imprisoned.
The women and children were confined to the house and were not allowed to go out. Only servants were allowed to go out to buy food and utensils.
The Cai family was in turmoil, with people flattering the powerful and bullying the weak, and even former relatives and old friends all distanced themselves from the Cai family.
The third wife, Mrs. Cai, did go back to her parents' home, but was scolded by her family.
If it weren't for Aunt Xu who poisoned someone beside her, how could the case from twenty years ago be dug up?
In the eyes of the Cai family, the third wife, Mrs. Cai, is the sinner and jinx of the Cai family.
As the Third Young Master's health gradually improved, Princess Pei arranged for him to have two good concubines. Both were lovely ladies from the palace, with good family backgrounds, good character and good looks.
When Gu Jiu returned to the palace and got off the carriage at the second gate, he heard the doorwoman mention this fresh gossip.
Gu Jiu asked the old woman, "Has the person been sent to the third room?"
"They have been sent. I went to see them. They are very pretty, even more beautiful than the Third Madam. I also heard that these two used to work in Changchun Palace and served the Empress Shufei."
Gu Jiu laughed, "It's respectable to have served the Concubine Shu."
"Who says it isn't? Everyone in the mansion is talking about it. I'm afraid that things will change soon in the third house, and these two new concubines will be in charge."
Gu Jiu shook his head and returned to the East Courtyard first.
After a while, Fourth Madam Xiao Qin'er went to the East Courtyard to chat with Gu Jiu.
As for the Second Madam Ouyang Fu, she went to another courtyard to recuperate and would probably not be back until New Year's Eve.
Xiao Qin'er has been interested in getting to know Gu Jiu recently and has been in frequent contact with him.
Gu Jiu is a person who is easy to talk to, but also difficult to talk to.
As long as Xiao Qin'er doesn't show off in front of her and talk nonsense, she doesn't mind Xiao Qin'er coming over to sit and chat about gossip in various prefectures in the capital.
After all, although Gu Jiu disliked Xiao Qin'er, he didn't hate her that much. They could still chat.
Xiao Qin'er entered the small study, leaned on the soft couch, and sank her whole body into it, feeling very comfortable.
On the low table were teacups, pine nuts, melon seeds, peanuts, cakes and other snacks.
Xiao Qin'er was cracking melon seeds and chatting with Gu Jiu.
"My mother sent someone to send the two concubines to the third room, and my third sister-in-law burst into tears in front of the third young master."
"Crying?" Gu Jiu was surprised.
Xiao Qin'er laughed. "Eldest sister-in-law is also surprised, isn't she? Third sister-in-law once threatened to hang herself. She seemed to be a very strong-willed person. Now I don't know what's wrong with her. She cries at the slightest provocation."
Gu Jiu asked, "The Third Young Master's wife cried. What was his reaction?"
Xiao Qin'er smiled, "What kind of reaction could there be? He almost lost his life because of the Third Sister-in-law's dowry. It's already the most righteous thing for him not to bear any grudge against her. How could he drive his beautiful concubine away just because she cried? Besides, the Third Young Master is already quite old, but he has no children. I think he must be very anxious."
Gu Jiu asked, "Is my third sister-in-law's health still not well? Did the imperial physician tell me if she can have children?"
Xiao Qin'er shook her head. "Third sister-in-law's health can be taken care of, but I'm afraid she'll have trouble giving birth. After all, she's been poisoned for so many years."
If the Third Madam Cai has difficulty in giving birth, the Third Young Master will probably not be spared either.
The third young master wants to have a child, but it won’t happen in a short time.
You have to raise it for at least one or two years.
"The second young master has calmed down recently and spends the whole day accompanying the second sister-in-law in the villa to recuperate." After Xiao Qin'er finished speaking, she laughed to herself.
Gu Jiu said: "They want a legitimate son, so they should put more effort into it."
"But the Second Young Master's concubine has been diagnosed as being three months pregnant. If she gives birth to a illegitimate son, the Second House will be in turmoil."
Xiao Qin'er felt a little gloating.
Being the eldest son of a concubine is the way to bring disaster upon yourself.
It’s not like Ouyang Fu is infertile.
If you can give birth to a legitimate eldest daughter, you can naturally give birth to a legitimate eldest son.
It’s a pity that the second young master was too anxious before and was eager to let his concubine get pregnant before Ouyang Fu.
If the second wife gave birth to a illegitimate son, Prince Ning would definitely be unhappy.
Therefore, Xiao Qin'er felt a bit gloating towards the second wife and her husband, hoping that the second wife's concubine would give birth to a son.
Although Prince Ning was not afraid of women and even spent a fortune on brothels and kept dozens of women in his backyard, he still cared a lot about his legitimate and illegitimate children.
In the first few years after Prince Ning married Pei, he was very restrained.
It was not until Pei gave birth to a legitimate son that Prince Ning began to have affairs again.
This resulted in many illegitimate sons and daughters.
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "If a bastard son is really born, there's nothing we can do about it. You reap what you sow."
The second young master had been longing for a son for several years, so naturally he would not abort the child in his concubine's womb.
Even if Ouyang Fu didn't get pregnant, or if she did get pregnant and gave birth to a daughter, at least he would have a son.
Nowadays, there is always a difference between having a son and not having a son.
Xiao Qin'er drank three cups of tea and ate a plate of melon seeds and a plate of pine nuts at Gu Jiu's place. Because she was thinking about her elder brother, she finally said goodbye reluctantly and left.
Gu Jiu asked Nanny Fang to see her out.
The little maid came in to clear the table.
Qingmei waited on Gu Jiu and asked, "Could it be that the Fourth Madam has changed her personality recently, coming to our East Courtyard every few days?"
"If she wants to come, let her come. As long as she doesn't say anything unpleasant." Gu Jiu's attitude was very straightforward.
As long as Xiao Qin'er doesn't show her bad temper, we can still get along with her.
She is the daughter of the Xiao family and is well-informed.
She knew a lot of gossip about wealthy families.
Just like when Princess Fu Ya was looking for a marriage partner for her son Huang Qubing, it was Xiao Qin'er who first told Gu Jiu.
Princess Fuya has taken a fancy to Liu Huan, the third daughter of Prince Ning's mansion, but she is worried that Prince Ning will not agree to the marriage.
So he wanted to ask someone to first ask Prince Ning and Mrs. Pei what they thought.
If there is no objection, the two families will look at each other.
If you object, you can save the step of seeing each other.
Princess Fu Ya thought about it and found that Princess Huyang was the most suitable person to do this.
However, there were many dirty things between her and Princess Huyang, and Princess Huyang had even set her sights on Prince Huang, which made Princess Fuya feel very uncomfortable.
Princess Fu Ya compromised only for the sake of her son's marriage.
She sent someone to treat Princess Huyang to a meal and gave her some benefits, and Princess Huyang agreed to help her find out the intentions of Prince Ning and Mrs. Pei.
On this day, Princess Huyang dressed up and came to Prince Ning's mansion.
As usual, I went to Chunhe Hall to meet Mrs. Pei first.
Pei was in a good mood. She was about to take over the Weiyang Palace and liked everyone she saw.
Even Princess Huyang seemed more pleasing to his eyes than usual.
Of course, pleasing someone doesn’t mean you have to speak to them in a friendly manner.
Pei took the initiative and said, "It's still half a month before the New Year. What are you doing here? You want to ask for money, but the palace has no money to give you. The prince alone has spent a lot of money this year, and he still hasn't made up for the losses."
Princess Huyang glanced at Pei and said, "Sister-in-law, you underestimate me. I'm not here to ask for money, I'm here to act as a matchmaker."
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