When Gu Jiu left the palace, he met Princess Huyang.
Princess Huyang came out from Empress Dowager Xiao, her eyes still red.
Was this a cry?
"What's wrong, aunt?"
"My nephew's wife, I am suffering!"
When Princess Huyang saw Gu Jiu, she cried as if her parents had died and held her hand.
Gu Jiu frowned. In order to prevent more people from watching the show, he had no choice but to take Princess Huyang into the carriage first.
The carriage started slowly, moved forward, and circled around the capital.
Princess Huyang held a handkerchief and cried, looking very sad.
"Who has displeased my aunt? Tell me and I will ask His Majesty to help you."
"Hmph! It's my royal brother who makes me unhappy." Princess Huyang looked unhappy and almost mad to death.
Without waiting for Gu Jiu to ask her, she continued, "My brother has been on the throne for three months. My nephew's wife, what do you think my title is now?"
Gu Jiu suddenly understood.
Princess Huyang is making a fuss about the title.
Princess Huyang was the half-sister of Emperor Wende.
Since Emperor Wende ascended the throne, she has been looking forward to him conferring upon her the title of princess, grand princess, or even eldest princess.
Anyway, as long as she can be crowned a princess, she won't mind.
However, several months after Emperor Wende ascended the throne and summer arrived, Princess Huyang still held the title of Princess.
It seems that Emperor Wende had no intention of making Huyang a princess.
Hu Yang felt so aggrieved that he went to the palace every few days to cry to Empress Dowager Xiao and act pitiful to gain sympathy.
Empress Dowager Xiao truly felt sorry for Princess Huyang and was wholeheartedly thinking about Huyang.
He also personally inquired about the matter of conferring titles and had a conversation with Emperor Wende.
When facing his mother and sister, Emperor Wende just laughed it off and gave them a perfunctory response.
Sometimes they said the treasury was empty, and sometimes they said the Shaofu no longer had a mansion worthy of the princess's title.
In the end, it all comes down to one thing: no title.
Emperor Wende was exactly the same as the previous emperor. Not only was he obsessed with money, but he was also very stingy in granting titles to members of the royal family.
In the eyes of Emperor Wende, granting a title meant spending a lot of money.
There is no benefit at all except raising a group of unproductive playboys.
Emperor Wende preferred to confer titles on his meritorious ministers rather than on his royal relatives.
Meritorious officials can at least contribute to the court.
The royal family members cannot shine, they only consume money and food.
Especially Huyang, if her princess title is restored, with her pomp and circumstance, haha, three hundred thousand taels a year will not be enough for her expenses alone.
By then, there is a high probability that Hu Yang will go to the palace to beg for money.
Emperor Wende was thinking, Huyang came to the palace to ask for money, should he give him money or not?
After all, she is my biological sister, so I have to give her something.
Emperor Wende immediately became unhappy when he thought about the money flowing out like water and still having to satisfy Huyang.
It is obvious that Emperor Wende, after becoming emperor, was twice as stingy as when he was a prince. No, he was ten times more stingy.
Emperor Wende and the previous emperor were indeed father and son. Their thinking was the same, their stinginess the same; the only difference was their methods of doing things.
Princess Huyang sobbed and cried as she spoke, finally making the matter clear.
"I am his biological sister. All the other sisters are princesses, but I am the only one who is a princess. Do I still have any dignity left? I am too embarrassed to go out and see people. Woo woo..."
Princess Huyang complained a lot, feeling very aggrieved.
Gu Jiu was speechless.
She thought for a moment and said, "Your Highnesses, the princes are still crowded in Prince Ning's mansion and have not been granted any titles."
Compared to Princess Huyang who lives alone, at least she has a princess's mansion. The princes' situation is that they can just die.
"How can they be the same? They are both princes, and it is only a matter of time before they are granted a title. Woohoo, my brother must be fed up with me. After becoming emperor, he has become so heartless and ruthless."
"Aunt, be careful with your words. Be careful not to let this get to His Majesty."
"I'm not afraid. I said so to his face. I'm his biological sister, yet he refused to crown me a princess. How can there be any brotherly love? My mother pleaded for me, but he refused to relent and was just perfunctory. Am I his favorite sister? My eldest nephew's wife, I have a miserable life!"
Princess Huyang lay in Gu Jiu's arms, crying loudly.
Gu Jiu was very depressed.
It was a hot day, crowded together, and it was really hot. She was sweating.
Princess Huyang didn't feel hot, but she felt wronged and sad.
"I will not live any longer, I will not live any longer."
Hu Yang's tone was full of complaints and distress.
Gu Jiu helped her up and said, "Your Majesty is telling the truth. The national treasury is indeed out of money."
"The national treasury has no money, so does the Shaofu have no money either? The Shaofu Bank's business is so brisk, how could it be without money? Just give some money, and this princess' title and salary will be solved."
Gu Jiu asked curiously, "Did my aunt tell His Majesty about this?"
Princess Huyang nodded. "He did. He has no conscience. He scolded me and told me not to have any ideas about the Shaofu. He also said that he would issue an order to the Shaofu, not allowing me to set foot in the Shaofu even once."
Gu Jiu was at a loss whether to laugh or cry when he heard this.
Emperor Wende was clearly on all-around defense against Princess Huyang, with no blind spots.
It seems that Emperor Wende was frightened by Princess Huyang's extortion in the past.
However, Emperor Wende's stinginess was beyond Gu Jiu's expectations.
He is so stingy. Is it really good for an emperor to be obsessed with money?
Gu Jiu looked at Princess Huyang. Was Princess Huyang's current situation her own fault?
Forget it, she'd better not reveal the truth to avoid hurting Hu Yang.
"Aunt, please be at ease. Wait for six months or a year until the treasury has a surplus, then you can ask His Majesty for help. Then His Majesty might agree to confer the title of princess upon you and build you a grand princess palace."
"Really? Is my brother really that generous?"
There were still tears in the corners of Princess Huyang's eyes, and her eyes were shining as she stared at Gu Jiu.
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "Aunt, please wait patiently and don't offend His Majesty. His Majesty is His Majesty, first His Majesty, and then your brother."
"Oh, I understand the truth. I just feel wronged."
Gu Jiu pursed her lips and smiled, "Aunt, don't feel wronged. I have a very profitable business here, and I have reserved a position for you. Are you interested?"
Princess Huyang's eyes lit up, and she no longer felt aggrieved.
She hurriedly asked, "Is Dingding really making money?"
“Of course it makes money.”
"Hahaha, I believe you. How much money do you need to invest? I'll have someone send it over tomorrow."
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "There's no rush for this matter. We still need to do some preparatory work in the early stages."
Building a road is such a big thing, and setting up toll booths is also necessary, so it must be brought to the court for discussion.
She just had to wait for the Minister of Revenue and the Minister of Household Affairs to join forces with the court officials to build momentum for her so that she could pass smoothly.
Then she wanted to take the opportunity to make some noise and raise money for road construction.
All the little bits and pieces add up to a lot.
Let’s finish the preparatory work first, then talk about road construction.
After sending Hu Yang back to the Princess's Mansion, Gu Jiu returned to the Prince's Mansion.
On the surface, the palace is still the same palace as before, but the inside is different.
In the past, Empress Pei and Emperor Wende both lived in the palace.
Inside and outside the palace, they were the leaders.
Now that the two of them were living in the palace, there were gradually signs of each doing its own thing in the palace.
The servants eagerly chose their camps.
He was with the first wife, she was with the second wife, the maid was with the third wife, and the servant was with the fourth wife...
Even a small kitchen seems to be divided into several factions.
In short, it’s a mess!
However, has anyone ever thought about intervening to discipline the servants and change this situation?
Because it is only a matter of time before the brothers split up.
Now, it is only because the national treasury is empty that the brothers have to continue living under the same roof.
As princes, you naturally have to plan early and seize the time to develop your own strength.
Gu Jiu got off the carriage at the second gate and casually asked the gatekeeper, "Is there anything going on in the mansion today?"
The concierge looked a little strange, but then she started laughing again. "The eldest lady is back. There's nothing going on in the mansion today, everyone is very quiet."
"yes?"
Gu Jiu smiled knowingly. Whose wife is this concierge?
It seems to be someone from the fourth room.
Gu Jiu said to the concierge, "When you see the Fourth Madam, please give her a greeting for me."
The concierge looked flustered and said, "Madam, you are joking. I am not a person of high status, so how can I be qualified to deliver a message on your behalf?"
"It's okay." Gu Jiu took his men back to the East Courtyard.
As soon as they entered the East Courtyard, Qingmei started nagging, "If this continues, the palace will be in chaos. Look at those people, each one of them is only thinking about working for their master, and they don't even take the lady seriously."
Gu Jiu didn't care at all. "The palace is in chaos, so don't worry too much. It's not your turn to worry. If the palace really becomes chaotic one day, it might be a good thing."
At least remind Emperor Wende to separate his sons as soon as possible.
It’s so deadly for the princes to live together!
Even if you don't care about your life, your life will be shortened by a few years.
Everyone who knew knew that Emperor Wende asked the princes to live together in order to save money.
Doing so did save money, but Emperor Wende ignored the people's hearts.
People are fickle and living under the same roof might lead to loss of life.
Gu Jiu gave the order, "Tell the gatekeeper to guard the door. Don't let anyone in when Your Highness and I are not here."
Nanny Fang carried Yu Ge'er to the small study.
Gu Jiu immediately opened his arms, and Yu Ge'er threw himself into Gu Jiu's arms.
"Mom, mom..." Yu Ge'er can call mom now, and he calls it quite clearly.
I drool too much because of teething. I don't know how many saliva pockets I wet in a day.
Gu Jiu took out a handkerchief, wiped the corners of Yu Ge'er's mouth, and held him while sitting in front of the desk.
Yu Ge'er likes to catch things now. Whatever he sees, he will grab it in his hands.
Qingmei quickly put away the account book, writing brush and ink on the desk and took a few blank sheets of paper for Yu Ge'er to tear up for fun.
Nanny Fang rubbed her arms and said, "Madam and His Highness have been away a lot lately, so it's time to strengthen the gates. I'm not worried about the other servants, but I'm afraid they might hurt Yu Ge'er."
Gu Jiu said, "I'll tell His Highness to arrange for a few more people to guard the East Courtyard. Is everything alright in the mansion today?"
Nanny Fang laughed and said, "The second and third rooms are both making a fuss."
"What's going on?" Gu Jiu was curious.
Nanny Fang said, "The second wife's pregnant concubine is said to be carrying a boy, so she's inevitably a bit arrogant and disrespectful to the second wife.
The Second Lady lost her temper and wanted to punish the concubine. The Second Prince happened to run into her and said a few words. The Second Lady was so angry that she fainted.
After calling in the imperial physician, they discovered that the Second Madam was already a month pregnant."
"Ah! I didn't expect my second sister-in-law to be pregnant. This is good news. Qingmei, prepare a gift. I will go to visit my second sister-in-law later."
Qingmei bowed and accepted the order, took the key to open the warehouse and prepare the gifts.
Gu Jiu asked again, "Mammy mentioned the third room just now. What happened in the third room?"
Nanny Fang said, "It wasn't a big deal. The Third Prince smashed a set of white porcelain tea sets from the previous dynasty and punished two people with twenty strokes of the cane each. He almost beat them to death."
Gu Jiu frowned. She never liked corporal punishment.
She casually asked, "Why is the Third Prince angry?"
"I listened to a few of his words and it seemed that the Third Prince had requested an errand, but His Majesty didn't agree and only told him to continue taking medicine to recuperate."
Gu Jiu smiled knowingly, "The Third Prince was poisoned and delayed for several years. Now that he sees his brothers have their own strengths, he's getting anxious. Didn't the Empress Dowager say she was going to find him a matchmaker? Why hasn't she done anything about it?"
Nanny Fang shook her head. "I don't know about this either. Perhaps there is no suitable candidate."
Yu Ge'er stretched out his hand and grabbed Gu Jiu's hair.
Gu Jiu screamed in pain.
The maids were anxious and finally managed to coax Yu Ge'er to let go. But the boy, without any hair to grab, started crying and making a fuss.
As he started to make noises, Gu Jiu suddenly felt that the little angel in his arms had turned into a little devil. He weighed more than ten kilograms, but because of his noises, it felt like he was holding a fat man of eighty or ninety kilograms.
Gu Jiu was so tired that he broke out in a sweat.
Nanny Fang quickly took Yu Ge'er away.
Gu Jiu took a breath, looking relieved, "You little brat only knows how to make trouble in front of me, why don't you go and make trouble in front of your father."
Although Yu Ge'er is very young, he knows how to read people's expressions.
I guess he knew that his father Liu Zhao was not someone to be trifled with, so he was always well-behaved when Liu Zhao held him in his arms.
Once in Gu Jiu's arms, the brat would start to make a scene like Monkey King, causing all kinds of troubles. He could drive people crazy and make them lose their temper.
There were tears in Yu Ge'er's eyes as he looked at Gu Jiu pitifully.
The eyes of a child are pure and innocent.
Gu Jiu's heart melted when the child looked at him like that.
But he was also very hard-hearted, "Don't even think about letting me hold you. I need to rest for at least half an hour."
Yu Ge'er is about to cry.
Nanny Fang felt distressed and said, "Don't cry, brother. Nanny will take you to the garden to play."
Going out to play is Yu Ge'er's favorite activity.
It makes me happier than being hugged or lifted up high.
This kid is a wild child. If he doesn't go out for a walk every day, he will feel uncomfortable and will definitely make a big fuss.
Gu Jiu slumped in the chair, "Being pregnant is not hard at all, raising a child is the real hardship."
Anyone who has raised a child will probably understand this.
Sweating, Gu Jiu went to the bathroom to wash up, changed into a dress made of light cotton, put on a simple jade hairpin, and went to the second room to visit Ouyang Fu with gifts.
The second house was in high spirits.
Second Prince Liu Ping has been staying with Ouyang Fu, and it seems that the couple has reconciled.
"Sister-in-law is here, please take a seat."
Ouyang Fu lay on the bed and bowed slightly, "Please forgive me for any impoliteness."
"Sister-in-law, lie down quickly and don't move. You are already in a double body." Gu Jiu walked into the bedroom in two steps.
The Second Prince stood up and said, "Sister-in-law is a rare guest, you two can chat. I will go out and take care of things first."
"Go and do your work, second brother. I'll be looking after your sister-in-law here."
The Second Prince nodded, and instructed the servants to take good care of Ouyang Fu before leaving.
Gu Jiu laughed and said, "Congratulations to my second brother and sister-in-law. I hope your wish will come true this time."
Ouyang Fu's cheeks flushed, and she smiled shyly, "I didn't expect that I would be pregnant. God has been very kind to me."
"My second brother's wife is a blessed person." Gu Jiu said.
Ouyang Fu laughed and said, "It's just a pregnancy, and my sister-in-law has to come here in person. How can I feel embarrassed?"
Gu Jiu held her hand. "Don't be polite with me, sister-in-law. I heard that you were in a coma for a short time before. It must be because you were too weak. Sister-in-law, you must take good care of yourself. Don't be too active in the first three months."
After saying that, Gu Jiu calmly let go of her hand.
Ouyang Fu nodded. "The imperial physician said the same thing. He said that I'm a little weak and I need to take good care of myself."
Gu Jiu tucked the quilt for her and said, "Now that you're pregnant, just focus on taking care of the baby. Don't meet those people who dislike you. Don't listen to things that dislike you. Relax your mind and keep your emotions calm so that you can raise a healthy child."
Ultimately, Ouyang Fu was just too worried, keeping everything to herself. This was the so-called depression that affected her health.
Ouyang Fu gently stroked her belly across the quilt, "Thank you, sister-in-law, for reminding me. For the sake of the child, I don't care about those people and those things anymore. Let them be. I just want to focus on taking care of the baby."
Gu Jiu nodded repeatedly, "That's the right way to think. Don't let others hurt yourself."
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