Empress Dowager Xiao was still angry, so she naturally wouldn't be in a good mood when she saw Gu Jiu.
"The granddaughter-in-law pays her respects to the Empress Dowager."
"Where are you going? You ran away without even saying hello. Who are you learning manners from?"
Empress Dowager Xiao questioned in a critical tone.
Gu Jiu pursed his lips and said seriously, "I dare not lie to the Imperial Grandmother. I learned the rules of being a granddaughter-in-law from the previous Weiyang Palace nanny."
Everyone was stunned for a moment before they realized what Gu Jiu meant.
The one in the Weiyang Palace before was Empress Cui Ruizhen.
I remembered that before Empress Cui Ruizhen passed away, Gu Jiu lived in the palace for a period of time and learned the rules from the nanny every day.
She was not wrong to say so.
"Ah!" Princess Huyang was the first to cry out, "I remember now. My nephew's wife hadn't married Liu Zhao yet, right?"
Gu Jiu nodded slightly, "Aunt is right."
Princess Huyang laughed heartily. "Come to think of it, you also learned these rules from the palace. Not bad."
"What's good?" Empress Dowager Xiao's face was as gloomy as water.
Weiyang Palace was a thorn in Empress Dowager Xiao's heart.
During the previous emperor's time, she was not qualified to live in the Weiyang Palace.
Even though her son became emperor, she was still not qualified to live in the Weiyang Palace.
Although the Cining Palace is very nice, as a woman in the harem, it would be a lifelong regret if she had never lived in the Weiyang Palace for a single day.
She had never lived in the Weiyang Palace, which meant that she had always been a concubine while the late emperor was alive. Even a noble status could not hide the fact that she was a concubine.
Princess Huyang took Empress Dowager Xiao's arm and said, "Mother, it's New Year's Day today, please be happy."
Empress Dowager Xiao sneered, "What is there for me to be happy about? The maids in Weiyang Palace were just so-so in my opinion. All the messes started in Weiyang Palace. They're messed up from the very beginning, how can they learn good manners?"
Gu Jiu really wanted to retort to Empress Dowager Xiao: "The Weiyang Palace commands the harem. If the Weiyang Palace is in chaos, how can Changchun Palace be any better? The Weiyang Palace is a mess, so Changchun Palace is bound to harbor filth and dirt."
The words were on the tip of his tongue, but Gu Jiu swallowed them back.
It would be fun to confront Empress Dowager Xiao, but the consequences would be serious. She couldn't bring disaster to Liu Zhao.
So she whispered, "The maids are very strict. Perhaps my granddaughter-in-law is dull and hasn't grasped the essence of palace rules."
Empress Dowager Xiao's expression brightened slightly. "You know you're stupid, but you can still be saved. The women I specially selected for Liu Zhao have served in the palace for at least five years. They are all well-behaved and methodical. If you were virtuous, you would take them back with you instead of making me worry."
Gu Jiu said hurriedly: "Grandmother is right. Granddaughter-in-law doesn't want to make His Highness worry, but His Highness is poor and has low aspirations. He has to send people to Granddaughter-in-law every month to ask for money to support his subordinates.
The granddaughter-in-law relied on her dowry as capital and worked hard over the years to finally earn some money. She wanted to save some property for Yu Ge'er, but it was all taken away by the eldest prince.
The Empress Dowager felt sorry for the eldest prince and arranged for several kind people to serve him. My granddaughter-in-law was very grateful. However, my granddaughter-in-law was a little worried. Bringing the person back home was easy, but who would bear the financial burden of raising him? Who should my granddaughter-in-law ask for money to support him? I would like the Empress Dowager to give me some advice.
The eldest prince can't even support himself, so he certainly can't rely on him. The grandson's wife's dowry should be left to Yu Ge'er. And there's no reason to ask the wife to pay for the man's concubine. "
Empress Dowager Xiao was furious. "How can a royal family be so short of money to support women?"
Gu Jiu looked relieved, "I wonder how many women the Empress Dowager has prepared for His Highness?"
"Four." Empress Dowager Xiao snorted. "I love him so much that I specially prepared four women for him. They are all good at bearing children. In two years, when they have children, they will also have to call you mother."
"My granddaughter-in-law can't be the mother of so many children. She's poor."
As soon as these words were spoken, some people couldn't help laughing.
Gu Jiu continued, "Four women, the annual expenses are at least 12,000 to 13,000 taels. If they have children in two years, even if each of them has one, then the annual expenses for the four women combined will be at least 30,000 to 50,000.
Taking an average value, it would cost 40,000 taels of silver a year to support these people. After all, they are members of the royal family, and even if they are concubines or illegitimate children, they must be supported in wealth and luxury. I wonder if the 40,000 taels will be paid by the Ministry of Revenue or the Ministry of Revenue? If the Empress Dowager is willing to subsidize them, my granddaughter-in-law will be grateful."
Everyone was trying to hold back their laughter.
Compared to Liu Zhao's straightforward and decisive approach, Gu Jiu's methods were roundabout and cunning.
It makes people feel very uncomfortable, but they can't express it.
Empress Dowager Xiao took a deep breath and said, "How dare the Shaofu give up your 40,000 taels? How dare you!"
Gu Jiu blinked, "So the Shaofu is so generous now? Your Highnesses are blessed. If you take in more concubines, you can get more money from the Shaofu. If you are a little more stingy, you can save at least half of the money. This deal is worth it."
Phew!
Xiao Qin'er covered her lips and chuckled, muttering, "Sister-in-law, you're really bold. But does it really cost so much money to keep a few concubines? It's too expensive."
She looked at Liu Yi, but Liu Yi didn't look at her. Instead, he stared at Gu Jiu.
Xiao Qin'er snorted and secretly pulled Liu Yi's sleeve.
Liu Yi came back to his senses and looked at her with a frown.
"What are you looking at?" Xiao Qin'er asked in a low voice.
Liu Yi shook his head, "Nothing."
"Huh! Sister-in-law, are you calculating the accounts clearly? It costs so much more money every year to support several women. It's really not worth it."
"You should stop talking and consider the occasion."
Xiao Qin'er then shut up.
Ouyang Fu is very good at accounting.
Gu Jiu's words really touched her heart.
No one present knew better than her how much the concubines and illegitimate sons spent.
When the second wife's eldest son was born, money was spent like water.
Just raising a child, there are so many places to spend money, like a bottomless pit.
Four concubines and four illegitimate children, according to the royal standards, 40,000 taels of silver a year was considered low.
If you are a little rich, 40,000 taels is simply not enough to spend. You will definitely be in the red at the end of the year.
Why!
If men had the brains of their elder sister-in-law and could calculate the cost of raising people and children, there would be a lot less trouble in the house.
"Ridiculous! This concerns our offspring, yet you're arguing with me about money. This is sheer nonsense."
Empress Dowager Xiao scolded Gu Jiu harshly.
Gu Jiu looked aggrieved. "But how can one live in this world without spending money? Does the woman that the Empress Dowager bestowed upon Your Highness have some special way of preserving her health, so that she doesn't need to eat or wear clothes? If that's the case, we can still afford to support her by scraping some money from Your Highness's salary."
"Ha ha……"
This time even Princess Huyang laughed out loud.
She found Gu Jiu really cute when he pretended to be stupid.
"why are you laughing?"
Empress Dowager Xiao looked at her unfriendlyly, as if she was going to punish her own daughter if they had a disagreement.
Princess Huyang felt as if someone had grabbed her by the neck, and her laughter stopped abruptly.
She waved her hands and coughed twice. "No, nothing. But my nephew's wife is right. It costs money to support someone. Does my brother have money? He won't even give me a title, so how could he be willing to pay for a few nephews to support women?"
"Shut up."
Empress Dowager Xiao never expected that her own daughter would sabotage her again and again.
Empress Dowager Xiao was furious and blurted out, "Gu Jiu, everyone in the capital says you made a lot of money renovating the house. Since you're so rich, why not just use some of it to support a few women for Liu Zhao? A woman should be virtuous. If you're willing to maintain Liu Zhao's harem, you're truly virtuous."
Gu Jiu frowned slightly and said softly, "There used to be a teacher named Luo in the Marquis' Mansion. She said that my granddaughter-in-law was very smart and clever. When I was learning the rules in the palace, the maids in the palace also said that my granddaughter-in-law was quite smart. Grandmother, I'm really not stupid. I'm really smart. The teacher and the maid were right.
I spent money to support His Highness with women and illegitimate children. Then those women grew powerful and annoyed me. When the illegitimate children grew up, they began to compete with my son for the family fortune and His Highness's favor.
I spent this money, and besides gaining a reputation as a virtuous woman, I also created a lot of unhappiness for myself and gave my son a lot of troublesome brothers. I wronged myself and helped others.
"Grandmother, please tell me, my granddaughter-in-law, what am I really trying to achieve by spending this money? Is it just to be virtuous? Virtue can't be eaten, can't be drunk, can't be turned into money, and certainly won't make concubines and illegitimate children feel grateful and stop fighting over it."
Grandmother, I'm not stupid. I used my dowry as capital and worked hard to earn money, not to support my own son with a few more troublesome brothers, nor to put myself in a difficult position.
Please, please be kind and spare my granddaughter-in-law. It's not easy for my granddaughter-in-law to save some money, and it's all for my brother. His father can't support him, and I, as his mother, have to support him. Grandmother, please let my granddaughter-in-law save some money for my brother. As a child of the royal family, life is really not easy.
It’s not an easy sentence, and I don’t know how many people’s hearts it touched.
Everyone in the hall was as quiet as a chicken, waiting to see how Empress Dowager Xiao would react.
Empress Dowager Xiao pointed at Gu Jiu and was so angry that she couldn't speak.
Princess Huyang hurriedly tried to appease her, "Mother, please calm down. Please calm down. My nephew's wife has indeed made some money over the years, but her expenses are also high. I don't think she can afford to support Liu Zhao with a concubine or a son. It would be better to wait until the Ministry of Revenue is more affluent and the emperor bestows titles on them before discussing this matter."
"Are you deliberately trying to piss me off to death?"
Empress Dowager Xiao finally spoke.
Gu Jiu felt aggrieved and said nothing.
"What's wrong with you, Queen Mother? If anyone has upset you, tell me and I'll vent my anger on your behalf."
Emperor Wende brought his concubines to the Cining Palace to pay his respects to Empress Dowager Xiao.
Empress Dowager Xiao pointed at Gu Jiu and said, "Who else could it be? This one, and the one kneeling outside. I was kind enough to give Liu Zhao a few women, but that guy kept pestering me, saying he had no money to support women, and then he said there was a difference between legitimate and illegitimate children, as if he looked down on illegitimate children.
Your Majesty, you are also a concubine's son. Liu Zhao said that he looked down on concubine's sons and that he was unfilial. I want to punish him. Do you have any objection?
Emperor Wende laughed heartily. "Go ahead and punish him. I have no objection. What about the eldest brother's wife?"
Emperor Wende's gaze fell on Gu Jiu, somewhat puzzled.
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