"My mother asked Xiaojiu to use the money to support Liu Zhao as a woman. Xiaojiu said that she had to save money for Yu Ge'er and couldn't afford to raise a tiger that would cause trouble."
Princess Huyang covered her mouth and giggled happily.
She just enjoys watching the fun.
The expressions of Emperor Wende and the women in his harem were truly wonderful.
They were obviously shocked by Gu Jiu's remarks.
The wife knew that keeping a concubine or a bastard child would likely turn into a threat, becoming the biggest competitor to her biological son. It was even possible that the bastard child would kill her biological son and take the throne.
But no one has ever said these words with confidence.
Gu Jiu's courage is worthy of admiration.
But it’s not appropriate to say this in the palace.
Emperor Wende laughed heartily and asked casually, "My dear wife, are you unwilling to give money to Liu Zhao to support a woman?"
Gu Jiu said aggrievedly, "My daughter-in-law is very poor, and all her earnings are hard-earned. Keeping women for His Majesty is too expensive. Four women would cost at least 10,000 or 20,000 taels a year. If we add illegitimate sons and daughters, it would cost at least 40,000 or 50,000 taels a year. If the Ministry of Revenue or the Ministry of Revenue are willing to pay this amount, my daughter-in-law will have no objection."
Dream on!
Emperor Wende was not so generous as to use the Shaofu's money to support a concubine for his son.
In order to save money, he kept delaying the marriages of his sons. How could he possibly spend money to support a woman for Liu Zhao?
However, Emperor Wende still asked, "Why does it cost so much to keep several concubines?"
He didn't quite believe it.
Gu Jiu nodded seriously, very sincerely, "A concubine must be accompanied by at least six maids and four old women. They should provide daily food and daily necessities, clothes for all seasons, and rewards during festivals. If His Highness is served well, he should be rewarded.
"Over the course of a year, it would cost at least three or four thousand taels to keep a concubine. If Your Highness is generous and has a good budget, he could spend ten thousand taels a year."
Emperor Wende was secretly shocked, and couldn't help but recall that when he was in the Qiandi Palace, did he spend so much money on keeping women?
He looked at Queen Pei.
Empress Pei said calmly, "Your Majesty, have you forgotten that you once spent a fortune just to win the smile of a beautiful woman? You spent 50,000 taels in one night."
Emperor Wende laughed to hide his embarrassment.
I didn’t know the importance of money back then.
Now, let alone asking him to spend 50,000 taels to win the beauty's smile, even if it was 500 taels, Emperor Wende would have to think twice.
People say that the higher your status, the more generous you are.
When it came to Emperor Wende, everything turned against him.
When Emperor Wende was a prince, especially when he was young, he spent money like water. He was really generous.
Now, he is really stingy, almost catching up with the stinginess of the late emperor.
He looked at Gu Jiu and said, "Just because it costs money to support a woman, you refuse. Aren't you quite rich?"
Gu Jiu put on an Oscar-winning actress's acting chops and started crying poor, "My daughter-in-law is really broke. The salary and title of the prince are not enough for him to spend alone."
He had to support people and he had no money, so he would go to his daughter-in-law every few days to ask for money. In a short time, he spent all the money his daughter-in-law earned.
Last year, for example, he went on a trip and spent 100,000 taels, all of which was paid for by his daughter-in-law. He had always said that the money would be reimbursed to me from the public treasury, after all, the money was spent on official business.
But more than a year has passed, and my daughter-in-law hasn't seen a penny. It's not that my daughter-in-law is unvirtuous, it's just that she has no money."
“Ahem…”
Emperor Wende was a little embarrassed.
He knew the 100,000 taels that Gu Jiu was talking about.
Just before the palace coup, Liu Zhao secretly left the capital and took people with him to make contacts everywhere, which cost him a lot of money.
Afterwards, it was indeed mentioned that the money would be compensated to Gu Jiu.
There is no reason to ask Gu Jiu to bear the expenses of the public school.
However, plans cannot keep up with changes.
At that time, Emperor Wende was still Prince of Ning. He was first appointed as the crown prince, and then ascended the throne, and had to spend money everywhere.
Emperor Wende wished he could spend every penny as if it were one ounce of silver.
As for the matter of the 100,000 taels, he simply pretended to be deaf and dumb and pretended not to know.
He never expected that Gu Jiu would bring up this matter again in front of him today.
Emperor Wende had to suspect that Gu Jiu was collecting debts in disguise.
Gu Jiu: Your Majesty, you have revealed the truth.
She was indeed collecting the debt in disguise.
Ask Liu Zhao to take a concubine. Okay, first pay off last year's debt. Then we can discuss where the money for supporting a woman will come from. Will the Minister of the Imperial Household cover it?
The properties of the prince's palace are all managed by the Shaofu. If the prince takes a concubine, the Shaofu has to pay for it.
Since the Minister of the Household is unwilling to pay for the prince to keep a woman, it makes no sense to ask his daughter-in-law to use her dowry to keep a concubine for him.
Do you still have any shame?
Gu Jiu is not stupid, how could he do something that harms himself and benefits others?
"What do you mean by 100,000 taels?"
Empress Dowager Xiao frowned and asked.
“Ahem…”
Emperor Wende's cough became louder.
"What's wrong with Your Majesty? Is Your Majesty sick? Why are you coughing?" Queen Pei looked concerned, but there was a mischievous smile in her eyes.
Others may not know about the 100,000 taels, but she knows it very clearly.
Emperor Wende couldn't bear to continue coughing, so he waved his hand and said, "I'm fine, I just choked. Since Liu Zhao has no money, then don't keep women. If you want women, you have to pay for them yourself. The money of the Shaofu doesn't come from the wind. The monthly expenses of the palace are astronomical. How can we add to the burden of the Shaofu?"
Empress Dowager Xiao frowned. "Even if you have no money, you can't ignore etiquette. The princes are grown up. Those who deserve titles should be given titles, those who deserve to have their own palaces should have their own palaces, and those who deserve to have their own lands granted marriages should be granted lands granted marriages."
Emperor Wende sighed and said with a wry smile, "Mother, I also want to be a generous emperor, granting titles, establishing palaces, and arranging marriages. But the national treasury is empty, and the Ministry of the Interior has no surplus grain.
"Just wait a few years. When the treasury has enough money, I will make all of you kings and give you all money to set up your own houses. You can then support as many women as you want. I will ask those little brats to give you a bunch of great-grandchildren to play with."
Empress Dowager Xiao looked unhappy. "I don't want to play. I've been thinking about my grandchildren, but they've all been working against me, not understanding my efforts at all."
"He really deserves a beating." Emperor Wende said sternly, "Come here, beat Liu Zhao with a stick. Beat him up so he'll learn his lesson."
"It's New Year's Day, and there's no point in fighting and killing. I'll punish him by making him kneel outside and reflect on his mistakes. There's no need to beat him with a stick."
"Your Majesty is merciful. This little brat doesn't know what's good for him. It's too easy for him to just make him kneel." Emperor Wende said angrily.
Empress Dowager Xiao said with a stern face, "Your eldest son, if you don't feel sorry for him, I do. Punish him to kneel for two hours, that's enough."
Emperor Wende said, "Two hours of punishment is not enough. Let him kneel until the third watch, and not get up until the first year of the Wende era."
Empress Pei frowned slightly when she heard this, but she refrained from pleading for Liu Zhao.
Instead, Liu Yi stood up, knelt on the ground, and pleaded for Liu Zhao, "I beg Your Majesty to show mercy. My eldest brother is in trouble, so he rejected the Empress Dowager's kindness. He didn't mean it."
"Please have mercy, Father."
Liu Yi took the lead, and several other princes followed suit to plead for Liu Zhao.
Gu Jiu was so touched, "Thank you, Your Highnesses. My prince is lucky to have you as brothers."
Emperor Wende first scolded, "You are meddling!"
Then, he said to Empress Dowager Xiao with a smile, "These boys only know how to cause trouble to their elders. Fortunately, they still know how to love their brothers and sisters. Mother, do you think we should wake them up?"
Empress Dowager Xiao glanced meaningfully at Emperor Wende. "Everyone, get up. Tell Liu Zhao to get up too. It's winter, and if you kneel outside, if you get a cold and get injured, it won't be my fault."
"Your Majesty, you are too kind. Liu Zhao is a tough kid. He won't be hurt by kneeling."
Having said that, Emperor Wende did not stop him. Instead, he followed Empress Dowager Xiao's wishes and had Liu Zhao called in.
When Liu Zhao entered the hall, Emperor Wende frowned and angrily shouted, "Evil beast, do you know your mistake?"
Liu Zhao knelt on the ground and apologized, "I know I was wrong."
Gu Jiu lowered his head, the corners of his mouth twitching.
Why do emperors like to call their sons "evil beasts"?
If his own son is a beast, then what is the emperor?
Isn't this just scolding yourself?
Yet the emperors still enjoyed this, as if they could not represent the majesty of the royal family if they did not call them evil beasts.
I don’t understand!
I totally don't understand.
Emperor Wende sternly rebuked, "Since you know you're wrong, why don't you apologize immediately? The Empress Dowager is kind and worried that you might get a cold from kneeling for so long, so she's thinking of you in every way. And you, on the other hand, keep spouting nonsense that's worse than pigs and dogs. Have you learned all these years of studying, and have they all gone to waste?"
"I know I was wrong. The Empress Dowager is kind, but I am ungrateful. I deserve to die."
After saying this, Liu Zhao kowtowed three times.
Boom boom boom!
Gu Jiu felt pain on his forehead. How much force must he have used to make such a loud noise?
As expected, after three kowtows, a patch of skin had broken out on Liu Zhao's forehead, which showed that his apology was truly sincere and without any falsehood or deception.
Emperor Wende nodded secretly, "Mother, have you calmed down?"
Empress Dowager Xiao: Haha!
"I'm not angry at all. I'm just worrying about something for no reason, but people think I'm meddling in other people's affairs."
Emperor Wende said sincerely, "Mother, please calm down. It's all because of that brat Liu Zhao's ignorance. Today is the New Year, so let's forgive him for now. When the New Year begins, I will vent my anger on your behalf."
Empress Dowager Xiao glanced at Emperor Wende and asked, "Are you willing to vent my anger?"
Emperor Wende acted like a cannibal, "What a bastard! I won't mind beating him to death. I have many sons anyway, so losing him won't matter."
Empress Dowager Xiao suddenly felt bored. "Forget it. The anger in my heart has long since subsided. Don't talk about beating and killing anymore. It's really scary."
Emperor Wende's expression changed like turning the pages of a book. One second he was glaring like a furious King Kong, and the next second he was smiling. "I'm glad that your anger has subsided. Today is New Year's Day, and I have prepared a gift for you. I will have someone deliver it to you later. Please don't despise it, Mother."
Empress Dowager Xiao finally felt a little happier. "It's hard for you. You're so busy with all sorts of things, and yet you're still thinking about me."
Emperor Wende waved his hand, "This is what I should do."
Empress Pei and other women in the harem also prepared gifts to give to Empress Dowager Xiao.
Everyone surrounded her and said auspicious words, and finally made Empress Dowager Xiao happy.
Emperor Wende took the opportunity to leave and went to a side hall to drink tea.
He sent someone to call Gu Jiu over for questioning.
"No money left? Did you use all your earnings to support Liu Zhao? My dear wife, if you lie to me, you will be beheaded."
Gu Jiu bared his teeth, and a thousand horses were galloping through his heart.
She said aggrievedly, "I dare not lie to your majesty. My finances have been very tight lately. The land is frozen in winter, making it unsuitable for work. However, I have to support tens of thousands of refugees outside the city, so I have no choice but to start work."
Work that used to take a day now took at least three days in winter. Not only was the progress slow, but the cost was also high, even higher than in the summer.
The reason the construction site outside the city can still be maintained is all due to the small profits from selling the house. When the New Year comes, my daughter-in-law will have to fight the famine again and ask the Shaofu for a loan.
Seeing Gu Jiu's impoverished look, Emperor Wende was suspicious, "Is he really out of money?"
Gu Jiu nodded heavily, "We really have no money. I think His Majesty has heard that the bonuses received by the stewards this year are half of last year's, and the people below are complaining."
"Yeah?"
Gu Jiu's eyes were full of sincerity. "This is absolutely true. Your Majesty, please send someone to investigate."
What she said was nine parts true and one part false.
It is true that the bonuses given to the lower levels this year have indeed been halved.
The false part is that Gu Jiu did not say that she gave shares of the cement road from Beijing to Luozhou to the managers below.
These shares are worth a lot of money.
It can be said that, on the surface, the people below received less bonuses, but what they received was far more than in previous years.
Many people want shares in the cement road, but they can’t buy them even if they have money.
They only enjoy this benefit because they are employees of Gu Jiu.
However, there is no need to let Emperor Wende know this truth.
This is to prevent Emperor Wende from becoming jealous and snatching away the cement road from the capital to Luozhou.
"I have no money! I have no money either." Emperor Wende looked at Gu Jiu with a smile.
Gu Jiu: MMP, are all emperors crazy because of poverty?
She said weakly, "Last year's 100,000 taels are all charged to Liu Zhao. Tell him to pay it back with his official title and salary."
Emperor Wende laughed heartily, "No regrets?"
Gu Jiu shook his head repeatedly, shaking it like a rattle, "I will never regret it."
"That's great!"
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