"Hahaha……"
Princess Huyang laughed out loud.
Since being confined to her house, Fu Ming was demoted from princess to county lady, which was the only thing that made her happy.
She couldn't leave the house, nor could she host a banquet for guests, so she could only celebrate with a few of her lovers in the house, eating and drinking.
After so many years, I finally got rid of the anger in my heart.
Now that I think about it, what my nephew's wife said in Xingqing Palace that day made a lot of sense.
She did have scars in her heart, and she needed someone to help her heal them.
snort!
The emperor just doesn't understand her.
Huyang complained secretly, but then he became happy again.
"Come here, serve the pen and ink."
The servants hurriedly prepared the four treasures of the study, curious about what Huyang was going to write.
Princess Huyang picked up the pen and thought for a long time, not knowing how to start.
In the end, she simply wrote a letter in colloquial language and asked her servant to deliver it to Gu Jiu.
"My nephew's wife has helped me a lot. I'm very happy that Fu Ming has been demoted. She's the one I should be most grateful to. It's just that because of me, she's been confined, and I feel really bad about it. Okay, tell Madam Zhao the truth. Remember, you must bring back Madam Zhao's reply."
The servant received the errand and hurried to the palace to deliver the letter.
Gu Jiu was bored, so he took Hu Yang's letter and laughed out loud after reading it.
Huyang may not have any other skills, but he is very good at making people laugh.
"Aunt wants a reply, doesn't she?"
"That's exactly what my Highness said."
Gu Jiu thought about it and wrote a reply letter.
What she didn't expect was that since this letter, the confined Princess Huyang actually found new interests.
Hu Yang wrote to Gu Jiu every few days and demanded a reply.
Sometimes I even write one letter a day, and I enjoy it.
The content of the letter was very simple, just talking about some trivial things and chatting about feelings.
Until one day, Gu Jiu saw an incredible proposal in Hu Yang's letter.
No one knew where Hu Yang got the news from, but he actually knew that the Cui family of the Zhenguo Mansion had proposed marriage to the Su family, and that the Su family later politely declined.
Hu Yang's brilliant idea was to write in the letter: "My nephew's wife, I've sent someone to check on your cousin from the Su family. He's a very good man, though a little old. But age has its advantages; it's caring. What do you think of my Minmin, and your cousin Su?"
Cough cough cough...
Gu Jiu almost choked to death.
Why did Hu Yang come up with the idea of marrying Chen Min to Su Zheng?
This is totally a wild idea.
She held her forehead, feeling very tired.
After calming down for a while, she asked the Princess Mansion's housekeeper who delivered the letter, "How did your Princess know about the Su family?"
The Princess's Housekeeper bowed slightly and said, "My Princess loves to listen to gossip and sends people out every day to inquire about it. Somehow, she found out about the Su and Cui families."
Gu Jiu bared his teeth and suddenly felt a little pain in his back teeth.
"Tell your princess that this marriage is not going through."
The Princess's Housekeeper looked embarrassed and said, "Madam, please write a letter and tell our Princess in person. Otherwise, I will not be able to report to you."
Forget it, why should she make things difficult for a messenger?
Gu Jiu picked up his pen and wrote a letter with just three words: "Not suitable."
He folded the letter, placed it in an envelope, and handed it to the Princess's Housekeeper. "Take it back and give it to Her Highness. Chen Min is His Majesty's niece. No matter what, the palace will find a suitable marriage for her. Your Highness, there's no need to worry."
The Princess's Housekeeper accepted the letter and said, "I will convey Madam's words to my Princess faithfully. However, I cannot guarantee whether the Princess will listen or not."
"It's okay, just tell the truth."
Gu Jiu thought that after Hu Yang read the letter, he would give up his ridiculous idea.
As a result, Princess Huyang never thought of giving up.
The next day, she sent someone to deliver a letter to Gu Jiu again.
The letter listed various reasons, believing that Su Zheng and Chen Min were a perfect match made in heaven.
Gu Jiu sneered and thought that Princess Huyang must be crazy.
Because of her, he loved Su Zheng and thought he was a good man and wanted to marry his daughter to him.
absurd!
The Su family today is no longer the wealthy and powerful official family of twenty years ago.
Today's Su family is just an ordinary wealthy family with some assets.
Su Zheng is just a minor official of the seventh rank. It is too early to say anything about his future career.
Although the Chen family was beheaded and almost wiped out, only the siblings Chen Min and Chen Lu were left.
But Chen Min is the granddaughter of the late emperor and the niece of Emperor Wende after all.
Based on this identity, Chen Min can marry anyone, so why should she submit to Su Zheng?
Moreover, the Su family couldn't afford to marry Chen Min.
The three courtyards that the Su family had purchased in the capital were not enough to allow him to marry the emperor's niece.
It's just a three-courtyard house, so cramped.
Take the palace for example. Any courtyard there is twice as big as the Su family’s house.
That's the gap.
It’s very realistic, but cannot be ignored.
Gu Jiu took a deep breath. This time, she wrote the letter carefully, listing the reasons for her objection one by one, hoping to dispel Princess Huyang's ridiculous idea.
Worried that this wasn't enough, Gu Jiu pulled Liu Zhao back home from the government office and started to talk to him.
"You have to keep an eye on Aunt Huyang for me, as well as the palace. If Aunt Huyang writes to the palace to ask for permission to marry, you must stop her."
"I will help you with this matter. But Aunt Huyang, why are you so determined to marry Cousin Chen to Su Zheng?"
Gu Jiu sighed and pointed at himself, "Maybe it's because of me."
Liu Zhao raised an eyebrow, understanding something. "I see. You don't want Su Zheng to marry Cousin Chen?"
"Of course!" Gu Jiu said firmly, without the slightest hesitation, "Can you just marry the emperor's niece?"
Liu Zhao laughed when he heard this, "Chen Min is indeed the emperor's niece, but her status is not as high as you think."
Gu Jiu was puzzled, "What do you mean?"
Liu Zhao pondered for a moment and said, "The punishment of the Chen family was ordered by the late emperor. Father will definitely not overturn this order. Since the Chen family's crimes cannot be overturned, strictly speaking, Chen Min is the descendant of a criminal official.
She was only blessed because her mother's family was noble. Remember, her last name was Chen, not Liu. Strictly speaking, her marriage had little to do with the royal family.
Just like what happened to Zhou Yi, when the Sun family wanted to divorce, my father stood on the side of the Sun family and did not give Zhou Yi any way out.
Therefore, you only need to regard Chen Min as an ordinary girl from a foreign family. There is no need to think too highly of her.
Gu Jiu was a little confused. "From your tone, it seems that you have some opinions about Cousin Chen? Did Cousin Chen provoke you?"
Liu Zhao shook his head slowly. "Of course she didn't provoke me. I just don't want to see you worrying about her."
Gu Ji's cheeks turned slightly red. Oh my god, what a bad man. He doesn't even choose the right time to say sweet words.
Since Emperor Wende ascended the throne, Chen Min moved out of the palace and lived in the Cining Palace, accompanying Empress Dowager Xiao.
Gu Jiu said, "Just because Cousin Chen has been by the Empress Dowager's side for many years, she deserves attention. There should be many families in the capital who want to marry her."
Liu Zhao shook his head. "With a mother like Aunt Huyang and the Chen family's case, Cousin Chen's marriage prospects aren't as optimistic as you think. Few families are interested in marrying her."
Occasionally, when my mother mentioned her, she would say that her marriage was very difficult. Basically, she was neither high nor low, and it was difficult for her to find a good match.
The same is true of Chen Lu's marriage. Fortunately, Chen Lu is a man and can strive for fame and success on his own. If he achieves merit in the future, the marriage problem will naturally be solved."
Gu Jiu shook his head and smiled. "In the past, before my father ascended the throne, the Chen siblings had difficulty getting married because of Aunt Huyang. I could understand that. But now, one of them is your Majesty's nephew and the other is your Majesty's niece. Their status and position have risen so much, so why is it still so difficult for them to get married? Do those noble families in the capital really not care about the status of the emperor's niece?"
Liu Zhao laughed. "The status of the emperor's niece used to be rare, but now it's nothing to be ashamed of. Since the last emperor, he has been stingy in granting titles to royal relatives and out-of-laws."
When it comes to my father, it's even worse. A prince doesn't have a title, so it's delusional for a mere niece to want one. Cousin Chen, without a title, is even worse than those noble ladies from aristocratic families."
Reality is so cruel.
The emperor's niece also has trouble finding a husband.
Liu Zhao was in a good mood today, so he talked a little more.
"If Zhou Yi had a title, the Sun family would never dare to propose a divorce. The Sun family took advantage of Fu Ming's loss of power and Zhou Yi's lack of a title to make this move."
Gu Jiu said, "Isn't the Sun family providing an opportunity for Father to be stripped of his title? This time, Fu Ming was demoted to a princess. It was clearly an opportunity handed over by the Sun family, allowing Father to try his hand at it."
Liu Zhao nodded with a smile. "That's part of the point, but the Sun family also has a strong desire to get rid of Zhou Yi. This move by the Sun family can be said to kill two birds with one stone. They please the emperor and get rid of Fu Ming, their in-law. As expected of a century-old family, they strike directly at the weakest part without giving anyone any reason to criticize them."
Gu Jiu asked curiously, "I heard from Aunt Huyang that the late emperor was very fond of Fu Ming. Then why didn't he grant Zhou Yi a title?"
Liu Zhao gently stroked her cheek. "Of course, it's because I can't bear to part with it. Even if it's just a small county lady, it would cost a lot of money. In this dynasty, the titles were originally real fiefs, with food and fiefdoms, and the right to collect taxes.
Later, as the court's tax revenue decreased year by year, the actual seal was changed into a fictitious title, and the fief was changed into a title salary, and the Ministry of Revenue was responsible for all the title salaries.
The court's annual expenditure on titles and salaries alone cost millions of taels. The generous granting of titles by our ancestors resulted in an empty treasury, with the state having to spend money before it could be fed.
By the time the previous emperor ascended the throne, the treasury was already heavily in arrears, and the salaries of the officials in the capital had been in arrears for two or three years. It is said that the officials in the capital at that time, especially those from poor families, were truly miserable.
The late emperor felt the burden of nobility and salary was heavy, so he was very strict in granting nobility and rarely granted nobility. However, compared to my father, the late emperor was relatively generous. During his reign, the late emperor generously granted the title of prince to his sons.
"When we came to Father's place, not only would we not have titles, but we brothers would have to live in the same mansion. This situation is truly unheard of."
"Ha ha……"
Gu Jiu laughed out loud.
There was undisguised complaint in Liu Zhao's words. It was obvious that he was very disgusted with Emperor Wende's behavior of not granting him a title and not giving him a mansion.
After laughing, Gu Jiu said, "I thought you had no problem with your current situation. You seemed to be living well on weekdays, but I didn't expect that you would dislike your brothers and not want to live under the same roof with them."
Liu Zhao said seriously, "Of course I despise them and don't want to live under the same roof with them. Right now, I just want to have my own prince's palace. I don't expect a title for the time being."
Gu Jiu pursed his lips and smiled, "The emperor is stingy with money and won't use it to build a palace for you. I'm afraid your dream of having a prince's palace will be a long time coming."
Liu Zhao knew this very well, so he was very depressed and full of resentment.
He said, "I checked the register of the Shaofu last year, and there are still several empty houses under the Shaofu's name, which can be used as the prince's residence."
Gu Jiu suppressed a smile and said, "Even if the prince does not have a title, the Ministry of Revenue must provide a settlement fee to help him renovate the mansion. The settlement fee for the princes is not cheap, and the emperor is reluctant to spend it."
Liu Zhao was filled with resentment.
He wanted to pay for Tao An's family expenses himself, but that would break the rules and make him a target of public criticism.
Moreover, once this precedent was set, the Ministry of Revenue would definitely rely on him. From now on, the Ministry of Revenue would find an excuse to ask him to pay for all expenses.
Humph!
The Ministry of Revenue is dreaming.
And he doesn't have that much money.
Gu Jiu has no intention of moving to a new mansion for the time being and never mentions it.
Why doesn’t Gu Jiu want to move to a new mansion?
Because she lives well now, she doesn't have to worry about anything and her expenses are low.
I moved to a new mansion, a huge house, and I have to rely on my own money to maintain it. The pressure is huge.
Poverty made Gu Jiu lose the motivation to move.
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