"In your opinion, where should we start building this first cement road under the supervision of the imperial court?"
Emperor Wende directly threw the question to Gu Jiu.
Gu Jiu felt a little pain in his back teeth.
She complained, "My daughter-in-law is not an important official in the imperial court, so I really don't know how to build this cement road."
Emperor Wende thought she was stupid!
Of course she wouldn't jump into such an obvious trap.
Court officials were divided into many factions according to region.
These days, being an official requires being from the same hometown, classmates, or even the same year.
See, fellow countrymen are ranked first.
Officials from the same place are naturally allies of interests.
It’s okay to have different opinions and disputes over small matters.
However, since road construction is related to the interests of a region, officials from the same region will inevitably unite. They may even try to win over officials from other regions along the route to form a road construction alliance.
If Gu Jiu really answered Emperor Wende's question, he would become the target of public criticism.
For example, Gu Jiu said that the official road from the capital to Hexi should be built first.
Believe it or not, officials outside Hexi hate her to death.
Especially the officials from the Hedong area, they definitely regard her as a thorn in their side.
Gu Jiu would never jump into such an obvious trap.
She is not a fool like Liu Zhao who dares to confront anyone when she is unhappy.
She is a businesswoman, and businesspeople believe in making money through harmony.
Emperor Wende snorted, "How dare you act so cunningly in front of me."
Gu Jiu lowered his head and complained secretly.
If she didn't try to be cunning in answering this fatal question, would she just charge forward head-on?
She had no awareness of sacrificing herself heroically.
What could she do in the face of Emperor Wende's reprimand?
"My daughter-in-law doesn't dare to play tricks. She really doesn't understand."
Even if he was exposed by Emperor Wende, Gu Jiu would not give in easily.
Never pretend to be rich when you should be poor, and never act smart and capable when you should act stupid.
Because once or twice, you can get the Emperor Wende's approval. After three or four times, it will become a matter of course.
Once her contributions of money, effort, and brainpower became a matter of course, if she failed to do so even once, it would become a crime, and she would be despised and punished in the blink of an eye.
So, even though everyone knew she was rich, she still complained about being poor in front of others.
Even though everyone knew she had many solutions, she would refuse at least nine times out of ten. The last time, she would only help out reluctantly.
Emperor Wende was very dissatisfied and said angrily with a stern face: "You are not afraid of me at all."
Gu Jiu's mouth twitched, and he said sincerely, "My daughter-in-law is scared. She's so scared that her legs are shaking."
Emperor Wende's forehead twitched.
Gu Jiu and Liu Zhao have learned bad things. They are just as shameless and even tell lies with their eyes open.
Trembling legs?
Which leg is shaking?
Emperor Wende asked directly, "If I ask you to pay for a road, which road would you build?"
Gu Jiu blinked, "My daughter-in-law is already very satisfied with the cement road from Beijing to Luozhou. She doesn't dare to ask for a second cement road."
"Who cares if you're satisfied or not? I'm just asking you, if I ask you to pay for a road, which one would you build?"
Gu Jiu felt a headache. Why did Emperor Wende force her to answer this question?
She thought for a moment and whispered, "If such an opportunity really arises, my daughter-in-law would choose to build all the official roads in the capital area, connecting every county town. Secondly, she would build all the yellow mud roads in the capital into cement roads. This way, the people in the capital will no longer have to worry about going out on rainy days."
In such a huge capital city, not all roads are paved with bluestone slabs.
Bluestone slabs cost money. From quarrying to transportation to paving, every link costs lives.
In the capital, except for the imperial city and several main roads in the east, west, south and north, other roads are almost all dirt roads.
It feels so sour and refreshing when it rains.
After going out, half of my pants were covered with yellow mud and my shoes were completely ruined.
These days, the straw sandal business is even better than the cloth shoe business, which is closely related to the poor road conditions.
Emperor Wende was very unhappy.
In his opinion, Gu Jiu's answer was very flattering and clearly perfunctory.
He sneered, "Then I'll ask you to build cement roads on all the official roads in the capital. Are you willing?"
Only a fool would do that.
Most of those roads cannot have toll booths.
She spent money on repairs, but received nothing in return. She was not the imperial court, so she had no obligation to take on this responsibility.
But Emperor Wende clearly tricked her as a punishment.
What can she do?
I have no choice but to use my ultimate move!
"Ouch! My daughter-in-law has a stomachache, it hurts so much... Help, help..."
Gu Jiu covered his abdomen and fell directly to the ground.
He was sweating profusely, his face turned pale, and he was in great pain.
"What's wrong, Madam Zhao?"
"Your Majesty, Madam Zhao is in such a state that we should call in the imperial physician."
Emperor Wende: “…”
I feel very upset and I really want to curse.
"Call the imperial physician! Bring Madam Zhao to the side hall for rest."
"Your Majesty, should we inform His Highness?"
Emperor Wende hummed, "Ask the boss to come into the palace."
Chang En quickly gave orders.
Gu Jiu was helped up by the palace maid and placed in a side hall.
Emperor Wende stood behind the desk and picked up the inkstone and smashed it.
Bang!
The fine Duan inkstone was smashed in two, with several pieces flying everywhere.
Inside the hall, all the palace servants, from Chang En on down, knelt down, not daring to breathe, fearing they would upset Emperor Wende and become cannon fodder.
"She's so audacious! She even dares to play such a flawed trick in front of me. Does she really think she can get away with it by playing such a trick? Dream on!"
"Your Majesty, calm down! After the imperial physician's examination, if Madam Zhao is indeed playing tricks, it will not be too late for Your Majesty to punish her."
After a pause, Chang En continued, "Perhaps Madam Zhao is really ill."
Emperor Wende sneered, "Among my daughters-in-law, the eldest is the healthiest. Have you ever seen her sick in all these years? There were rumors that she was a sickly person. If all the sickly people in the world were as healthy as she is, I'm afraid everyone would live to be eighty-eight."
Chang En was speechless.
Yes!
Since Madam Zhao married His Highness, she seems to have never been ill.
However, the second and fourth wives had to consult doctors and take medicine every year and fell ill several times.
Emperor Wende was furious. "She's normally healthy, yet when I question her, she dares to feign illness. How dare she? She's committing deception."
Chang En winked at his godson.
The godson understood what he meant and left quietly, going to the side hall to check on Madam Zhao.
Once the imperial physician reaches a conclusion, he must report it to His Majesty immediately.
Chang En comforted Emperor Wende, "Your Majesty, calm down. Perhaps Madam Zhao was just too scared, which is why she resorted to such a desperate measure."
Emperor Wende glared, "Will I eat people?"
Chang En's eyebrows twitched: Your Majesty, when you get angry, it's more terrifying than eating people.
Chang En said: "Madam Zhao is a female relative after all, and she is timid."
Ha ha……
Emperor Wende seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world. "She's timid? I've never seen a woman braver than her."
They dared to pretend to be sick in front of him, they were obviously very bold.
…
In the side hall, Gu Jiu was lying on the couch, looking weak and powerless.
The eunuch called the imperial physician to take her pulse.
"Please ask Madam to extend her hand."
Gu Jiu hummed and stretched out his right hand weakly, "Thank you, Imperial Doctor."
"You're welcome, ma'am."
The imperial physician, who was half buried, stroked his beard while carefully taking the patient's pulse.
His brows were slightly furrowed, as if he had encountered a difficult problem.
So the imperial physician asked Gu Jiu to stretch out his left hand and continued to take his pulse.
The eunuch watched from the side, somewhat terrified, "Imperial Physician, is Madam Zhao's health okay?"
The imperial physician remained silent.
Gu Jiu coughed lightly and said, "No matter how serious the illness is, please tell me the truth, imperial physician. I can bear it."
The imperial physician let go of Gu Jiu's wrist and was silent for a moment before saying, "Madam is pregnant."
"What is the disease, Imperial Physician..." The eunuch said halfway before reacting, "What did the Imperial Physician just say? Say it again."
The imperial physician said solemnly, "Madam Zhao is pregnant, and it will be over a month."
"really?"
"Absolutely true."
The eunuch opened his mouth wide and looked at Gu Jiu in disbelief.
Gu Jiu's eyelashes trembled slightly, and it was obvious that she was trying to suppress her inner excitement. "Doctor, am I really pregnant?"
"Madam's wedding should be postponed."
Gu Jiu bit her lip and said, "The date is a little uncertain, I'm not sure."
The imperial physician understood.
Women's dates are often not so accurate. Postponing the date is a common circumstance because of uncertainty.
"Madam Zhao, please rest well. Your pregnancy looks unstable. I'll prescribe two doses of pregnancy-maintaining medicine for you. Take them carefully. Don't let any more stimulation occur."
Gu Jiu readily agreed, "Thank you, Doctor."
The imperial physician went to prescribe medicine.
"Congratulations, madam. Congratulations, madam. Your Majesty, why are you waiting for news? I'll take my leave now." The eunuch said the auspicious words and left in a hurry.
Gu Jiu breathed a sigh of relief, this hurdle was finally passed.
She stroked her belly gently and wanted to announce the arrival of the baby for another half month.
Unexpectedly, plans couldn't keep up with changes. Forced by Emperor Wende, she had no choice but to announce the pregnancy news in advance.
…
"What, pregnant?"
Emperor Wende was surprised.
The eunuch nodded confidently, "Madam Zhao is indeed pregnant. The imperial physician diagnosed that she is almost a month pregnant and said that the fetus is unstable and cannot be stimulated any further."
Emperor Wende frowned, "She's really pregnant."
Chang En said hurriedly, "It seems that Madam Zhao is not deliberately deceiving Your Majesty."
Emperor Wende nodded. "So I misunderstood her. I told her she wasn't afraid of anything, but she kept refusing to build the road. It turns out she's pregnant."
"Congratulations, Your Majesty. Congratulations, Your Majesty. Madam Zhao is pregnant, and the royal family will have another child."
Emperor Wende also became happy. "The eldest brother and his wife are not young anymore. They have been married for many years and have only one child. I was worried about them. Now the eldest brother's wife is pregnant again. This is a happy event. Haha..."
Just as he was feeling happy, a eunuch came in to report, "Your Majesty, the Grand Master has arrived."
"Ask him in." Emperor Wende put away his smile.
The eunuch looked conflicted.
Emperor Wende glared, "What's going on?"
The eunuch said tremblingly: "Your Majesty, the prince has gone to the side hall to visit Madam Zhao, and I can't stop him!"
When he arrived at Xingqing Palace, he did not pay his respects to the emperor first, but ran to visit his wife.
Is Liu Zhao itching for trouble? Does he want to die?
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