Emperor Wende looked at Liu Zhao, who was acting like a rogue and trying to get benefits, with an expression that was hard to describe.
How could he have given birth to such a shameless son?
Completely forgetting that like father, like son.
He forgot that it was he who taught by example, and Liu Zhao followed suit.
"Rather than secretly embezzling money and then being discovered and impeached later, it would be better for me to make it clear to the emperor in advance. You can send me south, but I must offer some benefits. I don't want to work so hard on this mission, offend everyone, and ultimately gain nothing. If the emperor doesn't agree, I'll be sorry for my weakness and inability to go south."
puff!
Shame on you!
He doesn't even look at his own size, and he even has the audacity to say that he is delicate and weak.
Emperor Wende laughed angrily, "Can't you find a decent reason?"
"Even if it's a decent reason, Father won't believe it. So let's just leave it at that."
Liu Zhao had an expression of a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water.
Emperor Wende's eyebrows twitched. "I have never seen anyone as shameless as you. You actually openly asked me for kickbacks. How ridiculous!"
Liu Zhao secretly rolled his eyes.
"I can't have no benefit at all."
"Gu Jiu earns so much money, isn't it enough for you to spend?"
"I have four children to support, and Xiaojiu has to support thousands of students in the academy. Where can I get the money? I'm already a pauper, penniless. If I go out, my face will be cleaner than my pocket."
"Ridiculous! Don't complain about being poor in front of me. I'm poorer than you."
"Father owns the Shaofu Bank, cement, and tolls. He is truly the richest man in the world."
"No matter how much I say it, I don't have the money to give you. How could I possibly start such a terrible thing?"
"Then please forgive me for being too weak to go south."
Emperor Wende was furious. "I have issued an order, ordering you to go south to buy grain. You must go even if you don't want to."
"Your son can be passive and lazy."
"If you dare to slack off and delay important matters, I will punish you."
"To suffer and still be punished, Father, why don't you charge me with the crime of disobeying the imperial order right now? This way, I can be spared the hardship of the long journey south of the Yangtze River."
Emperor Wende looked depressed.
When did Liu Zhao become so shameless and scoundrel?
"You bastard, you actually bargained with me? Do you really think I can't deal with you?"
Liu Zhao took off his outer robe and slumped down on the chair. "Father, please have someone beat me with the imperial cane. Give me thirty or fifty strokes. I will go home and recuperate, and stay with Xiaojiu to recuperate."
Looking at Liu Zhao's lazy look, Emperor Wende finally came to his senses. Isn't this the same him as before?
At this moment, Emperor Wende finally understood the feelings of the previous emperor. His hands itched and he couldn't help but whip Liu Zhao.
You deserve a beating!
Emperor Wende roared, "Get up and put your clothes on. How disgraceful! Tell me, how much money do you want?"
"Two hundred thousand taels of silver!"
"dream!"
The father and son bargained for a quarter of an hour over how much benefit and hard work fee they should give.
Finally, the father and son reached an agreement: Liu Zhao would receive a reward of 80,000 taels of silver and would go south within two days to ensure the completion of the mission.
Liu Zhao left satisfied.
Emperor Wende was both angry and amused.
"What kind of son did I give birth to? He actually has the audacity to ask for favors from me. Has he gone crazy because of poverty?"
Chang En smiled and said, "His Highness will do his best to do his job after receiving the benefits. Your Majesty does not need to worry about him delaying important matters."
Emperor Wende nodded repeatedly, "The boss is still capable. I am very relieved that he is going south to purchase food."
It's the pain of paying 80,000 taels.
The debt collector's son wants benefits for doing a job.
…
Liu Zhao placed 80,000 taels of silver in front of Gu Jiu.
He said a little bit proudly: "I earned it."
Gu Jiu burst out laughing, "Are you blackmailing His Majesty?"
"This is the hard work fee I promised you for traveling south. I'll give it all to you."
Gu Jiu laughed and put away the banknotes. "It's really rare. This is the first time I've received so much money from you. I have to count it over and over again."
Liu Zhao said proudly, "Let's just count the banknotes for fun today, just count them casually."
Seeing this, the maids all covered their mouths and laughed.
You really think that Madam has never seen money.
Not to mention 80,000 taels, I've even seen 800,000 taels.
In other words, the lady was giving face to the prince and was counting the silver bills with great interest.
Gu Jiu counted out 70,000 taels and had them put it away. He left the money to his children as their own savings, which they would invest in their businesses to earn dividends.
There were 10,000 taels left, and Gu Jiu returned them to Liu Zhao, "These are your pocket money for your trip south. I'm generous enough, aren't I?"
Liu Zhao chuckled, "That's enough! All other expenses will be covered by the Shaofu. This time I have to ask the Shaofu for some money."
The Ministry of Revenue cannot provide the money to buy grain.
It took a lot of effort for the Ministry of Revenue to achieve a balance between income and expenditure.
Use money to buy food?
Sorry, I really don’t have any money.
This money can only be paid by the Shaofu.
All expenses for food, accommodation and other expenses of the personnel were also borne by the Shaofu.
Liu Zhao said to Gu Jiu, "Being a capable and honest prince has no benefits except for being hated by others. This time, Your Highness has learned his lesson and will be a dandy prince. When I have money, I spend it. When I don't, I rob the Shaofu Bank. This time when I go south, I must clean up the stench of Jiangnan to prevent it from irritating people."
Gu Jiu reminded: "Don't be too drastic, just kill one or two typical ones."
"I know my limits, don't worry. Once I'm gone, I'll leave all the household chores to the servants. Your health is the most important thing."
Gu Jiu smiled and said, "Don't worry, I care about my body more than anyone else. I won't joke about my body."
…
Two days later, Liu Zhao led his men south by boat, changed to land route halfway, and rode at full speed to the south of the Yangtze River.
Gu Jiu took her four children to recuperate in Xiaozhu.
Empress Pei sent Eunuch Wen to Xiaozhu to visit Gu Jiu.
"His Highness has gone south, and His Majesty is extremely concerned about Madam's safety. Her Majesty wants Madam to return to the palace for the sake of the children."
"Thank you for your concern, Mother. Imperial Physician Hu ordered me to rest. I'm afraid I won't be able to rest well even if I return to the palace. For my health's sake, I will continue to live in the other courtyard. As for your safety, you can rest assured. Before His Highness left the capital, he left me two hundred guards, which are more than enough to ensure the safety of the five of us, mother and children."
"Your Majesty also has good intentions, Madam must not let her down."
Gu Jiu smiled softly, "I understand. I'd also like to trouble Eunuch Wen to speak a few good words for me to the Queen Mother. Tell her that I'm weak and it's not suitable for me to move. When I recover, I'll bring the children to the palace to pay my respects."
As soon as the voice fell, the maid Ah Qing presented a wooden box with both hands, "Please accept it, Eunuch Wen."
Eunuch Wen hesitated, "How can I be so embarrassed!"
Gu Jiu smiled softly, "Eunuch Wen, please accept it. I live far away, and you've made such a fuss to come all this way. I can't let you go back empty-handed."
"Then, we will respectfully obey your orders!"
"That's just the way it should be!"
Eunuch Wen accepted the wooden box, gently opened the lid and saw a stack of silver bills, at least a thousand taels.
He thought to himself, no wonder everyone in the palace was willing to come to Madam Zhao.
Madam Zhao was indeed generous.
The other ladies are far inferior.
He accepted Gu Jiu's money and said, "Don't worry, Madam. We will help you sort out the matter with the Empress. We won't let the Empress misunderstand you."
"Thank you, Eunuch Wen."
…
Gu Jiu originally thought that if Eunuch Wen said a few good words for her, the matter would be over.
Unexpectedly, two days later, Eunuch Wen came to Xiaozhu again with a smile on his face.
"We are here to deliver gifts to Madam and the four young princes in compliance with Her Majesty's order."
Gu Jiu suddenly laughed.
Eunuch Wen is very capable and capable of doing things.
Not only did he fool Empress Pei, but he also made Empress Pei send gifts to him on her own initiative.
This is very unusual.
She didn't pay much attention to Wen Zhong before, but now it seems that he is a talented person.
"Thank you for the trip, Eunuch Wen."
Naturally, there will be benefits for Eunuch Wen.
From now on, Eunuch Wen became the lubricant between Empress Pei and Gu Jiu, reconciling the relationship between the two.
As expected, there were fewer conflicts between the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law.
Queen Pei was not picky about Gu Jiu and even sent her gifts from time to time.
Gu Jiuchang and the people around him said, "The money given to Eunuch Wen is the most worthwhile."
Use the least amount of money to get the most done.
Eunuch Wen is a kind man!
…
The people around Empress Dowager Xiao were not so kind.
Take the money and get the job done.
But to be fair, things were not done very well.
So much so that Empress Dowager Xiao complained several times in front of everyone, saying that Gu Jiu was unruly and had not come to the palace to pay respects since she became pregnant.
It has been one or two months since I left the confinement period. No matter how weak my body is, I can still go out.
But even so, he did not go to the palace to pay his respects.
There was no sign of twins, a boy and a girl.
"It's so rare for a royal family to have twins, a boy and a girl, born. It's such a joyous occasion, and yet months have passed and I haven't even seen the children. Ridiculous!"
Empress Pei spoke up for Gu Jiu, "My daughter-in-law asked Doctor Hu, and he said that the eldest daughter-in-law's vitality has been seriously damaged. She may not be able to recover for a year or two. Although she can get out of bed and walk around, she still can't go out."
"It's a long journey from the city walls to the palace, back and forth. I'm afraid something might happen, and Liu Zhao might get wind of it and cause trouble. Queen Mother also knows that Liu Zhao has a stubborn temper. If he gets stubborn and ruins the court's affairs, angering Your Majesty, what will happen?"
Empress Dowager Xiao snorted, her face darkening. "I just wanted to see the twins, it's not as serious as you say. Are you saying that if I can see the children, the people in the disaster area will starve? I've truly become the culprit."
"Mother, please calm down. Your daughter-in-law has absolutely no such intention. Your daughter-in-law's intention is to wait until autumn, when she can go out, and then ask her to bring the child to the palace to pay her respects."
"Forget it, forget it! I won't be that evil person."
Empress Dowager Xiao looked bored and was very dissatisfied with Gu Jiu.
Empress Pei was also dissatisfied. After returning to Weiyang Palace, she threw a tantrum, but was finally persuaded by Eunuch Wen.
"Your Majesty, calm down! Your Highness, if you do your job well, it will bring honor to Your Majesty. At this time, everything must be based on the overall situation."
Empress Pei took a deep breath and said, "You are right. I must put the overall situation first. How is Gu Jiu's health?"
"Three meals a day, and constant doses of medicine. But she looks a little better, and can even walk a few steps in the garden. But she still can't go out. She leaves all the things she has to deal with to the servants, and she doesn't ask about them."
"Since she hasn't recovered yet, I won't bother with her. Go see her for me when you have time. That way, the eldest brother won't complain again, saying that I don't care about his wife and children."
"I obey your command!"
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