After the first month of the year, the emperor did not issue an edict to depose the crown prince, but instead he finally decided to clear the arrears of the Ministry of Revenue.
The emperor issued an edict that all relevant departments must cooperate with the Ministry of Revenue to clear the arrears.
Anyone who has any debts owed to the Ministry of Revenue must return the debt truthfully.
Don't think that you don't have to pay back what you ask for from the Ministry of Revenue.
The first to be affected were the numerous royal relatives.
Regardless of whether they were rich or poor, almost all members of the royal family received a lot of money from the Ministry of Revenue.
The court’s money is everyone’s money.
If you can get something for free, why can't I?
It’s a waste not to lend it.
At worst, I can just write an IOU. The Ministry of Revenue won’t really send anyone to collect the debt anyway.
This is how we have been living for so many years.
As a result, under the plunder of various forces, the Ministry of Revenue became increasingly poor. Unable to increase taxes, it could only beg for alms from the Ministry of Finance.
The Shaofu is also complaining. As soon as your Ministry of Revenue is out of money, you come to beg for money. Do you really treat the Shaofu as the Ministry of Revenue's secret treasury?
As a result, the Ministry of Revenue complained about being poor, the Ministry of the Treasury complained about suffering, and everyone had a hard time.
The emperor kept delaying, and in the past two years, natural disasters have occurred frequently and tax revenue has decreased, but the court's spending has not decreased, but has increased instead.
Having to sue over money every year is really a headache.
The salaries of Beijing officials are almost gone.
The emperor was so angry that he simply set about clearing the arrears of the Ministry of Revenue.
If all the debts can be recovered, the Ministry of Revenue will be able to increase its silver reserves by eight or nine million taels this year.
This is a huge sum of money.
With such a huge sum of money lying around, no one wouldn’t be tempted.
The emperor is also a mortal, and he was also moved.
MMP, I haven't even seen this money, it all went into the pockets of you bastards.
I will now settle the score. You must spit out everything you ate from me, and return everything you took from me.
No matter whether they are royal family members or civil and military officials, no one is exempt.
Not paying back the money?
I will let you know why blood is so red. If you don't want my head, I will chop it off for you.
This matter was led by the Secretariat and the Ministry of Revenue.
The vigorous campaign to clear arrears began.
Originally, this matter had nothing to do with Lord Gu.
In the past few years, he has been sent to serve as an official in other places.
Even if he wanted to borrow money from the Ministry of Revenue, he couldn't reach that far.
He was also one of the few officials in the capital who did not owe money to the Ministry of Revenue.
Lord Gu was ready to watch the show, but he didn't expect that a document from the Ministry of Revenue would put Lord Gu on the fire.
The Minister of Revenue flipped through the list of debtors of civil and military officials, and found that Lord Gu Zhili was not on the list.
So rare!
So he immediately sent a letter to the prefectural government office in the capital, asking Mr. Gu to cooperate in the repayment of the arrears.
Looking at the document, which had not only the signature of the Minister of Revenue but also the seal of the head of the Secretariat, Lord Gu knew very well that he could not escape this time.
In desperation, Lord Gu could only obey the order and began to cooperate with the Ministry of Revenue to clear the arrears.
However, I don’t know if someone was deliberately picking on him, but the first place he had to settle his arrears was with the Haixi Earl’s Mansion.
Lord Gu cursed in front of the Minister of Revenue.
Is there such a thing?
They are his in-laws.
Is this going to make him offend his in-laws?
The Minister of Revenue said in a high-sounding manner, "It is precisely because Lord Gu and Lord Haixi are relatives that it is more appropriate for you to come to their house to handle this matter. If you two relatives can resolve the debt issue amicably, wouldn't everyone be happy?"
Lord Gu blew his beard and glared, "Have I ever done anything wrong? Or have I ever offended you, sir?"
The Minister of Revenue laughed heartily. "Master Gu is quite the jokester. We haven't had much contact before, so how could there be any offense? I trust Master Gu, so I entrusted him with such an important task."
After all, the Minister of Revenue refused to change his decision and insisted that Lord Gu ask Haixibo for money.
Lord Gu turned away in anger. He was also a man with a bad temper.
He had thought it all out and started to slack off. After a few days, he said that the matter was difficult to handle and he was unable to do it, so he asked the Ministry of Revenue to send capable officials to the Haixi Earl's Mansion to clear the arrears.
However, after only two days of passive resistance, he heard a terrifying piece of news.
The Jinwu Guards were dispatched, and the Shaofu Prison Secretary was also dispatched.
This group of executioners not only targeted the civil and military officials who owed money, but also kept an eye on the progress of the Ministry of Revenue.
The Minister of Revenue privately reminded Lord Gu, "The task has been assigned to you. If there is no income, I will have no choice but to hand this matter over to the Minister of the Imperial Household. Lord Gu, please go to the Imperial Household and have a good talk with the Minister of the Imperial Household."
Lord Gu was sweating profusely. He didn't want to provoke the people from the Shaofu.
Those people were the emperor's close ministers. If they said a few bad things about him in front of the emperor, his career would be over.
Lord Gu gritted his teeth and his expression became ferocious.
As the saying goes, a friend's death is not the end of me.
It is better for Haixibofu to die than for him to die.
So, Lord Gu personally brought the yamen runners and blocked Haixibo at the door of his house.
Hai Xibo frowned slightly and looked at Lord Gu with displeasure, "Lord Gu, are you here to demonstrate?"
"I dare not! I have been ordered to pay off the debts owed by the Haixi Marquis's Mansion over the years. I beg you to be lenient and pay the money back as soon as possible. This will save everyone's face."
Hai Xibo was furious. He put his hands behind his back and looked down at the man. "If I refuse to pay the money back, what do you think, Lord Gu?"
A cruel look flashed in Lord Gu's eyes. "If the Earl refuses to pay back the money, then don't blame me for not considering our relationship. My men are all experts in confiscating property. We will inevitably have to go to the Earl's mansion and bother him a bit."
Hai Xibo was furious, "How dare you!"
Lord Gu took out the official document and said, "This is an imperial decree. His Majesty has given us permission to act at our discretion. Do you really want to go against His Majesty?"
Hai Xibo sneered, "Gu Zhili, I really didn't know you were the alpha wolf."
Lord Gu's face was expressionless. "I am Your Majesty's lackey. Where Your Majesty points east, I will not go west. My Lord, instead of wasting your time chatting with me, you should think about how to raise the money to repay the debt. Otherwise, the next person who comes will not be me, but the Jinwu Guards and the Minister of the Imperial Household."
"Don't try to scare me with the Jinwu Guards. When I was fighting on the battlefield, those guys were still young."
Lord Gu sneered, "Your Highness, please save this for the Jinwu Guards. I'll give you one day. Tomorrow at this time, I'll come and get the money. If you can't get the money, I don't mind bringing people to search your house. Let's go!"
Lord Gu came and left in a decisive manner.
Hai Xibo stood at the door of his house, his face turning blue with anger.
In his opinion, Gu Zhili was simply using a feather as a token of authority. From the very beginning, he started shouting and yelling without showing any mercy, which was simply too much.
"Uncle, do you still want to go out?"
"What are you going out for?"
Haixi Bofu angrily scolded his servants, turned around and went back home, asking the accountant to prepare the silver and money.
Over the years, the Haixi Marquis' Mansion has borrowed more than 100,000 taels from the Ministry of Revenue.
The Earl's Mansion certainly couldn't come up with so much money in such a short time. At most, they could only raise 20,000 taels.
Haixi Bofu frowned, "Only twenty thousand taels, how can it be enough." It's not even a fraction.
Lady Haixi was furious. "Where is Erlang's wife? Call her over. This troublemaker, she's causing trouble for everyone at home, and now her father is causing trouble for you, my uncle. It's truly despicable."
Hai Xibo said with a stern face, "What does this have to do with Erlang's wife? Don't mess around. If something goes wrong, Gu Zhili might take this opportunity to make me suffer a great loss."
"He dares!"
Mrs. Haixibo slammed the table.
On the surface, she obeyed Hai Xibo's words and did not make things difficult for Gu Yue.
After Hai Xibo left the house, she ordered her confidant to move things from Gu Yue's room.
Don’t you have to pay back the money?
As the daughter-in-law of the Haixi Marquis's Mansion, Gu Yue should do her part.
When Gu Yue saw the ferocious maids and servants rummaging through her room, searching for money, she picked up the tea bowl on the table and smashed it on the forehead of the servant closest to her.
Not satisfied with this, she took out a rolling pin from the corner and started hitting people.
"I'll beat you all to death, you bitch! You dare to steal my money? Do you really think I'm easy to bully? If anyone dares to do that again, my father will make sure you all pay the price and be thrown into the Imperial Prison to feed the dogs."
Gu Yue knew very well the purpose of these maids and old women's visit.
She was in the inner house and heard about the huge debt clearance by the Ministry of Revenue.
She also knew that her father had brought yamen runners to block Hai Xibo at the door of his house early in the morning.
She was always on guard because she knew that Lady Haixi had no good intentions.
As expected, Lady Haixi sent people to collect her money.
Fortunately, she followed Gu Jiu's example and asked the maid to prepare a rolling pin, and then beat him with all her might.
She just didn't believe that she couldn't kill these bitches.
"Someone's been beaten to death! Someone's been beaten to death!"
"The Second Young Madam only dares to take her anger out on us servants. We are only following orders. If you are dissatisfied, go and talk to the Madam."
"Bah! I'm putting this out there today. If anyone dares to take a penny from me, I'll make them pay it back tenfold or a hundredfold. I don't believe that if I kill you, Madam will make me pay with my own life."
The maids and old women looked at each other in bewilderment.
The second young lady is becoming more and more unrefined and aggressive.
Anyone in Gu Yue's situation would have no way of being polite.
The commotion here alarmed Zhao Erlang who was resting in the courtyard next door.
He appeared in the yard on crutches.
During the first month of the lunar year, Zhao Erlang went out to drink and was beaten with a black stick, breaking his leg.
He didn't even know what the murderer looked like, although he was sure that the person who did it must have been sent by the Gu family.
Furthermore, he was lured into gambling and lost five thousand taels of silver, and was subsequently detained there.
Later, the government paid money to redeem him.
Then within two days, he was beaten with a stick.
He absolutely wouldn't believe that this series of events had nothing to do with the Gu family.
He wanted to settle the score with the Gu family, but ended up being beaten by his father.
He was in the wrong and had no concrete evidence, so how could he go to the Gu Mansion to settle the score?
Even if you sue someone, you can't win without evidence.
Zhao Erlang has been holding his breath in his heart until today.
Hearing Gu Yue's nonsense, he rushed out.
He pointed at Gu Yue and cursed: "Bitch, it's not enough to harm me, you also want to harm the Earl's Mansion. I was blind at the time, so I mistakenly thought you were a gentle and virtuous woman."
Gu Yue sneered, "If I were gentle and virtuous, you would have killed me long ago. Zhao Erlang, you deserve what you have today. You are a homosexual, yet you still dream of marrying and having children? Dream on."
"Bitch, I must kill you today."
Zhao Erlang hated being called a homosexual the most.
He rushed forward and slapped Gu Yue in the face.
He had a foot injury and was not walking fast enough.
Gu Yue dodged it successfully.
Zhao Erlang was furious. "What are you still standing there for? Arrest her immediately."
The servants obeyed the order, and four or five of them went up to capture Gu Yue.
Gu Yue screamed, and the maidservants around her wanted to help, but two fists were no match for a deadly hand, after all, Zhao Erlang had more people on his side.
Gu Yue's hands were held tightly by the old woman and she couldn't move.
Even my feet were held down.
She yelled, "Slut, let me go."
The servants remained indifferent.
All of Gu Yue's maids and servants who came with her as a dowry were pinned to the ground, and no one was spared.
Zhao Erlang grinned, walked forward, raised his hand and slapped Gu Yue several times.
Gu Yue's cheeks instantly became red and swollen, and the corners of her mouth were broken and bleeding.
She stared at Zhao Erlang with hatred, "If you dare, beat me to death."
Zhao Erlang chuckled, "Don't worry, I won't beat you to death. But I will make your life worse than death. Come, collect all the silver and send it to mother."
This time no one stopped the maids and servants.
Gu Yue's eyes were wide open and bloodshot.
That was her money, her dowry.
They actually dared to steal her money, they all deserved a horrible death.
The servants dug out three or four thousand taels of silver from the boxes.
Zhao Erlang laughed, "That's right, with this money, I can also help my father and mother share their worries."
Zhao Erlang left contentedly.
The anger that had been pent up in my heart since the first month of the lunar year was finally released.
The servant let go of Gu Yue, and Gu Yue fell to the ground.
The maid Grape crawled to her side and said, "Young Madam, please don't let this get you down!"
Gu Yue smiled coldly, his eyes fierce, looking exactly like Lord Gu.
She murmured to herself, as if instructing the grapes, "I want arsenic, lots and lots of arsenic."
Grape was horrified and thought Gu Yue wanted to commit suicide.
"Young Madam, please don't be foolish. It's better to live a miserable life than to die. Let's go back to the mansion and ask the master to make the decision."
Gu Yue grabbed Grape's arm, her eyes looking murderous, "Can you get some arsenic? Arsenic that can kill hundreds of people?"
Grape was frightened and completely unable to react.
She trembled all over, her teeth chattered, and her fingers trembled. "Second Young Madam, you, you must...you must not do that. This is a capital crime."
"The worst that can happen is we'll both perish. Why should I be afraid?"
She pointed at the messy bedroom, at the discarded clothes and bedding, and said, "A mere servant could treat me so badly. How can I, the Second Young Lady, have any dignity? In the Haixi Marquis's mansion, I am a joke, a living joke. Zhao Erlang, the Lady of Haixi, they are mother and son, and they have gone too far. I swear I will not be a human being until I avenge this."
Gu Yue is a person who holds grudges, but he is also a person who does what he says.
She had dared to set fire to and kill Gu Shan simply because Xie favored her. She hadn't shown any remorse afterwards.
This shows that this person is a born criminal through and through.
I would rather let her betray the whole world than let the whole world betray her.
She will kill anyone who dares to betray her.
She has the determination and is willing to take risks.
If she had used this energy elsewhere, she wouldn't be in this situation today.
I can only say that paranoia is not good, because if you are not careful you will become a psychopath.
Where can I buy arsenic from grapes?
It is also impossible for a pharmacy to sell large quantities of arsenic to anyone.
Arsenic is a strictly controlled substance these days, to prevent people from using it to kill people.
Grape was so nervous that her palms were sweating. She kept persuading him, "Young Madam, please get up and drink some water to calm down. There must be a way to resolve this matter. Don't let your imagination run wild."
Gu Yue got up from the ground and drank some water.
She did calm down, but the calmer she was, the more she wanted to kill.
She said, "You're right. Arsenic is not a good way to kill people. I have to find another way."
"Young Madam, please don't think about it. I beg you."
Grape was so anxious that he wanted to bang his head against the wall and die.
Gu Yue suddenly laughed, "Grape, don't worry, I won't let you die. You've always been by my side. You're the person I trust the most, and I will never let you fall into danger."
"I will not let the young mistress fall into danger."
Gu Yue smiled and said, "I won't be in danger."
She gritted her teeth, her cheek aching.
"Go, get a basin of hot water and apply it to me."
Grapes go to get hot water.
Gu Yue was still sitting upright on the chair, grinning grimly.
Zhao Erlang, you are such a good guy, you actually dared to steal her money.
If she doesn't avenge this, she wouldn't be Gu Yue.
And there was Lady Haixi, who had no idea how to raise her children and only told her to be patient.
She had endured enough.
Zhao Erlang only had his leg broken, that was not enough.
Only by skinning Zhao Erlang and pulling out his tendons could she relieve the hatred in her heart.
As much as Gu Yue loved Zhao Erlang in the past, she hates him now.
I wish I could eat its flesh raw and drink its blood.
At this time, Zhao Erlang was taking credit in front of Lady Haixi while slandering Gu Yue.
He had no idea that Gu Yue had already developed murderous intentions towards him and wanted to kill him as soon as possible.
Don't mess with women, no matter who you are.
Especially a woman like Gu Yue who is born crazy.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com