As the sun rose, Gu Jinke was woken up early by Xin Shuangzhi and Sang Yi, and dressed neatly to attend the court meeting.
From the time he took leave after the assassination attempt to now, Gu Jinke has had a leisurely half month on and off. There has been no progress in the investigation into the assassination, and Jingzhao Yi Ranjun is worried every day.
Gu Jinke originally wanted to continue his vacation, but he heard that Young Master Li Yuxin, who was more seriously injured, was able to walk and entertain guests.
Such involution...
Gu Jinke, who only injured one arm, had no choice but to go to court.
But the grand court meeting was still as boring as before. The empress sat high up on the phoenix chair with a serious expression.
The ministers below were making routine reports and arguing with each other, and the argument was still about whether the funds for repairing the dam before Gu Jinke took leave should be approved.
The land of the Great Jin State was fertile and the people were prosperous, thanks to a large river that ran from west to east through the entire Great Jin State. Its branches spread everywhere, nourishing millions of Jin people and was called the Jin River by the people of Jin State.
However, during the flood season, there was a lot of damage in the surrounding areas, and people were often displaced and killed or injured, making life difficult for the people of Shanxi.
The previous generations of empresses of Jin State spent a lot of financial, human and material resources on this. After several generations of efforts to manage the river and build dams, there have finally been some results. The contemporary empress, Emperor Yuan Qing, has also invested a lot in this. Last year, she invested a large sum of money to reinforce and repair the dams.
A few days ago, a report was submitted saying that there was a lot of rain in the middle reaches of the Jin River this year. The empress was immediately worried. It happened that the important minister of the court, Prime Minister Gong Zhonghua, was going back to his hometown to worship his ancestors, so the empress asked her to go there for an inspection.
Then the court started arguing over whether to allocate funds for the reinforcement of Jinhe this year. One group believes that the dam, which was reinforced just last year, can last at least three to five years and there is no need to spend more money. Another group believes that since there has been a lot of rain this year, we must take precautions in advance and reinforce the system again. Even if it is not used this year, it will benefit the present and future generations.
The Queen herself originally preferred to reinforce the dam. After all, if something really happened and the dam collapsed, it would definitely affect the prosperity and development of the local area and even nearby counties or the State of Jin.
However, as luck would have it, a memorial submitted by Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess exposed a case of military pay deficit. The silver seized from General Chen's home and the homes of other accomplices was far from enough to make up for the deficit. A large amount of silver had already been squandered, or even went to an unknown destination. The people in charge could not explain the whereabouts of the silver, and it could not be recovered.
The Queen had originally planned to divert the money that would have been used to repair the dike this year to military pay to prevent a mutiny in the army. If we spend more money to repair the dam, the national treasury will be even less money.
There had been endless arguments over this matter, and the Queen was very troubled and hesitant, and there was no news from Prime Minister Gong Zhonghua.
Gu Jinke was almost sleepy after listening to what was said. The princesses beside her were also silent. The important ministers in the front row seemed not to have heard anything either. They hung their heads and no one knew what they were thinking.
The Queen looked around at everyone, her eyes stern and sharp, and suddenly she called out, "My Lady, do you have any suggestions?"
Gu Jinke was suddenly awakened from his sleepiness and immediately recalled what they had just discussed: "Fund allocation?"
The Queen thought about the huge sum of money, then she remained silent for a moment and looked at the other princesses.
The Second Princess had never been involved in matters and was not familiar with the political affairs of the court. The Empress ignored her and looked at the Third Princess with a meaningful look: "Third Princess, what do you think?"
The third princess was flattered. After all, the empress had always ignored her and never asked her about such things. Even though she was full of talent, she felt that she had no place to put her talents to good use.
I must perform well and seize this opportunity to let the Queen Mother see her excellence and see through Gu Jinke's mediocrity and incompetence.
She encouraged herself secretly, took a step forward, stood in the hall with her head held high, bowed, and answered loudly: "Reporting to the Queen Mother, I think that funds should be allocated, but the funds do not need to be taken from the national treasury."
Some people in the court brightened their eyes, while others frowned.
The Queen also looked at her and pondered for a moment. She tapped the armrest of the Phoenix Chair and said, "Tell me in detail."
Gu Jinxiu smiled confidently: "This amount of money, I think..."
She spoke eloquently, and as she spoke, the officials in the court began to whisper to each other.
Gu Jinke listened and there was a hint of a smile in his eyes.
I have to say that the Third Princess still has some ideas, and this method is not unfeasible.
What the Third Princess said was fundraising. She did not target the ministers in the court, but instead turned her attention to the wealthy families, merchants and gentry along the Jin River. She suggested that these families raise funds and then erect a monument with words on it for them in Jinhe to make them famous for generations.
These families have been entrenched on the banks of the Jin River for many years, making a lot of money and living a luxurious life. It is no wonder that Gu Jinxiu turned his attention to them.
The third princess, Gu Jinxiu, wanted to take from the people and use it for the people, but she used the method of fundraising to give these wealthy families an opportunity to erect a monument so that people would praise them from generation to generation.
The Queen's eyes flickered. Who hasn't attracted the attention of these wealthy families?
But it’s not easy to fight. She looked at the ministers who were whispering in the court.
Gu Jinxiu was still a little immature, and only thought about getting something for nothing, but she didn't think about it carefully. Money means power. Many people standing in this hall came from wealthy families. If they were not direct descendants, there were also relatives. After all, beautiful mountains and rivers produce talented people.
However, the Queen looked at Gu Jinxiu, and then glanced at the inattentive Crown Princess beside her. The Queen's eyes flickered, and she made a decision in her heart: "Okay, Third Brother, if that's the case, then you will follow the order and supervise this matter."
The ministers were a little shocked. They didn't expect that the queen would agree, but they couldn't think of any reason to refute it.
Gu Jinxiu was overjoyed. Her almond-shaped eyes, inherited from her biological father, sparkled and she looked at the empress with admiration.
The Queen's eyes were dazed for a moment.
She was stunned for a moment, then came to her senses and suddenly ordered, "Minister Li, you are the Minister of Revenue, you should also follow up on this matter."
There was surprise in Li Qi's eyes, but he didn't say much. He stepped forward and responded.
The eyes of the others fell on Gu Jinke with strange looks. Although this kind of thing was difficult to do, as long as it was done well, it would definitely be a political achievement. However, the empress did not give the order to the princess, but gave it to the third princess...
The Queen's gaze also turned to the Crown Princess, and the happy Third Princess also turned her gaze to the Crown Princess.
But Her Royal Highness didn't react at all, and even yawned slightly.
Queen: ...
All the ministers: ...
The Third Princess: ...
I felt a little complicated for a while.
After the grand court meeting was over, Gu Jinke felt refreshed and walked out of the palace at a brisk pace. The Third Princess glanced at her back and turned to the Empress: "Mother, do you want to let the Crown Princess... the Sixth Princess join us in the discussion?"
The Empress specifically called the Third Princess, the Minister of Revenue and others to stay to discuss the fundraising matter in detail.
The Queen's eyes turned to Gu Jinke's back, then turned back to look at the Third Princess, and said calmly: "No need, the princess was injured in an assassination a few days ago, let her recuperate."
The third princess' eyes dimmed. Was this assignment due to Gu Jinke being injured? Isn’t it because the Queen Mother finally saw her talent?
…
The Third Princess and Minister Li would be jointly responsible for raising money to build the embankment of the Jin River. Everyone inside and outside the palace knew about it immediately. Naturally, some people are happy and some are sad.
The usually silent and gentle Third Princess turned out to be the first Princess to be involved in state affairs besides Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess and the Fifth Princess.
Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess had legitimate reasons for contacting her. The Fifth Princess had been brave since childhood, and her family came from the military. She was also doted on by the Empress since childhood, so she went to the frontier.
Where is the third princess? She had nothing. Although her father was one of the four great noble lords, the virtuous lord, he was too inconspicuous in daily life.
Gu Jinke had no idea what everyone was thinking, because she had already canceled her leave and returned to the Dali Temple to continue her duty.
Xue Cang seemed to approve of her reputation for cruelty and violence.
Then, I also heard that Her Royal Highness had only been on duty for a few days, but she had already made a great name for herself in the Dali Temple prison. Several important criminals in the prison who refused to confess were immediately handed over to her, hoping that she could find out the truth as soon as possible and get these hard-to-find confessions.
Gu Jinke:……!
Therefore, when Gu Jinke walked into the dark prison of Dali Temple in a white brocade robe with silver edges, many well-informed prisoners had already shrunk into the corner to reduce their presence, fearing that Gu Jinke would be the first to attack them.
They heard the jailers who were delivering meals outside chatting about the prisoners who had been held by Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess, wailing for three days, and some even went crazy on the spot.
It had only been three days since the Princess Royal came to the Dali Temple, and the number of people whose property had been confiscated exceeded the number on one's fingers. If it weren't for the assassination, the number might have continued to increase.
Lord Li straightened his back as he looked at the timid prisoners in the prison, and cursed in his heart, "They are so scared when they see Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess, and they are so stubborn when they see them!"
He really bullies the weak and fears the strong!
"Master Li."
The cold and clear voice of Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess suddenly sounded in his ears. Lord Li was startled and quickly gathered his scattered thoughts. He bent down and responded, "What do you want, Your Highness?"
Gu Jinke raised his eyebrows and looked at her: "What do you want? Aren't you going to interrogate the prisoners? Why, do you want me to go to their cells to see them in person?"
Of course not. How could we dare let Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess go to those filthy places in person?
Lord Li hurriedly ran and ordered someone to bring the prisoner out, then he found a clean place and arranged it for Her Highness the Princess so that she could be interrogated comfortably.
But in the end it was not Gu Jinke's turn to interrogate in person. She just sat in the armchair, reading a picture book with great interest. She even leisurely placed a clepsydra on the table to listen to the sound of water dripping slowly.
Xun Ji conscientiously and responsibly tortured the criminals in front of her in various ways.
The sound of dripping water mixed with the criminal's screams, and the time seemed long and torturous. Lord Li was sweating profusely as he watched from the side, and he felt pain for the criminal.
But Her Royal Highness actually had a smile on her face, her eyes were slightly curved, and there seemed to be a faint dimple on her lips.
She seemed unable to hear the miserable cries of the prisoners beside her, nor could she see the bloody and horrific torture scene in front of her.
But the effect was also very significant. After a while, the prisoner on the rack was dying and begging desperately: "I confess... I confess, Princess... Your Highness, please spare my life! Spare my life!"
Gu Jinke seemed not to hear and turned another page of the book. He seemed to have just come to his senses and said lazily, "Oh, you are willing to confess? I thought you were such a tough guy."
Xun Ji sneered at the right time, cooperating very well.
Lord Li felt a toothache after hearing this.
In the dark room next door, Xue Cang withdrew his gaze and sighed lightly. Given Her Royal Highness's personality, it would be better not to let her simple-minded son have any contact with her.
She couldn't beat him. She had to be more careful in the future and never offend anyone.
The author has something to say:
La la la…
Xue Cang: Your Highness, please... please don't harm my son!
Take a detour, take a detour, I can't afford to offend you, haha
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