In the speeding ice car.

"Me?" Zhao Hao pointed at himself.

"Yeah." Zhang Jingxiu nodded.

"Fuck you..." Young Master Zhao cursed and drank a mouthful of warming soup to calm down. He didn't expect that in Lao Gao's eyes, he was just a chicken.

It's a chicken that lays golden eggs, a chicken that can be killed to scare away monkeys, not the kind that you can play with...

"My father asked me to tell you, sir, that Lord Gao was very angry about your leaving without saying goodbye, and he thought it was a blatant disrespect for his authority." Zhang Jingxiu said, "As a result, his relationship with my father has deteriorated a lot this year."

"It is a crime worthy of death for me to have implicated my father-in-law." Young Master Zhao sighed and said, "How is he going to deal with me?"

"Lord Gao has asked the Ministry of Revenue to prepare the contract, and they are waiting for you to sign it as soon as you arrive in Beijing." Zhang Jingxiu also sighed and said, "This time it's not 50-50, it's 30-70."

"I won't even give him 30%." Zhao Hao said in a muffled voice.

"Sir, you wishful thinking? I'll give you 30%. This is the punishment from you, Lord Gao." Zhang Jingxiu smiled bitterly, "Besides, you don't need to wait for me if you want it or not. I won't wait for you if you don't want it."

"What do you mean?" Zhao Hao couldn't help but frown.

"My father said that Minister Zhang of the Ministry of Revenue hinted to him that this is the way to divide it before the New Year, and if it is delayed until the New Year, it will only be 10%." Zhang Jingxiu looked at his face and said boldly, "Because they have seen the document signed between the Ministry of Revenue and the Royal Shipping Agency, which contains a clause that as long as the grain transport is restored, the quota can be reduced to 100,000 shi."

"That's right." Zhao Hao nodded and said, "But the prerequisite is that the canal transportation must be restored!"

He spread his hands and laughed at himself, "It's still up to them to decide."

"My father said that this time, Gao Ge Lao plans to bypass the Canal Transport Office and let the Shandong Governor take charge of the sea transport. Shandong Province has always been the most obedient to the imperial court, so there shouldn't be any trouble." Zhang Jingxiu continued with a worried look on his face, "Today is the 21st, and it will be the Little New Year when we get to Beijing. Your wedding will be on the 26th, and after a few days of busy work, the government office will be closed, leaving you with very little time. So my father asked me to talk to you about this on the way, so that you can hurry up and think of a solution."

"Thank you for my concern, father-in-law. I understand." Zhao Hao nodded gratefully and used the tongs to poke the silver charcoal in the furnace. This is the best kind of charcoal from Xishan Coal Industry, in fact, it is the highest quality anthracite. Its charcoal is white and smokeless, difficult to burn and difficult to extinguish, and is exclusively used by the palace and dignitaries.

He stared at the flames thoughtfully for a moment, then looked up and smiled at Zhang Jingxiu, "But I don't think I can be distracted during this period. I've been apart from your sister for almost a year. It would be too unfair to her if she had to deal with a lawsuit before and after the wedding."

"Is that so..." Zhang Jingxiu could not help but stand in awe. After all, he was a young man, and he was the most susceptible to Zhao Hao's tricks. "No wonder Xiaojing insisted on marrying you, so you are such a person."

"Maybe in another ten years, I won't think this way." Zhao Hao nodded, with a look of chuunibyou on his face: "But now, I am this kind of person, and I can't do anything about it."

"Yes." Zhang Jingxiu nodded in agreement and said, "If we young people want to be like the old people, can we still be called young people?"

"Isn't that right?" Zhao Hao smiled and took out an envelope from his sleeve, handed it to him and said, "I'm bored on the way and I'll write a few poems for you to judge by."

"Xiao Jing must be very happy." Zhang Jingxiu took it with both hands and put it close to his body. "But how should I answer my father?"

"Just tell me that after the wedding, I will give Lord Gao a satisfactory answer. But please don't force me. I won't consider anything else during this period of time!" Zhao Hao said in a deep voice.

"I understand." Zhang Jingxiu nodded solemnly. "I'll pass on the message."

The two stopped talking about this depressing topic and turned the conversation to the upcoming wedding.

Zhang Jingxiu told Zhao Hao that the palace would send people to issue imperial edicts and imperial decrees one day before the wedding, so that his five wives could wear formal dresses for ladies of high rank on the wedding day.

Zhao Hao's heart warmed when he heard this, knowing that this was the thoughtfulness of Emperor Longqing. He conferred the title of a lady of honor to his wife before the wedding, so that they could worship together in the wedding ceremony - otherwise it would be disrespectful to the emperor!

Although the current Ming Dynasty is full of corruption, and ordinary people can't handle anyone marrying multiple wives at the same time, there are always moralists who will jump out and scold them for being indecent and shameless...

Zhao Hao was not an official, so they could scold him as much as they wanted. But Zhao Shouzheng would inevitably be criticized, and even his father-in-law would be subject to rumors.

Now that Emperor Longqing had done this, not only had his father been removed, but even Zhang Juzheng's pressure was much less. The emperor's orders were hard to disobey, and thunder and rain were all grace from the emperor. Naturally, the ministers could only take their positions and accept it.

But the censors will scold people after all, and they will not shut up just because the emperor takes the responsibility...

I'm afraid they will become even more excited if they start scolding the emperor.

"Hey, Your Majesty, you are taking the blame for me." Master Zhao was very moved.

"It's not bad. No matter how loud they curse, Your Majesty can't hear them." Zhang Jingxiu said in a low voice, "Your Majesty hasn't attended court this year."

Zhao Hao had heard about this.

In fact, at the beginning of the year, before he left the capital, Emperor Longqing began to feel tired.

Although Longqing had been absent from work before, he would always show up from time to time.

But after Altan offered tribute and presented the beautiful Western beauty named Huahua Nuer, the emperor stopped attending the court in the morning. It is said that Wengweng also restored Qinghe County in the orchard and moved in with Huahua Nuer to play role-playing games. Since then, only those concubines, eunuchs and maids in the palace who are willing to play relevant roles have the opportunity to enter Qinghe County and meet Emperor Longqing.

Of course, the eunuchs and palace maids didn't care, as they were just extras anyway. In order to get equal treatment, the concubines had to put down their airs and act like the women in the book.

Concubine Li wanted to join in, but she asked someone to find a copy of "Jin Ping Mei" and read it. She was almost embarrassed to death! There are actually such pornographic books in the world, why didn't I know about it before... Oh no, how can I humiliate myself?

So she didn't see the emperor for almost a year...

Feng Bao, who considered himself a scholar, was too embarrassed to perform and ended up not being able to meet the emperor.

Empress Li was so angry that her teeth itched, and Eunuch Feng was also worried that if this continued, he would be excluded by those shameless people. So the actual mistress of the harem and the eunuch of the East Factory hit it off again.

As a result, just last month, bad news suddenly came from the palace that Empress Chen had passed away.

Chen Fei was Hua Hua Nu Er's title. Legend has it that she was caught having an affair with a Mongolian guard by a palace maid, and fearing that she would be severely punished after being reported, she jumped into a well and committed suicide...

The Emperor Longqing, who had lost his beloved forever, was devastated by this. He sighed all day long, was depressed, hid himself away from people, and had no intention of attending court.

~~

In order to comfort the emperor's wounded heart, he planned to give half of the personal dividends given to him by Jiangnan Group this year to the beloved emperor to make him happy.

On the way to Tianjin, Jiang Xueying had already reported this year's harvest to Zhao Hao.

Affected by the robbery of the Ryukyu Chamber of Commerce and the deterioration of relations with Macau, Mr. Zhao issued a "ban on going south", and as a result, the group's foreign trade volume this year was halved.

In the second half of the year, he launched another massive war, spending countless military funds, especially the war against the Portuguese, where all the expenses added up to three million taels of silver!

This does not include the two million taels of silver as a bribe to Yin Zhengmao and the expenses of managing the Guangdong officialdom.

Although the Nanhai Group was established later, it plundered 33 million taels of silver in one go!

But that is the registered capital of the Nanhai Group and it must be used for its intended purpose. It cannot be counted as the group's profit.

So this year’s profit is not as good as the past two years… The year before last, which was the third year of Longqing, the group’s after-tax profit was 7 million taels of silver.

Of this, the distributable profit was 3 million taels, and Zhao Hao received 540,000 taels.

Last year, due to the peace in the country, despite continued high investment, profits still achieved high growth, reaching 9.8 million taels after tax.

The distributable profits were as high as 4.2 million taels. Zhao Hao received 750,000 taels of silver last year.

In the first half of this year, the group's various businesses have developed rapidly and are thriving. If everything goes well, it is estimated that Zhao Hao will be able to get over one million taels.

But things happen unexpectedly. In the second half of the year, revenue dropped sharply, while expenditure increased dramatically. As a result, the final calculated profit was "only" more than five million taels.

So Zhao Hao could only get 400,000 taels...

However, Mr. Zhao was not dissatisfied at all for achieving such a profit despite the internal and external difficulties and endless wars this year. After listening to the report, he praised President Jiang's work and then hugged and lifted him up high...

~~

The ice sled was moving very fast and indeed arrived in Beijing on the day of the Little New Year.

Although Zhao Hao missed the young county lady and Xiao Zhuzi very much, he was not allowed to meet them before their marriage. Fortunately, it would be the day after tomorrow.

As for the reply to my father-in-law, of course I can only ask Zhang Jingxiu to convey it.

Zhang Juzheng was enjoying the feasting of his eyes at home... This was literal meaning, not the extended meaning of looking at a beautiful woman.

The swelling of his eye sockets had gone down, but the dark blue was still very obvious. Mr. Zhang, who always presented a perfect image, naturally took sick leave and stayed at home, trying every possible way to get rid of the dark circles under his eyes.

While listening to Zhang Jingxiu's reply, Bu Gu was rolling a peeled hard-boiled egg around his eye sockets.

"He has to concentrate on the wedding and can't be distracted?" After hearing his son's words, Zhang Juzheng stopped moving the egg in his hand.

"Yes, he said that otherwise he would be too sorry for Xiaojing." Zhang Jingxiu said softly. The Zhang brothers said one thing after another, and they were like quails in front of their father.

"He's talking nonsense. He still feels sorry for Xiao Jing?!" Zhang Juzheng was not as easy to fool as his son. He suddenly raised his voice and said, "If he really felt sorry, then that bastard wouldn't have married five wives! And at the same time!"

"Father, eggs...can't be used anymore..." Seeing that Zhang Juzheng was about to put the eggs on his eyes again, Zhang Jingxiu quickly reminded him.

Bu Gu then realized that he had crushed the egg yolk in his excitement.

He angrily threw the egg into the spittoon beside him, took the handkerchief and wiped his hands, then said gloomily, "Change your clothes and prepare the sedan chair."

"Where is father going?" Zhang Jingxiu asked hurriedly.

"Follow his orders and go to the cabinet to plead for mercy." Zhang Juzheng said unhappily, "I hope that Mr. Gao will give me some more time because I took the beating for him..."