Chapter 49 [VIP]
"...I misappropriated the money in the account to subsidize my family."
Ji sat in the rain, letting the rain soak her through.
"The total amount of subsidies received was over ten thousand taels of silver."
"If you insist on checking the accounts, I have no choice but to burn them."
Rainwater washed over her face, and the red marks from the high temperature turned into small blisters.
The rain poured down, and the fire in the warehouse was extinguished in no time.
Apart from this warehouse, no other place was affected.
Lady Ji is ill.
She suddenly developed a high fever that night, burning hot all over. The head of the household hurriedly reported this to Gu Zhizhuo. Gu Zhizhuo paused in his work of flipping through the account books and said, "Go and fetch a doctor."
"Break me another pot of strong tea."
After saying that, she lowered her head and started flipping through the account books again.
The Duke of Zhenguo's mansion owns many properties. In the eight years since Ji Shi married into the family, the accumulated account books have numbered in the hundreds of boxes, which cannot be read in a short period of time.
She had too many things to do and didn't have time to waste on the Ji family.
Therefore, she simply let Ji point out the problematic account books herself, which was more convenient.
As for Ji Shi's insistence that she only misappropriated the money to subsidize her family, just take that with a grain of salt. Who knows how much of it is true! It's better to believe that she herself is a woman of good fortune than to believe Ji Shi.
Gu Zhizhuo flipped through the pages hastily.
The candlelight burned all night, and the two maids kept her company all night as well. Qingmei nudged Qiongfang with her elbow, and the two exchanged a glance. A little while later, Qiongfang brought in two plates of pastries from outside.
"Miss, we have mung bean cakes and rose pastries, which would you like?"
Gu Zhizhuo didn't even look up: "Mung bean cake."
Puff pastry is too messy to handle.
A plate of mung bean cakes was handed to her; each one was only the size of a copper coin.
Gu Zhizhuo didn't even look up. He picked up one and put it in his mouth, sipping strong tea while flipping through the account books. In no time, he finished it all. When it was time for the morning and evening greetings, Gu Zhizhuo reported the whole story to the Grand Madam. For now, he only mentioned that Ji Shi had secretly sold off the Gu family's property, misappropriated funds, and used a large amount of gold and silver to subsidize her maternal family.
"My granddaughter hasn't finished calculating yet. In the twentieth year of the Taiyuan era alone, she embezzled over ten thousand taels of silver."
"She also secretly sold two mountain forests and orchards."
Madam Gu was almost dumbfounded. In her mind, she had never even imagined such a thing.
She slammed her hand on the table in anger, making a loud banging sound.
For the matriarch, who had grown up surrounded by wealth, a hundred thousand taels of silver was nothing. However, she couldn't tolerate that this silver had been inexplicably given to someone else.
If the Ji family really encounters any difficulties, and she comes to talk to me properly, asking for some money to help them out, I would not refuse.
What's the difference between embezzling and stealing in this way?
And this is only one year.
Over the years, how much subsidy has she actually given out?
Is the Ji family some kind of bottomless pit?
“I haven’t finished looking at the other ledgers yet, Grandmother, for now…” Gu Zhizhuo paused for a moment, then said directly, “Let’s lock them up for now.”
The old lady nodded in agreement.
"Furthermore, the Ji family took so much money from our family without even a word. I plan to have the head steward send guards to arrest them. Either return the money, or go to the government."
The old lady hesitated for a moment: "But the Ji family is related by marriage after all, so this is not a good idea."
"If they are related by marriage, they wouldn't encourage the lady to secretly embezzle money."
"Not sending it directly to the government is already the greatest mercy our Gu family can show."
The old lady thought about it again and again.
“Grandmother, Madam set a fire yesterday. What if it doesn’t rain and suddenly catches fire…”
She frowned slightly, sighed softly, and hesitated before saying, "I was terrified."
Upon hearing this, the old lady's expression immediately changed.
Yes.
Embezzlement, misappropriation, and arson! The Ji family's upbringing is terrifying.
"I'll listen to you!" the old lady said, still shaken. "I'll do whatever you say!"
Gu Zhizhuo smiled and said, "Grandmother is wise. With you here at home, I feel much more at ease."
"Of course!" The old lady looked a little smug. She cleared her throat and solemnly ordered, "Granny Zhu, take some people to lock the main courtyard. Since Madam Ji is ill, don't let her come out anymore. And Yan-ge'er, he's already moved to the front courtyard. From now on, he should study and practice martial arts with his teacher. Don't come back to the main courtyard all the time; it's really not a good way for him."
"If someone else submits the imperial decree, it's because the marriage to the Ji family was bestowed by imperial decree. I have to go to the palace to explain the reason. This is outrageous, absolutely outrageous!"
"Yes." Granny Zhu replied respectfully, but couldn't help glancing at the young lady sitting there eating the white fungus and red date soup.
In terms of status, the lady is the eldest daughter's mother and is also the Duchess of the State, bestowed by imperial decree. Whether it is a matter of state or family etiquette, the eldest daughter must be filial to the lady as if she were her own mother and treat her with utmost respect.
However, things are different when the lady makes a big mistake first, and then the old lady takes the lead and speaks.
With the lady confined to her quarters, the eldest daughter will now be the sole ruler of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion!
Just a few months ago, the eldest daughter had a strained relationship with the Grand Madam, but she treated the Madam with the same trust and reliance as her own mother. She couldn't even manage the servants in her own courtyard. All the talk about her being jealous, spoiled, and vicious came from her own courtyard.
now……
Was it all an act before?
Granny Zhu didn't think any further and immediately called a few old women to go to the main courtyard together.
When Granny Zhu finished everything and returned to report, she told the Grand Madam that the blisters on Ji's face had burst and were very swollen. The doctor said that it would leave scars. Gu Zhizhuo listened for a while and then took his leave.
She went directly to the front yard and had the head steward, Chen Jin, bring over ten accountants.
"Also, send some people to Jiangnan to arrest Ji Huacheng and the head of the Ji family and bring them all to the capital. Leave the rest in place and keep them under surveillance, so as not to cause too much of a stir."
Chen Jin is the chief steward of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion, in charge of everything within the mansion.
He had received Gu Baibai's order early on, which instructed him to obey the young lady from now on.
He agreed to each instruction, and seeing that Gu Zhizhuo had no further instructions, he went to carry them out.
Gu Zhizhu rubbed his head, feeling extremely sleepy.
"Go back and go to sleep!"
"girl."
Qingmei frowned and asked, "Why is it the twentieth year of Taiyuan?"
The Ji family came to the capital and broke up with the madam. Also, didn't Ji Chenghua make his fortune in the 22nd year of the Taiyuan era?
"In the twentieth year of the Taiyuan era, the lady had just married into the Zhenguo Duke's mansion, right?"
She thought about this problem all night but couldn't figure it out.
"Yes." Gu Zhizhuo turned around and smiled at her, his tone devoid of any emotion. "Why?"
Qingmei: "..."
Gu Zhizhuo rubbed his temples as he walked toward the inner gate.
When Qingmei first went to the storeroom to check and came back to report, she noticed that something was wrong.
The boxes from the 20th year of the Taiyuan era burned the brightest; these were the ones Ji Shi initially set on fire, and these were the ones she most wanted to burn, not those from the 22nd year of the Taiyuan era.
Gu Zhizhuo specifically compared the events before and after the 22nd year of the Taiyuan era.
Even when she only casually flipped through one of the accounts from the twenty-second year of the Taiyuan era, she found discrepancies. However, the accounts from the twentieth year of the Taiyuan era were too perfect.
Take these two mountains as an example. First, six months in advance, a record was made that the mountains would be unproductive due to wildfires. Then, at the end of the year, a record was made that they would be used to replace the unproductive land.
It's as if they deliberately use the imperfections at the back to attract attention, thereby covering up the real secret.
If the Ji family hadn't burned the document first, which was from the twentieth year of the Taiyuan era, Gu Zhizhuo would most likely never have discovered it.
Gu Zhizhuo sighed, "Just now, I didn't tell the Grand Madam that what the Ji family actually sold off were two iron mines."
Qingmei covered her lips tightly, almost letting out a soft cry.
Iron is a vital national asset, and iron ore has always belonged to the imperial court throughout history.
The two iron mines belonging to the Gu family were the spoils of war of their great-grandfather, and the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty granted him permission to keep them.
However, it would be extremely taboo for the Gu family, who held military power, to also own iron mines. Starting with his great-grandfather, people had fruit trees planted on these two mines, treating them like orchards. The first batch of freshly harvested fruit each year would be sent to the capital by fast horses.
When she was a child, her grandfather would take her and her brother to pick fruit.
After my grandfather passed away, no one knew that it was actually an iron mine.
Later in his previous life, these two mountains became Xie Jing's private property, one of the great gifts bestowed upon him by the emperor when he entered the Eastern Palace.
She once thought these were "spoils of war" from the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion.
And now...
It turns out that these two mines no longer belonged to the Gu family as early as the 20th year of the Taiyuan era.
Zheng Qi said that back then, it was the person on the dragon throne who was in charge of the mission, leading officials from the Ministry of Rites to Jiangnan to welcome the bride.
He had known the Ji family for a long time.
Could it be that the Ji family, under the guise of selling off the mine, actually gave it to him?
This realization sent a chill down Gu Zhizhuo's spine.
She gripped the reins at her waist and walked forward silently.
Last night's torrential rain came down hard, and the water stains on the ground hadn't dried yet. By the time I returned to Lingxiao Courtyard, my embroidered shoes were soaked through.
She took off her shoes, stared at the pearls on them in silence for a long time, and finally fell back onto the chaise lounge.
She had only intended to take a nap, but she ended up sleeping until dusk. In her half-awake state, she vaguely heard a familiar cat meow, and all her sleepiness vanished instantly.
Her eyes lit up, she shook the brass bell on the table to call Qiongfang in, then quickly slipped on her shoes and ran to the window. As soon as she opened the window, a tabby cat jumped up and affectionately touched noses with her.
"Did you come here to play with me?"
"Meow."
Gu Zhizhuo instructed Qiongfang to prepare some food for the cat.
When she changed her clothes and went out, food for both the cat and the person was ready. The cat sat on the table, and she sat at the table, eating together.
After finishing its meal, the cat shook its fur, and the collar around its neck shimmered in the sunlight, making its fur look even shinier and smoother.
"Oh, you've got a new collar again."
Gu Zhizhuo beckoned with her finger, and it came over to show her the collar.
This time it was a gold necklace, still studded with many gemstones, the kind that are dazzling. In the very center was a golden cat's eye stone, exactly like its eye, incredibly beautiful.
"He's really not afraid that you'll get arrested."
Gu Zhizhuo estimated that this gold necklace was more expensive than her most expensive headdress.
Not only was it studded with so many gemstones, but there were also two small jade pendants hanging from the bottom of the necklace... Hmm, they seem a little familiar.
How could she not be familiar with it?! This hideously ugly talisman was carved by her own hands!
Gu Zhizhuo pinched the small jade pendant on its neck collar and looked at it.
The broken part of the small jade pendant was polished very smoothly, indicating that it was indeed made from the same piece.
"Is it broken?"
She murmured to herself.
This is a peace charm engraved on it; aside from being a bit ugly, it's perfect. Has Shen Xu run into bad luck again?
Gu Zhizhuo let go of its hand and patted its head.
Shen Xu doesn't seem like a good cat lover on his face. The talisman that blocked a disaster once is useless to humans, but it's still enough to protect cats and dogs.
"Meow."
The cat meowed sweetly, hooking its paw at her hand, its golden eyes incredibly lively.
Gu Zhizhuo suddenly had a flash of inspiration: "You mean you want me to go out with you?"
The cat lightly tapped Gu Zhizhuo's arm a few times with its tail.
Gu Zhizhuo glanced at the sky. She could still go out and see the young master if she went out now. With this thought, the fatigue of the past few days vanished, and she felt refreshed.
She took out a new jade pendant from the dressing table drawer. It had been carved in the last two days and had a complete calming talisman on it, which would be just right for the young master to wear while he was recuperating.
"Let's go."
The cat understood. It jumped onto the windowsill, stretched, and waited for her with its tail held high.
Gu Zhizhuo asked Qiongfang to stay and watch the house, and took Qingmei with him when he went out.
The cat perched on her shoulder, contentedly basking in the pleasant, yet gloomy, aura emanating from her.
"Meow!"
Once outside the yard, the cat whimpered a few more times, wagging its tail, seemingly in a hurry yet not quite.
"Big sister."
Gu Zhizhuo paused for a moment and looked in the direction of the voice: "Weiwei."
It was Gu Zhiwei from the second wife's side.
Gu Zhiwei was beautiful and pretty. She and Gu Zhinan were about the same age, one was eleven and the other was ten.
There should have been another girl above Gu Zhiwei, but she died at birth.
"Cousin Zhuo."
With Gu Zhiwei was her maternal cousin, who was a little over a year younger than Gu Zhizhuo.
"Ying'er, you're here to have fun, aren't you?"
Xu Ying'er had thick bangs that covered half her face. She smiled shyly at Gu Zhizhuo, mumbling something that couldn't be heard. Gu Zhizhuo raised an eyebrow and waved to her.
Xu Ying'er paused for a moment, then walked over and looked at her with some confusion.
Gu Zhizhuo took a pearl flower from her hair, raised her hand to brush aside Xu Ying'er's bangs, and the moment her fingertips touched her slightly cool skin, she could feel Xu Ying'er flinch slightly.
"Don't move."
Gu Zhizhuo used pearl flowers to fix all the bangs on both sides above her forehead, revealing her smooth and full forehead. Two begonia pearl flowers bloomed gently in the wind. Xu Ying'er smiled shyly, her beauty more delicate than the flowers.
"It looks so good this way."
Gu Zhizhuo was satisfied.
Xu Ying'er and Gu Zhiwei are indeed cousins; they look very alike, especially their eyes, which seem to be cut from the same mold.
The Xu family is an official family, so how come they raised such a timid and hesitant little girl?
Xu Ying'er said timidly, "Cousin Zhuo. Pearl flower..."
"It's yours."
“But…” Xu Ying’er nervously touched her temples.
She can't have it.
Gu Zhiwei pulled her hand down and deliberately pouted, changing the subject: "Big sister, you're being unfair, I want some too."
"You've got yours." Gu Zhizhuo waved his hand and called over a little maid. "Go to my place and have Qiongfang bring over all the new pearl flowers you bought last time. Second sister can choose for herself."
She tapped Gu Zhiwei's delicate nose: "Is it done now?"
"Big sister, you're so kind." Gu Zhiwei pulled Xu Ying'er along, smiling brightly. "Cousin, don't be shy. Big sister often buys us beaded flowers. Please accept them. I'll pick some more for you later. Take all the pretty beaded flowers that big sister has."
Xu Ying'er felt a little more at ease, and she smiled shyly, "Thank you, Cousin Zhuo."
"Meow."
The Qilin cat perched on Gu Zhizhuo's shoulder stared with its big, round eyes. It stretched out its little paw and patted her cheek, as if urging her on.
"Okay, okay, I know."
"You guys have fun, I'm going out for a bit, I'll bring you some delicious food when I get back."
Gu Zhiwei's eyes lit up, and she happily agreed.
Xu Ying'er stared blankly as Gu Zhizhuo left, and said with some envy, "Your older sister is so kind."
“Yes.” Gu Zhiwei’s eyes crinkled into a smile. “I love my eldest sister the most. Cousin, don’t worry, stay here. With me—no, with my eldest sister here—Uncle will definitely not be able to take you away by force.”
"What?! They want to marry you off to an old man just for your brother's sake? That's outrageous! You're only thirteen! Your uncle and his family... are they crazy?!"
Xu Ying'er pursed her lips and remained silent.
She ran away secretly; it was the boldest thing she had ever done in her life. If she were caught and brought back, then she… she…
Gu Zhizhuo hurriedly left the house.
Instead of riding a horse, she decided to travel by carriage in broad daylight, which would be too conspicuous. She then had the carriage stop on the main street not far from Chonglou Lane.
The Xie residence is located in Chonglou Lane, and walking there won't attract too much attention.
We have to at least put on a show.
"Meow."
The cat had been quiet on the carriage until suddenly it jumped off her lap, hooked its tail around her leg, and ran in the opposite direction from Chonglou Lane.
After running a few steps, it turned its head and meowed at her.
"They're here, they're here."
Gu Zhizhuo agreed and followed.
They hadn't gone far when a strong smell of blood hit them.
If I remember correctly, the street ahead is the one that was blocked off by the Eastern Depot last time.
She later asked Zheng Qi to inquire about the matter, and it turned out that the residence of Zheng, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, had been sealed off, but she couldn't find out why.
The entire street was still closed off, and there wasn't a single passerby around. Gu Zhizhuo was still at the end of the street when the Eastern Depot's agents looked over. As soon as she took two steps closer, the agents drew their long swords and held them in front of her.
The cat ran inside for a while, and when it saw that she hadn't followed, it turned back and meowed.
Fanzi looked at the cat, then at her, and hesitantly put down his knife.
Is this the master's cat?
"Meow."
Suddenly, the cat's eyes lit up. Forgetting to urge Gu Zhizhuo any longer, it ran forward on all fours.
Gu Zhizhuo's heart stirred slightly. Sure enough, Shen Xu walked out of Zheng Shilang's residence. His red clothes were like fire and blood. Even from such a distance, she could keenly sense that the aura on his body was far more dangerous than when they last met.
Wu Shang handed over a white handkerchief with both hands.
Shen Xu wiped the still-wet blood from his hands, tossed it aside casually, and let out a disdainful sneer.
The cat meowed softly at his feet. Shen Xu looked up and stared at Gu Zhizhuo, his eyes filled with contempt and blood-stained brutality.
The gates of the Vice Minister's residence were wide open. Two guards carried out a stretcher, on which lay a person covered entirely by a white sheet, the sheet speckled with dark red blood. As they stepped over the threshold, the stretcher tilted slightly, and a skinless arm slipped down, revealing a bloodied limb, blood dripping meandering to the ground…
Shen Xu said calmly, "It's sealed off."
His soft, effeminate voice was completely flat as he stepped onto a black carriage. A moment later, another blood-stained white cloth was thrown out of the carriage.
The carriage slowly pulled away, and Shen Xu silently turned the prayer beads in his hand. Suddenly, he heard someone gently tap on the carriage wall.
With such audacity, he knew almost without thinking who it was, and impatiently ripped open the carriage curtain.
Shen Xu lifted his eyelids, and then the two knives pressed against her neck were sheathed. Immediately afterwards, the guards holding the knives also retreated far away.
"What's up?"
His lips curled into a half-smile, and his whole being exuded a frenzied, unrestrained madness that seemed to want to slaughter all living things.
"Chonglou Lane, you can go wherever you want, no one will stop you."
"Meow."
The cat clung to the car window, meowing affectionately at Gu Zhizhuo.
Gu Zhizhuo's gaze lingered on his brow for a few moments, and she began to understand why the cat had run off to find her.
Shen Xu impatiently pressed the cat's head down, his peach blossom eyes narrowed dangerously, and even without saying a word, his eyes were full of "Either get lost or die, don't bother me."
Gu Zhizhuo thought for a moment, then took out the newly carved jade pendant from his purse and reluctantly handed it over: "Here, a thank you gift."
Shen Xu didn't answer. Between him and Xie Yingchen, their relationship was currently an equal exchange; Xie Yingchen didn't owe him anything for the time being and didn't need a thank-you gift.
"Thanks, cat."
Xie Mao helped her draft this prescription.
"promise."
Gu Zhizhuo stretched his hand forward again. In his clear eyes, he saw no scheming or flattery, nor any fear or disgust.
After a while, he finally condescended to pick up the jade pendant with two fingers and let down his long sleeves.
Gu Zhizhu shook his stiff arm; he had almost given up and left.
"And this too." Gu Zhizhuo took out a small handful of mints from her purse. "They're refreshing and I made them myself."
This time she was smart; she simply placed the mints on the small table in the carriage.
Come visit me again!
She was speaking to the cat, and the next moment, the carriage curtain was suddenly pulled down, startling her.
"Unpredictable and capricious."
Gu Zhizhu muttered something, stepped aside, and let the carriage go first.
Shen Xu unwrapped a mint and put it in his mouth. A cool sensation rushed to his head, dispelling the lingering smell of blood that had been lingering in his nose. After a while, he put down the prayer beads and held the jade pendant in his palm.
"The first one..."
The residence of Vice Minister Zheng was raided.
Within just three days, the entire household was imprisoned, and Minister Zheng was even skinned alive and subjected to slow slicing before being thrown into a mass grave.
The entire court was in an uproar.
Impeachment memorials piled up on the emperor's desk.
Zheng, a court official, was executed without a joint trial by the three judicial departments, and the execution was carried out with such cruel torture. His arrogance and domineering attitude were outrageous. Furthermore, his memorial was strongly worded, asserting that if the emperor did not issue an edict to severely punish him, the Great Qi Dynasty would surely repeat the mistakes of the previous dynasty, where eunuchs seized power and wreaked havoc on the court.
The emperor casually flipped through the memorials and said impatiently, "Send them all back to the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs. Tell them to sort them out and send them back."
Li Deshun agreed. The Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs was under the jurisdiction of Chief Eunuch Shen, so sending these memorials back to the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs was no different from handing them over to Chief Eunuch Shen for him to handle.
He gave his apprentice a wink, and several eunuchs came over and quickly organized all the memorials on the desk before quietly retreating with them.
"you say."
The veins on the emperor's forehead throbbed as he stared at the kneeling imperial physician.
The imperial physician had just returned from the Xie residence.
"The eldest son's pulse has stabilized."
He probably wouldn't die. He swallowed hard, but ultimately didn't dare say it.
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