Yu Chuxi finally spoke, his expression was somewhat nonchalant: "It's nothing, actually. Today, the Salt Administration Censor Gu summoned us merchants as a routine meeting..."
Salt Administration Censor?
At this time, Xie Shu also remembered that the father of Mr. Gu Yuanke, who hosted the Xiyuan Poetry Festival last time, was the Salt Administration Censor Gu Zhong.
Salt, like iron, was an extremely important resource in ancient times and has always been controlled by the state.
Unlike strategic resources such as iron, salt is a necessity for every household. Since salt is mainly produced in coastal areas and transportation and commerce were underdeveloped in ancient times, salt became a scarce commodity.
Salt was a lucrative business, and in order to monopolize the huge profits, the government initially stipulated that the people could only buy official salt. However, the quality of official salt varied greatly, and salt merchants took risks, which led to the system of private salt production and government collection.
Despite this, there are still many people who want to be salt merchants, especially in Jiangnan Province, which has been a famous capital of the Huai River since ancient times and is close to large rivers, making it very cheap. Once you become a salt merchant designated by the government, the benefits can be imagined.
Therefore, the position of Salt Administration Censor became a lucrative position that everyone wanted, and this job has been in Gu Zhong's hands for ten years.
But if it was just a routine checkup as usual, the man wouldn't have shown such an expression.
Xie Shu felt that it was not simple, and couldn't help but said in a deep voice: "My dear, please don't hide it from me. If you don't tell me these things, who else can you tell? Or do you think I can't help you solve your problems?"
How could Yu Chuxi think like that! He hurriedly shook his head and looked at Xie Shu, only to see that the man's expression was as gentle as before. He naturally realized that Xie Shu was deliberately provoking him.
Yu Chuxi couldn't help but glare at him, then sighed helplessly and said, "It's like this. The one who summoned us today was not Lord Gu, but another person I've never met before. Although he looks like a man, his behavior is a bit feminine, like someone from the capital... After that, he inspected the salt merchants, but I don't know why he met everyone else except the person I sent. I originally planned to go to the Gu Mansion to ask, but there was no news at all."
Yu Chuxi said this with a bit of annoyance. Over the years, the Yu family has always been dedicated to the government, never paying taxes on time, and never doing anything to deceive the superiors or the subordinates. But if there is something wrong, it would be fine to speak directly. It is not sure whether it is a warning or something else, which is the most annoying.
Xie Shu's heart sank when he heard this. Is Young Master trying to say that this person is an 'eunuch' from the palace?
But why did the eunuch suddenly come to Jinling to meet the salt merchant? Did something happen? Did Lord Gu, who was in charge of the salt administration in Jiangnan, really not know about it?
This person met other people, but not my husband. Why is that?
Xie Shu listened to Yu Chuxi's sigh, which seemed to be there and not there, and felt a little sour in his heart.
Xie Shu also wanted to solve all these problems for her husband, but he knew nothing about salt administration affairs and had no idea about it, so he couldn't come up with a good idea. No wonder others said that scholars are good for nothing, and this is the truth.
After saying these words, Yu Chuxi also poured out his worries. He no longer had the sad expression on his face, but smiled easily: "Forget it, he just arrived in Jinling today, so he probably doesn't have enough time. I'll go see him tomorrow. Actually, there's nothing to worry about. Over the years, my Yu family has always been cautious in doing things, and I can't find any mistakes."
Xie Shu looked at the bright smile that reappeared on her lover's face, but her heart became heavier.
If this person intended to target the Yu family, even if he could not find any fault, there was a kind of privilege in ancient times. This privilege was called "you can always find a pretext to accuse someone of a crime."
He knew that his lover might also be aware of this truth, but in order to reassure him, his lover did not reveal any of his feelings.
At this time, how could Xie Shu bear to expose all this? He stared at Lang Jun, and after a moment, he spoke softly, "This is good. He came from the palace suddenly. He must be doing errands for the emperor. He just arrived in Jinling today, so someone must have welcomed him. Lang Jun, you can send someone to find out where they are now, and maybe you can get some information.
But people like him have always had strange personalities. If he still refuses to see you tomorrow, you can tell me. I had some friendship with Mr. Gu's son at the poetry meeting before. He is a good person. I will go to him and give it a try. You don't have to worry about me. Now that I have been accepted as a disciple by the teacher, others will always give me some face. "
Hearing Xie Shu say this, Yu Chuxi nodded slightly. He originally wanted to say something else, but he couldn't say it now.
Others don't know, but doesn't he know who Xie Shu is close to? Although he did become famous at the poetry meeting, he also remembered his own reminder not to get close to the Gu family.
After the poetry meeting, the Gu family did send someone to invite Xie Shu to come, but like everyone else, Xie Shu declined. Even if the third son of the Gu family had a good temper, he might still have some grudges in his heart.
As for Xie Shu, although he has been accepted as a disciple by Jiang Hong, what would it mean if he continued to work for Jiang Hong in the name of Jiang Hong?
But Yu Chuxi didn't say it out loud after all.
The two looked into each other's eyes, and after a while, they couldn't help but smile.
In such a situation, it seems so precious.
At this time, in a restaurant in Jinling City, there was the beautiful scenery of the lake in the distance and singing and dancing nearby. Liu Qiang was drinking and listening to the actors singing from time to time. The people accompanying him were all well-known salt merchants in Jinling City.
Liu Qiang was about thirty years old, with a fair face and no beard, a thin and sharp appearance, and his behavior had its own "rules". He was the eunuch of the Seventh Department of the Imperial Household Department.
Normally, the food, clothing, and various items in the palace were all taken care of by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. This time, Liu Qiang was ordered by the eunuch chief to take care of all affairs in Jiangnan Province for the emperor.
Carrying out missions like this is a lucrative job, and Liu Qiang spent a lot of effort to get it. He had privately asked the third prince for help, so naturally he had to return the favor.
Before leaving the capital, the third prince asked him to do something, and Liu Qiang certainly did not forget it.
But Liu Qiang was a little curious about why the Third Prince wanted him to do this. No matter how rich the Yu family was in Jinling, they were just merchants. Even if the Third Prince wanted to make money, there was no need for him to go to such great lengths.
But this has nothing to do with Liu Qiang, he just needs to do as he is told.
Before long, Liu Qiang looked drunk and didn't want to stay any longer. The people around him could see this and hurriedly asked people to take out the gold and silver that had been prepared. Each salt merchant took out a box, which was either gold, silver, pearls, jade, or rare treasures. Liu Qiang accepted them all with a smile and then left the restaurant.
Seeing Liu Qiang leave with satisfaction, several salt merchants breathed a sigh of relief and said, "This eunuch Liu seems to be a good person to talk to. Did you understand what he said just now? Is His Majesty really going to tour the south in a few months?"
"Is this true? But this time we are going to bleed a lot. How can such a thing happen? The emperor wants to build a temporary palace, not the government, but we have to donate money!"
"Why, you still dare not to? Think about it, the Yu family has no chance to ask for this opportunity! Didn't you notice that Eunuch Liu ignored the people from the Yu family? Now the master of the Yu family doesn't have much time left, and the head of the family is Shuang'er. What does it matter if his methods are powerful?"
"You mean, is Eunuch Liu using the Yu family to pressure us to donate money? Or does the government intend to ban the Yu family..."
"Who knows? Anyway, the Yu family is in trouble this time. But how could this eunuch Liu, who was far away in the capital, have a rift with the Yu family? Is there another reason?"
"These past few days, I heard that Xie Shu, who married into the Yu family, is now in the limelight and has paid homage to a man from the capital. I wonder if this matter has anything to do with him?"
At night, neither of them had any intention of going to sleep, so Xie Shu and Lang Jun played chess in the room. At first, they were a little absent-minded, but perhaps it was a habit they had developed over the past few days. At this time, the more familiar something is, the more reassuring it makes people feel.
Gradually, when she relaxed, Xie Shu found that the sleepiness on her husband's face was very obvious, but he was still trying hard to stay awake. However, the person he sent to get information had not returned yet.
Xie Shu looked at Lang Jun and couldn't bear to see him like this, so he said gently: "Lang Jun, you go to sleep first. I will call you when there is news."
Yu Chuxi showed a reluctant look and tried to open his eyes a little wider.
Xie Shu couldn't help but smile. He sighed and said, "My dear, you are making me worried."
Hearing what Xie Shu said, Yu Chuxi had to shake his head and wanted to refute.
At this moment, Xie Shu suddenly whispered, "My dear, are you afraid that I will leave without calling you? Then why don't you lie on my lap?"
At this moment, Yu Chuxi's sleepiness disappeared a lot. He almost thought he had heard it wrong. The figures were dim and the lights were lingering, but they were nothing compared to the tenderness of the person in front of him.
Yu Chuxi hummed softly, then slowly moved over. The chessboard had been moved away, and the long couch was just big enough for Yu Chuxi to lie down alone. Yu Chuxi rested her head on Xie Shu's legs, but she didn't look like she was going to sleep. Instead, she looked at him with bright eyes.
Xie Shu lowered his eyes, gently reached out his hand, and gently touched the top of his head.
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