After a night of rest, Emperor Qing forgot all the fatigue from the days of traveling on the dragon boat.
The south of the Yangtze River is a place of beautiful mountains and clear waters. Yesterday, when Emperor Qing got off the dragon boat, he saw the green mountains and clear waters of Jinling City along the way, and the natural beauty gave him some elegance to enjoy the music.
He heard a eunuch calling him, saying that the emperor wanted to see him.
Gu Zhong suddenly became happy. He did not dare to be negligent. He quickly straightened his clothes and walked into the house.
Gu Zhong first bowed and greeted the emperor, then stood aside and looked, only to see Emperor Qing writing with great interest.
Gu Zhong took this opportunity to step forward and praised: "Your Majesty's handwriting is better than before."
Emperor Qing just smiled and said, "Oh? Really? I haven't written for a long time, and I feel a lot less familiar with it."
Gu Zhong didn't expect that he would flatter the horse's leg. However, although Emperor Qing let the crown prince govern the country these days, he still handled the memorials himself. How could he not put pen to paper?
Gu Zhong's mind raced, and he understood that Emperor Qing must have given the task of drafting the memorial to Lu Shuo.
At this time, Emperor Qing frowned, and casually put down his pen and said, "How come I got up so early today, but Lu Shuo hasn't come yet?"
A eunuch at the back replied, "Your Majesty, Lord Lu left home before dawn today."
Gu Zhong also spoke up, "Yesterday afternoon, I happened to see Lord Lu going out. The sun was scorching, but Lord Lu was able to go out in such weather. I guess he had something important to do..."
As soon as these words were spoken, Emperor Qing obviously thought of something and his expression became much colder.
It seems that Emperor Qing is still resentful towards Jiang Hong.
After finding out Emperor Qing's attitude, Gu Zhong was secretly delighted, but at the same time he was also shocked. He had not seen Emperor Qing for many years, and now Emperor Qing was a little moody, and his temperament was very different from before.
Then Gu Zhong accompanied Emperor Qing and walked around the Gu Mansion.
After the renovation, the Gu family's house became much more magnificent than before, especially the garden.
Jiangnan is famous for its waterscapes, with water and rocks complementing each other in a winding and varied manner. Taihu Lake produces strange rocks, which are planted in the garden and are very magnificent. To the north of the pond in the garden, there is a pavilion, which Gu Zhong specially had built according to Emperor Qing's preferences. The pavilion is covered with rows of yellow glazed tiles and connected to the curved bridge deck. In the pond, there are lotuses, water chestnuts, and pearl curtains, like a fairyland.
Emperor Qing stood in the Gu Mansion Garden and admired the boundless scenery for a while. At first, there was still fog in the morning. Until the sun rose, a breeze suddenly blew over the water, stirring up bits of gold. Emperor Qing couldn't help but nod and praise, "Gu Zhong, you are thoughtful."
Seeing that Emperor Qing was in a good mood and praised him a lot, Gu Zhong became excited.
A few months ago, after Gu Zhong received the secret order from Emperor Qing, he prepared to start renovating the Gu Mansion.
Originally the idea had been decided, and it was agreed that Eunuch Liu would get money from the salt merchants to build the palace. However, the matter was messed up by Xie Shu, and Eunuch Liu actually asked for Emperor Qing's order, and in the end, only 100,000 silver coins fell into Gu Zhong's hands.
No matter how much silver this is, it can't be spent. Let's not talk about the renovation. The emperor doesn't want the best in food, clothing, housing and transportation. The silver is just like flowing water, and no sound can be heard when it is thrown in.
Gu Zhong had no choice but to pay out of his own pocket and put in a lot of the money he had saved over the years.
If that were the case it would be fine, but who would have thought that Xie Shu would actually set his sights on Xiyuan!
Thinking of this, Gu Zhong naturally hated Xie Shu to the core. He had never suffered such a setback before.
Taking this opportunity, Gu Zhong stepped forward and said, "I am not worthy of this position. Since I heard that Your Majesty was going to visit the south a few months ago, I have been making preparations. Originally, I was planning to renovate the West Garden of a suburban villa and wait for Your Majesty to come, but who knew..."
Gu Zhong seemed to be hesitant to speak here, as if he had something to hide.
Emperor Qing's eyebrows twitched slightly, he felt that the words "Xiyuan" were very familiar, and asked Gu Zhong to continue.
After a while, after hearing the whole story, Emperor Qing's face suddenly darkened and he said unhappily, "Is what you said true? How dare the salt merchant Yu family be so bold as to deceive me?"
However, Emperor Qing was not someone who would completely ignore the evidence. He asked someone to find Liu Qiang, who was in charge of the palace affairs.
At this time, Eunuch Liu had just settled Wei Qingtong. When he heard the emperor summon him, he knew that something must have happened. But he didn't know when Lord Lu would come back. His face turned pale and he was very anxious. But he didn't dare to delay, so he had to ask someone to notify Lu Shuo when the time came.
When Eunuch Liu arrived, he saw Gu Zhong and others next to the emperor, and his heart sank.
After Eunuch Liu bowed, Gu Zhong confronted him in public, "Eunuch Liu, you were ordered by the emperor to build the palace, but you handed over the matter to the salt merchant in charge, and allowed him to occupy the West Garden. Is this true?"
Eunuch Liu secretly hated Gu Zhong for ungrateful, but he could not deny what he said, so he had to explain: "Your Majesty, you don't know. There is another hidden story. When we were choosing the site..."
Before Eunuch Liu could finish, Gu Zhong interrupted with a sneer, "I am asking you, how big a deal is it to build a palace for His Majesty? Eunuch Liu, you are incompetent, and now you are trying to deceive His Majesty and argue with him. How dare you be so bold?"
Upon hearing this, Eunuch Liu broke out in a cold sweat. Every word Gu Zhong said was as sharp as a knife. The most important thing was that Eunuch Liu knew clearly that the emperor was obviously biased towards Gu Zhong. If he continued to argue, what Gu Zhong said would come true. But if he did not argue, how good would the outcome be?
Seeing Eunuch Liu sweating profusely and speechless, Gu Zhong finally vented his anger. This Eunuch Liu had received their favor, but dared to cooperate with Xie Shu, so naturally he could not be kept any longer.
This time, in addition to Xie Shu, Eunuch Liu must also be removed to prevent future troubles.
Seeing that His Majesty was about to speak, Gu Zhong was secretly happy. At this moment, suddenly a tall man came towards him with straight steps.
As soon as Lu Shuo appeared, the atmosphere around him didn't seem as oppressive as before.
Emperor Qing said calmly: "Lü Shuo, where have you been?"
Lu Shuo hurriedly said, "I dare not deceive your majesty. I just left the palace to visit my mentor." At this point, Lu Shuo lowered his head and smiled bitterly, "It's a pity that my mentor still keeps the door closed..."
At this time, Lü Shuo looked up at Emperor Qing and said, "Your Majesty, when I came back, why is Eunuch Liu kneeling here? Is there something wrong with the palace?"
Emperor Qing's expression, which had originally improved, turned unhappy again.
In fact, Emperor Qing didn't care how Liu Qiang handled this mission. What he cared about was that Liu Qiang had said before that it was the salt merchants who voluntarily donated silver to build the palace, but now it became a seizure of Gu Zhong's West Garden. If it got out, wouldn't it be a laughing stock?
Therefore, Emperor Qing did not intend to show mercy.
Emperor Qing waved his hand and asked Gu Zhong to make the statement on his behalf.
When Gu Zhong saw Lu Shuo, he felt a little uneasy for some reason. Things were almost over, but Lu Shuo suddenly came.
However, Lu Shuo is a popular figure around Emperor Qing. Emperor Qing was obviously dissatisfied with Lu Shuo's private visit to Jiang Hong, but Lu Shuo seemed to know what was in Emperor Qing's heart. He bluntly said that Jiang Hong still didn't want to see him, and Emperor Qing was happy instead.
Therefore, Gu Zhong did not dare to fool around, but told it again. During the process, Gu Zhong hesitated for a moment, but still mentioned Xie Shu's name specifically. It seemed that Lu Shuo was rejected by Jiang Hong again, so how could he not have complaints in his heart.
Sure enough, Lu Shuo's expression remained unchanged. When he heard the word "Xie Shu", his eyebrows suddenly raised slightly.
He smiled and said, "Your Majesty, I happen to know some inside information about this matter."
After Lü Shuo finished speaking, Emperor Qing's eyebrows relaxed. If it was as Lü Shuo said, the reason why the salt merchant chose Xiyuan was because of Feng Shui. And Emperor Qing also believed in Feng Shui, then Liu Qiang would not have made a big mistake. At most, he would be punished for not doing his job well.
Gu Zhongze was shocked. He never thought that Lu Shuo would side with Xie Shu! What on earth was going on?
If Lü Shuo really solved the problem with just a few words, all of Gu Zhong's planning and hundreds of thousands of taels of silver would have gone down the drain! Not only that, the prestige of the Third Prince would also be greatly reduced. Who would want to curry favor with Gu Zhong in the future?
Gu Zhong could only grit his teeth and say, "Lord Lu, you were far away in the capital at the time, tens of thousands of miles away from Jinling. How could you have heard these things? Besides, it's not certain whether they are true or false. Lord Lu, you came to Jinling. Did you really just go to pay respects to your teacher these two days? Did someone say something in front of you?"
Gu Zhong's words were to refute what Lu Shuo had just said, and also to remind Lu Shuo that he knew the relationship between Lu Shuo and Xie Shu.
However, Gu Zhong didn't know that what he said was actually a blessing in disguise!
The smile on Lu Shuo's face suddenly deepened when he heard Gu Zhong's words. He said slowly, "Master Gu, it is my duty to share your worries. It is not surprising that I know about the world's major events. As for my whereabouts in the past two days, the people of Jinling have witnessed it with their own eyes. You don't need to worry about it.
Your Majesty, in fact, although I have never met the person involved, it was only after Lord Gu reminded me that I knew that I was a fellow disciple of Xie Shu, the husband of the salt merchant surnamed Yu. And Xie Shu is the last disciple accepted by my master. I think his talent and character should be good. Please judge for yourself, Your Majesty. "
Emperor Qing showed a little surprise when he heard this. He never expected such a coincidence to happen.
Who is Xie Shu? Could he be some talented scholar from Jiangnan?
Although the name sounded very unfamiliar to Emperor Qing, he thought that the person Jiang Hong liked was not bad. Emperor Qing was indeed a little bothered by Jiang Hong's frank advice to him, but he actually knew Jiang Hong's character well.
Besides, Emperor Qing just wanted to make a big deal out of this matter, but why couldn’t Gu Zhong understand this?
A trace of annoyance flashed across Emperor Qing's eyes. Just when Gu Zhong wanted to say something, Emperor Qing said, "Forget it, Gu Qing, you don't have to say anything more. When I move to the palace, we will know the answer."
In the next few days, everything was calm. Not only did Eunuch Liu remain silent and not deliver any news, but even Su Kai, who had lost his concubine and his servants were detained in the yamen, did not dare to show up to claim them.
Xie Shu had expected such calmness, and he knew that an unknown result was waiting for him.
These days, Xie Shu did not rest, but prepared for his literary club step by step.
On this day, several palace maids suddenly came to the Yu Mansion.
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