The emperor looked up and asked, "Do you suspect that the Chaoli tribe is behind this?"
"I haven't found any evidence yet, so I can't confirm it yet." After a pause, Gu Yanxi reminded him, "The officials over there can't be moved at the moment. I'm worried that it will alert the enemy."
"I'll leave this matter to you. You must make Jinyang as prosperous as it was in the past."
"I will do my best."
Hearing these harsh words, the emperor tasted something. They were blaming him for what he had done when he was in Rulan Palace!
This is his real horse. He says whatever he wants to say without hiding anything. He dares to vent his anger on him.
Thinking of this, the emperor stood up, walked up to him, patted him on the shoulder, and said with a smile: "You have been running around for so long, you have worked hard, you can adjust your time and take a good rest for two days."
Gu Yanxi lowered his head and responded.
"Are you still angry with me?" The emperor scolded with a smile, "You didn't explain it to me clearly before. Couldn't you have given me a heads-up on such a big matter in advance?"
"The situation was urgent at the time, and I was worried that the news would leak out." Gu Yanxi looked up, "I am not sure whether the people from the Chaoli clan who sneaked into the palace have really been cleared out. Before the matter of Jinyang is resolved, the fewer people who know about this, the better."
The emperor frowned, "Do you suspect Haoyue?"
"She showed up at such a perfect time."
The emperor paced a few steps and said, "Okay, I understand. This matter must not be leaked."
"yes."
"By the way, where's Xiaoliu? Why didn't he come back with you? Didn't he even come to pay his respects to me after going out?"
Gu Yanxi raised the corners of her lips slightly, and said bluntly, "Old Four has been trying to put on a show for Little Six in front of you, right? With his narrow mind, what else can he see except that position? Little Six is several years younger than him, and he has been in and out of the outside world several times. What about him? How many times has he been out of the city gate of the capital?"
The emperor pointed at him with his index finger, showing no mercy at all, "I didn't tell you about the fourth child, but I asked you what the sixth child was doing?"
"I have some arrangements to make regarding Jinyang, and I have given part of it to Xiaoliu to do. He has been busy on the returning ship, so I told him to finish this part before returning to the palace."
"How dare you use him."
Although he said this, the emperor's attitude was obviously softened. Gu Yanxi, who knew his uncle very well, continued, "Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles. The more you read, the broader your horizons will be, and the world in your heart will be bigger."
"What did Hua Zhi say?"
Gu Yanxi remained silent.
The emperor snorted, refraining from saying anything unpleasant, and even though he disliked Hua Zhi, he had to admit that what she said made sense. Children brought up in this way would have a mind and knowledge far beyond those who stick to one place. No wonder Xiao Liu had changed so much when he came back last time, with the gloom between his brows gone. Even if Hua Zhi had ulterior motives, she was sincere to Xiao Liu.
Yes, to be able to bully the Wei family like that at a forum, one must have some knowledge to say such things.
It would be fine if she could find fault with him, but the more the emperor felt that she could not find fault with him, the more uncomfortable he felt, as if she had done nothing wrong and it was all his fault. It was a joke. He was the emperor, how could he be wrong!
In order not to make himself uncomfortable, the emperor waved his hand and sent the people away, "Okay, go back and rest. You haven't had a good meal or a good sleep while running around outside. Go see your grandmother when you have time."
"yes."
As soon as Gu Yanxi left the imperial study, she saw Zhu Bowen hurrying over. The two men met, bowed and passed each other. Lai Fu, who was following closely behind him, did not dare to do anything under the emperor's nose and quickly followed him in.
Zhu Bowen had just taken over as the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and he did not bother to check the settled accounts in detail. When he received the imperial decree to check Jinyang's accounts, he did not know what was wrong so he looked through them first. This look immediately made him break out in a cold sweat. Fang Hongzhi was really bold!
Although he was not in charge of this area before, and he did not know that the problem above was justified, he did not dare to shirk it now. After entering the imperial study, he bowed down and said, "The Ministry of Revenue has made such a big mistake, I deserve to die!"
The emperor snorted, "You have been in the Ministry of Revenue for several years, and you have never noticed any problems?"
Zhu Bowen touched the ground with his forehead, confessed his guilt and tried to excuse himself subtly, "This matter has always been handled by Lord Fang. I have never been involved in taxation in the four years I have been in the Ministry of Revenue, but I failed to discover the problem early. I am guilty."
The emperor looked at the pile of account books and suddenly turned around and asked, "Where did he go?"
Lai Fu knew who he was referring to, so he immediately went out to ask and came back to report, "He went to the Empress Dowager's place."
The emperor nodded with satisfaction, considering him obedient.
"Get up and tell me what's wrong."
Hearing the emperor soften his attitude, Zhu Bowen knew that this hurdle was over. He hurriedly stood up and opened the accounts one by one to show the emperor. The data that decreased year by year was obvious at a glance. The emperor looked at the tax revenue that was more than half less than ten years ago and his face was extremely unpleasant. "Fang Hongzhi! I really should have kept his life! Clean up the Ministry of Revenue for me again. What I want are good ministers who can share my worries, not fat parasites!"
Zhu Bowen was stunned. Of course, he was willing to clear out another group of people, but, "Your Majesty, if the Ministry of Revenue takes any more action now, it will be very painful."
After Fang Hongzhi's fall, officials in the Ministry of Revenue died or were sentenced. Later, they were cleaned up again, leaving nearly half of the positions vacant. Now they are still in the running-in stage. If they move again...
The emperor also thought of that incident, and his anger subsided a little when he saw Zhu Bowen's attitude. He resisted such a good opportunity to place his own people in the position, which at least showed that he had a sense of public interest despite his selfish motives, and this was what a Daqing official should be like.
"Keep Jin Yang's secret secret and don't reveal a word to anyone else."
"I obey your order."
While they were discussing business here, Gu Yanxi had already arrived at Fushou Palace.
The Queen Mother looked at his thin cheeks, sighed, and patted his hands. Everything was said without words.
"The other day, your father brought that Qiu to pay his respects to me, and begged me to issue an imperial decree to let Shaoyao go and treat Gu Yanze. I said, let alone my imperial decree, even if the emperor issued an imperial decree, it would be useless. With Shaoyao's temper, if you really force her to go, let alone treat the disease, it is more likely that she will poison him."
Gu Yanxi smiled, "That's what she would do. You know her."
"I'd rather not know. The more I know, the more distressed I feel." The Queen Mother sighed and changed the subject. "I heard from the Emperor that Xiaoliu went out with the girl from the Hua family?"
"Yes, he went to Jinyang. You don't have to worry. He has been to Xiangyang with the boy from the Hua family before. Before that, he went to Zhenyang, which is even farther away, with Azhi. At that time, Azhi was determined to train him and taught him a lot. He would not forget what to do when he went out."
"That child is very thoughtful. I would like to meet him, but unfortunately..."