Chapter 1071 Gu Xiu's Gratitude

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Listening to Emperor Wen's words, Yun Li couldn't help but shudder, "Father, have you seen the interests involved here a long time ago?"

"nonsense!"

Emperor Wen glared at Yun Li in anger and said, "You have all been blinded by the benefits of the marriage. Otherwise, you should have thought of this a long time ago!"

"My son, I am ashamed."

Yun Li lowered his eyebrows, but smiled bitterly in his heart.

Are they all blinded by the benefits of marriage?

Maybe a little bit!

Emperor Wen glanced at Yun Li calmly and asked, "Did you think of this yourself, or did someone remind you?"

"It was my own thought."

Yun Li directly took the credit for Xu Shifu's work and replied, "A few days ago, I went outside the palace and listened to some people's voices. Then I suddenly realized the disadvantages of the marriage."

"now it's right!"

Emperor Wen nodded and said, "When you have nothing to do, go visit the people more often and listen to their voices!"

"My son, I will obey my father's teachings."

Yun Li looked respectful.

"Okay, sit down!"

Emperor Wen pointed to the chair next to him and said, "You pushed the issue of the marriage onto me. You told Su Zan that I firmly disagreed with the marriage. You tried to mediate for a long time, but you couldn't convince me."

"Thank you, Father!"

Yun Li expressed gratitude.

Emperor Wen thought for a moment and said, "After all, Xiqu is Yangjin's family. It would not be good for our dynasty to reject Xiqu's request for marriage. When the Xiqu delegation leaves, you can give them a little more in return, which can be regarded as a little compensation to Xiqu!"

"Your Majesty, you are very thoughtful. I admire you!" Yun Li flattered Emperor Wen a little and asked, "Your Majesty, what do you think is the appropriate amount for us to return the gift?"

The Xiqu delegation also brought a lot of gifts.

When calculated on the basis of exchange, the value of those gifts is quite low.

"That's up to you to decide."

Emperor Wen waved his hand and said, "The financial situation of our dynasty is not very good either. You can do whatever you want! We should not be too cheap, and we should not tighten our belts to feed others."

"My son, I understand."

Yun Li already had an idea in his mind.

Their return gift was slightly higher in value than the gift presented by Xiqu.

But not too high!

The imperial court needs money everywhere now. If he spends lavishly now, he will have a headache when the money is tight.

"By the way, I heard that the southeast has not been very peaceful recently, is that right?"

At this time, Emperor Wen suddenly asked about the situation in the southeast.

“It’s not very peaceful indeed.”

Yun Li nodded, but said nonchalantly: "It's just that a few evil people appeared in Yuzhou and set up a cult called Red Moon Sect. They used magic water to treat people's diseases. The Yuzhou government was too aggressive in cracking down on the Red Moon Sect, and there was a little chaos..."

"We must be ruthless when it comes to this evil cult! We would rather kill the innocent than let them go!"

Emperor Wen said solemnly: "Throughout history, there have been countless examples of evil cults rebelling! Not only must the demons resolutely strike the Red Moon Cult, but they must also dig deep into the forces behind it..."

Emperor Wen solemnly warned Yun Li.

He was well aware of the harm these cults could cause, and if they were allowed to develop, they would lead to disaster.

Yun Li listened to Emperor Wen's instructions with an open mind, and said with a serious face: "Don't worry, father. I have ordered Yuzhou Governor Kang Guangyan to investigate the Red Moon Sect. I believe there will be results soon."

Even if Emperor Wen did not instruct him to do so, he would have ordered people to conduct a thorough investigation into this matter.

After that, the father and son chatted for a while before Yun Li took his leave.

After Yun Li left, Emperor Wen sat there in deep thought for a long time.

Mu Shun didn't know what Emperor Wen was thinking, so he could only serve him from the side.

"Do you think there are any powerful families or clans supporting the Red Moon Cult?"

Suddenly, Emperor Wen asked.

The third brother has also been working on weakening the families and clans.

However, as the third child gradually matured, he was no longer as reckless as he was at the beginning, and now uses softer knives more often.

Although those aristocratic families and clans are not making trouble now, they must have complaints in their hearts.

This Red Moon Cult suddenly appeared and grew rapidly in a short period of time. He would never believe that there was no one supporting it behind the scenes.

The most suspicious are those families and clans who are dissatisfied with the imperial court.

He cares much more about family background and clan than the third brother.

The quieter these forces are, the more likely they are to be plotting a bigger conspiracy.

"This... this old slave doesn't know!"

Mu Shun opened his mouth slightly, "However, I think that your Majesty's guess is possible."

Emperor Wen lowered his brows and thought for a while, then instructed Mu Shun: "Well, tell Tang Shu later and ask him to find a time to remind the third brother!"

"Yes!"

Mu Shun obeyed the order.

"By the way, has the person sent to contact Su Zan returned?"

Emperor Wen asked again.

"came back."

Mu Shun bowed and said, "I was sorry to disturb Your Majesty's pleasure just now. I was planning to report to Your Majesty later."

Emperor Wen stroked his long beard and asked with a smile, "Do you think Su Zan will be fooled?"

"The emperor planned it himself, so how could Su Zan not be fooled?"

Mu Shun laughed, "However, Your Majesty, isn't this 10,000 taels of gold a bit too much? I'm worried that Su Zan can't come up with that much gold."

"Is this still too much? I originally wanted thirty thousand taels of gold."

Emperor Wen shook his head and smiled, "Let's set the price at 10,000 taels of gold first! If Su Zan really can't raise enough, we can lower it a little more appropriately! Otherwise, let them use the gift from the third brother to pay it off!"

"The Holy One is wise!"

Mu Shun immediately flattered him, but he was laughing secretly in his heart.

The Crown Prince's return gift hasn't even been sent out yet, but His Majesty is already thinking about it.

After sitting there thinking for a while, Emperor Wen returned to the imperial study.

While Mu Shun was serving tea, Emperor Wen took out the booklet that he had just completed two days ago.

This booklet contains the forging method of patterned steel and the seal of the Ministry of Industry.

However, this forging method is fake.

This booklet looks pretty authentic, but I wonder if Su Zan will be suspicious.

Well, we have to think of a way so that Su Zan doesn’t even have the chance to doubt.

Emperor Wen racked his brains, but for the time being, he couldn't think of a good solution.

However, he thought of another thing.

It's not a good idea for him to handle this matter.

Paper wrapped fire.

Even if they successfully deceived Su Zan, Su Zan and his men would sooner or later discover that the forging method was fake.

By then, the people around the third brother would most likely guess that they were the ones manipulating everything.

Well, I have to find someone to do this for me!

Emperor Wen pondered for a while, and immediately ordered Mu Shun: "Pass my oral order, order Gu Xiu to come to the imperial study immediately!"

"Yes!"

Mu Shun took the order and immediately went to convey Emperor Wen's oral instructions.

Soon, Gu Xiu arrived at the imperial study.

Emperor Wen did not say much to Gu Xiu. After Gu Xiu finished his ceremony, he told him about how he had deceived Su Zan.

After that, Emperor Wen said, "I'll leave this matter to you! Remember, before the Xiqu delegation leaves the imperial city, you must not let the prince know about this, otherwise, I will kill you!"

"The minister obeys the order!"

Gu Xiu immediately accepted the order.

Emperor Wen leaned back on the chair behind the imperial desk and asked in a testing tone, "Tell me, why didn't I let the crown prince know?"

Gu Xiu thought silently for a while, and replied: "The emperor is worried that the crown prince is too fond of the crown prince Wanpin, so..."

"It's good to know!"

Emperor Wen nodded in satisfaction. "In addition, I think Yangjin is very likely to be restless. You'd better get evidence that Yangjin is secretly contacting the Xiqu delegation! I will order Han Jin to bring a team of imperial guards to obey your orders!"

Gu Xiu was overjoyed, and suddenly knelt on the ground, crying out: "Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace!"

Emperor Wen asked him to do this task, clearly to find a way to punish Yangjin and thus consolidate the position of his daughter Gu Lianyue as the Crown Princess!

"Alright! Get up!"

Emperor Wen waved his hand gently, "I appointed your girl as the third prince's principal wife in the past. As long as I am alive, no one can shake Lianyue's position as the crown princess! Your great gratitude to me is to assist the crown prince! When you get the gold, give it to the third prince to build a warship!"

"Sir, obey the order!"

Gu Xiu kowtowed again and slowly stood up...