While Zhu Qingyu was taking a boat south to Yangzhou, Gu Zhao was presenting the account book submitted by Yan Pan to the Emperor.
The Emperor took the account book, flipped through it, and laughed out of sheer anger:
Another account book! Is this the third one already? The officialdom in Yangzhou is a complete mess in every other aspect, but their skill in making fake account books to file accusations is truly first-rate.
Although the Emperor had ascended the throne less than a year ago, he had served as the Prince Regent for two years prior to the late Emperor's passing.
Three years ago, the late Emperor was heartbroken over the death of Noble Consort Gao. His excessive grief caused him to fall gravely ill. After lingering on his sickbed for a year, he was no longer able to attend to state affairs and decreed that the Crown Prince should rule as regent.
The first major case the Emperor handled as the regent Crown Prince was the Yangzhou smuggled salt case.
Relying on an anonymously reported account book, they followed the clues and destroyed the lair of the great salt smuggler Hu Xiaofeng. Hu Xiaofeng was executed by a thousand cuts, and the Yangzhou Salt Censor at the time was also beheaded in public for colluding with the smuggler.
The case was settled, but that account book, which had appeared out of nowhere and was said to be Hu Xiaofeng's private ledger, was ultimately found to be a forgery.
Half a year ago, when the Emperor ascended the throne, a second reported account book arrived, and another Yangzhou Salt Censor, Yan Qizhong, fell from power while in office.
It was true that Yan Qizhong oppressed the salt boilery workers, sold smuggled salt, and extorted bribes to amass wealth, but the account book used to accuse him was once again a fake.
Now, regarding this third book, Gu Zhao replied:
I compared them last night. The previous two were rigorous and detailed; although they were fake, they were convincing enough to pass as genuine. However, this account book is excessively crude and full of loopholes. It does not look like it was made by the same person.
Being the supreme ruler of the empire, yet repeatedly made a fool of by commoners hiding in the dark with fake account books, the Emperor threw the book back onto the desk, laughing in extreme anger:
Not just one person? Good, very good! Cousin, hand the informant over to the Ministry of Justice and have them interrogate him thoroughly. You must dig out the mastermind behind this. I want to see exactly what kind of creatures these arrogant fools, who show no respect for their sovereign, truly are.
Although the account book was fake, the matters within might not be. Because it involved the salt smuggler Lei Dawu, who had escaped several months prior, the Emperor immediately issued a secret edict reprimanding the Viceroy of Liangjiang, ordering him to quickly capture Lei Dawu and bring him back to the capital. If he delayed any further, he would be severely punished.
As for the other accused individuals, the Emperor's thoughts happened to coincide with Gu Zhao's:
Capturing Lei Dawu is the top priority. As for his other accomplices, they can be arrested at any time. Let them be for now; there is no need to alert the snake by beating the grass.
After finishing his duties, Gu Zhao received an edict to return to his estate to deliver medicine bestowed by the Empress Dowager to Old Madam Gu.
The capital was a bustling place, with heavy traffic during the day. On his way back to the estate, seeing the green cloth carriages that could be found everywhere on the streets, Gu Zhao could not help but laugh at himself mockingly.
They were clearly everywhere; how on earth did he mistake the Zhang family's carriage this morning for the one she had ridden in that day?
It was simply unreasonable, as if he had been bewitched.
Perhaps, although he wanted this matter to quietly fade away with the wind, he was ultimately still curious in his heart about who she really was.
Due to this incident, Old Madam Gu had suffered a blow. Seeing that Gu Zhao was busy with official duties from morning till night during this period and truly had no intention of entering the Buddhist monkhood again, she did not muster the energy to arrange any women for him all the way until the New Year.
The first New Year after the Emperor's ascension finally passed peacefully. The Emperor had secured his throne, the Grand Secretariat was on the right track, and everyone was performing their duties methodically. Gu Zhao finally no longer needed to sleep in the palace every day. Except for one day every ten days when he still needed to be on duty in the duty room, he could return to live in his estate the rest of the time.
This day, as the sky was just turning bright, waking up once again from an enchanting dream, Gu Zhao skillfully looked for a change of clothes while thinking to himself whether he should marry a wife.
Otherwise, he wouldn't always dream of a girl who had nothing to do with him and whom he had only met twice. It had been months, yet that bright smile, those charming pants, and that lingering pleasure had not dissipated. Instead, they haunted his dreams, day and night, becoming increasingly vivid.
Human desires are natural, and he was nothing but an ordinary mortal. To always be like this was perhaps because he had not yet taken a wife. Once he married, things should get better.
As the Heir Apparent spent more time staying in the estate, the servants working in various areas became more alert, secretly observing and figuring out his preferences to avoid violating his taboos and messing up their tasks.
One day, Nanny Zhao, who managed the laundry room, specially came to pay her respects to Old Madam Gu. Just as she was about to leave, she subtly mentioned a sentence:
The Heir Apparent likes cleanliness; his undergarments must be changed every day.
Nanny Zhao was an old servant who had served Old Madam Gu for many years. With her bringing this up, Old Madam Gu immediately came to her senses. At such a vigorous and youthful age, he ultimately still needed to have someone in his room.
Seeing that the national mourning period would expire in a few months and marriages could resume, Old Madam Gu did not want to cause any further complications. She simply abandoned the idea of finding a bedmaid for Gu Zhao. When Gu Zhao came to pay his respects, she handed him a few invitation cards:
Don't just focus on your official duties. It is now spring, and the spring scenery outside is just right. You young people ought to go out for a spring outing and admire the flowers. Accompany your grandmother to attend the flower-viewing banquets hosted by these families. If there is someone who catches your eye, we can just settle your lifelong marriage. Although we cannot perform the formal rites right now, the two families can agree in private. Once the national mourning is over, the six marital rites can be carried out.
Gu Zhao opened those invitation cards. Obviously, his grandmother had already made a preliminary selection; they were all from families of equal social status to the Duke's estate and suitable for marriage.
The flower-viewing banquets held by the powerful and noble families in the capital during spring were nominally for admiring flowers, but in reality, they were for matchmaking. Young masters and young ladies of marriageable age from families of similar status would all attend.
Growing up, Gu Zhao rarely even had time to return to the estate. He inherently had neither the energy nor the interest to participate in such flower-viewing banquets.
However, this time he replied:
Yes, I will follow Grandmother's arrangements.
During the spring, Gu Zhao accompanied his grandmother and mother to several flower-viewing banquets in a row, both to evaluate others and to be evaluated by them.
After seeing a few families, Old Madam Gu specifically called him over to ask:
Among these families, is there anyone to your liking?
To Gu Zhao, these families were actually all the same, with no difference. Thinking back, he didn't even have any impression of what the girls from these families looked like.
Therefore, Gu Zhao asked in return:
Does Grandmother have anyone to her liking?
Old Madam Gu was so frustrated by him that she lost her temper and scolded:
It's about finding a wife for you, not for an old woman like me! Why do you care who I like? A family like ours doesn't need to rely on your marriage to climb the social ladder. Naturally, we must choose someone you like. Otherwise, if you marry someone you don't care for, won't you bicker every day and bring unrest to the household? Since these families don't catch your eye, we will keep looking.
Old Madam Gu lowered the status requirements slightly and selected a few more families, waiting for Gu Zhao to come so he could take his pick.
However, on this day, Gu Zhao arrived in a hurry and spoke first:
Grandmother, your grandson has been ordered to leave the capital on official business and will depart in a few days. This trip will take a few months at the least, or up to half a year at the most. As for the marriage, I leave it entirely up to Grandmother to decide.
