Chapter 874: It’s an Illness
Chapter 874 -877: It’s an Illness
For a brief moment, Gu Benluo felt a pang of envy, but he clearly understood his own choice.
Seeing his mother blame herself, he spoke up, “Besides, Cancan poured his entire heart and soul into this. It’s exactly what he deserves.
“Mother, look at it another way. According to tradition, I will inherit the majority of the family estate in the future. Isn’t that unfair to my younger brother?”
Jin Qianqian stared blankly at her hands. This was truly a historical dilemma. She wanted to ask if any mother in the world could ever be perfectly impartial.
Rather than feeling comforted, she sank deeper into self-reproach.
At this moment, Gu Benluo especially wished his father were here. Comforting people was really not his strong suit.
“Mother, let’s not dwell on this. Since my younger brother has been ennobled, it might not be appropriate for us to throw a lavish banquet right now, but there will surely be some families coming over to offer their congratulations. Should you start making arrangements?”
Having managed the household for many years, Jin Qianqian naturally knew this. She just hadn’t expected to need her son to remind her this time. “I’ll have the butler make preparations! As for the ancestral worship, you can go in your brother’s place. He definitely won’t be able to rush back during this time.”
***
Shangjing.
Nowadays, no matter who saw Gu Wenheng, they couldn’t help but feel a bit sour. A mere boy was now on equal footing with them, and some even had to bow to him in greeting. How could they possibly accept this?
“Mr. Gu, congratulations!” Liao Weidong caught up to Gu Wenheng’s side. “For Uncle Cheng’an to have such good fortune, it seems Mr. Gu’s contribution cannot go unnoticed.
“I didn’t expect Mr. Gu to be so generous as to credit such a monumental achievement to a child.”
Gu Wenheng stopped and shot him a sideways glance. This man’s mouth was truly as foul as ever, trying to pin the crime of deceiving the Emperor on him right off the bat.
“Mr. Liao, is it really so hard to admit that you’re inferior to a child?”
Without caring about the other man’s expression, Gu Wenheng flicked his sleeves and left. Someone snickered, but when Liao Weidong turned around, everyone was intently staring at the floor.
“Hmph. Since Mrs. Gu has already transferred the sea trade to the Royal Family, she shouldn’t overextend her reach, even putting her hands on Lu City.
“Even when discovering novel plant species, they didn’t hand them over to the court, but instead gave them to a mere child to mess around with. It’s simply absurd!
“It’s only because the Holy Emperor and the Supreme Emperor have been blinded by them. To think he dares to be so arrogant!”
Some people couldn’t bear to listen anymore and left in groups.
Others stayed behind to make sarcastic remarks. “Who knows if this isn’t just some planting method they copied from overseas?
“To think they let a greenhorn reap all the benefits.”
“I say, stop spouting nonsense here. Why were you completely silent in the court just now?
“If you truly feel it’s unfair, submit a memorial to impeach him directly. Why gossip behind his back?” Yu Ligao scoffed as he walked past them.
The faces of Liao Weidong and the others darkened. This was a decree from the Supreme Emperor and the Holy Emperor. No matter how much they objected, they could only hold it in.
“Lu City is right there. If you think Mr. Gu and his family are taking advantage, you can send your own people to keep an eye on things. Who knows, you might also score a chance for a promotion and a noble title,” Mao Bingyan said with a laugh from the sidelines.
“Alas, I am tight on funds. I’m afraid I couldn’t even afford to rent a shop,” Xu Yangguang sighed, smiling at the surrounding courtiers.
Li Laifu despised his pretentious act the most. “Are you getting jealous of Mrs. Gu’s golden touch again?
“If you’re green with envy, you should go see a doctor. Don’t go infecting others.”
They clearly weren’t thinking. The throne had already been secured, and the former Fifth Prince had only been titled Prince Li. What right did the Xu Family have to put on airs as royal in-laws now?
Besides, it wasn’t the Xu Family’s turn to be considered true maternal relatives of the Emperor anyway. Marquis Zhou, who was the actual royal in-law, was out traveling somewhere unknown. They really should learn from his example.
Xu Yangguang’s face flushed bright red. “Minister Li, this subordinate was merely sighing in lament. Why must you cast aspersions here?”
“Did I name any names?” Li Laifu retorted irritably. “Never mind others; even I am somewhat envious of Mrs. Gu’s golden touch.
“Although I might not be a very likable person, I am at least genuine inside and out. I don’t flip back and forth, acting two-faced.”
Without waiting for the other man to find a rebuttal, he called out toward the front, “Mr. Yu, wait for me! I happen to have some business at the Ministry of Personnel as well…”
He left behind a crowd of two-faced courtiers who were rendered utterly speechless.
***
Hua Shunming sat in the palace, smiling as he listened to the incoming reports.
“These new courtiers bring new disputes. I’ve watched this play out my entire life. If a day goes by without hearing such news, I actually feel a bit unaccustomed to it.”
In front of Hua Zhang, Hua Shunming made no attempt to conceal his ongoing grasp of the court’s affairs.
Hua Zhang didn’t mind. Since his father summoned him over every single time and filled his ears with these reports before letting him return to the Imperial Study Room, he was already used to it.
“Imperial Father, the courtiers feel our reward was too heavy.”
Hua Shunming sneered. “That’s because the reward didn’t fall into their laps, otherwise they would have complained it was too light.
“I actually find Li Laifu quite interesting. He used to be somewhat subtly opposed to Gu Wenheng, but now he’s speaking up on his behalf.”
Hua Zhang reminded him in a low voice, “Li Laifu has three legitimate daughters in his household who are just of marriageable age.”
Hua Shunming nodded. “Speaking of which, our Royal Family really lacks destiny with Princesses. If I had a Princess, I would also want to marry her into the Gu family. What a pity…”
“There are still a few Princesses being raised in the side halls of the harem…” Hua Zhang pointed out.
Hua Shunming shook his head. “They are adopted Princesses after all, deeply entangled with the various major clans. If you intend to arrange marriages for them in the future, you must deliberate carefully.
“Now that the court is stable, once this grand harvest of corn is brought in, there will be no need to ennoble any more Princesses in the harem.”
Having grain meant having military power. When the time came, mere petty nations would be nothing to fear.
Besides, Gu Wenheng’s two sons were currently highly sought-after commodities in everyone’s eyes. He had no desire to be the one to push an unwanted match on them, which would only offend Gu Wenheng and give others a cheap advantage.
Hua Zhang shared this sentiment. Back when he was still a Prince, whenever he heard those strangers calling his mother “Empress Mother,” he had felt nothing but waves of irritation.
“Imperial Father, your son has one more matter.”
Hua Shunming glanced at him and said with clear understanding, “You are here about the sea trade.”
Hua Zhang nodded. “Someone has already been advising your son…”
Hua Shunming greatly appreciated his candor. “It is not that your Imperial Father likes to keep a tight grip on things. It’s just that there are very few capable people by your side right now. I fear no one can shoulder such a heavy responsibility.”
Hua Shunming knew exactly how many capable individuals the Emperor had around him.
In his heart, he harbored some complaints. The Empress had been overly cautious for so many years, terrified at every turn of committing a major taboo, and thus she hadn’t recruited many talents for the two Princes.
This was precisely why the Emperor now had so few trusted aides at his disposal after ascending the throne.
Hua Zhang was well aware of this. Lately, he had been scouting for suitable candidates, planning to groom them by his side for a period before sending them out to take up posts.
But he couldn’t stop people from trying to sow discord. To prevent them from making any more foolish moves, he decided to clear the air with the Supreme Emperor today, avoiding any future suspicion between father and son.