Reborn as the Blissful Wife in the countryside-Chapter 1153: Emperor Chu’s New Edict
Gu Jin’an was very pleased, and heaved a sigh of relief. Although Cui Yiweng had class prejudices and looked down on him, Cui Yiweng was not Tong San, nor one of those ignorant playboys, and had no malice towards him.
"Brother Cui, rest assured. I will definitely convey your message. Whether he meets you or not will be up to Master Ouyang’s decision," Gu Jin’an agreed.
Cui Yiweng was delighted and thanked Gu Jin’an, then began drinking with him. After just two cups, Yan Xiaowu arrived.
As soon as he arrived, he walked straight to Gu Jin’an and said with a smile, "Brother Gu, you came really early. I went around to the Xu Family to meet you, and Elder Xu said you had already arrived."
Upon hearing this, Cui Yiweng was taken aback. This Gu Jin’an is no simple man. Not only does he know Master Ouyang, who personally wrote ’What is Filial Piety’ to vindicate him, but he also has connections with the Yan Family. It’s said that Gu Jin’an is also close with the legitimate heir of the Zheng Family and the Shangguan family in Jiangnan. His network... Cui Yiweng was filled with admiration and could only sigh at his good fortune.
Gu Jin’an was very happy tonight. It was the only banquet he had attended where he wasn’t put on the spot.
Furthermore, Academic Administrator Kong said to him, "I will present Master Ouyang’s article to the Emperor. Once the Emperor has seen it, when you go to the Capital for the Imperial Examination, no one will dare trouble you again."
Gu Jin’an expressed his thanks to Academic Administrator Kong.
But Academic Administrator Kong was mistaken. Emperor Chu didn’t care about such trivial matters.
When Academic Administrator Kong presented Master Ouyang’s article to Emperor Chu as if it were a treasure, the Emperor only glanced at it briefly before tossing it aside, internally berating both Master Ouyang and Academic Administrator Kong: at such a time, why are they wasting his time with such trivialities?
Emperor Chu was overwhelmed. Da Rong had plundered Longshan Prefecture, and the Longshan prefectural city had fallen. Countless frontier people were killed, and countless women were kidnapped. The face of Emperor Chu was severely slapped, leaving him both humiliated and angry.
Someone in the Northwest must be blaming him, claiming that it was his fault for removing Duke Wei’s faction, allowing the Da Rong people to act with impunity.
Regarding Duke Wei’s family matters, Emperor Chu knew he had acted ruthlessly, yet he didn’t feel he was wrong. Duke Wei’s faction was powerful; besides being local tyrants in the Northwest, they had old subordinates in the Northeast and Central State. If Duke Wei’s faction wasn’t eradicated, within two generations, Duke Wei’s descendants might attack the Capital to seize the throne!
However, Duke Wei’s faction was a sharp weapon against Da Rong. He had destroyed this weapon, and the new one was ineffective, leading to the plundering of Longshan Prefecture. He needed to solve this issue and restore his reputation, or the courtiers would mock him to no end.
Thus, Emperor Chu decided to send troops against Da Rong.
But war requires money and food. Due to disasters, Great Chu’s treasury was empty and lacked sufficient funds. After much deliberation, Emperor Chu issued an imperial decree to increase taxes.
Emperor Chu wanted to increase the summer tax, the poll tax, and the military resistance tax.
The courtiers were astonished upon hearing this and submitted letters of protest, stating, "The miscellaneous taxes in Great Chu are already burdensome. The farmers are struggling, and adding a military resistance tax will make life unbearable. Additionally, the Northwest, Northeast, and Central State have been unstable for years. The farmers have no surplus grain, and additional taxes will sever their means of livelihood."
Emperor Chu had heard these words for years and had grown weary of them. He furiously rebuked the officials of the Northwest, Northeast, and Central State: "A bunch of good-for-nothing officials, all incompetents drawing their salaries. It’s been years and the Northwest still hasn’t been restored to its original state?!"
Emperor Chu, enraged, immediately issued a decree to rebuke the officials of the Northwest, Northeast, and Central State, withholding three months of their salaries.
The courtiers were a step away from madness. These places are unstable; shouldn’t they be appeased? Why suddenly punish them? Aren’t you afraid of further unrest?
But the decree had already been issued, and the courtiers were helpless, forced to continue advising against the increased taxation.
However, the Emperor had made up his mind, stating that the collected funds would be used as military resources against Da Rong. But due to the strong opposition from the courtiers, the Emperor amended his decree: "No additional taxes in the Northwest, Northeast, and Central State, but areas like Jianghuai, Jiangnan, and Zhili, being prosperous, will have their monetary taxes and military resistance taxes doubled."
The courtiers: "..."
Lost their minds, can’t do anything about it, do whatever you want.
...
Gu Jin’an and his group were unaware of the Emperor’s tax increase. On the third day after attending the banquet, they packed up and set off back to He’an Prefecture.
Before returning, they bought gifts for their families. Gu Dexing secretly went to the Silver Building and bought a golden hairpin for Xu Zhong.
The golden hairpin was quite beautiful, though somewhat gaudy. Xu Zhao Ming subtly reminded Gu Dexing, "Linglong is more suited for jade."
But to buy quality jade, less than a hundred taels of silver wouldn’t suffice.
After buying gifts for his family, Gu Dexing had less than one hundred taels of silver left, so he could only buy the golden hairpin. Moreover, his second aunt had mentioned that jade was fragile like tofu, and if it broke within a few days, it would be a loss. Gold items were more practical; in times of trouble, one could simply take it off and use it as cash, how convenient!
Gu Dexing was influenced by Mrs. Chen and thus thought of buying a golden hairpin for Xu Zhong.
Seeing he didn’t listen, Xu Zhao Ming let it go.
As for Gu Jin’an, it occurred to him that on his return home, he would visit Master Ouyang and likely meet Miss Ouyang, so he thought it appropriate to prepare a gift for her.
Therefore, he bought a piece of jade with the intention of carving a jade seal to give to Miss Ouyang, truly a labor of love.
Scholar Shang, upon learning of this, couldn’t stop laughing. Seeing Gu Jin’an so meticulously preparing a gift for Miss Ouyang, it reminded him of himself and Xue Niang.
He recalled that when he was young, he had also carved a jade seal for Xue Niang, and she loved it, even placing it beneath her pillow at night, until later, when Yuanyuan was born, she moved it, fearing the child might unknowingly swallow it.
Once they finished buying their gifts, they got onto the mule cart and set off for home.
Yan Xiaowu, upon learning of their departure, personally came to see them off, and to everyone’s surprise, standing by Yan Xiaowu’s side were Liu Wenqing and Liu Wenqing.
Gu Jin’an was taken aback to see the two brothers. How on earth did they connect with Yan Xiaowu?
Feeling concerned for Yan Xiaowu, lest he be taken advantage of, Gu Jin’an gave him a word of caution. Yan Xiaowu chuckled ruefully, "They came to me, asking my family for help during the Tong Family estate auction, hoping our family could assist their Liu Family in reclaiming their old assets."
Yan Xiaowu didn’t want to agree, but Liu Wenqing was too persistent and clingy. Having no other choice, he agreed, thinking that once he consented, Liu Wenqing would leave him be.
But Liu Wenqing didn’t stop. He switched his approach, claiming it was to repay a favor. Over the past few days, he had been following Yan Xiaowu around, helping out wherever he could, almost like a... servant.
Hearing this, Gu Jin’an twitched his mouth—repay a favor? What favor? Clearly, they just wanted to latch onto Yan Xiaowu to connect with the powerful Yan Family.
However, as long as Liu Wenqing didn’t harbor ill intentions towards Yan Xiaowu, Gu Jin’an chose not to interfere further, bid farewell to Yan Xiaowu, and left on the mule cart.
Liu Wenqing, seeing Gu Jin’an, was full of admiration: "That’s First Place Gu, huh? I heard he fled from famine and didn’t attend much school as a child, yet he could become the top student—truly a genius."
Liu Wenqing remarked, "So you don’t need to feel disheartened. If First Place Gu could become a scholar, you certainly can too after diligently studying for ten years."
