Dad, don't be greedy! My brother climbed into the emperor's bed, and I became famous overn

It's time to come!

The emperor has come to investigate the whereabouts of the confiscated silver!

Gu Mingyue's eyes did not dart away, nor did she rush to explain.

Instead, she followed the man's gaze and looked towards the busy construction site in the distance.

"Your Highness is too kind."

Xiao Jue's eyebrows twitched slightly.

"Do you know me?"

"I don't know him."

Gu Mingyue withdrew her gaze, her expression calm.

"But the Censorate is directly under the Emperor. Only His Majesty or a prince can have the Censorate's personnel accompany him as bodyguards. His Majesty is busy with countless affairs of state and would not personally go to the remote countryside."

Xiao Jue's smile deepened.

"Interesting." He paced back and forth a couple of steps, circling Gu Mingyue almost halfway around her, as if examining an object worthy of appreciation.

He stopped and faced her directly.

"What do you plan to do with this land?"

The men around held their breath, craning their necks as far as they could.

Gu Mingyue remained silent for two seconds.

"Pharmaceutical manufacturing".

"Pharmaceutical making?" Xiao Jue raised an eyebrow, signaling her to continue.

Gu Mingyue raised her hand and pointed to the fruit trees covering the hillside behind her.

"There is a fruit growing on this mountain called bitter pomelo. People think it is useless and discard it."

"However, after consulting ancient books and comparing them, it was found that the peel of this fruit can be used in medicine to resolve phlegm, stop coughing, regulate qi, and strengthen the spleen. It was recorded in previous dynasties, but the knowledge was lost later."

She withdrew her hand, her tone calm.

"The floods in Jiangzhou mean that disaster relief cannot provide them with a long-term way to survive."

"Now that they have fled here, they have all become employees of Pujitang. They have a place to stay, work, and a monthly wage."

"Next, I plan to lead them to harvest fruits and process medicinal herbs to benefit the people of Dayong."

Xiao Jue did not respond immediately.

He tilted his head, the playfulness in his eyes fading slightly, replaced by a deeper scrutiny.

"To benefit the people? Young lady, you truly have the world in your heart."

"This land, this mountain, these thousands of people, all depend on Miss Gu's money alone?"

He was forcing her to admit where the money came from.

Gu Mingyue's back tensed for a moment.

At the negotiating table, whoever avoids eye contact loses first!

She slowly turned around, raised her head, and looked directly into Xiao Jue's eyes.

"Your Highness, all land under heaven belongs to the king."

"This land belongs to the imperial court. This mountain belongs to the Great Yong Dynasty. The disaster victims are His Majesty's subjects."

"Every tael of silver I spend will go where it's meant to go. When the people are stable, the world is stable."

A mountain breeze swept by, swirling up a few withered leaves from the ground.

Xiao Jue stared at her for a moment.

The two locked eyes, their gazes sharp and confrontational.

In the end, Xiao Jue was the first to smile and look away.

"Well said."

His tone was much more relaxed than before, as if he had finally found a satisfactory solution to a difficult problem.

"Since you have the world in your heart, young lady..."

He turned and walked to his horse, then mounted it.

"Then I will come again next month to see if the young lady's medicine-making results are truly as described."

"When the time comes, I will check whether they have 'returned to where they belong'."

As soon as he finished speaking, he put on the ghost mask and spurred the horse.

A dozen or so black-clad soldiers turned their horses around in unison, raising a cloud of dust as they sped away.

The sound of hooves faded into the distance.

The construction site was quiet for a while.

Yan Xiaoliu was the first to come over, his face full of vigilance.

"Master, is there something troubling you?"

Shi Buji scratched his head in confusion: "Master, what do you mean by 'returning to where you belong'?"

"It's alright, let's continue with our work."

Gu Mingyue stood there, watching the group of people disappear at the end of the official road, and slowly exhaled.

That was close.

Every word Xiao Jue uttered was a test.

He came to confirm one thing on behalf of the emperor: the money she spent must flow back into the national treasury!

She temporarily saved her entire family by increasing the measures to "stabilize people's livelihoods".

But Xiao Jue's final words, "Check the accounts," are the real key point.

The emperor gave her a month.

If Pujitang fails to produce tangible results for the imperial court a month from now, everything we've said today will be nothing but empty promises.

Gu Mingyue closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Originally, she only wanted to spend all the money her father had embezzled to complete her mission and return to the modern world.

But now it seems that the emperor has already taken control of the whole situation.

If she cannot generate visible profits from this money, then she must return those profits to the imperial court.

Their whole family will be slaughtered without hesitation.

Gu Mingyue opened her eyes and turned to look at the barren mountain behind her, covered with green fruits.

The system screen popped up.

[Time remaining until mission deadline: 2 days and 10 hours]

[Current expenditure: 51000 taels]

[Remaining: 49000 taels]

……

into the night.

In the east courtyard of the Prime Minister's residence, in Gu Mingli's study.

The doors and windows were tightly shut, and the door bolts were fastened twice.

A pile of messy papers lay on the table, next to a plate of cold osmanthus cake and two untouched cups of tea.

Gu Mingyue sat cross-legged on the chair, her hands clasped on her knees, looking like she was about to hold a board meeting.

"The interim summary meeting begins."

Gu Mingli sat opposite him, sporting dark circles under his eyes, exuding a颓废 (颓废 is a Chinese word that means decadent, listless, or dispirited) aura of "office slaves who don't want to work overtime".

He cleared his throat and began to report on the completion of his task.

"Good news. The Emperor's hatred level has decreased."

Gu Mingyue's eyes lit up.

"How much has it dropped?"

Gu Mingli stretched out a hand.

Gu Mingyue was overjoyed.

"Fifty? Five hundred?!"

Five o'clock.

The room was silent for a full three seconds.

"...How much did you say?"

"five."

Gu Mingli raised his hand, held up five fingers, and waved them in front of her.

"From negative 580 to negative 575."

Gu Mingyue's expression went blank for a moment, then became indescribable.

She took a deep breath, slowly leaned back in her chair, and began to look for the reason.

"Bro, are you not charming enough?"

Gu Mingli glared at her!

Gu Mingyue pursed her lips, suppressing a laugh, and raised her hand.

"Look, you've been talking about water conservancy projects all night long on the dragon bed."

"In the end, only five points were washed off."

What does this mean?

Gu Mingli groggily lifted his eyelids, "That means the system has a grudge against me."

"When they add, it's always two or three hundred, but when they subtract, it's like squeezing toothpaste. A single sneeze from my dad is enough for me to serve him for fifty or sixty days."

Gu Mingyue suppressed a laugh and rubbed her temples.

"So at this rate, to reduce your hatred level to zero, you'll have to be on the dragon bed..."

She counted on her fingers, "One hundred and fifteen consecutive nights of talking. Almost four months without sleep."

Gu Mingli suddenly stood up and went straight back to the inner room to rummage through the drawers and cabinets.

Not long after, he returned carrying the white silk ribbon.

"A scholar can be killed, but not humiliated!"

"I'm fucking quitting!"

"Either way, it's death or something; eighteen years later..."

"Brother," Gu Mingyue interrupted her brother's sorrowful tone, "the system said that if we don't complete the mission, we will not have an afterlife, but will only be immortalized here."

Gu Mingli: "..."

【Ding】

A pink system screen popped up.

[Congratulations, host! Your favorability with the emperor has increased for the first time, unlocking 1 chance to exchange "Secret Manual"]