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

Pei Chongyue stared at his grandson, who was trembling like a leaf on the ground, and quickly analyzed the situation.

"The Emperor was insulted by you in a dilapidated temple, yet he didn't kill you on the spot, nor did he even issue an imperial edict to punish you. What does that mean?"

Everyone frowned in thought.

What does this mean?

Does this mean they're preparing to settle scores with the Pei family later?

Pei Chongyue's shrewd eyes swept over the crowd, and he spoke in a deep voice.

"This shows that His Majesty still has feelings for that male favorite he had at the time!"

"Perhaps the Emperor is afraid of blood, and that frightened that vixen!"

"By the way, you just mentioned that vixen who's always by the Emperor's side... who was she again?"

Pei Yu raised her head, tears streaming down her face, as if grasping at a lifeline.

"He's the son of the Right Chancellor, the Gu family! The current Imperial Physician, Gu Mingli!"

"Gu Mingli?"

Pei Chongyue narrowed his eyes, vigorously twirled the goatee on his chin, and his eyes gleamed.

"Recently, rumors have been circulating from the Zhou family that His Majesty's major crackdown on the Ministry of Works is entirely due to Gu Mingli's instigation."

The crowd looked at each other, not daring to even breathe loudly.

The hall was quiet for a moment.

Pei Chongyue tapped his fingers on the rosewood armrest.

"We have to choose between the Zhou family and the Gu family."

A moment later, Pei Chongyue slammed his hand on the armrest and made a decision.

"Yu'er."

"Yes, Grandfather!"

"If our Pei family is to survive this annihilation, we'll probably have no choice but to latch onto Gu Mingli's coattails!"

A desperate, mad light shone in Pei Chongyue's cloudy eyes.

"Guards! Open the storeroom! Prepare generous gifts!"

That night, the Pei family's storeroom was brightly lit, as bright as day.

A dozen or so managers were going in and out with account books in their hands.

The abacus beads clicked and clattered.

The servants, sweating profusely, spent the entire night counting the gifts.

Land deeds for farms in the outskirts of Beijing, fist-sized pearls from the East China Sea, pure silver ingots so bright they could blind the eye, ancient books and paintings by famous artists of the previous dynasty, and hundreds of bolts of Shu brocade, each inch of gold and silver...

It was filled with ten thousand-year-old camphor wood chests that required two people to hug!

Pei Chongyue, leaning on his cane, personally inspected the items.

Finally, gritting his teeth, he led out two more expensive Akhal-Teke horses from the stable, which he had bought at great expense to present as tribute, and tied them to the carriage.

"Send it secretly to the backyard of the Gu residence tonight at midnight, and deliver it directly to the Gu residence at daybreak tomorrow morning!"

Pei Chongyue finally sighed helplessly.

"Tell Gu Debai that this is a gift from our Pei family! It comes from a heart full of sincerity!"

The next morning, at the Gu residence.

Gu Mingyue took a rare day off and didn't go to the construction site.

I had a good, lazy sleep in my room.

I ate a bowl of hot lily porridge after getting up.

She was sitting in the front hall, discussing with her father, Gu Debai, about finding more tailor shops in the capital.

We're preparing to order uniforms for all the workers at the logistics park.

After handing over the last sum of 20,000 taels for work clothes, Gu Mingyue breathed a sigh of relief.

Her mission to spend a staggering 570,000 taels of silver was finally accomplished on this bright and sunny morning!

[Ding! Host has completed the task.]

[Task Reward: Viewing access to "Future Headlines" x1, already issued!]

Hearing the beautiful mechanical voice in her mind, Gu Mingyue couldn't help but smile.

While her father was engrossed in drinking tea and not paying attention, she quietly raised her hand.

I was just about to open the system panel in the void to see what shocking news "Future Headlines" would reveal.

"Master! Something terrible has happened! It's life-threatening!"

Before her fingertips could even touch the panel, a commotion suddenly erupted from the backyard.

Immediately afterwards, the butler, Gu An, swept into the front hall like a tornado.

He was out of breath from running and leaned against the door frame, panting heavily.

"Master! The Pei family has sent gifts! Good heavens, a full ten carriages, plus two incredibly powerful Akhal-Teke horses, they've completely blocked our back alley!"

Gu Debai was sitting in the main seat, leisurely savoring the newly arrived Mao Feng tea.

Upon hearing this, he unexpectedly spat out his tea, spraying it all over the floor.

"Cough cough cough...Which Pei residence are you referring to?!"

"But is it the residence of Pei Chongyue, the Minister of Personnel?"

Gu An nodded vigorously, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, completely bewildered.

"Yes! It's the family of the Minister of Personnel!"

"These guys are like thieves, who knows when they'll be lying in ambush in the alley behind our house in the middle of the night."

"We're waiting for the gatekeeper in our backyard. He just opened the door a crack to prepare to transport the swill."

"They immediately led their men, pushing and shoving, to carry the gift boxes into the courtyard."

"They were so aggressive... we couldn't even stop them!"

"Hiss~ Something's not right with this old man Pei!"

Gu Debai narrowed his eyes.

Gu Mingyue immediately exchanged a knowing look with her father.

It's likely that the Pei family already knows that their reckless eldest grandson has pointed his finger at the emperor and cursed him in the dilapidated temple.

The shrewd courtiers are not blind to the weight of her brother's words in front of the emperor.

Is the Pei family treating the Gu family as a safe haven?

Gu Debai hastily wiped his damp beard with a silk handkerchief.

Without the slightest hesitation, he waved his hand decisively and said:

"No! Drive them all away! Throw them out immediately, men and horses alike!"

Upon hearing this, Gu Mingyue's eyes widened in surprise.

Has the sun risen in the west?

Her adoptive father used to be extremely stingy.

Faced with this huge sum of money delivered to their door, they actually refused it without even looking at it?

Upon receiving the order, Gu An loudly replied, "Yes!" and then turned and hurriedly ran out like a gust of wind to chase people away.

Gu Mingyue rested her chin on her hands and looked at her father with curiosity.

"Father, the Pei family is a noble family. Those ten boxes are probably priceless. How could you bear to confiscate them this time?"

Gu Debai narrowed his eyes, looked through the wide-open door at the golden osmanthus tree swaying in the wind in the courtyard, and snorted coldly.

"Girl, your father may be greedy, but I'm not stupid!"

"These declining aristocratic families have clearly offended the bigwigs above them and are trying to climb up to our Gu family as a lifeline, no matter the cost."

"Now you're doing business with the Emperor, and your brother is serving in the Emperor's court. Our Gu family is enjoying great favor with the Emperor."

"Dad won't risk ruining your future by being greedy for small gains at this crucial juncture."

Gu Mingyue listened and nodded in approval.

Not bad.

Her father's ideological awareness has improved significantly.

He has already begun to learn to be a loyal subject for the sake of his two children's future.

However, the heartwarming moment between the father and daughter lasted only three seconds.

The housekeeper came running back again.

"Master!!! This is a serious problem!!!"

"Master! I just returned to inform them! Who knew those servants at the gate couldn't stop them at all!"

"The Pei family doesn't care about anything!"

"They practically dragged and shoved those ten heavy gift boxes into our backyard! They ran faster than rabbits!"

Before Gu Mingyue could even open her mouth to speak, a sudden "buzz" went through the depths of her mind.

Immediately afterwards, that cold, mechanical voice rang out again.

[Ding! 300,000 taels of embezzled silver detected, triggering a phased mission!]

[Current mission balance: 300,000 taels, and some stolen goods.]

[Mission deadline: Squander everything within 3 months.]

Gu Mingyue: "..."