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

The four of them walked along the edge of the road unnoticed.

Once inside the bedroom, Gu Mingli closed the door tightly behind him.

He lit the nine-branched red copper candlestick on the table in the dark.

The warm yellow light instantly illuminated the spacious room.

Xiao Ye put his hands behind his back and scanned the room with his eyes.

This bedroom has a standard "one bright room and two dark rooms" layout.

In the center is a small, bright, and spacious hall.

To the left is the study, with a long table for writing brushes and ink placed by the window.

To the right is the bedroom, with a canopy bed hidden behind a curtain.

The two doors on the left and right were half-open, allowing the three rooms to be interconnected during the day, making it convenient to enter and exit.

The interior furnishings are luxurious and elegant.

The ground was covered with a thick floral carpet, a tribute from the Western Regions, and a beaded curtain made of giant clams from the South China Sea and warm, lustrous pebbles hung from the partition.

A large desk carved from a single piece of huanghuali wood sits by the window.

The brush washer on the table was made from a single piece of mutton-fat white jade, which was extremely rare and flawless.

No wonder it's the bedroom of the eldest son of a corrupt official.

Every piece of furniture here may seem unassuming, but in reality, they are extremely expensive to make; some items used by the imperial court might not even be worth as much.

Xiao Ye nodded.

Therefore, confiscating the homes of corrupt officials is still the fastest way to replenish the national treasury.

If it weren't for the presence of Gu Mingli and Gu Mingyue...

Xiao Ye withdrew his gaze, his last look landing on Gu Mingli.

"What a surprise?"

Again!

You can dodge the first day of the month, but you can't dodge the fifteenth!

Gu Mingli felt a chill run down his spine.

He forced a smile and stepped forward to pour the emperor a cup of cool tea.

"Your Majesty, please sit down and moisten your throat. Your subject... will go and fetch it for you right away!"

Xiao Ye remained silent.

She simply took the teacup and glanced at him indifferently.

Gu Mingli took it as the boss's tacit agreement that he could leave temporarily, and excitedly rubbed his hands together before turning to walk out the door.

Just as his hand touched the latch, a clear shout came from afar outside the door.

"elder brother?"

It was Gu Mingyue's voice!

Gu Mingli suddenly stopped in his tracks, startled and shuddering from head to toe.

He glanced in horror at the figure gradually approaching from the corridor outside the door.

She turned around abruptly and glanced at Xiao Ye, who was sitting at the table with a slight frown.

It's over, it's over, it's over!

If his sister were to push open the door and catch him bringing the emperor back to his residence in the middle of the night...

This matter is completely inexplicable!

Gu Mingli quickly retreated to the tea table.

"Your Majesty, my sister is here. She's always been a gossipmonger; if she bumps into you..."

"No, I meant could you please move aside for a moment...?"

"What kind of melon are you eating?"

Xiao Ye's hand, holding the teacup, froze in mid-air, his brows furrowed.

A king of a nation, should he avoid a subject's daughter?

Move to? Move to where?!

Gu Mingli looked around in despair; his bedroom was only this big!

There's no door to the study, so there's no way to hide anyone there.

Only the dormitory room has a row of carved lattice doors!

As they were talking, Gu Mingyue's light footsteps reached the corridor.

She had been waiting for her brother all night, and now she heard Yi Wu say that her brother was back.

She quickly crawled out of bed, wearing a soft silk undergarment and just a loose outer garment.

With her hair casually loose, she rushed over.

Who knew her brother would act so strangely tonight, even locking the door when he got home?!

"Brother? Why did you lock the door?"

Gu Mingyue's voice was already very close.

Gu Mingli saw that his sister had already started to push open the door, and he didn't have time to explain anything to the emperor.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me!"

He grabbed Xiao Ye's wrist and roughly shoved him into the dormitory.

Liu An and Geng Zhi, who were following behind, were also squeezed in.

With a soft "bang," Gu Mingli slammed the two carved wooden doors of the dormitory shut behind him, then turned around and braced them with his back.

Almost at the same second he turned around.

"Whoosh~"

Gu Mingyue pushed open the door to the outer hall from the outside.

She went into the house.

She looked at Gu Mingli, who was blocking the bedroom door, with a puzzled expression.

"Brother? What are you doing? You didn't answer when I called you."

"When did you return home? You didn't even use the main gate."

"Sneaking around like that, people would think you're cheating on someone."

Gu Mingli leaned against the door and gasped.

My back was soaked with sweat.

He forced a very unnatural smile.

"You brat! Don't talk nonsense!"

There was only one candlestick lit in the room, making it dimly lit.

Gu Mingyue did not notice anything unusual about her brother.

He walked directly to the round table in the hall, sat down, and poured himself a glass of water.

"Brother, there's something important I need to discuss with you."

Gu Mingyue took a sip of water and said without any hesitation:

"The Pei family gave our father 300,000 taels of silver today."

"Hiss~~~~"

Gu Mingli's eyes widened instantly.

He felt his heart stop beating.

Is this something you can say in front of the emperor?!

He glanced guiltily at the closed bedroom door.

The room was quiet.

Cold sweat poured down Gu Mingli's back.

He desperately tried to wink at Gu Mingyue.

He put his finger to his lips in a shushing gesture.

Gu Mingyue frowned as she looked at his comical, winking expression.

"Brother, is your eye twitching?"

Gu Mingli was so anxious he almost jumped up.

He lowered his voice and said, "Keep your voice down! Don't talk about this!"

Gu Mingyue didn't take it to heart.

"What's there to be quiet about? It's impossible for Huang Jiaojiao to find out about this money from our family. Besides, our father didn't accept it; the Pei family just temporarily put it away."

"So, we need to spend the money quickly."

Gu Mingli closed his eyes silently.

Huang Jiaojiao is right behind you, inside that door!

Gu Mingyue continued:

"I plan to use this money to build a shipyard that integrates repair and construction."

"Bring all the canal boats belonging to Pujitang in for renovation. Also, purchase a batch of new boats while you're at it."

"The logistics park will have a huge throughput in the future. The ships on Qian Dajiang's side won't be enough. Moreover, the other four branches of the Canal Gang haven't agreed to join yet."

"Back then, we boasted to Huang Jiaojiao that we would take over the Grand Canal Gang."

Gu Mingli covered his face with his hands, his mind buzzing.

He managed to calm himself down.

He tried to steer the conversation away from what his sister was saying.

"Shipyards are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Industry's Water Management Department. Private workshops are not allowed to build large merchant ships without authorization."

Gu Mingyue gently tapped the table.

"Yes, that's why I came to find you. Go and use your charm tomorrow to ask Huang Jiaojiao for a policy."

"Once we get the official document with imperial approval, we can get the ship quickly."

Gu Mingli stared helplessly at the roof beam, his body swaying slightly.

"Mingyue, please stop calling him Huang Jiaojiao."

Gu Mingyue raised an eyebrow.

"What? You're protecting him now? Didn't you name him?"

Gu Mingli: "..."

Destroy it.

The two were talking.

A servant boy came running from the outer courtyard, panting.

"Young Master! The eldest son of the Pei family has scaled the wall and entered the manor. He says he has something extremely urgent to discuss with you."

Gu Mingli pinched the bridge of his nose.

What is an inauspicious day today?

All he wants now is to get everyone out of here as quickly as possible.

"I'm not seeing him!!! Tell him I'm asleep!! We can talk tomorrow!!"

Gu Mingli waved his hand weakly.

"Wait a minute." Gu Mingyue stood up.

He called out to the servant who was about to leave.

"Let him in."

"No way!" Gu Mingli abruptly raised his head. "What kind of guest are you meeting in the middle of the night?!"

Gu Mingyue looked at him with clear and calm eyes.

"There are some things that need to be made clear tonight. The Pei family thought that by giving us money, they could tie the Gu family to the aristocratic families. They're wrong."

Gu Mingli looked at her in despair.

"No! Why do you have to say it today?!"

Gu Mingyue nodded.

"Strike while the iron is hot. You deal with him in the hall first. Listen to what he has to say. I'll go to the inner room to listen in. We'll discuss a strategy later."

As she spoke, she turned and walked toward the bedroom door.

Startled, Gu Mingli reached out to grab his sister, "Mingyue! You...!"

Gu Mingyue moved extremely quickly.

She pushed open the bedroom door, slipped inside, and closed the door behind her.

"...Don't go in."

Gu Mingli's hand froze in mid-air.

A deathly silence fell over the bedroom.