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

"Swoosh!" The carriage came to a sudden stop.

The curtain was suddenly pulled open from the outside, and Gong Huo and Tao Zhi squeezed their faces together at the opening, both looking more nervous than the other.

"Miss? Young Master? What the hell?!"

Taozhi almost lost her grip on the teapot, and the lid clattered onto the cart shaft.

Gong Huo's hand was already on the hilt of his knife, ready to fight to the death at any moment.

Gu Mingyue took a deep breath.

"fine."

"I saw a big rat."

"A mouse?" Taozhi asked skeptically, peering into the carriage.

Gu Mingli waved his hand, "Let's keep going."

The curtain fell, and the carriage went dark again.

The brother and sister exchanged a glance, and Gu Mingyue calmed down.

"So, what's the trigger that's about to lead to our family's execution?"

Gu Mingli bit his thumb and began to analyze.

"An epidemic broke out, and the Imperial Medical Academy had no cure, leading to a surge in deaths. In ancient times, the resulting social unrest would have been seen as divine punishment for the rulers! A very ominous sign!"

"Our cheap father embezzled funds designated for medicinal herbs and has incurred the emperor's wrath once again."

Gu Mingyue frowned and said, "Even if our father hadn't embezzled the money, the epidemic still wouldn't have been under control. The emperor is just pinning the blame for this disaster on our Gu family?"

"elder brother."

"exist!"

"We need to prepare in advance for the pandemic!"

"For no other reason than to save my life!"

Gu Mingli was stunned for a moment.

"How did they cope? Ancient medical and disease prevention methods were limited. In modern times, you can take cough syrup or loquat syrup for a cough, but what did they have in ancient times?"

"Orange-red granules?!"

At this point, the brother and sister exchanged a glance.

Gu Mingyue's eyes shone brightly in the darkness, like two newly lit flames.

"We happen to have the raw materials to make tangerine peel right now!"

"With the new processing technique you just acquired, Juhong Cough Powder! As long as we can produce the finished product and mass-produce it before the epidemic breaks out, this will be a ready-made miracle drug."

"Therefore, we need to stock up on medicinal herbs in advance!"

She paused, released his shoulder, and tapped her fingers twice on the screen.

"And face masks."

Gu Mingli's expression turned serious.

He loves discussing technical issues!

The excitement he had when discussing water conservancy projects with the emperor on his dragon bed, and the exhilaration that only appeared when talking about mechanical engineering, were now gradually showing through his tired face.

"Making face masks requires gauze!"

The brother and sister searched their memories.

"It seems that cotton cloth has not yet been mass-produced in this era."

Gu Mingli raised his hand to push up his glasses, which weren't even on his nose, and said seriously, "Because their textile technology is immature, they can't make cotton into cotton thread that isn't easy to break, let alone efficiently make cotton cloth."

Gu Mingyue glanced at her brother.

"Brother, do you know how to make a spinning wheel?"

"Spinning wheel..."

Gu Mingli frowned and muttered the same thing to himself, his brain automatically drawing on his knowledge of mechanical principles.

Gu Mingyue calculated the equipment needed.

"We need not only spinning wheels, but also looms and mask manufacturing production lines!"

"Multi-layered, tightly woven gauze, with medicinal herbs used as interlayers, and sewn together on both sides. The structure is not complicated. The key is mass production."

Gu Mingli nodded seriously.

"no problem!"

"I'll study the design carefully these next couple of days."

……

As night deepened, the carriage sped into the capital before the city gates were locked.

The vehicle made two turns along the long street and stopped in front of the Prime Minister's residence.

When the brother and sister jumped off the carriage, they still carried the energy they had brought back from Jiangzhou.

Gu Mingyue had already planned out her next work schedule in her mind.

First, predict the mask production cycle and quantity, then list the mass production and reserve inventory of medicinal materials.

then……

She saw her father at the door.

Gu Debai stood under the porch, his face glowing, his eyes narrowed into slits with a smile.

With his hands behind his back, he eagerly came to greet them.

Gu Mingyue was all too familiar with that smile.

It was exactly the same as when I slipped two thousand taels of silver into her purse last time.

It was so dazzling it gave me the creeps.

"Moon! Li'er! I heard you went to Jiangzhou to discuss business?"

"You've really made something of yourself! You've even learned to do business and make money!"

"Are you tired from the journey? Are you hungry? Dad asked the kitchen to save some of your favorite osmanthus cake."

"Father." Gu Mingyue stood at the bottom of the steps, not going up. "Please speak your mind."

Gu Debai's smile froze for a moment, then returned to normal.

He looked around to make sure there were no servants in the courtyard before lowering his voice and taking something out of his sleeve.

A stack of silver notes.

He shoved the stack into Gu Mingyue's hand, then turned and gave a stack to Gu Mingli.

The speed and skill of their movements were just like those of a retired cadre giving his grandson lucky money during Chinese New Year.

"My dear daughter, my good son."

Gu Debai lowered his voice, his tone full of a proud and triumphant father.

"Father has struck it rich today."

Gu Mingyue held the stack of silver notes in her fingers, without turning them over.

"How many?"

"Those idiots in the Ministry of Works made numerous mistakes in their accounting."

Gu Debai covered his mouth with his hand, lowering his voice even further.

"Father casually fiddled with it, and another 100,000 taels quietly entered the account today. It's a special fund for flood control in Jiangzhou."

He patted Gu Mingyue's hand, his face full of affection.

"You two get ten thousand each. Take it and spend it however you like. Dad will save the rest."

Gu Mingyue looked down at the silver notes in her hand, then slowly shifted her gaze to Gu Mingli beside her.

Gu Mingli's face was completely expressionless.

He grabbed onto a pillar in the porch, his entire weight resting on that pillar.

If you don't hold on, you'll fall straight to the ground.

"father."

Gu Mingli's voice was squeezed out from deep in his throat, light and airy, numb and weary.

"You mean... the special funds for flood control in Jiangzhou?"

"yes."

Gu Debai was completely unaware that his son's soul had already drifted away, yet he was still laughing.

"One hundred thousand taels! Your dad's impressive, isn't he?"

Jiangzhou! Flood Control! Special Funds!

They just returned from Jiangzhou.

The streets were filled with starving disaster victims, their eyes gleaming with hunger; the fertile fields were submerged in water; and the government offices were packed with people.

They spent an entire day, emptying their pockets, to barely get the city's economic gears back in motion.

And their biological father...

On the same day, they embezzled funds that should have been used for flood control.

Gu Mingyue looked up silently, gazing at the deep night sky and taking a deep breath.

Her father's embezzlement plans couldn't keep up with her extravagant spending!

at this time,

A dark blue object floated before Gu Mingyue's eyes.

[Ding! A huge amount of stolen money has been detected in the host's family!]

[Time-limited task triggered: Within one month, you must legally and legitimately squander 100,000 taels of embezzled funds.]

[Main Quest Continues: Squander your corrupt father's secret stash of money.]

[Punishment for mission failure: Decapitation.]

Gu Debai was still chuckling and rambling on about things like, "You two are the only successful children I've ever had," and "With me around, I won't let you suffer."

Gu Mingyue didn't hear a single word.

She believes she spends money very quickly.

Who knew her cheapskate father was the real king!

Embezzlement is even faster!

If the floods in Jiangzhou are not stopped, the emperor will have to settle accounts with them sooner or later!

Gu Mingyue looked at her brother.

"elder brother."

"……Um."

"Let's put dancing on the agenda."

"While the emperor is still 'amazed' by you, quickly secure the assignment to manage the floods in Jiangzhou."

"I'll find a way to get the remaining stolen money from Father so I can go with you to Jiangzhou to manage the floods."

"While preparing for the pandemic, I'll also make some extravagant new investments."