Male Lead Is Always That Heartless

Chapter 49

Gu Yi stuffed the money into the treasure box and opened the door.

Gu Zhao carried a copper ball hand stove, its silver chain jingling in the wind. He offered it like a treasure to Gu Yi: “Sister, didn’t you say the room was cold last night? This is the small copper warmer in my room. I don’t use it usually, so why don’t you put it in the room?”

Gu Yi took the stove’s silver cord and was touched. “Thank you!” She saw he was still dressed as a scholar, and his hair was still neat. “Haven’t you freshened up yet? You’d better go to bed quickly.”

Gu Zhao smiled shyly, nodded, bowed, and ran away.

Tao Jia held a sleeping tonic, saw the situation, and laughed: “Young Master must be happy to see you. It would be good if Young Master Gu could enter the capital. Perhaps you can often see each other …….”

Gu Yi couldn’t help but sigh when she heard this: “If that’s the case, it would be great…” If she left the palace, she would have a temporary place to stay in the capital.

“Mrs –”

Gu Yi was startled and followed the sound to look. It was already dark, and with the help of two dim lanterns in front of the corridor, she saw two figures walking in the courtyard. Xiao Yan, wearing a black cloak, walked in front, and Gu Changtong, half a step behind. The two walked the veranda.

Gu Yi bowed, “Young Master is just coming back?”

Xiao Yan nodded and hummed.

Gu Changtong’s face was slightly red, and he felt somewhat embarrassed. Although Xiao Yi had only spoken unintentionally, it was hard to avoid the suspicion of asking about imperial court matters in front of the Emperor. He carefully measured Xiao Yan’s expression, whose eyebrows relaxed and seemed unconcerned.

He said, “I was traveling to and from Tang County today, and the road was frozen, so my return trip has been delayed.”

Gu Yi nodded.

Gu Changtong saw that the timing was still good and spoke out to retire: “Young Master, please rest early. Tomorrow, I will send someone to call you again.”

Xiao Yan smiled, “Thank you, Officer Gu.”

After Gu Changtong turned to leave, Tao Jia gently placed the sleeping tonics on the table in the room and left.

Gu Yi saw Xiao Yan enter the room and survey it before asking, “Is this your boudoir?”

Gu Yi hung the copper stove in her hand on the three-legged candlestick, gave a heartfelt ‘hmm,’ and said guiltily, “I will help you to change your clothes.”

Xiao Yan stretched out his arms and allowed Gu Yi to remove his cloak and belt and hang it on the wooden hanger. The hot water had already been prepared behind the screen, the mist rising, and the warm fragrance of flowers and fruits steamed from the bamboo stove. She lowered her head slightly, revealing a jade-white neck, lowered her eyebrows, and looked obedient. She was rarely well-behaved.

Within this silent winter night in the city, with this boudoir, they looked like an ordinary couple. Day and night, they were snuggling with each other.

Noticing Xiao Yan’s silence, Gu Yi raised her hand to remove the jade crown for Xiao Yan and smiled, “Let me comb your hair.”

Then, she could find an appropriate time to mention the coincidental encounter with Zhou Tinghe. Preparing for a rainy day.

Gu Yi’s heart was playing with her plans, but Xiao Yan suddenly caught her hand. His eyes glowed with light, and his lips smiled. “Combing hair is not necessary. You should serve me to bathe.”

That night, Gu Yi had no time to mention Zhou Tinghe again.

At the Chenshi (7-9 am), Gu Changtong sent someone to summon Xiao Yan. Today, the Emperor was going to the Government Office to see Wang Zibo. Fuzhou Government Office was near Gu Mansion, only half an hour by horse ride.

Wang Zibo had already waited outside the office, wearing a green robe. When he saw Xiao Yan dismount from the horse, he bowed slightly and said, “Young Master.” He met the Emperor yesterday, so he was less formal today.

The junior official hurriedly ran up and bowed to Gu Changtong, “Reporting to the governor, the Zhou family’s Master and Young Master came to the office early in the morning to wait for an audience, and now they are still waiting in the hall …….”

Gu Changtong’s face noticeably changed when he heard this. He furrowed and asked the junior official, “Why did the Zhou family come?”

The junior official said, “Zhou Long wanted to ask the governor about the tax land ……”

Gu Changtong pondered momentarily, glancing at Xiao Yan and then at Wang Zibo again.

Wang Zibo smiled and said, “It’s okay to meet them.” He turned to Xiao Yan and explained, “Young Master, this Zhou family is the Zhou Clan, the tea merchant mentioned yesterday. They often travel between cities, and the tea shipments go by water and land. Zhou’s family has two tea gardens in Fuzhou, and because they are merchants, it didn’t count as property ……”

Xiao Yan smiled and said, “It’s okay to meet them.”

Gu Changtong hurriedly said yes.

Zhou Long and Zhou Tinghe sat in the hall for a long time and finally met a gray-clothed official who hurriedly entered the door. “The two of you, please follow me. The governor is waiting for you in the study.”

Zhou Tinghe smiled and got up. “Officer Gu always loved to meet guests in this hall. Why do we move to the study today?”

The official smiled, “It’s cold. The governor feels warmer in the study.”

Zhou Tinghe was suspicious. Could it be that there were other people in this government office?

The Zhou family followed the official, walked through the corridor, and entered the small study. It only had a long wooden desk and a few square chairs—however, another carved wooden door was on the east side of the room.

Gu Changtong rose from the desk and greeted, “Manager Zhou.”

Zhou Long bowed and said, “Lord Gu.”

Zhou Tinghe followed suit, “Lord Gu.”

Gu Changtong swept his gaze coldly over Zhou Tinghe, raised his hand to signal them to sit down, and ordered tea to be served. “I wonder what the two of you are here for today?”

Zhou Long said, “I come to ask Lord Gu how to implement this tax reform plan. Our Zhou family has been doing business for many years. The family’s ancestral land of several mu was sold long ago, and the rest are tea gardens. According to the old system, labor service belongs to the land. If there is no land, there is no tax service. Lord Gu, can you explain how to pay this new tax?”

Gu Changtong heard this and smiled. He sipped his hot tea, “Boss Zhou is right. If we follow the old rules, merchants will make a fortune without being involved in labor, which is very unfair. If farmers are too burdened, they will abandon their fields and flee in famine years, and there will be risks of bandits. Therefore, merchants should pay taxes with their income –”

When Zhou Tinghe heard this, he relaxed his heart. It was close to what he had expected earlier. The late Emperor repeatedly battled in the north, but the treasury was empty. Collecting money and adjusting taxes were both means to fill the treasury. However, there will be resistance in implementing this matter. Which merchant will report all the information and pay the money willingly?

Zhou Long laughed: “Lord Gu is straightforward. In that case, I’ll have a number in my mind — ”

Gu Changtong smiled again, “Zhou’s tea industry is prosperous and Fuzhou’s role model. Mr. Wang from the Ministry of Revenue has not been able to get the opportunity to go to Zhou’s Tea Village to pay a visit; I wonder if you are free today?”

Zhou Long’s face stiffened. He smiled and said, “Could it be that Mr. Wang is in the government office today?”

Gu Changtong nodded, “Exactly.”

Zhou Long bowed, “I’d like to trouble you, Lord Gu, for an introduction.”

As soon as the words fell, the carved wooden door on the east side of the study opened. A young man dressed in a green robe with a white pheasant patch embroidered on his chest came out. He smiled, “Manager Zhou, greetings.”

Gu Changtong laughed, “This is Mr. Wang.”

Zhou Long and Zhou Tinghe immediately bowed and said, “Mr. Wang.”

Wang Zibo chuckled, “You two don’t need to be polite. It’s rare to meet you two today by chance. If I can look at Zhou’s tea garden today, it would be great ……”

Zhou Long agreed readily, “I invite Mr. Wang and Mr. Zhou to come. Zhou family has two tea gardens. One is ten miles away from the city and can be visited today. The other requires a few hours of driving and is adjacent to Mount Li. If Mr. Wang wants to go there, I will make arrangements another day!”

Wang Zibo gently clapped his hands: “Very good! I have a colleague in Fuzhou today so we can go there together.”

Zhou Tinghe was shocked when he heard this. Raising his eyes, he saw that another figure turned behind the carved wooden door. The person did not wear an official uniform, only a black casual uniform with a jade belt on his waist. His appearance was impressive, and although his face was smiling, his aura was intimidating.

Xiao Yan also scrutinized Zhou’s uncle and nephew in front of him. Zhou Long looked like a businessman who had traveled all over the country for many years, smooth and worldly. As for Zhou Tinghe, he was clean and upright, more like a scholar.

Wang Zibo said, “This is Brother Huang from the Ministry of Revenue.”

Zhou Tinghe heard him only report the official place and did not report the official name, and his heart could not help but become more suspicious.

After lunchtime., Gu Yi went with Mrs. Gu to the front yard to check on the selected New Year’s goods. As New Year’s Eve approaches and the Gu family has a guest of honor this year, the New Year’s Eve shopping will be extraordinarily detailed.

Mrs. Gu carefully counted the vegetables, fruits, flowers, and potted plants, crossing them from the long list, and instructed the servants to take out the two jars of aged wine from the cellar. She turned her head and asked Gu Yi, “What does Young Master usually love to eat?”

Gu Yi thought carefully and realized that Xiao Yan had no preferences regarding his meals. On the contrary, the palace concubines often sent him snacks, so she thought they were throwing in his favorites. So she replied, “Love to eat snacks.”

Mrs. Gu smiled at the words, “Then have you made the apricot blossom crispy cakes for him? The one you are usually the best at?”

What pastry, what cake?

Gu Yi laughed nervously and forced herself to calm down. “No. The kitchen master’s craftsmanship is much better than mine, so there is no need for me to…”

Mrs. Gu laughed again, “That’s true, but the thought is important. The New Year is coming, and the kitchen is fully equipped. If you want to do it, you can do it.” Xiao Yi was too slow-witted, so she had to push her.

Gu Yi was afraid Mrs. Gu would be suspicious, so she didn’t dare refuse. She only said deliberately, “But I haven’t made the cake for a long time, so my skills will inevitably be rusty, so why don’t you teach me?”

Mrs. Gu excitedly said, “Okay. Let’s go to the kitchen after we finish the inventory here.”

Gu Yi washed her hands and kneaded the dough in the kitchen. Mrs. Gu watched her movements and sighed, “You are rusty, ah ……”

Gu Yi, afraid of falling off her lie, became increasingly spirited to make the cake.

The afternoon passed slowly. Tao Jia, who was forced to stay in the small kitchen, had a bitter face and walked to Gu Yi’s side. She said in a voice as thin as a mosquito: “I didn’t have time to buy the butterfly hairpin yesterday. I have nothing to do today, so can I buy the butterfly hairpin?”

“Of course.” Gu Yi wiped her flour-stained palms and fished out a few pieces of broken silver from her belt pouch. “By the way, help me buy the hairpin I didn’t buy yesterday as well.”

Tao Jia smiled, took the money, and ran away.

So envy.

Gu Yi withstood Mrs. Gu’s scrutinizing gaze, purified her hands, and continued to knead the cake.

Tao Jia put on a thick cloak and left the Gu Mansion. Then, she went to Zhubao Pavilion, where she had been yesterday, bought a butterfly hairpin and a jasper hairpin, then turned into the alley and found the iron shop she had remembered. She chose a pair of silver armor for elbow protection and wrapped them in a square of black cloth.

Next to Gu Mansion was a small square courtyard where the accompanying servants and guards often rested. Tao Jia hugged the black cloth package, stepped into the courtyard, and walked around the corner of the corridor, and saw Xiu He standing beside Noble Lady Zhao talking to someone not far away.

Tao Jia dodged back to the back of the corridor and saw Xiu He with a white porcelain bottle in her hand. She handed it to the door and said, “Chief Qi, thank you for your care along the way. This medicine is for blood-activating; our Noble Lady especially sends it.”

Qi Zhuang’s voice came from inside the door and said, “This is part of the job. There is no need for you to be concerned.”

Xiu He persuaded again, “Please accept it, Chief Qi. If not, I will not be able to report.”

Tao Jia heard Qi Zhuang’s silence before accepting the white jade porcelain bottle, saying, “Many thanks.”

After Xiu He bowed and left, another slamming sound was heard. Tao Jia gathered the elbow armor in her arms, spun out of the mansion, violently threw the package on the ground, and stepped on them hardly.