In ancient times, the powerful and wealthy seized power step by step.

Zhu Qingyu didn't want Gu Zhao to send anyone to Bianzhou, but Gu Zhao arranged it that very day, giving clear instructions:

"I have three tasks for you on this trip to Bianzhou. First, investigate how the plague in Bianzhou four years ago was cured, including all the causes and consequences. Second, the Liu Family Clinic. As a clinic, it must have account books. Check the accounts for the days when Madam Zhu got medicine, the days she administered medicine, and the days when the Liu family presented the prescription to the government. Third, Madam Zhu stayed at the Yangzhou Chamber of Commerce in Bianzhou. As a chamber of commerce, according to government requirements, her travel permit information should be recorded in the check-in records. Find out where she came from, what she was doing in Bianzhou, how long she stayed, who vouched for her, and which relatives stayed with her. Based on this information, find out her relatives, and after verifying them, don't disturb them. Just send the information back."

Everything requires evidence. Without proof, Gu Zhao cannot simply rely on his words to bring down a sixth-rank court judge.

Moreover, this judgment was recommended to the Imperial Hospital by the Grand Secretary, representing the Grand Secretary's interests. Making such a fuss without solid evidence would only lead to the other party destroying the evidence and turning the tables on them.

Therefore, Gu Zhao decided to temporarily put aside Liu Yuanpan, who had already set off for the northern border, and let him first investigate the true situation of the epidemic in the northern border, and let the epidemic in the northern border investigate his true situation as well.

Bianzhou and the capital are more than a thousand miles apart, and it's winter, so the people sent to handle the matter won't be able to get any news for a while. Compared to that, the most urgent thing on Gu Zhao's mind is that Zhu Qingyu is about to leave the capital.

Gu Zhao summoned Xiong Kun:

"Send someone to keep an eye on the Zhang family. If Madam Zhu really wants to move her whole family, and if they travel by land, the Zhang family's current carriage is definitely not big enough and is not suitable for long-distance travel. Keep an eye on when she changes the carriage and report to me immediately. If they travel by water, now that the Zhang family has sold their boats, she will definitely order a boat from another family. Keep an eye on whether her family orders a boat at Tongzhou Port."

This time, Gu Zhao didn't have any ties that Zhu Qingyu cared about, so he had fewer bargaining chips. Even if he was unwilling to accept it, he had to face reality: he couldn't keep her by himself, whether through coercion, bribery, or sincerity.

Then we can only rely on another person, and that is Zhang Jingyan.

As long as Zhang Jingyan stays in the capital, she will definitely not leave.

Another man, even if he wasn't her real husband, held a far greater place in her heart than she did.

Perhaps it was through repeated exposure and subsequent numbness that Gu Zhao was no longer as angry and desperate as before. Instead, after meticulously assigning tasks, he could comfort himself by thinking that taking the indirect approach could lead to the direct one, and turning adversity into advantage. He believed that as long as he followed the right path, he might not be inferior to Zhang Jingyan in the future.

He couldn't send Zhang Jingyan back to the imperial prison. Although he could do it easily, she would definitely turn against him and wouldn't even give him the perfunctory treatment she was given now.

Since we can't send him to the underworld, let's try another way: give Zhang Jingyan an immense fortune and a ladder to the heavens, so that he has no choice but to stay.

......

Everyone says that the end of the year is a difficult time, and even the emperor is no exception.

As soon as winter arrived, reports from various regions arrived before the emperor. After a year of hard work, they had hoped to have a few taels of silver to get through the winter, but when they checked the general accounts, they found holes everywhere. Lin Shan, the former Jiangning textile commissioner, was the most notorious for squandering money and left the biggest hole.

Having been betrayed by a trusted servant, preventing him from even celebrating his birthday, the Emperor has now lost trust in eunuchs as well. After searching for a while without finding a suitable candidate, he is feeling disheartened. Therefore, during today's cabinet meeting, he asked the cabinet ministers to broaden their opinions and recommend suitable candidates.

The Jiangning Textile Bureau was originally the emperor's purse, but now the emperor has actually opened the purse and is letting them take money?

What are we waiting for?!

Whoever grabs it keeps it!

Even though the Emperor was so distressed, the usually brilliant Grand Secretaries, for their own interests, were completely blind to it. Instead of offering comfort, they disregarded the Emperor's dignity and attacked each other, openly vying for the position of Imperial Textile Commissioner in Jiangning, each determined to bring down the other's person and elevate their own.

After all the bickering and attacks, according to the mutual sabotage, the candidates recommended by the Grand Secretaries would not only fail to get promoted to the position of Imperial Textile Commissioner of Jiangning, but they would also lose their official hats.

I shouldn't have asked these disloyal and useless people! What can I expect from them?

Seeing the chaotic scene before him, the Emperor was so enraged that he immediately flew into a rage:

"Shut up! That's enough for today, all of you, leave."

Unexpectedly, he not only failed to secure an official position but was also slinked out by the emperor, a first for him since ascending the throne.

The elders, who had just been arguing like fighting cocks until their faces were red and their necks were bulging, had now calmed down and were all like panicked sheep, trying to salvage the situation. They all grabbed Gu Zhao:

"Oh dear, Minister Gu, you are the Emperor's cousin, so you have some influence with him. Why don't you go and talk to the Emperor? We were just trying to ease his worries, that's why we were a bit hasty. Please, Your Majesty, calm down."

When the Grand Secretaries were vying to recommend candidates for the Jiangning Textile Commissioner, Gu Zhao didn't say a word. So, in theory, the fact that the Grand Secretaries had angered the Emperor had nothing to do with him, and he had no need to take the risk of offending the Emperor on their behalf.

As it turned out, Gu Zhao was unusually easy to talk to today, and immediately said:

"Alright, since I am the youngest, it is my duty to do this. I will go and ask the Emperor to calm his anger."

Carrying the hopes of the entire cabinet, Gu Zhao returned to Qianqing Palace once again to request an audience with the Emperor.

The Emperor was in a bad mood, and seeing Gu Zhao return, he spoke with a barbed tone:

"What, Minister Gu, do you also have someone to recommend? Someone to take charge of the Jiangning Textile Bureau?"

Seeing that the Emperor's anger had escalated, Gu Zhao was filled with shame:

"Yes, Your Majesty, I have a candidate recommended. I know he is the best candidate, but because of a personal grudge against him, I did not recommend him despite Your Majesty's repeated inquiries. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

This was unconventional; upon hearing about a personal grudge, the Emperor forgot all about being angry and was only interested in gossiping.

"Cousin, who did you recommend? What personal grudge do you have with him?"

Gu Zhaodao:

"I recommend Zhang Jingyan, the former head of the Yangzhou merchants."