Gu Zuo had a troubled wife named Xie, who had been following him for the past few years.
From being a magistrate in Henan Province to being in charge of the Ministry of Household Affairs, and then slowly getting promoted, Gu Zuo has always been with her on his journey.
Mr. Xie understands justice well, Gu Zuo is upright, and the couple has a deep love for each other. Although their life is not luxurious, they are still happy.
However, after Gu Zuo was arrested,
Xie's despair and pain felt like the sky was falling and the earth was falling.
Colleagues with whom Gu Zuo usually had a good relationship kept comforting her, saying that if Gu Shilang was guilty of serious crimes, he would definitely be sentenced to death like Yongkang Hou, Zou Cheng and others.
But the fact is that there has been no conviction, which shows that things are turning around.
Xie has always had this fantasy ever since she heard this statement.
"… Later I heard that although my husband is in prison, he will not be punished and will not be interrogated. I feel a little more at ease in my body and mind. Today I finally have my husband back."
After experiencing the reunion of life and death, it must still be different.
Mrs. Xie did not dislike her smelly husband and sobbed softly on his shoulder.
"Ma'am, I'm hungry."
Hearing this, Mrs. Xie wiped away her tears, wiped her hands on her apron and said, "I'll go ahead and have a bowl of plain noodles. Husband... you can also go wash up and change your clothes." Have a meal."
"good."
His son, who had just turned ten, was standing under the eaves with his clothes.
Gu Zuo walked over and touched his head, and didn't say much to the little guy.
There were no injuries on his body, but being locked up in prison was never a fun experience. Over the past month, he had lost a lot of weight, and his cheekbones looked more prominent.
Scrubbing the body also washed away the muddy water all over the floor.
When the family of three sat down to eat together again, they all felt like they were in another world.
"Madam, you have worked hard these days."
Xie's nose felt sore and she could only lower her head to suck the noodles.
Gu Zuo turned around and looked at his home. In fact, it felt a little... like the house was surrounded by walls.
"So, where is the one with a word?"
"I sold her. Please forgive me, husband!" Ms. Xie is still like a little daughter-in-law even after being dozens of years old.
It was not Gu Zuo's first day as an official. He naturally knew why he wanted to sell.
Originally, there was no money at home, so I must have exchanged all the valuable things at home for money, and then used the money to support various relationships.
If you don't have money in your hands, you won't be able to get in to many places.
"Forget it, let's just reunite as a family."
But Ms. Xie still didn't understand, "Everyone said that my husband was in great favor, but he was suddenly arrested at that time. What on earth is going on?"
"It's difficult to explain clearly what happened in the court. In general, my husband was framed by others. Fortunately, His Majesty is wise, it is not easy for some treacherous villains to deceive the current Holy Emperor."
Mrs. Xie clasped her hands together. They usually heard some good things about the emperor, but this time it happened to them personally, and many of the feelings became real.
At this moment, she was also praying to give the emperor more blessings.
In the afternoon,
Yan Song knocked on the door.
He has been waiting for a long time, so as not to disturb his family's reunion after a long separation.
After being imprisoned for so many days, Gu Zuo became much calmer. Even though Yan Song was just an attendant in the attendant's room, he did not refuse anyone thousands of miles away.
"I'm disturbing Mr. Gu."
"Where is it? Please come in."
The couple was polite, but it was a bit simple. What was placed in front of Yan Song was plain water, not even tea.
Yan Song also admired him from the bottom of his heart.
How could Your Majesty be willing to kill such a person?
Only such a monarch can make good use of such people.
"... His Majesty proposed the term special salary a few days ago." Yan Song took a sip of the tasteless water and said slowly: "I guess the reason is that your Majesty was somewhat worried that Gu Shilang was really greedy at that time. And Gu Shilang's life is really simple. Your encounter this time has promoted the solution of this problem. "
"This is a humble house, but I am virtuous. Since Gu became an official, he has not regarded luxury as his life ambition. Besides, he has been used to poverty all his life. But what does the special salary that Shi Shi said mean?"
"Your Majesty is considering that there are some officials in the imperial court who are sincerely serving the country, and their life is indeed difficult, and it is even difficult to survive on their salary alone, so they have to add an extra sum of money to these people's regular salary. It ranges from three thousand to five thousand. Of course, It seems that Gu Shilang must be the highest level of ten thousand taels."
"Ten thousand taels?!" Gu Zuo's voice rose a few degrees, "Ordinary people's household living expenses will not exceed 20 taels a year, and ten thousand taels is five hundred households! Where can Gu's family of three Do you need so much money? Attendant Yan, has your Majesty issued this imperial edict? If you still enter the palace immediately without us, please take back your Majesty's order. This is absolutely impossible! As soon as this case is started, the extravagant trend in the court will be wrinkled, and there will be endless troubles. !”
"Hey." Yan Song stretched out his hand to stop him, "Gu Shilang, please be patient. If you think about it carefully, does your Majesty do anything without giving it a lot of thought?"
"The issue of special salary is not only related to Gu Shilang, but also to other ministers in the court. I also said before that your Majesty has encountered several big problems since he came to power, and he has dealt with them severely. This time, after the salt lesson, the court It's a bit subtle. Therefore, this silver is to show that Your Majesty is not a harsh king, and it is not just tailor-made for Gu Shilang. "
"Moreover, people like Mr. Shizhang, the Vice-Censor of Zuo Dudu, and Gu Shilang, who were originally the pillars of the imperial court, but what happened? Those who are dedicated to serving the country eat chaffy vegetables, and their corpses are full of gold and silver. How can they be called young officials? Think? That’s why Your Majesty can’t see the pillar of the country not getting his due reward. That’s the second reason.”
"Finally, if you have a solid storehouse, you will know the etiquette, and if you have enough food and clothing, you will know the honor and disgrace. Only when Gu Shilang has no worries can he serve the court wholeheartedly. This is the third point."
"With these three chapters, Gu Shilang still thinks that His Majesty just wants to give you money?"
Gu Zuo said seriously: "Gu serves as a king and father and works as a common man, not for this yellow and white thing!"
"Hey, this is His Majesty's character. If you don't take it, Your Majesty is willing to give it to you. If you take it, Your Majesty will punish you instead."
"this……"
This is really weird.
To put it bluntly, it’s just too individual.
But the emperor is like this, what can he do?
"But Gu still feels that the treasury..."
"Gu Shilang." Yan Song lowered his head and said in a lower voice: "The official salary of the imperial court is really low. Some people are not willing to be greedy, but have to be greedy. But with special salary, as long as you work hard, you don't need to Worry about money. If Gu Shilang doesn't want it, it doesn't mean that others don't want it. This method is also to save some officials who truly serve the country. Besides, who gets special salary requires His Majesty's nod, which is also related to His Majesty's control of the government. Hall."
Gu Zuo could no longer refute this.
"Your Majesty... you do have good intentions."
Then Yan Song took out two things from his sleeves, one was a letter written by the emperor. One is two silver notes worth five thousand taels.
If there was no emperor, it would be as if Yan Song was bribing him.
"The matter of the special salary is still being debated by the court, but His Majesty has made up his mind. When the formal edict comes out, Gu Shilang's name will definitely be listed on it. This time it can only be an oral edict. As for the money, you accept it. In this way, Mrs. Gu and her children can live a more comfortable life, and Mr. Gu will no longer have to worry about life in the future. From now on, he will be loyal day and night."
Gu Zuo took the letter and money with some unspeakable emotions in his heart.
He had no resentment for being imprisoned. If he hadn't been imprisoned and got involved in the salt class incident, I don't know how much hatred he would have forged.
The emperor was so protective of him.
Today, there is still such preferential treatment.
So he was moved in his heart.
Your Majesty, you are truly the best in the past three generations.
Nothing else,
Gu Zuo knelt down in the direction of the palace and said with tears in his eyes: "Your Majesty Gu Zuo, thank you for your grace!"
Yan Song breathed a sigh of relief.
Things in this world are very strange.
Then he said that if you don't give this money to some people, they will try their best to get it for themselves. Some people, if you give it to them, they don’t necessarily want it.
Gu Zuo is the latter.
So giving him money is not an easy task.
In this case, it would be easier for him to return to the palace for business.
In fact, the first sentence Zhu Houzhao asked also meant this,
"Convince him to accept it?"
"Fortunately, I have fulfilled my duty. Minister Gu has accepted the money. And His Majesty expected it to be true. He was indeed unwilling to accept it at first."
Zhu Houzhao still didn't understand, so he said meaningfully: "I'm still right about people. Wei Zhong, you will be the same in the future. If you don't want money, I will stuff money into your pocket."
"Minister, please remember your Majesty's teachings. However, due to the attitude of the minister, the special salary from the imperial court may not go so smoothly."
"Of course I know, that's why I asked the foreign ministers to discuss it."
The reason why it doesn’t go well is simple: some people don’t want it! And even if it is collected, there will still be people who will donate it. Many people are hateful, but it is undeniable that there are also lovely people.
A few days later, Gu Zuo entered the palace with a note.
