As a diligent and benevolent ruler, attending the early morning court session at six was unavoidable.
Yun Yaoyao put on her dragon robes once again and headed for Xuanzheng Palace, her face bearing a resentful scowl heavier than a ghost’s grudge.
Life was dull and flavorless. Six a.m. was murder!
As she walked, Yun Yaoyao once again tried to brainwash herself. No—she was a wise ruler, and she loved getting up early. There was a certain beauty to it, like having one’s soul blown away, one’s spirit annihilated, one’s life snuffed out, and one’s coffin lid suddenly flung open.
Be brave, Yaoyao! Don’t fear hardship!
Charge!
Meanwhile, within Xuanzheng Palace, the air was thick with tension and complaints.
The Minister of Works among the Six Ministries was the first to voice his dissatisfaction. “Everyone knows that the Ministry of Works needs money everywhere. Now that our funding has been cut off all at once, how do you expect us to keep operating?”
Lou Jianshan cupped his hands, his tone even. “Minister Qi, I have a Ministry of Revenue under my authority as well, and I’ve been having quite the headache over this matter myself! But as all of you colleagues know, the Ministry of Revenue and I have recently been smeared by that scoundrel Mr. Fortune. The common people are refusing to pay their taxes, the Ministry of Revenue has no money, and the national treasury is empty.”
Lou Jianshan spread his hands. His huge belly, glistening with grease from all the rich food he had eaten, popped out with a loud *boing*.
“This official is helpless too!”
Minister of Works Qi Jian angrily flicked his sleeve. Those people in the Ministry of Revenue were nothing but wine-swilling incompetents, dogs, pigs, rats, and vermin. What kind of nonsense were they spouting?
The Ministry of Revenue had no money? What an absurd joke! There was no one in the world richer than the Ministry of Revenue!
They were clearly doing it on purpose, trying to pressure His Majesty!
After that, no matter how much the other ministries complained, Lou Jianshan continued to spread his hands with an utterly helpless expression.
“This official has no money either~”
“Why not ask His Majesty? He could find that Mr. Fortune, or shut down the Grand Canal. Wouldn’t that solve the problem and bring in some money~?”
The officials of the Ministry of Revenue, along with Lou Jianshan’s followers and the supporters of Prince Ze, all seized the opportunity to fan the flames. They reveled as though at a grand feast, eagerly waiting to see His Majesty humiliated.
But Minister of Rites Yun Liang was not watching Lou Jianshan’s side. His eyes were fixed on Lin Qingti, who stood quietly in his place, dressed in a brand-new court robe.
The last time the two of them had met had been more than three years ago. Back then, during the Palace Examination’s proclamation ceremony, Lin Qingti’s name had been called three times as the top scholar. With the late emperor gazing at him approvingly, Lin Qingti had been so young, proud, and full of promise!
Even then, warning bells had rung in Yun Liang’s heart. He had secretly decided that this young man was extraordinary and absolutely could not be allowed to rise.
After that, he had used every means at his disposal to ruin Lin Qingti. He had bribed the Ministry of Personnel to block his promotions, slandered him before the late emperor, and even plotted against him time and again, trying to have him killed.
Lin Qingti had managed to escape danger every single time—but so what? A young calf fresh from the wild could never defeat an old, entrenched serpent. In the end, he had been forced to languish in the Hanlin Academy as a lowly record keeper whom anyone could trample beneath their feet.
And yet now, Lin Qingti had somehow latched onto His Majesty and reappeared at court!
It had to be that wicked daughter of his. Why hadn’t he strangled her in her swaddling clothes back then?
Amid his fury and regret, Lin Qingti turned in his direction. He clasped his hands and smiled.
Three years of hardship had not broken his proud spirit. Instead, they had given him an even steadier bearing, like a sword tempered in fire, its edge now fully revealed.
Lin Qingti mouthed each word at him: “Yun Liang, long time no see.”
From now on, only time would tell who would emerge victorious. Let them settle it with their own hands.
A cool breeze brushed past, climbing up Yun Liang’s spine and making him shiver for no apparent reason.
The moment Yun Yaoyao stepped into Xuanzheng Palace, she sensed the faint but unmistakable air of unrest.
Her face immediately turned cold, and threads of murderous intent flickered in her eyes. Paired with her naturally sour, dead-fish expression, she instantly looked thoroughly unapproachable.
Her low, icy voice scraped across everyone like a knife as Yun Yaoyao’s gaze swept over the assembled officials. “My esteemed ministers, you would do well to weigh your words carefully today.”
First, establish the aura. Scare the hell out of these old fools who did nothing but stir up trouble every day!
Tu Shanjin’s body possessed an innate advantage. The bearing of an emperor and the authority of one in a position of power came naturally to him. Once he turned cold, he inspired fear without even trying.
The officials of the court almost instantly recalled the iron-fisted methods the new emperor had displayed early in his reign. Back then, anyone who dared criticize the legitimacy of his accession would end up with blood splattered three feet across Xuanzheng Palace!
At once, some of the officials who had hoped to fish in troubled waters began to shudder from head to toe.
No one could afford to provoke him. They would simply maintain their noble neutrality today as well!
Seeing that the emperor had cowed the ministers in an instant, Lou Jianshan gave a meaningful glance. His most loyal lackey, Liu Xi, was the first to step forward with a remonstrance.
“Your Majesty, there is a storyteller in the capital known as Mr. Fugui. Recently, he has been spreading slander and malicious accusations against the Ministry of Revenue, causing the people to grumble with resentment. They have grown negligent, and some have even begun evading their taxes. The Ministry of Revenue has no money left!”
The other officials from the Ministry of Revenue immediately began shouting as well. Some wiped away tears and lamented their poverty, while others angrily denounced Mr. Fugui. Their acting was so masterful that even those listening felt moved to tears.
Seeing this, the court officials belonging to Prince Ze’s faction began putting on a performance of their own. They joined in, crying out about their lack of funds and even going so far as to suggest slacking off and going on strike.
For a moment, Yun Yaoyao felt as though they were all pitiable migrant workers whose wages had been withheld, while she was some vicious, chain-smoking tycoon.
Lou Jianshan was truly skilled at shifting the blame!
Faced with this spectacle, the court’s resident firebrand, Di Shunzhi, was the first to volunteer for battle. He furrowed his brows and glared.
“Minister Lou, why do you suppose Mr. Fugui criticizes you but not the other officials? Have you never considered that perhaps the problem lies with you, Minister Lou?”
“The people’s negligence and resistance toward taxation are clearly the result of the Ministry of Revenue’s incompetence. His Majesty is broad-minded enough not to hold your ministry accountable. Yet here you are, complaining to His Majesty and asking him to solve the problem for you. How laughable! Since you are so useless, why not pluck out one of your eyelashes and hang yourself with it?”
The moment those words fell, the faces of the officials who had been wailing about their poverty and grievances darkened.
Lin Qingti followed close behind. He cupped his hands politely, and his voice was as gentle as green bamboo swaying in the breeze.
“Gentlemen, while studying the ancient texts, I came across a historical anecdote that I would like to share with you all.”
“Long ago, there was a powerful court official named Qin Xin. He plundered the people so ruthlessly that his personal wealth rivaled that of an entire nation, yet he was still never satisfied. One day, someone presented him with an exotic beast, claiming that it could swallow anything and turn it into gold and silver. At first, Qin Xin fed the beast worthless trinkets. Later, he fed it plants, trees, farmland, and soil. In the end, he fed it the people closest to him, one after another.”
“When there was finally nothing left for the beast to devour, it turned vicious and ate Qin Xin instead.”
“That is the lesson of greed: sooner or later, excessive greed will consume the greedy person in return. And if you befriend someone who is excessively greedy, one day they will inevitably betray you for profit.”
“Later, people began calling men like Qin Xin beasts. And what did they call those who befriended such beasts? Cheap goods—meaning that sooner or later, they too would become worthless commodities to be sold off.”
“My lords, tell me—was that little story amusing?”
With that, Lin Qingti chuckled lightly, as though he had merely shared an old tale.
Lou the Beast and the rest of the Cheap Goods: …
They had underestimated this compiler. A little education really did make all the difference—he could even invent a whole fable just to insult them by proxy!
And they were supposed to tolerate that? Come on, colleagues—if each of them spat just once, they could drown him in saliva!
Up on the dais, Yun Yaoyao secretly dug her fingers hard into her thigh before she could barely suppress the smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
Her two beloved ministers were each more vicious than the other when it came to cursing. As expected of her mouthpieces!
In the center of Xuanzheng Palace, Di Shunzhi and Lin Qingti traded barbs, one launching an attack only for the other to follow with an even sharper retort. Their fighting strength was in no way inferior to that of the massive Ministry of Revenue and the Prince Ze faction—in fact, they were even more formidable.
Zhou Siren, who belonged to the Ministry of Revenue, was suffering inwardly. He was still lying low and could not openly support His Majesty.
My future colleagues, forgive me for offending you.
Thus, Zhou Siren immediately turned on Di Shunzhi and began shouting, “Lord Di, Minister of Justice, how dare you! **@…!”
Yun Yaoyao simply sat high above them, watching coldly—with barely concealed excitement—as the officials below tore into one another on her behalf.
Having loyal ministers was wonderful. Even arguments no longer required her personal participation.
Both sides were putting on an impressive show. One took the stage after the other, and the spectacle was no less entertaining than watching Tu Shanjin perform his skylark imitation during his evening attendance in her chambers.
If only she had some melon seeds to snack on!
By the end, both sides were flushed with anger, their mouths parched from all the shouting. Lou Jianshan, who had been covertly called a beast more times than he could count, finally lost his temper as well.
His fury erupted completely when one of his own subordinates accidentally blurted out, “How dare you be so disrespectful to Lou the Beast!”
Lou Jianshan shot the subordinate a murderous glare, then cupped his hands toward Yun Yaoyao and said directly, “Your Majesty, regardless of how you look at it, the Ministry of Revenue is already stretched to the breaking point. We cannot produce a single coin. Yet the Six Ministries still have to keep operating. The only solution now is to find Mr. Fortune as soon as possible and have Your Majesty entrust the management of the national treasury to this minister!”
Yun Yaoyao lowered her eyes, her tone bland. “Oh? So Minister Lou is pointing me in the right direction now.”
“This minister would never dare.”
Where their gazes met, layers of gunpowder seemed to ignite.
Lou Jianshan sneered inwardly: Your Majesty, so long as the Ministry of Revenue withholds its funds for even a single day, the other five ministries and all the various bureaus will soon be unable to function. Once order collapses, Your Majesty will have no choice but to meekly place the state treasury in my hands!
Yun Yaoyao’s heart filled with murderous intent: These bloodsucking parasites of the dynasty—the corrupt former regime has indulged your greed until it has grown this rampant. I have no time to deal with you now, which has only emboldened you further. Before long, I will kill you as a warning to every official!
Within Xuanzheng Palace, the gazes of the other officials flickered with different emotions. Some feared being caught in the crossfire; some were excited to see the two sides clash; others were deeply worried.
They all knew that the battle between His Majesty and the Ministry of Revenue had now erupted into an outright declaration of war.
