She fell out after crying at the wrong grave

On the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, Cui received an imperial decree from the palace ordering her to go meet the princess who was about to get married.

It was not that the new emperor was soft-hearted. In order to show his full favor to the princess, the Ministry of Rites suggested preparing a generous dowry for the princess to demonstrate the country's strength.

The current Minister of Rites, Jiang Yan, had worked with the former Minister Jiang Zhi for many years and could be considered half his student.

Not long ago, Mrs. Cui came to visit him and talked to him about this matter in a tactful way.

Jiang Yan also knew that the princess was raised by Mrs. Cui since she was a child. Mrs. Cui had no children, so she treated the princess as her own daughter.

Since Minister Jiang passed away, he mentioned many times that if he could help, he would do his best. Mrs. Cui had never spoken in ten years, but this time, she was very humble.

Jiang Yan is also a family man, how could he not understand the painstaking efforts of parents?
Not to mention that since the founding of this dynasty, there has been no precedent for sending women to marry, and Princess Xuancheng is the only heir to the throne. Moreover, the soldiers on the front line had just won a victory with Youbei, and the emperor turned around and ceded the city to marry to appease the situation. Wouldn't it chill the hearts of the soldiers on the frontier?

There were countless officials in the court who wanted to ruin this matter behind the scenes.

Having served the emperor for a long time, perhaps everyone knew his temper and style of doing things, so no one openly advised against the decision to marry.

Therefore, when this memorial was sent to the Secretariat, the Minister of the Secretariat Yan Tongjun read it and handed it to the new emperor's desk late at night without saying a word.

After gaining approval from some people in the court, Jiang Yan went to the inner court and made a list of dowries that had been drafted for the marriage of princesses in the previous dynasty.

The inner court was supposed to act in accordance with the imperial edict, but looking at the folded list, they felt that they were helpless and had no idea what to do.

"Lord Jiang, you also know that Curry has no money!" The inner court official was so anxious that his face turned red and sweat covered his forehead.

This is exactly what Jiang Yan wanted.

So both matters were brought to the court together, and the new emperor was the one who got angry.

Shen Zhuo threw the memorial to the ground, and all the ministers in the hall kowtowed and shouted for them to calm down.

"Calm down?" Shen Zhuo was also in his forties. He had been eating and drinking to excess and enjoying himself since he became the emperor. When he got a little angry, he would breathe heavily and stand with his back propped up, like a madman with his mouth puffed out. "Tell me how I can calm down! Since the inner court said there is no money in the account, where did the money go?"

The Ministry of Revenue sent someone to do a special check on the accounts, and the report was placed in the hands of the assistant minister. He remained kneeling and exchanged glances with Jiang Yan.

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue conducted an investigation of the inner court as usual this month. Here are the detailed accounts."

In the Mingtang, Ben was concentrating and holding his breath. The loud words of the Minister of Revenue not only frightened some people, but also caused fear in some people.

For example, Jin Feng who was kneeling behind Yan Tongjun.

Seeing that he looked unhappy, Lu Zhongting beside him asked quietly, "Master Jin, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Jin Feng ignored him and was still immersed in the fact that Xiao Jin had sent silver to his house yesterday and asked him to buy clothes and jewelry.

Lu Zhongting smiled meaningfully and looked away.

How could he be so concerned out of kindness? It would be a wonder how many people in the court could be so concerned about Jin Feng.

How many eyes watched him frame Qiu Yuan and caused the loyal minister to be destroyed and his family to be broken up!
Even though Lu Zhongting always preferred to protect himself, the scholarly character in him made it difficult for him to turn a blind eye to this matter.

Shen Zhuo never paid much attention to the petty quarrels in the imperial harem. His method of being an emperor was to sit back and watch the fights, not caring who would live or die in the end.

If the fight was lively, he might even clap and cheer.

But once it comes to things that concern one's face, it cannot be touched at all.

Especially today when I heard Jiang Yan talking about not having enough money to buy a dowry for the princess who was to be married off to another country.

Shen Zhuo hated Ah-yi and didn't care about her life or death. Even if she died after putting on her wedding dress and leaving the palace, he would be happy to see this scene.

The dowry was not prepared for her, but to show how magnanimous he was and spread his reputation as a wise king far to the northern grasslands. Wouldn't this be faster than raising an army to go to war?

Shen Zhuo thought complacently that he was always much smarter than that stupid royal brother.

Now that he was told that he had no money, it would be a great hindrance to his plan of spreading his reputation as a virtuous man, so he was naturally furious.

A look at the accounts showed that the Xianchi Pavilion in the harem had spent 1,800 taels of silver from the treasury in just one month, and the remaining amount for food was countless, sometimes even dozens of kilograms of fresh fish and shrimp in a day.

Although there were many concubines in the harem, none of them could match Xiao Jin's favor.

As long as Shen Zhuo didn't raise her position, she would be unhappy. How could the emperor's grace be shown if she had to eat and wear the same things as the other mediocre women?

The total share of money deducted from the concubines of the Manchus was less than half of what she spent.

Without a queen to restrain them and few high-ranking concubines, the palace became even more chaotic.

"Look for yourself!" Shen Zhuo was speechless and had no choice but to throw the account book at Jin Feng, throwing all his anger at him, "This is the good daughter you raised!"

Jin Feng gritted his teeth and picked up the account book.

Not to mention that Shen Zhuo was a spendthrift to begin with, the treasury had much less silver than during the reign of the previous emperor, and a new palace was built last year, so it would be spent sooner or later.

However, it is another situation if the national treasury is spent up by itself or if Xiao Jin intervenes to accelerate its depletion.

If he had known that he would have to spit it out sooner or later, Jin Feng immediately took off his official hat and tablet, and begged for mercy, "It's all my fault. I didn't teach my daughter well! Please punish me, Your Majesty!"

Yan Tongjun had a solemn expression, and heard the continuous kowtows behind him, which was a bit unexpected. Who would have thought that he would admit it like this?

After all, Shen Zhuo's need for prestige was satisfied immediately. His expression relaxed, and he sat back on the golden throne, pointing his finger at Jin Feng, "What's the point of punishing you! Tell me! How are you going to make up for Xuancheng's dowry for me!"

Jiang Yan felt contempt in his heart, and after saying this, he dragged the conflict back to the princess and the Jin family.

If we say that this emperor is incompetent, it does not mean that he has no ambition at all. On the contrary, he is more likely to stir up trouble.

Jin Feng was overjoyed. Seeing that the new emperor had given him a way out, he took advantage of the situation and said, "I am willing to spend all my family wealth to make up for the shortfall in Lady Jin's account. I only ask Your Majesty to calm down your anger and give me and my family a chance to make amends."

As soon as these words were spoken, there were inevitably whispers in the hall.

As a minister, Jin Feng had embezzled a considerable amount of silver. However, before the Ministry of Revenue handed over this portion, the new emperor had already forgiven the previous portion, which made all his plans useless.

Shen Zhuo thought silently for a moment. Between face and right and wrong, he chose the former without hesitation.

"In that case, I will give you three days. If you fail to pay the money to the Ministry of Revenue, I will dismiss you from your post, confiscate your property, and exile you three thousand miles away."

Jiang Yan took the opportunity to bring up the fact that Madam Cui had prepared a dowry for the princess, and mentioned that although it was not as rich as what His Majesty had prepared, it could help reduce expenses for the imperial treasury.

When Shen Zhuo heard this, he agreed.

When these words reached A'an's ears, Madam Cui was about to enter the palace.

She had her hair loose and was wearing loose pajamas, leaning on the soft couch in front of the window.

The people in the palace were very good at changing their attitudes according to the situation. Seeing that the new emperor personally sealed the Changsheng Hall, they consciously reduced their food and clothing expenses and went there. The Changsheng Hall had been in disrepair for many years, and it was already cold and drafty. Without charcoal fire and hot food, it didn't take long for A'an and Ying'en to fall ill.

She had never fallen ill during such a difficult time in Kezhou, but something bad happened to her when she was surrounded by gold and jade. Ah'ao held the hot water in her hands, wrapped herself in a quilt, and smiled at herself in self-deprecation.

Ying'en had a fever, so the bed was given to her. A'ao supported her still aching body and stared at the boiling hot soup pot on the ground.

The food that some of the faded birds had eaten was already good, so it was even more impossible for them to take medicine. Fortunately, the two of them just had a cold and they would be fine if they covered themselves up.

Ah'en coughed twice, put the hot water on the kang table beside her, and patted Ying'en gently, "Ying'en, wake up, get up and drink some water." After that, she half-supported and half-hugged her, letting her lean on her arms.

The hot water was placed through a towel in Ying'en's hand, and A'an still held it loosely under her palm, fearing that she would not have the strength to spill it and get burned.

"I think my good days are coming to an end." Ying'en's face was flushed from the fever, but his lips were pale and colorless, and some of them were already chapped. "I'm so happy that I can be taken care of by the princess one day. I don't have to shorten my life, but I am content."

Ah-yi frowned and patted her in dissatisfaction, "Stop talking like that."

Good or bad fortune can happen at any time. Sometimes, even though we don’t believe it, we still don’t want to hear people talk about it.

Ying'en grew up in a place of endless exclusion. Although she lived in a wealthy family, her life was more difficult than that of a country kid running around in the fields. Her past experiences made her pessimistic, and she always said pessimistic things when things happened.

Although Ah'ao didn't like her self-loathing, she knew it wasn't her fault, so she indulged her again and again.

Feeling that her tone was a little harsh, Ah-yi added, "I should be the one who is sorry for you. When I took you away, I said that I would let you live a good life. But I was punished by His Majesty for my careless words, and I also implicated you."

These days, she regretted again and again. If she were alone in this palace, it wouldn't matter what she said.

But Ying'en is still by my side, and it would be heartbreaking to let her suffer again.

"Your Highness, please don't say such things!" Ying'en struggled to get up, and for a moment he looked at Ah'an with tears in his eyes, "If you hadn't left me among the three of you, I would have been sold to a brothel and spent the rest of my life there."

The girl's tears fell like broken strings. Ah'ao was stunned and realized that she couldn't say hard words or soft words, and she was at a loss as to what to do.

"Why are you crying?" She hurriedly wiped the tears from Ying'en's face.

Because he has not recovered from his illness yet, he looks weak with his long hair loose and his face clean.

The princess really had a calm expression on her face. Ying'en looked at her and burst into laughter again.

"Your Highness looks like a young man who cannot bear to see tears."

Ah'ao was startled for a moment, and soon her face turned red suspiciously.

Ying'en seemed to have seen through something. She wiped away her tears and didn't care about the pain. She kept asking, "Your Highness, could it be that you really have a man you love? Who is so lucky?"

As she questioned, A'ao vaguely recalled the night when Hengzhi suddenly appeared when she was hiding from pursuit in Heyuan.

At that time, she didn't know why, but her tears burst out and almost wet Hengzhi's clothes.

Hengzhi did the same, patting her back silently.

It is already late winter, and if we count according to the saying that one day equals three autumns, I have the illusion that we knew each other in a previous life.

A sharp pain suddenly arose somewhere in her heart. She lowered her eyes and took a few deep breaths.

"My son, how could you become so thin!"

With a cry of pain, Ah'ao looked suddenly towards the palace door.

(End of this chapter)