I support the army through farming and business.

Chapter 320 Flirting is Useless
On June 15th, King Xuan ascended the throne, changed the era name to Wu'an, and was known as Emperor Wu'an.

The following morning at court, Emperor Wu'an announced two major events: first, he demoted Emperor Pingyuan and his consorts to commoners and confined them to the Imperial Clan Palace for life; second, he appointed Gu Liu as Crown Prince, who would then enter the Eastern Palace and share the responsibilities of governing the country.

The newly appointed ministers of the Six Ministries and cabinet officials had no objections and continued to listen to the eunuch announce the imperial edict of investiture: the Grand Empress Dowager was renamed Empress Dowager, the Princess Consort of Xuan was made Empress, Gu An was made Prince An, Gu Ci was made Prince Zhan, Gu Bai was made Prince Shun, Gu Yang was made Prince Ping, Gu Xuan was made Princess Zhaode, Gu Fu was made Princess Zhaoren, and Tang Zhao was made Princess Zhaoshan.

Wait, who?

In the Xuan Prince's residence, the imperial eunuch, beaming with smiles, helped Tang Zhao up, saying, "Congratulations, Your Highness."

Tang Zhao smiled and said, "Thank you, Father-in-law."

Spring breeze stepped forward and handed over the purse that had been prepared beforehand.

The eunuch delivering the imperial decree skillfully tucked the purse into his sleeve, his smile becoming even more genuine. "Her Highness the Princess is deeply favored by the Emperor. Among all the princes and princesses, only Her Highness possesses a fiefdom, which clearly demonstrates His Majesty's special affection for her."

Tang Zhao lowered her eyes. Based on her understanding of Emperor Wu'an, this fiefdom was not obtained for nothing.

After the eunuch who delivered the imperial decree left, everyone in the Biyuan Courtyard was overjoyed. Granny Song decided to give Tang Zhao half a year's worth of monthly allowance and also instructed Chunfeng, Qiuyu, Xiamo, and Dongmei to open the storeroom and select materials and jewelry to make new clothes and headwear for Tang Zhao.

Tang Zhao let them do their work while he sat on the swing, pondering Emperor Wu'an's intentions.

Gu Ci mentioned that, in order to prevent the power of the vassal kings from becoming too great and causing them to harbor rebellious intentions, Emperor Wu'an deprived the imperial relatives and clansmen of the right to govern their fiefdoms.

Emperor Wu'an not only retained her fiefdom of Wuwei City, but also bestowed upon her the title of Zhangye Prefecture.

If there's anything special about Zhangye Prefecture, it's the Gaotai Salt Lake.

Tang Zhao tapped the hemp rope rhythmically with his fingers, then pushed off and pulled back with his feet, and the swing began to swing.

If we want to change the salt policy, the salt produced by Gaotai Salt Lake alone is not enough.

Tang Zhao sighed. "He who eats another's food is bound to be obligated to him; he who takes another's money is bound to be obligated to him. He's going to be busy from now on."

Why are you sighing for no reason?

Tang Zhao didn't even turn his head, saying, "Father's generosity is too much for me to bear."

“If Father gives it to you, then take it,” Gu Ci said, pushing the swing. “I even think Father gave too little.”

No way! If Zhangye Prefecture alone is enough to make her change the salt administration, what if she's given other land? Wouldn't that mean she'd have to take over the national treasury?

Gu Ci hesitated, wanting to tell Tang Zhao that this was exactly what her father thought, and even wanted to give her an official position in the Ministry of Revenue, but in the end, due to ancestral rules, she regretfully gave up.

Seeing that Tang Zhaoxin was feeling sorry for her, Gu Ci changed the subject, "The flowers in the Imperial Garden are in full bloom. The Empress Dowager wants to hold a flower-viewing banquet to select a consort for Gu Fu."

"Then Consort Qin was very happy."

Tang Zhao was right. In Chuxiu Palace, Consort Qin was excitedly pulling Gu Fu to look at the fabrics for clothes sent by the Imperial Household Department.

"Look, which one do you like?"

Gu Fu looked at these expensive fabrics, but felt no joy at all. She knew that the Empress had bestowed these fabrics for the flower-viewing banquet three days later.

She was already twenty, a veritable old maid. Apart from families who valued her princess status and wanted to arrange a marriage with the royal family, who would be willing to marry her?

But how can one marry into such a family?
Looking at the bird in the cage with its beak tightly shut and not making a sound, Gu Fu thought, what difference was there between her and that bird now? They were both just helpless prey.

"Your mother is talking to you," Qin Zhaoyi said reproachfully, "Aren't you listening?"

A palace attendant reminded her, "Your Highness, 'mother' is a common term used by ordinary people. In the palace, when you are a prince or princess, you should refer to yourself as 'Mother Consort'."

A hint of displeasure flashed in Consort Qin's eyes. Everything in the palace was good, except that there were too many rules and too much control. Every word she uttered and every step she took was watched by countless eyes, who were always looking for faults.

She couldn't show the slightest dissatisfaction, otherwise she would be immediately lectured by the etiquette matron and the matter would be reported to the Empress and the Empress Dowager.

Telling the Empress would be fine, since His Majesty is there and the Empress wouldn't dare to make things difficult for her. But the Empress Dowager is a different story. The Empress Dowager already dislikes her, and just yesterday she found fault with her and made her kneel for half an hour. If the Empress Dowager finds another fault with her, she might be confined to her quarters!

If she is confined to the palace for at least five days, she will miss the flower viewing banquet three days later. If the Empress does something wicked and randomly picks an ordinary family for Fu'er, then Fu'er's life will be ruined!

Consort Qin swallowed her anger and said, "I understand."

Three days later, in the Imperial Garden.

Under the meticulous care of the palace gardeners, the Imperial Garden was a riot of blooming flowers.

People are more beautiful than flowers.

As soon as Tang Zhao entered the Imperial Garden, he was stunned by the handsome and beautiful young ladies and gentlemen from noble families who filled the garden.

Goodness, no wonder it's the capital city, the young masters and ladies are much prettier than those in the Northwest.

Tang Zhao glanced around, full of doubt, and asked, "With so many families, isn't there a single ugly child among them?"

"Those who are too ugly cannot enter the palace and cannot participate in this flower appreciation banquet."

"I can understand that men should be handsome when choosing a husband for Gu Fu, but is it necessary for women to be handsome as well?"

Gu Ci gave Tang Zhao a deep look.

Tang Zhao was completely bewildered by the stares until he sat down and saw the young lady opposite him chatting with Gu Liu, at which point he finally realized what was going on.

Holy crap! It turns out that not only do we need to choose a husband for Gu Fu, but we also need to choose concubines for the princes!
Tang Zhao threatened in a low voice, "If you dare to take a concubine, I'll divorce you!"

Gu Ci couldn't help but smile. Just as he was about to speak, a girl in a pink and white flowing fairy dress walked over gracefully and curtsied.

"My daughter, Dingxiang, daughter of the Minister of War, greets Your Highness, the Prince of War," she said, then turned and bowed in the direction of Tang Zhao, "Greetings to Your Highness, Princess Zhaoshan."

Tang Zhao smiled and told her to dispense with the formalities.

Dingxiang stood up and boldly said, "Since childhood, I have admired generals who protect our country. I have long heard of His Highness the War King's reputation since I was a young girl. My father often talks about His Highness the War King's heroic deeds in fighting the enemy, but he can only give a general account each time, which makes me very regretful. I wonder if His Highness the War King would be willing to tell me in detail?"

Tang Zhao clicked his tongue in admiration, "This is what you call the art of speaking!"

Gu Ci turned to look at Tang Zhao, "This needs to be asked of the Princess."

Tang Zhao:. . . . . .

Don't drag me into your business!

"Would Your Highness be willing to grant my daughter's wish?"

Tang Zhao felt that these words were tantamount to asking her if she was willing to enter the mansion and serve one husband.

Seeing the girl's expectant eyes, Tang Zhao couldn't bear to refuse, "Okay."

Dingxiang's face instantly lit up with a radiant smile.

Tang Zhao pulled away from Gu Ci's tightly gripped hand. "You two can chat slowly, don't rush. I'll go wander around somewhere else first."

After Tang Zhao finished speaking, he ran away in a flash.

"Farewell, Princess!"

Dingxiang looked up with joy, only to see Gu Ci's handsome face was terribly gloomy, which startled her.

"Miss Ding, if you want to hear a story, you can go to the teahouse. I am not a storyteller and have no obligation to tell you stories."

Dingxiang froze, about to say something, when she saw Gu Ci turn around and chase after Tang Zhao in the direction he had left.