Palace maid Shuoning

(Up)

Once the dog days of summer are over, autumn arrives in the blink of an eye.

The floods in the Northwest have just subsided, and the locust plague in the Yangtze and Huai River basins has finally receded.

Unexpectedly, many prefectures and counties in the Great Zhou Dynasty were hit by a severe drought, and crops in the fields withered and died.

The people suffered one misfortune after another, and their lives became unbearably miserable.

Local officials from various regions submitted memorials one after another, earnestly requesting the imperial court to reduce this year's taxes by half as appropriate.

The emperor sat on the dragon throne, clutching a stack of memorials, his face ashen.

"Just as one wave of disaster subsided, a new one struck. These local officials only know how to ask for tax reductions and exemptions, but the national treasury and granaries have been stretched thin for years due to continuous expenses!"

Border defense requires funds, disaster relief requires grain, expenses are everywhere, and with taxes halved, where will the court find the funds to cover its various expenditures?

He slammed his hand on the imperial desk, his tone softening slightly, but he was still filled with vexation:

"But the people are suffering greatly, and if the full amount of taxes is forcibly collected, it will inevitably arouse public resentment."

By imperial decree, taxes in the most severely affected prefectures and counties shall be reduced by half, and those in moderately affected areas by only 30%; a portion of the silver stored in the imperial treasury shall be immediately allocated and sent in batches to the drought-stricken prefectures and counties to purchase grain for disaster relief; local governments shall be ordered to open their granaries and distribute grain to appease the villagers.

Furthermore, a strict order is issued to all officials in each prefecture: anyone found to have embezzled disaster relief funds or grain under the pretext of the disaster for personal gain will be immediately dismissed from their post, investigated, and severely punished!

The head minister of the Ministry of Revenue bowed deeply and responded loudly:

"Your Majesty, I obey! I will immediately return to inventory the grain in the warehouses, calculate the tax quotas for various regions, and expedite the allocation of silver and grain."

At the same time, he ordered the imperial censors to inspect local disaster relief efforts, strictly investigate corruption and malpractice, and ensure that no money or grain was embezzled or the extent of the disaster was concealed, in order to comfort the affected people!

As soon as the words were spoken, all the civil and military officials in the hall bowed in unison: "Your Majesty, we obey!"

Huihe Palace, side hall.

Beatrice stepped through the door carrying a food box and put the food on the table.

Upon opening the box, he was so angry he stomped his feet, his eyes instantly reddening, and he muttered angrily in a low voice:

"These snobbish lackeys! For a whole month, all they've served each day is some bland porridge and a small dish of pickled vegetables to get by."

Today was even worse; they tried to fool us with two sour, rotten steamed buns. They used the excuse of a grain shortage, but in my humble opinion, they were clearly just deliberately bullying us!

Consort Mei leaned against the bedpost, her long hair loosely draped over her shoulders, her gaze vacantly fixed on the window.

The dim candlelight illuminated her face; in just one month, she had become terribly haggard, with two strands of white hair quietly peeking out from her temples.

"How long has it been since the princess returned?" Consort Mei asked in a low voice, her voice dry and hoarse.

Beatrice's gaze fell on the plate of lychees on the table. The peels had long since turned black and shriveled, oozing sticky juice.

Her throat tightened, and she replied through tears:

"It's been a full half month. These lychees were sent by the princess earlier, but you couldn't bear to touch them, so they've all rotted."

Upon hearing this, Consort Mei slowly supported herself as she stood up and moved step by step to the window.

He then raised his hand and pushed open the wooden window, his gaze fixed on the side room where Zhou Yan used to live.

Memories flooded back uncontrollably.

I remember when Zhou Yan was first sent to Huihe Palace, she was too timid to sleep alone and would squat alone on the steps in the courtyard at night, wiping away her tears.

She was annoyed by the noise and came out to give the little girl a good scolding.

But after scolding her, he softened and had no choice but to sit beside her on the stone steps, looking up at the stars in the sky.

My thoughts drifted back to the cold winter season, with the courtyard covered in a thick blanket of white snow.

Zhou Yan, in a playful mood, insisted on having a snowball fight. She still kept a stern face and scolded her for being silly.

Unexpectedly, the little girl smiled and her eyes crinkled as she clenched a snowball and threw it straight at her.

"You audacious little brat, how dare you throw a snowball at me!"

She scolded him playfully, but then bent down and made a snowball to retaliate.

Two figures, one tall and one short, chased and frolicked in the snow-covered ground, their soft laughter filling the yard.

That night, Zhou Yan had a high fever that wouldn't go down, and she was delirious and unconscious.

Despite her obvious anxiety and worry, she still spoke in a harsh, reprimanding tone, refusing to utter a single soft word.

Later, Zhou Yan grew into a young woman and learned needlework.

She watched with her own eyes as Zhou Yan carefully sewed the droopy ears onto the plush rabbit, her face beaming with joy.

After that, she had Zhou Yan practice starting with a small embroidered handkerchief, gradually progressing to undergarments and then to outerwear.

Over time, every piece of clothing she wore was embroidered by Zhou Yan herself.

Looking back now, she realized that over the past ten years, she had always been harsh and stern towards Zhou Yan, rarely showing a smile.

She single-handedly transformed that lively little girl into someone cautious and timid.

A wave of bitter regret suddenly washed over me. I should have smiled at her more back then.

That child was kind and well-behaved by nature, but I had never treated her well.

(under)

For an unknown amount of time, Consort Mei stood there blankly, her gaze fixed on the dark and silent courtyard.

Suddenly, a figure was seen stepping through the courtyard gate and walking in.

A sudden surge of joy filled her heart. She instinctively recognized Zhou Yan, whom she had been longing for day and night. She hurriedly rushed to the door and flung it open.

But the person standing outside the door was not the girl he had been longing for, but Jiang Shuoning.

Jiang Shuoning raised his eyes, his cold gaze meeting Mei Guiren's directly. He stepped into the room and slightly curtsied.

"This servant, Jiang Shuoning, greets Consort Mei."

Bi Ti's face instantly turned ashen. She immediately stepped in front of Consort Mei, pointing at Jiang Shuoning and gritting her teeth as she angrily rebuked him:

"Jiang Shuoning! You've wronged our master and servant so badly, and now you still have the nerve to come to Huihe Palace!"

Consort Mei's gaze was deep as she sized up the person before her, a cold, mocking smile playing on her lips.

"It's late at night, and the dew is heavy. What brings you, a mere palace maid, here so suddenly?"

Jiang Shuoning walked slowly to her, his tone calm and even:

"The concubine opened the door so hastily just now; she must have mistaken me for the Eighth Princess?"

Consort Mei froze, her eyes wide with surprise: "How did you know?"

As soon as she finished speaking, she suddenly became alert, and her eyes turned cold.

"It was you! You deliberately distanced yourself from Yan'er, didn't you?"

Jiang Shuoning slightly curved the corners of her lips, but did not answer directly, only speaking softly:

"The princess has always been thinking of you, and she tells me about her longing for you every day. How could I not understand?"

However, the princess's frequent visits might implicate the emperor, leading to her punishment.

Seeing Jiang Shuoning's smug look, Biti could no longer contain herself.

He immediately stepped forward and was about to raise his hand to hit her when she immediately raised her hand and grabbed his wrist.

Jiang Shuoning's eyes turned cold as he issued a stern warning:

"You dare to move a muscle? Think carefully about why you and your master have ended up in this predicament!"

Mei Guiren was silent for a moment, then spoke in a hoarse but steady voice: "Biti, let go."

Filled with resentment, Bitty forcefully pulled her wrist back and stood beside Consort Mei, her eyes full of hostility.

Consort Mei raised her eyes, staring directly at Jiang Shuoning, her words clear and precise, piercing to the heart of the matter:

"You deliberately approached Yan'er and plotted against her at every turn. It wasn't just about trying to break up my relationship with the princess and instigate the emperor to believe that I mistreated her and demote me. It's not that simple."

Was this entire scheme orchestrated by Consort Rong? Just because I previously won over Xia He, she's plotting her revenge against me!

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shuoning slightly raised the corner of her lips and said calmly, "What if I said that none of these are true?"

Consort Mei froze, then abruptly looked up at her, urgently asking, "Then what was it all for?"

"Chong, Consort!" Jiang Shuoning said each word clearly and crisply.