The peasant girl has a private space, and her husband is handsome.

The news that the Imperial Advisor had spent 10,000 taels of silver to buy peaches quickly reached General Gongsun's ears.

General Gongsun was so angry that he roared and raised his broadsword to chop down several more trees in the Sifang Pavilion.

He felt the world had gone mad.

Even the Imperial Advisor fell for Miss Su's trick, spending twice the price of the Empress to buy a peach, showing even more madness than the Empress herself.

Ten thousand taels of silver each! Even the peaches grown by the Queen Mother of the West wouldn't fetch such a high price.

You've all fallen for it, but I certainly won't.

General Gongsun swore that he would make Miss Su repay the money that had been swindled from him a hundredfold.

The Sifangguan was a place specifically used to receive foreign missions. It was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites, and all the people working there were government employees.

They were terrified when they saw that General Gongsun was about to cut down all the trees in the Sifang Pavilion.

The guess is that the Great Qi did something wrong and angered the noble Western Xia people.

I immediately reported this to the envoy in charge of the Four Directions Pavilion.

The envoy from the Four Directions Pavilion felt the matter was of great importance, so he mounted his horse and went to the Ministry of Rites, intending to report the matter to the Minister of Rites.

He was unable to find the Minister of Rites this time because Lord Xue had deliberately sent him away.

Lord Xue reassured the envoy of the Four Directions Pavilion, saying, "Don't worry, I'll handle this small matter."

His solution was to have some trees replanted in the Sifang Pavilion.

The other trees that were cut down were converted into cash and deducted from the money spent by the Sifangguan (a type of guesthouse) on entertaining the Western Xia people.

Miss Su said that Daqi can no longer be spineless and can no longer treat foreigners as fathers.

If the people from the Sifang Pavilion successfully meet with the Minister, then the Minister will tell Emperor Qi Jing that he will have to send tens of thousands of taels of silver to the Western Xia people.

Therefore, he specially sent a bag of rice candy to the Minister, who was afraid that the delicious treat would be snatched away, so he was eating it in his hut.

The official in charge of the Sifang Pavilion was of lower rank than Lord Xue, so naturally he had to listen to Lord Xue and go back to have people plant trees.

Lu, the Assistant Minister of Works, went to the Prime Minister's residence to report on his work.

Lord Lu is over sixty years old, but he recently acquired a beautiful concubine sent by a local official, so he is radiant, in excellent spirits, and walks with a brisk pace.

When he walked into Prime Minister Feng's bedroom with his head held high, he displeased Prime Minister Feng.

Prime Minister Feng thought that Lord Lu had never walked so arrogantly before. He must be showing off in front of him because he saw that Lord Lu's leg was injured and he couldn't walk. Humph!

Lord Lu smiled obsequiously, "Prime Minister, did you know? I heard that Miss Su sold peaches to the Western Xia National Preceptor for ten thousand taels of silver. This is blatant fraud and is detrimental to the friendship between our two countries."

Prime Minister Feng felt that 10,000 taels of silver was too expensive for a single tree of peaches. "10,000 taels of silver for a single tree is excessive. It would be good if all the fruit from a single peach tree could be sold for 5 taels of silver."

"No, Your Excellency, you misunderstand. It's ten thousand taels for each peach."

Prime Minister Feng was stunned.

Good heavens! Ten thousand taels for a single peach!

If it weren't for my leg injury, I would have definitely gone outside and yelled a couple of times.

This world is truly crazy.

"Lord Lu, take my jade token to His Majesty and tell him about how Miss Su tricked the Western Xia National Preceptor. His Majesty will surely punish her severely."

Every official in the Great Qi Dynasty had a plaque to prove their identity; some were made of jade, some of iron, and others of bamboo or wood.

Because of his high official rank, Prime Minister Feng's plaque was made of the finest green jade.

Lord Lu's official rank was not high enough, so he took the jade token representing Prime Minister Feng's identity to request an audience, which would surely allow him to see His Majesty.

Even if that girl has a get-out-of-jail-free card, she may escape the death penalty, but she can't escape punishment.

"Minister Luo is becoming increasingly incompetent. He's been falling ill every few days lately. If you do well, I'll let you take over his position."

Upon hearing that a promotion was within reach, Lord Lu became even more motivated.

He took the jade token and left in a hurry.

Prime Minister Feng wore a smug smile, finally finding an opportunity to teach that girl a lesson.

Once he brings that girl down, the lady will no longer have the chance to work as her maid.

The whole capital is now buzzing with the news that the Prime Minister's wife is working as a maid for Miss Su. It's a real disgrace to him, considering he is the Prime Minister of a great nation!

The peaches on the peach trees in the backyard of Gu's Tea House are mostly ripe; they'll be overripe if we don't eat them soon.

Su Qianqian sent a basket of peaches to each of the several mansions, including the Marquis of Guiping's mansion and the Duke of Anguo's mansion.

The Duke of Anguo's family couldn't bear to eat it all, so they sent it all to the palace for their eldest daughter, who was now the Empress.

Emperor Qi Jing met with Minister Lu of the Ministry of Works in the imperial study.

"Your Majesty, our Great Qi governs the world with virtue, yet Miss Su sold peaches to the Western Xia National Preceptor for ten thousand taels each. This is truly outrageous."

Lord Lu is confident that the Great Qi values ​​diplomatic relations most and regards the Western Xia people as fathers—oh no, I mean friends—so they will definitely punish Miss Su severely.

Emperor Qi Jing was indeed shocked and angry upon hearing Lord Lu's words, and the papers on the table were accidentally swept to the ground by his sleeve.

"Outrageous! Great Qi has always upheld the fine tradition of befriending enemy states—no, I mean, befriending neighboring states. How could we deceive the Western Xia's Grand Preceptor like this? Issue my order—"

Just then, Grandpa Fu came in carrying a plate of peaches.

But because the peaches are so big, a plate of peaches actually only contains one peach.

The pink peaches emitted an enticing aroma that filled the entire imperial study.

Old Master Fu had been standing outside the door for a while, always remembering the kindness of Miss Su in giving him the snake-repelling powder.

Although he was a favorite of the emperor, the emperor had received a lot of snake repellent powder but never thought of him.

The debt of gratitude owed to Miss Su must certainly be repaid.

"Your Majesty, this was sent by the Empress. It has been washed. Please enjoy it."

Grandpa Fu himself swallowed his saliva several times.

He deliberately sent the peaches to Emperor Qi Jing because he thought no one could resist such delicious-looking peaches.

Emperor Qi Jing found the aroma of the fruit in the air incredibly tempting. The peaches were large and plump, with just one filling an entire plate—truly a delicacy.

He thought it wouldn't be too late to finish eating the peaches before discussing how to punish Miss Su with Minister Lu.

Emperor Qi Jing took the peach, took a bite, and his mouth was filled with juice.

The heavenly fragrance flowed to every part of my body.

Good heavens! What kind of magical peach is this?!

He was born into a wealthy family and had seen all sorts of delicious things since he was a child! But this was the first time he had ever tasted such a delicious peach.

It was so delicious, I wanted to eat it again and again.

Lord Lu was anxious. Seeing that Emperor Qi Jing had finished eating the peach, he quickly seized the opportunity to say, "Your Majesty—"

Eunuch Fu, with his loud, hoarse voice, interjected, "Your Majesty, the Empress surely still has some. If we go too late, we might not be able to get any."

Emperor Qi Jing grew anxious: "Set up the Fengming Palace."

Lord Lu chased after him, calling out, "Your Majesty—"

Emperor Qi Jing turned around and said, "Minister Lu, please wait here until I return."