My brother entrusted his child to me, and I livestreamed raising the baby, making the Empress cry wi

Little Douzi stood at the door, clutching the hem of her skirt, and looked up a little shyly.

The dress fits perfectly.

Her skin was already fair and delicate, and she looked even more beautiful in white.

The pearl collar sits perfectly at the collarbone, and the loose tulle skirt falls below the knees, revealing a section of ankle clad in white leather shoes.

She tried turning around.

The skirt spun around, and the layers of tulle unfolded like a blooming white peony.

The skirt swirls up, and the layers of tulle unfold like a blooming white peony.

The ribbon in the bow at her waist swayed with her movements, and the two crystal pendants drew two sparkling arcs in the air.

"Not bad." Zhao Man crossed her arms and nodded in satisfaction. "Just like a little princess, no, even more princess-like than a little princess."

Lin Ye crouched down, looking tenderly into Xiao Douzi's eyes. "Do you like it?"

Little Douzi nodded vigorously, then looked down at the hem of her skirt and reached out to touch the small sequins adorning it. "Godfather, these sequins light up!"

"Yes, these are sequins, they're shiny and will glow." Lin Ye smiled and pinched her little nose.

The little boy giggled and spun around again.

She looked down at the glitter refracting light spots on the ground, which swirled around her feet, her eyes shining like two stars.

Zhao Man's assistant began styling her hair.

Her hair was gently combed, divided into several sections, and then braided into a loose bun, secured at the back of her head with silver hairpins, with a few stray strands hanging down beside her ears.

A small champagne-colored silk flower was pinned to her hair, with a pearl embedded in its center, echoing the pearl on her collar.

The assistant also applied some light makeup to her. Xiao Douzi already has thick eyebrows and big eyes, and fair skin, so they added some blush and lip gloss to make her complexion even better.

Little Douzi looked at herself in the mirror again and again, then reached out and touched the flower on her head.

"Godfather, Godfather! Isn't Little Douzi cute?" Little Douzi turned his head and looked up at him, asking.

"It's beautiful." Lin Ye squatted down and straightened the crooked silk flower for her. "Our little Douzi is the prettiest. She's her godfather's little princess."

Little Douzi smiled shyly, burying her face in her hands, her red ear tips peeking out.

"Let's go, little dumpling." Lin Ye stood up, smiling as he extended his hand to her. "Godfather will take you to a nice place."

The little girl put her hand in his palm, looked up at him curiously, and asked, "Where are we going?"

You'll see when you get there.

……

At the same time, in the Great Flame Kingdom.

It was the Lantern Festival, and the capital was decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations everywhere.

Bright red lanterns hung from the palace gate all the way to the end of Zhuque Street, creating a fiery red spectacle that illuminated the entire long street.

The streets and alleys were bustling with activity and filled with joy.

The Imperial Palace, Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Shu Jingwei sat in a chair, with a small mountain of memorials piled on the table in front of her.

She casually flipped through them, then tossed them aside with a "thud," her brows furrowed into a tight knot.

"Tonight is the Lantern Festival banquet, and envoys from various countries are all present. The scale must not be small, so as not to embarrass me."

She glanced at the head eunuch beside her, her voice cold and hard: "Go tell the imperial kitchen to double the dishes tonight compared to last year. All the envoys from last year have already eaten there; give me something completely new this year."

The chief eunuch's forehead immediately broke out in a sweat, and his lips trembled for a long time before he cautiously squeezed out a few words: "Your Majesty, the Imperial Kitchen is already preparing, but... but this year's budget..."

"What happened to the budget?" Shu Jingwei's voice suddenly turned cold.

Before the chief eunuch could speak, a high-pitched eunuch's voice came from outside the hall: "Your Majesty—Minister of Revenue Chen Youfang requests an audience—"

Chen Youfang? Why is he looking for her instead of preparing for the palace banquet tonight?

"Let him in."

Chen Youfang walked in with his head down, knelt in the hall, and his hands trembled slightly inside his sleeves.

He didn't want to come here either, but, sigh...

"His Majesty."

"explain."

Chen Youfang took a deep breath and lowered his voice to a whisper: "Your Majesty, I believe that this year's Lantern Festival banquet should be kept simple."

The air froze instantly.

Shu Jingwei's eyes slowly narrowed.

That look in his eyes was like a beast locking onto its prey; the light emanating from his pupils was frighteningly dangerous.

"Keep it simple?" Her voice was soft, but every word carried a chill.

"You'd better give me a suitable reason!"

Chen Youfang's forehead slammed against the gold brick with a thud, his voice trembling uncontrollably: "Your Majesty, the national treasury... the national treasury's silver is running low!"

"fart!!"

Shu Jingwei slammed her hand on the table, making the entire table jump. The memorials were shaken and flew everywhere, scattering all over the floor.

She suddenly stood up, looking down at Chen Youfang who was lying on the ground, her eyes fierce as if she wanted to devour him.

"I possess the wealth of an entire nation, my Great Yan Empire is prosperous and powerful, and all surrounding countries bow down in submission! You tell me I have no silver?!"

Her voice boomed through the hall, shaking the dust off the beams.

"Did you scoundrels embezzle my silver?!"

She glared fiercely at Chen Youfang, who was trembling below, and when she mentioned the words "the money was swallowed up," her gaze seemed to want to devour him alive.

Chen Youfang shuddered violently, as if struck by lightning, and his whole body slumped down, his forehead hitting the gold brick with a loud thud.

"Your Majesty is wise! I dare not! I am utterly loyal to the Great Yan and have no other intentions whatsoever!"

"Then tell me, where did my money go?!" Shu Jingwei suddenly stood up, the hem of her dragon robe sweeping across the table, causing the teacups on the table to fall over.

The scalding hot tea spilled over the memorial tablets, leaving a dark stain.

Chen Youfang's voice squeezed out from his trembling lips, each word seeming to be ground from the very marrow of his bones: "Your Majesty... since the late Emperor, there have been years of war, causing people to be displaced and fields to lie fallow. Later, Lord Ye..."

He paused for a moment, then changed his words, saying, "Later, Ye Fan implemented a tax reduction policy, which reduced taxes in various regions by 30%, and the national treasury's revenue has always been just barely enough."

"Ye Fan once said that after some time, he would have a way to increase yield per mu, so that the people would have enough to eat and the national treasury would also increase its revenue..."

He paused, a sound almost choked in his throat, his voice so low only he could hear: "But... but before the method could be passed down, Ye Fan was dismissed from his post..."

Shu Jingwei's face turned ashen in an instant, her fingers gripping the edge of the table so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

The name Ye Fan was like a red-hot needle, precisely piercing the festering wound she least wanted to touch.

"There's no need to dwell on those old matters!" she interrupted sharply, her voice so shrill it almost tore through the air of the hall. "I only ask you, where did all the money go?"

Chen Youfang gritted his teeth, buried his face in the ground, and said desperately, "Your Majesty! Since Ye Fan was dismissed from his post, the palace expenses have increased year by year. The expenses for Your Majesty, Lord Yao, and the Princess's sleeping quarters have more than increased fivefold! Especially the silver charcoal—"

He swallowed hard. "His Majesty now uses dozens of basins of charcoal every day. The palace isn't enough, so we have to buy it from outside at exorbitant prices. The price of a pound of silver thread charcoal outside has increased dozens of times!"

At this point, he couldn't help but raise his voice, by dozens of times!

"And...and the birthday banquet for the princess two months ago cost over ten thousand taels. The toys from Linglong Pavilion alone cost tens of thousands of taels! As for the Ministry of Works, His Majesty ordered the Minister of Works to gather craftsmen to study those things on the celestial canopy, and just recruiting craftsmen cost hundreds of thousands of taels..."

"Enough!!!"

Shu Jingwei slammed her hand on the table again, interrupting him with a shrill voice, trembling with anger.

Chen Youfang's face turned deathly pale, his body trembled, and he was filled with regret.

How could he just say that? I wonder if he'll even be able to leave this hall alive today...