public opinion

The suburbs of Mingzhou.

An inconspicuous Yuelai Inn was booked by a distinguished guest. Ning Lingyi, dressed in a plain moon-white dress, sat by the window, her eyes fixed on the dark night outside the window.

There were three knocks on the door.

"Enter."

The door was pushed open, and a thin and tall figure flashed in, wrapped in the cold air outside the house. It was Shen Qingyan.

He was not wearing an official robe, but a dark blue cloth, and looked dusty.

He quickly walked a few steps in front of Ning Lingyi, lifted his robe and bowed, knocking his forehead heavily on the cold floor tiles: "Your Highness, I, Shen Qingyan, kowtow to you! I... deserve to die!"

"If it weren't for my single-minded insistence on a new policy, Your Highness wouldn't have…why would you have to endure the condemnation of so many people and personally enter such a dangerous place! I will never escape the blame!"

After he uttered the last word, his forehead was still pressed against the ground, his shoulders tense.

Ning Lingyi withdrew her gaze from the window and fell on his bent back.

Originally, she thought it was simple, thinking that sincerity would make things happen. Who could have expected that this complex situation would be so difficult to deal with?

Shen Tanhua was too young, and like her, he thought that a single order would make the people below do things according to the rules.

Now it seems that if it were really that simple, the world would have been peaceful long ago.

Sure enough, we still have to fight.

I think Shen Tanhua should have learned a thing or two after this experience and is no longer just an empty talker.

After a moment, she stood up and walked in front of him: "Get up and talk."

Her voice was calm, without much emotion.

Shen Qingyan's body stiffened, and the tip of Ning Lingyi's shoes appeared in his sight - covered with mud, completely different from the cleanliness of the past.

He was silent for a moment, then stood up as he was told, but still kept his head down, not daring to look directly at her.

"You're being pointed at by thousands of people?" Ning Lingyi's voice rang out in the silence, with a barely perceptible hint of coldness. "Shen Qingyan, raise your head and look at me."

Shen Qingyan looked up as he was told and met a pair of deep eyes.

"It is precisely because we are serious about this, touching the pain points of certain people and cutting off their financial resources, that they are so desperate that they don't hesitate to use the most despicable means to slander me." Ning Lingyi's voice was not loud, but every word was clear, striking Shen Qingyan's heart.

"If you and I were doing something wrong, and a government decree could help them make more money, they would just applaud. Why would we go to all this trouble?"

"This situation just proves that the path we are taking is correct."

Shen Qingyan was stunned, took a deep breath, and tried to calm down: "Your Highness, please understand."

"Tell me, what is the current situation of Mingzhou City?"

Shen Qingyan calmed himself, knowing now was not the time to blame himself. He quickly gathered his thoughts, "Your Highness. The Mingzhou bureaucracy is a complex web of connections. The prefect, Liu Mian, appears moderate, but in reality, he's ambivalent. The magistrate, Sun Jing, controls nearly half of Mingzhou's salt fields and the grain transport system. Other key positions, such as the Household Affairs Office and the Warehouse Affairs Office, are also mostly controlled by local powerful families and their in-laws and old friends."

He paused, then continued, "As soon as the new policy announcement came out, rumors started to spread. Every day, local gentry would come to the government office to petition for the revocation of the order."

His voice sank a little. "Tax collectors in various places are still demanding the old rates, and have even intensified their demands, claiming... that the old system cannot be abolished until His Highness's order has been delivered."

Ning Lingyi listened quietly and asked, "Where are the people?"

"People are eager for change, yet they're also afraid of the accumulating power. Rumors are spreading, and many are skeptical about tax cuts. And..." Shen Qingyan's voice was filled with a heavy sense of powerlessness.

"With freezing weather and skyrocketing food prices, many families are struggling to make ends meet. Selling children is likely not an isolated case."

The room fell into a brief silence, with only the sound of the wind whistling outside the window.

Ning Lingyi turned around slowly: "Shen Qingyan, winter can't wait for anyone, and the people can't wait even more."

"Tomorrow, you will issue a notice in your capacity as the Chief Clerk of the Princess's Residence and Deputy Governor of Daiming Prefecture."

Shen Qingyan's expression was stern: "Your Highness, please give your orders."

"Just say," Ning Lingyi's eyes were sharp as a knife, "Her Royal Highness Princess Mingzhu came to her fiefdom in person. She sympathized with the low and damp climate of Mingzhou and the simple nature of the palace, and decided to choose a site west of Mingzhou City to build a princess residence."

A hint of surprise flashed across Shen Qingyan's eyes, but he did not interrupt.

Ning Lingyi continued, "We are now recruiting laborers and craftsmen from across the state. All young and able-bodied laborers are welcome to apply. The daily salary is 20 copper coins and one full meal. The construction period... is tentatively set at three months."

She paused and added, "The first priority is to repair the main official roads from Tongzhou City to the various counties and dredge the blocked canals. Once the roads are clear and the water is flowing smoothly, we can then build the mansion."

Shen Qingyan was such a perceptive person that he understood it in an instant: "Your Highness, are you using work-for-relief? Under the guise of building the Princess's residence, are you actually providing relief to the people?"

"That's right." Ning Lingyi nodded, "Gather the people first, so they have food to eat and a way to survive."

"When the road is halfway built and people's hearts are somewhat settled, you will announce to the thousands of laborers in front of them a 50% tax reduction for three years! Anyone who dares to collect the old amount will be defying the order and becoming an enemy of the Princess's residence."

"Your Highness is wise!" Shen Qingyan bowed deeply. "Once this policy is released, the people of Mingzhou will be reassured and the foundation of the new policy will be established! Those rats will also have nowhere to hide!"

"But... such a huge expense, including food, fodder, and labor costs, is estimated to cost more than 200,000 taels of silver..."

Ning Lingyi walked to the table and picked up the teacup, which had already gone cold. Her fingertips were icy cold. She drank the remaining tea in the cup in one gulp.

"Shen Qingyan," she put down her cup and smiled at him, "this rat from Mingzhou would be happy to donate his family wealth to help me accomplish my goal, don't you think?"

Shen Qingyan understood and smiled knowingly: "Your Highness is absolutely right."

Ning Lingyi nodded slightly, turned around and looked at the dark night outside the window again.

Shen Qingyan hesitated for a moment and asked, "When does Your Highness plan to show up in Mingzhou? I'm afraid the officials in the prefecture are all eagerly waiting..."

"No rush." ​​Ning Lingyi's voice was calm and even. "I'm new here, so I have to see the true face of Mingzhou City first. Just follow the plan, I will know what to do."

Shen Qingyan understood and didn't ask any more questions.

He remembered something and took out a wax-sealed letter from his pocket and presented it with both hands: "Your Highness, there is one more thing. His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has a secret letter for me."

He paused, lowering his voice, "The letter strictly orders me to ensure the safety of Your Highness. If there is any mistake..."

He didn't finish what he said, but the meaning was self-evident.

Ning Lingyi took the letter but didn't open it. After a moment of silence, she said calmly, "I understand. Go back and be careful."

"Your Majesty, I'll take my leave." Shen Qingyan bowed and retreated as quietly as he came. His figure quickly blended into the darkness of the inn's backyard.

Ning Lingyi stood alone by the window, looking at the direction where Shen Qingyan disappeared, then looked down at the secret letter from the East Palace in her hand, and finally placed it on the candlelight.

The flames licked the letter, quickly engulfing it, turning it into a small pile of ash that drifted into the cold air.

The next morning, Mingzhou City.

The wind and snow subsided for a while, but the sky remained gloomy.

A two-story teahouse on the street called "Tingyuxuan" opened early.

Tuoba Hong, dressed in a plain black suit, sat alone in a private window seat on the second floor. Before him lay a pot of tea and a few plates of dried fruit, his gaze seemingly casually scanning the increasingly lively street below.

The teahouse was gradually filled with voices, mostly vendors who had gotten up early to make a living, and a few well-dressed idlers. The topic soon turned to the notice that had just been posted yesterday.

A stout man in a silk shirt spoke loudly, with a touch of mercenary shrewdness: "Have you heard? Princess Mingzhu is planning a major construction project, a palace to the west of the city! Wow, what a grand occasion!"

A skinny accountant nearby, twirling his goatee, chimed in, "That's right! The notice says it's 20 cents a day, and food included. That's quite a generous sum."

"Not small?" A sallow-faced man in a half-worn cotton robe sneered in the corner, his voice thick with resentment. "The wool comes from the sheep! Where will the money for building this mansion come from? Isn't it going to be squeezed from the people of Mingzhou? This tax cut? I think it's just a sham! First, they trick people into working hard to build the garden for her, and then who knows how they'll find ways to double the money back!"

“That’s right!”

Another idler chimed in, "Princess? A princess of wealth, raised in the inner palace. What does she know about the sufferings of ordinary people? She's simply feeling uncomfortable in the temporary palace and wants to move to a more luxurious place to enjoy her life! Who knows how long she'll be able to keep these twenty cents? Once the work is done, she might find an excuse to embezzle it! These nobles are very cunning!"

"I think," the fat businessman lowered his voice with a hint of ambiguity, "maybe it was that Chen Tanhua Changshi who came up with this idea to please the princess? I heard that Tanhua man was very handsome and was deeply appreciated by the princess... Hehe, the money for building this mansion must have come from the princess's treasury. It goes in one pocket and stays in the other!"

A burst of tacit laughter rang out in the teahouse, full of vulgarity. The rumors about the princess making money to support her lover seemed to have become a conclusion at this moment.

Tuoba Hong held the teacup, his face expressionless. However, a flicker of understanding flashed across the depths of his deep eyes, and then a more blazing light ignited.

Build the princess's palace? 20 wen a day? Food and lodging included? Build roads and canals first?

Oh.

In the name of glory, we actually provide relief; we gather the strength of refugees to break the shackles of difficulties; we stop the mouths of those who complain and establish the authority of the new policy.

What a great Ning Lingyi! What a great Princess Mingzhu!

How could this be considered extravagance and debauchery? It was clearly a thunderous tactic that could achieve great results with just a little effort.

Not only did she see through Mingzhou's predicament, but she also used this seemingly enjoyable act to instantly seize the initiative in her own hands.

Thousands of hungry people gathered under his command, representing thousands of mouths to feed, and thousands of hearts and minds to support him. Once the road is completed, he will issue a tax reduction order in front of these thousands of people...

Who would dare to disobey then? Who would dare to accuse the princess of amassing wealth? The people's hearts were her strongest barrier, and the sharpest sword against those rats.

Tuoba Hong picked up the teacup and brought it to his lips. The hot steam blurred the possessiveness surging in his eyes.

He put down his teacup and glanced at the idle men downstairs who were still making up stories about Ning Lingyi and Shen Qingyan's "romantic affair" without a trace of warmth in his eyes.

I haven't seen blood in a long time.

The tongues of these ants seem to be too annoying.

He tapped the table lightly, making an inaudible sound.

In the corner, a follower as silent as a shadow immediately looked up.

Tuoba Hong's eyes swept over those idle men and then moved away, as if it was just a casual glance.

The follower understood and nodded imperceptibly, then quietly merged into the shadow of the teahouse and disappeared.

Tuoba Hong's gaze returned to the window, as if penetrating the thick walls of the provincial government office and falling on the princess who had not yet appeared in public.

Mingzhu, you are indeed not an ordinary person.

Only you are worthy of standing by my side.