The court meeting was over, and the court officials gathered in groups of two or three. Only Mu Wanqing was walking slowly alone, her expression as calm as water, without any of the aggressiveness she had just shown.

She does not form cliques and only communicates with her subordinates on official business.

It's difficult for others to make friends with her as she doesn't attend any parties or dinners.

The deputy assistant came over with a group of ministers and said with a smile, "Princess Qingping, you are not angry, are you?"

Mu Wanqing raised her eyebrows, "Why are you angry? Work hard and try to make more money to help me share my worries."

Ci Fu: ... to share her worries?!

I don’t know what’s wrong with Mu Wanqing’s mouth, but it always makes people speechless.

She's not just sharing the worry, but it seems like everyone is doing things for her, which makes her unhappy.

The Minister of Justice cleared his throat and said, "Princess Qingping, we didn't exclude you on purpose. Think about it, the Ministry of Revenue has been so glorious this year. You have to give us a chance to perform."

He actually had no ill feelings towards Mu Wanqing. On the contrary, he admired her quite a bit.

However, this does not prevent them from fighting each other in government affairs, targeting the issues rather than the people.

Everyone is in a different position and has different interests, so conflicts are inevitable.

Mu Wanqing is not stingy. She doesn't like socializing, so she doesn't mind if they exclude her.

The emperor certainly doesn't want to see his court officials hanging out with Le Rongrong, as it would threaten the imperial power.

"I understand. I'm just waiting for everyone to organize a perfect lantern festival so that I can have fun for a few days. I can eat and drink as much as I want during the Spring Festival. Just thinking about it makes me happy."

The Ministry of Revenue has the largest number of officials, and accordingly, they are responsible for the most affairs.

They were mainly responsible for money, household registration, land tax, land calculation, annual revenue and expenditure statistics, taxes, corvée, transportation, reclamation, official salaries, support for the army, disaster relief, various taxes, etc. Note (1)

The Ministry of Revenue has thirteen departments and several auxiliary departments, and under them are four departments, with more than four hundred officials alone.

As the head of the Ministry of Households, Mu Wanqing is unimaginably busy. She is busy from morning to night every day and sometimes has to work overtime.

She is very capable and has excellent leadership skills. She knows how to delegate power appropriately and uses interests to bind the entire Ministry of Revenue together. This is why she is able to run the Ministry of Revenue and manage all affairs properly without any mistakes.

She is too busy during normal times, so she looks forward to relaxing during the New Year holidays.

Ministers: ...

It feels like a punch missed, which is not a good feeling.

The deputy assistant was flexible and came over with a smile, "Princess Qingping, you are an expert in this area. Please help us with some advice and come up with some good ideas."

When it comes to earning ability, everyone agrees that Mu Wanqing is number one.

No one can deny this point. With her guidance, I won't have to worry about failing to complete the task and being demoted or having my salary deducted.

Their high-ranking officials do not live on salaries, so it does not matter to them whether there are deductions or not. However, the officials below them do rely on salaries to make a living, and they will rebel if their salaries are suspended for half a year.

Mu Wanqing laughed, "No, the benefits are yours. If anything goes wrong, you'll let me take the blame. Do you think I'm stupid?"

What truth is being told by such a straightforward person? How can someone step down?

The deputy assistant laughed, his face surprisingly thick. "Princess Qingping, you are joking. How could we possibly do that? We are all officials in the same court. We meet each other every day. If you are unwilling to help, then transfer a few people to me, the left and right assistant ministers and the managers of the Thirteenth Department..."

What is the difference between this and asking the Ministry of Revenue to work for you? The difference is that one has a legitimate reason, while the other has to work for someone else and still has to look at their face, and there is no benefit.

Mu Wanqing flatly refused, "No, unless this lantern will be counted as a credit to our Ministry of Revenue, and you will take the blame if anything goes wrong."

The Minister of Industry responded quickly, "That's impossible."

Mu Wanqing rolled her eyes, "What else is there to say? No borrowing, no appointment, goodbye."

She walked away without looking back.

Without her permission, people from the Ministry of Revenue could not lend it out.

Everyone looked at each other, it seems they have to rely on themselves, okay, who doesn't know how to copy homework?

The Minister of War was somewhat envious, "How can Princess Qingping be so proficient at such a young age? She is such a smart person. How did she become so skilled?"

She usually only cares about making money, but at the critical moment she stepped in to save the Du family. Her ability and loyalty are enviable.

Everyone present had checked the Mu family's background and knew the situation of the Mu family very well.

They wanted to do something, such as forming an alliance through marriage, but unfortunately they were too far away and out of reach.

Xiliang is run by Mu Wanqing like an iron barrel, and no outside forces can get in.

Mu Wanqing is not in Xiliang, but Xiliang is still her territory.

The second assistant was a little jealous because his own descendants were not very outstanding and even if he worked hard to pave the way, nothing could be accomplished.

Unlike Mu Wanqing, who suddenly appeared out of nowhere, she was extremely talented and climbed to such a height on her own, and brought her whole family with her.

"How could the Mu family have such ability? The first and third branches of the Mu family are all ruined, and the second branch has only produced one Princess Qingping, and her two brothers are just so-so."

The Minister of Justice said something fair, "It's already very good. A fifth-rank civil official, a sixth-rank military official, and a second-rank Minister of Revenue, three outstanding people in one family."

Mu Zicheng started his career as a sixth-rank official, and in recent years he has climbed up to the fifth rank step by step.

To be honest, Mu Zicheng is half talented, and half Mu Wanqing has paved the way for him.

Similarly, Mu Ziang also slowly rose up along the path paved by Mu Wanqing, making steady progress in Fufeng City, which completely became the Mu family's territory.

Fufeng City is Mu Wanqing's fiefdom, so there is nothing wrong with doing this.

The Minister of Rites was extremely envious and jealous. Why couldn't such an outstanding descendant be his own?

"That was promoted by Princess Qingping. They couldn't reach such a high level just by their own strength."

Everyone understands this.

The Minister of War shook his head slightly. "Background itself is a kind of strength. Our children have been carefully nurtured since childhood, and our family has also tried their best to support them. How many of them have become successful?"

Everyone present was a high-ranking official in the court, a center of power, but it was impossible for them to support all of their own descendants.

There were basically no officials above the fifth rank, and some could not even pass the imperial examinations and could only rely on nepotism to gain titles.

These days, the orthodox way to enter officialdom is through the imperial examination.

If you want to become an official of the fourth rank or above and enter the highest core circle, you must be a genuine Jinshi.

The Minister of Industry looked over with envy, "By the way, your little Liuzi is quite good. He won first place in the last arithmetic test and successfully entered the Jinke Department."

The Minister of War smiled brilliantly, "Hahaha, what luck."

Who would have thought that the most naughty youngest son would actually develop mathematical skills after entering the Royal Technical School. He became particularly good at mental arithmetic and could use the abacus very smoothly.

What surprised him even more was that the emperor granted him additional skill tests, and arithmetic was one of the subjects. The top five candidates would be able to enter the Ministry of Revenue.

Although he was only a ninth-rank official, the child was only sixteen years old.

Everyone's eyes were red with envy. It had to be said that the Royal Technical School was quite capable, as the top ten students in this mathematics test were all from the technical school.

So, the first five entered the Ministry of Revenue, and the other five were snatched up by various departments.

Every department is short of people who are proficient in mathematics.

I heard that students from the technical school developed several new perfumes, which were sold out as soon as they were launched on the market.

I heard that students from the technical school made rock sugar that was crystal clear and tasted great, and it became a tribute.

I heard that students from the technical school have developed a roller thresher, which makes threshing rice very labor-saving.

Each and every one of these things is amazing. They are just a group of young students.

The most interesting thing is that Mu Wanqing also established patent rights. Whoever invents a good thing will own the patent. Others can use it but they have to pay the patent fee.

Like the perfume, for every bottle sold, the student who invented it can earn money.

He achieved financial freedom at a young age.

This made people flock to the Royal Technical School and go crazy for it.

The Minister of Works was thinking about the fact that his two grandchildren were getting old enough and he had to find a way to get them in.

The entrance exam is too difficult, so you still have to spend some sponsorship fees.

"By the way, I heard that the admission fee has increased this year. Thirty thousand per place? Is that true?"

When the Minister of War was asked about this, his little sixth son kept talking about his school and the principal.

"Really? All 200 places for this year have been booked."

The second assistant felt unhappy. At first, he looked down on the Royal Technical School and did not send his children and grandchildren to it.

Later, he couldn't send it in even if he paid.

There is no other way. It is hard to get a ticket in the second year. Even if you spend money, you still have to pass two levels: a written test and an interview, and go through two rounds of screening.

Since his own child was not selected, he deeply suspected that Mu Wanqing was deliberately targeting him.

Of course, Mu Wanqing refused to admit it and denied it completely.

From then on, the two families became complete enemies.

"This is just a money grab. Why is no one saying anything about her? Let's write a joint letter to impeach her."

Before he finished speaking, the Minister of War slapped his head and said, "Oh, I almost forgot that I have something to do at home today. I'll leave first."

Others followed suit, "I promised my mother that I would buy Wu Ji's Osmanthus Duck when I go back. If it's any later, she won't be able to buy it."

"I have to go to Renjitang to get a prescription. I'm leaving now."

"I feel sick to my stomach, so I need to go to the toilet."

After a while, everyone left, leaving only Ci Fu alone.

Cishou: ...

Haha, these men think one thing, say one thing, and act another way.

No matter how loudly they yell, no one really wants to be enemies with Mu Wanqing, huh.

Mu Wanqing didn't care about this. She was doing the finishing work before the New Year and was very busy. The Ministry of Revenue was the busiest.

The other five departments were put on the agenda to jointly host the city's lantern festival, but having more people does not mean more strength. Instead, they were arguing with each other, had different opinions, and made slow progress.

The emperor couldn't stand it anymore and asked each department to be in charge of a section of the road.

Xuanwu Street is the main long street in the capital, leading from the South Gate to the front of the Imperial Palace.

The entire lantern festival will revolve around the entire Xuanwu Street and end at the thoroughfare next to the imperial city.

The most lively event in the capital is the New Year Lantern Festival, which is held with great fanfare, and several businesses have been selected to develop cooperation.

Although the Mu Company was famous, it was not selected. Mu Wanqing was not angry because they had plenty of opportunities to make money.

During the New Year period, several food courts were open as usual. The Mu family were all shareholders and still made a lot of money, so there was no need for them to get involved in everything.

It was the last day, Mu Wanqing put down her brush, and finally finished this year's work.

"Master, the Prime Minister is here."

Mu Wanqing was stunned for a moment. The new Prime Minister was a man who never took the lead in anything, and was instead suppressed by the Second Prime Minister.

He never looked for her. What happened?

"Please come in."

The Prime Minister had white hair and a kind face. He came in and exchanged a few pleasantries before getting straight to the point. "Princess Qingping, I discovered something and came here to tell you about it."

His expression was unusually serious, and Mu Wanqing's heart couldn't help but tighten.

The author has something to say:

Note (1) From Baidu.