Emperor Hui nodded and said to Gu Shaoyu, "Grand Secretary Gu, please speak!"

Gu Shaoyu didn't take the Crown Prince's mockery to heart; a half-smile remained on his lips.

A pair of long, narrow eyes with elegantly upturned corners, their gaze flowing, their black and white clearly defined, their spirit restrained.

Amidst everyone's anticipation, he spoke with neither arrogance nor servility.

"Once my generous offer was made, the Tibetans, with their children and grandchildren, began frantically digging for snow silkworm grass. Starting from the beginning of summer, most of the Tibetan population participated, and all the grasslands and snowfields in Tibet were dug up... Snow silkworm grass is scarce, and a total of more than sixty boxes of this iron box of cordyceps have been dug up and have been sent over one after another."

"I bought back the snow silkworm grass and sold it to the herbal medicine merchants to recoup my costs."

"Using the money that had been used to recoup the costs, we continued to acquire more, and doubled the price again from the original price."

"The Tibetan people relied on digging up snow silkworm grass to earn money, neglecting the cultivation of local crops and the growth and reproduction of grass roots. Summer planting and autumn sowing were not carried out."

"In another six months, Tibet's grain reserves will be depleted, and we can expand our territory without bloodshed!"

He handed over the official document in his hand and said, "This is the document for the purchase that I arranged with Tibet. If Tibet is unwilling to continue supplying snow silkworm grass, they will compensate us a hundredfold."

Tibet has no way out, no matter what.

The man stood in the center of the hall, his back tall and imposing, like a mountain, stable and powerful, or like a rising sun piercing the darkness of dawn, casting down the light of hope. His calm and composed demeanor drew all eyes to him; his undeniable aura silenced those who had just been secretly mocking him.

But he only turned to look at Xie Zhaozhao, like a child begging for candy: Little darling, how am I?

Xie Zhaozhao smiled radiantly: Man, you can do it!

Emperor Hui smiled, extremely pleased.

Although the gifts from others were given with great care, they were insignificant compared to "expanding territory".

"Good, Grand Secretary Gu, you have done very well." Emperor Hui stood up and said excitedly, "You truly deserve to be called the most capable minister in this great undertaking."

Emperor Hui truly believed that his assessment of him as the most capable minister was genuine.

Every emperor has a dream of expanding his territory. Who doesn't hope that the land inherited from their ancestors will prosper and the territory will become more and more expansive in their hands?

The late emperor barely managed to maintain the status quo. Wasn't he the one who repeatedly bowed to the Wei family for most of his life just to protect the ancestral land?

When it comes to this great undertaking, no one is more noble than Emperor Hui, and no one is more frustrated than Emperor Hui!

Ordinary people might still be able to act recklessly when they suffer injustice, but he couldn't be reckless at all for the sake of his ancestors' country.

If he can expand his territory, any stains on his record will be wiped out.

Consort Xi curled her lips, but did not laugh out loud.

Beside her was Empress Wei. Actually, she was happy too. She was a daughter of the Wei family, but she was the Empress who was in charge of the great cause. Only if the great cause was done well could she, as Empress, be well.

The Crown Prince never expected the slap in the face to come so quickly and so ruthlessly!

Lord Chengen is right. You can mess with anyone, but you can't mess with Gu Shaoyu!

I felt frustrated, but I was powerless to refute it!

I don't know why, but I'm starting to feel irritable again.

These days, he has been feeling troubled from time to time, probably because of the loss of his son and the Crown Princess? Right now, he felt a little listless and sleepy. He covered his face with his sleeve and yawned.

Once a yawn is released, it's as if a breach has appeared in a dam, and one yawn after another follows.

Shi Xiu, caught from his drowsiness, also felt sleepy and wanted to yawn, but he dared not yawn and could only hold it in, tears welling up in his eyes.

He hurried to the next room, dipped a handkerchief in cold water, and splashed it on his face, feeling slightly more awake.

His heart felt like it was being crawled by ants. He suddenly missed Tu Qianyue's fruit tea terribly. He hadn't had fruit tea all day, and he felt so uncomfortable that his internal organs felt like they were being scratched by cats.

He hurriedly returned to the main hall and saw that the Crown Prince was so listless that his eyes were red, and he looked a bit... like a mad dog?

Shi Xiu couldn't care less; he was in pain.

"Your Highness, shall I go back and fetch some pills for you?" The Crown Prince's arrow wound has mostly healed, but he has been left with aftereffects, experiencing itching and pain from time to time. He is very grateful for Tu Qianyue's panacea.

The prince nodded: "Go quickly, I feel my wound starting to hurt again."

As the two were talking, the Empress frowned and called Jin Ge, who was beside her, to ask the Crown Prince where he felt unwell and whether he should summon the imperial physician.

Jin Ge immediately went to ask the Crown Prince, and Shi Xiu answered for her: "Aunt Jin Ge, the thief shot Your Highness with an arrow. The wound has healed, but it has left a chronic illness. The wound has been itchy and painful. The imperial physician has examined it and said that the illness caused by that wound is not easy to heal."

Jin Ge was shocked and asked if she could hold out until the end of the palace banquet, as the Empress had other important matters to attend to.

The Crown Prince nodded: "It's alright. Tell the Empress Dowager that I have some pills. Once you take them, you'll be fine. Shi Xiu will go back to get them and will be back soon."

When Jin Ge returned to the Empress and told her what had happened, the Empress immediately felt sorry for her.

The Crown Prince lost two sons, lost his Crown Princess, was flogged a hundred times, and was shot with an arrow. He suffered great physical and mental damage. The fact that he is still sitting here unharmed and not insane is truly worthy of being Wei Yingzi's son!

Shi Xiu left the palace in a flash, first riding to the East City, and when he arrived at Guan Yingying's teahouse, he saw that it was dark inside and realized that it was New Year's Eve, so why would they be open for business?

He hurriedly ran back to the Crown Prince's residence, trembling uncontrollably. He was hallucinating, seeing the iron box as a tea box.

He smiled and said, "Miss Tu, you've finally brought the tea? This is my favorite."

He grabbed one of the panaceas and popped it into his mouth, muttering to himself, "Why did you change the recipe? It's not tea, it's some kind of snack!"

The aura emanating from the pill deeply attracted him, and he couldn't help but put one in his mouth and eat it.

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