Three years into his reign, he worked tirelessly from dawn till dusk, sleeping only two or three hours a day, and the dark circles under his eyes had become a constant feature.

Even so, the national treasury remained empty, the war in the northwest was intense, factional strife in the court was constant, and the undercurrents among his brothers made him feel like he had a thorn in his side.

He put down his pen, rubbed his temples, and his gaze fell on a confidential report on his desk.

It was a report about Lin Yun's recent situation, just delivered by his secret guards. His fingertips twitched slightly, and he finally unfolded it to read it carefully.

"The Lin family purchased land in the east of the city to build a rouge workshop, and has already produced three new products that have long-lasting color, elegant fragrance, and leave the skin supple and moisturized..."

As he read this, a slight smile unconsciously curved his lips. This woman always managed to surprise him.

From membership systems to loom improvements, and now to cosmetics, she seems to have endless whimsical ideas.

What's even more remarkable is that she acts decisively but is not greedy, and knows how to weigh the pros and cons. Even her thirteenth brother praised her highly.

"Fourth Brother, if this Miss Lin were a man, she would surely be a capable minister in times of peace."

Yinxiang's words still echoed in his ears, and Yongzheng's eyes darkened.

He got up and walked to the window. Gazing at the dark night sky, Yongzheng's thoughts drifted back to the inner palace.

Since his rebirth, he has had little interest in matters of love and sex.

Empress Ulanara was dignified and virtuous, but too rigid; Consort Nian was beautiful and gentle, but only wanted to win the emperor's favor; Consort Qi was domineering; Consort Xi was intelligent, but always had a bit of scheming in her heart.

As for the other princesses and concubines, their faces were not even clearly remembered.

In his past life, he had few children, and in this life, he had no intention of getting entangled with them. But then, a merchant's daughter entered his field of vision.

"She's not afraid of me at all."

Recalling the day she had her clothes taken, she clearly recognized the jade pendant with the dragon pattern, but pretended not to know it, her eyes gleaming with the cunning of a fox.

And the tea she brewed… Yongzheng’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly.

The tea instantly relieved my fatigue and even soothed the old injuries left by daily training.

The secret guards investigated for a long time but couldn't find anything special about the tea leaves, so they could only attribute it to her "craftsmanship".

"Lin family, how many secrets do you still have?"

While he was deep in thought, Su Peisheng reported softly, "Your Majesty, the Thirteenth Prince requests an audience."

"pass."

Yinxiang walked hurriedly, his brows furrowed with a hint of seriousness: "Fourth Brother, the eight major cloth merchants in Jiangnan have jointly submitted a petition protesting the new looms for 'disrupting market prices' and inciting artisans to cause trouble."

Yongzheng sneered, "Clowns." He had expected that someone would try to obstruct him, but he did not expect that these people would dare to openly defy the imperial court.

“Your Majesty has already ordered people to control the situation, but…” Yinxiang hesitated for a moment, “I fear that the Eighth Prince may be behind them.”

"Eighth Prince?" Yongzheng's eyes suddenly turned cold. He stared at the flickering candlelight, his thoughts drifting back to his past life.

The Eighth Prince, Yinzhi, had a gentle and refined appearance, but his smile concealed a sharp edge. His meticulous scheming in the court ultimately led to his imprisonment until his death.

He once personally wrote the imperial edict "Aqina," nailing his own brother, born of the same mother, to the pillar of shame. Thinking of it now, a chill inexplicably rises from my fingertips.

In this life, although the Eighth Prince was not imprisoned, he was not well-behaved either.

In recent years, they have repeatedly caused trouble over salt tax and canal transport issues, and now they have even extended their reach to the textile industry.

It seems that they would vehemently oppose anything he wanted to do.

“Partisan strife is ruining the country…” he muttered to himself.

Back then, the Eighth Prince formed cliques and pursued personal gain, seemingly enjoying boundless glory, but in reality, he had touched the emperor's sore spot.

The current resistance of Jiangnan cloth merchants to new opportunities is strikingly similar to the tactics of the Eighth Prince's Party in the past.

They thought they could coerce the court by using money to collude and incite strikes, but little did they know that Emperor Yongzheng, who sat on the dragon throne, hated these kinds of parasites the most!

He gripped the secret report on the table tightly, his eyes suddenly turning cold. The ruthless methods he used against the Eighth Prince in his past life would not change in this one.

Anyone who dares to obstruct the new policies is courting death.

"Continue the investigation." Yongzheng said in a stern tone, "If the evidence is conclusive, I don't mind purging the corrupt officials again."

Yinxiang acknowledged the order and withdrew, and the hall returned to silence. Yongzheng stroked his thumb ring, recalling Lin Yun's words—

"What's so special about clothes being scarce? Ordinary people can't even afford coarse cloth, so why should they stop others from living a good life?"

At that time, her eyes were sharp, like a sword drawn from its sheath.

This is completely different from the hypocritical kindness of the Eighth Prince that I remember.

"Perhaps there are truly people in this world who are purely dedicated to their country and its people."

Yongzheng loosened his fingers, picked up the teacup beside him, the tea had long since gone cold, but his heart was burning like a fire.

Her thoughts suddenly shifted to another piece of news from the secret guards today: Xie Yu frequently entered and left the Lin residence, ostensibly to discuss business, but his eyes were always glued to her.

Yongzheng's gaze darkened.

The Xie family were imperial merchants, and Xie Yu appeared humble on the surface, but was actually very ambitious.

His approach to Lin Yun was probably not just for the jewelry designs.

What's even more infuriating is that when Lin Yun saw him off that day, Xie Yu actually dared to call her "Yunniang"!

"A mere merchant like yourself, dares to challenge me?"

His knuckles tapped on the table, producing a dull thud.

Yongzheng suddenly realized that he was angry over a woman's form of address. This emotion came out of nowhere, yet it made his chest feel tight.

If she knew my identity, would she still dare to be so composed? Perhaps she already knew... but she's just pretending not to.

The thought flashed through my mind, but I quickly suppressed it.

He enjoyed their time together: she didn't know he was an emperor, her words were devoid of flattery, and she even dared to contradict his suggestions. He, in turn, could relax and no longer had to constantly maintain the air of imperial authority.

But Xie Yu, he shouldn't show up again.

“Su Peisheng,” Yongzheng suddenly spoke.

"Your servant is here."

"Go to the private treasury and pick out a few bolts of Yun brocade, and also choose a set of ruby ​​headdresses. Tomorrow..." He paused, a dark glint flashing in his eyes, "...send them to the Lin residence for me."

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