He paused, glanced at Prime Minister Lin's expression, and bluntly stated Jiang Mingli's thoughts, "To put it bluntly, aren't you just upset that the Ministry of Revenue lost to a five-year-old county princess?!"

The cabinet consisted of three Grand Secretaries, each in charge of two ministries. The Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Justice were controlled by Chief Grand Secretary Lin, while the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of War were under the command of Grand Secretary Zhang, and Grand Secretary Li was in charge of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Works.

Jiang Mingli's face turned pale and then red upon hearing this.

Madam Su pulled Xiao Youran aside, saying, "Now that we have finished our duel as ordered, I will take my leave with my daughter."

Little Youran didn't move. She looked at Prime Minister Lin and said cutely, "Grandpa Lin, what about the reward you promised me?"

Prime Minister Lin nodded. "Hmm, what does the young princess want?"

Xiao Youran thought for a moment, then pointed at Jiang Mingli, "Can I ask him to become my disciple?"

Prime Minister Lin was taken aback, then said with difficulty, "Young County Princess, although Lord Jiang is my subordinate, his decision to become my disciple is entirely his own choice. If he is unwilling, I cannot force him."

Jiang Mingli's expression turned even uglier.

He wanted to become this little niece's apprentice?

Are you kidding me!

Even if it means death, he would never become her disciple!

...

At this moment, a voice rang out from behind the screen in the center of the hall, "I think this method is feasible!"

Upon hearing this, everyone in the hall knelt down and shouted three times, "Long live the Emperor!" and "Long live the Empress!"

Su and Xiao Youran were filled with doubt and surprise.

Emperor Shunqing and Consort Zhou emerged from behind the screen. "Rise."

He said to Jiang Mingli, "In my opinion, the county princess's method is feasible. Even you, the Minister of Revenue, have taken her as your teacher. If other officials in the Ministry of Revenue follow suit, it won't be a disgrace!"

Jiang Mingli's lips twitched violently as he restrained himself from uttering the words that were about to spill out.

They won't lose face, but he'll lose face big time!

Who is this five-year-old? It's his niece!

Emperor Shunqing seemed to understand his thoughts and said, "You are being ordered to become a disciple, so there's nothing shameful about it."

Jiang Mingli: ...

Emperor Shunqing then asked Grand Secretary Zhang, "Grand Secretary Zhang, you always say that women should adhere to their duties, supporting their husbands and raising their children. Little do you know that there are always people more capable than you, and there is always something beyond your understanding. Throughout history, those with outstanding talents have not been confined to women or children. As long as one is capable, one can be a teacher, imparting knowledge and skills. Is that right?"

Grand Secretary Zhang was speechless.

Grand Secretary Lin praised, "Your Majesty is absolutely right. The young county princess is exceptionally talented and worthy of being a teacher. I agree with Your Majesty's proposal. This move also has a tremendous benefit: if the young county princess's methods of numerology are promoted throughout the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Revenue can then promote these new methods to the registrar officials of various prefectures and counties. Wouldn't that solve the entire Great Zhou's accounting predicament? I further propose that the young county princess be appointed as a teacher at the Imperial Academy to teach the students of the world these new numerological methods, for the sake of the Great Zhou for hundreds or thousands of years!"

These words caused an uproar in the audience.

Emperor Shunqing actually began to seriously consider the possibility and necessity of having this five-year-old girl teach the Ministry of Revenue and then teach students throughout the country.

Madam Su was startled and quickly declined, "Your Excellency, you flatter me. My daughter is still too young to shoulder such a heavy responsibility."

Consort Zhou stepped forward. "You must be Consort Huihe. I have heard of you before. With such a wise mother as you, the young princess must be even more astute."

Madam Su quickly bowed and greeted the Imperial Concubine.

With just a few words, Consort Zhou decided the fate of Jiang Mingli, the officials of the Ministry of Revenue, and even the future of all the scholars in the country: "His Majesty's words are law, so let the child try. Even if he can't be taught well, he's just a five-year-old child, what's there to say? Your Majesty, don't you agree?"

With her last sentence, she once again relinquished the decision-making power to Emperor Shunqing.

Emperor Shunqing was overjoyed. "The Consort is absolutely right. Even if she can't be taught well, who would blame a five-year-old girl? Let's do it that way. Also," he turned to Madam Su, "I heard from Lord Ye that Minister Su is also familiar with the new accounting methods? Why don't Minister Su also teach these new accounting methods to all the officials in the Ministry of Revenue, and then the Ministry of Revenue can disseminate them to the officials in charge of household registration in each prefecture and county!"

The six officials from the Ministry of Revenue responded loudly in unison, "Yes!", their voices tinged with excitement.

This was like a godsend! Although they didn't yet know what the new accounting method was, with Xiao Youran's rapid calculation demonstration, they could almost imagine that it would be an effective way to improve the national treasury's clearing. Moreover, they had long suffered from the difficulty of clearing accounts, mainly because the account books submitted by the various prefectures and counties were presented in inconsistent formats, which gave them a real headache!

If a standardized format were widely adopted, it would be much easier for them to verify accounts!

Upon hearing this last sentence, Jiang Mingli felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

Is he... not only going to become Xiao Youran's disciple, but also to become the disciple of this former second sister-in-law?

Emperor Shunqing then turned to Grand Secretary Zhang, "Grand Secretary Zhang, Minister Jiang, Chief Minister Lin is right. It is the right thing to do to liquidate the national treasury as soon as possible! The former Minister of Revenue is still waiting in the Dali Temple dungeon!"

Grand Secretary Zhang's expression was as ugly as could be. Did the Emperor mean that the failure to properly clean up the national treasury was entirely his responsibility? While the Ministry of Revenue was under his jurisdiction, strictly speaking, that wasn't entirely wrong…

Moreover, the former Minister of Revenue was imprisoned for embezzlement. Is the Emperor waiting for the results of the national treasury liquidation, and also for the outcome of the former Minister of Revenue's case? What is the Emperor implying?

Grand Secretary Zhang was speechless.

Seeing that Grand Secretary Zhang had lowered his head, Emperor Shunqing laughed heartily and left the Imperial Pavilion.

Before leaving, he glanced at Madam Su and said, "Now that Consort Huihe has entered the palace, she should pay her respects to the Imperial Concubine as is customary after this matter is settled."

Su and Xiao Youran both replied in unison, "Yes."

The emperor left with Consort Zhou, and the three chief ministers also left, and the other officials dispersed.

At this moment, Xiao Youran looked at Jiang Mingli, but Jiang Mingli avoided her gaze with an unpleasant expression.

The six officials who had been sparring with her realized what was happening and, overjoyed, knelt down before her, weeping, and exclaimed, "Greetings, Master!"

I'm being ordered to become an apprentice; what's shameful about that?

Moreover, these six people had already wanted to become her disciples to learn the new methods of divination, so they naturally had no psychological burden.

Thinking that they still had a master, the group exchanged glances and changed their address, saying to Xiao Youran, "Greetings, little master of the county princess," and then turning to Madam Su, "Greetings, great master of the Yiren."

Su: ...

Little Youran kept her eyes fixed on Jiang Mingli, straightened her small body, and said in a clear and steady voice, "My...master, please, by imperial decree, accept my apprenticeship!"

Jiang Mingli felt a mouthful of blood choke in his chest.

He originally thought that Xiao Youran would call him "Uncle" and say a few nice words to give him a way out, but he didn't expect her to say such a thing.

That's so heartbreaking!

Upon seeing this, Madam Su simply smiled faintly, "You Ran, it's alright. There's plenty of time. Systematically teaching new numerology and accounting methods is not something that can be accomplished overnight, so why rush it?"

The four words "There's plenty of time in the future" pierced Jiang Mingli's heart like four arrows.

How is he supposed to live like this?