Chapter 012 I donate ten thousand taels!

Golden Peony Roll, the dough is rolled out with rose water and rolled into a thin layer, then wrapped with crab roe, matsutake mushrooms and chopped ham sprouts.

Amber Hibiscus Soup is made by simmering freshly squeezed deer milk at midnight, adding jade powder made from snow lotus, and solidifying it into a trembling jelly. The surface is sprinkled with candied roselle petals and crushed amber, and poured with a spoonful of osmanthus honey dew made from winter honey.

The Jade Delicate Buns are made with dough dyed with mugwort juice mixed with crushed jade snail shell powder. Fresh lotus leaves and perilla are placed under the buns when steaming. When they are taken out of the steamer, the aroma of mushrooms mixed with the smoky smell of pine needles hits you in the face.

The five-color morning glow porridge is made by simmering rouge rice, purple ginseng, green beans, golden dates, and white jade coix seeds in a clay pot for seven hours, and finally sprinkling in dried cuttlefish bone powder to enhance the flavor.

The four dishes from the imperial kitchen share one characteristic: a fragrant aroma.

The atmosphere in the side hall was very strange.

Qin Zhaoyue ate a sumptuous imperial meal, which was personally delivered by the Qingluan Guard, the imperial guards in the palace. This kind of treatment was probably only available to her mother, the queen.

But Qin Zhaoyue had a sullen face the whole time, and his eyes were like sharp knives, staring at the four Qingluan Guards.

God have mercy on me. On the second day of the journey, I got up at three o'clock and went to work at five o'clock!

Wasn't this what the top cattle and horses of my past life were like? Only slightly better than working overtime until dawn.

The four Qingluan Guards felt the strong resentment emanating from the Sixth Princess.

The other three people really didn't understand. After all, it was normal to attend court at the hour of Mao. What was there to resent? Only Sui Mo knew the reason.

She had regretted many times this morning. Why was she the one on duty in the imperial study yesterday? The Sixth Princess really couldn't get up.

As a captain of the Qingluan Guard, Sui Mo had come into contact with many secrets and believed that he was very good at judging people. At this time, he could sense that the Sixth Princess opposite him was truly full of resentment.

The spoon made a crisp sound against the porcelain wall, which was not in line with the rules for a princess, but she deliberately made this annoying noise, like a silent protest, which was... quite cute...

As the saying goes, seeing is believing, hearing is not. Sui Mo felt that the previous rumors about the Sixth Princess were too outrageous. It was clear that she was still a child who had not grown up.

"Your Highness, His Majesty's order..."

"I know, I know," Qin Zhaoyue waved his hands impatiently and sighed deeply.

"Forget it this time, just consider it for the people affected by the disaster. I will pledge donation later.

Go back and tell the Queen Mother that this is just this once, and it won't happen again."

Broken Ink: ...

How brave she is to say this to His Majesty. Is her head too heavy for her neck?

However, after finally completing the task, Sui Mo decided to just ignore it.

It was time for court to begin, and all the civil and military officials went up to the hall. When they were almost all in, Qin Zhaoyue saw an opportunity, walked out of the side hall, and went into the main hall.

They stood according to their ranks and six departments, with four princesses on the left and four princes on the right in the front.

Qin Zhaoyue took a look and silently stood behind Xiaojiu, because there was a pillar at the end of the team, which could save some energy by leaning against it.

Soon, Empress Qin Minghuang appeared and officially held court.

The first thing to be hit was the flood. The Ministry of Civil Affairs was describing the disaster and requesting funding, but the problem remained: the treasury was empty.

"Which of you, my dear, can help me solve this problem?"

The officials couldn't just let the conversation sit there in silence, so they put forward some suggestions one after another.

It's nothing more than raising taxes, imposing forced labor, and the short-sighted proposal to reduce military spending.

The Shufeng Dynasty in the north was knocking on the gates one after another, and military losses must not be reduced. As soon as these words were spoken, they immediately caused conflicts between the civil and military officials, and the court was arguing fiercely.

Qin Minghuang had a blank expression on his face. After asking a question at the beginning, he remained silent and let the officials argue.

Gradually, they all noticed something was wrong and the quarrel suddenly stopped.

The court suddenly became so quiet that you could hear a pin drop, and careful people would find that not only the empress, but also the prime minister and the six directors were not involved.

There was silence for a moment, and then the second prince took the initiative to stand up.

"Your Majesty, the disaster is now as severe as a raging fire, and disaster relief is imminent. I am deeply concerned and am willing to donate 20,000 taels of silver."

Many people in the court had unhappy expressions on their faces. Although they had thought about donating silver, this was already a common practice in major disasters, and it would still hurt when the time came.

But the one who was speaking was the second prince, who had a good reputation and his status was there, so who could say no?

The money has to be spent and most of the fame has to fall on other people's heads. It is naturally nothing for the second prince's followers, but one can imagine what the other officials think.

The eldest princess narrowed her eyes, and the faces of several princesses darkened.

The fundraising was proposed by the fourth brother, but it was just an ordinary idea. The person who actually perfected it was the sixth brother.

After the report in the imperial study yesterday, the three princesses did not want to take the credit and wanted Qin Zhaoyue to speak it out in person in the court.

Unexpectedly, this delay benefited the second brother.

The eldest princess was extremely angry. She looked back and was stunned.

The one sleeping against the pillar... is that Sixth Sister? It's Sixth Sister!

After the Second Prince said this, he was ready to accept the praise, but the court suddenly fell silent.

The officials were naturally unhappy because the prince had paid the silver and none of them could escape.

There was always a convention of descending from one level to another according to the grade, and who would be happy to pay for everything? But everyone noticed that the atmosphere was a little off.

Logically speaking, since the prince brought up this topic, His Majesty should have responded immediately.

Then all the princes and princesses followed suit, from the prime minister to the six directors, and gradually claimed appropriate donations.

But why didn't Your Majesty say anything? Why did he glance to the left with a sullen face?

Not only His Majesty, but the four princesses were also looking back. What were they looking at?

The eerie atmosphere was spreading rapidly. Those who were close immediately cast their gazes over, while some who couldn't see stretched their heads to peer. For a moment, you could hear a pin drop in the hall, until...

"Huff...Huff...Huff..." The snoring sound gradually rose.

Civil and military officials:!

Who is it? Who dares to sleep in the imperial court and snore?

Whose general is this, so brave?

Qin Minghuang's fists hardened, and his face looked so gloomy that water seemed to drip out of it.

She said that she didn't hear Xiaoliu's thoughts all morning, and it turned out that he had fallen asleep in the Phoenix Palace!

"Zhaoyue... Zhaoyue!"

The Ninth Princess was extremely anxious. She stood there without moving, and her mouth didn't seem to move, but she was actually calling out in a low voice.

God knows how much pressure she is under right now!

Perhaps he heard her call, or perhaps the atmosphere was too quiet, which made Qin Zhaoyue sense something unusual, and he suddenly opened his eyes with a start.

"I didn't sleep!"

Empress: ...

Four princesses: ...

Civil and Military Officials: ...

Qin Zhaoyue's heart skipped a beat, knowing something was wrong. To make amends as quickly as possible, he immediately raised his hand and said, "I'll donate 10,000 taels!"

These words... were so powerful!