Upon hearing this, Jiang Shuwan nodded, but when she saw what the villagers were eating, she felt even more distressed.

"Why is it all watery?"

During the busy farming season, even the poorest families would cook a few bowls of dry food to eat while working in the fields.

Especially for those who do manual labor, food is essential for strength.

But at a glance, she noticed that everyone—children, women, and even the hardworking men—was drinking thin, watery beverages.

The autumn harvest has just begun, and there's already no surplus grain?

"Young mistress, you don't know this, but they used to be able to afford to eat dry food. It's just that recently there have been rumors that taxes will be increased again, so they have to be careful with their food rations. Otherwise, they won't be able to pay the taxes and will have to sell land or their children. Life is getting harder and harder."

Hearing what the head of the manor said, Jiang Shuwan felt even more upset. She couldn't muster any energy when eating crabs that night, and her mind was filled with thoughts of Eunuch Su from the palace.

In his previous life, this Eunuch Su was a man who skillfully navigated between the fourth prince and Pei Yanzhi for the sake of power and status.

You can't back down when it comes to me. We're all in it for promotion and wealth, so how can I treat you differently?

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but feel heavy-hearted. A month had passed since the first mention of commercial taxes, but there had been no word from Eunuch Su.

Can such enormous profits from commercial tax reform really be deterred by the phrase "eunuchs cannot interfere in politics"?

While Jiang Shuwan was so worried she couldn't eat, Eunuch Su in the palace was also looking distressed.

He had not seen the emperor for almost a month. As a eunuch, he could not even see the emperor, which was almost equivalent to losing power.

Of the four trusted eunuchs around His Majesty, he was the worst off—but that wasn't the hardest part. The hardest part was that his nemesis, the Grand Eunuch, was currently the most successful.

During the period when the eunuch in charge of the seal was in power, he didn't get a single decent job, except for collecting money a few times on Donglai Street.

However, the credit for transporting the money was stolen by the eunuch in charge. For a whole month, His Majesty didn't even think of him or summon him.

Looking at his dwindling number of sons and the increasingly less refined dishes and drinks, Grandpa Su had a bad feeling.

With a sorrowful expression, he drank the last glass of fruit wine and stumbled as he went to the study.

"Godfather, why do you reek of alcohol?"

The person on duty in the Imperial Study was his godson, who was greatly surprised when he saw Eunuch Su's appearance.

Eunuch Su used to be respectable and cautious, but now he actually entered the study reeking of alcohol. Luckily, His Majesty was in the inner room, otherwise he wouldn't even know how he died.

"This, I was so careless."

Realizing he had committed a capital offense, Eunuch Su was also terrified.

This can't go on.

Forget about wealth and glory, you'll lose your life.

Just then, several memorials were thrown out from inside, and the old emperor's roaring voice came through.

"Hurry up, hurry up, hurry up! You're driving me crazy!"

"I told you I have no money, but you're still pressuring me!"

"If I had money, I wouldn't skimp on the food allowance for the frontier soldiers, even if someone else were missing. I had no other choice!"

"If you're so capable, then stop rushing me. Go earn your own money!"

The old emperor was so angry that he said "I" to himself. With his furious shout, several military officers were kicked out by the eunuchs in a panic.

"What's wrong? Did you upset His Majesty again?"

Avoiding the eyes of these military officers, Eunuch Su was served by a young eunuch who rinsed his mouth and wiped his hands. Only after the smell of alcohol dissipated did he dare to peek inside.

"What else could it be? It's all about money." The little eunuch had an expression that said it was nothing new.

"Is His Majesty short of money again? That shouldn't be the case. I just brought back 50,000 taels of silver from Donglai Street yesterday."

When Eunuch Su mentioned the silver, he looked utterly astonished.

He had been back and forth on Donglai Street several times already. He knew that glass was a hot commodity, loved not only by literati and scholars, but also by noblewomen.

The glass shops on Donglai Street made a fortune.

Especially during the initial period after the business opened, the time when Jiang Shuwan and I sold the glass pearl to foreign merchants, the old emperor really made a fortune.

However, the initial boom period has passed, but the glass business continues to bring the old emperor a profit of 100,000 taels of silver every month.

Even someone as close to the emperor as he was considered a considerable sum of money.

This was especially timely help for the old emperor, who was in dire need of money.

Of course, the famine costing tens of millions of taels of silver couldn't be filled, but it could at least give the old emperor a couple of days of peace. However, it seemed to him that His Majesty was becoming more and more irritable every day.

"Father, you may not know this, but since His Majesty gave the Prince of Pingnan 100,000 taels of silver as military pay last month, the news somehow got to the ears of the border troops in the east and west."

"Good heavens, both of the border generals think His Majesty is rich. Not only did they submit memorials urging for military pay, but they also instigated several military officers to cry and make a scene in front of His Majesty."

“These were all big, burly men, high-ranking officials of the second or third rank. They cried like women and wouldn’t leave until they were paid. His Majesty was so angry that he almost smashed the imperial seal.”

Eunuch Su was shocked. "Are they really so shameless? And they even threatened His Majesty?"

As he spoke, Eunuch Su was so angry that he puffed out his beard and glared at his opponent.

In the inner room of the Imperial Study, the old emperor was so angry that he almost fainted.

Was it easy for him to be emperor? Other emperors were indulging in eating, drinking, and merrymaking, with three thousand concubines in their harems.

He started cutting expenses as soon as he took office, and in recent years he has been so short of money that he has resorted to accepting bribes.

You should know that he took the money from Donglai Street at the risk of being infamous for eternity.

This money should have been his private savings, and he could have kept it for himself.

But for the sake of this world, he poured all that money into it.

Unexpectedly, he didn't hear a single good word, and was even accused by the two border generals of being biased, only thinking about the north and south when it came to money.

Good heavens!

This is too difficult!

This is too difficult!

The old emperor slumped dejectedly on the bright yellow embroidered dragon table, wanting to rest. But when he looked up, all he saw were memorials demanding money.

Military pay and food rations all come down to money.

Thinking about it this way, General Sun from the North becomes much more endearing, even though rebuilding the northern border defenses also requires a lot of money.

General Sun didn't ask him for a single penny; instead, he used all the income from the glass workshop to pay for it.

What a loyal subject!

He can't share the money he earns with me; his share should also be used for national development.

Waaaaaahh ...

So touching~

Inside the room, the old emperor was moved to tears.

Outside, Eunuch Su was also shocked to hear about General Sun's actions.

"So loyal to the country?"

"Others are worried about inequality rather than scarcity, but he is a loyal minister and a filial son. His Majesty must be very moved."

"That's right. I heard from the Grand Eunuch that His Majesty plans to issue an edict to confer a marquis title upon General Sun after he has repaired the border defenses."

"..."

Eunuch Su's heart skipped a beat.