Yao Zhijie was stunned for a moment before he reacted, "You have a way?"

"Want to hear it? If you do, then do it."

Hearing him say that, Yao Zhijie felt like he was being torn between two demons.

A devil who looks somewhat human should be told to think about the people of the world.

A devil told him to mind his own business, lest his family be destroyed.

After hesitating for a long time, Yao Zhijie still curiously leaned in and whispered to him. Yao Zhijie occasionally showed a surprised expression.

"Your Majesty, would you really do that? Aren't you dreaming? There has never been such a thing in history!"

“Why not? There’s always a first time. Your Majesty has no one to rely on right now, nor does he have a suitable heir apparent. If Your Majesty agrees to let me get involved in this matter, it will be a good opportunity to train me. With this experience, I can get a good result in the imperial examination next year. When I enter the court, I can win the hearts of the people and support the heir apparent.”

"And what about our Yao family?"

“I am not currently in official service, so it is absolutely impossible for me to be in charge of commercial tax laws. His Majesty does not want the First Prince or the Crown Prince to get involved in this matter. The Sixth Prince has no power or influence, so having him in charge represents His Majesty’s attitude.”

"Got it, the Sixth Prince is just a mascot, and our Yao family is just your lackeys. So if we offend someone, the credit won't go to us, right?" Yao Zhijie said angrily. "How can you be so blatantly scheming against people? Are you even human? You're just taking advantage of your brothers like this?"

"Just tell me if you're going to do it or not?"

Pei Yanzhi was too lazy to waste words with him. They had been friends for twenty years, so there was no need to talk about those empty words.

Yao Zhijie was almost driven mad by his attitude. He said angrily, "I'm really unlucky to have associated with him. Wait a minute, I'll go back and ask. I can't make the decision on this."

As they finished speaking, dawn was breaking, and Yao Zhijie quickly put on his cloak and left through the back door.

She was clutching her stomach as she walked.

He really shouldn't have come here; why did he have to take on this thankless and exhausting task when he could have had a good time?

But.

Why is he getting a little agitated again?

Just then, a voice came from the side.

"Who are you?"

He turned around and saw a pretty woman standing under the courtyard wall.

She was dressed in an apricot-yellow dress, with white pearl flowers in her hair, and her round, adorable eyes. Her demeanor and bearing clearly indicated that she was a maid.

He can't be seen by anyone.

Yao Zhijie quickly covered his face, bowed and said, "Miss, I'm sorry, I'm a new cleaner and I'm not familiar with the roads in the mansion. I went to the wrong place."

After saying that, he turned and left, but after a few steps, he came back and asked, "Excuse me, how do I get to the back door?"

"..."

Pei Shushu pointed to the right speechlessly.

"Thank you, Miss. I'll take my leave now."

Pei Shushu frowned as she watched his retreating figure disappear quickly.

"Fourth Miss, what's wrong?" a maid carrying two bowls of bird's nest soup asked as she walked over.

"It's nothing. Let's take the bird's nest to the young master's sister-in-law first. I heard she's been very busy lately, so this is a good way to nourish her."

Pei Shushu turned her gaze away and walked towards Jiang Shuwan's courtyard, but her mind was still on the person from earlier.

Oh.

They even called me "Miss," do they really think I'm stupid?

His behavior was sleazy, and he was wrapped in a dirty cloak; he looked like a thief and must have come in to steal something.

Never mind, the Crown Prince's sister-in-law said that many people have been having a hard time lately, so let's just pretend we didn't see it.

Anyway, judging from his stupid appearance, he wasn't a smart thief at all. He was empty-handed, probably hadn't even stolen half a steamed bun, which is why he rushed off to the wrong place in such a panic.

She should be magnanimous and let him off the hook.

********

Pei Yanzhi's courtyard.

This wasn't Yao Zhijie's first time visiting the Marquis's residence; he knew the area very well. Xiao Wu didn't see him off; instead, he refilled Pei Yanzhi's teacup.

"Your Highness, does the Fourth Prince truly have no ideas about commercial tax laws?"

“If you drink tea again, the young master will have even less time to sleep,” Yin Quan thoughtfully replaced the tea with warm water. “Also, how could the Fourth Prince not have any ideas about commercial taxes? Three years ago, the Gu family of Pingzhou, one of the eight great families, had their patriarch suddenly pass away. When the Gu family members returned to attend the funeral, they were ambushed and killed by the Fourth Prince on the way. More than a hundred men, women, and children were killed without a single survivor.”

"After that, the capable male members of the Gu family either died of illness or drowned, and the Gu family of Pingzhou existed in name only."

"Afterwards, the Duke of Chen, who lent money at exorbitant interest rates, also lost his title. It was the Fourth Prince who stirred things up behind the scenes. His Majesty was furious and imprisoned Madam Chen. When Madam Chen's son went to visit her in prison, the Fourth Prince actually sent someone to poison her food. If it weren't for the Crown Prince secretly replacing the pastries, the Crown Prince of Chen would have been accused of poisoning his mother long ago."

"I wonder how the Gu family of Pingzhou and the Chen family of Shangjing offended the Fourth Prince, that they would resort to such ruthless tactics."

"It is precisely because of the Chen family that the young master has come into the Fourth Prince's sights. Young master, I am worried that if the Fourth Prince fails to recruit you, he may resort to killing you."

Yin Quan spoke with concern, looking at his young master, who had a calm expression and was focused on the chessboard.

He only had one piece left.

“I roughly know what he’s going to do, but he’s too impatient. Hunters… are most afraid of being impatient.”

As he spoke, he casually placed the last piece on the chessboard.

With that, the game of chess came to an end.

And so he began a long wait. In his opinion, it wasn't that the wait was long, but rather that Xiao Wu was impatient and eagerly awaited news from the palace every day.

On the other side, Jiang Shuwan was also waiting for news from the palace.

After all, the memorial to increase commercial taxes had already been submitted, and the old emperor had agreed to do it. If they couldn't select officials to carry it out, wouldn't all their efforts be in vain?

However, she still believed in the old emperor. After all, he was so poor that he accepted tribute money. How could he possibly allow the commercial tax law to fail?

How can the famine caused by this be repaid?

Where is the emperor's majesty?

Many officials in the court, as well as the eldest prince, the crown prince, the empress, and Consort Gao, were all paying attention to this matter.

Commercial taxes are clearly the most important policy decree of the Great Jing Dynasty this autumn.

As the days went by, Consort Li finally delivered a bowl of chicken soup that had been simmering for three days and three nights to the Emperor's palace.

The old emperor had been so worried about the commercial taxes that he couldn't eat. Seeing this bowl of chicken soup that Consort Li had personally cooked filled him with emotion.

"It must be tough on Consort Li. I heard that the Imperial Concubine has been making things difficult for her lately?"

As Eunuch Su served the old emperor soup with a smile, he heard this and said with a smile, "It's not that difficult. The Noble Consort is exceptionally beautiful and it is her good fortune to be willing to instruct Consort Li. Besides, the Noble Consort must be jealous. After all, His Majesty has been summoning Consort Li to serve him recently. The Noble Consort misses His Majesty and can't help but feel a little jealous."

"Hmph, it was fine before, but how old is she now, still acting like a little girl? How can she be a role model for the other concubines? And last time, during the funeral of the Dowager Consort, several palace maids drowned. Issue my decree that Consort Gao has lost her virtue and is unfit to manage the six palaces, and that the Empress should take over the reins of the harem."