Seeing the wolf lying so obediently in front of Su Muyao, everyone returned to their original positions.

The banquet began soon after.

Su Muyao rested her chin on her hand, watching the dancer beside her, marveling at her slender waist.

The carefree prince addressed the emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, I heard that while I was away from the capital, the little princess contributed to a high yield of grain, with each mu (unit of land area) producing 3,000 jin (unit of weight) of grain."

Your Majesty, you know how difficult it is for the soldiers here. I have heard that the people are not only able to eat their fill, but also have surplus grain that they can sell.

"I propose increasing taxes to support the soldiers on the border. What is Your Majesty's opinion?"

Su Muyao gritted her teeth as she stood to the side, thinking how the people were being exploited just when they were finally able to have enough to eat.

The emperor, seated high on his throne, also clenched his fists silently. Not to mention that the military rations under the Prince of Xiaoyao's command had always been distributed by the imperial court and had never been embezzled.

He said that his men had already defected to the enemy country, and based on that alone, he would never allocate any more money to the army.

"I think this matter should be put aside for now. After all, the people have been barely surviving due to the drought these past few years. Now that they can barely make ends meet, increasing taxes will only make the people uneasy. This matter can be discussed later."

Upon hearing this, the carefree prince had no intention of letting the emperor off the hook. He continued, "With war raging on the border, Your Majesty, you may not be aware of the current situation in the capital. If funds are not allocated soon, we will not be able to hold the line."

Commander Yan echoed, "Your Majesty, it is indeed as the Prince of Xiaoyao said. If no funds are allocated, the border will certainly not be able to be defended. I hope Your Majesty can prioritize the overall situation."

These words caused a stir among the ministers, as those present today were mostly important officials of the court.

Some people naturally stand from the emperor's perspective, but as the carefree king said, if the border cannot be defended, the country will be destroyed and the family will perish.

"Your Majesty, I believe that tax revenue should be increased. 3,000 catties per mu is still too little compared to the previous tax rate."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I believe that adding a little more is a feasible method."

Subsequently, most of the ministers came to agree with the Prince of Xiaoyao's view.

At this moment, the Duke stood up and sighed softly: "Your Majesty, this old minister thinks this is absolutely unacceptable. The drought has just been resolved, and those refugees have just been settled and given land. Now, to increase taxes on a large scale is to leave those people with no way to survive."

Then the emperor at the head of the table nodded.

However, most of the ministers below had already agreed with the carefree king's view. They sincerely believed that if the great dynasty could not be defended, how could there be a peaceful and prosperous life?

In their view, as long as the great dynasty does not perish, they can continue to live a life of luxury.

How could the lives of ordinary people be compared to theirs? Some hypocrites even felt that sacrificing the small for the greater good and making some sacrifices for the dynasty was justifiable.

"We'll discuss this later; at least let the people get through the New Year peacefully!"

Prince Xiaoyao disagreed: "Your Majesty is mistaken. If we let the people live out the New Year, the soldiers on the frontier will only freeze to death in this cold winter."

These words carried a somewhat threatening tone.

The current emperor is practically being roasted on a hot stove; he knows all too well that the taxes of this great dynasty are already very heavy.

In addition, after so many years of drought, things are only just starting to look up. If taxes are increased again, it will surely cause the people to rise up and attack.

The prime minister, standing to the side, looked at Su Muyao, resting his chin on his hand and gazing with a look of enjoyment at the songstresses still dancing below.

Su Muyao also noticed out of the corner of her eye that the prime minister was looking at her.

He thought to himself that this old bald monk was definitely up to no good; look at the way he was looking at him, he might call him out any second.

Sure enough, no sooner had the thought crossed his mind than the Prime Minister asked Su Muyao a question.

"What are your thoughts on this matter, young princess?"

As soon as the Prime Minister said this, everyone turned to look at Su Muyao. In their dynasty, there was no such thing as women not being allowed to discuss the affairs of the court.

"Your Excellency, you flatter me. What insights could a five-year-old child like me possibly have?"

Upon hearing this, most of the veteran officials blushed with shame. Indeed, it was utterly ridiculous that they had placed their hopes on the young princess.

Just as everyone turned their attention away, Su Muyao spoke again: "I think this solution is quite easy, but I don't know if the Prince of Xiaoyao is willing to sacrifice himself to build a great dynasty."

The Carefree Prince looked up at Su Muyao and asked, "I wonder what kind of sacrifice the young princess desires from me?"

Then the little girl stood on her stool, looking down at the man opposite her. "Since the Prince of Xiaoyao feels that the military silver and grain sown every year are not enough to meet the needs of the soldiers, why not hand over this tiger tally to His Highness the Crown Prince?"

"I've heard that with the same provisions and troops, His Highness the Crown Prince not only feeds his soldiers but also has a surplus to distribute to the surrounding people."

Upon hearing this, the ministers all gasped in astonishment; this young princess was simply incredibly audacious.

They actually dared to demand that the Prince of Xiaoyao hand over the Tiger Tally; they were courting death. Everyone knows that the Prince of Xiaoyao values ​​military power above all else.

But then I thought about it again and it made sense, just as the little princess said. Other generals had enough of the same amount of food, but this carefree prince didn't have enough.

At this moment, Prince Xiaoyao suddenly stood up, drew his sword, pointed it at Su Muyao, and shouted: "You audacious brat, you actually want to sow discord between me and the Emperor. If you spread rumors here, don't blame me for getting rid of you, this scourge."

When the emperor saw that Prince Xiaoyao was about to kill the little princess in front of him, he immediately stood up, pointed at Prince Xiaoyao and roared: "Prince Xiaoyao, how dare you be so arrogant now, daring to draw your sword in front of the emperor and even kill the little princess."

The carefree prince slammed his knife directly onto the table: "I've been arrogant enough many times, you should know who the position behind you rightfully belongs to."

Upon hearing this, the emperor's expression changed rapidly, while the ministers below looked completely bewildered.

The Empress tugged at the Emperor's sleeve, urging him to composed himself.

Others may not know, but the Empress, as the man beside her, certainly knew that at that time, the carefree Prince was the most likely to sit on that throne.

He simply asked the late emperor to bestow upon him the title of Prince of Xiaoyao, wanting to live a carefree life and not participate in the struggles between royal families.

However, it was precisely because he did not want to participate in the power struggles within the royal family that he indirectly caused the death of his mother.

It was precisely because of this that he later tried every means to obstruct him and regain the throne, but by then he had no one in the court to support him.

“That’s all in the past. Now that I’m in this position, you, as my subject, should abide by your duty.”

The carefree prince felt that the current emperor was utterly disgusting.

"What is my duty? My duty is that I will not participate in your struggle for the throne. You will look down on me."

So you're willing to wrongly accuse a dutiful old woman, is that it?

As the carefree king spoke, his whole body visibly trembled. He would never forget that night.

Suddenly, he flicked his sleeve and said, "I'm making this clear today: the little princess is rude and reckless. Today, I'm going to take her life. Anyone who dares to stop me will be killed without hesitation!"