The hall fell silent.

A eunuch came out and lifted the curtain.

Xiao Yuanshuang then noticed that the old emperor had sunken eyes and a bluish nose.

This is a sign that someone is about to die.

That's great.

The old emperor was panting heavily, his throat feeling like it was stuffed with a wad of cotton.

"Shuang'er...cough cough cough..."

"Father, please take care of yourself. It is a pity that your daughter cannot share your burdens."

Xiao Yuanshuang calculated that the officials she had arranged should be arriving soon.

Sure enough, the next moment, Lord Pi's voice requesting an audience rang out from outside the hall.

Lord Pi previously served as an envoy to the Yue Kingdom and has returned.

Although things were a complete mess, the two of them joined forces with Xiao Yuanshuang.

They're turning black into white and shifting the blame to the second prince.

The two picked them clean.

In a way, the two are in the same boat.

Through some maneuvering, Lord Pi was promoted and became an official in the Ministry of Revenue.

The Minister of Revenue fell ill after Xiao Yuanshuang returned.

Now, all matters, big and small, of the Ministry of Revenue are decided by Lord Pi.

After Lord Pi entered, he hurriedly knelt on the ground.

"Your Majesty, the continuous heavy rains today have caused severe damage in the northern region."

"The Ministry of Revenue has prepared a flood control budget overnight, and we would like to request Your Majesty's review it."

The old emperor took the memorial with trembling hands, but the words on it looked like a swarm of ants.

They flew around in front of him.

The memorial fell to the ground with a thud.

The eunuch immediately helped pick it up.

At this moment, Xiao Yuanshuang stood up and took the memorial.

Standing at the old emperor's bedside, she said, "Your Majesty, let your daughter read the memorials to you."

"Please conserve your energy; the Yue Kingdom cannot do without you."

The old emperor closed his eyes weakly and nodded listlessly.

"Eleven counties were affected by the disaster, with 2,400 deaths and 70,000 mu of farmland destroyed."

"The Ministry of Revenue expects to allocate 1.5 million taels of silver."

"Of these, the national treasury contributed 500,000 taels, prominent families donated 700,000 taels, and Hengyue Money Shop received an advance payment of 300,000 taels."

"After receiving the Qingguo grant this year, I will repay Hengyue Money Shop with a 10% interest rate."

Ten percent interest means that for every hundred taels, one must repay one hundred and ten taels.

A loan of 300,000 taels would incur an interest of 30,000 taels.

This is not high at all for ordinary people.

Private lending typically incurs interest rates of at least 20%, and sometimes even 50%.

Hengyue Money Shop only offered a 10% interest rate, which was already quite low.

But the old emperor still sighed.

He waved his hand weakly, "Let's do it this way."

The Yue Kingdom was wealthy, but the money was all in the hands of powerful and aristocratic families. The royal family was wealthy, but the money was all in their private coffers.

Which member of the royal family would be willing to give their own money to the country?

No.

Everyone wanted to pocket the country's money.

Just like the 30,000 taels of silver that Hengyue Money Shop earned.

Not all of it went into Hengyue's pocket.

Instead, each family took a little, and the rest ended up in the pockets of the royal family.

Even when the emperor was young, he often used this method to get money from Hengyue Money Shop.

Once it reaches Hengyue Money Shop, it's considered good if 3,000 taels of the 30,000 taels are left.

The national treasury is empty.

no way.

After closing the folded document, Xiao Yuanshuang bent down and gently tucked the blanket around the old emperor.

"Father, please don't overwork yourself."

"Until you recover, let your daughter read the memorials to the emperor to you."

As he spoke, he gently grasped the old emperor's hand.

Perhaps it was because he was about to die that the old emperor felt a long-lost sense of kinship.

He uttered a muffled "okay".

Xiao Yuanshuang suppressed the smile on her lips.

Next, she was so close to supreme power for the first time.

At first, he was just helping the old emperor read memorials.

Then, the memorials were revised according to the old emperor's wishes.

Finally, in the emperor's bedchamber, he summoned the ministers on behalf of the old emperor.

The ministers knelt on the ground, while the old emperor lay on his couch.

She was the only one standing.

The groveling of powerful officials, the lives and deaths of countless ordinary people, and all the wealth of the world now belong to her.

Is this what power tastes like?

Xiao Yuanshuang constantly reminded herself to be careful and not to let her guard down until the very last moment.

Until one day, she received an inconspicuous message.

"Your Highness, are you familiar with Blue Sky Bank?"

"I know. Backed by Lan Family Fortress, it is actually the official bank of the Qing Kingdom, just like Hengyue Bank."

What happened to Blue Sky Bank?

Xiao Yuanshuang put down her brush and looked at Lord Pi.

Master Pi chuckled.

“There was a cloth shop that was having cash flow problems and couldn’t borrow money from any money lenders.”

"But I actually managed to borrow money from Lantian Money Exchange!"

"Fifty thousand taels of silver, with an interest rate of eight percent."

So low?

Even Xiao Yuanshuang was stunned this time.

Master Pi continued, "The key point is that when others go to borrow money, as long as they have real estate, farmland, or shops under their name, they can use them as collateral."

"It was all borrowed at an interest rate of 8%."

"The maximum loan amount is 500,000 taels."

Xiao Yuanshuang immediately stood up. "Has Blue Sky Bank gone mad?"

"Is there any investigation?"

"We've investigated. There's nothing unusual going on in Qingguo, nor in Lantian Money Shop or Lanjiabao."

"I heard that the master and his wife of Lan Family Fortress came down the mountain a few days ago."

"It seems they've found their long-lost grandson."

Lord Pi recounted everything he had investigated.

Xiao Yuanshuang immediately had an idea: "Find a reliable person and use my private assets to borrow money from Lantian Bank."

"Borrow as much as you can."

"Then they would take out a mortgage and lend it out at an interest rate of twenty, no, fifteen."

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