However, in Emperor Beichen's heart, the donations still had to be made, and the national treasury still had to be replenished. So he continued to draft decrees, but in order to encourage the merchants to participate more actively, he stipulated that as long as the merchants made donations, the court would give them certain rewards and preferential policies, and the merchants who donated the most this time could also become imperial merchants.
As for what Han Yiyi wanted, Emperor Beichen thought of the people outside the city, closed his eyes slightly, and had a feeling of being ready to die, and spoke.
"You can go back now, come back tomorrow to pick up your things..."
So that night, because of Ye Li, Emperor Beichen did not enter the inner palace again, and instead visited several concubines.
The next morning, when Han Yi saw the "treasure" laid out in front of her, and noticed the dark circles under Emperor Beichen's eyes, she couldn't help but wonder if the emperor had gone to steal in the middle of the night...
When Emperor Beichen saw Han Yi looking over, he coughed lightly to hide the embarrassment in his eyes before speaking.
"Take it quickly, so that the people outside the city will suffer less..."
Now that Emperor Beichen already knows that he's going to use these things to exchange for medicine, Han Yiyi has started to keep it a secret. Right in front of Emperor Beichen, she puts those things into the system. When she hears the points announced by the system, Han Yiyi can't help but frown. She's actually more than 500,000 points short...
However, when Emperor Beichen saw what had vanished in an instant, his face turned pale with fright.
"You, you, this, this..." For some reason, at this moment, Emperor Beichen suddenly felt a little worried. If he made Han Yiyi unhappy, she might just make him disappear like this...
Seeing Emperor Beichen's reaction, Han Yiyi quickly offered an explanation.
"Your Majesty need not worry. This is something I obtained by chance. It contains some food and medicine. However, if you want the medicine, you need to exchange it for something. This is why I need these precious items..."
Upon hearing Han Yiyi's words, Emperor Beichen was no longer afraid, but he felt that this thing was too much of a rip-off, so he spoke up.
"Since the items have all been changed, then you should go outside the city and distribute the medicine to those people..." he said, and began to urge them on. He had been exhausted all night and needed to rest.
But after Emperor Beichen finished speaking, seeing that Han Yiyi had no intention of leaving, he really wanted to curse in his heart. He gritted his teeth before he finally opened his mouth to ask and answer.
"How much more is needed...?"
Hearing Emperor Beichen's words, Han Yi glanced at his system points balance and roughly calculated the number of people who hadn't taken the medicine yet before replying.
"Your Majesty, something similar to today's will suffice..."
"Alright, I understand. You may go back now and come back to collect it tomorrow..."
After Nangong Yuan and Han Yiyi spoke, Emperor Beichen roared at the chief eunuch beside him.
"Go, call all those useless people from the Imperial Medical Academy to kneel outside the hall. No one is allowed to leave until they have knelt for three hours. A bunch of good-for-nothings, they can't help at all. They have to rely on me for everything. Do you think my body is made of iron...?"
At this moment, Han Yiyi, who was leaving the Imperial Study, asked with a puzzled look.
"If the Emperor has these things, why doesn't he just give them to me? Why do we have to make another trip tomorrow...?"
Upon hearing Han Yiyi's words, Nangong Yuan's eyes flickered. Thinking of the origins of Emperor Beichen's things, the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily. He coughed lightly before speaking.
"Well, well, I don't know either. Perhaps His Majesty has his own considerations..."
Meanwhile, in the inner palace, every palace that Emperor Beichen had visited the previous night had lost something without exception.
Meanwhile, inside Zhongcui Palace, the Empress had just risen with a beaming smile when she saw the maid who usually served her with her hair and makeup kneeling before her, her face deathly pale.
Mother, Mother, no, something terrible has happened…
Upon seeing this, the Empress frowned slightly and spoke with some displeasure.
"What is it...?"
"Your Majesty, yes, your pair of jade bracelets are missing..."
"The pair that His Majesty bestowed..."
"Yes, Your Majesty, it is the pair that His Majesty bestowed upon you on your birthday last year. Today, I saw that Your Majesty's clothes matched the pair of bracelets very well, so I thought of taking them out for Your Majesty to wear. But the bracelets that were originally placed in the jewelry box have disappeared..."
Upon hearing the servant's words, the Empress's heart sank. Losing a gift bestowed by the Emperor was a capital offense...
Now that she had just gained the emperor's favor, she had lost the imperial gift. The empress's face, which had been flushed, turned pale in an instant. After confirming that it was missing, she dared not make a sound and could only sternly warn those around her not to tell anyone...
However, the same thing was happening in other palaces.
They had all lost items bestowed by the emperor, so none of them dared to make a fuss. Of course, this was also part of Emperor Beichen's plan. If they had lost anything else, it would have been known to everyone. Only items bestowed by the emperor could keep it a secret even from themselves.
It has to be said that Emperor Beichen's reign was truly miserable. It seems that he is the only emperor in history who has been reduced to stealing from his concubines.
However, this cannot be blamed on Emperor Beichen. Beichen had been harassed by the neighboring Northern Dynasties, Southern Jing and Eastern Li for many years, and was constantly at war. As a result, the national treasury was always empty. It was only in the last few years, with Nangong Yuan guarding the border, that things became more stable.
The Empress was still worried about the bracelet when Emperor Beichen found out. Then, she heard a maid announce that His Majesty had arrived. The Empress was startled and quickly straightened her clothes to go and greet him.
The next day, perhaps because she had been up late the night before, the Empress did not get up until 9:00 AM. She had just gotten up with a blissful expression and was wondering why Emperor Beichen had suddenly become so enthusiastic these past two days when she saw her maidservant kneeling in front of her, looking pale and sickly.
Upon seeing this, the Empress frowned again.
"What, something's gone missing again..."
"Yes, Your Majesty, it was during the investiture ceremony that the Empress Dowager bestowed upon you a pair of jade hair ornaments..." the maid said, her body trembling slightly. She didn't understand why things kept going missing these past two days.
Upon hearing the maid's words, the Empress was so startled that she immediately stood up.
"You mean, the whole set is gone..."
"Yes, Your Majesty, that set of jewelry was kept in the jewelry box. When I checked last night, it was still there, but for some reason, it was gone just now..."
The Empress was furious at the repeated loss of things. Just as she was about to lash out, she suddenly remembered something and couldn't help but ask.
"You mean you saw it last night...?"
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