The emperor had long since suppressed his impatience, and upon hearing this, he smiled faintly:
"It was fine before, but nowadays, I'm afraid you can find this ice in every household in our Great Jing. It's not surprising at all."
"Really? I don't think so."
"What do you mean by that, Your Majesty?" The Emperor's smile faded, and a hint of displeasure appeared in his eyes as he looked at Qingyang.
He never expected his sister to come back, and that she would always be at odds with him.
He had only been back for two days when he brought up the idea of allowing women to take the imperial examinations, which was utterly contrary to the will of Heaven!
Unfortunately, he couldn't do anything to her, lest the world think he was harsh, and he was even more worried that someone would bring up the past. So he could only pretend to be a loving older brother who doted on his younger sister.
I wonder what kind of trouble she'll cause this time!
Princess Qingyang saw his changing expressions and knew all too well that he loathed her.
She pretended not to see it, knelt on the ground, and said loudly:
"Actually, Qingyang shouldn't have spoken out about this matter, but he couldn't bear to see his elder brother's reputation damaged, so he came to the palace to remonstrate."
After saying that, he told the whole story about the exorbitant price of saltpeter.
Upon hearing this, the emperor's expression was quite interesting, showing both anger and embarrassment.
He had thought that promoting the ice-making method would serve as proof that he would be a benevolent ruler in the future, but now, instead of becoming a benevolent ruler, he almost ruined his reputation!
He slammed his fist on the table and roared, "Guards! Issue my decree to thoroughly investigate this matter! All unscrupulous merchants who participated in driving up the price of saltpeter and disrupting market order shall be severely punished without exception!"
The young eunuch trembled with fear and quickly kowtowed to receive the decree: "Yes, Your Majesty, this servant will go and deliver the decree immediately!"
The young eunuch received the decree and left. The emperor turned to look at the person below him, his expression grim.
"Is this arrangement satisfactory, Your Highness?"
Princess Qingyang clasped her hands deeply: "Your Majesty is wise!"
...
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