Chapter 9 You are the master, I am the minister, Youning Palace...
Youning Palace
Song Youning was overwhelmed as he looked at the piles of documents on the desk and Li Funing who was always beside him.
She even suspected that her father recruited Li Funing as his imperial consort just to let Li Funing supervise her.
(That’s the truth)
Ever since her father went south of the Yangtze River, all the official documents of the court, big and small, have been as numerous as leeks in the fields.
One batch after another, processing one thing after another, there is no end at all!
Li Funing would come to the palace from the Prime Minister's residence before dawn every day and force her to get up, day and night, rain or shine.
Sometimes, if she stayed in bed for a while, he would carry her and her quilt to the study... He was really conscientious and responsible.
In just a few days, the bottom of her eyes became dark and swollen, like two quail eggs lying under them.
It turns out that the hard life her father has been living is really... too miserable...
Song Youning supported his chin with one hand, his eyes drooping with fatigue, and dragged his other hand on the memorial, leaving crooked marks.
My eyelids felt heavy as if they were weighed down by lead.
"Your Highness."
The sudden voice startled her so much that she trembled all over and almost fell down. She hurriedly sat up straight and tried to remain calm.
Li Funing had stood by the table at some point, holding a ruler in his hand.
He pointed his ruler at the seventh row of the memorial: "Here, wrong."
Song Youning looked at the tax calculation of the three states of Jianghuai with sleepy eyes and found that "10,000 shi" was mistakenly written as "10,000 dan".
"Just one word difference..."
She reached out to cross out the wrong word and planned to replace the word "石".
“Bang!”
The ruler suddenly hit the edge of the inkstone, waking her from the last bit of sleepiness.
Li Funing's eyes were gloomy, and his dark pupils showed no emotion, and there was no trace of the gentleness and tenderness he had a few days ago.
"One dan equals 120 jin, and one dan equals only 50 jin."
"Your Highness, this word..."
He pointed at the ink ball and said angrily, "...it will make the people of the three states pay 70% more in taxes and grain."
“Rewrite.”
Li Funing pushed the memorial in front of Song Youning, his voice cold and without a trace of emotion.
He took out a few more revised notes, with errors circled in red ink so densely that they almost covered the entire page.
Song Youning frowned, "Master Li has such great authority."
"Your Highness."
He suddenly leaned forward and said seriously, "If the tax calculation is off by even a cent, three thousand households will suffer from the cold this winter."
Although his voice was not loud, the words he said were extremely harsh.
Song Youning pulled the memorial back angrily.
"The tax revenue for the three Jiang and Huai provinces is estimated to be 300,000 dan."
"Your Highness wrote 300,000 dan, which means you are short of 2.1 million jin of grain."
The ruler is three inches downward
"Looking at the money for the Yangzhou river workers, they mistakenly wrote 'excavation' for 'repair', and understated the food rations for 3,000 laborers."
Seeing him turn another page: "The most important thing is here..." The ruler hit the letter of greeting from the Jianghuai Governor.
He twisted the envelope with two fingers and tore it open along the tiny crease. There were actually words on the inside of the envelope. It read:
"The Jiang, Huai, and Si rivers have burst their banks, and the victims are eating Guanyin soil to satisfy their hunger... Many aristocratic families are withholding relief funds, but I am powerless to control them. Therefore, I have secretly informed the court and ask Your Majesty to make a decision."
Only then did Song Youning realize the seriousness of the problem.
She looked at Li Funing's tense profile, her brows furrowed.
"The Governor of Jianghuai has always been practical and seldom extravagant. He wouldn't write a separate memorial specifically to express his greetings." "This lady..." she said, her voice slightly hoarse, filled with guilt. "I will be more careful next time."
Seeing her panic, Li Funing realized that he had gone too far, and his expression began to relax.
"Your Highness, there are seven more."
His voice softened, and he tapped the table lightly with his ruler. "After reviewing these, I will accompany Your Highness for breakfast."
When the sky was already bright, Song Youning finally put down his pen.
He stretched himself and rubbed his acupoints, and found that Li Funing was already sleeping lightly at the desk.
His slender fingers were still holding a pen, and the memorials she had approved were neatly arranged on the desk.
Each book has a note with the key points of the annotations.
She scooted closer, examining him closely for the first time.
Her eyelashes cast a light shadow under her eyes, and her lips, which had been tightly pursed just now, now relaxed slightly, revealing a hint of fatigue.
A strand of black hair fell down and rested on the fingertips that were still holding the pen.
I have to say that Li Funing really has a good-looking appearance that won her heart.
Song Youning couldn't help but reach out and wanted to brush away the hair for him.
As soon as the fingertips touched his eyebrows, Li Funing suddenly woke up and reflexively touched the ruler on the desk.
Seeing Song Youning appear in front of him without knowing when, he suddenly became nervous:
"Your Highness...I have failed to behave properly..."
"Shhh."
She pursed her lips and smiled, dimples faintly visible on her cheeks.
"When Master Li fell asleep..."
Leaning close to his reddened ears, she said, "...He's much cuter than when he's awake. He's less pedantic, like a completely different person."
Li Funing's ears turned even redder, but he still managed to maintain a serious look.
"Don't make a fuss outside the palace, the memorial..."
"I finished reviewing it a long time ago."
Song Youning suddenly walked around the table and reached into his wide sleeves.
Her pupils lit up, and she pulled out an oil-paper package. When she opened it, she saw that it was her favorite pastry.
"Master Li has had the habit of hiding food in his sleeves since he was a child, and that habit has never changed."
She took out a piece of pineapple cake and put it to his lips. "Yes, Lord Li, can you try it for me first?"
Li Funing took a bite of the pineapple cake that was handed to him.
But he refused to welcome her: "Your Highness..., this is against the rules..."
She smiled and pulled her hand back, too lazy to expose his secret thoughts. She said it was against the rules, but she didn't see how serious he usually was.
"Then Lord Li, would you like to teach me some more etiquette? I noticed that you were very serious in disciplining me just now..."
"I dare not."
"I think you are quite brave."
Song Youning picked up the memorial on his desk, and there was a densely packed annotation on each side.
She looked up at him and asked, "Didn't you sleep last night?"
Li Funing lowered his eyes.
"I just made some minor adjustments."
"tidy?"
"real?"
Song Youning casually opened a memorial in front of him. It was densely packed with words, and the handwriting was clear and neat, hitting the nail on the head. It was obvious that a lot of thought had been put into it.
"Li Funing!"
Song Youning looked at the slowly turning red mark in front of her and asked in confusion, "Since you've already approved it, why do you want me to approve it again?"
"Because you are the king, I am just a minister..."
Song Youning raised his head and looked at the man in front of him.
"I can write for you, but I cannot shoulder the responsibility of the world for you."
Song Youning was stunned, then turned to look at him and tapped him on the head affectionately with the memorial.
"You fool..."
"Your Highness..."
He was about to speak.
"Gu~"
Song Youning's stomach protested, and her face flushed instantly. She subconsciously covered her belly with her fingers:
"What are you looking at? It's all your fault for making me read memorials all the time. I'm getting hungry... You're responsible for filling it."
"I am guilty." Li Funing lowered his head and smiled silently, clapped his hands, and the maids brought up the prepared food.
A quarter of an hour later, the table was already filled with food:
The crystal clear shrimp dumplings were her favorite Jiangnan style, the soft and sweet jujube paste cake was still steaming hot; a cup of iced almond cheese, specially made without the almond skins that she hated;
"You're really thoughtful." Song Youning picked up a piece of jujube paste cake and bit into it directly. It seemed that something suddenly occurred to him, "When will the emperor return?"
Song Youning asked vaguely while biting the almond biscuit. The golden sugar threads stuck to the corners of her lips, and she licked them but couldn't lick them off.
Li Funing picked up a handkerchief and wiped her hands. Hearing this, his fingertips paused slightly: "His Majesty sent a message this morning, saying..."
"...The Empress has bought an embroidery workshop in Suzhou and is waiting for the new double-sided embroidery to be completed."
"here we go again!"
Song Youning was so angry that he slammed the table, causing the almond milk to sway out of the rim of the cup.
"One moment he said he wanted to learn how to make tea in Hangzhou, the next moment he said he wanted to wait for lacquerware in Yangzhou."
"He's so carefree and at ease, leaving me alone to suffer in the palace... Really..."
"……hateful"
Before he could finish his words, he was suddenly fed a spoonful of iced pear soup.
Li Funing calmly took back the porcelain spoon.
"I have dispatched secret guards. As soon as Xiuniang finishes embroidering, they will immediately notify the court officials and His Majesty to return to the court." He lowered his voice.
"Well done! They should have let those old scholars push him."
But speaking of it, I also want to go out for a walk." Song Youning ate the cheese that was fed to her and looked thoughtful.
"If I want to travel to Jiangnan again, Lord Li, would you like to travel with me?"
Song Youning's eyes lit up and she looked at him expectantly.
This was the first time she took the initiative to invite him out for a trip.
In the past, he would follow her quietly, or bribe the vendors in advance and pretend to appear in front of her casually.
Or they would pretend to suppress bandits, investigate corrupt officials, etc. and follow her.
"how?"
Seeing him stunned, Song Youning poked his chest in dissatisfaction, "Master Li is unwilling?"
"minister..."
His Adam's apple rolled, and his voice was a little hoarse. "I was just thinking about what to prepare."
"What are you preparing for?"
She tilted her head and patted his shoulder, "I'm glad you're here."
"When the time comes, I will assign you a nominal position in Zuixianzhai, and I will cover the expenses." Song Youning patted her chest and vowed.
Li Funing lowered his eyes to hide the emotions surging in his eyes.
He thought of the whole cabinet of "Da Gan Fengwu Zhi" in the secret compartment of his study.
On the third day of July, His Highness painted a picture in Yangzhou.
On August 15th, His Highness picked yellow peaches in Jiangling.
On the ninth day of the ninth month, His Highness was so enraged by the storyteller from the south of the city that he stamped his feet...
Now he can finally be included in the list with her.
"good."
He heard himself say, his voice unnaturally gentle.
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