The emperor looked at their banners with a calm expression.
Eunuch Liu was so frightened that his face showed an expression of fear. The calmer the emperor's expression, the more vicious his sword would be.
At this moment, he was deeply worried about the safety of the civil and military officials. Although there was no shortage of talents in Dagua Kingdom, it would take some time to select and supply talents.
Gongsun Tudou was risking his life today, and he straightened his back.
His back looked tragic and desolate in the eyes of civil and military officials.
Xiang Hua still looked nonchalant, and was even eating melon seeds with her free hand.
"Ahem." The emperor finally spoke, "My dear ministers, there is no need to be like this. I know how much I owe you. When the treasury has money, I will definitely pay it back to you as soon as possible."
The emperor plans to use a soft approach today, and if the soft approach doesn’t work, he will use a hard approach.
Gongsun Tudou complained, "Your Majesty, that's what you said three months ago."
Xiang Hua picked her nose and said, "Maybe you will still say this in three years."
"I just asked you to wait a few more months, so what? If I had the money, would I not give it to you?"
The emperor spoke like an elder with a serious expression and a look of grievance.
Xiang Hua was also speechless, "Your Majesty, the treasury has no money, don't you need to reflect on yourself?"
As soon as Xiang Hua said this, the court fell silent and even the emperor was stunned.
Because this sentence is not what she really thinks, it is what she said honestly.
"Lord Gongsun, Lord Xiaoxiang, what you two are doing is already a form of rebellion. Do you know what the consequences of rebellion are?" The emperor was angry that a mere eighth-rank official dared to criticize him.
"Rebels will be executed immediately." Eunuch Liu added in a sharp voice, with an expression as if he was watching a show.
In his opinion, the emperor's rules are supreme, and those who break the rules should be beheaded in public.
"Eunuch Liu." The emperor gave a look, and Eunuch Liu quickly called over a large group of guards.
Xiang Hua's banner was confiscated, and she and Prime Minister Gongsun Tudou were thrown into prison together.
Official Xiang fainted in the court. In his opinion, now that his daughter was imprisoned, the next step would be chopping off her head, and the next step would be the execution of all nine generations of her clan.
…
After locking up the two men, the emperor was still troubled.
Because he found that there were big-character posters posted in many places in the palace, and without exception, they all asked him to pay back the money.
Eunuch Liu rushed to report in vain, "Your Majesty, this is terrible. Now the streets and alleys are full of such big-character posters, all asking Your Majesty to pay back the money. There are even..."
"How ridiculous! What else is there?" The emperor was so angry that he couldn't even eat.
"Some people even heard that you couldn't pay the salaries of the civil and military officials, and felt that the country was doomed, so they took their entire families and fled to neighboring countries overnight."
"You idiots, is it worth making such a fuss over such a small amount of money?" The emperor didn't understand. It was just a few months since they hadn't received their salaries. Could these ministers starve to death?
Eunuch Liu was trembling with fear. "I heard today that many eunuchs and maids in the palace are also going to resign. They haven't received their salaries for a long time. Some even..."
"Anything else? Eunuch Liu, can you please finish it all at once? Are you trying to make me die of anxiety?" The emperor was so angry that he was about to lose his mind.
"Even many guards and soldiers guarding the city gates and borders have heard this little news. They... they are also going on strike. They haven't received their salaries either..."
Eunuch Liu was also worried. Now he was the only one in the entire Dagua Kingdom who was still working for the emperor without regrets.
"Ah..." The emperor collapsed on the dragon throne, looking listless.
Everything seemed to be falling like dominoes, and everything was getting out of control.
…
In the prison.
Xiang Hua was lying in the haystack without any image, eating melons with the system.
System: [Host, I heard that only three people attended the morning court yesterday. The emperor was furious, and then he secretly went door to door at night to beg civil and military officials to go to court.]
Xiang Hua heard this and sarcastically said, "Hahaha, I didn't expect the emperor to end up like this! The humble emperor is begging for someone to come to court online! It's so funny just to think about it."
Prime Minister Gongsun Tudou heard her talking about the melon in the cell next door, but what he heard more was her unruly laughter.
That voice was like a devil's voice that could not be ignored.
"Lord Xiao Xiang, what should we do next?" The old prime minister looked worried.
"It's okay, let's wait for the emperor to come and beg us." Xiang Hua waved his hand, looking indifferent.
During the two days she was in prison, Huang Si Niang spent a lot of money to hire someone to send her a lot of delicious food.
She was not worried about anything except that her baby daughter was starving.
"Prime Minister, here's a chicken leg for you. Don't be polite." Xiang Gua stuffed a chicken leg into his pocket through the crack in the door.
Gongsun Tudou had no appetite at all and just nodded slightly.
"What delicious food are you two eating? Is there any for me?"
The emperor walked in with a professional fake smile on his face.
Xiang Hua looked at him, then looked at the beggar's chicken in her hand, and hurriedly hid it behind her.
"Your Majesty, I only have two chicken legs. I gave one to the Prime Minister, and I want to eat the other one."
The emperor waved his hand and said, "You eat, I'm not hungry."
Xiang Hua looked at him while eating chicken and asked, "Your Majesty, if you don't want to eat chicken, why do you come to me?"
The emperor looked embarrassed and hesitated for a long time before speaking, "I would like to ask you to give me some advice, Lord Xiang. I and this country cannot do without you."
"Oh, it's also inseparable from you, Prime Minister." The emperor remembered Gongsun Tudou only then and added perfunctorily.
Gongsun Tudou quickly kowtowed and said, "Your Majesty, I am incompetent."
Xiang Hua was still lying in the haystack eating chicken, and had no intention of getting up.
"I can give you some advice. But I'm in prison now and I'm starving and I can't help you."
The emperor looked at Xiang Hua gnawing on a chicken leg, and the people in the nearby cells were drooling.
You call this being starving? Who can eat chicken legs when they are starving?
"Come here." With the emperor's order, Xiang Hua and Gongsun Tu Dou were released.
He considerately asked the old prime minister to go home and rest early, and he himself followed Xiang Hua home.
Because Xianghua told him that he wanted to eat the meal his mother cooked, and he didn't have the energy to think before eating.
…
When the emperor and Xiang Hua appeared in the Xiang family at the same time, everyone in the Xiang family was stunned.
"Mom, what delicious food are you going to make for lunch? I want to eat fried pork with peppers, cold-mixed pig ears, and pancakes with green onions."
Huang Si Niang prepared the meal quickly and ate it with Xiang Hua in one gulp.
The emperor looked at the pancake for a long time and finally took a symbolic bite. It was so hard, dry and scratchy.
After Xiang Hua had eaten and drunk his fill, he finally spoke slowly: "As for making money, first make money from the upper class, such as the wealthy businessmen in the city. Secondly, make money from the middle class people."
The emperor listened with his eyes wide open, looking confused.
"Your Majesty, are you willing to rent out the Golden Palace?" Xiang Hua asked.
The emperor was even more confused after hearing this. Renting? The Imperial Palace? Where would the civil and military officials go to attend court?
…
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