After watching Prince Xin and his entourage leave, Xia Daohua followed Lao Wei and Xiao Douzi and continued on their way.
When they met the young emperor, Gu Mingzhen was also present. Before Gu Mingzhen could speak, the young emperor arranged seats for Old Wei and Xia Daohua: "Please sit wherever you like. Don't be polite."
Gu Mingzhen was slightly stunned, and then a smile instantly appeared on his lips and eyes. He watched the little emperor and Xia Daohua talking affectionately for a few words, and then reminded the little emperor that it was time to talk about business.
The little emperor's smiling face immediately became tense. His childishness and serious expression made him look particularly adorable.
He ordered everyone to leave and asked Xiaodouzi to guard outside. Except for Gu Mingzhen, only the little emperor, Old Wei and Xia Daohua were left.
Xia Daohua knew that there was something confidential to be told.
"Sister Xia, the late emperor is not dead."
“…”
Why are you telling me such a confidential matter?
Xia Daohua was confused at first, but when she saw Lao Wei's tearful face, she suddenly understood.
So that's how it is. No wonder after the late emperor passed away, Gu Mingzhen let Old Wei, who "knew the inside story", go and allowed him to leave the palace to retire.
It turns out that the two trouble-making brothers were actually fine. They just pretended to have passed away, but actually abdicated and lived a carefree life like ordinary people.
However, these two brothers are really something. On a normal day, each one is more mischievous than the other. When faced with an overwhelming force, they simply quit their jobs! The reason why Prince Xin did not succeed to the throne, but was instead named Prince Xin and rushed to his fiefdom, was because he was responsible for taking good care of those two mischievous spirits!
…
"Sister Xia, the northern barbarians have already reached Taiping Pass..."
The little emperor looked at Xia Daohua with a serious face, and even stretched out his little hand to hold the corner of her clothes, his face full of sincere admiration:
"I have already issued an imperial edict to support the king and ordered the elite imperial guards to guard the passes of the capital. However, yesterday, Minister Cai submitted a memorial saying that the Changping Warehouse in the capital had caught fire..."
Xia Daohua just couldn't stand the cute little kid's eager expression, so she comforted him directly:
"It's okay, we don't lack food."
The little emperor's face lit up: "Are you really not short of food?"
"There's no shortage of food. I can't say anything else, but we have as much food as you need, and we can ship it wherever you want. I wouldn't dare brag about it, but I can say that we can ensure that all the soldiers and civilians in the capital have enough to eat, and there will be no problem eating for two or three years.
It’s just a pity—I have to pay for the food, but I don’t have much money…”
"Isn't it just silver? That's easy. There's still plenty of silver in the inner treasury. Besides, even if there's no gold, silver, or copper coins, I still have a lot of gold and pearls, jewelry, porcelain, lacquerware, and bonsai ornaments..."
The little emperor counted his belongings one by one on his fingers, with seriousness written all over his face.
Xia Daohua looked at him and almost wanted to pinch his chubby cheeks. When she came to her senses, she found that she had actually done it.
Not only did he pinch it twice, he also pulled it to both sides.
Gu Mingzhen and Old Wei's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. They were incredibly thankful that no outsiders were present. The young emperor had been so wise to dismiss everyone in advance!
The little emperor mumbled and his words became unclear. He looked at Xia Daohua helplessly and said incoherently:
“Sister Xia, people around us are no longer delicate and it’s a child’s paper. Can the edges be so non-serious?”
Xia Daohua withdrew her hand and said with a smile:
"Okay, Sister Xia, I'll listen to you. Why do you have to pay for everything yourself? This huge capital city doesn't belong to you alone. Let all the officials and merchants contribute some money! Otherwise, if the capital city falls due to poor defense, how can they escape the slaughter of the northern barbarians?"
When Gu Mingzhen heard this, he felt something in his heart.
We should indeed be on guard against certain people, otherwise, they might open the city gates and let the northern barbarians in!
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