Soon, the conversation between these ministers was reported to Wu Lanxi by a young eunuch.
"Is the Emperor going?"
She laughed in exasperation.
Since ascending the throne, she has never taken a single penny from the national treasury.
Now, Kuizhou is plagued by disasters, and the officials are at a loss, so they actually want her, the emperor, to spend money on disaster relief.
These ministers truly didn't treat her like an emperor, and they really didn't take her seriously!
Lin Wan'er stomped her foot in anger: "It must have been Prime Minister Cui's idea. His family is so rich that he'd rather let the eggs rot in his mansion than share them with the people. How could he possibly ask His Majesty to pay for them?"
Upon hearing this, Wu Lanxi's expression darkened further.
She had wanted to get rid of Cui Renshi for a long time!
The problem is that Cui Renshi's daughter married the general's eldest son.
The Cui and Pang families, relying on this marriage alliance, one a civil official and the other a military leader, jointly controlled the government and the military, effectively sidelining the emperor.
She can't be harmed by any of them!
Even trying to take down Choi In-seok's cronies would be incredibly difficult, let alone Choi In-seok himself!
Forget it, getting rid of him won't be something that can be done overnight.
Wu Lanxi could only wave her hand and say, "Wan'er, you calculate how much silver I have left in my private treasury."
"yes."
Lin Wan'er took out the account book and abacus, and her brows furrowed deeper and deeper as she calculated.
After she finished calculating, she pouted.
"Your Majesty, the imperial treasury originally had 30,000 taels of silver. However, due to various expenses during this incognito trip, plus the costs of purchasing goods and the extortion by that minor county magistrate, we now only have 12,000 taels of silver left."
There's only this much left...
Wu Lanxi's face was grim.
With so little money, let alone disaster relief, it might not even be enough for her to make another incognito visit.
Fortunately, she still had a batch of white sugar and **gift boxes purchased from Qihuai County.
Maybe we can make some money back with this batch of goods.
"Wan'er, find a reliable shop immediately and put the white sugar gift boxes there to sell. Remember to discuss it with the shopkeeper beforehand and say that the white sugar has been on the market for some time and costs one hundred taels of silver per box.
Lin Wan'er glanced at Wu Lanxi suspiciously.
Are you really going to sell it for one hundred taels of silver a box?
That's way too expensive... Will anyone actually buy it?
But His Majesty is really too poor. He transported the sugar and gift boxes all the way back. If they don't sell for a good price, then there's really no hope left for the imperial treasury.
After all, even the national treasury was out of money.
Left with no other choice, she had to do as she was told.
After Lin Wan'er left, Wu Lanxi summoned the trusted eunuch, Eunuch Li, and said, "Go and investigate the background of Tang Huan, the magistrate of Qihuai County."
Eunuch Li nodded in agreement, but inwardly he was greatly surprised.
Having served His Majesty for five years, I have never seen His Majesty investigate any official before. This is unprecedented, and what's more, the one being investigated is just a minor county magistrate.
It seems this magistrate did something quite significant while His Majesty was on his incognito visit.
That night, Wu Lanxi was filled with worries and couldn't fall asleep.
She got up on her own before the appointed time.
When Lin Wan'er came in yawning to serve her, she had already finished changing herself.
Lin Wan'er woke up instantly: "Why is Your Majesty up so early?"
Lately, I've been either escaping pursuit, outwitting the minor magistrate in Qihuai County, or struggling to keep up with the journey.
Lin Wan'er felt completely exhausted. She fell asleep as soon as she lay down last night, and if the little palace maid hadn't pushed her hard just now, she probably wouldn't have been able to get up.
Unexpectedly, His Majesty went to bed later than her and got up earlier than her!
Wu Lanxi sighed softly: "I can't sleep when I think about how Cui Renshi and his group tried to pressure me to take money from the imperial treasury for disaster relief this morning, and how the grain price in Youzhou is still undecided, and how many people are suffering from hunger right now...
But even if you have worries, you have to face them.
"Let's go, let's go to the morning court."
In fact, she wasn't the only one worried; not all the civil and military officials were without conscience.
They all knew that today's morning court session would be a tough battle.
They had to shift blame, clear their names, and keep lying under the Empress's interrogation, all while trying to find a solution to the problem.
With so much to do, and the risk of getting into trouble for saying the wrong thing, who wouldn't be nervous?
Just as the courtiers, their faces grim, were walking step by step along the square, preparing to enter the Golden Palace for the morning court session, Lin Wan'er suddenly appeared carrying a tray.
"It's cold outside, so His Majesty specially ordered me to prepare a cup of morning tea for you gentlemen. Please, gentlemen."
Cui Renshi was taken aback.
Why would you suddenly invite him for tea out of the blue?
Could it be that they're trying to poison his tea and kill him?
impossible.
To poison him so openly in front of all the courtiers would be incredibly foolish.
He guessed that she was trying to win him over, so he would be less difficult for her, the empress, during the morning court session. He smiled slightly and accepted the teacup.
"Thank you for your great kindness, Your Majesty."
It was windy and a bit chilly in the square, and it was early morning, before dawn. Who wouldn't be thirsty?
So Cui Renshi tilted his head back and took a sip.
While he was drinking, Lin Wan'er carried a tray and served tea to the other first-rank ministers.
"Hmm? This tea tastes...why does it have a sweet taste?"
"Yes! I can taste it too. It's sweet and has the fragrance of tea. The taste is quite strange, but it's not unpleasant."
"Could it be that maltose was added to this tea? But maltose is dry and astringent, and it's also damp, hot, and has a fishy smell. How could it not have an off-putting taste when put in tea?"
Seeing that the time was ripe, Lin Wan'er immediately said, "Don't you gentlemen know? This tea is not made with maltose, but with white sugar that has just come from the capital. White sugar dissolves in water, has no color, and tastes sweet and pleasant without any fishy smell."
Upon hearing this, the ministers all showed expressions of surprise: "White sugar? What is that?"
"Never heard of it."
"This thing exists in the capital, but I've never seen it before."
Lin Wan'er smiled slightly: "My lords, please stop joking. White sugar has been around for so long, how could you not have seen it? Alright, we've had our hot tea, please hurry up and go to the hall for the morning court."
Seeing that she was about to leave, Cui Renshi quickly stopped her.
"Waiter Lin, where can I buy this white sugar?"
Lin Wan'er almost burst out laughing.
It seems there's no worry about selling this white sugar; Master Cui really likes it.
She pretended not to care and said, "It's in the general store in the west of the city. Everyone there knows it. You can find it by asking around."
His Majesty instructed us not to give ourselves away.
If Cui Renshi knew that the white sugar was sold by His Majesty, they wouldn't buy it even if it were sold for one tael of silver per box, let alone one hundred taels of silver per box.
Cui Renshi held the teacup and squinted his eyes.
Why would His Majesty suddenly bring out this tea for him to drink? What is his intention?
Was the intention to make him drink his fill before he left, or was there something special about this sugar?
Having served as prime minister for over thirty years, he couldn't believe that His Majesty was simply being considerate of the cold weather and offering him hot tea to warm him up!
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