"So Your Majesty was appeared in a dream by the late Emperor. No wonder you are so different now than before. Indeed, Heaven blesses our Great Xia, Heaven blesses Your Majesty."
Seeing Anfu's excited expression, Qin Yu nodded in agreement.
In fact, he learned this skill of feigning death when he was on a mission in the jungle.
After all, feigning weakness to the enemy is often a strategy.
"Alright, Anfu, take stock of all those tonics. Keep the ones you need, and sell the rest for money."
Qin Yu put the Ganoderma back and then gave instructions to An Fu.
Nowadays, both tobacco factories and wineries require substantial capital investment.
His Xuanjia Iron Cavalry and Blood Droplets are both elite troops, and a large amount of silver must be invested to ensure that their combat strength does not decline.
Therefore, anything he doesn't need has only one purpose for him: to exchange it for silver.
"yes."
Anfu responded and turned to do the statistics.
While Qin Yu and An Fu were happily counting their money, in the Haitang Palace...
"Your Majesty, this is a secret letter delivered by a spy from outside the palace."
As soon as Sima Jing returned to the palace, Ruyan respectfully handed her a secret letter.
Upon seeing the colorful cloud patterns on the letter, Sima Jing's previously cold expression instantly softened, and she revealed a smile.
Seeing her mistress in this state, Ruyan couldn't help but become curious about the owner of the secret letter.
Who could possibly elicit such a reaction from Sima Jing?
"Could it be that Your Majesty..."
A bold guess popped into Ruyan's mind.
For a moment, Ruyan's heart pounded faster.
If it is really as she thinks, then once discovered, not only will the tyrannical emperor not let the empress go, but the prime minister will also not spare her life.
"Your Majesty..."
Ru Yan immediately couldn't help but want to persuade Sima Jing to stop doing such a dangerous thing.
"You can go out now."
Sima Jing had no idea what Ruyan was thinking; she simply waved to her.
After a moment's hesitation, Ruyan still left.
She knew that Sima Jing would never admit to what she said so directly.
As soon as Ruyan left, Sima Jing couldn't wait to open the envelope.
This letter was delivered to her by Bai Ruyan.
Upon seeing Bai Ruyan's words of longing for her in the letter, Sima Jing smiled.
Although she and Bai Ruyan were just strangers who met by chance, she now truly regards Bai Ruyan as her own younger sister.
However, when she saw Bai Ruyan mention that young master Bai again, her expression turned sour.
"...From afar, I know it's not snow, for there is a faint fragrance. Your writing is quite good, but being so adept at flirting with women's hearts, you're clearly not a good man! Hmph, shall we meet in three days? Then I'll expose your true colors."
Sima Jing snorted coldly.
She had decided that she would go and meet this Young Master Bai, so that Bai Ruyan could see his true colors.
Sima Jing quickly wrote a reply and called Ruyan in.
"When the spies leave the palace tomorrow, have them deliver this letter to stall number three at Duobao Shop."
Duobao Shop was one of the bases for palace spies to relay information, but Sima Jing had already arranged for trustworthy people to be stationed there.
"yes."
Ruyan agreed and left with the letter.
After returning to her room, Ruyan saw that Sima Jing had already started taking a bath, so she mustered up her courage and opened the envelope.
The letter was very brief.
"I miss you too. See you in three days."
Upon seeing this content, Ruyan felt as if struck by lightning.
Consort Jing actually dared to defy all taboos and have an affair with a man outside the marriage!
"No, I must stop the Empress."
After careful consideration, Ru Yan finally made up her mind.
...
Nothing was said that night.
Because Qin Yu was "recovering from a serious illness," the morning court session on the second day was naturally canceled.
However, just when everyone thought the tyrannical emperor would calm down for a while, Qin Yu went straight to Qingyun Temple early in the morning.
"Your Majesty, you should go to see the Empress or Consort Jing. After all, Qingyun Temple is a place for quiet cultivation..."
At this moment, in Miaoyu's room, after the two had made love, Miaoyu leaned against Qin Yu, her pretty face flushed, and said...
Upon hearing this, Qin Yu couldn't help but smile wryly.
It can only be said that he acted too well yesterday, so much so that he was turned away from both the Empress's palace and Consort Jing's palace.
Even Yuzhu wouldn't let him in.
Otherwise, Qin Yu wouldn't have come to Qingyun Temple to find Miaoyu so early in the morning.
After all, only Miaoyu knew the truth.
However, that's not how you should put it.
"Of course I was thinking of my beloved concubine, that's why I couldn't help myself."
Qin Yu gently tucked Miaoyu's hair behind her ear and said with a smile.
Hearing this, Miaoyu blushed and her heart pounded, and she couldn't help but feel a little touched.
Just then, there was a knock on the door.
"Your Majesty, Abbot Liu has extended an invitation."
Upon hearing this, Qin Yu immediately perked up.
"Your Majesty, you should go quickly. Abbot Liu must have something to say."
Miaoyu said softly.
Qin Yu nodded, and after getting dressed, headed towards the Tower of Babel where Liu Caiqing was.
The Tower of Babel was a sacred place for cultivation built by the late emperor specifically for Liu Caiqing, and its tower peak soars into the clouds.
Qin Yu found it hard to imagine how such a pagoda could have been built in an era where everything was done by human labor.
Upon arriving at the Tower of Babel, Qin Yu saw Liu Caiqing meditating with her eyes closed in front of the statues of the Three Pure Ones.
"Master Liu, what business do you have with me?"
Upon hearing his voice, Liu Caiqing turned around.
Liu Caiqing remained as elegant as ever, appearing completely untouched by worldly dust.
However, Qin Yu noticed that Liu Caiqing's face turned slightly red when she saw him.
"Your Majesty, this is the result of the investigation you previously instructed me to conduct."
As Liu Caiqing spoke, she took out a thick stack of secret letters.
"Oh, could it be..."
Qin Yu's face lit up with joy, and he quickly accepted the secret letter.
There were eight secret letters in total, and the names on them were the eight top-ranking scholars that Qin Yu had selected this time.
After selecting these eight people as Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), Qin Yu immediately arranged for the Blood Droplets to investigate their backgrounds and past.
He considered all eight men to be highly capable, but he could not trust them without proper investigation.
He can only use these people if he can guarantee that they are useful to him.
He had a basic understanding of the backgrounds of Zhang Tingyu, Ma Qi, and Zhou Peishen before, and the detailed information he saw now was not much different from what he knew before.
Qin Yu focused on the experiences of the remaining five people.
Chen Xingwen and Yang Muzhong were both scholars from the capital. They came from wealthy families and their lives were not particularly eventful.
Whether they submitted to Sima Lie or not has not yet been determined.
The experiences of the remaining three people caught Qin Yu's attention.
One of the students, named Feng Xinxi, was actually from a family of artisans.
However, before Feng Xinxi could inherit his father's craftsmanship, his father was forcibly conscripted by the Sima family to Youzhou.
The Sima family failed to defend the city effectively, abandoning the artisans and the elderly and weak within, which led to Feng Xinxi's father being killed by the Xiongnu.
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