After Chu Jinxian and Duan Yinghua left, Chu Jinyao couldn't calm down for a long time.

She remembered that when she was reading history books, she was angry when she read the section about the Southern Song Dynasty. Qin Yi sat beside her, seemingly reading Huainanzi. Seeing that she was angry when reading history books, he laughed at her for being childish. When reading this part, how could Chu Jinyao have thought that one day, she and Qin Yi would fall into the same predicament. If they deliberately delayed and did not bring the emperor back to the court, then they would be bad people in history books, but if they brought the emperor back... If they brought the emperor back, would the emperor tolerate them? Yue Fei swore to serve his country with all his heart and soul, and his loyalty was needless to say, but did Zhao Gou believe it?

Chu Jinyao didn't know which was better, becoming a bad guy in history books or becoming a hero who was highly praised in history books but died early.

This winter was particularly cold. Even if the capital was successfully saved, the civilians who died in this battle, the collapsed city walls, and the affected houses were still a big burden for the Yan Dynasty, which had just breathed a sigh of relief. After the war, medicine, wood, comfort clothes, and cold-proof clothes were all top priorities, and none of them could be separated from money. If you still rely on the national treasury at this time, you would be too proud of the emperor who was known for his stupidity and love of beauty.

The court, which was gradually recovering its skeleton, was quarreling all day long for money. Qin Yi could lead the army to victory, but he couldn't conjure up food and money out of thin air. Food could be transferred from the warehouses in Tongzhou, but where would the money needed to rebuild the capital come from?

Qin Yi set his eyes on the powerful families in the capital. Everyone was related to each other, and no one could cheat anyone. Qin Yi knew the family background of these people, so he used both soft and hard tactics to force them to spit out the money. Of course, as a role model, Qin Yi took the lead in reducing his own expenses, and added the part that Chu Jinyao saved from the court to the national treasury.

When everyone saw the expenses of Qin Yi's harem, they were all speechless. There was no benefit in arguing at this time. After the ministers had been arguing for a long time and got the benefits of official positions or descendants, they continued to share the country's worries and generously donated money.

However, Qin Yi looked through the income and expenditure of the national treasury and then looked at the accounts of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He knew that it was not a long-term solution to squeeze the money from the ministers. The palace expenses were really too huge.

There was only Chu Jinyao in Qin Yi's inner house. Chu Jinyao had suffered in his childhood and was not a wasteful person. Therefore, the expenses of the Eastern Palace were speechless even if the historian Yu saw them. However, correspondingly, with the background of the Eastern Palace, the expenses of the emperor's harem became even more terrible.

Qin Yi had a vague idea in his mind, but the inner court was not under the jurisdiction of the court, so he had to discuss this matter with Chu Jinyao. Qin Yi had spent another whole day in Wenhua Palace without realizing it. When he came out of the anteroom, he found that the night was dark and snow had already begun to fall.

This was the first snow in the 23rd year of Jianxing. In previous years, the ministers would have submitted a memorial to congratulate the emperor for the auspicious snow and a good harvest. However, this year, the capital had just experienced a major war, and everything was in ruins. Such heavy snow was not a good thing.

Chu Jinyao heard the noise outside and stood up and walked towards the palace door. Qin Yi took off his cloak with the help of the eunuch. Chu Jinyao saw the snow on his shoulders and asked, "Is it snowing outside?"

"Yes, it looks like it will snow all night."

Chu Jinyao's face became heavy, and it was obvious that she also thought of the people outside.

Chu Jinyao had just taken two steps when Qin Yi called her, "Don't move. I feel the cold air from outside. You are wearing so little, be careful not to catch a cold."

If it was just Chu Jinyao, Chu Jinyao would definitely ignore him, but now there was a child, Chu Jinyao did not dare to act rashly, so she had to wait for Qin Yi to warm his body in the fumigation cage before stepping forward to hold his hand.

"You come back so late today. Are things difficult outside?"

"Not bad." Qin Yi said, "The most difficult part is over. What remains is post-war reconstruction. Although the treasury is not doing well now, it is not a big problem. We can give the ministers below a warning and collect taxes from the provinces. It will be solved over time."

Chu Jinyao could not help with the court affairs outside. It seemed that all she could do was to take care of Ciqing Palace and the harem so that Qin Yi would have no worries and could relax for a while when he came back in the evening. The two of them sat opposite each other on the Luohan bed. Chu Jinyao was a little depressed and a little ashamed: "You have been working non-stop for several days without even having time to rest. There are so many things waiting for you outside, and I can't help you at all."

Qin Yi laughed when he heard this: "You don't need to do anything, as long as you are here, it's enough."

"You are teasing me again."

Qin Yi smiled but said nothing. In fact, this is true. What do men want when they fight for power and profit outside? It's nothing more than a mansion, a beauty and status. With status, there will be more gorgeous houses and more beauties. Now Chu Jinyao is in this palace where he grew up and witnessed his growth and rise and fall. Every time Qin Yi was so angry in Wenhua Palace that he wanted to throw the memorial on the faces of the people below, as long as he thought of Chu Jinyao waiting for him behind the corridor, he could more or less control his temper.

During the most dangerous days of the war, Qin Yi changed his mind several times and wanted to take the opportunity to send Chu Jinyao away, but he finally held back. Just like Chu Jinyao said, they are a family, and they will be together no matter life or death. Qin Yi's actions undoubtedly gave the people below a dose of heart medicine. The Crown Princess stayed in the capital, so the capital must be able to be defended. Seeing this situation, the court officials and nobles would not want to send their families away. If they dared to send them away, Qin Yi would be the first to not forgive them.

If Chu Jinyao was not there, then some of the other family members would be missing, and these people would always defend the capital, but they would never fight to the death like they are doing now.

Chu Jinyao regretted that he could not help, but in fact, psychological stability was more important than any magic weapon.

"The current situation is not difficult, but it is easy to solve the current difficulties, but it is difficult to solve the difficulties in the future." Qin Yi's expression was heavy. "Any dynasty that has existed for a long time will inevitably accumulate chronic diseases and have complicated institutions. And now the expenses of the court are the number one problem that drains the national treasury."

Chu Jinyao understood what Qin Yi meant and asked seriously, "Your Highness, is there anything I can do for you?"

Qin Yi held Chu Jinyao's hand with some guilt, "You are pregnant, and I really shouldn't let you worry about these things."

"Your Highness, we are husband and wife, how can you say these things." Chu Jinyao glared at him angrily, and then looked serious, "Do you want to reduce the expenses of the harem?"

"No matter how much you save, it's not as good as increasing income. The same goes for the harem. Even if you reduce it, it will only make you offend people. How much effect can it have?"

Chu Jinyao's eyes seemed to understand. Qin Yi was very satisfied and nodded to confirm her guess: "You are right. I intend to reduce the number of palace people. The palace maids are only selected every year and not released. This is unfair to these civilian women and is also a huge burden on the national treasury. The problem of eunuchs is a bit difficult to deal with, but the palace maids are much easier to place. , you should work harder during this period and draw up a rough list of palace releases."

Chu Jinyao thought about these things and nodded absentmindedly: "It is indeed a worrying thing... But it's okay, there are so many people in Ciqing Palace to help, so I won't be tired. Moreover, this is a good deed, even if our children see it, they will definitely be willing to help."

Speaking of children, Qin Yi looked at Chu Jinyao's slightly bulging belly: "Has he tired you these days?"

"No, he's very well behaved." Chu Jinyao took advantage of every opportunity to improve the relationship between Qin Yi and the child, and was still thinking about letting the palace maid out of the palace. If a palace maid was too old to enter the palace, it would be harmful to let her out without permission, and if she was too young, it would be a problem as there were not enough young and strong men in the palace. This matter must be carefully considered and cannot be arranged incorrectly.

Chu Jinyao pondered for a while, and when she came to her senses, she saw Qin Yi sitting opposite her, looking at her quietly and attentively. Chu Jinyao was a little embarrassed, but when she saw Qin Yi's obviously thin figure, she felt distressed. She carefully reached out her hand to rub Qin Yi's forehead: "Your Highness, are things outside very troublesome? You have lost a lot of weight, take care of yourself."

During this period, Chu Jinyao felt deeply distressed for Qin Yi's hard work just by watching him go out and come back every day. Now everything needs his review, and such hard work is sometimes thankless.

"In fact, if it's just Wala, it's not a big deal. What we're afraid of is that it's rotten from the inside." Qin Yi grabbed Chu Jinyao's restless hand and said with a sigh, "Wala sent a peace letter, saying that they are willing to send the emperor back to Beijing, but there are conditions."

"What do they want?"

Qin Yi said a rough number, and Chu Jinyao took a breath of cold air: "They are too bold, they are really asking for more."

Yes, the capital is facing the problem of reconstruction, the injured soldiers, the people who can't get enough food in the cold weather, and the court with thousands of holes, which one is not in urgent need of money, but Wala actually relied on the emperor to propose such an astronomical figure.

The organization of not marrying and not paying tribute left by the ancestor emperor was originally to show the national prestige, but now it sounds like a joke.

What's even more ironic is that this document was written by a Han Chinese.

"Your Highness." Chu Jinyao frowned and thought for a long time, but couldn't come up with any ideas. He could only ask carefully, "What should we do next?"

The best solution is probably for the emperor to commit suicide. This will not only save the face of the Great Yan Empire, but also maintain the dignity of the emperor, and not embarrass the Qin royal family too much. When the country recovers in the spring of next year, they can go on a long expedition to Wala to avenge the shame. But will the emperor commit suicide?

Don't even think about it. He won't.

Qin Yi thought about it and could only sigh: "I also want to find a win-win solution, but there is no such good thing in the world. The Wala people dare not let him die, but if the court does not take action, most of the people in the capital will not survive this winter."

Chu Jinyao was not surprised to hear this, and even felt relieved. She knew that a crown prince who could shoot and kill a maid who laughed and was rude in front of the three armies, who could risk his life to go deep into the enemy's hinterland when the Tatars invaded the border, and who could defend the city gates when the country was in chaos, how could he ignore his subjects for himself?

Chu Jinyao's eyes were a little wet for some reason, and even his voice was a little trembling: "Your Highness, you refused, right?"

Qin Yi was silent for a moment, and whispered: "Yes."

They all knew that there was a bottomless abyss ahead, a huge trap. As long as Qin Yi nodded, the money would have the most legitimate name, and no one would say that the prince was wrong, but once Qin Yi refused, the emperor would definitely be unhappy when he found out, and the father-son relationship in the royal family could not stand the test.

This choice is actually very simple. After all, after the money is taken out, it is not Qin Yi who suffers, and he can even give himself a name of filial piety. But he can't go against his conscience. Being an emperor is not like this.

Knowing that it is impossible, they did it anyway. From the beginning, they both knew that all their efforts were heading towards destruction.

The confident peace proposal of the Oirat was rejected, and they were obviously a little confused. They also knew that they were asking for too much, but who let the emperor be in their hands? Timur never thought that with the emperor in his hands, the other side would dare to refuse. Timur was so dissatisfied, not to mention the heavy losses of the Oirat tribe. Amid the rising anger of the Oirat people and the howling white wind on the grassland, the negotiations between the Oirat and the Yan Dynasty finally came to an end.

At this time, the New Year had passed, and some families in the capital had taken down their red lanterns. The peace proposal was difficult to negotiate, and the emperor finally embarked on the long-awaited journey back to the court. The emperor was accompanied by officials from the Ministry of Rites who were in charge of the peace talks and a small army. As soon as he came out of the territory of the Oirat tribe, he saw a familiar figure standing on the snow. Despite the howling cold wind, he kept looking firmly to the north.

"Qin Ji?" The emperor was very surprised. "Aren't you in Qingyang? Why are you here?"

When Prince Su saw the emperor, tears immediately filled his eyes. He knelt on the ground without paying attention to the snow and said, "Father, I am late in escorting you. Please punish me!"

The emperor looked at the man who came, then at the vast snow behind him. For some reason, he sighed and said, "Forget it. Get up."

Prince Su stood up and then hurried to the emperor's side. He was filled with surprise, excitement and heartache. "Father, you... have suffered. Since I heard this, I have been waiting for you for a long time. After hearing the news, I couldn't sleep at night and wished I could take his place. Since the news of the peace talks between my brother and Wala came out, I have been waiting here. Fortunately, I finally waited for you. "

When the emperor heard another name from Prince Su, he was really overwhelmed with emotions. He sighed and said, "It's rare that you have such a heart."

The emperor saw Prince Su's hands at this time. Although these princes are men, they have been living a life of luxury since childhood, and their hands are as well maintained as those of women. However, now, Prince Su's hands are full of cracks caused by freezing.

Prince Su seemed not to notice the emperor's gaze, and still said with surprise and joy: "Father, my son's troops are all in the interior. I will escort you back to Beijing now."