The next day, Qin Zhaoyue was having brunch.
Last night I was drunk, both from the wine and from the alcohol. I drank a little too much and woke up at a moderate time.
This is the correct way to experience being a time-traveling princess, and then she met someone she really didn't want to see.
"Why are you here again!"
Hearing the undisguised resentment in the princess's tone, Suimo sighed inwardly.
If she had a choice, why would she want to come?
"Your Highness, I've come to collect the donations."
What is that? What are you taking?
Seeing that she was confused, Suimo simply made it clearer, "It's the ten thousand taels you pledged at the morning court yesterday."
"No!" Qin Zhaoyue quickly waved her hand, "Are you sure you're not mistaken?"
"No mistake, I just came from the palace."
"Impossible, absolutely impossible! This matter..." Qin Zhaoyue paused, winking and making faces, "Didn't Mother Empress tell you? I was just saying..."
"His Majesty said he wants money."
Silence fell over the room as Qin Zhaoyue and Suimo stared at each other.
"I don't believe it! My mother is the Empress, the supreme ruler, and her word is law."
"I promised to just go through the motions, and I absolutely won't go back on my word!"
Broken Ink: Eh~~~
If you have such loyalty, then say it to His Majesty's face. Who is it that snores so openly in the court?
That morning, after a lot of trouble, she thought she had finally managed to get through the difficult task, but unexpectedly, something went wrong in the end, and she ended up suffering the consequences.
Sui Mo silently took out an imperial edict from his sleeve and placed it in front of the princess.
Qin Zhaoyue's heart skipped a beat. Could it be? Ten thousand taels of silver?
I opened it with trepidation, and my anxiety completely subsided.
As for her mother, the Empress, that's really something!
This imperial edict was not stamped with the national seal, nor was it sent to the Phoenix Pavilion, but it used His Majesty's private seal, the "Phoenix Beak Seal," which was engraved with "Mountains and Rivers Enter the Trap."
While not as effective as a formal imperial edict, it is still a decree. Dealing with ministers might be a bit troublesome, but dealing with princesses of the royal family is more than enough.
Bang!
Sui Mo's eyes twitched wildly. The imperial edict was smashed just like that. If His Majesty didn't punish her, who would he punish?
His Majesty has assigned her to handle these two matters, which makes her future look bleak.
"Your Highness, it would be better to pay the donation as soon as possible, lest you anger His Majesty again, which would be a greater loss than gain."
Qin Zhaoyue's face was ashen.
She never dreamed that the dignified empress would go back on her word!
It was just a slight nap during court; why should he be fined 10,000 taels?
Ten thousand taels, not ten thousand yuan.
Ten copper coins for a bushel of coarse grain, and one tael of silver equals one string of cash, which is one thousand copper coins, or ten thousand taels...
Making her pay up? Just thinking about it makes my heart ache so much I can't breathe.
Seeing that the Sixth Princess's expression was dark and uncertain, Sui Mo delivered the fatal blow at the opportune moment:
"His Majesty said that if we don't pay silver, we can use shops or estates as collateral, or even just give us land deeds."
Qin Zhaoyue: !
You can't fight city hall; the Empress was the strongest force in the Great Gan Dynasty.
What right does a mere sixth princess have to defy the imperial decree?
"I don't care, I have no money, go ahead and kill me."
Broken Ink: ...
No, wasn't that quite clever of you back in the Imperial Study?
She had heard that donations from officials in the court were pouring in.
With the prime minister's guarantee, some officials secretly pledged far more than the amount pledged in court according to their official rank.
This was essentially a disguised indulgence, but it was limited to officials in the capital and served as a preventative measure, so its impact was far less than that of an indulgence.
Including the proceeds from the confiscation of property, the disaster relief funds listed by the Wanmin Division were raised in just one day!
Moreover, the donations made openly were all for grain, with coarse grains purchased at a price of 10 wen per dou, plus about 30% bran.
Officials, both civil and military, used all their skills to buy the goods, even at a premium, but fortunately, they could use bran to offset part of the cost.
The problem that had previously given His Majesty a major headache was solved by the Sixth Princess with just a few words.
With such talent, instead of climbing the ranks based on merit, he's lazy and obsessed with money...
As His Majesty's personal guard, Suimo couldn't say anything, but if he didn't get that ten thousand taels of silver, he would definitely suffer the consequences.
She was already implicated for her disrespectful behavior in front of the princess, and if she messed things up again...
Sui Mo dared not think any further. Just as she was about to offer further advice, she heard the Sixth Princess speak:
"Of course, it's not like we can't discuss it..."
Sui Mo sensed something was amiss and instinctively leaned back, adopting a defensive posture. His face, hidden behind the mask, tightened. "What are the conditions?"
"I've been feeling insecure lately. If the Empress were willing to assign two Azure Phoenix Guards to be my personal bodyguards..."
Broken Ink: ...
Goodness, this guy really dares to speak up!
The Azure Phoenix Guard is the Emperor's personal guard protecting the inner city. Putting aside the significance it represents, the cost of training one Azure Phoenix Guard is more than ten thousand taels of silver, yet the Sixth Princess wanted two.
She was about to refuse outright, but then she thought about it and realized that this was a matter between the mother and daughter, and had nothing to do with her, a guard.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Go away, go away, don't come to my residence unless it's absolutely necessary."
Broken Ink: You think I wanted this?
After everyone left, Qin Zhaoyue's face was gloomy, as if a dark cloud was hanging over her head.
Even the simple-minded maid didn't dare to speak, cowering in the corner: for no other reason than fear of having her monthly pay docked.
Qin Zhaoyue had a premonition that regardless of whether she could get the Azure Phoenix Guards, she was likely to end up with ten thousand taels of silver.
She knew the chances were slim; it was just wishful thinking.
The problem is that the mansion doesn't actually have much cash, but it still has quite a few rare items, paintings, calligraphy, and fabrics in its treasury.
But those things were very precious, mostly gifts from the palace, a confidence built up from childhood.
Selling it is easy, but buying it again is difficult.
After a moment's thought, Qin Zhaoyue decided it wasn't time to sell her family's property and immediately got up.
"Let's go to the No. 1 Restaurant in the World."
She wanted to see what kind of people her predecessor had gathered.
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