Chapter 138 Utter Rage
His mind raced. Now that he was on Xi Han's ship, he dared not say a bad word. If he did, he would lose the reward and be disliked by both sides.
"Your Majesty! This servant...this servant has also inquired privately. The lives of the people of Xihan are much better than before, and there are more vendors on the streets. But Magistrate Qu said that in order to fully cultivate the grain seeds that benefit the country and the people, the county magistrate has almost emptied his coffers in recent years, repairing irrigation canals, buying farm tools, building schools, and taking in many refugees, which has resulted in huge expenses!"
"So...so in terms of taxes, for the time being...for the time being, the collection is still extremely low, and almost all of it is used to cover the expenses of the experimental fields, barely maintaining the operation of the county government...indeed...indeed, there is no significant income to be turned over to the national treasury."
After listening, Pei Yan's face remained inscrutable, making it impossible to tell whether he believed her or not.
He waved his hand, his tone indifferent: "Alright, I understand. You've worked hard too, go and rest. You handled this mission fairly well, go to the Imperial Household Department to collect your reward later."
"Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty! This servant takes his leave!"
Gao Quan felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He quickly kowtowed and backed out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation. By the time he closed the heavy door, his inner clothes were soaked with sweat.
Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger; he was lucky to escape with his life again.
Once the palace doors were closed, only Pei Yan and Desheng remained in the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
The once deathly silent hall suddenly froze, the air growing eerily cold.
The calm mask on Pei Yan's face shattered completely with a snap!
He suddenly stood up from his chair, his face ashen, veins throbbing on his forehead, and his eyes burning with fury!
He stared intently at the two damned reports on the imperial desk, as if he wanted to burn them to ashes with his eyes!
"Princess Jianing..."
His teeth were grinding together, and his voice was hoarse and chilling, "Xie Sangning...good! Very good!!"
Birthday gift! Surprise with grain seeds! It's all bullshit!
He'd been tricked! This woman had made a fool of him!
He thought he was being thrown out a muddy mess, a piece of scrap metal that would humiliate her!
And what happened? It was a hot, hard-earned gold nugget! A treasure trove that Xie Sangning, that scoundrel, had already turned into a goldmine!
He even went out of his way to stamp it with the golden seal of an eternal fiefdom and personally delivered it to her! What difference is there between this and giving her mountains of gold and silver?!
Pei Yan felt a surge of anger rush to the top of his head, making him feel dizzy and his vision go black!
He could almost see Xie Sangning's face, sneering at him and silently saying: Thank you for your great favor!
His anger was burning so badly that his internal organs were aching!
He could no longer hold back, and suddenly grabbed a heavy jade brush washer from the imperial desk, and with all his might, slammed it hard onto the ground!
Pei Yan's chest heaved violently as he gasped for breath.
He couldn't lose his temper in front of outsiders, he couldn't let people know his ulterior motives in granting the land, and he couldn't ruin his reputation for being considerate of meritorious officials!
But if he didn't vent this anger, he felt like he was about to explode!
"Victory!"
He turned his head sharply, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at the old eunuch.
"This servant...this servant is here!"
Desheng knelt down with a thud.
"You...go now! Right now!"
Pei Yan lowered his voice, "Issue an imperial decree! Let Xie Sangning... no, Princess Jianing, enter the palace immediately!"
"Yes! Yes! This servant understands! This servant will go right away!" Desheng scrambled to his feet, his calves trembling, and practically crawled out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
Pei Yan was the only one left in the hall.
He forced himself to calm down, but only one thought kept running through his mind: Xie Sangning deserves to die! He actually played him for a fool!
Since Xi Han is so wealthy, how much tax should he pay every year?!
In previous years, the imperial court not only did not receive a single penny, but also had to pay out of its own pocket for relief every year!
All that money that should have belonged to Pei ended up in Xie Sangning's pocket! It enriched her territory and slapped him in the face!
He felt as if his heart was bleeding!
The national treasury was already so empty it could run a horse; the north needed military spending, the south was suffering from floods and needed money, and they were almost unable to pay officials' salaries...
The money he painstakingly saved became Xie Sangning's capital for making a fortune? This hurts more than cutting his own flesh with a knife!
No! We absolutely cannot let this go!
Pei Yan's eyes gradually turned sinister and vicious.
He has to get that debt back, with interest!
Xie Sangning, do you think everything is fine now?
dream!
What I can give you, I can also make you spit out!
Tomorrow morning at court, let Xie Sangning personally return Xi Han in front of all the officials!
He's sending her into the palace now to prevent her from getting wind of things outside and making plans in advance. To be honest, he's really afraid of Xie Sangning. Only by keeping her locked up in the palace can he feel a little more at ease.
In the general's mansion, Xie Sangning was looking through the newly delivered trade route planning map from Xi Hanshun when the old eunuch Desheng rushed in as if his pants were on fire.
"Princess...The Emperor...The Emperor is furious! He summons you to the palace immediately! Judging from...judging from the situation, it seems...it seems he intends to take Xihan back..."
Desheng winked at Xie Sangning, the meaning was clear: the storm is coming, you must hold on!
Xie Sangning put down the blueprints, her face expressionless. She simply hummed in agreement and slowly stood up, saying, "Understood. Please lead the way, Father-in-law."
I had anticipated this.
Upon entering the palace, they did not see the emperor.
The eunuch in charge of the Imperial Household Department led Xie Sangning to a secluded palace room with a forced smile: "Princess, you've had a long day. It's getting late, so please make do here for the night. His Majesty... will summon you for court tomorrow morning."
Xie Sangning wasn't annoyed; she ate and slept as usual, conserving her energy.
The next day, the morning court session was held in the Taiji Hall.
On the golden throne, Pei Yan's face was as taut as an iron plate.
The ministers below stood with their hands at their sides, eyes downcast, so quiet in the hall you could hear a pin drop.
"Announce that Princess Xie Sangning of Jianing County has entered the palace—" The eunuch's shrill voice shattered the silence.
Xie Sangning, dressed in the robes of a county magistrate, walked in step by step with her back ramrod straight.
Countless gazes were fixed on her, some curious, some worried, and most eager to see a good show.
"Your subject Xie Sangning greets Your Majesty." She bowed respectfully.
Pei Yan did not let her get up. After a long silence, he coldly spoke: "Xie Sangning, I... have heard that Xihan is no longer what it used to be? Not only is it no longer as barren as it once was, but it is even... more prosperous than Jinling?"
These words were like a bombshell dropped into the imperial court!
The ministers in the hall were all stunned, their eyes wide open, exchanging incredulous glances.
Xihan? That godforsaken place? More prosperous than Jinling? Are you kidding me!
Under the gazes of shock and suspicion, Xie Sangning raised his head, his face showing no sign of panic, and calmly replied, "Your Majesty, this is indeed the case."
Pei Yan narrowed his eyes, a cold glint in them: "Oh? So, all these years you've been keeping it a secret from the court, from me? And... if I remember correctly, the court has been allocating relief funds to Xihan every year! You've been using the court's money to turn Xihan into your own gold mine?"
His words were tantamount to pinning the charges of embezzling state funds and deceiving the emperor on her!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
