"Your Majesty, what are you saying?"

When Xiao Zhizi heard the noise, he jumped up and hurried over to serve.

Ying Jingjue rubbed his temples with his fingertips, "My headaches and nightmares seem to be getting worse. I've been taking the prescriptions prescribed by the imperial physician for a long time but they haven't worked."

Xiao Zhizi helped him put on his boots. "How can it be that fast? Your Majesty has been too busy lately, working hard on the border affairs. You are young, you will be fine after you relax and rest for a few days."

Ying Jingjue: "How can it be that easy? Only after I took this position did I realize..."

Only then did I realize how many deep-rooted illnesses and hidden dangers the Great Prosperity Dynasty had. Without a major change and an opportunity for a thorough cleansing, this dynasty would only slowly decline.

Now is an opportunity for cleansing.

After getting dressed, Ying Jingjue asked, "After I have discussed the matter, go find a few elderly people in the palace, preferably those who had been by my father's side when he was still a prince."

Xiao Zhizi: "Yes, Your Majesty, what is this?"

"I have been raised by the Empress Dowager since I was a child, but I have never seen my biological mother. My father has never mentioned her to me." He didn't even know his mother's name.

"Maybe I have seen my mother before, but I forgot about her after I got sick. I don't know if the repeated dreams are a sign that I will remember her. When I woke up, I called her little uncle. Maybe I have other relatives from my mother's family."

Xiao Zhizi was surprised, "Yes, I will definitely find all the people I can."

West Warm Pavilion.

"Your Majesty, the border situation is improving. Should we reconsider the previously shelved plans?" The Left Prime Minister bowed.

Minister of Finance: "I think this is not the best time yet."

The old marquis stroked his beard and said, "Your Majesty, I think you can give it a try. Since you ascended the throne, the regent has rarely appeared in front of the public, let alone attended court. You have repeatedly asked him to come, but he always claimed to be sick."

"Whether it's true or not, those ministers in the court who are not so loyal to the Regent King must have been skeptical and wavering in their hearts. You can take this opportunity to replace them or bring them under control."

Ying Jingjue: "A minister who is loyal to the Regent?"

He laughed, "Since ancient times, it has always been the ministers who are loyal to the emperor. I didn't know that there is still a saying in the court that loyalty should be given to the regent king."

Several trusted ministers in the warm pavilion immediately asked His Majesty to calm down.

Ying Jingjue tapped the tabletop lightly with his fingertips. "I heard that Ye Mingqin went to the Prince Regent's Palace recently and was stopped?"

Minister of Revenue: "Yes."

"Perhaps it's because Lord Ye is too businesslike and has displeased the Regent."

Ying Jingjue glanced at him and said, "My dear, there is something else behind your words."

The Minister of Revenue said: "Lady Ye is not an ordinary person. She is a good official who is honest and loyal to the emperor. Although she has some relationship with the Regent Palace and is a woman, she works much harder than ordinary men. Sometimes I feel inferior to her."

The emperor was suspicious.

Ying Jingjue is no exception.

However, the words of the Minister of Revenue made him trust Ye Mingqin a little more. Ying Jingjue hesitated for a moment and said, "There is a vacancy for the Assistant Minister of Revenue. Let her try. You keep an eye on her. If she has any ulterior motives..."

Minister of Revenue: "I understand."

There was good news from the frontier, but the war was costing too much money and food. The Minister of Revenue handed over an expense account for the past six months, "Your Majesty, the treasury is empty, and the northern barbarians have no intention of stopping the war. If this continues..."

Ying Jingjue: "My dear, do you know where the most money is?"

Minister of Finance: "What does your Majesty mean?"

The young prince revealed his ambition: "The regent's cronies have been corrupt and accepting bribes for a long time. Where there are those parasites, how can there be no rice, grain and money?"

The Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel said: "Your Majesty, are you going to start the investigation? But I'm afraid it will be difficult to deal with the Regent Prince."

"Don't worry about Lian Shenwei. I'll take care of the court. You guys can investigate it privately and take him down with lightning speed," Ying Jingjue said with a gloomy look in his eyes. "He has been claiming to be ill for a long time and I don't know what's going on in the Regent Palace recently."

The old marquis thought for a moment and said, "There's nothing else to say, but I heard that the regent king's confidants often buy a lot of precious supplements, such as blood swallows, jade ginseng, etc. These things are precious, and when they can't be bought in the capital, they will go out to buy them."

"Is the Regent really ill?"

The old marquis shook his head: "Apart from those expensive supplements, I haven't seen the Regent Palace purchase any other medicinal materials."

The Minister of Revenue's face turned cold: "Extravagant."

"I think the Regent Palace is very expensive, so this little money is not a big deal."

Ying Jingjue said indifferently: "But the court is bad."

Since he wants to start reducing power, he has to take other actions besides targeting even the most cautious party members.

He was no longer the prince who was at the mercy of others. He was the emperor, and Lian Shenwei was his subject. Killing and giving were all rewards.

"The Regent is my teacher, so he should share the responsibility for me. If you want to open a shop here, you should raise the price you sell to my teacher to the highest level."

This was his first official move against Lian Shenwei.

Ying Jingjue paused and said, "If you buy other medicinal materials besides supplements, you don't have to worry about it."

After the discussion, the afternoon was almost over and it was getting dark. After the ministers left, Ying Jingjue got down from his chair.

He was young and not tired at this moment.

"Xiao Zhizi."

"His Majesty."

"Did you find the people you were looking for?"

Xiao Zhizi said in embarrassment: "After searching for the remaining elderly people beside the late emperor, only Eunuch Li is left. According to the ancestral system, he is the late emperor's servant. Before the coffin is placed in the mausoleum next year, he must guard the coffin hall and cannot see you."

Ying Jingjue was silent for a moment, "Forget it, it won't be too late next year."

The cold winter is over and the ice and snow are melting.

Wild geese fly from the south, bringing spring with them.

Qiu Che was at the border and didn't need any help, so he found a city to use as a temporary resting place.

Li Ningfeng's help was needed in collecting medicinal herbs, but it was inconvenient to send things to the capital in secret. Tiannan spent nearly two months traveling back and forth between the border and the capital, and brought back a lot of medicinal herbs that were not available in the Central Plains, as well as a pot of flowers.

The leaves of this flower are shaped like swords and are symmetrical on both sides. From the front, they look like an open fan, while from the side, they are straight like a pine tree. In the middle, there is a cluster of white flowers with red stamens.

Like fire and snow, it is extremely beautiful.

Lian Shenwei looked at it for a long while, "Clivia?"

"Are there any other varieties with this color?"

Most Clivias have red or orange flowers when they bloom, but this one is rare.

Tiannan: "Mr. Qiu gave it to me. Oh, and there's also a letter."

Lian Shenwei opened the letter and read it. It was very short, with only a few words:

[Seeing you write is like seeing you in person, Ximian writes to you personally:

After several months at the border, the scenery is completely different and I am very happy.

One day I saw a strange flower of Clivia growing on the top of a mountain. Its leaves were like swords, and its buds were pure white. It stood facing the wind, with a grace as elegant as you. I carefully transplanted it and sent it to you from thousands of miles away to express my best wishes.

Clivia is a flower of integrity and longevity.

I give you this flower in the hope that you will live a long and healthy life.

Qiu Che stayed.]

Tiannan: "I thought the flower would wither on the road, but it turned out to be blooming as it got warmer."

Ah Zi barked, trying to attack the new 'pet' fiercely. Lian Shenwei stretched out his hand to stop him and scolded him, "Go play somewhere else."

Ah Zi turned his back with a wronged look on his face.

"He also sent me the bird and the flowers. He must be afraid that I would be bored," Lian Shenwei shook his head, folded up all the letters and put them together.

He could no longer hear, so he became interested in the letters he had received in the past and often took them out to read.

However, no one knew where Feng Ke had gone and there was no news at all.

It is spring now, and he has been taking good care of his body. It has become much more stable now, and he can spare some energy to take care of the flowers and plants.

Lian Shenwei moved the flowers to the window sill. "To nourish the flowers and nourish my spirit, I am not in good health now. I don't know if I can survive."

Tiannan nodded quickly: "Of course it can, this flower is very hardy." After the bumpy ride along the way, apart from being a little wilted, there was nothing else that seemed to be wrong with it.

Lian Shenwei had his back to him and couldn't hear what he said, but he turned around and warned Ah Zi not to touch the flower pot. I don't know if it's because the food has improved, but this bird is growing fast and has extra energy.

Ah Zi was so angry that he shut himself off.

"master."

While they were talking, Ming Cang brought today's lunch.

A few simple side dishes, a bowl of porridge, and a cup of steaming ginseng soup.

Lian Shenwei sat down to eat, and Ah Zi flew to the table and stared at him while he ate.

If these dishes were placed in other households, they would be excellent, but Tiannan frowned after just one look at them, because the master had already started eating.

After the two of them went out, Tiannan pulled the candle aside.

"Is there only ginseng soup? Judging from the quality, it is just ordinary 100-year-old ginseng."

Ming Cang pursed his lips and said, "Before you left, the prices of those tonics in the capital showed signs of increasing, and then they kept getting higher and higher. I went outside the capital and found the same thing."

"I can't leave for too long to look after the master. There isn't much money left in the mansion. Most of it was spent on supplements for the master, and there isn't much left now."

“Why is it so expensive?”

"They said the supply was tight, but what I found out was that..."

The candle pointed in the direction of the imperial palace.

Tiannan was furious. He suppressed his anger and asked, "Has the harvest on the farm not come in yet?"

"We have to wait another month," Ming Candle calculated, "but even if we collect them, they won't last for many days."

After all, you still have to buy ordinary daily food and can't spend all your money on it.

Now the expenses in the mansion have been saved to the minimum. The nourishing things in the herbal medicine shop are ridiculously expensive. The hundred-year-old ginseng that she cooked today was the one she found in Feng Ke's residence.

Even if you save money and endure it, you won't be able to last more than three days.

Tiannan's face was so gloomy that water could drip out of it: "If it weren't for the need for rice and grain in the border areas three or four years ago, the master would have taken all the money to buy grain in the south..."

The Regent's Palace accepted bribes from corrupt officials, and never refused them. However, the master did not touch a penny of the money, and almost all of it was spent on the border and the people.

They both stayed silent for a long time.

Tiannan: "The money in the mansion should be used sparingly. Mr. Feng emphasized this before he left. The master's health depends on those expensive supplements. Don't stop."

"What are you going to do?" Ming Cang was a little worried.

Tiannan: "Don't worry about it, and don't let the master know."

The next day.

The news that several warehouses in the palace had been robbed by thieves spread all over the streets.

Rumor has it that the thief was shot in the arm by a patrolling guard. The emperor is furious, and now the guards in the imperial city are searching house by house for him.

The Xuanjia Guards were requisitioned, and the Regent Palace also received the news.

That night.

When Tiannan came in with the basin of water, Lian Shenwei was leaning on the small couch by the window, holding a book in one hand.

The bowl of tonic soup on the table remained untouched.

Tiannan washed the towel and handed it over, "Master, you should rest after drinking."

A corner of the handkerchief caught his eye, and Lian Shenwei raised his head, looking at him indifferently, his eyes falling on his arm.

"Where did you go last night?"

Tiannan's hands trembled for a moment, but his voice remained steady: "Just stand guard outside the master's door."

With a snap, Lian Shenwei closed the book and threw it on the table. His tone became serious: "Untie your belt and roll up your sleeves."

"Tiannan, I hate deception."

"The soup in this bowl is made of Arkh Snow Lotus seeds, which are tributes from small tribes and only available in the imperial palace. You may not recognize them, but I do. You can't buy these lotus seeds anywhere else."

“…”

Tiannan's eyes turned red, he knelt down, looked up at him and said, "Master, I stole it."

Lian Shenwei: "You used to hate thieves the most."

"...My Lord, the Emperor has secretly ordered that all supplements purchased by the Regent's Palace be priced at the highest price. The Palace no longer has that much money to buy supplements for your health. Mr. Feng said that your diet must be refined and that you must take supplements constantly. I have no other choice..."

Tiannan controlled his speaking speed and bowed his head after he finished speaking. "Master, I was not discovered. There are so many good things in the palace. You..."

"Stop talking."

Lian Shenwei closed his eyes.

He had not been involved in the affairs of the government since he lost his intelligence. He had expected Jingjue to reduce his power. He had kept some of the corrupt officials he had recruited until now just to give him some practice after he ascended the throne.

According to the news that came in every day, some of these people died, and all the money confiscated from their homes was returned to the national treasury. He knew that the national treasury was empty, but he didn't expect Jingjue to make things difficult for him in this regard.

This way of showing off authority is neither painful nor itchy, and it seems more like being childish.

Tiannan knelt forward two steps and pleaded in a low voice: "Please eat first. Even if I have to punish you, I have to see you finish eating."

Lian Shenwei followed his instructions and said after finishing the drink: "I don't need to waste it."

Tiannan breathed a sigh of relief.

"As for the things you stole, you should either return them or sell them for silver and send them to the charity."

"master!"

Lian Shenwei: "You can also choose to leave."

Tiannan clenched his hands suddenly, met his master's calm eyes, and was speechless for a long time.

He had thought about the day when his secret would be exposed, but he didn't expect it to happen so soon. If he had chosen other common tonics instead of lotus seeds today, his master would have discovered it later and would have been able to use it for a few more days.

"Mr. Feng said..."

"I'm feeling better now. I'll just stop using these things for a few days. It won't be a problem." Lian Shenwei said, then turned his head away, a gesture of refusing to communicate.

This attitude was actually expected. Tiannan knew his temper well, so he had to take the things and retreat.

When I walked to the door, I heard a faint voice: "There is medicine in Feng Ke's room, go get some and apply it yourself."

Tiannan's nose felt sore.

He said, "Master, let's go and not stay in the capital."

There was no response.

The young man sitting on the small couch in front of the window fiddled with the candle, then picked up a roll of bamboo slips and spread it out. Next to it was a map with circles and dots, and many places were marked with a vermilion pen.

The Clivia on the windowsill cast an elongated silhouette on the window.