Qian Chunhua, Guan Yueru and Dong Nianmei sat in the pavilion, sipping tea and chatting leisurely.
The sunlight shines through the treetops, dappling on their faces. Everything seems so harmonious and peaceful.
Suddenly Dong Mingshan stepped into the pavilion, breaking the tranquility.
He smiled and greeted Qian Chunhua: "Sister Chunhua, you are here."
However, there was a hint of imperceptible worry between his brows.
Guan Yueru noticed something was wrong with Dong Mingshan, and asked curiously, "Mingshan, why did you come back so early?"
Dong Mingshan sighed and replied, "I'm here to get some banknotes and visit you guys."
He paused and continued, "The government suddenly came to collect taxes, not only requiring us to pay this month's taxes, but also this year's taxes, and the tax amount was doubled."
This news was like a thunderclap, shocking the three people in the pavilion.
Although they did not do business, they knew that paying double taxes for a full year at a time would be a heavy burden for any merchant.
Guan Yueru couldn't help but ask, "Mingshan, what about other merchants? How do they deal with this sudden tax?"
Dong Mingshan was silent for a moment before he slowly spoke: "Some merchants have chosen to close their shops. Not many shops are making money now, and they are all struggling to hold on."
The atmosphere in the pavilion became tense and no one spoke anymore.
However, this incident revealed a message that King Yongning had begun to take action.
It is not aimed at the Dong family, but at all merchants.
Dong Mingshan took the silver note and left the backyard in a hurry.
Guan Yueru looked at his receding back, the worry on her face becoming more and more intense. The tranquility and comfort she had felt while sipping tea earlier were long gone.
"Ah..." She sighed deeply, as if she wanted to pour out all the helplessness and pain in her heart.
"I thought that after leaving Yongning Prefecture, I would be able to find a peaceful place, but I didn't expect that the world is so big and everywhere is subject to storms and turmoil."
Dong Nianmei shook her head gently, with a hint of sympathy and helplessness in her eyes, “Sister-in-law, Beijing is the same as here, or even worse than here.
I heard that there is chaos in the capital city.”
She paused and didn't say anything else.
From her husband's letter, she learned that not only was the capital city in turmoil, but even merchants were not immune and looting occurred frequently.
She secretly felt lucky that her parents had acted decisively and left that place of trouble.
But it’s not too crowded here…
Inside the palace, the atmosphere was so oppressive that even the air seemed to have frozen.
When the news came that the merchants refused to pay taxes, King Yongning angrily smashed the teacup in his hand, his face turned pale, and he denounced his officials as incompetent.
"Your Highness, please calm down." Lord Zhang took a step forward and bowed respectfully.
"No matter what you do," said the King of Yongning, with unquestionable authority, "taxes cannot be reduced by a single cent.
Even if they want to close the store, they must pay all taxes before closing.
If someone wants to leave Yongning Prefecture, they must pay all taxes before they can leave."
Prince Yongning gently pressed on the right upper abdomen, and the pain was like a cut.
His cholelithiasis recurred, and the medicine prescribed by the imperial physician seemed to be of no use at all.
This group of so-called imperial doctors are so useless.
"As you command, Your Majesty." Lord Zhang bowed his head and responded, his voice full of respect.
"Everyone, please leave." King Yongning waved his hand, signaling everyone to leave.
The sudden feeling of nausea was unbearable for him. He opened his mouth and vomited all over the floor.
"Hurry...quickly call the imperial physician!" Liu Yushi shouted anxiously.
The imperial physician rushed over, looked at Prince Yongning's symptoms, frowned, and began to diagnose and treat him seriously.
After a long time, the imperial physician finally spoke, "Your Highness, this is caused by stagnation of qi in the liver and gallbladder, and stasis of qi and blood..."
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