The emperor on the dragon throne frowned: "As the ruler of a country, how can I collect taxes from the people of the Western Regions? This is a breach of national dignity."
Su Muyao…
What does face matter when money is involved?
"What? You don't even want silver? Is this the style of a nation? The emperor doesn't even care about silver. Doesn't he care about the common people?"
"Or does the Emperor believe that he would rather his people go hungry than lose face?"
These words caused the expressions of everyone in the court to change repeatedly.
This little princess is ruthless; she doesn't even give the emperor face, and she's practically pointing her finger at him and cursing him.
The emperor's lips twitched. This little princess was being sarcastic. He, the dignified ruler of a country, was being lectured by a little brat.
Seeing the heavy atmosphere, the prime minister stepped forward and bowed to the emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, I think what the young princess said makes sense."
After saying "Oh," the emperor continued, "Farmers pay taxes, shops pay taxes, but who has ever heard of paying taxes for buying things? Isn't this trampling on the dignity of our great dynasty?"
Then the Prime Minister said, "Even so, I have heard that other countries not only have to pay various taxes, but even single men and women who do not marry have to pay taxes."
Even marrying a second woman, whether wife or concubine, required paying taxes. The first woman was exempt, the second 20,000 taels, the third 40,000 taels, and so on, doubling each time.
Su Muyao suddenly looked up and said, "If that's the case, wouldn't the emperor be even poorer? Because he has the most wives."
The Duke, who was standing to the side, also stepped forward and said, "I also think this method is feasible. Every place has its own rules."
Since they wanted this rare treasure, it was only right that they pay more money. They not only gave the Western Region people a hard time but also received money; why wouldn't they do it?
The emperor felt as if his meridians had been opened, and he instantly thought this method was excellent. Every country has different rules, and since he had come to the homeland, he should abide by the rules of the great dynasty.
The Prime Minister pressed his advantage, saying, "Your Majesty, I've heard that the Crown Prince of the Western Regions also owns quite a few properties in the Great Dynasty."
These people have made so much money that it's all going to our great dynasty. Now that we've made them vomit blood, I think it's only right and proper."
The Emperor nodded: "Well said. Then let's do as the little princess says. We will impose heavy taxes on goods sold to people from other countries. I will collect taxes from both sides."
Upon hearing this, Su Muyao jumped up in anger.
This old bastard not only accepts bribes from others, but he also wants to take his own.
"Your Majesty can just take one side."
When he said this, his voice trembled slightly at the end. Is this the legendary case of lifting a rock only to drop it on one's own foot?
Where would you find something like that?
“Princess, don’t be afraid. I said I would accept from both sides, but I didn’t say how much. Just give me a token amount.”
The Emperor's lips curled up as he spoke. He knew that Su Muyao possessed many strange and unusual items, and if they were to be sold, given Su Muyao's greedy nature, they would fetch an astronomical price.
Even if you just collect a little bit yourself, it still adds up to quite a bit.
Su Muyao breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, but she still felt somewhat uneasy.
Just as he was about to argue with the emperor again, the emperor quickly said, "The winter military expenses are still quite high. If the tax revenue is not good, I'm afraid it will only make the soldiers on the frontier suffer."
Although Jiangnan is a major taxpayer, it suffered a severe drought this year, although the young princess solved the drought problem.
But they don't have enough seeds for this high-yield grain; they haven't received theirs yet, so they simply can't offer much.
Hearing the emperor's dignified and benevolent tone, Su Muyao knew that if she didn't agree, wouldn't she be disgraced by the world?
"Since Your Majesty has made a decision, I have nothing to say. However, I hope Your Majesty will not disappoint me regarding the matter of taxation."
"Princess, rest assured, it's just a small token, probably only one percent. I believe you can accept this small amount of money."
The emperor felt a pang of regret after speaking, as he had originally intended to say three percent.
But he knew that if he said this, the little group of kids below would definitely get angry.
After the morning court session, the emperor issued an edict to lift the curfew, and the city gates would not be closed from that day forward.
Upon returning to the Princess's residence, Su Muyao took out the solar-powered lights from her spatial storage and planned to hang them on Huian Street, the street where her shop was located.
Huian Street is considered one of the busiest streets in Beijing.
"Xia, take some money and rent out the entrances of our house and the entrances of the neighboring houses."
Xia asked, puzzled, "Princess, many of our shops are not fully stocked, and there's such a long space in front of the shops."
"If you want to set up a stall, you can set up several stalls. Why would you need to buy a spot in front of someone else's house?"
"I plan to take the trinkets from the shop to the stall and sell them, and I plan to put other things in the shop."
"Before buying the other people's shops, the main purpose of these locations on the street was to set up several huge ring toss stalls."
Su Muyao had already planned it out: she would display some unusual and rare items that no one had ever seen before, and set the price for the ring toss game higher.
Xia nodded and hurried off to do it.
Meanwhile, Su Muyao started thinking about how to make flyers and posters in her space.
After the emperor's decree was issued, Huian Street became lively.
Soldiers patrolled at both ends of the street, mainly to prevent horse-drawn carriages from passing through, turning the entire street into a pedestrian zone.
After finishing her work in the space, Su Muyao ate lunch and hurriedly came to the shop.
The restaurants on Huian Street all have tall lanterns hanging above them; some sell snacks, while others steam buns at their entrances.
There were also many vendors pushing carts and peddlers shaking drums.
And the vendors who set up stalls on both sides of Huian Street were all shouting their wares.
The place looked very lively overall, but the most eye-catching things were Su Muyao's two large shops.
The guys even set up a long table by the door, with soap, lighter, toothbrush, toothpaste and other gadgets on it.
As per Su Muyao's instructions, the prices of these items were reduced.
It's basically affordable for ordinary families, and the streets are bustling with people, many of whom are merchants from other countries.
Across from Su Muyao's shop was a restaurant. The Emperor and Empress sat by the window in a private room on the second floor, watching the bustling shops below.
"When I said I was going to give these two shops to the little princess, I said it was a pity to give them to her, since they are the two best shops on Huian Street."
Looking at it now, the business is booming.
The Empress chuckled softly from the side: "Your Majesty, how could you forget that this shop is not something I want to give away, but something your good son has been longing to give away."
The Emperor laughed heartily: "Aren't you afraid that once you have a wife, you'll forget your mother and give everything away at such a young age?"
"He's not even married yet, and he's already siding with outsiders. Will he ever remember his father and mother?"
Just as the two were having a lively conversation, they noticed that Su Muyao had been surrounded by people coming and going below.
Xiao Dezi came up at this time.
What's going on outside?
Upon hearing the Emperor call his name, Xiao Dezi quickly bowed and stepped forward, saying, "Your Majesty, it was the young princess who took out that thing called a camera."
They say that pressing a button can freeze a person's image on paper, allowing you to record precious moments.
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