"Who can argue with that? Why would a perfectly good princess choose to fall for a poor scholar?"
The Empress sat on the throne, thinking to herself, "You all seem quite smug. If it weren't for the little princess's timely discovery, who knows what kind of scene the harem would be in now."
The emperor announced the news to the public at the morning court session the following day, and everyone stood up and bowed, saying, "Long live the emperor!"
Only Su Muyao remained unmoved, sitting on a small stool; the other ministers were already used to it.
The emperor raised his hand to signal everyone to stand up, and the court was filled with the flattery of the ministers.
Su Muyao sat on a small stool and kept rubbing her forehead as she listened, thinking, "They're all a bunch of sycophants."
Just as the prime minister was about to step forward, he heard the voice of the little dumpling in front of him.
Well, if they're all just sucking up to him, why did he even stand up?
But thinking about it, it makes sense; aren't these people just scrambling to flatter him?
At this moment, the prime minister completely forgot that he had also wanted to jump out and take pictures just now.
The Duke, standing to the side, twitched his lips. The reason was simple: he had just finished flattering the little girl when he heard her complaining.
The emperor on the high throne chuckled, "This is hardly due to my effective governance; it's clearly His Highness the Crown Prince's courage and wisdom."
Although the Crown Prince had won a great victory, he said he wanted to press the attack, and that the ministers needed to see if they had any solutions to the problem of the army's provisions.
Although the emperor was speaking to all the ministers, his gaze was clearly fixed on Su Muyao.
The little dumpling sat quietly on the small stool, shaking its leg, but didn't respond.
In her heart, she cursed the emperor to death. "That damn emperor wants me to hand over grain again? Bah! He's dreaming if he doesn't contribute a single penny!"
Even though I have as much food as I want in my own space, I can't just keep letting people get something for nothing!
It's one thing to be willing to give, but it's quite another for someone to openly ask for it.
Now that the famine is over, there's no way you're going to give away grain for free.
All the ministers in the court subconsciously looked at Su Muyao, but then they thought that this little dumpling was not someone to be trifled with, and they absolutely could not be the first to ask the little princess to pay for the food.
Your Majesty, it's been quite a while since you said those words, and there's still no action from those below. You're getting rather annoyed.
People say that you raise an army for a day to use it for a short time.
But when it came to their own ministers, they pretended to be deaf and dumb; they were not as effective as a little maid.
Looking at the girl again, well, he didn't dare to speak up! Wasn't this just taking advantage of her?
Just then, the Marquis, who had returned to the capital first, spoke up: "I've heard that the price of grain has been rising for some reason lately. The famine is over, so what's the meaning of this price increase?"
The emperor gave a soft "Oh," and said, "Is that so?"
The Marquis nodded and said, "I just returned to the capital a few days ago and found that the prices at the imperial grain shops are still quite high, and they don't allow other small grain shops to sell grain to the people at a lower price."
On the day I returned, I encountered several shops on the street that had caused quite a scene.
The little dumpling was sitting on a small stool, shaking his legs, when he heard the grain store suddenly clapping his hands: "That's right, I have so much grain, I can sell it!"
The Duke, who was standing to the side, almost lost his footing. This little rascal was saying he had plenty of grain at this moment.
You have a lot, fine, but why are you saying it so loudly?
"I heard that Lord Wu has achieved a great victory in suppressing the bandits this time. I wonder if you have any other opinions on this grain supply?"
In reality, this was a roundabout way of asking the Marquis if he had any other gains from suppressing the bandits, such as gold, silver, treasures, or grain.
The Marquis, however, completely ignored the question and replied, "Although the famine has passed, all the people are still afraid, so the money in their hands is naturally not as important as the grain. That is why those who sell grain want to rip off the people."
The Prime Minister also stepped forward and said, "Yes, in my opinion, Your Majesty should first severely punish those who sell grain."
At this moment, Lord Xu stepped forward and retorted: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, we need to reconsider. If we severely punish these grain sellers and they collude to stop selling, wouldn't that be pushing the people into a fire pit?"
As soon as Lord Xu finished speaking, Lord Li stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I believe that many people still have surplus grain. Why not let them sell their grain?"
Why are we storing so much grain when spring planting is just around the corner?
Just as everyone was discussing heatedly, Su Muyao clapped her hands and stood up.
After standing up, she felt that she was too short. She originally wanted to speak to the ministers, but found that she had to look up to see their chests.
Feeling a little frustrated, I wondered when I would grow taller. So I stood directly on the small stool.
"The Emperor, seeing how adorable the little dumpling was, wished he could just run off the stage and ravage her."
Although he had so many mischievous boys in his harem, they were all afraid of him since childhood.
This little dumpling is not only unafraid of me, but will also point at my nose and scold me. Sometimes I wonder if there's something wrong with me, otherwise why would I like such a violent little guy?
"What ideas does the young princess have?"
Seeing the emperor's earnest expression, Su Muyao didn't keep him in suspense and said directly, "Why don't you give me a royal merchant's license, Your Majesty? I will definitely sell grain at the normal price."
The key thing is that I still have some grain on my side. How about Your Majesty writes me an IOU first?
"I'll return it to you when the country is prosperous. What does Your Majesty think?"
Everyone nodded in agreement upon hearing this: "I think the young princess is kind and righteous, and this is especially true if she has the credentials of an imperial merchant."
"I would be grateful if Your Majesty could name her. I believe that even for the sake of the royal family's reputation, the young princess would not inflate grain prices."
With a marquis speaking up for them, no one else dared to say anything, and they even had to get the emperor to write an IOU.
However, the young princess was indeed the first person in history to get the emperor to write an IOU.
Su Muyao looked at the person who spoke up for her, Lord Wu, a man who rarely appeared in court.
I've only met him once, and I heard he's the Crown Prince's teacher.
After speaking, the Marquis Wu gave Su Muyao a friendly smile.
I had long heard that the Empress intended to marry this little dumpling to His Highness the Crown Prince.
Putting aside her status and wisdom, just her appearance alone suggests she'll be a beauty in the future, more than enough to match my cold-hearted disciple.
If I can make a good impression now, I can even risk my reputation to plead for my sons if they make a mistake in the future.
The emperor nodded: "Since the little princess has already spoken, how could I not give you face? But I wonder how much grain our little princess can provide this time?"
He spoke with such a fawning expression that Su Muyao couldn't bear to look at him. Was it really appropriate for a dignified emperor to show such an expression to a child? (｀Δ′)!
"Uncle, you can't rely on me alone. I have so many workers who need to eat."
Since I came to the capital, all the money I've earned has gone into the city.
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