After the founding of the People's Republic of China, she became a spirit and was punished, and

The Empress Dowager also brought rewards from Kangxi. With her in charge of the Hundred Days Banquet, the banquet ended smoothly and lively.

The guests present left or stayed. Rongzhu couldn't wait to go to the backyard to enjoy the joy of the twins and talk to Xiyu. Even the empress dowager waited until dark before going back.

The happy event was over, but the disaster situation in Taiyuan, Yinan and other places was also reported to the capital.

Due to continuous heavy rains, floods broke out again, and some people became bandits and brought disaster to the people.

This news was sent urgently over a distance of eight hundred miles. The minister wrote a letter requesting disaster relief, but disaster relief requires money.

The taxes collected in the previous year had already been used to cover military expenses, and Kangxi sent someone to transfer two million taels of silver from the national treasury as the first disaster relief grant.

As a result, the national treasury is even more empty, and the second batch of disaster relief funds will have to be sent soon.

Kangxi was so worried that several blisters appeared on his mouth overnight. He couldn't eat or sleep well.

Kangxi sat in the imperial study in the Qianqing Palace, looking at the memorial in his hand with a worried look.

In just a few days, he seemed to have aged a lot.

The burden of the entire country falls on his shoulders.

When Concubine Yu saw this, she couldn't hide the heartache in her eyes, but the harem was not allowed to interfere in government affairs, and... she had no choice and could not help at all.

She frowned, hiding her outward emotions, and then walked a little closer from behind with a light gait, "Your Majesty, you have been sitting here watching for the whole afternoon, it's time to take a break."

Kangxi calmly closed the memorial in his hand, leaned back in the dragon chair and concentrated on enjoying Concubine Yu's massage.

"It's not that I don't want to rest, but if I rest for a moment, these memorials will be approved a moment later. The various departments are still waiting. Even if they can afford to wait, the people cannot."

He sighed and raised his hand to pinch his brow.

Concubine Yu couldn't bear it, and after much thought she came up with a compromise, although... this method might make her a thorn in the eyes of all the concubines in the palace.

But think about it again, she is deeply favored by the emperor, so it is probably a long time ago.

She made up her mind, stopped what she was doing, walked in front of Kangxi, bent down slightly, and was a little lower than him.

"I know you've been worried about disaster relief recently. I don't have any great skills, but I still have a little savings, as well as some silver and jewelry you gave me. Although I'm reluctant to give them away, if I can help some of the people, it would be good to do my bit."

"Besides, I think that the food delivered by the imperial kitchen every day cannot be eaten up, which is a waste. The other expenses of the palace are also large, and many of them are unnecessary. It is better to reduce these allowances first and help the people of the Qing Dynasty get through this difficult time."

She finished speaking in one breath, and the study was silent.

Only then did Yupin notice that Kangxi was staring at her.

"emperor?"

She raised her hand and touched her temples and clothes, her eyes flashing with confusion and panic, "Is it my appearance that is messed up, or did I say something wrong?"

Kangxi's eyebrows softened a lot, and he covered her face with his big hand. "You are right, I just didn't expect you to say such a thing. You care about the people. You... are very good!"

Concubine Yu was slightly stunned.

In the past, the emperor would only favor her because of her face, but today he was willing to praise her, which really surprised her.

She lowered her head with rosy cheeks and answered obediently: "I am originally from the common people, so I can naturally empathize with the common people."

On the same day, Kangxi issued an imperial decree that the daily food allowance of everyone in the palace, including him, would be halved, and the monthly allowance of silver would be halved.

On the surface, the concubines in the harem did not dare to say anything, and even supported Kangxi's decision with a smile, but in private they scolded Concubine Yu to death.

For a time, Concubine Yu overshadowed the pregnant concubines in the harem and became the target of public criticism.

However, as Kangxi favored them, no one dared to make any big moves.

Yupin's life in the harem was relatively decent, but because she disobeyed her master's order to keep a low profile in the harem, she received a reprimand and warning from her master after nightfall.

The letter said: If he could send one person into the palace, he could also send a second person, and asked her not to think that she was an exception just because she looked similar to the late queen.

Seeing this, although Yupin was frightened, she did not regret saying such words.

……

Saving expenses in the palace will naturally save money, but although this measure is effective, it requires a long time to implement. The money saved in a short period of time is simply a drop in the bucket compared to the funds for disaster relief.

Someone submitted a memorial to advise that we could follow the example of Concubine Yu and donate money.

This move was to hang Concubine Yu over the fire.

Kangxi's eyes narrowed and he looked at the person who said this.

He just made suggestions, but because he knew that this would cause dissatisfaction among officials and he did not dare to take the responsibility, he used a weak woman as a shield. This is really a despicable act!

Kangxi was very disdainful of him and naturally did not agree with this suggestion.

He knew in his heart that these old idiots were rich, but then again, even if he agreed to the donation proposal, he wouldn't be able to get much money out of them, and instead would make an enemy for Concubine Yu in the court.

If he issued an order and forced these people to pay money, they would just cry poor and act miserable. How many of them are really poor?

He swept his sharp eyes around the officials. Some of them still owed the Ministry of Revenue money. He had to think of an idea that would make these idiots willing to pay back the money...

Kangxi was always worried about money, and Yinzhen, who was in the Ministry of Revenue, was naturally also very worried about this matter, and he came back later and later every day.

Even if he came home early one day, he would lock himself in the study.

Although many officials have repaid their debts under Yinzhen's drastic measures in the past few days, the rest are either penniless or really penniless and have no money to pay.

As an official of the Ministry of Revenue, he had to find a way to raise money.

[Ding! Here’s a good suggestion for you to gain merit. ]

'Suggestion? Not a task?'

Xi Yu lowered her eyes and looked at the account book, asking distractedly.

After her reforms, the profits of all the shops under her name doubled, and some shops like Luoshangfang made profits more than five times higher than before.

She also has new designs to update the style of menstrual belts used by women.

If it is researched out, it will definitely become a necessity for every woman.

[Of course! All the merits you gain belong to you. The Monster Management Bureau does not require any of them.]

'So is it really that good of you to suddenly remind me?'

Xiyu raised an eyebrow at him, successfully seeing through his little thoughts.

It’s getting harder and harder to deceive... Qi Xi thought to himself.

[Actually, I was able to benefit from it a little bit, and also gained a little bit of merit. ]

Then, he explained awkwardly, "It's simply incomparable to what you have obtained. Besides, the main reason is that I have never obtained any merits. This is a good opportunity."

[Merit is a good thing. It can not only improve your cultivation, but also save your life at a critical moment. Don't you want it? ]

How could you not want to?

As long as you are a monster, you will want it, but it is not so easy to gain merit, Xiyu does not have any hope.

"You want to talk about how to obtain it? If it requires me to draw out my demon power or sacrifice my demon soul to save the people, then forget it. I don't have such a big ambition."

Xiyu slowly turned another page of the account book in her hand, while her other hand was still using an abacus, looking completely unconcerned.