Traveling through the emperor, overthrowing the empress dowager at the beginning

early morning.

When Ye Chen woke up, he felt the delicate body in his arms moving.

He hugged her slender waist, feeling the virgin fragrance that filled his nose, the delicate smoothness of his touch, and the firm and upright body that was full of youth and vitality.

It's so comfortable.

Ye Chen didn't want to let go at all.

"Your Majesty, aren't you going to court today? Let me change your clothes for you."

Hua Rui struggled for a while, and seeing that Ye Chen was still unwilling to let go, she spoke softly and cautiously.

Her voice was very gentle, with a hint of helplessness and a hint of joy.

Many palace maids would love to be relied upon by Ye Chen like this.

Even though Ye Chen's hands were still not honest, Hua Rui was not nervous or afraid anymore.

She's used to it.

"Well, is it the morning hour now?"

"It seems not yet."

Huarui looked up at the sky through the window and replied.

"It's still early, let me hug you again."

It was early in the morning, but Ye Chen was not tired at all, because he went to bed early yesterday. He did not have much impulse now, so he just held Hua Rui calmly, feeling the energetic body in his arms, and felt as if he had returned to the age of going to school in his later life.

At that time, his dream was to hug the school beauty.

But now this is no longer a dream.

"Hua Rui, do you want to be a concubine?"

Ye Chen suddenly said.

"what?"

Huarui was shocked, then ecstatic.

"Your Majesty, if Your Majesty really doesn't mind me, then I am willing to do it, but I'm afraid the Queen Mother won't allow it."

Hua Rui remembered the Empress Dowager's previous order, and the ecstasy in her heart was ultimately suppressed by reason. She said in a helpless tone.

"Tsk, Huarui, you believe in me!"

Ye Chen turned Hua Rui over, looked at her delicate face like a flower, stared into her shining eyes, and said word by word with absolute certainty: "It won't be long before I make you my real woman!"

"His Majesty."

Hua Rui's face flushed, her eyes were full of spring light, and her heart was filled with joy and infinite emotion.

She could feel that Ye Chen was quite serious at this moment and didn't just want to play around.

And what is Ye Chen’s identity?

The current emperor.

She was so flattered that Ye Chen made such a promise to her, a palace maid.

At this moment, her heart was completely lost.

"Your Majesty, Guard Shen has arrived. He said there's some progress on yesterday's investigation. The Queen Mother also asked if Your Majesty would attend the morning court today."

Cheng'en's voice came from outside the bedroom.

Hearing this, Ye Chen couldn't stay in bed any longer.

Although the beauties in your arms are infinitely beautiful, if you cannot defeat the treacherous ministers and seize power, you will eventually lose them.

It’s still business that matters.

Ye Chen pulled Hua Rui up gently and pecked her lightly on the lips.

"Change my clothes."

Ye Chen's voice was gentle, but as always, it held a hint of dominance.

"Yes."

When Hua Rui saw Ye Chen stand up, she felt a little reluctant, but she still helped Ye Chen change his clothes.

At this moment, there were only Ye Chen and Hua Rui in the bedroom.

Hua Rui was wearing a pink bellyband and a blue gauze dress, revealing a large area of ​​snow-white skin. Her seductive figure curves jumped out sexy arcs as she moved, showing the unique charm of a girl's delicate body.

This made Ye Chen so angry that after putting on the dragon robe, he held it in his arms and played with it all over for a long time before stopping.

When Ye Chen walked out of the bedroom, he saw Shen Qiu in a white brocade dress.

Shen Qiu was still the same as last night, with such a cold temperament that it seemed as if she was not a human being on earth, but a fairy from heaven, so beautiful that she was out of this world.

"Qiu'er, I have to go to court today. On the way, tell me in detail what you found out yesterday."

Ye Chen got into the sedan directly, patted his side, and greeted Shen Qiu intimately.

"Come, sit here."

Shen Qiu: “…”

Looking at the seat next to Ye Chen, which was only big enough for one person.

Shen Qiu didn't need to think too much to guess that if she sat down, she would definitely squeeze together with Ye Chen.

"Your Majesty, I will just stand like this."

Shen Qiu took a step back and clasped his fists.

Be respectful.

"Okay, it's up to you."

Ye Chen looked at Shen Qiu's insistent expression and said with a smile without forcing him.

And when the eunuchs lifted the sedan chair and headed towards Taiqian Palace.

"Your Majesty, I have already inquired about the affairs of the Yamen."

Shen Qiu said seriously, "The Yasi Yamen was established during the reign of the previous emperor to better manage the markets in the capital. It was managed by the Ministry of Revenue. Initially, its responsibility was to supervise the merchants in the capital. However, in recent years, the Ministry of Revenue seems to have intentionally delegated many of its powers to the Yasi Yamen."

"During the reign of the previous emperor, it was already in charge of issuing merchant permits. After the Empress Dowager took power, even the collection of merchant taxes was handed over to this government office."

"The Ministry of Revenue said at the time that the capital's business was booming, but there was a shortage of staff. The yamen had ample staff, and keeping them was free, so it was just right to use them. The Empress Dowager agreed."

Hearing this, Ye Chen narrowed his eyes and suddenly asked, "Qiu'er, how much commercial tax has the Ministry of Revenue collected over the years?"

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Revenue collects 5 million taels of commercial tax every year. Although there have been some fluctuations over the past three years, it has never decreased."

Shen Qiu replied.

Although the Ministry of Revenue's treasury had been burned down, the Ministry of Revenue had to report the annual commercial tax amount every year. Su Mengjiao was very concerned about this, and Shen Qiu naturally wrote it down.

After hearing Shen Qiu's words, Ye Chen couldn't help but laugh.

Never less?

There is a big problem here!

From the perspective of future generations, the huge profits that commerce can create far exceed those of agriculture.

Moreover, as the population increases, the number of trades in goods will increase year by year, and business will inevitably become more prosperous.

In a normal dynasty, commercial taxes should increase year by year.

But in fact, due to the monopoly of wealthy families and the collusion between officials and businessmen, the ancient feudal dynasties of China were able to collect less and less commercial taxes as time went on. Instead, they could only exploit the peasants, and eventually the people became miserable and the country collapsed.

Such examples are not new in history.

Therefore, after hearing Shen Qiu say that commercial taxes had never increased, Ye Chen realized that there was something fishy going on.

"Qiu'er, what did Hu Lie and Gu Tong confess?"

Ye Chen asked again.

"Your Majesty, both of them confessed everything."

Shen Qiu showed disdain. Hu Lie and Gu Tong were not tough guys at all. Before he was even tortured, they told him all the dirty things they had done before.

"Qiu'er, tell me about Hu Lie's confession first."

Ye Chen immediately said seriously.

If he wanted to find out who was behind the yamen, he felt that Hu Lie, the yamen official, must be a key link.