Accidentally dressed as an empress

As they boarded the carriage back to the palace, Yunxiu grabbed Zhong Yi's hand. Zhong Yi, looking tense, asked her, "Do I look a lot like your father, Zhong Xuan?"

Yunxiu pinched his fingers and said, "Not at all. You are just you."

Zhong Yi frowned worriedly, "But His Majesty reacted so strongly when he saw me."

Yunxiu comforted him, "Don't worry, the Queen Mother just admitted her mistake for a moment. In fact, it has been so long, both the Queen Mother and I have a vague memory of what Dad looked like."

Zhong Yi leaned his head on Yun Xiu's shoulder, "That's good, I feel relieved."

Yunxiu said, "Your Majesty will definitely punish me this time. It doesn't matter if I'm alone, but I'm afraid you'll have to suffer with me."

"I'm not afraid of hardship. This matter can still be salvaged." Zhong Yi thought for a moment and said, "His Majesty dislikes your Highness's involvement in business. Then... Your Highness, why don't you give His Majesty the books you've collected so that he can read them and make amends?"

Yun Xiu remained noncommittal. "Well, I'll try. I used to be obsessed with literature and kept scholars as retainers, but His Majesty didn't like that either."

Zhong Yi whispered, "Your Majesty won the throne as a military commander, and His Royal Highness Prince Yun was close to the civil officials, which later caused a palace coup. Therefore, Your Majesty dislikes scholars and civil officials."

Yunxiu nodded and sighed, Zhong Yi was so smart that he was almost like a demon, almost like her system plug-in.

The system also revealed that the previous empress, a devoted Confucianist, established the Imperial Academy and hired Confucian scholars to teach. Since her youngest daughter excelled in Confucianism, the previous empress intended to depose the eldest and enthronize the youngest. With the support of her military commanders, Yun Se finally ascended the throne after much difficulty.

The system told her, "Back then, the civil officials secretly supported His Majesty Yunse's younger sister, Prince Yun. Later, Prince Yun launched a coup, which was suppressed by His Majesty. Therefore, His Majesty is very disgusted with those fake scholars."

Your Majesty deposed the original owner because her behavior was more like Prince Yun's, not hers.]

Yunxiu pursed her lips. So this is what His Majesty meant when he said, "You are not like me"?

So what should she do to redeem herself? Hand over Ren Li's ill-gotten gains to His Majesty?

"It's too late now. The damage has already been done." The system said.

The "Eating Melon" system played a scene from the Grain Market Department. Two female officials sent someone to inquire about the current rice price. They shook their heads and sighed, saying, "With the price of old rice so low now, how can we buy this year's new rice? Will we even lose money buying it?"

"There are still twenty days until the new rice comes on the market. The price of old rice is low, so we could store some more rice in the warehouse, but the warehouse is already full. There is really no other way."

At the rice store, people lined up to buy rice at 20 wen per dou, grinning from ear to ear, "It's rare that the rice price is so low before the autumn harvest, let's buy more."

"There must be a kind-hearted person selling rice."

"Your Majesty, if you pray for rain, the drought will stop and we won't have to buy so much rice."

"As long as you have food in your hands, you won't be worried."

The price of rice has been brought down, which is naturally a good thing for the common people.

But the female official of the Grain Market Department had a sad face.

Yunxiu pondered for a moment, then reacted and said to the system, "The Grain Market Bureau is collecting old rice now, in preparation for the autumn harvest in twenty days, when the new rice will be put on the market?"

The Grain Market Bureau needs the rice price to be high before the autumn harvest. Therefore, during the autumn harvest every year, they sell the old rice in the city and buy new rice in the suburbs in order to make a profit.

The recent stockpiling of rice pushed up the price, but now, as merchants are following the trend and selling rice, the price has come down.

New rice is more expensive than old rice. When the new rice arrives, the grain market will sell the old rice in the warehouse and buy the new rice, which may result in a loss.

So this is the purpose of the Grain Market Bureau.

The price of corn varied widely within Lingyun City. Farmers in the suburbs sold it for just ten wen a bushel, while corn sold in the streets and alleys for thirty wen a bushel. High-quality corn in the city's inner city sold for eighty wen a bushel. Within this price range, there was no lower price, and no higher price.

Why is rice price stable?

This is all due to the price stabilization policy, which involves increasing grain storage when prices are low and releasing it when prices are high, thus curbing high prices.

Merchants like to hoard corn to make a profit, but hoarding will lead to a decrease in the amount of corn on the market. Scarcity makes things valuable, so the price of corn will rise.

At this time, the Grain Market Bureau released some of its rice reserves at relatively low prices, increasing the supply of corn on the market. With cheap rice available, people rushed to buy it, bringing the price down.

Ancient governments had already perfected their governance. Low grain prices hurt farmers, while high grain prices hurt the people. Yunxiu's manipulation of grain prices is a violation of Your Majesty's will and harms the interests of the Yun Kingdom. He must give up.

Yunxiu was lost in thought all the way. Zhong Yi leaned on her shoulder and fell asleep, his warm breath brushing against her ears.

He had been painting these days, and he didn't know what he was painting, but he was so tired. Yunxiu silently straightened her body so that he could sleep more comfortably.

When I returned to the mansion, it was already three quarters past noon.

Yunxiu carried Zhong Yi back to Zhongxiu Courtyard and laid him on the bed, which had been draped with fresh sheets. She quietly watched Zhong Yi's sleeping face for a moment, taking in his pale pink lips and the beads of sweat on the tip of his nose. She gently brushed his hair, afraid to wake him.

Forget it, the land of gentleness is a place of heroines. After all, she couldn't stay in her boudoir for too long, she still had important things to do.

Yunxiu left the bedroom lightly and went to the study, where she saw Ren Li already waiting at the door.

Ren Li was as timid as a quail, and she guessed that she had caused trouble for His Highness.

Yunxiu smiled and said, "It's nothing, don't be nervous, I just received a verbal warning. Just help me with the work, and I'll take care of the rest."

Ren Li was so moved when he heard this that he wanted to hug her thigh, but Yun Xiu dodged him. Ren Li said, "Master, you are truly the best boss I have ever met. I am willing to serve you at every turn and go through fire and water for you."

What can be done? If subordinates make mistakes, the boss has to take the blame. A good boss is one who can handle things.

"But..." Yun Xiu changed her relaxed tone and said seriously, "Remember, from now on, don't make a fuss about rice grains. If you do it again, I will be expelled from the royal family, understand?"

"Is it that serious?" Ren Li nodded rapidly, "I understand, I understand. These are survival supplies, we can't hoard them."

Ren Li thought for a moment and said, "Then I'll stock up on salt, sugar, wine, and tea to sell."

Yunxiu covered her face with her hands, "I realized that you really want me to be demoted to a commoner."

Ren Li smiled playfully, "Don't worry, Your Highness. I know my limits."

Yunxiu has a headache. Does she really know her limits?

After Ren Li happily left, Yun Xiu called Su Qing in and said, "Su Qing, have Su Er take 20 people to protect Ren Li while she's doing business. I'm afraid she'll be retaliated against."

Yunxiu gathered her sleeves and said, "There's one more thing I need to do. I need to use the secret agents in the palace. Come closer and listen."