The abandoned concubine who transmigrated woke up shouting "Long live the widow!"

After looking around the shop, Jingxue walked over to the group of people who were busy writing notices. "Lixia, you and Xiaoman stay here for now. I'll go check out the other shops!"

"Oh, okay, let Runyue keep you company. All our shops are 'Li's,' and..."

Li Xia took a white veil from the counter and handed it to Jing Xue.

Jingxue understood what she meant, took it, and put it on to cover half of her face!

The original owner's maternal grandmother's family was surnamed Li. Her maternal grandfather had served as the Vice Minister of Rites and had passed away. The original owner also had two maternal uncles, but neither of them lived in the capital. The eldest uncle was the prefect of Qingzhou, which was a hundred miles away, and the younger uncle was also a merchant in Qingzhou.

The original owner's maternal grandmother is still alive, living at her maternal uncle's house in Qingzhou!

Jingxue, accompanied by Runyue, began visiting each store one by one.

The imperial court was bustling with activity today.

No sooner had Emperor Ye Muming sat down on the dragon throne than Hu Yucheng, the Minister of Revenue, stepped forward to deliver a report, repeating the same old tune.

This Hu Yucheng is Prime Minister Zou's brother-in-law, and his eldest daughter is the principal wife of the Second Prince Ye Musen.

"Your Majesty, this year's drought will surely lead to a reduction in grain production, and the troops stationed in various places still need their pay. I wonder how much this year's taxes will have to be reduced..."

The emperor, watching Minister Hu's incessant chatter, felt like he was about to get dizzy!

Ye Muchen knew that yesterday's plan was flawed, but he still had to put it out to save his elder brother!

After Hu Yucheng finished speaking, Ye Muchen bowed and stepped forward, saying, "Your Majesty, I have something to say!"

"allow!"

"Yes, the Northern Night has been at war for years, leaving the national treasury empty, and this year's harvest is also poor. However, these difficulties are only temporary, and our army has already begun to prepare to solve part of the food and fodder problem ourselves!"

"Our soldiers fought bravely for our country, risking their lives. We cannot let them down! As long as we get through this winter, next spring we will both clear land for farming and train!"

“Your Highness, even if it is as you say, the harvest will not be available until next autumn. That’s another year! The Ministry of Revenue has already done its best, but it is truly overburdened!” Hu Yucheng said immediately.

What followed was another round of heated debate.

In the end, although no conclusion was reached through heated debate, the civil servants' suggestions clearly had a slight advantage!

Prime Minister Zou and the Second Prince exchanged a glance, their eyes brimming with undisguised smugness!

The emperor looked at Ye Muchen with resentment, thinking to himself, "With such a clever wife, why doesn't my younger brother know how to coax that girl?"

Maybe there's a solution!

Just as the emperor was about to leave court, the eunuch at the door announced loudly, "The Emperor Emeritus has arrived!"

Everyone turned around and saw the Emperor, wearing a purple-gold crown and a dragon robe, striding in through the entrance of the main hall, protected by eight guards!

All the officials knelt down and shouted, "Long live the Emperor Emeritus!"

The emperor also stood up and bowed, "Father, what brings you here?"

The retired emperor sat on the dragon throne, lifting his robes, and said, "With all this commotion every day, I've come to see for myself. Rise, all of you!"

"Tell me, what happened? Second son, you tell me." The Emperor Emeritus looked down at the crowd with a stern face.

Ye Musen, who had been called upon, stepped forward and said, "Father, it's like this..."

After he finished speaking, the retired emperor tapped his fingers on the armrest of the dragon throne without saying a word.

Inside the main hall, it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop, except for the sound of "clang, clang".

"I'd like to ask you, five years ago, several prefectures and counties in the Central Plains suffered severe flooding and reduced grain production. Why didn't you mention reducing the army then? Back then, there were 300,000 troops!"

The Emperor Emeritus's final shout sent shivers down the spines of some officials.

"Because back then, the Western Jurchen army was pressing in, and you were afraid of losing your heads and becoming slaves of a conquered nation. Why weren't you so righteous back then? Huh? Over the years, just pick any civil official and compare them with military generals. Which civil official doesn't have more wives and children than a military general? Our soldiers are fighting bloody battles on the front lines, while you're at home having children with your concubines. You shameless bunch! And you still want to reduce the army?"

Some people are starting to sweat!

But some people were bolder. An Wenguang, the Vice Minister of Revenue, whispered, "Times have changed."

To everyone's surprise, the retired emperor had excellent hearing. He stood up abruptly and shouted, "Who is it? Speak loudly if you have something to say!"

An Wenguang, the top scholar three years ago and a protégé of Prime Minister Zou, stepped forward to pledge his loyalty. He bowed and said, “Your Majesty, the soldiers have made great contributions, but the people have also suffered greatly over the years. Now, with natural disasters causing crop failures, the soldiers should be at the forefront, relieving the nation's burdens! They should…”

Just as An Wenguang was about to continue speaking, the Emperor Emeritus looked around, snatched the whisk from the chief eunuch Fuhai beside him, and ran towards An Wenguang.

The ministers were all terrified!

Emperor Ye Muming reacted quickly: "An Wenguang, run!"

An Wenguang saw the retired emperor running towards him with a whisk in hand, and he turned and ran. He didn't dare to run outside the main hall, so he could only run around the ministers.

Wow! This is getting interesting! One is running and the other is chasing; they're practically leaving afterimages!

The ministers were also astonished!

As the retired emperor ran, he cursed, "You brat, are the soldiers not going to eat if they go home? Huh? You might as well just kill them all, that would really save on food! Huh?"

The ministers turned their heads left and right, their eyes always following the two people.

"You always send your soldiers to the front lines, why don't you reduce your food intake? Huh? Why doesn't your whole family eat less? Huh?"

As everyone watched the two running around in circles, no one dared to approach them.

Seeing that things had gone far enough, Ye Muchen stepped forward and hugged the Emperor Emeritus tightly. "Father, Father, please calm down and take care of your health!"

The chief eunuch, Fu Hai, stepped forward and took the whisk from the retired emperor, gently patting the old man's back with his other hand. "Oh dear! Your Majesty, please don't overwork yourself! Calm down!"

To everyone's surprise, the Emperor Emeritus laughed, "Haha, this scolding has actually given me an idea!"

Turning to the ministers, he declared, "From this day forward, those who eat three meals a day will eat two, and those who eat two will eat one. Each person shall submit 100 catties of fine grain and 200 catties of coarse grain to the court every month! This will continue until the new grain harvest comes in next autumn!"

The ministers were speechless.

300 jin of grain? More than two shi? That's about all the grain you can get from one mu of land, right?

Emperor Ye Muming chuckled to himself. Although the ministers' meager amount of food couldn't solve much, it could at least dampen their arrogance!

On this day, during court proceedings, everyone lowered their heads and remained silent, each lost in their own thoughts.

An Wenguang's court robes were soaked through; he was exhausted from both fright and fatigue!

He is so difficult!

If he runs too slow, he's afraid the Emperor Emeritus will catch up and punch him a couple of times; if he runs too fast, he's afraid he'll lap the Emperor Emeritus and then turn around and punch him a couple of times too.

He could feel the resentful gazes behind him.

What is this thing called?

An Wenguang was extremely frustrated!

"Wen Guang!"