Eavesdropping on Fu Bao's inner thoughts, emptying the stored grain and fleeing the famine

Li Yuanqi truly kept his word; as soon as Rongrong's health improved, he plunged headlong into the Ministry of Rites.

Lian Rongrong was finally able to relax, but the old guys in the Ministry of Rites were in deep trouble.

In fact, the Ministry of Rites was the least busy of the six ministries. Apart from a few fixed periods when it was busy, the rest of the time it was mostly trivial matters.

However, because they had studied etiquette and law for many years, the officials in the Ministry of Rites were almost all single-minded. If there was anything that violated the rules of etiquette, these single-minded people would be the first to refuse to do it.

For example, when Li Yuanqi and Lian Rongrong got married, and when Prince Qi "married into" the General's Mansion, the Ministry of Rites almost caused an uproar.

One of the reasons Li Yuanqi didn't immediately target the Ministry of Rites after dealing with the Ministry of Revenue was that he genuinely didn't want to deal with those old fogies.

However, now that the madam has spoken, she wants to deal with Yan Hui. Since the madam has given the order, we have no choice but to obey.

Unlike Qian Lin, Yan Hui was arrogant and haughty when Li Yuanqi took over the Ministry of Revenue.

Although he still showed some respect for the eldest prince in his words, the arrogance in Qian Lin's eyes was impossible to hide.

Yan Hui was different. From the moment Li Yuanqi entered the Ministry of Rites, Yan Hui was quite cooperative.

He acted as if Li Yuanqi were his son-in-law.

Li Yuanqi's first impression of Yan Hui was when Yan Hui criticized him for his lack of manners in court, but their private interactions were quite different now.

Yan Hui is much smarter than Qian Lin. Having learned from the previous example, Yan Hui must have figured it out.

What kind of local lord, what kind of son-in-law, none of them are trustworthy. Speaking of which, Qian Lin was even a prince consort, yet he still had to die in the end?

So, if you want to stay alive, you either have to kill your opponent in one blow or you have to play it safe.

Of course, Yan Hui didn't believe that by hiding from Li Yuanqi, he would be let go. So, it was still a game of strategy.

Yan Hui was waiting, waiting for Li Yuanyi's attitude; while Li Yuanqi was also waiting, waiting for Yan Hui to slip up.

The first major event after Li Yuanqi took over the Ministry of Rites was the Empress Dowager's birthday.

Li Yuanqi actually had no memory of his grandmother, partly because he was sent to the Shang Kingdom when he was young.

Secondly, ever since the old emperor insisted on making the former empress empress, this empress dowager has moved to the temporary palace.

The mother and son had a falling out because of a woman, and their relationship had remained lukewarm over the years.

In previous years, the Empress Dowager's birthday celebrations were held at the imperial palace, and the old emperor would also go to the palace on this day to offer his birthday wishes.

But this year, for some reason, the Empress Dowager took the initiative to request to return to the palace, on the grounds that the Emperor had been seriously ill for a long time and should not be disturbed.

However, this reason seemed rather far-fetched to everyone, since the Empress Dowager hadn't even shown her face during the months when the old emperor was truly seriously ill.

This time, she suddenly wants to return to the palace. Who knows what kind of trouble she'll cause this time?

Li Yuanqi had just returned to Sheng when the Empress Dowager was about to return to the palace. Who could not understand this "coincidence"?

Inside the Lotus Hot Pot restaurant, Lian Rongrong was taking a break in a corner. She loved the down-to-earth atmosphere here.

If she hadn't fallen in love with that bastard Li Yuanqi, Lian Rongrong would definitely have dominated the business world.

Although it hasn't affected her business at the moment, her status as a princess is always a bit of a hindrance.

Lian Rongrong was secretly blaming Li Yuanqi in her heart when the person in question suddenly appeared in front of her.

Perhaps she was too engrossed in cursing in her mind, because it wasn't until Li Yuanqi's figure blocked her way that Lian Rongrong realized that her prince had come to patronize the shop again.

"Why are you here again?" Lian Rongrong's words were immediately off-putting.

"What do you mean 'we're here again'?" Li Yuanqi looked at his wife, who was looking at him with a wry smile.

“My business will suffer as soon as Your Highness comes.”

"How could that be? Shouldn't it be that my presence here actually boosts the Princess's business?"

"What? Is Your Highness the God of Wealth?"

"I'm good-looking! In your words, what's it called again? The face of the business, right? The face of the business!"

"Don't be so shameless. Besides being pretty, you don't really have any redeeming qualities."

【Master, why do I feel like you're praising him?】

Little White couldn't help but jump out, after all, what kind of nonsense was its master talking about?

Seeing Li Yuanqi's smug expression, even Rongrong sensed something was off, so she changed her tune without any emotion:

"Being pretty is useless; your face could freeze someone to death. Even if you put it in a pot to boil, it wouldn't warm up."

The customers saw you were afraid, as if they were afraid you'd be beheaded if you even breathed too loudly. Look, several more tables have left.

Li Yuanqi followed Lian Rongrong's gaze to the hall, and whether by coincidence or not, the hall, which had been bustling just moments before, had become noticeably quieter.

"I'm hungry, come eat hot pot with me." Li Yuanqi seemed completely oblivious to the fact that he was delaying someone's business, and pulled Lian Rongrong upstairs to a private room.

Perhaps finding a place where no one could see him was the only act of kindness Li Yuanqi showed towards the hot pot restaurant.

Inside the private room, Lian Rongrong and Li Yuanqi sat facing each other, the steam from the hot pot rising continuously, as if a thin veil was placed between them.

Li Yuanqi seemed genuinely hungry, and ate in silence for a long time before finally putting down his chopsticks.

"It seems something's wrong?" Lian Rongrong said softly.

“My wife understands me.”

"Tell me, what's wrong?"

"The Empress Dowager is coming back." Li Yuanqi said succinctly, then picked up another piece of mutton and put it in the pot to cook.

"The Empress Dowager?" Lian Rongrong frowned slightly. She was completely unfamiliar with that old lady.

Aside from hearing a few bad things about Fu Bao before, I really know nothing else.

"Why does the Empress Dowager suddenly want to come back? Wasn't she doing just fine at the temporary palace?"

"Who knows? They said they were going back to the palace to celebrate their birthday, but I guess they just miss their beloved grandson too much."

Lian Rongrong chuckled. She knew Li Yuanqi was skilled in Yin and Yang, but she didn't know that this guy wouldn't even spare his grandmother.

Li Yuanqi put the freshly cooked mutton into a bowl, but he didn't look like he wanted to eat it.

"Since the Empress Dowager is coming back to celebrate her birthday, you, as her granddaughter-in-law, will inevitably have to enter the palace to attend the birthday banquet. Think carefully about what to send her that won't attract attention or cause trouble."

"So you're just trying to avoid mistakes rather than seek merit?" Lian Rongrong chuckled, though that was actually what she was thinking too.

"Otherwise what? She doesn't like me, so why should my wife have to fawn over her?"

However, with the Emperor caught in the middle, it couldn't be too ugly.

On this point, the couple shared the same thoughts.

"I'll keep an eye out for a few days and see what kind of gift to send," Lian Rongrong replied casually.

Judging from that attitude, there's probably no reason to expect a gift.

"By the way, ever since the news of the Empress Dowager's return to the palace came out, that old fellow Yan Hui seems to be getting restless."

"Does he think his backer has returned?"

"Perhaps. This Minister of Rites is quite composed."