dognovel Chapter 46 Shen Zhiyi made people swoon.
Chapter 46 Shen Zhiyi made people swoon.
Shen Zhiyi's youthful voice made the old emperor feel that he could live for several more decades.
But as soon as he stepped into Consort Zhang's palace, he felt as if his lifespan was about to be shortened.
Back home, Shen Zhiyi collapsed onto the soft couch. Winter was approaching, and the nights were terribly cold. She curled up in bed, contemplating whether to hire a housekeeper.
We also need to find a strong older woman, because chopping wood is hard work.
The profession of a court attendant leaves little personal time, and when Shen Zhiyi returned home, she had no time to add firewood to the kang (a heated brick bed).
"Ah, when I got home, I felt so cold and thought that this was pretty much how my life would be."
Shen Zhiyi wrapped herself up like a silkworm cocoon, turned on the monitoring system, and began her pre-sleep entertainment for the day.
*
On the 23rd, the Emperor gave a lecture at the Yan Ying Hall.
After the pen fell...
[Old Emperor, you're showing some compassion for officials below the fifth rank, skipping court sessions because it's too cold. Why don't you look at me? I'm also a lower fifth rank!]
The entire court: If you run away, who will write the daily records?
The old emperor had a stern face and seemed to be in a bad mood.
[Getting up early is bad enough, but then I have to deal with the old emperor's sour face.]
[Hmm? No wonder you have such a sour face, hahaha.]
All the officials in the court subconsciously pricked up their ears.
Last night, the old emperor went to Consort Zhang's place, and had just warmed the bed when Consort Zhang kicked him out.
[It's inconsiderate of the weather, but since the old emperor is frequently kicked out by the Empress and Consort Zhang, he should really reflect on his behavior.]
The old emperor was so angry that he blew on his beard.
Let me see what the old emperor did to deserve being kicked out by Consort Zhang.
[Oh, serves you right! Who told you to call Consort Zhang rude? The old emperor is getting on in years and has no emotional intelligence at all.]
The old emperor was even angrier.
He just wanted Consort Zhang to be more ladylike, was that wrong?
"Cough cough cough."
The old emperor's habitual cough marked the start of today's morning court session.
The first thing was to announce an imperial edict appointing the Vice Minister of Revenue as the Minister of Personnel.
Many people were shocked, but the officials who had received some information remained calm.
The position of Minister of Personnel is a very important one, and many people want it to fall into the hands of their own family members.
But being the Vice Minister of Revenue isn't so bad. He's not affiliated with any particular faction, so in a way, it's neither good nor bad.
The Vice Minister of Revenue never expected this to happen to him.
Was his promotion a bit too fast?
The young man received the imperial decree, and then a slightly excited voice rang in his mind.
Wow, this guy is so handsome! He's way more handsome than this year's third-place scholar.
[Ugh, seeing a young and handsome face among a bunch of old folks completely wiped away all my resentment this morning. Maybe this guy could at least go out more often; every time I'm in a crowd, there's always another old guy in front of me, and it took me this long to finally get a good look at him.]
The old man in front is none other than the Minister of Revenue.
He provoked whomever he provoked.
Shen Zhiyi didn't care about the old man's thoughts at all; at this moment, her eyes were glued to the newly appointed Minister of Personnel.
His lips look so soft!
If you ask me what my favorite food is, I'll say tofu.
I wish I could swing on my brother's eyelashes and slide down his abs!
You're so sweet, I want to savor every part of you!
All the officials: What's wrong with Shen Zhiyi today?
The newly appointed Minister of Personnel was restless and wanted to fly to his workstation to start his day's work.
"yue."
[Huh? Who threw up in Yanying Hall this morning?]
The person who vomited was none other than the Minister of Revenue, who couldn't hold it in.
When the Minister of Revenue noticed that everyone's eyes were on him, he silently glanced at the Assistant Minister of Revenue behind him.
Ministry of Revenue official: ...No way?
The official from the Ministry of Revenue closed his eyes and began to masturbate frantically, apologizing as he did so: "Your Majesty, I am truly sorry, I felt a little nauseous this morning, I masturbate."
The old emperor glanced at the Ministry of Revenue official with pity, but said nothing more.
I retract my earlier praise of the Vice Minister of Revenue—no, the newly appointed Minister of Personnel. Damn, he's incredibly stingy.
Everyone: Why did you suddenly change your tone?
[Old Emperor, why didn't you transfer him from the Ministry of Revenue sooner? And this Minister of Revenue, really, how could he allow such an inhumane suggestion to pass?]
[Ugh, they're going to cancel our year-end bonuses too! Unacceptable!]
A collective gasp rippled through the crowd, and one or two people glared at the Minister of Revenue and the newly appointed Minister of Personnel with eyes as sharp as knives.
It's not that I'm afraid of stingy people, it's that I'm afraid of stingy people all together.
Fortunately, one of the stingy ones has left and gone to cause trouble for the Ministry of Personnel.
The Minister of Revenue tilted his head back and simply made a suggestion to the Vice Minister of the Chancellery: whether the cancellation of unnecessary year-end bonuses could be approved first depended on whether the Chancellery was willing to draft it, and even if it was, there was still the question of whether the Secretariat and the old emperor could approve it.
In short, he only mentioned it casually.
Upon hearing this news, the old emperor's eyes lit up, and he looked toward the Vice Minister of the Chancellery.
The Vice Minister of the Imperial Secretariat pretended not to see it.
He's crazy; he's reducing his already meager salary even further.
[Damn it, no wonder there are still so many corrupt officials despite the old emperor's crackdown. It's all because you're so stingy with salaries. You're already so stingy, and those two misers in the Ministry of Revenue still want to cut back.]
Minister of Revenue: What do you know? The national treasury is so empty; we have to find every possible way to squeeze some out.
[As the saying goes, wealth doesn't come from saving, and a wealthy country isn't built on saving!]
The old emperor shuddered.
This was the second time Shen Zhiyi had said this, and it made perfect sense no matter how you looked at it, but the premise was that there had to be a way to make quick money.
He couldn't possibly confiscate the homes of all the corrupt officials in Da Ye.
Small-scale overseas trade has already begun along the southeastern coast, yet the old emperor is completely unaware of this.
Old Emperor: What is that? Overseas trade?
[Based on the previous division, the southeastern coastal area is now the part where the Jiangnan South Circuit meets the Lingnan East Circuit. The hilly and mountainous terrain makes communication with the outside world somewhat difficult, so local merchants simply go out to sea to trade, returning only once every few years, but each time they make a fortune.]
After the local governors and magistrates learned of this, they began collecting exorbitant taxes, but these taxes were collected privately by the local authorities, so the old emperor was completely unaware of them.
[Tsk tsk tsk, this started back in the time of that eccentric emperor, decades, a whole decades! How much silver must that have cost?]
"boom!"
The old emperor angrily slammed his fist on the armrest of the dragon throne, startling everyone into kneeling down immediately.
Shen Zhiyi, who was used to having her mind blank, didn't know what was happening, but she also knelt down.
After watching the surveillance footage...
[This old emperor is crazy; he's so unpredictable.]
[Oh dear, this Vice Minister of Revenue—no, no, he's now the Minister of Personnel—has been paying attention to overseas trade along the southeastern coast for quite some time now?]
The old emperor suddenly looked at the newly appointed Minister of Personnel.