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Chapter 33: Talk
Jiang Wanqiu panicked, but she didn’t feel that she had done anything wrong. In her dream, Li Chengxuan would often talk to her about affairs of court, and she would express her opinion on those matters, and make suggestions, and Li Chengxuan was never unhappy about it, and would even discuss it with her gladly.
So after a moment of panic, Jiang Wanqiu raised her eyes and met Li Chengxuan’s gaze without fear.
She felt joyous in her heart since Li Chengxuan finally managed to see her face clearly.
But unfortunately she did not see Li Chengxuan’s face, and thus she didn’t notice the cold smile on his lips.
Empress Dowager Song turned her head away from Jiang Wanqiu.
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Her heart was filled with disdain. She used to think this Fu Wangfei was smart, but now she seems as stupid as a cow.
Emperors take imperial power very seriously and they will never share it with others, especially with someone outside of their family.
She is the Empress Dowager, Li Chengxuan’s nominal mother, the one who raised and supported him in his early years, and although she has already returned the power to him, Li Chengxuan still has his guard against her.
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Jiang Wanqiu thought that her words were too plain, and was therefore not enough to make Li Chengxuan notice her intelligence and understanding.
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So she decided to take drastic measures.
“The south is flooded, there is a drought in the north, and there are a lot of disaster victims in those areas. Coupled with the instability in the border, Chenfu is afraid that war might be coming. The imperial court needs silver to buy food and supplies for the soldiers, right?”
She remembered that in her dream, Li Chengxuan mentioned to her several times that there was not enough silver in the treasury and it was because of this shortage of silver that the court could not do much.
As soon as Jiang Wanqiu said this, Empress Dowager Song turned her head to look at her.
Empress Dowager Song was the leader of the imperial government for several years, so she naturally knew the situation in the Ministry of Finance. She understands that the amount of money the court has is not enough for the soldiers and the victims.
But some things should be left to the Emperor to worry about. If you dab too much into politics, the Emperor will undoubtedly think you have sinister intentions.
What’s more, what kind of identity do you have Jiang Wanqiu? You’re just a prince’s wife! How dare you talk about court affairs in front of the Emperor?
Empress Dowager Song soon remembered another thing.
This Jiang Wanqiu is the wangfei of Prince Fu and the previous emperor even had the idea of passing the throne to Prince Fu. Even now, Noble Consort Dowager Wei still has ambitions of making Prince Fu the emperor….
This is really getting interesting.
Empress Dowager Song raised her eyebrows, leaned on her chair in a relaxed manner, with her elbows propped up on the pillow, as if she were watching a play.
As for Song Jinning, she didn’t even look surprised.
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Although what Jiang Wanqiu is saying is indeed out of line, which male lead does not have a soft spot for the female protagonist? Not to mention this is Li Chengxuan who even gave Jiang Wanqiu the throne with both hands.
So those words mean nothing at all. This passerby has nothing to do with it.
She just continued to talk to Li Xiyan.
Presumably, Li Chengxuan was so awe-struck with Jiang Wanqiu’s intelligence and confidence that not only did he not get angry, but he even smiled a little.
Song Jinning just turned her head sideways and immediately saw the smile hanging from the corner of his lips.
Although Li Chengxuan had a smile, it was the type of smile that could give you chills.
This is the original persona of the male lead. Cold and strong, smiling when he had the intention to kill.
But this was Jiang Wanqiu……
Song Jinning would like to ask, are the wooden boards in the Punishment department not enough?
The matter of the wooden board was put aside for the time being, when Song Jinning heard Li Chengxuan talk.
“Zhen didn’t expect Fu Wangfei to be so knowledgeable in court affairs. As well as the treasury!”
Song Jinning: This is not right.
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Although these words were said normally, one couldn’t help but feel a chill in their heart.
Li Chengxuan was not finished.
He smiled and asked: “Insufficient silver? Then does Fu Wangfei have a solution?”
Song Jinning: ……
Jiang Wanqiu was stunned when she heard these words.
She didn’t expect Li Chengxuan to ask her this.
She quickly looked inside of her brain for a reply.
She remembered that in her dream, there was a serious snowstorm in the northwest, destroying countless houses, and many victims lost their homes. Li Chengxuan then came up with the idea to lessen the harem’s spending.
And she also set an example by taking out all the money she had saved up and giving it to Li Chengxuan.
Li Chengxuan was very touched and praised her for being smart and kind-hearted.
Jiang Wanqiu remembered that she was only Consort Chen at that time. When this proposal came out, Song Jinning was the first to refuse and make a big fuss. She was mad that the people in the imperial household department had the guts to deduct the daily expenses of her Weiyang Palace.
After this matter became known to Li Chengxuan, he severely reprimanded Song Jinning. He said she was the mother of a nation, but she only knew how to enjoy herself, ignoring the thousands of victims in the snowstorm.
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So Song Jinning, who was already out of favor, fell even further out of favor after this incident. And after that Li Chengxuan never set foot in Weiyang Palace again.
Thinking of this, Jiang Wanqiu could not help but glance at Song Jinning with a gloating gaze.
Then she straightened her back, met Li Chengxuan’s gaze, and said that the harem should save money and send the extra money to disaster victims.
Empress Dowager Song did not hold back and laughed at Jiang Wanqiu’s words out loud.
Is this Jiang Wanqiu real?
Does she not know how to refrain herself from saying stupid words?
What kind of pig brain does she have to have to say such a proposal?
Flood, drought, military pay, these three things add up to a huge amount of money. And if the harem saves money, won’t it announce to the world that the imperial treasury is empty?
If the royal face is lost, it could potentially lead to trouble and political instability.
For an emperor, what else is more important than the stability of the country?
Furthermore, where in the world did you get the face and guts to say that the harem should save money? Why don’t you sell your Prince Fu Mansion and give all the money to the state treasury?
Song Jinning and Li Xiyan were both shocked at Jiang Wanqiu’s words.
Although this proposal is considered a bit good, you have to be the Empress Dowager or the Empress to propose it. If you’re a mere wangfei, it is out of line for you to say such a thing.
But Song Jinning and Li Xiyan did not say anything.
Song Jinning still had the same attitude. She doesn’t care about the matters between the male and female lead. As for Li Xiyan, she is quiet and gentle, so she naturally won’t step up in such a situation.
And with Empress Dowager Song not speaking, it’s really not good for them to speak.
So after shooting surprised glances at Jiang Wanqiu, they moved their heads away again.
The corner of Li Chengxuan’s lips lifted up again.
Even as his dark eyes looked at Jiang Wanqiu, there seemed to be a chill in them.
“The court has me, and the harem has the empress. Fu Wangfei should worry about the affairs of Prince Fu Mansion.”
Isn’t the implication here that she’s meddling too much?
Jiang Wanqiu never thought that the words she said would get displeasure from Li Chengxuan, and the color on her face instantly faded.
“Your Majesty, Chenfu is not ……”
But before she could explain, she was interrupted by Li Chengxuan without mercy.
But the next words he said were not to Jiang Wanqiu, but to Song Jinning.
“Zhen remembers that Fu Wangfei has the ability to go to the palace at will?”
Song Jinning nodded: “Yes.”
Although the rule to enter the palace is to pass a letter of reason in advance, Jiang Wanqiu after all is the female lead. If she can’t enter the palace at will, how can she create the opportunity to meet and linger with you? This is the original author’s arrangement, not my business.
“Then this is null and void!” Li Chengxuan’s eyebrows were slightly wrinkled in anger, “How can someone be free to enter and leave the palace at will? From today onwards, if Fu Wangfei wants to enter the palace again, she must first hand in a letter, stating the reason. If there is no proper reason, the empress can reject it.”
Song Jinning did not answer immediately. Instead, she glanced at Li Chengxuan and then at Jiang Wanqiu.
Li Chengxuan’s face was solemn and stern, and he very much had the majesty of a person who had set his foot down. Jiang Wanqiu, on the other hand, had a shocked and mournful face, looking quite pitiful.
“Empress!”
Seeing that she did not respond, Li Chengxuan slightly raised his voice and called out to her again.
Song Jinning actually wanted to ask Li Chengxuan: Your Majesty, do you know that there is a fruit called durian in this world?
They are not just used for eating, but other things too.
But this is a scene between the hero and heroine, and she shouldn’t intervene.
But looking at Empress Dowager Song right now, it’s obvious that she doesn’t have a good perception of Jiang Wanqiu. As the niece of Empress Dowager Song, she naturally can’t fight with Empress Dowager Song.
So she nodded her head and responded: “Chenqie understands.”
“Your Majesty!”
Jiang Wanqiu fiercely stood up. She could be seen sobbing, looking very mournful.
Li Chengxuan’s eyebrows once again wrinkled with displeasure.
“What, could it be that Fu Wangfei is dissatisfied with my word?”
A cold glance swept over, and the meaning could not be more obvious. If you say anything more, I will have to punish you.
After this sentence, Li Chengxuan obviously did not want to talk to her again, and directly told her to leave.
Jiang Wanqiu’s apricot eyes were filled with tears, but she was forced to follow Li Chengxuan’s words.
After resigning, she turned around and walked away curtly.