Sun Shi noticed that Qin Yining didn’t immediately come forward to speak with her. Seeing the palace servants behind her daughter, she knew it wasn’t convenient to talk freely, so she forced out a smile and said, “The Xuan Su Temple arranged by the Emperor’s personal decree will surely have excellent incense offerings.”

The news of the Emperor following the people’s will would undoubtedly spread throughout the realm within half a day.

When that happened, the common people would certainly feel greatly reassured, praise the Emperor even more, and have greater faith in this Xuan Su Temple.

Just thinking about Qin Huaiyuan’s analysis at home earlier – that the Emperor had not only used this matter to gain reputation but could also confine Qin Yining in this golden cage, ready to take advantage of his proximity at any time – made Sun Shi feel her daughter was being wronged.

Qin Yining had already given instructions to Xinyu and Fuxue.

“My maids have arrived and brought all my belongings. From now on, let them stay here to serve me. You can return to the palace now.”

Xinyu, Fuxue, Xiao Ningzi, and Xiao Yangzi all showed expressions of disbelief.

No one had ever seen anyone directly dismiss people the Emperor had specifically sent to serve them!

“In response to Perfected Xuan Su, the Emperor’s intention was for us servants to attend to the Perfected One.”

A cold smile bloomed on Qin Yining’s lips. “The Emperor has me practicing cultivation with my hair unshaven, yet still keeping palace servants to attend me – does this make sense? Now that my family has sent people to accompany me, there’s no need for palace servants. I intend to cultivate in purity here and truly don’t need so many people serving me. If you’re afraid the Emperor will blame you, you can tell the Emperor these were my instructions.”

She was already being forced to live here. If she couldn’t even keep her own trusted people by her side and had to keep these outsiders instead, that would be too stifling.

The four servants had all witnessed the Emperor’s fondness for Qin Yining and seen how capable she was – able to make the Emperor punish Consort Lin Shu, who had served him for many years, right to her face, and able to make the Emperor furious yet reluctant to lift a finger against her. They couldn’t afford to offend such a person.

Having thought this through, the four servants bowed to Qin Huaiyuan, Sun Shi, and Qin Yining before withdrawing.

Qin Yining smiled and handed Er’Bai to Qiu Lu, saying with a laugh, “Now that you’re here, I can live comfortably. Go arrange the luggage first – I need to have a word with Father and Mother.”

“Yes.”

Qiu Lu, Ji Yun, and Bingtang all carried their bundles into the house.

Qin Yining invited Qin Huaiyuan and Sun Shi to sit in the main hall on the first floor of the pavilion for tea.

Seeing no outsiders present, Sun Shi grasped Qin Yining’s hand with tears streaming down continuously, repeatedly saying, “You’ve been wronged, you’ve been wronged.”

Qin Yining had already been tormented for several days in the palace. Not only had her health not improved, it had actually worsened. Combined with having to deal with the Emperor and the palace people, she was already mentally and physically exhausted. Hearing Sun Shi’s words now, her heart ached and tears nearly fell.

She blinked, forcibly holding back her tears, before smiling and saying, “Mother, don’t be sad for me. There’s nothing particularly wrongful about this. Given the current situation, the fact that the Emperor didn’t kill me in a fit of rage is already the best outcome. Having preserved my life, everything else can be planned for the long term.”

Seeing the same calm composure in Qin Yining’s expression as Qin Huaiyuan’s, Sun Shi nodded with deep emotion.

Qin Yining looked around, then instructed Ji Yun and the others who had just finished arranging the luggage and come downstairs, “You go stand guard outside and keep watch in the surrounding area.”

Ji Yun, Bingtang, and Qiu Lu knew Qin Yining had important matters to discuss with Qin Huaiyuan and Sun Shi, so they nodded and withdrew.

Only after confirming no one was eavesdropping did Qin Yining say in a low voice, “Father, I heard about some matters while in the palace these past two days. I wonder if you’ve heard anything about them outside.”

“What matters?” Qin Huaiyuan thought carefully but couldn’t think of anything particular.

Qin Yining said, “I heard this from the Emperor’s wet nurse, Nanny Jiao. She said that this year’s tax grain from various regions was ordered by the Great Emperor to be sold off midway – the grain never actually made it to the capital. Is this true?”

Because Emperor Taizu had implemented paper currency to replace the circulation of large amounts of gold and silver when founding the nation, reducing losses that occurred during the circulation of precious metals, paper money had become the most common currency over the years.

However, due to the devaluation of paper money and the fact that the condition and age of banknotes directly affected the value of notes with the same denomination, the court’s tax collection was conducted through grain requisition.

In a prosperous southern region like Great Yan, during tax collection season, grain transport ships would crowd the harbors and horse-drawn carts would fill the capital.

This year’s tax collection time hadn’t arrived yet, and many regions’ grain hadn’t been harvested. But before abdicating, the Great Emperor had added several new tax categories, not only extracting from all the people and merchants near the capital, but also imposing an additional layer of taxation on common people throughout the nation.

One could imagine that with such heavy taxation this year, the tax grain would certainly be more than in previous years. Combined with this year’s natural disasters and man-made calamities, the people would only suffer more deeply.

And Qin Yining had heard Nanny Jiao mention privately while chatting with Xinyu and the others:

The Great Emperor had collected taxes early and raised the tax burden, yet the grain collected had actually been sold for money.

Qin Huaiyuan was dumbfounded, both shocked and terrified.

“Yi’er, is this information reliable?”

“Eighty to ninety percent certain. I heard it from the Emperor’s wet nurse. The private gossip in the palace all comes from personal experiences. It’s said that the Emperor quarreled with the Great Emperor that day, and someone overheard them saying this year’s tax grain hadn’t been transported in.”

Qin Huaiyuan frowned. “But people from the Ministry of Revenue said the tax grain would arrive in another half month. When I learned of this news earlier, I wanted to dissuade the Great Emperor from such exploitation of the people’s livelihood – how could an emperor bring himself to do such things? But then I thought, as the war enters its later stages and the Huben Army surrounds the capital’s palace tightly, this tax grain might play a major role. You must know that after the Great Emperor increased taxes, if this year’s tax grain were stockpiled in the capital, it would be enough to feed all the soldiers and common people in the city for three years under siege.”

“Three years?” Qin Yining said in surprise. “So much! If we had this grain, the capital could certainly hold out. Though the Huben Army’s hundred thousand men are brave, their supply lines are too long, and the Zhou Dynasty, having just founded their nation on the ruins of the Northern Ji Kingdom, has emptied their treasury through years of warfare. If we had enough grain for three years, we wouldn’t need to worry about the Zhou forces not withdrawing.”

“Exactly. But if what you’ve said is true, the situation becomes dire.”

Qin Huaiyuan tapped the table with his index finger repeatedly, and after a long while said, “I understand this matter. When I go to request the Emperor’s grace to allow me to send guards to protect you, I’ll certainly get to the bottom of this.”

Qin Yining said worriedly, “Given the Great Emperor’s character, I found it strange that he agreed to abdicate so easily. When he was heavily exploiting the people’s livelihood, I thought it was too unseemly for an emperor to act this way. Now it seems that he actually sold the tax grain for money – he’s probably still leaving himself an escape route.”