The newly enthroned emperor had ascended the throne, yet there was a shortage of funds everywhere.

Even someone as resourceful as Li Wu could not cook a meal without rice.

Having managed to restore the Imperial Study to a semblance of order, the Six Ministers of the Six Ministries gathered in the hall. After listening to Li Wu’s demands, they exchanged glances with one another.

The Minister of Rites, whose white beard reached his chest, spoke with measured gravity: “After Your Majesty’s enthronement, the desire to hold a grand wedding ceremony anew has no precedent, yet from the standpoint of ritual propriety, there is no obstacle…”

Li Wu gave him an appreciative glance. Truly worthy of being one of the ministers who had stood up to defend Shen Zhuxi during the Jinhua Incident — he never disappointed at critical moments!

“What do the others think?” Li Wu swept a glance across the remaining five officials present.

For the emperor to hold a grand wedding ceremony anew, only the opinions of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Revenue truly mattered; the other four were merely there to go through the motions.

The Minister of Personnel, well aware of the situation, felt no psychological pressure whatsoever as he tossed this hot potato down the line.

“Your Majesty, the Ministry of Personnel has no objections,” said the Minister of Personnel, cupping his hands in a bow.

Following Personnel, three other ministries — including Justice — expressed their positions in turn.

The only one who had yet to speak was the crucial figure: the Minister of Revenue. The Minister of Revenue raised his short, plump fingers, dabbed at his dry eyes — which held not a single tear — and heaved a long, mournful sigh:

“Your Majesty’s wish is, of course, something this humble official supports wholeheartedly and with all four limbs — hands and feet alike. However, holding the wedding ceremony anew would require a vast sum of money. At present, Da Yan has a hundred things to be rebuilt, and everywhere requires funds. The Ministry of Revenue has just approved the Ministry of Works’ appropriation for river channel repairs, and last year’s tax revenue has already been exhausted. If Your Majesty wishes to proceed, we can only ask the Empress to accept a more modest affair…”

“How modest is modest?” Li Wu asked.

“Naturally, it would be something that both upholds the dignity of the imperial family and demonstrates frugality and love for the people—”

“Speak plainly,” Li Wu said.

“The Ministry of Revenue will think of a way — by holding back the Ministry of Justice’s approved funds for a time — and should be able to free up one million taels…”

As the Minister of Revenue spoke, he cautiously watched the new emperor’s expression out of the corner of his eye.

Throughout the reigns of previous emperors, had any imperial wedding from the Ministry of Revenue ever cost less than a million taels? Having said one million aloud, cold sweat already began to break out on the Minister of Revenue’s back — yet there was truly no other way. As he had said before, Da Yan was a broken, dilapidated state in need of patching up everywhere; what corner did not need money?

The Minister of Justice jolted in alarm: “Our Ministry of Justice filed that request with the Ministry of Revenue two years ago. This year, the Ministry of Revenue finally relented — cutting half the budget was already hard enough. How can you simply suppress it without warning?”

“Then does Minister Li feel it is the Ministry of Works’ river channel repairs that can be suppressed, or the Ministry of Rites’ Heaven Sacrifice ceremony? Minister Li is free to say so, and the Ministry of Revenue will certainly adopt your suggestion!”

The Minister of Revenue was all deference to those above him, but for the Minister of Justice he had no pleasant expression to spare. His blunt retort left the Minister of Justice completely speechless.

“Enough squabbling!” Li Wu said impatiently. “You are second-rank officials — is this the breadth of vision you bring, quarreling over a mere million taels?!”

All Six Ministers simultaneously drew in their heads and hunched their shoulders, falling silent as hens.

“If you can’t even manage a million taels without cutting corners everywhere — Bing Ying, how do you serve as Minister of Revenue?” Li Wu slammed the table.

“Your Majesty, please allow this official to explain in full—” the Minister of Revenue hurriedly knelt. “Before Your Majesty’s enthronement, Da Yan suffered one misfortune after another — either drought or flood. The Ministry of Revenue’s tax collections amounted to less than one-seventh of a normal year. After Your Majesty ascended the throne, Da Yan has a hundred things awaiting reconstruction, and five ministries all opened their mouths crying for funds. Even if the Ministry of Revenue splits every single coin in two, it is still stretched to the limit—”

“By what you are saying, in years without natural disasters, was the national treasury quite full?”

The Minister of Revenue gave a shudder and said with trembling trepidation: “The treasury has been running a deficit for over a decade…”

Li Wu frowned deeply: “If you are already stretched to the limit, why do you not think of ways to increase the treasury’s revenue? Is the Ministry of Revenue here only to manage my purse?”

The Minister of Revenue straightened up, a fawning smile on his face, and was about to say that was indeed precisely the case — when Li Wu continued: “Then why not go to the merchant guilds and hire a capable manager, rather than pay a hundredfold the price for a scholar who has passed the imperial examinations, wears official robes, and does nothing more?”

The Minister of Revenue, who had just straightened his back, promptly pressed himself flat against the floor once more.

“Your Majesty, please forgive this official — this official is incompetent…”

“Come here,” Li Wu said.

The Minister of Revenue looked up at the new emperor — his expression appeared normal. He shuffled forward on his knees, raising his fawning face: “Your Majes—”

“Stop feeding me empty pleasantries!”

Li Wu lifted his foot and made as if to kick out.

The Minister of Revenue was so frightened he collapsed onto the floor. Li Wu lifted his foot and set it back down again.

“If you are truly incompetent, then while you can still move, hurry home and till the fields — at least that way you would create some tax revenue for me, instead of kneeling in here responding to every question with ‘this official is incompetent’ and ‘this official is terrified’—” Li Wu swept a fierce gaze across the other five ministers. “And the rest of you — do not think this is solely the Ministry of Revenue’s problem. Even a family-run shop knows that financial matters are of the utmost importance. Are you educated officials of the court truly less clear on this than they are? Once Da Yan’s finances are exhausted, do any of you five think you will fare well? All of you — get out of my sight, go back, and think carefully about how to increase revenue and cut expenditure! Starting tomorrow, I want to see a written memorial from each and every one of you at morning court!”

Li Wu swept his sleeve and departed. The Six Ministers bowed reverently in his wake:

“We respectfully see off His Majesty…”

Li Wu stepped out of the Imperial Study, with the chief eunuch Eunuch Feng carefully following behind, reading his mood as he ventured: “Shall I send someone ahead to inform Jiaofang Palace?”

“No need,” Li Wu said, striding forward with thunderous steps.

The Da Yan imperial palace was vast in area. Considering the depleted treasury, when they had originally cleared the silt and yellow sand, only the main palace halls had been cleaned. Furthermore, after Li Wu’s enthronement, he had drastically reduced the number of palace staff. The number of palace halls still in use had thus become far fewer, and in the great majority of cases, Li Wu needed only to walk to reach wherever he wished to go.

The closer he drew to Jiaofang Palace, the faster he walked. After crossing through the great gates of Jiaofang Palace, Li Wu moved as though the wind were at his heels, and moments later came charging into the main hall.

Shen Zhuxi had only just received the palace’s announcement of his approach and had risen in haste to receive him. She had not yet walked out of the inner hall when Li Wu’s swift, vigorous figure appeared before her eyes. The moment she saw the expression on his face, she knew he had encountered something troubling.

“A’Xue, go fetch a bowl of chilled mung bean paste,” she said, turning to address A’Xue beside her. A’Xue silently performed a bow and slipped soundlessly out of the inner hall.

Shen Zhuxi gently took hold of Li Wu’s arm and said with concern: “The sun is fierce outside — did I not tell you to ride the palanquin at all times?”

“Even ten of their legs can’t move faster than my two — by the time they amble along, I could have walked myself and sat down for a full cup of tea—” Li Wu said, none too pleased.

He dropped himself down onto the seat where Shen Zhuxi had been sitting, picked up the cup of tea she had been drinking from, and drained it in one gulp.

Though Li Wu wore dragon robes and was drinking Longjing tea worth a thousand taels, the manner in which he drank it still looked exactly like the style of someone drinking a large bowl of cheap roadside tea, two copper coins a pot. Shen Zhuxi watched him, the same as he had always been, and could not help but curl her lips in a smile.

“Who angered you again today?” she said, drawing out her handkerchief and gently dabbing at the sweat on Li Wu’s brow from his brisk walk.

“Who else but that useless fool from the Ministry of Revenue—” Li Wu grumbled. “Other than crying poverty to me, I’ve seen nothing else from him! If the Ministry of Revenue is only responsible for counting and keeping money, why would I not simply hire an accountant?”

The problem of the national treasury was something Shen Zhuxi was also roughly aware of. It was a problem handed down through history — since the days when she had sat on her father’s knee at play, Da Yan had already been spending each year’s silver as it came.

Shen Zhuxi had earned money before and knew how hard it was to earn. She could sell flower-patterned writing paper to supplement the household; she could not supplement the nation. Turning to the Bai Family could only solve immediate difficulties. She could well imagine the predicament Li Wu faced — a problem that Da Yan had failed to solve through the reigns of several emperors.

A’Xue returned at that moment with the chilled mung bean paste. Shen Zhuxi personally received it and offered it to Li Wu with a smile: “Being angry won’t help. Have a bowl of mung bean paste to cool your temper.”

Li Wu had indeed grown overheated from walking. He accepted it and began shoveling large spoonfuls noisily into his mouth.

The cold, cool mung bean paste settled in his stomach, and the agitation in his mind seemed to cool down as well. Li Wu set down the empty bowl, crossed one leg over the other, and said with a deep frown: “I simply refuse to believe it — when I had only two people under me, I could build something from nothing. Now I have tens of millions under my governance, and I still cannot earn enough to pay for my own wedding?”

Though Li Wu had spoken boastfully, Shen Zhuxi knew the difficulty of the matter, and she did not expect him to produce any truly effective solution in a short span of time. What she had not anticipated was that Li Wu spent the night tossing and turning in bed like a flipping pancake, and in the dead of night even crawled out of bed entirely.

Shen Zhuxi noticed the stirring beside her and opened her eyes blearily in the darkness: “…What are you getting up to do?”

In the darkness, Li Wu was reduced to a vague silhouette. He sat with his back to the bed on the reclining couch, his face turned toward a window he had pushed open a crack, his court robes resting on his lap, his right hand moving busily about doing something she could not make out.

“You sleep. I’ll be back in a moment,” Li Wu said, not turning around. “Oh — sleep in tomorrow. You don’t need to attend morning court with me.”

“What are you planning to do?” Shen Zhuxi murmured.

“You just sleep. We men have private matters to discuss,” Li Wu said, deflecting.

After Li Wu’s enthronement, Shen Zhuxi had always accompanied him when presiding over morning court. As the true blood of the Da Yan imperial line, Shen Zhuxi encountered no obstacles in attending court. Yet in most cases, morning court held nothing of particular urgency. In all the time since Li Wu had been enthroned, the only time she had exercised her right to attend court had been to restore the system of female officials from the previous dynasty — Li Qingman being one of those who benefited from this.

Since there was nothing pressing, and Shen Zhuxi was not particularly keen on rising even earlier than the roosters, she took Li Wu at his word, blinked a few times, and sank back into sleep.

…

As the first faint light of dawn broke in the east, the officials attending early morning court streamed in one after another through the Imperial Qunkun Gate.

The robed men whispered among themselves in the vast, empty Golden Hall. Impassive attendants stood at every corner of the hall, fly whisks in hand. A wisp of cool, icy incense drifted through the upper reaches of the hall.

As the appointed hour of court drew near, the hall naturally fell quiet of its own accord. The hundred officials stood at their positions, feeling uneasy on account of the rumors they had caught wind of the day before.

The incense candles inside the hall had already burned down by half, yet the supreme sovereign who ought to have appeared on the dragon throne was nowhere to be seen.

The Six Ministers were communicating through glances when a golden figure emerged at a brisk pace, accompanied by Eunuch Feng and several attendants. The assembled officials hastily knelt: “Long live His Majesty, long live, long may he live—”

Li Wu paid them no notice and dropped himself onto the dragon throne.

“Those with matters to report, step forward; those without, court is dismissed—” Eunuch Feng announced with a stern face.

The Six Ministers had received their dire orders the day before. If they could not present something worth reporting today, they would likely be dismissed to till the fields alongside the Minister of Revenue. They exchanged glances with lowered heads, and the Minister of Justice steeled himself and stepped forward first:

“Your Majesty, this official reports—”

A concrete plan was, of course, impossible to produce.

The Minister of Justice spoke in circles, presenting reasoning that appeared sound but contained not a single original idea.

Interrogating criminals — that he was good at. Solving the national treasury’s deficit — was that not asking an old sow to climb a tree?

When the string of empty words concluded, the hall fell silent for a long while. After some time, Li Wu’s voice rang out, its mood unreadable: “Does anyone else have a matter to report?”

The Minister of Justice wiped cold sweat from his brow and quietly exhaled in relief as he stepped back to his place. The Minister of War gritted his teeth and stepped forward; then came the Minister of Works, the Minister of Rites, and finally — the main event — the Minister of Revenue.

As each trade has its own expertise, the Minister of Revenue’s understanding of treasury fiscal policy surpassed that of the other five ministers. Yet his memorial was not appreciably better than theirs.

All six ministers were skilled at making reasoned arguments, but when it came to producing genuinely viable proposals for increasing revenue, they could only look at one another — each offering “this official is incompetent” from one side and “this official is terrified” from the other.

Li Wu watched with growing impatience and decided he had better take matters into his own hands.

“Since none of you can produce an immediately effective solution, then hear what I have in mind.” Li Wu rose to his feet and spoke at a measured pace. “The national treasury is strained; the Ministry of Revenue cannot keep the pot boiling. I am emperor, yet I was raised in the countryside and grew up among the ducks. There is nothing to conceal, nor any need to conceal it — I am not an ordinary emperor, and I will not do what ordinary emperors do. On this point, you are all, I trust, already quite clear.”

Every official in the Golden Hall strained to listen, raised their eyes, their expressions a mix of emotions, as they waited in anxious suspense for Li Wu’s next words.

“I may not have read as many books as your honors, but the roads I have traveled, the things I have seen, and the livelihoods I have worked are certainly far more than any of yours. I have heard out what the Six Ministers had to report, and it all comes down to cutting expenditure — particularly you, old Bing Ying from the Ministry of Revenue, who really knows how to talk: ‘If there is truly no other way, we can suppress the canal repair funds for a while’ — as though simply because the canal did not burst its banks last year, or the year before, it is absolutely guaranteed never to burst its banks this year?”

The Minister of Revenue, Bing Ying, had just opened his mouth to speak when Li Wu’s voice rose, cutting off the rebuttal that had not yet left his lips.

“If the canal holds, nothing is the matter. But if it fails, the damage touches not merely hundreds of thousands of lives — how many more? The disaster along the Shang River and the Jiangyan catastrophe are still vivid in my memory. Have you already forgotten them before I have?”