Gu Yelin turned to face the Crown Prince. “Does Your Highness know that the Seven Lodges Bureau has always had a rule — once a chief steps down, he may go anywhere under heaven, but he may not return home?”

Such a rule was not humane, yet it had its necessity. After all, a chief of the Seven Lodges Bureau held far too many secrets. Even after stepping down, were his loyalties to shift, he could still do an enormous amount of damage. And for a man who had been away from home for so many years, whether out of guilt or some other feeling, he would undoubtedly devote himself completely to aiding his own family.

The Crown Prince was naturally aware of this, yet he only smiled. “The Duke of Dingguo is already at the very pinnacle of officialdom — what more could the old gentleman do? What is more, the old gentleman has rendered great service to the realm. There is no reason why, at the end of it all, he should not even be allowed to go home. When all is said and done, it is our imperial family that has wronged you, old gentleman.”

The Crown Prince rose to his feet and bowed before Gu Yelin. Gu Yelin was not about to accept such a bow. The helplessness of being separated from his loved ones and never allowed to see them again, the anguish of abandoning someone dear to him, the sorrow of living as a faceless man — he had chafed against it for the better part of his life. But he would not vent that feeling on a boy who was barely grown, and especially not when that boy, knowing full well the Bureau’s rules, had still allowed him to go home. This already showed remarkable strength of character.

“Your Highness surpasses the late Emperor.” Gu Yelin spoke words that were not entirely reverent, yet with a slight upward curve of his lips he bowed low. “This old subject thanks Your Highness for the grace of allowing him the chance to burn a stick of incense at his parents’ graves.”

Hua Zhi lowered her gaze, unable to stop herself from thinking: in the life that Hao Yue had known, had Yan Xi endured just this kind of helplessness, this same kind of sorrow? Merely imagining it made her heart ache.

“This old subject has come to offer himself for duty — I request to proceed to Yanxi City.”

Hua Zhi’s head snapped up. She and the Crown Prince exchanged a glance. This was…

“I recall that the old gentleman was seriously injured not long ago.”

“I am grateful for Your Highness’s concern. Under the careful treatment of Divine Physician Yu, I have largely recovered.”

The Crown Prince was tempted. In terms of age, the old gentleman was younger than both the Duke of Anguo and General Lin. In terms of ability, the old gentleman had presided over the Seven Lodges Bureau for many years — even the Prince Regent was someone he had trained — and the old gentleman had continued instructing new recruits even years after stepping down, meaning any decline in his skills could only be marginal. Thinking it through carefully, he was in fact the most suitable candidate among those currently available.

The Crown Prince confirmed once more: “The old gentleman’s injuries are truly healed? I will be verifying this with Divine Physician Yu.”

The heart that had been encased in frost for a thousand years thawed the slightest bit at these words. “Though this old subject grows older with the years, a lifetime of martial practice has given him a recovery strength beyond that of most men. Your Highness need not worry — this old subject will not overextend himself.”

The Crown Prince gave a small nod, then looked toward the Duke of Dingguo. “What does the Grand Tutor think?”

The Duke of Dingguo drew a silent breath. What could he say? The Prince Regent had gone to war. Even Shao Yao had set aside her ornaments to shoulder grave responsibility. Could he really stand in the way of his own family going to serve? “Yelin has managed affairs independently for many years. Since he has spoken, he must be confident.”

“Very well. Then I must trouble the old gentleman. Is there anything you require?”

“There are forty men in the ravine who are passably capable — I wish to take them with me. The rest are all young. Let them continue their training where they are.”

“Granted.”

Gu Yelin gave a clasped-hand salute and bow. “This old subject will go and make preparations at once.”

The Duke of Dingguo immediately took his leave as well and departed. Hua Zhi, meanwhile, made her way to the Ministry of Finance.

Zhu Bowen waved away her bow of greeting and gestured for her to sit. “If you had not come to me today, I was about to send someone to summon you. Has the commanding general for the west been decided?”

“Yes. It will be announced at tomorrow’s court assembly. Grandfather, the pressure now falls entirely on the Ministry of Finance.”

Zhu Bowen let out a long sigh. “Last year, the south was flooded and the north was drought-stricken, taxes were exempted across many regions, and on top of that the granaries were riddled with corrupt officials gnawing away at the stores. Daqing’s grain reserves are now pitifully thin. Were it not for the stockpiling we did after I listened to your advice, we would truly be in the position of a clever wife trying to cook without rice. Even so, we cannot hold out for long. My greatest hope now is that we can truly take Yan.”

“We cannot place all of our hopes on Yan. Nothing in this world is certain. If things do not go as I envision — if the Chaoli are also guarding that granary — taking it will not be easy. We must prepare several contingencies.”

“Such as?”

“I suggest making dried noodle cakes. That food is rich in oil and fat, filling to the stomach; soaked in boiling water, the broth goes down more satisfyingly than plain flatbread, and in terms of ingredients it is also more economical than flatbread, saving grain from the very source. Of course, making it in the capital and transporting it to four separate war zones is not realistic. My thought is to send people to teach the military cooks, and local civilians could also be conscripted to help produce it.”

“Is it difficult to make?”

“Not at all, though it does not keep for very long.”

Zhu Bowen gave a small nod. “If it can save grain as you describe, it is worth trying. That addresses the matter of reducing expenditure — what about increasing income?”

“Are you familiar with konjac?”

“I was not before, but last year the vegetarian restaurant put on an entire konjac banquet, so I came to know it.”

“Konjac can be processed into flour, and its yield of flour is extremely high. It can also serve as military provisions.” Hua Zhi spoke faster and faster. “We are already somewhat late; otherwise we could have planted more. At this point we can only gather as much as possible. In some areas it ripens as early as the seventh month — when the time comes, I would ask Grandfather to send dedicated personnel to handle this matter.”

“Can it substitute for grain?”

“It can.”

“Excellent.” Zhu Bowen clapped his hands together with a sharp crack, and for the first time his expression eased. “I knew you would have a solution. Even one konjac plant, and you find ways to put it to every use. Are there any other things that can be used this way?”

There was — the miraculous sweet potato. But that crop did not yet exist in Daqing. If only they had it, why would anyone need to worry about grain shortages?

Hua Zhi shook her head. “We are now at the end of the fifth month. This matter must be arranged as soon as possible — whatever can be collected, collect it all.”

“Zhizhi, the national treasury is empty.”

“The silver I will find a way to manage.” Find a way, or take it by force — strip it from officials and gentry, from grain merchants, from powerful families. The soldiers at the front would not go without food.

“You put yourself through too much.” Zhu Bowen — unaware of what schemes his granddaughter was already devising in her mind — let out a sigh. He did not wish to be this helpless either, but the Ministry of Finance he had inherited was already a sieve riddled with holes, and all he could do was restore order as best he could; he had only recently managed to clear out the parasites within the Ministry and bring it fully under his control.

To accomplish anything substantial in such a short span of time — how extraordinarily difficult that was.

One matter after another, all pressing down on her shoulders. Hua Zhi did not even have a moment to sit idle and let things settle before she left the Ministry of Finance and went directly to the Ministry of Works, where she borrowed several skilled craftsmen and brought them home with her.

She had Steward Xu receive the men while she returned to her study, sketched for a while, then emerged with a stack of drawings and handed them to the craftsmen. “Would these be difficult to produce?”

The drawings were about twenty pages in total — fifteen looked simpler and more rudimentary, while the other five were considerably more intricate by comparison. The craftsmen exchanged a glance, then nodded. “Not difficult.”

“Good. Steward Xu.”

Steward Xu stepped forward at the call.

“Go and find a spacious location and purchase it. I need to set up a large workshop to produce these toys.”

“Yes, miss.”

Hua Zhi turned back to the craftsmen. “This is only the beginning. There will be more drawings to come. There is no need for you gentlemen to rush back to the Ministry of Works — for the time being, please remain at the workshop. Rest assured, I will report this to His Highness the Crown Prince; your official salaries will continue to be paid, and I will provide an additional sum on top of that.”

The craftsmen had no objection whatsoever to earning an extra income, and each one agreed readily.