"Are you still smiling or not?" Yi Yancheng looked down at her, his dark eyes deep.
"Is it not allowed for me to be happy when I see you?" Xie Jiang wrapped her arms around his legs, leaning against him affectionately.
Yi Yancheng had no way to resist, so he sat down. "Is that how you smile when you're happy?"
"Then what were you thinking just now? Were you thinking of me?" Xie Jiang asked with a beaming smile.
"How can you be so thick-skinned?" Yi Yancheng rubbed her cheek with the back of his hand, then playfully pinched it.
"I'm so cute."
"You're cute?"
"Aren't I cute?"
"Cute."
"It's less than two hours until dawn, and you still came all this way." Yi Yancheng's heart was filled to the brim.
"I want to spend more time with you." Is it easy for her to win over a man? She's traveling in the middle of the night!
"Will you stay for a couple more days?" Yi Yancheng pleaded.
"After I conquer this vast land, I won't attend court every day."
"What are you saying?" Yi Yancheng chuckled.
"An hour of spring night is worth a thousand gold."
"Have you been secretly reading lately?"
"Yi Yancheng, do you want to die!"
"Go back to your room and get some rest. You have to travel tomorrow."
"I can't sleep, I just want to look at you."
One sat, one lay; one looked down, one looked up.
Yi Yancheng dared not stare at her for too long, lest his heart be stirred.
"Tonight, many people probably won't be able to sleep, especially His Majesty. He's probably so angry he can't cultivate peacefully."
"Why?"
Yi Yancheng secretly breathed a sigh of relief as their attention was diverted.
"His Majesty has long intended to renovate the Yuanyou Palace, and also wants to build a Taoist temple. The site for the Taoist temple has already been chosen."
"Unfortunately, His Majesty's personal funds are insufficient, and the Ministry of Revenue is crying poverty every day. Not a single coin can be taken from the national treasury."
"His Majesty once hinted that he wanted civil and military officials to donate a portion, but..."
Seeing Xie Jiang's mouth agape, looking astonished, Yi Yancheng couldn't help but chuckle.
"The next day, the civil and military officials, as if by prior arrangement, all wore official robes with patched holes to court and took turns advising His Majesty to be thrifty..."
Xie Jiang burst into laughter upon hearing this, "And tonight, one by one, they're spending money like water without hesitation."
She could imagine how angry the emperor must be, jumping up and down in the Yuanyou Palace right now.
"Those who participated in the auction tonight will probably regret it once they return home and their impulses subside."
The women of the household would snatch jewelry and accessories without batting an eye, and when they themselves bid for rare treasures, it was as if they were throwing pebbles instead of silver.
After returning home and calming down, thinking about the lively auction tonight, which His Majesty likely witnessed, cold sweat would start to trickle down their backs.
His Majesty was so poor he couldn't do anything he wanted.
And they, his subjects, were afraid of missing out on a single bid!
Why couldn't they control themselves!
Originally, when they went to Chunse Manyuan, they only intended to look around. At most, if they encountered something they liked, they would bid for one or two items, considering it a worthwhile trip.
But somehow, by the end, they wanted to bid on everything! Perhaps the auction items tonight were truly rare and good things. Although the prices weren't cheap, they weren't unaffordable with a bit of gritting of teeth.
The items were genuinely good.
No one could honestly say otherwise.
Take the glass wares tonight, for instance. Their quality was far superior to anything they had bought or seen before.
Even with their minds cooled, looking at the items in their hands, they felt that not a single item was a bad buy.
If they were asked to return the items now, they wouldn't be willing.
But they had shown off their wealth right under His Majesty's nose...
Next time His Majesty wants them to fork out money, will they do it or not?
Xie Jiang rolled over and lay on the floor mat, stroking her smooth chin. "Your Majesty is actually so poor. Why don't I donate some money to His Majesty?"
"Donate money to His Majesty?" Yi Yancheng's expression shifted slightly, and he immediately thought, "Shares in the glass factory?"
"It's not like I'm giving it to His Majesty for free, to avoid unnecessary criticism that His Majesty is taking advantage of commoners. Let's just say it's a partnership between His Majesty and me."
"It's not easy for me to run a factory alone. The glass hasn't even materialized yet, and all sorts of demons and ghosts are popping out, all wanting to snatch food from my mouth. If His Majesty is willing to partner with me, no one will dare to bully me."
"It's because I'm alone and weak, offering my shares for His Majesty's protection. Our great His Majesty, can he bear to see me bullied?"
Yi Yancheng glanced at her, sat down at the study desk, took out a blank memorial, and dipped his brush in ink.
Then he handed it to her.
"What for?"
"You said it quite well. Write it down, and I'll personally present it to you."
With her strong counterattack, who would dare covet her glass factory? Did she need His Majesty's protection?
Let's just say she needed it.
Whatever she said, he would always be on her side, no matter what she did.
"You write it for me." Xie Jiang was too lazy to move.
"His Majesty recognizes my handwriting. If I'm offering money for protection, shouldn't there be some sincerity?"
"If I'm giving money, isn't that sincere enough?"
"Not everyone's money is accepted by His Majesty." If you want His Majesty to jump into the pit you dug, you have to cover the pit with some grass, right?
Makes sense.
Xie Jiang reluctantly got up, took the brush, and sat beside him.
Yi Yancheng watched as she furrowed her brows after writing two characters, and couldn't help but rub his temples after writing two lines.
Her handwriting wasn't too bad; it was evident she had practiced.
But perhaps she hadn't held a brush in a long time. She wrote each stroke fiercely and forcefully, as if she wanted to fight with the paper.
Yi Yancheng said softly, "Be gentler, relax, don't use so much force."
Xie Jiang eased up a little, but soon reverted to her old ways.
Yi Yancheng smiled helplessly, "How long has it been since you held a brush?"
Xie Jiang knitted her brows and said through gritted teeth, "I was holding a knife!"
Yi Yancheng tapped her head lightly. "No swearing." Just writing a character, and she became agitated.
Xie Jiang, with a look of deep suffering, wrote rapidly, finishing quickly.
With a "bang," she slammed the brush onto the desk, looking as if she never wanted to pick it up again.
Yi Yancheng rubbed her head to comfort her, and at the same time glanced at what she had written.
Uh...
It was all in plain language.
The style was exactly the same as the leaflets that had exposed Lu Baofang and the advertisements for the auction held a few days ago.
However, the meaning was expressed clearly, and it even read more vividly.
His Majesty was probably receiving such a memorial for the first time.
As if she had fought a battle, Xie Jiang was tired and rolled onto the floor mat, collapsing into a sprawl.
Yi Yancheng couldn't help but laugh, "You're this tired just from writing a few characters?"
"I never want to write again, my hands tremble just holding a brush." Xie Jiang said, holding up her paws, and said aggrievedly, "My hands are almost ruined!"
"Let me rub them for you."
Yi Yancheng took her hands, rubbing from her palm to her wrist, and then massaging each of her fingers.