Mingzhu and Xiliang had a good relationship, so Xiliang stopped caring and looked at Hailing.
"Ling'er, can you help me?"
“Are you really sure you want to marry into the Southern Ling Kingdom? You'll be all alone there. If you can stay in the Northern Lu Kingdom, I will definitely find you a good marriage.”
Hai Ling was somewhat worried about Xi Liang marrying into the Nanling Kingdom. She thought that if she married into the Nanling Kingdom alone, the man would definitely love her very much, preferably like Ye, so that she would be happier. Also, since they both came from the modern world, they naturally could not accept the idea of having multiple wives and concubines in ancient times. If Xi Liang married into the Nanling Kingdom, would that prince treat her as his only one?
She didn't want to suffer any loss.
"But I love him, and I only love him."
Who is he?
Seeing Xi Liang's expression, Hai Ling couldn't help but wonder who this man she had fallen in love with was, that he could capture Xi Liang's heart. You know, although Xi Liang had many boyfriends in the past, she had never truly stuck with one man. But now she was sticking with one man, which meant that she really loved him. Was that man worthy of her love?
"Ruan Xiyin, the War King of Nanling Kingdom".
After Xi Liang finished speaking, a light veil of light enveloped her face, and her eyes became misty.
Seeing her expression, Hailing knew she was completely captivated. Hailing had heard a little about Ruan Xiyin, the War King of Nanling Kingdom. It was rumored that although he was a prince, he loved fighting and was a brave and skilled warrior, a fierce general of Nanling Kingdom. Nanling Kingdom had once destroyed Shaoyi in the west, and the War King had made a great contribution to this victory. However, later, the War King seemed to have been affected by the struggle for the crown prince's throne and was injured, which gave Mu Ye of Shaoyi Kingdom the opportunity to successfully reclaim Shaoyi Kingdom.
Is it alright for Xi Liang to marry such a warlike prince? Hai Ling was a little worried and glanced at Nalan Mingzhu to the side.
"Mingzhu, do you know what kind of person this Prince Zhan is?"
When Mingzhu heard Hailing ask her, she thought about it seriously and then told her.
"I've only met this War King once. He's extremely cold and aloof, keeping people at arm's length. He's very handsome, though, and I've heard that there are no other women in his palace."
Hearing Mingzhu say this, Hailin finally felt somewhat relieved.
"Xi Liang, do you love the War King, and does the War King love you? If you two are in love with each other, I will help you marry into the Southern Ling Kingdom."
Xi Liang is fourteen years old now. In ancient times, it was very normal for a fourteen-year-old to get married. So if Xi Liang wanted to, and was sure that the War King liked her, she would take him as her sworn sister, bestow upon him the title of princess, and send him to marry into the Southern Ling Kingdom.
"I don't know if he loves me or not, but he really dotes on me and spoils me. Ling'er, I lived in the War Prince's mansion for two years. I know if he is truly good to me. He saved my life. No matter what he does to me, I want to marry him."
This feeling was incredibly intense. In the War King's mansion, she was oblivious, constantly causing trouble until her family took her back to Beilu. Only then did she truly feel the flutter in her heart. She loved him so passionately, so very much. Although it had been over a year since she returned to Beilu, she still loved him. No one could replace him. Now, she really, really wanted to see him and wanted to marry into the Nanling Kingdom.
The light in Xi Liang's eyes was so urgent, and her face shone with pride when she spoke of that man.
Her small face was radiant. Hai Ling and Nalan Mingzhu, both of whom had a crush on her, naturally knew what her expression meant: she truly loved the War King.
Nalan Mingzhu couldn't help but help Xi Liang after hearing her words.
“Since Xi Liang said that the War King dotes on her, then the War King must like her. He is not a person who likes to get close to people and always keeps his distance from others, but he is willing to get close to Xi Liang. Presumably, Xi Liang is different in his heart. I have been in Nanling Kingdom for several months. Although I have only met him once, I know that there are many women in Nanling Kingdom who want to marry the War King, but he has not married a single one. There is still no woman in the War King’s mansion. Maybe the War King is waiting for Xi Liang.”
Hearing what the two women said, Hai Ling smiled and felt a little more favorably disposed towards Ruan Xiyin. A man chosen by Xi Liang must be good, just like Helian Qianxun, whom Feng Qian chose, and Ji Shaocheng, the brother whom Mingzhu chose. She hoped that this rumored War King Ruan Xiyin was also a good man who would treat Xi Liang sincerely, otherwise she would not let him go.
"Xi Liang, since you want to marry, I will help you. I have decided to take you as my sworn sister and bestow upon you the title of princess. That way, when you marry into the Southern Ling Kingdom, your status will not be lower than others, right?"
After Hai Ling finished speaking, Xi Liang smiled, then moved closer to Hai Ling and thanked her affectionately like a puppy.
"Thank you, Ling'er."
"Who's who between us? Do we need all this?"
Hai Ling smiled and glanced at Xi Liang, who immediately nodded and put her slender arm around Hai Ling: "That's right, we sisters don't need all that formality."
Nalan Mingzhu was quite surprised to see them walking arm in arm with each other. She secretly admired the young princess of the Cangwang Mansion; she was incredibly bold to address the Empress as "sister." Probably only she in the world would dare to do such a thing. No wonder the Empress liked her.
The three of them talked for a while longer in Liuyue Palace before Xi Liang took her leave. Thinking that Ling'er was going to help her marry into the Southern Ling Kingdom and that she would soon see the man she liked, Xi Liang's heart leaped with joy.
Next, Hailing summoned a eunuch and ordered him to immediately notify the Imperial Observatory of the Ministry of Rites to select the nearest auspicious day and report it to the Emperor, so that Princess Mingzhu of Nanling Kingdom and General Ji of Beilu could choose a date to get married.
The young eunuch immediately went to the Ministry of Rites to inform them. Hai Ling then ordered Shi Mei to send the head of the South Hall of Wuyinglou to the Great Zhou Dynasty to ask Prince Jing, Feng Zihe, to investigate where her mother, Du Caiyue—no, whose real name was Nie Wan'er—was buried.
Shi Mei accepted the order and immediately left the palace to inform the head of the Southern Hall.
In the palace, Hailing lay down for a while. After waking up, she ordered the chef of Liuyue Palace to prepare several kinds of snacks and personally delivered them to the Imperial Study.
In the Imperial Study, besides the Emperor, there were several ministers from the Six Ministries and several capable officials from the court, all discussing matters of state.
Today, the harvest in the south is another problem. Forget about paying taxes, even their own food is a problem. If the court forces them to pay grain, then the people's own food will be a problem. If they don't pay, the court will have a big deficit in the second half of the year. So right now, everyone is discussing how to deal with this problem.
Ye Lingfeng, sitting at the head of the table, had a frosty expression on his face and unfathomable, sinister eyes. Because the emperor's aura was so powerful, everyone in the study felt suffocated and cautious in their speech, trying to understand the emperor's meaning.
Ye Lingfeng tapped the dragon table with one hand, thinking about the information he had previously researched regarding the grain harvest in the south. It turned out that the southern part of Beilu was the lowest-lying area in the entire Beilu Kingdom, and the rainfall in the south was more than in other places every year. As a result, the grain harvest in the south was less than 30% of that in other places. The people were barely able to feed themselves, let alone pay taxes. This year was no different. There was a big problem now. If the people were forced to pay taxes, they would suffer through a bitter winter. If the taxes were waived, the imperial court would face a major shortage of supplies. The supplies for the soldiers and officers in winter would not be lacking. So Ye Lingfeng was now in a dilemma and couldn't help but frown as he looked at the Minister of Revenue.
"This is the same in the south every year, year after year. Doesn't the Ministry of Revenue have any solutions?"
Upon hearing the Emperor's somber words, the Minister of Revenue was filled with fear and quickly rose to his feet: "Your Majesty, it is my incompetence. I have been thinking about this day and night, but I have no good ideas. Please punish me, Your Majesty."
"Thinking about it day and night?" Ye Lingfeng sneered. Thinking about it day and night wouldn't even come up with a single idea. But how come he looked at him, all fat and plump, without a trace of thinking about it day and night? It seems that these guys who eat the emperor's grain and take the government's money, and prey on the people, are going to be targeted again.
"If thinking about it day and night doesn't yield any results, then wouldn't stopping thinking about it day and night lead to a result?"
Ye Lingfeng added in a sinister tone, and the Minister of Revenue was shocked. Was the Emperor dissatisfied with him? He immediately knelt down with a thud.
"I deserve to die, I deserve to die."
These bastards deserve to die, but now is not the time to execute them. If he finds any evidence against them, he will definitely not let them off the hook.
"How should we handle this situation?"
Ye Lingfeng glanced around the study and saw that everyone had their heads bowed to their chests, looking pained and reflecting on their actions. Ye Lingfeng was speechless. Why were they here to reflect on their actions instead of reflecting on their own actions? Just as he was cursing inwardly, Prime Minister Zhongli stood up.
"Your Majesty, I believe it is absolutely wrong to force the people to pay taxes and grain, as this will only arouse their resentment."