Jeune Premier ministre, un ermite

Chapitre 109

"Boyuan, do you know what you're doing? The beauties in the palace are vying to flatter you, but you haven't even glanced at them twice. Instead, you're staring at a man's clothes in a daze, wearing his jade pendant all day long. Is that inanimate object less valuable than a woman?"

"Lianwu, do you even know what you're saying? My fourth brother and I are like brothers. We haven't seen each other for two years, so what's wrong with me expressing my longing for him? Besides, weren't all those women chosen by you? I only chose one," Li Tianqi replied calmly.

"Yes, there was only one, and he looked just like that person. Ever since that person came back, you haven't even glanced at him." Lianwu became more and more agitated as she spoke.

"Lianwu...you...don't make me angry."

"Boyuan, why won't you admit it? Can't you face the truth? Tell me, in this palace, who has ever used the extremely limited quantity of top-grade Mengding tea? Even you yourself are reluctant to drink much of it, yet you give it all away to others. Tell me..."

Just as Lianwu was about to continue speaking, an announcement came from outside. "Your Majesty—the Wind King has arrived."

"Quickly, call him in." Li Tianqi put away the folded document in his hand.

As soon as Wei Zijun stepped into the Wude Hall, she saw Lianwu and exclaimed with delight, "Second Sister-in-law!" Only after calling out did she realize her mistake. She glanced at someone and saw that the person was suppressing a smile. She quickly corrected herself, "Your Highness, I, Wei Feng, have been rude."

Lianwu was also delighted to see her. "Fourth brother, it's better to call me sister-in-law. 'Imperial Consort' sounds too formal and uncomfortable. Fourth brother, His Majesty needs to speak with you. You two can talk. I'll take my leave first."

"Yes, I'll visit my sister-in-law later."

After Lianwu left, Li Tianqi immediately put on a stern face and said, "Sit down." He then turned to Ji Sheng and said, "Ji Sheng, make Feng Wang a cup of Qin Yu tea."

A moment later, Ji Sheng brought over a cup of tea. Wei Zijun picked up the teacup generously, lifted the lid and glanced into the water. She was startled to see a dozen or so small fish floating on the surface. They looked like inanimate objects, but they were swimming up and down, and they looked incredibly lifelike.

Who would dare drink this stuff?

Li Tianqi noticed her surprise and smiled, "This is dried qin fish from Jing County. It tastes delicious when brewed with tea and can also detoxify. Try it!"

Wei Zijun glanced at him cautiously, then lowered her head and took a small sip. A delicious and mellow aroma filled her mouth, refreshing her senses. She couldn't help but look up and smile slightly: "Delicious."

Li Tianqi's face immediately softened, and he watched her elegant and charming tea-drinking movements, almost mesmerized by her every gesture. He was particularly captivated by the way she pouted her red lips as she gently blew on the water, which inexplicably made his heart flutter. He unconsciously slapped his forehead, and only after regaining his composure did he say, "The dried fish is edible. I know you like dried fish, so take it all back with you when you get home."

Seeing his strange expression, Wei Zijun ignored it, simply putting the tea, which wasn't too hot, into her mouth. When she looked up from the teacup, she saw him staring intently at her, then picking up the porcelain cup used for washing brushes and bringing it to his lips. She couldn't help but be slightly taken aback.

While he was still in a daze, he elegantly opened his mouth, about to drink the charred ink from washing brushes.

"Ugh...cough cough...cough..." In her haste to remind him, Wei Zijun choked on her tea.

Seeing that she choked, Li Tianqi quickly put down the porcelain cup, got up and walked to her side, gently patting her back. "Zijun, how about living in the palace? I'll set aside a Fengwang Mansion for you in the palace."

"No!" Wei Zijun, whose cough had not yet completely subsided, hurriedly stopped her. "That's against etiquette. Besides, I need to stay by my parents' side."

“You can bring your family over.” Li Tianqi gently patted her back with concern, muttering to himself: But staring at him for a while actually elicited such a strong reaction from him. Well, Ziju has always been shy, she must have been embarrassed by his gaze.

“No, my parents have lived in your military residence for a long time and are used to it. They certainly don’t want to move around.” Only after he stopped coughing did he remove Li Tianqi’s hand.

“In that case, you will have to get up early to attend court, which will be very tiring.” Li Tianqi remained standing in front of her.

"Didn't we agree not to attend court? Why bring this up again?" Wei Zijun was slightly impatient.

"It's fine if you don't attend court. I know you love to sleep, so wake up and come back to review the memorials," Li Tianqi said casually.

"Reviewing memorials is the emperor's duty; how can others interfere?"

"Then let's go to court. Either review memorials or attend court, choose one," Li Tianqi said domineeringly.

"What if we don't choose either? How about that?" Wei Zijun's stubbornness kicked in.

“Then your father will do it in his place.” Li Tianqi used a threatening tactic again.

“Li Tianqi—” Wei Zijun stood up and said angrily, “I told you, don’t use my father to coerce me anymore. You’d better use some tricks that I can respect.”

Looking at her face so close to his, Li Tianqi said rather unceremoniously, "No, this is the only trick, but it works very well on you."

Wei Zijun raised her voice in anger: "Li Tianqi, the Wei family no longer owes you anything. Your life has already been returned to you."

"You saved me just for this?" Li Tianqi's voice turned cold.

"Yes, what else would it be for if not this? To pledge allegiance to you? You're dreaming!" Wei Zijun said with utter sarcasm.

But is that really the case? That impulsive move, that desperate effort to stop the arrow...

Li Tianqi was so angry that his hands trembled. "It doesn't matter if you don't pledge allegiance, as long as your father does. I will bring your father into the palace immediately."

Wei Zijun's anger flared. "Li Tianqi, do you have any other tricks up your sleeve?"

Li Tianqi shouted shamelessly, "No! Just this one move! Just this one move!"

Wei Zijun also cried out, "It's not working anymore! This trick doesn't work on me, it's useless!"

Li Tianqi was panting heavily. "It's useless!? I'll use it right now! You watch! Use it immediately!"

"You dare! Li Tianqi, if you dare to use this, I'll kill you." Wei Zijun grabbed Li Tianqi by the collar.

The eunuch Ji Sheng, standing nearby, stared wide-eyed at the scene. His Majesty and the King of Wind were both leaning forward, straining their faces forward with each curse, as if they wanted to devour the faces in front of them, like two fighting cocks.

Tai Zhong, the Inner Attendant of the Inner Palace, who was standing at the door, sighed softly. How could His Majesty, who always hid his joys and sorrows so deeply, be unable to control his emotions when he was in front of Wei Feng or when Wei Feng was involved? He could be as happy as a child or as angry as a man shouting.

"Kill her, kill her, I'll kill her for you." Li Tianqi actually tilted his head back and leaned towards Wei Zijun, looking just like an unreasonable shrew.

"Kill me if you want, do you think I wouldn't dare? Kill you to avenge my fallen soldiers." Wei Zijun grabbed Li Tianqi by the neck.

Li Tianqi coughed repeatedly as he was being pinched. Tai Zhong and Ji Sheng, who were standing nearby, were terrified and didn't know whether they should pull him away. Seeing that Li Tianqi's face was turning red from being choked, they rushed over in a panic.

"Get down—" Li Tianqi shouted angrily, and the two obediently went down again.

The increasing pressure on his neck ignited a flicker of anger in Li Tianqi. "You really want to kill me?" Enraged, he pulled Wei Zijun into his arms and fiercely bit her lips, sucking hard.

Those strong arms wrapped tightly around her body, so tightly it seemed they wanted to crush her.

"Hmm..." The unexpected attack left Wei Zijun stunned on the spot. By the time she reacted and tried to fight back, her lips were already ravaged and painful.

When Wei Zijun pushed him away forcefully, Li Tianqi froze on the spot. What had he just done?

Tai Zhong and Ji Sheng were utterly stunned. Their emperor was actually kissing a man.

Just as the three stunned men were staring blankly at an extremely angry "man," a voice announced from outside, "Your Majesty, the Prince of Jing requests an audience."

A moment later, Li Hongyi, dressed in a black satin embroidered robe, walked up. As soon as he entered, he saw the two people who were panting heavily. Seeing that their faces had a strange red tinge, he couldn't help but feel puzzled.

After wondering for a while, she felt that her fourth brother, whose face was flushed, was inexplicably charming, and her heart stirred slightly, so she moved closer to him.

"Fourth brother, you didn't even hug me when you saw me, and you even gave me a dirty look just now. No way, I'm going to get my revenge." Li Hongyi said as he stepped forward and hugged Wei Zijun, who was still slightly out of breath. "Come on, fourth brother, give me a kiss. It's been so long since I've had one." A handsome, devilish face moved closer to hers.

Wei Zijun hurriedly struggled to turn her face away, but he turned back to her. The two turned around and around, and Li Hongyi accidentally kissed the corner of Wei Zijun's lips.

The two were stunned. Li Hongyi stared at Wei Zijun in disbelief, touching his lips. Then he looked at Li Tianqi. What he saw next was alarming; Li Tianqi was glaring at him with fiery eyes, looking as if he wanted to devour him whole.

Li Hongyi touched his lips and stammered, "You talk, you talk," then turned and fled in panic.

Wei Zijun glanced coldly at Li Tianqi, "You are the one who broke your promise, yet you want to force others to keep theirs. How ridiculous." With that, she walked away lightly.

Tai Zhong looked at His Majesty, who was standing there blankly, and suddenly felt a pang of pity. His Majesty had put a lot of thought into that Prince Feng. Just look at the rewards bestowed upon him; it was as if His Majesty wanted to give him the whole world. Such rewards were extraordinary. As an old servant in the palace who had experienced the joys and sorrows of life, he understood all kinds of feelings at a glance. His Majesty's feelings for that Prince Feng... he was afraid that His Majesty was still unaware of his own thoughts.

"Tai Zhong," Li Tianqi called out, "take all the dried qin fish that were presented as tribute from Jing County back to the Wind King."

“Yes, Your Majesty,” Tai Zhong said, taking out a piece of paper. “Your Majesty, please take a look. This is the list of gifts you ordered to be given to the Wind King. Is there any error?”

Li Tianqi took it and glanced at it. "Yes, that's right. Also, chill the watermelons that are being offered as tribute, and send a few over every day."

“Yes. However…” Tai Zhong hesitated for a moment and then said, “Your Majesty, there are not many first-class tribute items left. If we give them to the King of Feng, what will you use?”

Li Tianqi waved his hand, "It's alright, I'll use the second-grade one."

Sigh! Tai Zhong sighed silently again.

“Miaozhou—” Li Tianqi called out towards the door, and Miaozhou responded and entered. “Go to his side. I’ve put such a big task on his shoulders this time, and I’m afraid some forces in the court will not tolerate him and will try to harm him. He’s always been careless with himself, getting poisoned and stabbed, which always makes people worry.”

"Yes. But His Majesty was also just assassinated."

"I'm fine. The palace is full of experts; what can they do to me? How's the investigation into what just happened going?"

"Your Majesty, the assassin has not been captured. I have examined the silver arrow myself. It was poisoned with a substance called arrow poison wood, which kills instantly upon contact with blood. However, this poison is banned from sale in Dayu. Only the pharmacy in my palace still has it."

"Check who has recently obtained this drug." He sighed again, "But I suppose it's pointless to check; who would leave any evidence for others to investigate?"

...

In the sweltering summer heat, without a breath of wind, even the trees seemed listless from the heat. As a result, that usually serene and elegant face was slightly flushed from the steam.

Sitting before the dragon's desk, Wei Zijun looked at the mountain of memorials, glared at Li Tianqi, and helplessly opened another one.

Li Tianqi, who was sitting to the side, closed a book, stole a glance at her, and then grinned smugly.

She said he always used the same trick, unaware that it always worked. He wrote a letter to Wei Shulan yesterday, and today she obediently came to review memorials. This little lazybones would never get up in the middle of the night to attend court, so she must have chosen to review memorials; that way, he has no choice but to participate in politics.

He kept fanning the slightly flushed girl with his fan, then quietly took out a silk handkerchief from his sleeve, brought it to her nose where fine sweat had seeped, and gently wiped it.

Wei Zijun looked up at him in surprise, only to be met with a gaze of tenderness. The two stared at each other blankly for a moment before awkwardly turning away.

“Zijun, look, it’s the same again. These salt commissioners and supervisors in various places have already spent a lot of money from the national treasury, yet they still embezzle and commit fraud. It’s truly hateful.” Li Tianqi closed the memorial and looked at Wei Zijun. “I want to reform the salt administration. You see, the salt production, transportation, and sales processes all require a large number of officials, resulting in bloated institutions and breeding corruption. These officials abuse their power for personal gain, enriching themselves, and causing losses to increase, resulting in our salt revenue decreasing. The management costs of this salt monopoly are too high. What do you think about opening up the salt market? That would eliminate these bloated institutions.”

Without looking up, Wei Zijun said, "Open it up? There won't be much money to be made. Those unscrupulous merchants will evade taxes."

"Zijun, what's your plan?" Li Tianqi happily leaned closer to her. Hearing her say this, he knew in his heart that she had a better method.

Wei Zijun glanced at his head as he leaned closer, "Borrowing a merchant's salt sales."

Li Tianqi narrowed his handsome eyes slightly, "Tell me!"

“The government will maintain a monopoly on salt production at the salt-producing pavilions to prevent the outflow of salt. The government will then purchase salt from the pavilions at low prices and resell it to merchants at a higher price, allowing them to manage the transportation and sales process themselves. In this way, the government’s profit margin will be much higher than the tax revenue, and the transportation and sales agencies will be eliminated, eliminating the need for them to manage these agencies.”

"Zijun—!" Li Tianqi shouted excitedly, grabbing her in a hug. Wei Zijun turned around in surprise, their faces meeting. Li Tianqi quickly withdrew his arm as if he had burned his hand. An awkward atmosphere filled the air.

To break the awkward atmosphere, Wei Zijun said, "Um... I plan to go to Yiyue Lucheng soon. I need to visit my master and find two other people."

"Can't we send someone else?"

"No, there's a place that no one else can find."

Li Tianqi chuckled, "Alright, I know, it's just your master's house."

"Yes, so we must go."

"Since you want to go, let Miaozhou go with you."

Volume 3, Dayu Chapter 98: Admitting Mistakes

The night before Wei Zijun was to leave for Lucheng, a mysterious guest arrived at the residence of General Zuo Xiaowei.

When the luxurious carriage with carved phoenix patterns arrived at the General's Mansion, it attracted all the residents, young and old, who gathered in the garden to catch a glimpse of the beautiful and dignified woman who stepped out of the carriage.

The graceful woman alighted from the carriage and, noticing that the Wind King was not among those who had come to meet her, ordered her to be led straight to the Wind King's room.

"Your Highness, I have come today to express my gratitude for saving my life." Li Siyi curtsied.