Furthermore, the two women, the wife of the Marquis of Ningnan and her daughter-in-law, smiled and agreed repeatedly. At the banquet, they were all smug at first, but now they were somewhat gloomy. They never expected that this woman was not only beautiful, but also extremely intelligent, and now she was a highly skilled doctor. It seems that the Emperor did not lose out by marrying her.
No wonder the emperors of the three kingdoms were all vying to marry her; they all knew she was both beautiful and talented, which is why they were all so captivated by her.
The banquet that followed was rather quiet, filled with mundane topics of conversation, such as clothes and jewelry. Occasionally, someone would respectfully address Hai Ling. Hai Ling observed coldly. This time, she had come to test the waters first, and now she understood. The next time she summoned these noblewomen to the palace, it would be a time when they would feel the pinch—no, it should be a time when they would often feel the pinch, because she would occasionally organize fundraising events, making these self-proclaimed philanthropic ladies spend more money. She believed that in the future, these people would break out in a cold sweat whenever they saw her.
After a long and difficult banquet, the ladies of noble birth finally finished their meal and went to the main hall for tea. Afterward, they took their leave and returned to their respective residences.
Hai Ling kept the two women from the Ningnan Marquis's residence behind and carefully inquired about the condition of the Heir Apparent's wife. She also reminded the Ningnan Marquis's wife not to let the Heir Apparent's wife overwork herself. The two women from the Ningnan Marquis's residence were even more grateful and accepted the order to return home.
The main hall finally quieted down. Shi Mei and Shi Lan stood in front of Hai Ling, watching their master without saying a word.
"Your Majesty, look how capable they are."
“That’s natural. If they were easy to deal with, Bei Lu wouldn’t be in this situation now,” Hai Ling said with a cold smile. Although her gains today were not very great, she could at least see that the people from the Prime Minister’s Mansion were currently the most prominent, while the people from the West Mansion were still behind.
That's why the Prime Minister's wife was so arrogant. But don't forget, the nail that sticks out gets hammered down. She was practically courting death. If the Prime Minister had any dirt on her, they would be the first to suffer.
"Go back and rest for a while."
Hailin said, "Take your time with these things, there's no rush."
The group returned to Qingqian Palace. After resting for a while, Hailing suddenly had the urge to make a sweet soup and two snacks for Ye Lingfeng in the small kitchen of Qingqian Palace, and then led everyone to the study.
At this moment, the Imperial Study was unusually cold, with a chilly wind and rain blowing.
The emperor at the head of the table had a dark and gloomy face, exuding a fierce aura, and glared angrily at the Minister of Revenue standing below him.
"You actually say the Ministry of Revenue has no money left? I remember last time there were still 300,000 taels of silver left untouched?"
The Minister of Revenue spoke in a panic: "Your Majesty, this fund has been allocated for the construction of the Shihe Dam. The Shihe River floods every year, so I allocated this year's funds early to prevent another flood, which would cause widespread suffering and disaster."
Ye Lingfeng's face was extremely grim. He had just received a report from Dengzhou City that the Beilu troops were fighting the Green Ant Clan outside the city. The treacherous Green Ant Clan had burned down the granaries in Dengzhou City, and now the soldiers were starving. How could they fight the Green Ant Clan? So, he needed to send grain immediately. However, when he called the Ministry of Revenue, they said that the Ministry of Revenue had no money left. How could this not cause him great anxiety?
Right now, Beilu can only scrape together what they have to get by, but where can they find the money so quickly?
"As the Minister of Revenue, how could you allow such a thing to happen? Go and find a solution for me immediately. Get out of here."
Ye Lingfeng was so angry that he waved his hand and dismissed the Minister of Revenue.
The Minister of Revenue turned pale and slowly retreated, leaving the study.
Just outside the Imperial Study, Hai Ling arrived in a sedan chair. As soon as she stepped off, she saw the Minister of Revenue rushing over, his face pale and wiping sweat as he walked. When he looked up and saw the Empress, he quickly and respectfully bowed, saying, "Your subject greets Your Majesty the Empress."
"No need for formalities," Hai Ling nodded dignifiedly, then asked calmly, "What happened?"
The Minister of Revenue opened his mouth to speak, but then thought that the Empress was a woman, and the inner palace should not interfere in politics. What would be the use of telling her? So he quickly shook his head and said, "It's nothing."
"If nothing's wrong, why is your face so pale? If nothing's wrong, why are you sweating? I'll ask you one more time, what happened? You'd better not make me repeat myself."
Hai Ling's voice was somewhat harsh and cold. She knew that something must have happened to explain why the Minister of Revenue looked so grim.
She could have asked Ye Lingfeng, but if it was something bad, she naturally didn't want to bother him, so she asked the Minister of Revenue instead. Unexpectedly, he was unwilling to tell her, simply because he thought she was a woman and that the harem shouldn't interfere in politics.
However, she was concerned with the matter at hand, not with customs.
The Minister of Revenue shuddered. Not only the Emperor, but the Empress was also frightening.
"Your Majesty, news came from Dengzhou that the grain supplies had been burned. Therefore, the court must send grain supplies as soon as possible. However, it is unclear where to obtain cash at the moment, which is why His Majesty is furious."
Hailin's eyes suddenly darkened, and she waved her hand: "Go back."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
The Minister of Revenue ran faster than a rabbit and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
Hai Ling's attendant, Mei, couldn't help but call out, "Your Highness, are you still going to see the Emperor?"
The Emperor must be very upset about this situation. If the Empress goes there, it might upset him even more.
"Go, why wouldn't you go?"
Hai Ling had only taken a few steps when the eunuchs who had been cautiously waiting in front of the Imperial Study noticed her and quickly rushed over, respectfully saying, "This servant greets Your Majesty the Empress."
"Get up."
Hai Ling bypassed the eunuchs without needing anyone to announce her arrival, and led Shi Mei and Shi Lan towards the Imperial Study. Outside the study, stood the Emperor's personal eunuch, Xiao Lu Zi, as well as Shi Zhu and Shi Ju. Upon seeing Hai Ling leading Shi Mei and Shi Lan, they bowed respectfully in greeting.
"Greetings, Your Majesty the Empress."
“No need to refuse the gift,” Hai Ling nodded, then reached out and took the food box from Shi Mei behind her, and instructed the maids, “You can wait outside.”
She carried the food box into the study. The people inside had already heard the voices outside. When they saw the door open, their expressions improved. When they saw Hailing come in, they got up to greet her, took the food box from her, and asked with concern, "Did those women who hosted the banquet today make things difficult for you?"
Hai Ling smiled and shook her head: "No, don't worry. Do you think I, the Empress, would be afraid of those noblewomen? On the contrary, I just had a sudden urge and made a few snacks for you to try. What do you think?"
Upon hearing that Ling'er had made it herself, Ye Lingfeng immediately opened the food box, took out some food, and ate some.
In fact, Hai Ling knew that he had no appetite for these things right now. Dengzhou needed grain supplies, but the imperial court had no money. Where could they get money at this time?
Hailin also started thinking about it and suddenly had an inspiration.
If the imperial court has no money, then where has all this money gone? It's actually in people's pockets, so they can take it from these people's pockets.
"Night, are you anxious about the grain?"
As soon as she spoke, Ye Lingfeng knew that Hailing must have asked the Minister of Revenue and learned that Dengzhou needed rice. He didn't hide it from her, put down his chopsticks, reached out and picked Hailing up to sit on the couch beside him: "Don't worry, I'll find a way."
Hailin smiled and reached out to hug his neck, blinking her eyes as she spoke sweetly.