Chapter 897: What Causes the Panic

The great hall was utterly silent; one could hear a pin drop.

All the ministers craned their necks, eyes fixed on the memorial on the Dragon Desk.

Some rubbed their eyes, some opened their mouths and forgot to close them, and many others involuntarily stepped forward half a pace.

Xiao Jieyun sat back on the dragon throne, reached out and lifted the memorial.

The previously dense characters had vanished without a trace.

Only four large characters remained on the whole sheet, their strokes robust, golden light shimmering, as if someone had rewritten them with molten gold—truly striking.

"Never levy additional taxes."

The Emperor laughed heartily and handed the memorial to Eunuch Cheng: "Show them this."

"Huh?" Eunuch Cheng, as if waking from a dream, hurriedly took it, "Yes! His Majesty."

He turned the memorial over, held it to his chest, and displayed it to the ministers.

The senior Censor stared blankly, his lips moving a few times, but no word could be uttered.

The other two Censors who had just impeached slowly lowered their heads, not daring to lift even their eyelids.

Song Jingxian was the first to kneel, his forehead touching the ground, loudly proclaiming, "His Majesty, this is Heaven's will! When Heaven wills it, it must never be defied!"

Zhou Jinhua thought to himself, Heaven's will? He feared it was the work of that Protector Princess!

His Majesty had just laughed heartily; it must have hit the mark, so what was there to wait for?

He followed with a thump, knelt down, tears streaming, his voice louder than Song Jingxian's: "I congratulate Your Majesty!"

"Heaven's will manifests, a result of Your Majesty's saintly virtue, a blessing to the realm and its people!"

The others, shocked, instantly understood upon hearing the words.

With such a miracle appearing, who would dare defy Heaven?

All the ministers' knees softened, and they knelt en masse.

Eunuch Cheng gently placed the memorial back on the Dragon Desk, feeling a great weight lift from his heart; it was certainly the princess's doing.

The princess is truly formidable! Even without anyone present, she could render these court officials speechless and resolve the Emperor's dilemma.

Xiao Jieyun scanned the crowd below, a slight curl at his lip, "Tuan Tuan, you truly live up to being my Protector Princess!"

"Everyone, rise."

The ministers shakily rose from the ground, heads bowed, standing.

The Emperor declared loudly, "Since this is Heaven's will, I shall obey the mandate of Heaven."

"Lao Qi's proposal, I approve all of it," he paused, "Prince Jing Xiao Ze, recaptures Taiyuan without bloodshed, raising our nation's prestige—a feat unparalleled in history."

"And with benevolent governance pacify the people, establishing a foundation for eternal peace."

"Grant him a fief of nine thousand households, thirty thousand taels of gold, a thousand bolts of brocade, to honor his achievement."

"Draft the edict immediately," the Emperor thought for a moment, glancing at the memorial before him.

"Never levy additional taxes," the four golden characters were simple, clear, and radiant.

He smiled faintly; Tuan Tuan cannot read and dislikes long discourses, so the Emperor issued the same: "No need for many words, just eight characters—five years tax‑free, never levy additional taxes!"

"Seal it with the jade seal and send it to Taiyuan Province at once."

"Ministry of Personnel, draft the list of officials for Taiyuan Province and submit it to the Cabinet for approval."

The ministers fell to the ground and shouted, "Long live His Majesty, long live, long long live!"

Eunuch Cheng pursed his lips, barely holding back a laugh.

His Majesty's edict was clearly meant for the princess; such a concise imperial decree was unprecedented from ancient times to the present.

If Seventh Prince and Prince Ning saw such an edict, they would surely drop their jaws in amazement.

Xiao Jieyun slowly rose, glared at him, "Dismiss the court!"

Eunuch Cheng's complexion cleared, and he shouted loudly, "Dismiss—!"

On Taiyuan Island, at the hunting ground.

Tuan Tuan, riding a mother deer at full gallop, suddenly felt something and burst into loud, cackling laughter.

Riding a horse behind her, Luo Zhenjiang, Xiao Er and Lu Qi were all startled.

Xiao Er spurred his horse to her side, "Miss, what are you laughing at?"

Tuan Tuan turned her head to him, "Imperial Uncle also likes those four characters! Everyone saw them and loves them!"

"Which four characters?" Luo Zhenjiang didn't understand.

"It's the thing on Third Elder Brother's little notebook, 'Never add vinegar'!"

"Never... add vinegar?" Luo Zhenjiang scratched the back of his head, "Does Seventh Prince not like jealousy? To even note it in a notebook?"

"How would I know!" Tuan Tuan declared boldly, "Just ask him!"

She shouted excitedly, "Deer, deer! Run fast! We haven't been over the mountain today!"

The mother deer spurred its four hooves and galloped away.

Luo Zhenjiang, looking serious, kept pondering, "So Seventh Prince doesn't like jealousy! Then I won't add it next time I grill fish."

Xiao Er and Lu Qi exchanged a glance and couldn't help laughing heartily.

Lu Qi, on horseback, laughed uproariously, "Brother Luo, the prince wrote 'Never levy additional taxes'!"

Xiao Er, with a doting expression, looked toward Tuan Tuan's back, "Your Grace!" and spurred his horse to chase.

"Uh." Luo Zhenjiang understood, half laughing, half crying, "Tuan Tuan really went off the rails, almost led me into a ditch."

"No, I must catch her and give her a little smack on the butt!"

"Your Grace!" he urged his horse, racing after Tuan Tuan.

Lu Qi shouted, "That won't do!" and followed closely.

That night, in a courtyard deep within Jingcheng.

The Masked Man and several men sat together in a room.

A short-bearded man said, "Supreme Venerable, the Seventh Prince has again achieved great merit; what can be done about this?"

Another person resentfully said, "Those Red-haired Barbarians are truly foolish! People have already reached the island, yet they were so careless as to be driven out just like that."

The Masked Man slightly shook his head: "It's not that they're stupid; rather, since the Princess Defender of the Nation went to Taiwan, the Seventh Prince naturally could achieve this merit."

"The Red-haired Barbarians care only for wealth and have no righteousness; losing to human hands is not surprising."

"What the Supreme Venerable means is, as long as the Princess Defender of the Nation remains, our Netherworld Summit's great undertaking cannot be accomplished."

"If so, how could we kill her except by removing this stumbling block?"

The Masked Man's eyes showed a smile: "She has boundless fortune and many experts around her; if we want to kill her, we must have someone she trusts do it."

"Is that what the Supreme Venerable said?"

"You need not concern yourselves with this." The Masked Man ordered, "Starting tomorrow, in Jingcheng and everywhere else, widely publicize the Seventh Prince's achievement of recovering Taiwan."

"Write storybooks, compose ballads; no matter what methods you use, within a month I want the entire Fierce Kingdom's after-tea conversations to be about how Prince Jing recovered Taiwan without shedding blood."

"These four characters \"Never increase taxes\" must be known to all; this is Prince Jing's sole decision."

"Does the Supreme Venerable mean that the merit is high enough to shock the sovereign?"

"Merit high enough to shock the sovereign? That is a subject," the Masked Man shook his head, "Prince Jing is not; he is an imperial prince."

"What I want is for people's hearts to turn toward."

"Yes! I will attend to it immediately!"

More than ten days later, at Phoenix Ritual Palace, dawn was just breaking.

Si Yu grasped something in her hand and quietly entered the inner chamber of the sleeping palace.

Murong Jin was lying on the couch, holding her son, not yet risen.

Si Yu looked at the palace maids standing in the corner of the room and said, "You all withdraw."

"Yes." The palace maids filed out one after another.

Si Yu closed the door, walked to the bedside, and her voice trembled as she said, "Your Highness."

Murong Jin gently patted her son's little arm, glanced at her, and asked, "What's wrong? Why are you panicking?"

Si Yu opened her palm, revealing a paper ball, and held it up to Murong Jin with both hands, saying, "This is what I saw under the teapot."

"Please forgive me, Your Highness!" She fell to her knees with a thud, "This object appeared in the sleeping palace of Phoenix Ritual Palace; I, a servant, actually do not know who placed it."

Murong Jin's heart skipped a beat: "How could someone freely come and go in my sleeping palace without being noticed?"

If this person intended to harm Che'er, it would be as easy as turning over one's hand.

She suddenly sat up, not having time to blame Si Yu, unfolded the slip of paper, and the color drained from her face instantly.