Chapter 338: Can't Provoke, Can Hide

The bad news tore open like a wound.

On the normally peaceful Mid‑Autumn Festival, the constant li Urgent Dispatch made the streets of the Capital filled with endless carriages and horses.

The ministers had no sleep left and hurried to the Imperial Palace.

The lanterns of Yangxin Hall hung high, shining like daylight.

Ministers streamed in endlessly; Chu Yunzheng was trapped in Yangxin Hall, with no way to duplicate himself.

In Changchun Palace.

Just as the others left, Bai Li's smile vanished, her face darkening as if water would drip from it.

Gnashing teeth.

Nanzhu, have you investigated thoroughly? That wretched Wan Tang, is she really going to Baoguo Temple? Bai Li's voice was ominously husky.

Nanzhu nodded repeatedly, eyes full of joy, and hurriedly said, "Congratulations, Mother."

The information is absolutely certain; the Emperor has issued an edict, allowing Mother to take charge of the Imperial harem.

At the Imperial Observatory, they say "Calamity Originates from the Harem"; the Empress immediately went to pray, which most likely refers to the Emperor.

Now Mother can control the Imperial harem; if she returns, what then? The power she has gained, she can't take back, can she?

Nanzhu spoke proudly, his face beaming with joy.

Bai Li, angry, slapped the bed rail and whispered scoldingly, "Fool!"

I usually think you're quite clever; I never expected you to be this foolish.

Have you ever wondered why this palace has kept the pregnancy hidden? She's gone, and the accusation of plotting against the Imperial Heir—who would receive it?

Nanzhu's complexion turned pale in an instant.

His voice trembled uncontrollably: "Mother, this child in your womb is your and the Emperor's first, and the Imperial Physician said that with careful nurturing…"

"Hmph!" Bai Li's face turned dreadfully grim: "Even if we keep it, how can we be sure it's healthy?"

Her gaze fell on the incense burner: "A child conceived under the influence of these things, rather than letting the Emperor despise this palace for birthing a monster, we should make use of it."

"Don't you think, with the Empress's seat vacant, who is most qualified to become Empress?"

Nanzhu's face lost its color.

He hurriedly said, "Indeed, Mother, your icy wisdom thinks further ahead."

【5】 "Nubi admires you greatly."

Nubi admires you endlessly.

"What good is saying this?" Bai Li's eyes showed irritation: "Now that she's left, what can this palace do?"

Nanzhu could not answer further; even these few words already made her back soak with sweat.

Some women, though outwardly Ice Purity, have hearts like hell.

At the Gongmen, the carriage was ready.

If they set out immediately, Wan Tang would not linger a moment.

Hui Guifei and Ning Daying, upon hearing the news, hurried over.

Hui Guifei grasped Wan Tang's hand, her brows tightly knit: "Your leaving the palace now is exactly what that person wants, isn't it?"

"I heard she has been diagnosed as carrying a dragon descendant."

"Given the Emperor's obsession with her, I can't imagine how he'll pamper her."

"I'm afraid that once you return, the Imperial harem will be turned upside down."

Hui Guifei's brows were full of worry.

Just going out of the palace to pray is fine; the real fear is that exiting is easy, returning is hard.

Wan Tang, after shaking her hand again, said calmly, "Sister, my staying may not be a good thing."

She paused, lowered her voice, "Have you ever thought that her pregnancy should be a cause for joy, yet she was so hesitant before, unwilling to speak openly?"

Hui Guifei's eyes hardened, instantly understanding: "She fears someone would strike while her fetal signs are unstable?"

"With the Emperor protecting her, who would dare?" Wan Tang looked toward Changchun Palace, tone ambiguous, "Not afraid she bears the Imperial Heir; the real fear is that this fetus is abnormal."

"No!" Hui Guifei clutched her own abdomen tightly; as a mother, she understands best: "No one could use their own child as a trap."

"She is ultimately not my sister." Wan Tang's eyes were deep.

Hui Guifei opened her mouth, but could not utter a single word.

"I will take Minghui away; regardless of whether this pregnancy is auspicious or ominous, it will not entangle us."

She turned back, looking at Hui Guifei with worry: "The only one I cannot rest easy about is you."

"After I leave, if she can cause trouble, what should you do, sister?"

"Rely on her?" Hui Guifei sneered, a hint of arrogance in her brows, "She wouldn't even dare touch my head."

Wan Tang, still uneasy, summoned Xiao Luzi: "You stay behind; be sure to protect the Consort completely."

She pondered briefly, then added, "Also, the Imperial Observatory's prophecy "After Disaster, Demons Must Die" must be spread among the common folk; the wider it spreads, the better."

Xiao Luzi understood, bowed and said, "Nubi understand, will not fail Mother's trust."

Hui Guifei whispered, "Go without worry!"

"In this Imperial harem, with me here, it cannot be turned upside down."

Wan Tang grew even more worried, hurriedly saying, "Sister, don't say that."

"I, as a concubine, actually hope sister doesn't have to manage anything."

"Everything, we'll discuss when I return."

Wan Tang, having spoken, slipped a brocade pouch into Hui Guifei's hand.

Wan Tang nodded at Hui Guifei, wishing each other well.

They boarded the carriage.

The carriage curtains fell, and Wan Tang cradled Minghui in her arms, heading toward Baoguo Temple.

Golden Throne Hall.

The petitions piled up like a mountain.

Chu Yunzheng sat on the Dragon Throne, his head throbbing.

They discussed for a long time, yet there was not a single solution.

"Emperor, the Ministry of Revenue truly has no way."

"Indeed, Emperor, the Hundred Thousand Army has just been stabilized, and the Treasury is already empty. We truly cannot produce silver for disaster relief."

"Taxes cannot be reduced even a bit; otherwise, how would the large army be supplied?"

"Not to mention that the Xu Family's Hundred Thousand Army needs funding, there is also the newly added Mo Family Army and another Hundred Thousand newly raised army…"

Chu Yunzheng furrowed his brows and said sternly, "It's only a Hundred Thousand Army; why is it so difficult?"

"Emperor, there is something you do not know." The Minister of Revenue complained, "The Mo Family Army once garrisoned the border passes; the Mo Family's business subsidized the troops, and the state only needed to cover half the cost."

"The Xu Family Army is the same."

"As for that Hundred Thousand nameless army, it has always been donated by the Charity Hall and cannot be sustained."

"Now, with no Mo Family personnel to manage affairs and no Xu Family people to continue the business, everything must be paid out of the Treasury…"

The Ministry of Revenue was plagued with headaches.

"Now that the disaster returns, with such heavy taxes for a whole winter, the people of Fengqi Kingdom—perhaps a third of them will not survive the winter…"

What does being unable to survive the winter mean?

Heavy taxes and the inability to provide relief leave only one outcome: the people are forced, alive, to rebel.

A strong state with weak people— even if the uprising is not frightening, when a nation has almost no living citizens, how useful is its strength?

Chu Yunzheng placed his hand on his forehead, and grew even more disgusted with these matters.

Zhou Su stepped forward first, his voice bitter, "Emperor, at this point, have you still not realized where the problem lies?"

"Pear Concubine Bai, under the pretense of offering counsel, actually brings disaster to the nation."

"The so‑called 'Replace Relief with Labor' has delayed the farming season, left laborers impoverished; now the locust plague has arrived, the people have no grain harvest and are displaced."

"How many more schemes, all of which are acts that bring ruin to the country. The Emperor has always praised her as a remarkable woman, but my words, the Emperor never listens to at all."

"Yet now, I must say, such a woman is unfit to be a consort and enjoy royal honor."