Chapter 412

In order to deal with these Sons of Fortune, Wei Manying was truly busy.

Unsurprisingly, she had gained a certain level of fame in the Imperial Capital.

So Wei Manying had to be very careful in doing things now; many eyes were watching her, and she wasn't as casual as before.

Just as she had a moment of free time, a maid in the house came to report that Lord Xiao Ming had arrived.

To tell the truth, it was 10:00 AM.

Seeing the maid come to report at this hour, Wei Manying was very puzzled.

Wasn't the Ministry of Justice the busiest department? With so much official business, how was Xiao Ming so free?

Lin Mo and Fang Qian were so busy they couldn't find north, and she could only "disturb" them when they got off work; did Xiao Ming have nothing to do during work hours?

Actually, what she didn't know was that Xiao Ming's job was to find remnants of the former dynasty, and wasn't she a remnant of the former dynasty?

So Xiao Ming wasn't exactly neglecting his work, though it seemed he wasn't working either.

Her sister's identity was special and it wasn't easy for her to show her face, so after saying a few words, Wei Manying left the backyard to deal with Xiao Ming.

After her sister left, Wei Manping returned to the imperial palace.

Li Chen's harem was large, and if she wanted to gain a firm foothold here, she certainly had to curry favor with some of the more favored concubines, or rather, concubines with higher status in the harem.

Jiang Rong had entered the palace earlier, and due to her outstanding physical talent and shrewd, capable temperament, she had a certain status in the harem and was one of the few concubines Wei Manping could approach.

Arriving at Jiang Rong's palace, she heard the crisp sound of a golden abacus, with various account books neatly stacked on the desk.

Jiang Rong was focused on checking the accounts, her slender fingers moving rapidly on the abacus, as if, apart from Li Chen, the things she loved most in this world were these numbers and transactions.

"How does my sister have time to come here?" Jiang Rong looked up, revealing a gentle smile.

She was wearing a pale gold palace dress today, which set off her skin like snow, and the curves on her chest rose and fell slightly with her breathing, making Wei Manping take a few extra looks.

Wei Manping bowed: "Sister is joking; this younger sister is no busy person and has free time every day. If sister needs help, this younger sister is very happy to be of service."

Jiang Rong stretched, her exquisite figure fully revealed: "Then you've come at the right time; your family has your sister to manage it, so why not come and help me calculate some accounts."

She signaled for Wei Manping to sit down and pointed to several account books on the table: "Recently, trade with the southern countries has had some problems. Countries that originally had trade relations with our May Tian Ce Dynasty have all started to raise prices, and even with imperial subsidies, merchants can no longer make any profit."

Wei Manping opened the account book and saw that it recorded in detail the price fluctuations of goods such as silk, tea, and porcelain.

She noticed that in the past two months, the quotes from small countries around the Yongzhou Empire had generally risen by more than 30%.

"Is the Yongzhou Empire putting on pressure?" Wei Manping asked keenly.

The May Tian Ce Dynasty and the Yongzhou Empire were not close, separated by many countries.

But recently, for some reason, the two countries had started a game of chess from afar.

The location of this game was these small southern countries.

Before Li Chen left the Imperial Capital, he had told the court officials to handle it properly.

The imperial court had many capable people, and such small matters didn't require Li Chen to take action personally.

However, there were also some people with ulterior motives, such as the Second Prince and Third Prince who hadn't given up, who had secretly contacted the Yongzhou Empire.

It is worth mentioning that the Prince of Zhennan had a very firm attitude toward the Yongzhou Empire; after all, he was the Prince of Zhennan, and if a war broke out with the Yongzhou Empire, the first place to be impacted would be his territory.

So he certainly hoped that Li Chen could resolve the Yongzhou Empire.

And many people in the court were involved in this matter, and some large families had also heard the wind.

Jiang Rong nodded approvingly: "Correct, these countries are caught between two great powers, in a difficult position. If this continues for a long time, our trade routes will likely be cut off."

She sighed softly and continued: "Merchants pursue profit; who would be willing to do business with no profit to be made?"

In Jiang Rong's view, her contacting major chambers of commerce to jointly carry out foreign trade was to strengthen the connection between the May Tian Ce Dynasty and the southern countries.

Because relationships are built on interests, not only between people but also between countries.

Without trade links, the ties between countries would be much weaker.

Wei Manping pondered for a moment: "Sister, merchants value profit, but His Majesty is different. Once His Majesty returns to the palace, he will certainly handle this matter properly."

Even though she was a remnant of the former dynasty, she was still very confident in Li Chen's ability.

In other words, since Li Chen ascended the throne, even those who hated him to death would not question his ability and skills.

"That is true." Jiang Rong put away the account books and suddenly said seriously: "By the way, His Majesty will be back soon; you and I must quickly change clothes and prepare to welcome him. We cannot be negligent in etiquette."

She lowered her voice, "If the Empress Dowager finds out that we were negligent in the etiquette of welcoming the Imperial Carriage..."

She didn't finish the rest of the sentence, but anyone with eyes knew.

The two looked at each other, both seeing a trace of nervousness in the other's eyes.

The Empress Dowager valued rules the most; if she picked out any faults, even a favored concubine would not escape a scolding.

Of course, this was just talk circulating in the harem; it wasn't clear who exactly the Empress Dowager had scolded.

However, everyone understood one thing: the Empress Dowager held a pivotal position in the harem.

Even the Sage Realm imperial concubine Mu Qingrou, whose swordsmanship was top-tier, had to be well-behaved in front of the Empress Dowager.

She carefully considered and earnestly understood every word the Empress Dowager said.

With her attitude, how would other concubines dare to act presumptuously?

Plus, the Empress Dowager herself had been in the harem for a long time and carried a natural aura of pressure.

Jiang Rong was afraid when she saw her and didn't even dare to breathe loudly in her presence, let alone the newly arrived concubines.

Wei Manping hurriedly stood up: "Then this younger sister will go back and prepare. Although sister's outfit today is beautiful, it is better to change into formal palace attire when welcoming the Imperial Carriage."

Jiang Rong chuckled: "Naturally, younger sister should also dress up more beautifully. I heard His Majesty brought back a few newcomers this time; we 'old ones' cannot lose face."

Leaving Jiang Rong's palace, Wei Manping calculated inwardly.

The problem of southern trade might be an opportunity; if she could help His Majesty share his worries in this matter, she would certainly be favored, and subsequent plans would be easier to carry out.

In that case, she could let her sister handle it, after all, the Wei family also had industries in the south.

There was a certain process for new concubines entering the palace; they would first go to the Empress Dowager, who would tell these newcomers the rules, and then they would go to Li Chen's aunt, Li Xueying.

Li Xueying would personally train these women to improve their abilities so they could better please Li Chen.

Next, it was to "check in" with the major favored concubines in the palace to inquire about some gossip and the situation in the palace.

After Li Chen returned to the palace, he didn't need to worry about these things.

However, there were certainly things he had to worry about, such as these piles of memorials stacked like mountains.

Seeing these, the corners of Li Chen's mouth twitched slightly; it was even more of a headache than fighting a war.

(End of chapter)