Chapter 402: A pair of monarch and subject, eight hundred schemes in mind

Fengluan Pavilion.

Wu Zhao and Gao Yang sat opposite each other; on the table were two bowls of white rice porridge, a plate of large tofu, and a plate of green vegetables.

Gao Yang picked up the white porridge in front of him and looked at Wu Zhao, who was eating with relish opposite him.

Even with just a bowl of white rice porridge, a plate of large tofu, and a bit of greens, Wu Zhao ate as if it were a mountain of delicacies.

"Lord Gao, why are you not eating?"

Wu Zhao pursed her red lips, set down her white porridge, and looked at Gao Yang to ask.

"When I attended the morning court, I ate a few buns, so I am not very hungry now."

Gao Yang wore a serious expression.

Wu Zhao's phoenix eyes looked at Gao Yang, carrying a hint of teasing, "Is it really that you are not very hungry, or is the breakfast I am eating too poor, leaving Lord Gao with no appetite?"

"Your Majesty, that is where you are wrong; how could Gao be such a person? Since I was young, I have understood one principle and kept it firmly in my heart!"

"Hoeing at high noon, sweat drips into the soil!"

"Who knows that the food on the plate, every grain is hard-earned."

"I am just not very hungry."

Gao Yang wore a serious expression, righteous and awe-inspiring.

Wu Zhao and Shangguan Wan'er, however, were deeply moved.

Especially Wu Zhao, whose phoenix eyes carried surprise, "I did not know that Lord Gao possessed such talent."

"This poem exhausts the preciousness of grain and the hardship of the common people!"

"I want to promote this poem throughout Great Qian; what does Lord Gao think?"

Gao Yang had only spoken subconsciously, but he had not expected Wu Zhao to take such a big step.

He naturally nodded.

"This is my honor."

Wu Zhao picked up her chopsticks, picked up a piece of milky white tofu, and put it into her mouth.

She said indifferently, "Enough, there is no need to be so hypocritical in front of me; we are, after all, people who have shared hardships and life and death together."

"Among all the civil and military officials in the court, I may not necessarily understand the others, but as for you, Gao Yang, I know you too well."

"When you first stepped into Fengluan Palace, your face was clearly filled with expectation."

Wu Zhao's phoenix eyes were sharp, and Gao Yang's old face flushed red.

But fortunately, his skin was thick enough that he did not feel embarrassed.

"I was indeed a bit curious; Your Majesty is the master of Great Qian, and even if the imperial meals did not consist of one hundred and eight dishes, at the very least, they should not be this shabby."

Upon hearing Gao Yang's words, Wu Zhao stood up, walked toward the center of the great hall, and waved her hand.

The palace maids and eunuchs at the side hurriedly stepped forward to clear away the breakfast.

Since Wu Zhao had stood up, Gao Yang naturally could not continue sitting.

Thus, he also stood up and followed behind Wu Zhao, scanning Wu Zhao's beautiful legs without leaving a trace.

Shangguan Wan'er saw this scene and immediately glared at Gao Yang.

This Gao Yang was simply the boldest person in the world!

Did he really think that she, Shangguan Wan'er, did not exist?

Gao Yang naturally would not favor one over the other, so he also scanned Shangguan Wan'er's two straight, slender, beautiful legs.

Shangguan Wan'er's eyes widened until they were like copper bells.

"Gao Yang, Great Qian has suffered natural disasters for years, and the national treasury was already empty; just in the last few months, there was the great disaster in Guangyang County, and then the locust plague in Guanzhong!"

"Immediately following that, the Wu Wang colluded with Great Chu, and over a hundred thousand troops headed straight for Changancheng, leaving the people along the way in misery."

"Although Great Qian achieved a great victory, the post-war rewards and the pensions for the soldiers are all astronomical figures!"

"But my national treasury is empty, and my inner treasury has no silver, so I can only economize on meals."

"Gao Yang, do you understand my difficulties?"

Wu Zhao's voice interrupted the two's eye contact; she turned her head, her gaze fixed on Gao Yang.

Upon hearing this, Gao Yang cursed inwardly.

She had just said why Wu Zhao had summoned him alone and arranged a breakfast.

For an emperor, this breakfast could not be called somewhat shabby; it could only be called very shabby.

After all that, was she waiting for him here? ===== CHAPTER 404 =====