Great, it's just a lackey, we're saved!

Chapter 116 The Eerie Atmosphere of the Capital!

The sounds beneath the prayer mat gradually quieted down, clearly indicating that they were not going to respond to the Great Zhou Emperor's mad self-talk.

Upon seeing this, the Great Zhou Emperor gradually calmed down.

He walked back to the large prayer mat and sat down, slowly raising his right hand.

A wisp of green mist was swirling around it!

Compared to this, the wisp of green mist that fell after Chu Tianze's death was utterly insignificant.

The blue aura on the right hand of the Great Zhou Emperor was so dense it was almost condensing into water.

"Half of the world's cultural heritage and fortune are in my hands, but where is the other half?"

"The amount of literary luck stolen by Chu Tiance was very small, and it was all from the same lineage as this half of the literary luck. It was all gathered in this ball of green qi, but it did not increase by the slightest."

Why is this happening?

The world's cultural heritage and fortune were divided in two, and the Great Zhou Emperor obtained one half many years ago.

He also held back some things during his conversation with Bai Xiaoxiao earlier.

Bai Xiaoxiao was unaware that the Great Zhou Emperor already held half of the literary fortune in his hands!

The appearance of Chu Tiance was merely an experiment conducted by Bai Xiaoxiao at the behest of the Great Zhou Emperor.

He also wanted to see if the secret techniques of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion could find a different way to help him seize the hidden half of the literary fortune.

However, the result was not satisfactory.

Therefore, the Great Zhou Emperor did not care much about Chu Tiance's death.

But cultural heritage and national fortune are also the key to seizing the nation's destiny.

Only by obtaining the complete Wen Yun (a concept in Chinese astrology) can he, like a dragon drawing water, quickly drain the fortunes of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

This is too slow!

"Someone come here."

The Great Zhou Emperor summoned him, and immediately a eunuch from the Yellow Gate came in to receive his orders.

"What are the sage's instructions?"

"Order Commander Ma Hu of the Embroidered Robes to secretly investigate the person whose literary talent was stolen by Hu Youniang."

Bai Xiaoxiao was busy with matters of the inner palace, and the Great Zhou Emperor was not comfortable entrusting her with this task.

The Embroidered-Robe Envoy is engaged in a secret investigation, and it shouldn't be long before the truth is revealed.

…………

Princess House.

Hongxiu and Ziyu waited anxiously outside Jiang Yueli's room.

Only Zhou Wei, having somehow acquired a rocking chair, casually placed it in the yard and swayed back and forth while eating a banana.

"Hey you two, can't you sit down quietly for a bit? Your eyes are hurting from all the light. Wouldn't it be better to eat some bananas?"

Ziyu placed the banana that Zhou Wei handed her on the stone table.

"Sister Wei, we're not monkeys, how can we eat so much?"

"You should eat less too. You've already gnawed on five or six pieces in such a short time."

"At this time of year, the tribute from the south is not much; the princess only receives a dozen or so strings of silk."

what?

You ate so much by yourself!

Could it be that after living like that for so long, it has actually mutated?

Startled, Zhou Wei quickly threw the banana she was holding aside.

"Sister Wei, do you think the princess might be in trouble?" Ziyu sat down next to Zhou Wei. "Since returning from the Temple of Agriculture, the princess has locked herself in her room for seven days and seven nights!"

Jiang Yueli received Hu Youniang's century-long cultivation from Zhou Wei and then went to her room alone after returning.

He ordered everyone not to disturb them!

For seven days and seven nights, he did not drink a drop of water, and there was not even any sound coming from inside the room.

Ziyu and Hongxiu were worried, so they took turns guarding outside the door.

Only Zhou Wei was carefree, eating and sleeping well, and completely at ease.

"Nothing will happen. Maybe the princess will come out in a little while and give us a surprise!"

Zhou Wei rested her hands behind her head and slowly rocked in the rocking chair.

Suddenly a cool breeze blew by, and Zhou Wei couldn't help but shiver.

"Ziyu, what month is it now?"

Ziyu, not understanding, casually said, "Early November, huh? In a few more days, it will be December, and then it will be the New Year."

Is it just the winter month?

Zhou Wei suddenly sat up straight in the recliner, startling Zi Yu.

"Sister Wei, why are you so startled?"

"Little Purple Jade, don't you think the weather is too cold?"

Ziyu looked up at the gloomy sky and nodded.

"It is indeed much colder today. If it were the weather in the capital in previous years, we wouldn't need to wear such thick clothes at this time."

"Speaking of which, the weather is a bit unusual!"

After Ziyu finished speaking, Hongxiu also came over.

"Actually, I've wanted to say this for a while now. The weather has been unusually cold this winter."

“I have been in charge of the princess’s household procurement. I looked through the accounts from previous years and found that at this time of year, the household has not yet started using charcoal fires.”

"But this year, as soon as winter arrived, charcoal fires were lit everywhere, and the cost of charcoal silver also increased."

"Not only that, this year's grain prices are also outrageous, more than double that of last year, and there is still an upward trend."

"You wouldn't believe it, but a few days ago when I led a group out of the city to purchase grain, some rice shops in the capital were actually short of supplies."

In terms of status, Zhou Wei is the most senior aunt in charge of the princess's residence.

In reality, however, Hongxiu still manages the trivial and specific matters, while Zhou Wei basically shirks her responsibilities.

Upon hearing Hongxiu mention grain prices, Zhou Wei frowned and said, "Isn't the princess receiving the royal stipend? Shouldn't she be getting rice and flour from the royal family's warehouse?"

Hongxiu smiled helplessly.

"You may not know this, but ever since the Empress took charge of the affairs of the six palaces, she has begun to ask the imperial family to cut expenses and share the burden of His Majesty."

“In the past, we didn’t care about the price of grain; we just went to the Imperial Clan’s residence to collect our tribute.”

"But after the Empress gave the order, all offerings were converted into silver, and each member of the imperial family was responsible for their own profits and losses."

Zhou Wei understood; Jian Xiyan wanted to increase income and reduce expenditure, and establish a persona of being thrifty and hardworking.

They then targeted the royal family members, cutting off their monthly stipends.

According to custom, members of the imperial family like Jiang Yueli, as well as concubines in the harem, have a fixed amount of rice, flour, meat, oil, fruits, and vegetables every month.

All supplies will be provided by a dedicated department!

For them, the rise and fall of these things' prices has little to do with them.

However, with the Empress's intervention, members of the imperial family only received a fixed amount of silver each month and made their own purchases.

That would be a big problem!

For members of the imperial clan like Jiang Yueli and the Third Prince, who have already established their own residences, it's relatively easy; they have a high degree of freedom.

The concubines in the palace were in a bit of trouble.

For those within the palace who wish to leave, the procedures are numerous, and when concubines make purchases, they will most likely still have the Imperial Kitchen act as their agent.

Once purchasing through a third party is involved, the process becomes increasingly exploitative.

Under Jian Xiyan's control of the harem, the lives of the concubines must be quite difficult.

But what about herself?

That day, Zhou Wei accompanied Jiang Yueli into the palace and saw that the Empress's palace was extremely luxurious.

Jian Xiyan's hair was adorned with countless pearls and jade ornaments, each one priceless.

Is this a model of being as gentle and unassuming as a chrysanthemum, and as diligent and thrifty as possible?

Jian Xiyan's matter is not the main point.

What Hongxiu said is even more important.

The abnormal weather in the capital caused grain prices to soar, and some rice shops even experienced grain shortages.

This made Zhou Wei, who had been staying home and stockpiling goods for a long time, sense a hint of disaster!

In the original book, the Great Zhou Dynasty was prosperous and powerful, with favorable weather and abundant harvests.

There has never been any major disaster or calamity.

Why did things turn so bad this winter?

Zhou Wei was still thinking when she heard a familiar voice.

It turned out to be Ning He.

As soon as Ning He arrived, before she could even sit down, she said impatiently, "Bai Xiaosheng has disappeared."