Some days ago, when commoners filed complaints against officials who had seized civilian farmland, embezzled tax revenues, and lined their own pockets, the case implicated no small number of officials from prominent aristocratic families.
To appease the people's hearts, warn the ministers, and seize the opportunity to establish his authority at court, Xie Chongyuan showed not the slightest mercy toward any official involved in this case, meting out severe punishments without exception.
Over the past half month or so, many aristocratic households in the capital had been raided and executed overnight.
Watching corrupt officials' heads roll on the execution platform at the East-West Market, the common people felt a great sense of justice served and applauded enthusiastically.
The collusion of aristocratic officials—seizing civilian farmland through various means and pretexts, embezzling taxes, and lining their own pockets—had in fact been commonplace since the previous dynasty.
This was also the primary means by which the great aristocratic families oppressed the people and amassed wealth in abundance, having become one of the most entrenched maladies of the Great Qi court.
The common folk and merchants toiled diligently, yet the majority of the tax silver they handed over fell into the private coffers of the aristocratic families.
The national treasury sat empty—when disaster relief or military campaigns arose, the Ministry of Revenue officials cried poverty daily, unable to produce funds or grain, while the private storehouses of the aristocratic nobles rivaled the wealth of nations.
Now, the barbarian tribes surrounding Great Qi frequently harassed the borders. In particular, the increasingly powerful Wusun Kingdom, which bordered the northern frontier, repeatedly invaded the prefectures and counties along Great Qi's northern border.
The people of the northern frontier were constantly troubled by their incursions. Sending troops to crush Wusun and restore peace to the northern borderlands had become a matter of utmost urgency.
Since ascending the throne, Xie Chongyuan had been determined to resolve this long-standing malady, preparing to fill the national treasury for the campaign against the Wusun Kingdom.
This case now provided him with the perfect pretext. He seized upon it, ordering his trusted confidants to conduct thorough investigations into all categories of taxation across the various prefectures of Great Qi.
But the matter of taxation struck at the interests of the aristocratic nobles, and the moment the order was issued, it provoked their discontent. Given the current situation at court, the various aristocratic families were bound to collude with one another, making the investigation fraught with difficulties and obstacles at every turn.
Several covetous members of the imperial clan were also waiting, watching to see him alienate these great aristocratic families and lose their support, hoping to win them over and leave him isolated and helpless, so they could seize the throne at an opportune moment.
These past few days, Xie Chongyuan had been deeply troubled by this matter. But taxation concerned the very foundation of the state. For the sake of the common people being able to live and work in peace, spared the suffering of war and displacement, he resolved to go against the tide, risking the possibility of one day standing utterly alone, and ordered the investigation to be carried through to the end.
During this period, Xie Chongyuan had barely set foot outside Zichen Palace, except to attend court sessions at the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
After making his decisions and formulating numerous contingency plans with his trusted ministers, he felt a heavy sense of foreboding—the pressure of a storm about to break—when he thought of the various thorny troubles that lay ahead.
He suddenly felt an urge to go to Yilan Hall, to see that little lady who, for half a month straight, had not thought to come to Zichen Palace to visit him unless he made the first move. That heartless little woman—he wondered how she had been faring these past days.
Though he had sent people to deliver things to Yilan Hall every few days and had them report on the young lady's condition, and had also sent Imperial Physician Li to examine her health some days ago, none of that compared to seeing her in person.
With this thought, he set down the memorials that had been giving him a headache and immediately made his way to Yilan Hall.
Who would have thought—halfway there, he stumbled upon the young lady in the midst of championing a cause.
Xie Chongyuan had originally assumed the young lady was nothing more than a delicate, soft little beauty who needed to be cradled in someone's palms at all times. He never expected she could have this bold, domineering side—yet one that was warm-hearted and chivalrous.
Standing behind the flower garden with his hands clasped behind his back, he watched from afar as the young lady, who was usually as soft and docile as a little rabbit, now brazenly provoked Xie Zhi into a twisted, furious expression. He found the young lady more and more endearing by the moment.
He was already fully aware of how this mother and daughter conducted themselves and the wicked deeds they had committed in the palace. The reason he had kept them around thus far was not only because they still served other purposes, but also to ease relations with those old ministers who remained loyal to the late emperor.
But now, seeing this fool Xie Zhi act with such outrageous arrogance, daring to lay a hand on his little lady, Xie Chongyuan felt it was time to deal with this fool!
This woman dared to lay hands on the young lady he couldn't bear to so much as scold!
Standing behind the flower garden, the moment he saw the young lady pushed to the ground, he lost all interest in watching the spectacle. He rushed forward in great strides, helping the fallen young lady sit up, and asked urgently: "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"
Ming Hua shook her head. Seeing Xie Chongyuan holding her arm and examining her from head to toe made her feel embarrassed. She shrank back slightly, enduring the sharp pain in her backside, and lowered her head to murmur softly: "Your Majesty need not worry, Huahua is fine."
Xie Chongyuan helped the young lady to her feet, pulled her into his protective embrace, furrowed his brow tightly, and coldly commanded the stunned Xie Zhi: "Guards! Seize this arrogant, insolent wretch who dared to strike the Imperial Noble Consort!"
"Twenty lashes, strip her of her title as princess, demote her to commoner, and send her to Qinglong Temple to cultivate and pray for the late emperor's soul. For the rest of her life, she is forbidden from leaving Qinglong Temple even one step!"
Upon hearing this, Xie Zhi froze in shock for a moment, then shouted loudly, "Your Majesty! I am wronged! I protest! I am the late emperor's only legitimate princess—you cannot treat me like this…"
Before Xie Zhi could cry out much more, the guards who had come to seize her stuffed a cloth into her mouth, silencing her frantic, hysterical screams.
Ming Hua watched Xie Zhi's struggling figure gradually recede into the distance, a sigh stirring in her heart, until Xie Chongyuan's voice came from above her, snapping her back to her senses.
"Can Huahua still walk?" Xie Chongyuan looked at the dazed little lady leaning against his chest, his voice gentle.
"Huahua's constitution is delicate. Just now, caught off guard like that, being shoved to the ground by that wicked woman—she may well be hurt. Let us hurry back to Yilan Hall. I'll summon the imperial physician to examine Huahua."
"It's nothing serious—Huahua can still walk," Ming Hua said, tilting her head up to look at Xie Chongyuan, speaking softly. "Perhaps we should summon the imperial physician for Ninth Princess first. She's the one truly badly injured."
"The clothes on her back have been beaten to shreds. I don't know what Xie Zhi was thinking—after all, she's her own blood sister, and yet she could treat her so cruelly."
After not seeing him for half a month, Xie Chongyuan seemed to have grown somewhat thinner. His chiseled, handsome face had sharper features now, with faint dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept well lately—likely from the heavy burden of state affairs keeping him too busy.
And that ring of slightly unkempt yet somehow alluring stubble around his lips—Ming Hua suddenly recalled the morning when she had secretly touched it, and her little face flushed hot as she guiltily averted her gaze.
"No need to worry. I'll have someone escort her back to her palace and summon the imperial physician to treat her. After this incident, I doubt anyone will dare treat her that way again. Rest assured, Huahua."
With that, Xie Chongyuan helped the little lady up to leave. "Let's hurry back to Yilan Hall first. I can only rest easy once Imperial Physician Li has examined Huahua."
Ming Hua thought that sounded reasonable. Her bottom was aching terribly right now, so it was best to return to Yilan Hall first, have Qingyun and Nuanxue rub it for her, and then go check on Xie Chan's injuries once she'd recovered a bit.
But just as she took a single step, a sudden jolt of pain shot through her foot, and she nearly tumbled to the ground again—fortunately, Xie Chongyuan caught her in his arms.
The pain brought tears to Ming Hua's eyes. She clutched Xie Chongyuan's dragon-embroidered sleeve, wrinkling it in her grip, and looked up at him with tearful, glistening eyes. "Huahua seems to have hurt her foot… it hurts so much…"
Xie Chongyuan looked at the little lady's tear-streaked face, his brows knitting tightly as his expression darkened. He immediately swept her up into his arms and issued a low, stern order to Li Youfu beside him.
"Go at once to the Imperial Medical Bureau and summon Imperial Physician Li to Yilan Hall. Also, go to Zichen Palace and bring all the battlefield wound medicines I used to Yilan Hall!"
Suddenly lifted off the ground in Xie Chongyuan's arms, Ming Hua instinctively threw her arms around his neck in fright. Realizing he intended to carry her all the way back to Yilan Hall like this, her little face flushed crimson all the way to the tips of her ears.
She sniffled and spoke in a muffled voice, "Your Majesty, perhaps you should summon a palanquin instead. As long as I don't move, it doesn't hurt. Yilan Hall is still a fair distance away—carrying Huahua all the way back would be too tiring for you. I can just wait for the palanquin."
"It's not tiring. This little frame of yours weighs less than the curved saber I carried on the battlefield. Has Huahua been indulging in pastries again these days and not eating proper meals? You feel considerably lighter than last time."
Xie Chongyuan's expression was grave, his words carrying a hint of scolding reproach—but then he remembered how, last time, merely speaking a bit sternly had made the little lady tear up and accuse him of being harsh, so his voice unconsciously softened a few notches.
Besides, the little lady had twisted her foot and was in pain; he couldn't bear to be too severe with her.
Hearing this, Ming Hua indeed felt a pang of guilt. These past days, since Xie Chongyuan hadn't come to Yilan Hall for lunch, she'd stopped ordering the midday meal from the provisions office, only having the evening meal delivered.
For breakfast and lunch, she had the small kitchen prepare pastries and various sweet drinks for her. Though the sweet drinks no longer came with ice due to Xie Chongyuan's orders, they were still passable—far better than greasy dishes.
Ming Hua lowered her long, feathery lashes, her eyes darting away as she guiltily buried her face against his chest and mumbled a weak defense: "N-no… it's not…"
Xie Chongyuan looked at the little lady in his arms, her guilty, evasive demeanor making it obvious she was stubbornly making excuses—but he could do nothing about it, only offering a helpless yet indulgent smile.
The palace attendants along the way were astonished to discover the emperor carrying his noble consort along the palace path. They bowed in salute and stepped aside, stealing envious, surprised glances as they did. Once the emperor had walked far off, they immediately gathered together, eagerly whispering among themselves.
Ming Hua felt embarrassed by all the stares and buried her face directly against Xie Chongyuan's chest, inhaling the pleasant scent of ambergris on him. She didn't dare lift her head the entire way until they returned to Yilan Hall.
Ming Hua discovered that Xie Chongyuan truly lived up to his military background—he carried her the entire way, walking briskly all the way back to Yilan Hall, and when he set her down on the sitting couch, his face wasn't flushed and he wasn't even breathing hard, showing not the slightest sign of exertion.
This man had far too much stamina. If she had walked this entire distance without stopping to rest, she would have been panting from exhaustion and would need a long while to recover.
"Thank you, Your Majesty…"
Seeing the fine beads of sweat forming on Xie Chongyuan's forehead as he leaned over her, Ming Hua instinctively raised her hand and used the handkerchief in her grasp to wipe the sweat away for him.
Back home in the past, after her father and brothers finished their martial training, she would also attentively wipe their sweat for them in the same manner.
This was the first time in Xie Chongyuan's life that a young lady had wiped his sweat for him.
Back in the military training grounds, when he saw his subordinates grinning from ear to ear as their wives brought them meals and wiped their sweat, he had thought them utterly pathetic.
But now, this young lady, using her embroidered handkerchief that carried her unique, sweet fragrance, gently and tenderly wiped his forehead, while softly thanking him in her gentle voice.
Xie Chongyuan's body suddenly went half-weak, and he began to understand why those subordinates of his were so pathetic.
When such a delicate, soft young lady tenderly and considerately wipes one's sweat, who could possibly withstand that?
Inhaling the fragrant handkerchief in the young lady's hand and listening to her soft, sweet thanks, Xie Chongyuan felt immensely satisfied in his heart.
He bent over, remaining perfectly still before the young lady, his gaze burning intensely as he watched her wipe the sweat from his forehead with complete seriousness.
Watching her lower the handkerchief, his Adam's apple bobbed, and his voice came out husky: "I'll step out first and have the palace maids come in to check if you're injured anywhere on your body. Once Imperial Physician Li arrives shortly, I'll have him examine you properly."
Ming Hua had been wiping Xie Chongyuan's sweat with full concentration. When she lowered the handkerchief, she only then noticed his scorching gaze. Realizing how intimate her actions had just been, her little face immediately flushed bright red.
Flustered, she averted her eyes from Xie Chongyuan's burning gaze, looking elsewhere, then nodded and softly replied: "Mm…"