I started as a concubine, and I made the crown prince cry with my delicious food.

"Your Majesty...you mean, the court should...borrow money from the people? And at such high interest rates?"

The Minister of Revenue opened his mouth, feeling as if his worldview had been shaken like never before. He had spent his entire life studying the classics and had only ever heard of the imperial court collecting taxes from the people; he had never heard of the imperial court actually paying the people.

"Your Majesty, this matter...this matter is probably inappropriate." An old minister stepped forward tremblingly. "Since ancient times, the common people have not competed with officials for profit. How can we, officials appointed by the court, engage in the business of merchants? This...this violates ancestral rules and is a disgrace to the nation!"

"Ancestral rules?" Xiao Jingshi sneered. "Can ancestral rules magically add three million taels of silver to the national treasury? Can ancestral rules prevent the Rouran in the north from invading southward?"

His gaze sharpened as he swept it over the crowd below.

"I know this idea is hard for you to accept right now. But times have changed, and my policies for governing the country must also change. I've summoned you here today not to discuss this with you, but to inform you."

"Shen Wansan," he called out.

"This humble subject is here." Shen Wansan stepped forward excitedly, his merchant eyes gleaming with boundless excitement. He understood, he completely understood the brilliance of His Majesty's plan! This was no ordinary money exchange; it was clearly a dragon capable of turning lead into gold!

"You are fully responsible for the specific details of the national debt issuance," Xiao Jingshi ordered. "I will give you half a month to raise three million taels of silver for me. Just tell me how the Ministry of Revenue needs to cooperate."

"Your Majesty, rest assured, I will complete the mission even if it costs me my life!" Shen Wansan's voice trembled with excitement. He knew that this was the greatest opportunity of his life.

With the money problem solved, Xiao Jingshi was in a great mood.

However, just as he was preparing to make his mark and implement his economic reforms, an unexpected person came from the North, disrupting his plans.

At the morning court that day, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies stepped forward to report that the Rouran Black Wolf tribe in the north had sent a peace delegation and was waiting to be summoned outside the palace.

"Oh?" Xiao Jingshi raised an eyebrow.

This was exactly what he had expected. In the battle of the Southern Frontier, he not only dealt a heavy blow to the barbarian coalition, but also completely destroyed their morale with a "divine punishment." Presumably, when the news reached the Northern Frontier, it also instilled fear in those restless tribes.

"Announce," he said calmly.

Soon, a group of more than ten envoys dressed in Rouran attire entered the main hall.

The leader was tall and slender, dressed in a pure white fox fur robe, with a thin veil covering his face, revealing only a pair of familiar eyes filled with complex emotions.

When those eyes looked at Xiao Jingshi on the dragon throne, Xiao Jingshi's heart stirred slightly.

It was someone he knew.

"The Rouran envoy greets His Majesty the Emperor of Great Liang." The leader slowly removed his veil, revealing a once radiant and beautiful face, now showing signs of weariness and paleness.

It was Princess Yuezhuo.

An uproar erupted in the main hall.

No one expected that the envoy sent by Rouran to seek peace this time would be Princess Yuezhuo, the most beloved daughter of the Black Wolf tribe leader!

Moreover, everyone could see that the way this pearl of the grasslands looked at the new emperor was very strange. There was resentment, hatred, and unwillingness in her eyes, but more than anything, there was an uncontrollable infatuation.

Xiao Jingshi looked at her, and a wave of emotion washed over him.

He never expected that their reunion would take place in this kind of setting.

"Princess Yuezhuo, how have you been?" He leaned back on the dragon throne, his tone indifferent, with a hint of condescension and aloofness.

Looking at him in his dragon robe, so majestic and awe-inspiring, Yue Zhuo recalled how he had been forced to become her bodyguard while wearing her own clothes on the grasslands. Her heart was filled with a mix of emotions.

This man eventually returned to where he belonged, becoming even more dazzling and even more unattainable.

She took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in her heart, and bowed respectfully, saying, "Thanks to Your Majesty's great fortune, Yuezhuo is well. I have come here on the orders of my father, the King, to deliver a letter of surrender to the Great Liang and to Your Majesty, and to pray for peace."

She took out a letter of surrender written on a parchment from her bosom, which was presented to her by the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

Xiao Jingshi unfolded it and saw that the conditions were quite generous.

The Black Wolf tribe is willing to submit to the Liang dynasty, never invade its borders again, and will pay tribute to the Liang dynasty with 3,000 warhorses and 10,000 cattle and sheep hides every year.

This offer can be described as extremely sincere.

"I see the princess's sincerity," Xiao Jingshi said calmly, closing the letter of surrender. "However, I am very curious: the Black Wolf tribe has always been arrogant; why has it suddenly become like this?"

A bitter smile appeared on Yue Zhuo's face.

"Because of Your Majesty," she said without hesitation, "you single-handedly repelled an enemy force of 100,000 in the southern frontier. My father said that you are a god descended from heaven, an existence that no tribe on the grasslands can rival. To be your enemy is to perish."

Her words were half flattery and half fact, which made the ministers in the court show expressions of pride and honor.

"Therefore, my father sent me here to forge the strongest alliance with the Great Liang." Yue Zhuo changed the subject and finally revealed the true purpose of her trip.

She took two steps forward, raised her head, and looked intently at Xiao Jingshi, saying each word clearly:

"I, Yue Zhuo, the sole heir of the Black Wolf Clan, am willing... to marry into the Great Liang imperial harem and serve His Majesty. Even if... I am only a lowly noblewoman, I am willing."

boom!

This statement is even more explosive than the surrender document just now!

All the ministers were stunned!

Princess Rouran, the future tribal chief, was actually willing to lower herself to become a concubine of the Emperor of Liang.

This is no longer a marriage alliance; it's downright unilateral surrender and fawning!

In an instant, everyone's attention was focused on Xiao Jingshi on the dragon throne.

They wanted to know how the young emperor would choose when faced with such tempting offers.

On one side was the border peace and powerful allies within easy reach, and on the other side was the empress, whom he had once publicly declared "she is the only one in the six palaces".

This multiple-choice question is not easy.

The news quickly reached the inner palace.

Ye An'an was playing with the twins in the cradle when she heard the news that Fu Yun had brought back from outside, and her movements paused slightly.

Moonburn?

The grassland princess who almost became Xiao Jingshi's "wife"?

She actually followed me all the way to the capital, and even wants to become a concubine in the palace?