The Prodigal Son

"You bastard! All you do is flirt and banter!"

In the palace, Zhao Luan, who was accompanying the Empress Dowager to watch the opera, cursed under her breath in annoyance and then secretly pinched her lower back.

The play on stage was very exciting, but Zhao Luan couldn't muster any interest at all.

If it weren't for accompanying the Empress Dowager, she would have gone back to her palace to rest long ago.

There were many people serving them.

Such a scene should be completely unrelated to the word "desolate".

But for some reason, Zhao Luan felt a bit lonely.

Or perhaps, she's already tired of it.

Isn't it always the same program during Chinese New Year?

However, in the past, although she and the Empress Dowager sat together to listen to the opera, they each had their own thoughts.

Now, the relationship between the mother and daughter is purer.

This palace is lively, but it lacks human warmth.

The Empress Dowager noticed that Zhao Luan seemed absent-minded and turned to ask, "Luan'er, are you still thinking about arranging a marriage between Lü Si and Shi Lian'er?"

"Um."

Not wanting the Empress Dowager to see through her thoughts, Zhao Luan nodded in agreement.

The Empress Dowager paused for a moment, then asked, "Are you sure you want to start reforming the salt administration?"

She knew perfectly well that Zhao Luan's reason for bestowing a marriage upon Lü Si and Shi Lian'er was to indirectly appease the Shi family, who controlled the lifeline of the salt administration.

The Shi family is the head of all salt merchants in the land. If the Shi family cooperates, the reform of the salt administration will definitely go much more smoothly.

"Prime Minister Gao had already submitted a memorial on the matter of reforming the salt administration, and my daughter also believes that reforming the salt administration is imperative!"

Zhao Luan's gaze was firm. "Now that Min has been conquered, the court no longer needs to rely on the salt from Hai and Yuan prefectures. We can vigorously develop the salt industry in Min! If we continue to indulge these salt merchants, they might think that the court cannot touch them..."

Throughout history, salt administration has been a major source of revenue for the imperial court.

If it weren't for the late emperor's vigorous development of foreign trade, the tax revenue from salt administration would probably account for half of the imperial tax revenue!

Even so, the salt administration still had a significant impact on the imperial court's tax revenue.

The imperial court had previously refrained from dealing with these salt merchants because it relied on the salt from Hai and Yuan prefectures.

After all, more than 70% of the salt in Daning comes from Haizhou and Yuanzhou, with Haizhou being the largest producer!

If the salt administration goes wrong, many people in Da Ning will face a situation where they have no salt to eat, and the imperial court's tax revenue will also be greatly affected.

However, the Min region was entirely incorporated into Daming, which expanded the salt-producing area for the imperial court.

These salt merchants have had enough of this over the years; it's time for them to be disciplined!

"That may be true, but I still suggest you reconsider!" The Empress Dowager said solemnly, "The court has more important matters to attend to next year. Even if you want to take action against those salt merchants, you can wait until the court's major affairs are completed. For now, stability should be the priority."

Destroying Yan is the most important thing for next year!

The imperial court was of course not afraid of historians and salt merchants.

But the imperial court must weigh the pros and cons!

She was also someone who had ruled from behind the curtain, and she knew that those salt merchants not only used smuggled salt to impersonate official salt, but also evaded taxes on a large scale, and even colluded with the government to dominate a region!

The salt industry definitely needs to be rectified!

But now is not the time to rectify the salt administration!

If the salt administration falls into chaos, the imperial court will suffer enormous losses.

It could even cause major chaos in places like Haizhou, Fangzhou, and Taozhou.

"Your daughter understands your concerns, Mother."

Zhao Luan smiled, "Mother, rest assured, I won't act recklessly! Let's see how the Shi family reacts first! If they cooperate in reforming the salt administration, that would be best! If they don't cooperate, I'll weigh the pros and cons!"

"Fine! You figure it out yourself!"

The Empress Dowager said no more.

Zhao Luan nodded and said, "I feel a little stuffy. Mother, please keep an eye on things while I go out for some fresh air."

"good!"

The Empress Dowager nodded and smiled, a hint of worry flashing in her eyes.

Reorganizing the salt administration is probably not as simple as she thinks!

Hopefully, historians will accept the court's reassurance!

After greeting the Empress Dowager, Zhao Luan, accompanied by Yun Ying, left the theater.

Stepping outside and feeling the cold wind, Zhao Luan felt much better.

Zhao Luan squatted down, grabbed a handful of snow, rolled it into a snowball, aimed carefully, and threw the snowball at the palace lantern not far away.

boom!

The snowball hit the palace lantern precisely, causing it to shake.

"Does Your Majesty really intend to take action against those salt merchants?"

Yunying approached Zhao Luan and asked in a low voice.

Zhao Luan clapped her hands, turned to look at Yun Ying, and asked, "You think we shouldn't have touched them?"

"Should!"

Yun Ying nodded gently, "But I think the Empress Dowager's words also make sense."

"I know."

Zhao Luan smiled calmly, "I will give them a chance! If they don't cherish it, they shouldn't blame me for being ruthless!"

As she spoke, a sharp glint flashed in Zhao Luan's eyes...

……

New Year's Day.

Qin Yu and the others stayed up until after midnight last night before going back to their rooms to sleep.

Qin Yu's wish to sleep with someone in the same bed was fulfilled, yet it was not fulfilled in the same way.

We're missing one player!

Nan Que'er and Luo Qingyi didn't mind sleeping with Qin Yu, but Xu Wan wasn't as uninhibited as them. After playing around with Qin Yu and the others in the room for a while, she went to sleep in the room next to theirs.

Qin Yu wanted to sleep in, but was woken up by physical discomfort.

When he opened his eyes, he found two fairies clinging to him like octopuses.

One person had their arm around his neck, and another person was holding his arm.

His legs were pinned down by the legs of the two women.

Depend on!

No wonder my legs were numb!

They've almost finished off the naked choke!

Those two devils!

Qin Yu chuckled to himself and tried to pull his leg, which had gone numb from being pressed down.

"Well……"

As soon as he moved, the dazed Luo Qingyi clamped his legs together again, pressed half of her body tightly against his, and even tightened her grip on his neck.

Qin Yu was almost suffocated by the choking, truly experiencing the feeling of pain mixed with pleasure.

He had soft, beautiful flesh in his arms, but his legs felt as if they no longer belonged to him.

After struggling for a moment, Qin Yu, not wanting to wake them, finally gave up.

Those two scoundrels knew Xu Wan was sleeping next door, so they went especially crazy last night, making a ruckus until the wee hours.

Nan Que'er was alright, but Luo Qingyi was almost completely exhausted.

Let them sleep a little longer!

Savoring the wonderful feeling of last night, Qin Yu closed his eyes again.

"Knock knock..."

Suddenly, there was a series of urgent knocks on the door.

"Young master, wake up!"

"Someone has come to collect debts!"

Grandma Sun's voice rang out from outside the house.

"Collecting debts?"

Qin Yu's face twitched violently, and he was momentarily stunned.

Who the hell is coming to collect debts from me?

Did you come early on the first day of the Lunar New Year?

This is not collecting debts!

This is just disgusting to myself!

I'm going to make sure this bastard's shit comes out today!

Who is it?

Nan Que'er opened her eyes and asked groggily.

"You guys go to sleep first, I have something to take care of!"

Qin Yu patted Nan Que'er's delicate body and slowly sat up.

His movement woke Luo Qingyi, who groggily asked, "What's wrong?"

"It's okay, you guys can go to sleep."

Qin Yu yawned, quickly got up, and without waiting for Luo Qingyi and Nan Que'er to serve him, put on his clothes by himself.

"etc!"

Luo Qingyi stopped him, casually grabbed a garment from the side and draped it over her fair body, then got up and took out a brand new set of clothes from the wardrobe. "Today is the first day of the Lunar New Year, so I have to wear new clothes."

As Luo Qingyi spoke, she helped Qin Yu put on his clothes.

"I can do it myself, you can sleep a little longer!"

Qin Yu pinched Luo Qingyi's body a couple of times, causing Luo Qingyi to let out a charming moan.

Qin Yu quickly dressed, took two firecrackers from the drawer, and went to the door with a strong sense of morning grumpiness.

Well, evil spirits came early on the first day of the Lunar New Year, so I used firecrackers to drive them away!