The wicked imperial concubine is courting death again; the comments section teaches her how to win w

The Imperial Study.

The one million taels of gold that Lu Linbai had promised has recently been transported into the national treasury.

After all, it was no small sum of money, and the fact that it could be raised in such a short time shows the immense wealth of the Prince Anning's Mansion.

The annual silver income of the Daqian national treasury is no more than 20 million taels of silver. This one million taels of gold, when converted into silver, is more than 10 million taels.

It is more than half of the annual income of the national treasury.

Li Fengyao exclaimed in amazement, "Others' words are worth a thousand pieces of gold, but with Her Majesty the Empress, a few kind words are worth an astronomical sum. Alas, why wasn't I born into a better family and have such a wonderful cousin?"

Xie Ling: "Heh."

All of this money was earned by Qi Yitang, and Xie Ling left a portion for her as her private savings.

Although Tangtang said she would only keep three to five hundred taels, he couldn't really use it all; otherwise, he would become a useless piece of trash who sponges off his wife.

In the past few days, Xie Ling convened the six ministers to discuss the allocation of silver, dividing it into various expenditures such as military pay, people's relief, and dike repair according to their importance and urgency.

After the political discussions concluded, the ministers filed out of the Imperial Study.

A gust of cold wind blew in as the palace doors opened and closed, carrying a few fine snowflakes that landed on the threshold.

Xie Ling rubbed her temples. "What time is it?"

The eunuch bowed and said, "Your Majesty, it is currently 3:45 PM."

They agreed to return to the palace at the hour of You (5-7 PM).

Xie Ling turned her head to look out the window. Snowflakes were falling in abundance, and tiny pink and tender flower buds had already sprouted among the withered branches of the old plum tree.

For some reason, Xie Ling suddenly felt a vague and inexplicable sense of unease.

At this moment, Li Fengyao, who was supposed to leave with the ministers, shamelessly approached, rubbing his hands together with a grin, "Your Majesty, the people need money, but I've been busy running around and working hard. Shouldn't I also receive some reward?"

Xie Ling continued to edit the folded paper without even lifting his eyelids.

"Actually, this reward money wasn't for me; it was for the little one in the household."

Li Fengyao cleared his throat. "Ahem, to be honest, my wife is pregnant again."

Is she pregnant again?

Xie Ling finally raised his head. "I remember, you already have two sons."

The next pregnancy would be the third child.

Li Fengyao chuckled, "Your Majesty has a good memory, this is the third son."

Xie Ling said coldly, "You two can chat for a while tonight."

Li Fengyao smiled and sighed, "There's nothing I can do. My wife loves children, especially daughters. She kept pestering me, saying she wouldn't give up until we had a daughter. Of course, I was more than happy to oblige, so it was a simple matter of agreeing."

Haha, you two are truly a match made in heaven.

Li Fengyao said, "Your Majesty, although your Xie family does indeed have a throne to inherit, don't you want a lovely, gentle daughter?"

Xie Ling did not have an obsession with having children to carry on the family line, and she let nature take its course regarding offspring.

If Tangtang is willing to give birth, he will take her; if she doesn't want to give birth herself, then adoption from the imperial clan is also an option.

However, Li Fengyao's words stirred something deep within her.

daughter……

It would be nice to have a little girl who looks like Tangtang, nestled in my arms and calling me "Father Emperor" in a soft and sweet voice.

After all, Tangtang was so cute when she was little that even a cold and hard man like her father couldn't resist her, let alone him.

But it all depends on what Tangtang thinks.

Even if they were to have a child, regardless of gender, one would be enough; he didn't want her to suffer twice.

In the end, considering that Li Fengyao's wife's third child might be a "daughter," Xie Ling still gave her some silver as a reward.

Li Fengyao left with a broad smile.

The snow was falling even heavier.

The world was a gray and chaotic expanse, the glazed tiles on the palace walls were covered with a thick layer of pure white, and even the outline of the eaves in the distance was blurred.

Xie Ling frowned. Why hasn't he come back yet?

The folds that used to be approved quickly are now being approved at an increasingly slower pace.

With a quarter of an hour to go before the appointed time, Xie Ling put down his pen and was about to send someone to check the palace gate.

Suddenly, the palace doors were violently kicked open from the outside.

Li Degui stumbled in, his face ashen, his voice trembling with tears, "Your Majesty—something terrible has happened!"

How could someone who has risen to the position of Grand Eunuch of the Imperial Household be so out of control unless something truly terrible has happened?

Xie Ling felt as if the string that had been taut in his chest had snapped with a "clang," and a chill ran up his spine to the back of his head.

He stood up abruptly, his voice as cold as ice, "Speak."

Li Degui collapsed to the ground, his lips trembling, barely daring to lift his head.

"Your Majesty...Your Majesty has disappeared!"

……

Outside Xuanyifang.

Several rows of black-armored guards rode on horseback outside the shop, their long swords drawn and shields linked together, separating the shop from the street.

A wide passageway was left in the middle for people to pass through.

The onlookers were dispersed to a distance, craning their necks to peer in from a distance of several dozen feet.

Xie Ling dismounted, the hem of his black dragon robe sweeping across the snow, his boots making a soft cracking sound as they stepped on the thin ice.

His face was as cold and stern as iron, and his whole body was enveloped in a chilling aura that seemed capable of destroying the world.

Yuan Shu knew he was completely doomed this time, and he didn't even pray for his life.

"Your subordinate deserves to die—"

"I'll spare your dog's life for now." Xie Ling walked past him, each step steady and firm, but beneath it surged a violent rage that seemed about to burst his chest.

"Where did Tangtang disappear? Take her to me!"

Yuan Shu dared not delay for a moment, got up and led Xie Ling through the shop and into the fitting room in the backyard.

And he recounted in detail what had happened that afternoon.

There were no signs of a struggle inside the room. The window was open, and Yunzhu was unconscious from being drugged.

Qi Yitang was physically weak, so it's highly likely that she was drugged and kidnapped.

Xie Ling looked around and felt the air pressure around him getting lower and lower.

Li Fengyao entered from outside and got down to business. He became serious and efficient. "Your Majesty, I have interrogated the manager of Xuanyifang and the Marquis of Anyang and his wife. Neither of them knew anything about the Empress's disappearance."

Whether they genuinely don't know or are feigning ignorance is unclear at this time.

But given the current situation, Li Fengyao knew that Xie Ling would rather kill the innocent than let anyone go, and might even take his anger out on them.

Since he himself was in dire straits, Li Fengyao could only temporarily imprison the others and await their fate.

"In addition, I went to the old man's house where he used to sell sweet soup. The neighbors said that the old man had died a long time ago, and this was the only place they found."

He took out a human skin mask as thin as a cicada's wing from his sleeve.

His face was sallow and his features were coarse; it was the face of that "old man".

The workmanship is quite fine; at first glance, it can be easily mistaken for the real thing when mixed in with a crowd.

It seems this was expected.

Even without Liu Ruyan's incident, that person would have found another excuse to splash sugar water on Tangtang, luring her to change clothes, and then kidnapping her when Yuan Shu was off guard.

Are they remnants of the Qin family? Or enemies from some other side?

Recently, Xie Ling took advantage of Qin Zhenxiong to deal with many corrupt officials in the court who were lining their own pockets.

If someone is driven to a dead end, it is not impossible for them to take a desperate gamble.

Beneath the calm surface of the sea lies a colossal abyss, large enough to swallow the heavens and the earth.

Having served the emperor for many years, Li Fengyao dared not look up at his expression, nor did he make any more jokes. "Your Majesty, rest assured, I have already informed the Five Cities Garrison to close the city gates and search for the Empress's whereabouts with all our might."

rest assured?

Xie Ling's knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists. Tangtang was too weak to even kill a chicken, and her fate was unknown after being kidnapped by thieves. How could he be at ease?