After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

The following day, a light rain fell in Nanjing.

Zhu Cuiwei had no appetite in the morning and only drank a small bowl of millet porridge before going to court.

There are no major events in the court.

There are no major events on the frontier.

During the court assembly, someone impeached someone for holding a position without performing their duties, to which the person retorted, "My heart is as clear as the sun and moon!"

Some say that Chen Yuezhi, the Minister of War, was being unreasonable and disruptive, causing panic among the people in the capital's Ever-Normal Granary. He also accused Chen of nepotism, replacing the grain official with a fellow graduate who had passed the provincial examination, suggesting that Chen was embezzling funds.

Chen Yuezhi retorted with a cold laugh:

"If anything happens to the Ever-Normal Granary, would this sir dare to risk his life for it?"

The official, with his neck stiff, retorted, "What wouldn't I dare?"

Then, the two of them started arguing back and forth.

Zhu Cuiwei, sitting on the dragon throne, was somewhat dazed and could no longer remember how the conflict was resolved.

It seems that Luan Zongyuan scolded the two of them, saying that they had behaved improperly in front of the palace.

Then, someone from the Ministry of Rites reported that the necessary rituals for the birthday celebration of a certain imperial concubine in the palace had been prepared.

Zhu Cuiwei nodded. That imperial concubine was her father's noble consort, and she should enjoy her remaining years in peace.

Some officials were offering auspicious omens, saying that since the start of spring plowing this year, there has been continuous spring rain, which is a testament to His Majesty's prayers to Heaven at the Temple of Agriculture last month.

Every February, the emperor would go to the Temple of Agriculture in the southern suburbs to pray for blessings for spring plowing, and would also personally work in the fields to show his respect for his ancestors. She naturally did as he was told.

Upon hearing this news, Zhu Cuiwei felt a little better.

Last year, the young doctor promoted a composting method to his tenants on his 200 mu (approximately 33 acres) of land.

In late autumn, those two hundred mu of land yielded 10-20% more grain than ordinary people's fields, and some thirty or forty mu even yielded 30-40% more. She was so astonished that she couldn't close her mouth for a long time, somewhat unable to believe it.

After the young doctor taught her this composting method, she had the Ministry of Works spread it around the capital this year.

According to the young doctor, the method might only be effective in Lijia Village, and it should be adapted to local conditions. So, they first found two thousand acres of land and tested it for another autumn.

Zhu Cuiwei thought for a moment and decided to ask someone from the Ministry of Works about this matter later.

The court meetings were mostly about trivial matters.

With favorable weather and peace and prosperity, it seems that nothing major is happening in the Southern Dynasty at present.

Especially after the Northern Dynasty sent envoys to discuss an alliance last year, the entire court couldn't help but feel a sense of joy, which has continued to this day and has even turned into a bit of arrogance.

The sounds of string and wind instruments in the capital city increased significantly, and some even suggested postponing the curfew by an hour, a suggestion that was naturally rejected by the Ministry of War.

After the morning court session.

She then returned to the Qianqing Palace.

They inquired with Yan Yuqing and Wang Bing about whether the Northern Dynasty and the Rakshasa had indeed attacked.

Is the mission safe and sound?

Did Master Lu catch up with the delegation?

Yan Yuqing was in good health, but when she entered the Qianqing Palace, the Empress still arranged a chair for the old woman who entered the palace.

After bowing, Yan Yuqing sat down calmly, furrowing his white eyebrows, and reported that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had dispatched many skilled men north overnight.

"Previously, I just felt something was a little strange,"

The white-browed old woman said:

"But after seeing the information sent by the son-in-law, what was previously just a bit strange now seems to have become a much bigger problem."

Zhu Cuiwei ordered a eunuch to take notes of what the commander said.

Yan Yuqing said in a aged yet powerful voice:

"Six months ago, the north went mad, hunting down our spies here. Our forces suffered heavy losses. Some merchants were even imprisoned by the north if they were suspected. This caused a lot of panic on the north-south trade routes. Many merchants had to take detours through Huguang or even Sichuan instead of going directly to Huainan."

"Later, when the Northern Dynasty's delegation went south, our spies in the north re-established contact with our dynasty, and trade routes and intelligence were restored to a great extent."

Zhu Cuiwei sat upright on the dragon throne, somewhat understanding what the other party meant:

"Commander Yan is saying that the Northern Dynasty planned this all along, which is why they eliminated most of our spies in the north?"

Yan Yuqing's wrinkles seemed to deepen. She stood up, head bowed, and said in a tone of self-reproach and guilt:

"Indeed. Your Majesty, I am incompetent. At the time, based on the intelligence about the Northern Dynasty's crushing defeat at the hands of the Rakshasa, we thought that the Northern Dynasty wanted to conceal the fact that they had suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Rakshasa, that their main force had been lost, and that Ningguta was in imminent danger. But now it seems..."

Yan Yuqing's voice became somewhat heavy.

"What the Northern Dynasty is really trying to cover up... is the news that they have already made peace with the Rakshasa!"

Although the news about her son-in-law was still unconfirmed, and she didn't even know where His Majesty had gotten the information from, Yan Yuqing was already somewhat convinced and broke out in a cold sweat.

Zhu Cuiwei remained calm, and after a few breaths, she said softly:

"Now, we only assume that the Northern Dynasty has already turned against our Dynasty."

"Your unit must quickly ascertain the strength of the Northern Dynasty's troops and the true state of its three major camps. Pay particular attention to whether the Northern Dynasty has transferred the Green Standard Army and the Eight Banners troops stationed in Shandong and Henan."

Yan Yuqing immediately nodded in a hoarse voice, clasped his hands in greeting, and said:

"Your subordinate obeys."

The light drizzle on March 15th continued until sunset, falling intermittently, leaving patches of dry and wet on the bluestone slabs, like scald marks from hot water.

In the courtyard of the Qianqing Palace, the planted peach branches and peach blossoms are swaying gently in the spring breeze of Jiangnan.

Even as the raindrops falling from the sky pounded heavily on the peach blossoms, causing the pink petals to bow their heads.

But in the instant the flower raised its head, Zhu Cuiwei still noticed the flower's joy.

She pursed her lips and stood on the steps for a long time.

As the sky turned from the pale yellow of dusk to blue.

The Empress then withdrew her gaze and, with the assistance of palace maids and eunuchs, turned and entered the palace.

March sixteenth.

The sky cleared up.

But her appetite remained poor.

It was only at noon, when her mother came to the palace from the Ning residence to visit her, that she ate a little more in front of her mother.

It was the same day.

After the first "military procurement meeting" of the Great Liang Dynasty ended, Xing Ge'er came to her to report and complained:

"Big Black is too honest! General Jiang from Jiangpu City, as soon as our purchasing fair started, he sneaked over and bought all of our stack of moon bows!"

"The price was very low because General Jiang said that his elder brother and Third Brother Zhuang had sent him to buy it, and Brother Dahei believed him..."

"General Fan of the Yongwei Battalion saw our demonstration of the Crescent Moon Bow and came to buy it himself, but he couldn't get it! Sister-in-law! He could at least offer twice the price General Jiang offered!"

Xingge'er put on a stern face, which had become a little chubby, and held up two fingers:

"Twice! At least twice!"

"...Later, in addition to practicing sword techniques, the Ordnance Bureau and the Armory Bureau also came to buy the Crescent Moon Bow technique, so we sold it..."

Xing Ge'er kept rambling on and on.

The empress on the dragon throne didn't listen to much, but she was quite satisfied with the purchasing event.

At least the Ministry of Works and the Bureau of Arms and Weapons have put in a lot of effort this time, which is quite remarkable.

"They have to compete... This competition can't be based on titles, because titles are fixed, finite, and cannot be transferred."

Money is dynamic, unlimited, and transferable. It can go from your pocket to my pocket.

"With this kind of competition based on money, whoever is more capable can earn more money."

"Only then will they be willing to spend money on craftsmanship and on competing for artisans, instead of cutting corners and taking everything home to hide away."

"Because they know that if they spend one copper coin, they can earn three copper coins back; if they spend one piece of gold, they can earn three pieces of gold back. So who wouldn't rush out to spend silver and gold?"