Chapter 117: Believe in the heroine, bad luck

“Ah, well, I just remembered I have urgent business to attend to. These gold and silver items are all donated. Um… I’ll have to skip inviting the princess and prince into the mansion,” Dali Temple Minister said, looking somewhat troubled.

Ah Bao, her mouth greasy from the drumstick, didn’t quite catch everything Dali Temple Minister said. She was too focused on enjoying her chicken.

All she noticed was that she was munching on her drumstick, and before she knew it, Dali Temple Minister had shut the mansion doors on them.

Ah Bao glanced at the drumstick in her hand, then at the two small chests beside her, and swallowed a mouthful of meat.

[Why does everything seem to be going so smoothly?]

[When Father asks them to donate money in court, they all act like they’ve been constipated for ten years, completely unwilling. But now they’re so eager. What’s going on?]

Before Ah Bao and Di Zian could leave the mansion, a crowd of people began to gather on the spacious street.

“Oh, it’s Lord Zhao.”

“Eh, Lord Li is here too.”

“Wow, even Lord Ye is here.”

Di Zian rubbed his eyes, puzzled. What were all these officials doing here?

They all had their servants with them, each carrying small chests. In no time, the officials had surrounded Di Zian and Ah Bao.

Ah Bao was surprised to see so many people suddenly appear while she was still eating her drumstick.

[Big Brother, are they all so free today? Weren’t they supposed to be sick?]

[Uh… what’s in those chests?]

Ah Bao’s eyes darted around as she continued munching.

One of the officials, Lord Zhao, a Deputy Censor, spoke up as he opened a chest in front of Ah Bao. “Little Princess, here are three thousand taels of silver from me. Please check it.”

Three thousand taels was a significant amount for a Censor to save up.

Ah Bao didn’t say anything.

Lord Zhao wiped his sweat and tears away, muttering to himself, “Little Princess, please just eat your drumstick and don’t come to my mansion. I really can’t afford to host you.”

Soon, the other officials came forward, volunteering their donations.

The rarely seen Feng Zhou acted as an accountant, recording the amounts in a small ledger.

“Lord Zhao, three thousand taels.”

“Lord Li, five thousand taels.”

“Lord Ye, eight thousand taels.”

“Lord Mo, ten thousand taels.”

“Ah.” Ah Bao finally finished her drumstick and licked her lips, savoring the taste. She tugged at the stunned Di Zian beside her.

[Wow, just from eating a drumstick, we made a fortune!]

[When you add it all up, that’s a lot of gold and silver.]

[Did these officials plan to surprise Father? They wouldn’t donate a single tael before, but now they’re all in.]

Hearing her thoughts, Di Zian couldn’t help but lower his head, trying not to laugh.

They weren’t afraid of Father; they were terrified of his little sister, this tiny terror.

Any government official she visited would end up in tears, their estates stripped bare.

The officials watched as Di Zian carried the little princess away, collectively breathing a sigh of relief.

At last, they had gotten rid of this little disaster.

As the saying goes, “Spending money to avoid disaster.”

Yes.

The money was well spent!

Even if it meant bankrupting their families, they couldn’t let the little princess set foot inside their mansions.

—

“Hahahaha.” The tyrant emperor laughed heartily as he sat in the imperial study, reviewing memorials.

“Xi’er, have you tallied it up? How much was donated this time?”

Eunuch Xi was equally thrilled and bowed deeply. “The total donation this time is five hundred and eighty-nine thousand taels.”

Ah Bao’s eyes sparkled. That meant she got fifty-eight thousand and seventy-one taels.

Over fifty thousand taels!

[Ahahaha, I’m so rich now. In just one day, I made over fifty thousand taels. I’m a tycoon, a real tycoon!]

Di Zian: “…”

Tyrant Emperor: “…”

“Combining this with the silver seized during the bandit suppression at Mount Taibai, the people of the Heavenly Saint Dynasty and the plague-stricken victims in Lingnan can finally have a stable year,” the tyrant emperor sighed.

The plague in Lingnan was far worse than expected, and he had considered personally visiting Lingnan.

“Your Majesty, Minister Wen is crying outside the imperial study, asking to see you.”

The guard reported.

“Why is he crying?”

Surely, he wasn’t here to ask for silver?

Minister Wen didn’t seem like that kind of person.

“Let him in,” the emperor said after a brief pause.

On the other side, after Ah Bao left the residence of the Minister of the Dali Temple, Di Hongluan continued to visit the residence of Minister Wen. However, she found herself out of luck as Minister Wen was not at home.

With no other options, Di Hongluan headed to the next destination.

At the Dali Temple Minister’s residence:

“What? The little princess has come to solicit donations? What position and status does she hold to be asking for donations?”

When the Minister of the Dali Temple heard Di Hongluan’s request, he immediately ordered his subordinates to stop her at the door, refusing to see her.

“Go, shut the gate tight. Under no circumstances should the little princess be allowed to step inside. The princess was sent by the Emperor himself; what business does this little princess have meddling in state affairs? She’s too young to be involved in these matters. Send her away.”

Di Hongluan, blocked at the door, stomped her foot in frustration. She had heard that every time Ah Bao visited, she was treated with the utmost hospitality. But when it was her turn, the doors were shut tight, and no one paid her any attention. That old fool!

“System, if I fail this task, what will happen?” Di Hongluan, since arriving in this alternate world, had never experienced a task failure. All her previous small tasks, like winning the favor of the Prince Han’s father and curing the Prince Han’s wife of her insomnia, had been successful.

Although the tasks were minor, she had completed them with ease, earning points and exchanging them for various unexpected items.

“The system has already reminded the host that successful tasks come with rewards, while failure will result in punishment.”

“What kind of punishment?”

She hadn’t experienced it before, so she asked out of curiosity.

“Uh, this can’t be revealed in advance—don’t want to scare the host.”

Di Hongluan: “…”

That didn’t sound good.

“The host can choose to abandon the task, of course.”

“Would there still be punishment?”

“Of course. The host can try it out—it’ll be an unforgettable experience.”

“Get lost.”

Di Hongluan rolled her eyes in annoyance. This little system even knew how to negotiate with her now. She was a transmigrated female lead—there was no way task failure could happen to her. The cold reception at the door only fueled Di Hongluan’s determination. No matter what, she would complete the task today! It was crucial for her future growth.

Her cheat wasn’t just the system; she had the storyline on her side too!

Di Hongluan racked her brain, trying to recall details about the Dali Temple Minister from the original novel. After a long time, she finally remembered something.