The officials were all beaming with joy, except for Wu Yi, whose expression was complex.

Yuan Ruan: [Ah, gloves can actually trigger a national fortune mission now? Tell me more.]

System: [Sure thing.]

[National Fortune Side Mission: Have the emperor value and wear the gloves presented by Wu Yi for a full day in court. Reward: National Fortune Points +1 (Uncompleted)]

Have the emperor wear cute knitted gloves for a full day in court? And specifically, the ones from Wu Yi?

The officials’ gazes first fell on the emperor, who had not yet fully left, and then shifted to Wu Yi, their eyes narrowing with a sudden, mischievous glint.

Emperor, Wu Yi: …

System: [Strange, why would such a mission be triggered? Hmm, could it be like Cheng Weining? Is the national fortune helping to fast-track things?]

The officials: !!!

Yuan Ruan’s mouth twitched: *[No way. I think the issue probably lies with these gloves from “Male Mommy.” Look, the material of these gloves is different from the ones in the palace—they seem to be knitted from yarn. System, check if there’s any info on why this happened.]

System: [Let me see! Wow, I didn’t expect “Male Mommy” to be so devoted!]

The officials immediately perked up with interest: Here we go, ready to dive into the juicy gossip.

Emperor: !!!

He didn’t want to overthink it, but based on what the system had said earlier, the emperor subtly moved a bit further away from Wu Yi.

The system continued: [This piece of gossip says that “Male Mommy” really loved his little cat. To commemorate the deceased cat, he gathered the cat’s fur, spun it into yarn, and knitted a pair of gloves with a hollowed-out cat design. Wow, what a devoted owner! But still, why would the national fortune care about this?]

The system’s confusion mirrored that of the court officials.

Yes, even if the cat fur was creatively used to make something, why would the national fortune place such importance on it?

Yuan Ruan, however, sounded enlightened: [Oh, I see now.]

Everyone turned to her: What is it?
Yuan Ruan continued: [System, have you forgotten the “sheep devour people” scheme that so many people love to play? Even if we don’t play that strategy, there are still plenty of people who use wool and yarn to create trade deficits. Since this national fortune mission was triggered, I estimate that the Xiongnu haven’t yet developed wool yarn. With yarn-making technology, in the early stages, we can turn wool into something valuable, and in the later stages, those plans might also work.]

Everyone: ???

What “sheep devour people” scheme?

What trade deficit?

Little National Fortune, please elaborate!

But Yuan Ruan stopped there, leaving everyone hanging. Instead, the system became excited: [Brilliant! That’s right, what Ah Ruan said makes sense. And wool clothing has far better warmth than silk or linen. Hiss, if we put it that way, even rewarding just one point for the national fortune seems too little!]

Yuan Ruan continued: [System, have you forgotten about the “Sheep Devouring People” plan that many people like to play? Even if we’re not using that strategy, there are plenty of people who have used wool yarn to create trade deficits. Since this national fortune mission has been triggered, I suspect that the Xiongnu haven’t yet developed wool yarn technology. With yarn-making technology, in the early stages, we can turn wool into something valuable, and in the later stages, those plans might also work.]

Everyone: ???

What “Sheep Devouring People” plan?

What trade deficit?

Little National Fortune, please elaborate!

But Yuan Ruan stopped there, while the system grew excited: [Wow! You’re right, Ah Ruan. And woolen clothing is much warmer than the current silk or linen fabrics. Hmm, if that’s the case, I feel like the national fortune reward of one point is too little!]

Everyone’s eyes widened: What?!

The Xiongnu’s excess wool, which they throw away, can actually be turned into clothing? And it’s top-tier warm clothing?

The court officials’ gazes fell on the small gloves, their eyes burning with desire: Are these just gloves? No, this is the key to a gold mine!

Yuan Ruan: [But this mission is a bit tricky to complete. I’ll have to think carefully about it.]

The court officials also pondered. Yes, completing this mission without alerting the little national fortune would indeed be challenging.

Because the mission has two parts:

1. Wu Yi must voluntarily present the gloves to the emperor.
2. The emperor must recognize the importance of the gloves and wear them for a full day.

Let’s not talk about the second part for now.

Just the first part—how can Wu Yi “reasonably” present the gloves to the emperor?

The court officials racked their brains.

At this moment, a young official from the Ministry of Personnel took a deep breath and exclaimed with delight, “General, these gloves look so adorable, and the knitting technique is quite innovative. I’ve been struggling to find a birthday gift for my young daughter. Could you lend your embroiderer to me for a few days to teach my family’s embroiderer?”

Everyone: ?

Official from the Ministry of Personnel, what are you talking about? Don’t you know Wu Yi knitted these himself?

Wu Yi was momentarily stunned.

Then, the official from the Ministry of Personnel pulled over a somewhat confused official from the Ministry of Justice and said, “General Wu, these gloves look like they’d be a hit with children. I touched them earlier, and they’re really warm. I remember your embroiderer was specially brought in from Jiangnan—does she know this technique?”

The official from the Ministry of Justice seemed to realize something and coughed, “This glove design is something we’ve never seen before. General Wu, could you let our family’s embroiderer learn it? We’d be willing to exchange it for our triple embroidery technique.

At this point, the court officials, who were experienced in covering up lies, understood what the two officials were doing.

They were using a “casual conversation” approach to “draw attention” to the gloves in a reasonable way.

Thinking this, more and more court officials joined in:

“Indeed, my little girl loves cats—she’d definitely adore these gloves.”

“This embroiderer is quite skilled—the gloves feel really warm.”

“General Wu, you can’t keep such a talented embroiderer to yourself!”

…

As they spoke, the system’s voice chimed in again:

System: [Yuan Ruan, you see, gold will never be buried. With so many people admiring Wu Yi’s craftsmanship, there’s a good chance this mission will be completed.]

Yuan Ruan: [Pfft, I was just thinking—with so many people asking for gloves, the general might be afraid of people finding out he made them himself. He wouldn’t be able to teach other embroiderers, so he’d go home after court and work late into the night making gloves. Haha, that’s kind of cute.]

The court officials’ expressions turned strange as they tried to hold back their laughter.

Wu Yi: …

After court, he always went home to practice swordsmanship and staff fighting!

Yuan Ruan added: [But System, you’re right. Since the gloves have attracted so much attention from the court officials, they might also pique the emperor’s interest, especially since he has children. Later, I’ll show off the gloves more to the emperor and see if I can spark his interest. If I can, as long as Male Mommy has a decent emotional intelligence, he’ll voluntarily present the gloves.]

System: [Alright. Court is over now, and your brother is coming over. Yuan Ruan, give it a try.]

Yuan Ruan immediately turned around, her soft little face rubbing against the gloves. She waved the small gloves at the emperor, babbling and cooing, trying her best to act cute.

The emperor, understanding her intention, walked over and pretended to want to take a closer look at the gloves.

Yuan Ruan turned her face away, clutching the small gloves tightly in her arms. Her tiny, gap-toothed mouth struggled to form a few words: “Like… warm… good!”

The Crown Prince, ever the supportive brother, chimed in: “Father, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen Ninth Sister smile like this.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the Crown Prince noticed a strange flicker on Yuan Ruan’s round little face.

The emperor said: “Hmm, I can see that.”

The Crown Prince turned to the emperor: The opportunity is here, keep going, Father.

The court officials also looked at the emperor: The moment has come, keep going, Your Majesty.

The emperor stiffened slightly. What should he say?

He said: “I like the gloves too.”

The court officials and the Crown Prince nearly fainted in frustration: Your Majesty, you can’t say it like that! You need to highlight the advantages and importance of the gloves so that Wu Yi has a reason to present a pair to you and complete the mission! Have you let the Crown Prince take the blame too many times, causing your acting skills to decline?!