Chapter 50: Abacus Beads Hit Her Face

Xing’e, not realizing how, accidentally said aloud what she had been thinking.

Li Ning’an thought it was a good idea.

But asking Xing’e to write a letter to Yan Ziqi—he probably wouldn’t even read it.

It would be better if she wrote it herself, expressing Xing’e’s praise and concern for her.

For Yan Lang, she had truly made many sacrifices.

Li Ning’an promptly went to the study to write the letter to Yan Ziqi. Hongxiu was about to move aside, but Li Ning’an gestured for her to stay seated.

“It’s fine, you can keep working.”

Li Ning’an chose a spot off to the side.

“Tell them to get me a bigger desk tomorrow. The one in the Ministry of Revenue isn’t even half the size of this one.”

“And that Wen Di, who knows what madness came over him, even went to the Ministry of Revenue.”

After grumbling, Li Ning’an sat on the left side of the desk while Hongxiu remained in the center, continuing to focus on the account books since the princess didn’t seem to mind.

Xing’e took out some paper and ground ink for the princess.

Li Ning’an began writing her letter. Far away at the frontier, Yan Ziqi was still waiting for His Majesty’s orders.

In the Qian Kun Palace, they had finally come up with a plan—letting the second prince of Beiyue come along with General Tong.

After so much time, they had already lost all the face they could lose.

When the visitors arrived on their turf, they would engage in a match, win, and restore their honor.

War is a matter of deception.

Who hasn’t stumbled in the heat of battle?

That night, the imperial edict was sent to the frontier, and the Ministry of Rites and the Court of Diplomatic Affairs became busy.

When Li Ning’an returned to the Ministry of Revenue the next day, she noticed more people around.

She casually stopped someone and asked, “What’s going on?”

The official, seeing it was the princess, bowed first before replying, “Your Highness, His Majesty has granted permission for the second prince of Beiyue to visit. The Ministry of Rites and the Court of Diplomatic Affairs are here to request funds.”

Li Ning’an glanced toward the small room in the southwest corner of the Ministry of Revenue, where documents were approved for officials to withdraw government silver.

“I’ll go have a look,” Li Ning’an said, heading in that direction with Hongxiu. Hongxiu had finished reviewing the account books the previous night and found many issues.

Some of them should have been resolved by the Ministry of Revenue, but problems like high-ranking officials occupying large estates and not paying taxes—those were beyond the ministry’s authority to address.

Take Prince Jing, for example. The estate in Xitong County covered 3,000 mu (acres), but if the Ministry of Revenue were to measure it, the actual size would far exceed that.

Yet, he only paid taxes on 3,000 mu.

The rest was a loss to the empire.

If one official did this, a hundred others would do the same. No wonder the Ministry of Revenue was always broke.

Even if the Minister of Revenue wanted to take action, he didn’t dare offend someone like Prince Jing.

After all, when Senior Censor Ji publicly accused Prince Jing, the emperor made the censor kneel as punishment.

The Minister of Revenue couldn’t take that risk.

So now, he had passed the responsibility to Princess Ning’an.

Since he had no silver, he could only delay payments. If the princess had a solution, he would be happy not to be the one seen as a miser.

The head of the Treasury Department, seeing officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Court of Diplomatic Affairs, put on a smile and said, “We really have no money.”

The assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites knew the Ministry of Revenue always claimed to be broke at first, but surely they couldn’t skimp on hosting the second prince of Beiyue. That would reflect poorly on their nation’s prestige.

“I’m not pressuring you, but when the second prince of Beiyue arrives, are we really going to greet him with empty bowls?”

The head of the Court of Diplomatic Affairs had little to say. If the Ministry of Rites couldn’t get the silver, they certainly wouldn’t either.

They might as well just follow the Ministry of Rites’ lead.

The Ministry of Revenue couldn’t favor one department over another!

When Li Ning’an walked in, she saw the same expression on the head of the Treasury Department as the Minister of Revenue had the previous day.

These people were quick with information and even quicker at asking for money.

Since the second prince of Beiyue was coming to the capital, Yan Ziqi would likely return with him, meaning she no longer needed to rush the Ministry of Revenue.

The head of the Treasury Department, seeing Princess Ning’an, didn’t think she was a savior either. The minister had already told him she was another creditor.

The military salaries at the frontier had been delayed for two months, and Princess Ning’an had come on Yan Shizi’s behalf to demand them.

According to reliable sources, the military salaries were originally handled by General Tong Jr., but the task had later been given to Yan Shizi.

As for how Princess Ning’an had learned of this, it could only be attributed to her deep concern for Yan Shizi, unwilling to let him suffer.

The Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites and the official from the Court of Diplomatic Affairs politely bowed upon seeing Princess Ning’an. “Greetings, Princess Ning’an.”

There were clear distinctions among the princesses.

Someone like Li Ning’an had an official title and a feudal estate.

On the other hand, Li Ningyi was simply addressed as the Fourth Princess and only received a monthly stipend.

Li Ning’an nodded and sat down at the desk, signaling for them to continue.

“You don’t need to mind me. Go on.”

Earlier that morning, Hongxiu had pointed out some discrepancies, and Li Ning’an realized just how many cunning tricks there were.

Of course, she disdained using such tactics herself. But there was no guarantee others wouldn’t. Take the Ministry of Rites’ report, for example—it didn’t quite add up.

Li Ning’an casually picked up the document that the Assistant Minister of Rites had submitted to the Ministry of Revenue.

The Assistant Minister was about to point out that it wasn’t proper for her to inspect it, but recalling the Emperor’s fondness for Ning’an, he kept quiet.

If he had known Princess Ning’an would come to the Treasury Department, he wouldn’t have taken this assignment.

“The Minister of Rites must be out of his mind. He doesn’t even know how many princes and princesses Beiyue has, yet he’s prepared twelve golden bowls.”

“The Emperor of Beiyue only has eight children, right? So, the rest are his illegitimate offspring?”

“Did the Minister of Rites sneak into the Emperor’s bed to see this firsthand?”

With a thud, the Assistant Minister of Rites knelt down. “Your Highness, the Minister was just trying to be prepared.”

“What if…there’s someone with a big appetite?” he added quickly, coming up with a desperate excuse.

The official from the Court of Diplomatic Affairs reacted differently. Before Princess Ning’an could inspect his documents, he quickly snatched them back.

“I just realized I brought the wrong papers. I’ll go exchange them right away.”

He bolted from the room, but the Assistant Minister of Rites remained behind.

The head of the Treasury, relieved to have sent one money-seeker away, looked sympathetically at the Assistant Minister.

He was about to offer some words of comfort, hoping the princess would let him stand, but Princess Ning’an turned her attention to him instead.

“No wonder the Ministry of Revenue can’t provide the funds. With you approving everything like this, you’re going to drain my father’s treasury dry.”

“If you can’t do the job, there’s someone else who can. I think Wen Di would do just fine.”

Wen Di, who had been standing outside, was startled.

Yesterday, his father had praised him for taking on a position at the Ministry of Revenue, proud that he was growing up and shouldering responsibilities for the family.

Now Princess Ning’an had already assigned work for him.

Wen Di wondered if the princess was working for his father.

On second thought, he realized that wasn’t possible.

She must have placed him in the Treasury Department to facilitate getting military pay to Yan Ziqi.

These abacus beads were flying right at his face.

“I don’t care about your petty matters. Since the second prince of Beiyue is coming, Yan Ziqi will surely be escorting him. What are you worrying about?”

Even if the frontier was short on military pay, would Yan Ziqi ever go hungry?

As the commander of the Iron Cavalry Army, Duke Xiangguo’s son was stationed at the frontier—he wouldn’t suffer any loss.

Wen Di, having studied at the Imperial College, had interacted with Yan Ziqi but hadn’t formed a close bond with him.

No matter how much Yan Ziqi struggled, he was still far superior. Li Ning’an was worrying for nothing.

She had been so good to Fu Minglang in the past, but despite his position as an assistant minister in the Ministry of Revenue, he hadn’t released the military pay either.

Wen Di had once thought of betting at the gambling house that Yan Ziqi couldn’t endure the hardships of the frontier and would return within a month.

But after his father caught him visiting a brothel and locked him up for ten days, he hadn’t had the chance to place his bet.

And yet, that guy had persisted until now.

Li Ning’an knew Wen Di had no good intentions and always sought to oppose her.

“When Yan Ziqi returns, I’ll make sure he gives you a beating.”

Indeed, a proper mistress should stay away from other men to avoid making Yan Lang jealous.

Li Ning’an suddenly felt it was best not to stay at the Ministry of Revenue any longer.

There weren’t any other women here.

Because of Wen Di and that incident at the hot springs villa, she hadn’t yet settled her score with him.

If Wen Di started spreading rumors that she was picking out male companions at the Ministry of Revenue, that would be troublesome.

“I have other matters to attend to. Make sure you all work diligently and don’t let my father down,” Li Ning’an said as she rose to leave, taking Hongxiu with her out of the Ministry of Revenue.

A young woman approached, seemingly wanting to speak with the princess.

Yuan Ze, who was responsible for protecting Princess Ning’an, stepped forward to block her.

“Who are you, and what business do you have?”