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墨書 Inktalez
Old Guan cried out like a desperate woman, her sobs tearing at the heart.
The sky was overcast, as dark as a crow, and it felt as if the Dayun Dynasty was simmering in a pot, the heat making it hard to breathe, while the humidity clung to everything, almost dripping with moisture.
Su Yan impatiently fanned herself with a book, glancing at the thick curtain of rain outside before turning back to the damp stack of repair orders in her hand. She cursed the Emperor under her breath a hundred times, yet her anger remained unresolved.
"Hmm?" Su Yan raised an eyebrow and couldn’t help but shake one of the orders. Her subordinate chuckled awkwardly and explained, "The Ministry of Revenue's Du Zhi has been too harsh with the accounts, and dozens of abacuses have broken down..."
Finally, the veins on Su Yan's forehead began to throb with irritation.
Across the room, Bai Ci lifted his head from a flurry of papers, smiling innocently. "Yan Yan, there's no need to make such a fuss. Every month we have about twenty days of work; our Du Zhi spends all four hours of each day calculating. Breaking ten or so abacuses in half a month is nothing unusual."
The string of numbers Bai Ci recited, combined with the clattering sound of his subordinates' abacuses, made Su Yan feel dizzy. In frustration, she threw the book at him.
As if having a stingy Emperor wasn’t enough for the Dayun Dynasty, they also had a Minister of Revenue who was even more miserly!
The entire Ministry of Revenue's Du Zhi was constantly monitoring the budgets and expenditure details of the other five departments, eager to squeeze out every last bit of resources. This left their Ministry of Works people so busy that they couldn’t catch a break throughout the year; they were always fixing this and patching that for the other departments, working like a swarm of spinning tops.
Just thinking about that young and miserly Minister Qin Shuyang, who had gained favor despite being detested by officials in the Dayun Dynasty, ignited a fire within Su Yan.
As the saying goes, when Cao Cao is mentioned, he will surely arrive.
When Su Yan looked up, she saw a tall figure standing at her doorway. Who else could it be but Qin Shuyang?
The servant of the Grand Minister rushed in and said, “My Lord, the rain is pouring heavily, and it’s getting late. My master would like to borrow a carriage from the Ministry of Works.”
A carriage!
The Su Yan glared at the Grand Minister’s elegant back, gritting her teeth as she replied, “No.”
The servant was taken aback by her response. Before he could say anything further, she adopted a formal tone, “Lord Qin is indeed a beloved official among the people, working overtime to borrow a carriage at this hour. Unfortunately, due to the regulations set by the Ministry of Revenue, the Ministry of Works does not have enough carriages available. Lord Qin has come too late.”
The servant looked awkwardly at his master. The Grand Minister finally turned around, his expression as cold as ever. “In that case…”
The Su Yan scoffed inwardly; how dare he come with such an attitude when asking for something!
However, she maintained a standard bureaucratic smile, overly flattering, “Although there are no carriages available, there is one left in the warehouse. It hasn’t been used for years and is covered in cobwebs. If Lord Qin doesn’t mind, I can have someone tidy it up right away.”
The Grand Minister furrowed his brow in thought for a moment before nodding and saying, “Since the Ministry of Works has no carriages available, I wonder how Lord Su plans to return home? If Lord Su doesn’t mind, I could offer you a ride.”
Hearing this, the Su Yan raised her eyebrows in surprise; what was he up to? She quickly declined, “No need, no need! Lord Qin is busy with important matters and shouldn’t waste time with me. I will be leaving shortly with Lord Bai.” With that, she instructed her subordinate to prepare the carriage.
The Grand Minister glanced at Bai Ci but said nothing more.
Once the Grand Minister had left, Bai Ci slyly approached the Su Yan and asked, “You didn’t dare to play any tricks on Grand Minister Qin, did you?”
The Su Yan shot him a glare and retorted, “Am I really that reckless?”
Bai Ci chuckled twice, indicating his disagreement.
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