EES - Chapter 10
Chapter 10
That evening, An Lin returned to her study and opened the Register of Officials. It had already updated efficiently with the latest appointees. She deliberately scrolled back to check Qiancai's stats and found that his Loyalty had already jumped from 11 to 20.
Hmm, now that was a leap forward. Simply delightful~
In a good mood, An Lin flipped through the register for a while, then set aside a memorial that served as the Emperor Simulator's menu interface and continued reviewing the remaining documents.
Day after day, she was either reviewing memorials or on her way to review them.
Under her Purifying the Chaff initiative, various government departments had become much more efficient, at least those under An Lin's close watch.
But with that improvement came a steady rise in the volume of memorials.
The lower officials had likely deduced that she tolerated diligent servants somewhat more and appreciated their proactive efforts, so they rushed to submit memorials claiming credit for any minor task completed, or reporting progress on assigned duties. After all, in officialdom, doing without speaking was never the norm; most officials would rather the whole world know what they had accomplished.
Still...
"People are still daring to file false reports?" An Lin raised an eyebrow in surprise after finishing one memorial.
It was from the Ministry of Revenue, specifically the department responsible for land statistics, filed by a Vice Minister.
Song Xuezhen? An Lin recalled that he seemed to be the son of Minister Song.
Her expression did not change. She simply took that memorial out and set it aside separately, keeping it apart from the batch of processed documents.
Hidden Fields were almost impossible for any feudal dynasty to eradicate, and formed the foundation of wealth for gentry-landlords. Among court officials, virtually everyone except the exceptionally incorruptible held some hidden land. Yet such land concentration was a tumor spanning the realm and the greatest source of conflict between gentry-landlords and commoners, something every dynasty hoping to prosper had to eliminate.
Whether it was Zhang Juzheng implementing the Single Whip Law, Wang Anshi introducing the Square Field Tax Law, or Liu Xiu issuing the edict for the Land Survey, their essential goal was to measure the nation's land and resolve the issue of Hidden Fields.
Ever since I transmigrated and took over this mess, I've been trying to figure out how to raise money for the treasury.
For now, raising money is the priority. Once the treasury has funds, I can launch major construction projects, build academies, upgrade the military, and boost GDP. Everything costs money.
But annual tax revenue alone wasn't enough to fund anything ambitious; expenses already exceeded income.
So solving the Hidden Fields problem was essential.
If I could bring all the Hidden Fields back under state control, Xuan Kingdom's annual treasury revenue could at least triple and grow sustainably, while greatly easing the burden on the people.
An Lin traced the map, staring at the vast tracts of land listed under gentry landlord estates across the national overview. The more she looked, the angrier she grew, and she slammed her desk in frustration. "Damn fools! This is money that should have gone into the treasury! A bunch of treasury thieves!"
Hiss...
I hit it too hard.
An Lin quietly drew her hand back and rubbed it.
The Chibi Emperor materialized above the memorial, perhaps startled by her angry slam, his tiny feet planted on the map as he and An Lin stared wide-eyed at each other.
Seeing the Chibi Emperor suddenly reminded An Lin that she might have forgotten something.
Right. When I had someone get Liu Guanglin, the transmigrator, drunk earlier, I was so focused on asking what skills he had that I forgot to ask him about history. Would the history he knew belong to the timeline where the Chibi Emperor lost his kingdom, or the one I transmigrated into?
That was a question.
The thought briefly flashed through An Lin's mind. After staring at each other for a moment, she asked, "What's wrong?"
The Chibi Emperor paused before speaking. "It's time."
"Time for what?"
"The other identity is about to unlock."
"Didn't you say an Empress had to be in place first?" An Lin leaned back in a tactical retreat, puzzled. "Did the system conjure an Empress out of thin air? Is she already in the palace?"
"No." The Chibi Emperor shook his head. "It will give you an identity first, and you must find a way to become Empress using that identity."
"That's simple. I'll just grant her the title directly." An Lin dismissed it lightly.
"When designing the simulator, that system claimed it incorporated the essence of a palace intrigue game. It said you must ascend as the victor of the palace intrigue to be recognized by the system."
An Lin: ...
Tsk.
What kind of system is this, with so much nonsense?
"How about this," An Lin considered, "I'll let only that new identity enter the palace alone. If there's only one person, she naturally takes first place and wins. Does that meet the requirement?"
The Chibi Emperor shook his head again with difficulty, looking somewhat apologetic. "Its requirement states that you must possess a specialty in one area, and must stand out among at least ten candidates to qualify as Empress."
Right, let me say it again: This system is such a nuisance.
"I love her, therefore she can be Empress. Her specialty is that the Emperor loves her deeply. Isn't that enough?" An Lin deadpanned, mentally weighing the option of hiring ten actors to stage a selection and palace intrigue drama.
After all, the system hadn't said actors were forbidden, so why not perform? She'd happily stage a Legend of Zhen Huan for it!
"All right, I've got an idea." An Lin turned to the Chibi Emperor. "Tell me about the new identity's background so I can prepare early." That way, I could tailor a palace intrigue script for her.
"The youngest daughter of Minister Ji's family, Ji Wanshuang." The Chibi Emperor's voice was hoarse. An Lin happened to be watching him and saw sorrow nearly spilling from his eyes, more helpless and pained than when he spoke of his kingdom's fall.
"She will die of her illness tonight," he said softly.
Realizing something, An Lin waited a moment before asking, "The daughter of Slick-Shouldered? Do you have... special feelings for her?"
Clearly, she mattered to him.
"...Yes." The Chibi Emperor nodded and began to recount slowly.
He said that when he was young, his second brother had disliked him and once deliberately pushed him into a pond during a palace banquet to humiliate him. His brother hadn't known Junming couldn't swim, and Junming had nearly drowned.
Ji Wanshuang had accompanied Minister Ji to the palace. She found Junming, gave him a branch to cling to, then called palace attendants to pull him out.
Thus began the first meeting between the unfavored prince Junming and Minister Ji's youngest daughter, Ji Wanshuang.
According to the Chibi Emperor's account, she was a quick-witted and calm young girl, steady in crises yet never lacking kindness, making her highly likable.
Their interactions would have ended there. Minister Ji still carried considerable weight at the old emperor's court and was someone both the Crown Prince and the Second Prince sought to win over. If Junming and Ji Wanshuang were seen together, they would surely draw suspicion and invite retaliation from both princes.
Later, however, the old emperor sent Junming away to establish his own residence, giving him a measure of freedom.
That led to their second meeting.
Junming witnessed Ji Wanshuang calmly rescue a girl sold to a human trafficker by her parents on the street. Later, the girl begged Ji Wanshuang to take her in as a maid, but Ji Wanshuang refused.
She simply took the girl to her family's clinic and asked whether she would help out there, learn a trade, and make a living for herself.
It's better to teach someone to fish than to give them a pond, as the saying goes.
It was during this incident that Junming developed an appreciation for Ji Wanshuang.
Afterwards, the two crossed paths more frequently outside the palace walls. They came to know each other and gradually developed romantic feelings.
Who could have known that after Junming ascended the throne, having prepared long ago for his wedding to Ji Wanshuang, he would instead face her death on their wedding day, turning joy into mourning?
In every subsequent restart, Junming tried to save her.
Whether he sent imperial physicians to tend to her before she fell ill, sought out so-called miracle doctors, or tried as a child to warn Minister Ji and his wife before the illness took root, it always ended the same way.
Just as the fall of his kingdom was a fate the Chibi Emperor had to endure, Ji Wanshuang's fatal illness was an inescapable destiny for that young woman.
Now even An Lin was at a loss for words.
What a tragedy for them both, a double bad ending for the lovers.
An Lin suspected the Chibi Emperor's own private wish had something to do with the Empress Simulator unlocking only now.
He simply wanted Ji Wanshuang to be Junming's Empress.
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