The capital became hotter and hotter. Even though every day there was an unending stream of ice being brought in on carts from as far as the icehouse in the capital's suburbs to the Palace, the inside of the Imperial Palace still remained very hot. Jiang Changbai spent the overwhelming majority of the day hunched over the table responding to memorials, but the person fanning her had changed from Xun Zhu into a new palace maid. And Xun Zhu was only employed to stand and attend at her side, waiting for Jiang Changbai's instructions prompted by sudden impulse. But it seemed as if these instructions wouldn't emerge at all within a day. Jiang Changbai had wholeheartedly thrown herself into the memorials on the table. The Great Li hadn't appointed a Grand Chancellor; when the past few generations of emperors had been on the throne, they'd all specially appointed ministers to constitute a cabinet, to first attend to the memorials that had been sent in and read them over, a...

Chun Ping's immature, tender nails scratched at Song Shijiu's palm, her face still lacking an expression in the slightest, not even clever obedience, only biting her lip as she gazed at her, not intending to speak one more word. In her sparse brows and the furrowed ridge of her brows, Song Shijiu felt a rather vigorous obstinance, seeping out of the thin, weak girl, as if seeing the the Li Shiyi of then, wandering about in a desperate plight and not fond of speaking. She counted herself as incredibly fortunate; the divine bones bestowed by the heavens were wanton and unrestrained, and by the time she'd been reincarnated, she was also protected well by Li Shiyi, growing to be lovely and innocent and at ease, never having had a time where she endured hardships. Thinking on it carefully, the greatest hardship she'd endured was nothing more than previously chasing after Li Shiyi's love, yet not gaining it. However, now she had Li Shiyi, and she was satisfied to the poin...

The closed paper umbrella leaned against the wall, smudged with unrestrained watermarks, as if it and the rain had engaged in a tussle for many days, and at this moment, body weary and strength exhausted, it dripped blood. The steam on the surface of the table was the best salvation, enough to take mercy on the night travellers, their stomachs rumbling with hunger. The people in the room sat at a single table, gazing inquisitively at the child before them. The clothes she'd been wearing had been swapped for Song Shijiu's coat, the long sleeves folded up in layer after layer, and her face had been wiped with a towel, unexpectedly expressing a degree of delicacy. Her dripping wet braids had yet to be loosened, only having been wrapped up in cotton cloth to absorb the water. She was incredibly thin, her wrists abrupt as craggy stones, and at this moment, her shoulders were drawn up, and she gazed silently at the broth wontons before her whose fragrant scent entered her nose. In th...

Jiang Changbai, hearing this, was startled, her eyes unconsciously widening. Xie Qianbing, on seeing this, couldn't help but become panicked, standing up from the chair in a flash, advancing a step forward, about to kneel down. Jiang Chngbai got up, wanting to hold her up, but, having barely stood up, she sat back down again, only quietly and calmly waiting for Xie Qianbing to explain. "For these years, this minister's food and clothing were all paid for by the Prince's residence, and there were barely any expenses. The things you gifted this minister in the past were all kept in my home. Bixia has always been this minister's master, at the Prince's residence, and even more now. "Last night, in a night terror, I heard that the state had difficulties and needed money, and I hated my inability to do anything. Thinking on it for a long while, I could only take everything in my home that could be sold off to be pawned, thinking that whatever I could exchange i...

In the square at the doors of the Shengru Palace, Wei Xiren and Wu Dongmu stood, one at the left one at the right, hands behind their backs, in the middle of the group of people. Now, it was already wushi, [1] precisely the time of day when the sun was most burning; standing entirely unhidden beneath the sun, the group of great ministers all felt somewhat unable to bear it. Although Jiang Changbai stood beneath the shade of an umbrella, she also felt that the surroundings were incredibly stifling, the dry heat pent up in the heart. But in the middle of the group, between the two of them, Wei Xiren and Wu Dongmu, a thread of breeze rose for no reason, faintly lifting her clothes up and ruffling them. She wore a navy blue, close-fitting outfit, neat and orderly, and seemed to have great confidence in her own marital skills, the gaze of her eyes towards Wu Dongmu filled with disdain. Wu Dongmu had resided in a high position for a long time, and it seemed that the people by his side were ...

Liu Zihe didn't dare to speak, and still only kept his head lowered. Yet Song Juguang was unforgiving. "Now, when the court has needs, how come you didn't act as an example?" Liu Zihe lowered his head even further, even raising his voice to blame others. Song Juguang didn't pay attention to him, and walked to Wu Dongmu's side. "Only on leaving the capital did I hear that Wu-daren had spent money a great deal of riches to buy a painting from the previous dynasty, yet he can't draw out any money now?" At this, Wu Dongmu also shirked responsibility. When Song Juguang had entered just then, her face had still carried a smile, but now, that smiling expression had dispersed entirely. Suddenly furious, a foot kicked Wu Dongmu's chest, causing him to fall a few meters away. "A Guang." Only then did Jiang Changbai speak, stopping her. Song Juguang, hearing this, drew back her vicious behaviour, and turned around, walking to the front of the ...

Translator's note: I just realised that I'd been misreading Wei Xiren's name as Wei Sharen the entire time, and went back to fix that in the previous chapters, so if you're wondering "Who on earth is Wei Xiren", that's what happened. - The Great Li's territory was great, and the common people were uncountable. However, the state treasury had been in debt for many years, and had actually been relying on progressively levying taxes to maintain its operations. Jiang Changbai had always been within the Prince's residence, and had only known that Emperor Tai was extravagant, but hadn't imagined that the extravagance had actually come to this point. Merely for the semi-annual hunt, five hundred thousand liang of silver was used; it had to be known that one liang of silver was sufficient to cover the expenditures of a common household within Beijing for a year. Now, the Great Li had only just faced internal disorder, especially the capital to the nort...