"Imperial Censor Zhang's loyalty shines as bright as the sun and moon, and I am deeply moved. Have an imperial physician examine him. Let Imperial Censor Zhang rest at home and recover fully before returning to the Censorate for duty."
Shen Yunyun turned to look at the Empress Dowager. The words were beautifully spoken, but judging by her expression, something felt off.
Could it be that Imperial Censor Zhang would remain ill forever?
Before she could figure it out, she heard the Empress Dowager continue:
"Now, let all ministers discuss the matter of the northern drought."
"Your subject believes the court should open the granaries and distribute grain to pacify the people, lest chaos arise," the Grand Marshal stepped forward, holding his tablet.
"Easy to say—open the granaries and distribute grain. But we need grain to distribute," the Minister of Revenue said with a grim face, clutching his tablet in resignation.
"How could the treasury be empty? What about the annual taxes? How are you managing as Minister of Revenue?" the Minister of War immediately voiced his displeasure.
"You only see the annual taxes, not the annual expenditures. Every year, we pay tribute of one hundred thousand shi of grain to both Northern Yan and Southern Chu. On top of that, we must support the military. Do you know how much grain a hundred thousand soldiers consume in a day? And then there are the officials' salaries—all of these are expenses."
"So you're saying we should just ignore the northern drought?"
The Minister of Revenue clasped his hands and muttered, "Even if we want to help, we need the means to do so."
Shen Yunyun witnessed the Empress Dowager's tactics and also sensed her struggles.
She was ruling from behind the curtain now—surely she faced no shortage of opposition from the old guard?
Given the way that censor had rammed the pillar, scenes like this probably weren't rare.
She felt a pang of sympathy for the young Empress Dowager. Still, at least she had once been the leader of the military officials, so she wasn't entirely isolated in court.
But the Minister of Revenue's attitude clearly showed he wasn't willing to cooperate.
Was the court still unstable?
Were there still people eyeing Little Tangyuan's throne?
She had only stopped listening for a moment, and somehow the court had erupted into a quarrel.
Her eyes were opened wide. She had thought these ministers would play subtle games—smiling to each other's faces, pretending all was well, while secretly tripping each other up, digging traps, and letting their rivals fall into them.
You'd be schemed against, knowing full well who did it, but unable to find any evidence.
Then they'd trip you up in return, scheming against you.
But the scene before her was clearly not that—it was outright bickering.
Their way of arguing wasn't much different from village women hopping around and shouting at each other. If there was any difference, it was that educated men had more refined insults.
And the military officials weren't what she had imagined—high on combat skill but slow with words.
In fact, they weren't slow at all.
At least some of them were quite eloquent.
She had thought as much—how could someone too clumsy to express themselves lead troops well?
The Empress Dowager remained silent, letting them argue.
It was as if the incident with Imperial Censor Zhang ramming the pillar had never happened. Everyone just went about their business.
She had to admit, the Empress Dowager had her methods.
Once the ministers had argued enough, the Empress Dowager finally spoke: "The matter of the drought will be discussed later. Minister of Revenue, Minister of War, Duke of Zhenguo, General Fuyuan, and Grand Marshal—report to the Imperial Study for deliberation. Court is dismissed."
"Dismissed~" the young eunuch stretched his neck and called out loudly.
All the ministers knelt and kowtowed.
Amid the chorus of farewells, the Empress Dowager headed toward the back door, and Shen Yunyun quickly followed.
A young eunuch carried Little Tangyuan out as well, originally intending to take him to the bedchamber. But Little Tangyuan twisted his body toward the Empress Dowager's direction, babbling.
His intent was obvious—he wanted to go over there.