Chapter 651: Merit
Editor: Atlas Studios

Qi Xiuyuan returned to the harem angrily. That night, he ordered the imperial chefs to cook using the tributes offered by Qiannan, and nothing else. Since the treasury was empty, they shouldn’t waste any more money.

Almost as soon as Qi Xiuyuan finished dinner, his words spread outside. This time, not only did the officials in the court know, but even the commoners heard about it.

The second piece of news was that the Emperor praised the Liver Tonic Herb sent by Qiannan for clearing the liver and being beneficial for the ‘qi’. It was a good tea that could clear the internal heat and detoxify the poison.

The ministers understood what the Emperor meant. “His Majesty is helping to raise grains for Qiannan.”

Some ministers felt disdain in their hearts, feeling that the Emperor was lowering his status too much and losing the dignity of the royal family. However, more ministers were moved to tears and said, “It’s my fortune to have such a benevolent ruler. It’s the fortune of all the lords and the commoners in the world.”

The ministers agreed and spread the news. They were no longer disgusted by Prince Rong’s men shouting on the streets. Instead, they sent their servants to buy some local specialties from Qiannan and even specially instructed them to pay more.

If the officials of the previous dynasty did not do anything, it was not because they didn’t want to do something. Which of them did not enter officialdom with passion and ambitions to leave their name in history?

However, the macro-environment of Great Zhou did not allow for that. Emperor Jingyan did not like to deal with government affairs, while Minister Qin controlled the government and did nothing for the people. Those who embezzled and accepted bribes were valued more than those who were upright and uncorrupt. Over time, everyone became lazy.

Although it was difficult for them to change their bad habits overnight, the lofty sentiments that had been exhausted in their hearts were revived. Wasn’t it their fortune to meet a monarch who cared about the commoners and was willing to practice meritocracy?

Qi Xiuyuan did not know that his anger had unexpectedly helped him gain the loyalty of most of the court officials.

However, the commoners’ focus was different from that of officials. The thought that came to their minds was: ‘The Emperor was actually so poor?’

When buying things, the commoners couldn’t help but try to sound out the servants from Prince Rong’s estate. Recalling that Fourth Master often praised the kindness of the Emperor in front of others in Qiannan, he gathered a few quick-witted servants and gave them a simple training. Hence, when anyone asked again, the servants answered in this way.

“Our Eldest Master, His Majesty, was also immensely wealthy back then. Putting everything else aside, just the amount of gold, silver, and jewelry he seized from the Jin people in wars alone is immeasurable. Although our Prince Rong is slightly inferior to His Majesty, he also had a lot of money. Besides, he has a cousin—the Duke of Peaceful State—who is a shrewd businessman.”

“Then why is the Emperor so poor that he has to resort to eating these things?” The commoners did not believe it.

Sighing, the servant said, “Our two masters are rich, but unfortunately Great Zhou had emptied the national treasury. Minister Qin didn’t leave a single copper coin for the country. Don’t we need money to provide food relief? Don’t we need money to settle the refugees? Ignoring everything else, the Imperial Court has to distribute grain seeds and subsidize some farming tools at the beginning of spring, right? All these need money. Where did that money come from? His Majesty and His Highness sold everything they could from the beginning. The Duke of Peaceful State donated all his assets worth millions to Great Qi.”

“Oh my god…”

“In order not to alarm the people, His Majesty only let officials know about these things. I only found out when I occasionally heard His Highness talking to the Duke of Peaceful State. You’re not allowed to spread the news. His Majesty’s heart aches for the people and he’s unwilling to waste manpower and resources. Otherwise, look, what can the Emperor possibly be after? Beauties? Money? Power?”

“But our Emperor has ascended the throne for half a year, and there’s still only the Empress in the harem. Why? Isn’t it because it costs money to fill the harem with more women? I heard that His Majesty is using the things he previously used and didn’t order the purchase of any new items.”

The commoners loved to listen to gossip, especially the royal family’s gossip. They gathered around, but the voices of the servants were lowered so that only the few people in front of them could hear them.

He said, “Do you think the Prince’s estate is selling local specialties of Qiannan here to make money for itself? His Majesty is worried about the people in Qiannan and can’t bear to see them suffer. However, the treasury can’t fork out a cent of silver, so he could only ask Prince Rong to find a way to help the people of Qiannan survive. However, considering there’s a lot of miasma and poisonous insects in Qiannan, His Majesty knows that everyone is worried about these things. This was why he kept some of those food items for himself and tried it first before selling it to you…”

Tears welled up in the eyes of the commoners when they heard this. “His Majesty… His Majesty is so benevolent!” They knelt on the ground. The people behind did not know why, but when they saw the people in front of them kneeling, they also knelt down.

Zhu Liang rushed over and smacked the young fellow’s head with a glare. When an old man below saw this, he stood up shakily and grabbed Zhu Liang’s hand. He cried, “Butler, you can’t blame him. You should’ve told us about how His Majesty suffered for the people. Why hide it? Since this is good stuff, there’s no need for His Majesty to try it one by one. Come, I’ll buy ten sets. I’ll buy ten sets of each.”

“I also want ten sets of each…”

“I want 20.”

The people behind also stood up one after another and squeezed forward with their money. Squeezing out a smile, Zhu Liang said, “Everyone, slow down. I’ll get someone to wrap up the goods for you right away.” As he spoke, he pulled the servant back.

The old man said worriedly, “Please don’t make things difficult for that young lad. He was just being kind and couldn’t bear to see us puzzled, so he told us.”

Zhu Liang hurriedly smiled and pulled the young man to the back, then patted his head and said, “Who asked you to spout nonsense? I only taught you three sentences in total, but you multiplied that into a basket-full. Fortunately, you didn’t mess things up. If you had, even ten heads wouldn’t be enough to chop off.”

The servant shrunk his neck and said, “Butler, I know my mistake. But after I merely repeated those three sentences you taught me, the people in front refused to let me off…”

“You only needed to keep your mouth shut and smile. Surely they couldn’t force you? Go down and don’t say another word.”

Zhu Liang knew very well the essence of not being too explicit. What he wanted was to invoke a person’s imagination. Originally, he only instructed the servants to spread three sentences, but who knew that this kid would improvise and add so much more? He wiped the cold sweat on his forehead and hoped that things were still under control. He was really just trying to boost the popularity of the royal family.

Unexpectedly, that particular servant’s words spread throughout the streets and alleys the next day. Now, everyone knew how difficult the Emperor’s life was, and that these local specialties were sold to raise grain for the people of Qiannan.

They have had atrocious Great Zhou emperors for several generations, especially Emperor Jingyan of Lin’an City, who had been a preposterous ruler for more than 20 years. This being the first time everyone had seen such a hardworking and reliable Emperor, they were extremely touched. Even the commoners who hadn’t wanted to buy the local specialties of Qiannan rushed to the streets to buy some to show their gratitude towards the adorable Emperor.

On the third day, the 20-odd carts of local specialties that Zhu Liang had escorted over were sold out. When the commoners who rushed over from the neighboring provinces and counties did not manage to buy them, they even stomped their feet and beat their chest on the streets, wailing that they were too late.

Zhu Liang’s heart ached when he saw this. If he had known earlier, they would have worked harder to acquire more goods. At the thought of how much more money they could have earned, his heart ached unbearably.