EWRN - Chapter 3
Chapter 3: The Emperor Wants to Ruin the Nation (II)
After the evening meal, Huo Jinyu played with Huo Jincheng for a while longer before having Eunuch Li escort the Third Prince back. Seeing the sovereign playing with the Third Prince, it was as if the former Crown Prince had returned, allowing Eunuch Wang and Eunuch Li to breathe a sigh of relief.
After a day to process, Huo Jinyu had mostly accepted the fact that she had been reborn several decades in the past. She also realized that her aura today had been far too imposing, a stark contrast to her previous gentle, jade-like temperament. She feared it would arouse unnecessary suspicion. Her throne wasn't even warm yet, and that bunch of old fogeys were probably just itching for her to be kicked off it.
Huo Jinyu vaguely remembered that before her ascension, Prime Minister Bai had wanted to act as regent. How, in her past life, had she failed to see that shameless old man's true face?
Although Huo Jinyu wanted to ruin the country, this was her choice to make, not something to be forced upon her. In her past life, she had never intended to occupy the throne, but since she had inherited it, she had diligently fulfilled her duties as a monarch. She always considered the welfare of her people, but she had forgotten to leave herself an escape route.
Things were different now. She needed to secure an escape route for herself. At this thought, Huo Jinyu's mind turned to her private treasury.
The inner treasury was built in extreme secrecy; only successive emperors knew its location. Unlike the national treasury, which was built north of the Hall of Imperial Governance, this one was constructed underground. It was exceedingly sturdy and airtight, with only two entrances and numerous traps within. The main entrance was heavily guarded day and night, while the side entrance was located inside the study. The corridor was airless; only when one of the two entrances was opened would a series of mechanisms trigger the opening of a ventilation shaft. If any intruder were to hide inside the corridor, they would eventually suffocate.
Huo Jinyu dismissed her attendants and paced into her bedchamber alone. She turned a post on the inner side of the dragon bed. With the sound of a mechanism, the entire bed lifted upwards, revealing a secret passage. She turned sideways and stepped inside.
Previous emperors had all hidden the inner treasury in a side chamber of their bedchambers, lest a master thief, failing to steal the treasure, might take the emperor’s life instead. But Huo Jinyu was different. She preferred to keep her valuables close. Having practiced martial arts since childhood, she had no fear of assassins.
The inner treasury was filled to the brim with gold and silver. All sorts of rare treasures were sorted and stacked in different compartments. There were items left by her Imperial Father, heirlooms passed down through generations of ancestors, and wealth that Huo Jinyu herself had accumulated since birth.
She remembered the great drought in the twenty-fifth year of the Jinxi reign in her past life. The national treasury had been emptied without alleviating the disaster, forcing her to supplement it with her private funds. In the end, it took a vast sum to bring the effects of the disaster under control. At the time, she had been so frantic that she failed to notice anything amiss. Now, with an outsider's perspective, she could think it over carefully and sense that something was wrong. During her reign, the Great Yuan Kingdom, if not at its zenith, was prosperous and flourishing. Although she had reduced taxes, the national treasury shouldn't have been so empty that it couldn't withstand a moderate drought. Her miserable death in her past life had left behind a mountain of mysteries. In this life, she would personally drag out this scum and have them dismembered by five horses!
Looking at the floor covered in gold and silver, Huo Jinyu thought of an old saying: money must be spent where it counts. In her past life, she had never enjoyed the treasures in her private treasury, not even at the moment of her death. In this life, the heavens had been kind enough to let her start over. She had to cherish this chance to enjoy herself.
To become a proper monarch of a ruined state, indulging in riches, wine, and debauchery was the most basic requirement. Besides, to control everything—the world, the political situation, even the course of history—strength was essential. In her past life, no matter how great her martial skill, she could not stand against the masses. Strength was not merely personal; more importantly, it was military power. Currently, military authority was not yet in her hands. This gold and silver was just sitting here, so why not use it to forge an army completely under her own control?
How wonderful!
The thought of holding everything in her own hands made Huo Jinyu let out a low laugh.
Back in her bedchamber, Huo Jinyu carefully considered the relationships between the various houses. Currently at court, the Prime Minister's family was singularly powerful, with his network extending into all Six Ministries. To get a temporary hold on the Prime Minister, she could start with his second daughter, Bai Qing. Bai Qing was born to the Prime Minister's first wife, making her the legitimate daughter of the Prime Minister's estate. In her past life, despite being betrothed to Hou Yuwen, the legitimate son of the Hou family, Bai Qing had an affair with a scholar. When her husband's family discovered it, the scandal rocked the entire city. But the old Prime Minister doted on his daughter and did everything in his power to salvage the situation, eventually placating the General's family. It was unknown what secret deal they struck, but the second miss was somehow able to continue living comfortably in the General's residence, becoming the talk of the imperial city for a time.
She wondered what kind of drama would unfold in this life if she, Huo Jinyu, were to marry this second daughter of the Prime Minister's estate.
She would deliberately sever the connection between the General's estate and the Prime Minister's estate. Then she would see how they could possibly vie with the Son of Heaven!
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