Splendid Palace was Consort Xian's residence.
But now, it was occupied by Emperor Zhou.
Ever since Shen Jing had put the Yong Country Delegation under house arrest, Emperor Zhou had been under immense pressure every day.
These past few days, the imperial court had been in an uproar, and quite a few ministers had chased him to his bedchamber to remonstrate.
He was practically driven mad by those ministers.
Left with no choice, he could only run to Splendid Palace to find some peace and quiet.
He didn't know what that scoundrel Shen Jing was trying to do now.
He had also secretly sent people to ask Shen Jing, but Shen Jing only sent a message back, telling him to wait for good news.
Other than that, there wasn't a single superfluous word.
That scoundrel!
Couldn't he just explain things clearly first?
It made him lose sleep night after night.
Once this matter was over, he would definitely teach him a good lesson!
Just as Emperor Zhou was resting with his eyes closed, a palace maid from Splendid Palace rushed in to report: "Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has brought several ministers this way…"
"What?"
Emperor Zhou suddenly opened his eyes.
These ministers, in order to remonstrate, even brought out his mother?
Consort Xian gently patted Emperor Zhou's hand and softly advised: "Your Majesty, hiding like this isn't a solution. It's better to meet with the ministers! It's also a good thing that there are still ministers in court willing to remonstrate!"
Emperor Zhou pondered for a moment, then slowly stood up, "My dear concubine is right! I shall go meet them!"
With a heart full of helplessness, Emperor Zhou walked out.
As he stepped out of the inner room, the Empress Dowager, leading a group of ministers headed by Yao Jian, directly barged in.
Emperor Zhou's gaze sharpened, and he saw that several more ministers had joined today.
Emperor Zhou sighed lightly and stepped forward to bow, "Greetings, Mother!"
The Empress Dowager stepped forward, took Emperor Zhou's hand, patted it gently, and said earnestly: "I have always refrained from interfering in court affairs, but this time, Imperial Son, you have indeed gone too far!"
"You are the Emperor; no matter what, you cannot hide from these ministers in court! Doing so will chill the hearts of your subjects!"
"If one day you make a mistake and there isn't a single minister in court to remonstrate, our Great Zhou might just fall!"
The Empress Dowager's words were quite similar to Consort Xian's.
Emperor Zhou nodded gently: "Thank you for your mother's teachings, your son will remember them."
"Mm, it's good that you understand."
The Empress Dowager's face showed a relieved smile, then she turned to look at the assembled ministers, "And you all, too, remonstrate if you must, but don't always resort to this 'remonstrating to the death' tactic. The court can function without anyone!"
Everyone immediately bowed: "Your subjects will remember!"
The Empress Dowager chastised both sides equally, then instructed Emperor Zhou: "Imperial Son, go attend to important matters first! I will chat with Consort Xian."
"Yes!"
Emperor Zhou glanced at the Empress Dowager, then walked out of Splendid Palace, with a group of ministers quickly following him.
Consort Xian stepped forward to support the Empress Dowager, leading her into the inner room to sit down.
"What exactly is going on with this matter?"
As soon as the Empress Dowager sat down, she began to inquire: "How could Imperial Son indulge Shen Jing's recklessness to such an extent?"
Consort Xian gave a wry smile, "Let alone your humble concubine not knowing, even His Majesty doesn't know."
"No… this…"
The Empress Dowager was confused by Consort Xian's words, "Imperial Son doesn't even know, yet he still indulges Shen Jing so much? Isn't this just blind messing around?"
Consort Xian said with utter helplessness: "Your humble concubine only knows that His Majesty is cooperating with Shen Jing, but as for the specifics, your humble concubine truly doesn't know! However, your humble concubine believes that since His Majesty trusts Shen Jing so much, there must be a reason! And your humble concubine has met Shen Jing; this child is quite good…"
Consort Xian tried her best to speak well of Shen Jing.
If others wanted to trouble Shen Jing, His Majesty could still keep them in check.
But if the Empress Dowager stepped in to trouble Shen Jing, then it would be difficult to handle.
While Consort Xian was speaking with the Empress Dowager, Emperor Zhou also arrived at the Imperial Study with a group of ministers.
"Say whatever remonstrances you have! Keep your voices down, don't make a racket, I have a terrible headache!"
Emperor Zhou sat down, rubbing his head wearily, secretly wondering if he should summon Shen Jing to the palace to question him.
If this continued, he wouldn't be able to withstand the remonstrances of so many ministers!
Yao Jian was the first to step forward, bowing and saying: "No matter what His Majesty's purpose is, he should not indulge Shen Jing in putting another country's envoy under house arrest! His Majesty should also be clear about the situation in the imperial court; even if our dynasty is to prepare for war, we cannot prepare so hastily! If the common people of the world knew that it was because His Majesty indulged Shen Jing in putting another country's envoy under house arrest that led to war between the two countries, public support would surely be lost…"
Yao Jian remonstrated with full vigor, his arguments clear and well-reasoned.
Indeed, the imperial court had begun to prepare for war!
But how could there be any logic in preparing for war without even a discussion?
Directly going to war with Yong Country was the last resort.
If a peaceful solution to the current problem could be found, peace should still be prioritized.
After all, Great Zhou had so little left in its coffers; it really couldn't withstand any more upheaval.
"What Chancellor Yao said is precisely what your humble subject wanted to say. Since ancient times, when two countries go to war, they emphasize having a just cause! By putting another country's envoy under house arrest, our dynasty is at a disadvantage in terms of legitimacy!"
"Our dynasty and Yong Country still had the possibility of negotiation, but with His Majesty indulging Shen Jing in such a commotion, even if there's still a possibility of negotiation, we will be at a disadvantage during the talks…"
"Your subject humbly requests His Majesty to punish Shen Jing to appease the anger of the Yong Country Delegation…"
"Your subject seconds that…"
Soon, a group of ministers began to remonstrate one after another.
They were basically the same words that had made Emperor Zhou's ears calloused.
Just as Emperor Zhou was suffering from a headache, Hulü Xian and Gao Yin were also secretly chatting with Shen Jing.
Hulü Xian did not immediately get straight to the point with Shen Jing, but instead chatted with him about various topics.
After a round of conversation, Hulü Xian indeed discovered something.
Shen Jing had extraordinary insights and unique, even sharp, perspectives on many things.
He truly seemed like someone capable of great things!
The key was that Shen Jing was willing to talk to him!
That meant Shen Jing was still very tempted by the conditions Gao Yin offered!
"We are very interested in the elixir in Marquis Shen's hands."
After some small talk, Hulü Xian finally got to the point, "As long as Marquis Shen is willing to give us the elixir formula…"
"The elixir formula is impossible to give to you!"
Shen Jing shook his head, "Before I see tangible benefits, if you want elixirs, buy them from me!"
"Isn't that inappropriate?"
Hulü Xian frowned, "Without the elixir formula, how can we guarantee whether the elixirs Marquis Shen gives us are real or fake, or if they're poisoned?"
"And if I give you the elixir formula, how can I guarantee that you won't cross the river and demolish the bridge?" Shen Jing retorted.
"This…"
Hulü Xian was speechless.
That was indeed a problem.
"Don't worry, I won't cut off my own source of wealth! If I act recklessly, what good would it do me if you come seeking redress?"
Shen Jing smiled, "Moreover, I can make a significant concession on the price of the elixirs, as long as you agree to one condition of mine!"
"What condition?"
Gao Yin asked impatiently.
"I hope you negotiate with our dynasty, requesting that our dynasty replace other tributes with white sugar!"
"White sugar?"
Gao Yin and Hulü Xian were slightly stunned, looking at Shen Jing in confusion, "Why does Marquis Shen have such a request?"
Shen Jing smiled, "A friend of mine can make white sugar, and the cost is much lower than the white sugar made by the imperial court! Conveniently, you Yong people have a sweet tooth, so it's perfectly justifiable…"
So that's it!
He wanted the Great Zhou court to purchase white sugar from his friend!
In this way, they could make a huge profit!
Hulü Xian pondered for a moment, then said with a half-smile: "Using this white sugar to replace tribute won't be of much benefit to our dynasty!"
"How is there no benefit?"
Shen Jing said indifferently, "If you sell the white sugar, isn't that silver? You can demand as much white sugar as possible from our dynasty!"