Mid-October, the weather had already turned cold. Of course, in some regions, the late autumn sun might still bring a few days of scorching heat.
Today, outside Shuangyue City, an army clad in armor and wielding sharp blades, escorting carts pulled by weary horses, was entering the city.
Having received prior notice, the Five City Patrol and Guard Department did not obstruct them but allowed them passage.
Thus, the convoy entered the city through the side gates on either flank.
Within Shuangyue City, over ten thousand men from the Five City Patrol and Guard Department, along with a small contingent of the Imperial Guard, maintained order, standing along both sides of the main thoroughfare.
Countless citizens lined the streets, watching the convoy's arrival.
"Oh my, is this autumn grain? How can the imperial court have so much autumn grain this year?"
On the street, a burly man stared with wide eyes, incredulous at the approaching convoy.
"That's unlikely, isn't it? They've escorted autumn grain to the capital's granaries in previous years, but never this much. It seems endless!"
An aunt said disbelievingly.
"Hmph, what do you know? The carts aren't sealed at the back. What else could those sacks be if not grain? And this isn't the court's grain. How could the court possibly have so much?"
A scholar said dismissively.
The scholar's disdain annoyed the burly man greatly. He retorted, "Hey, you poor scholar! You say it's grain but then say it's not the court's grain. Besides the court, who else in this world has such a vast amount of grain to be transported to the capital? Do you think the lords have colluded to transport so much grain to sell to us?"
"Even if you can't read a single character, you can recognize pictures, right? Lift your head and take a good look at the flag on the cart. Is it the Shuangyue flag?"
The scholar remained dismissive, pointing to the top of the carts.
The nearby populace looked up. Indeed, the flag at the front of the carts was not the Shuangyue flag. Instead, it featured two full moons in the center, surrounded by over a dozen stars – the unique Double Moon and Stars banner of the imperial family, also known as the Starry Sky Banner.
"It really is the Starry Sky Banner. But where did the imperial family get so much grain?"
The aunt exclaimed with a hint of confusion.
"I don't know about that. However, since last year, the imperial family has been engaging in trade with neighboring countries. Perhaps they purchased it from abroad and transported it back."
The poor scholar said somewhat awkwardly, admitting his ignorance on this matter.
There was no court assembly today, and the ministers were all at their homes. Upon hearing about this from their servants, they all came to the main thoroughfare and stared, dumbfounded, at the carts laden with grain.
Qian Jieren, the Minister of Revenue, felt both joy and disappointment. He was happy that the imperial family possessed such grain, proving that the entire Yunyue Kingdom was becoming prosperous, unlike its previous state of near collapse.
However, he was disappointed that this was imperial grain and not that of his ministry. This was truly frustrating.
For the past year or so, the Ministry of Revenue had been short of money and grain, relying entirely on the Empress's private treasury to subsidize the court, preventing the ministry from collapsing and the court from falling apart. But this situation was ultimately abnormal. The court still needed to find ways to become self-sufficient.
Otherwise, if they continued to rely on the Empress's private treasury, how could any of the civil and military officials stand tall and speak loudly when facing the Empress? Most of the time, they couldn't even let out a proper fart, let alone speak boldly. This was because without money in their pockets, they dared not speak loudly.
"Strange, how does His Majesty have so much grain?"
Qian Jieren muttered, puzzled and unable to figure it out.
If the Minister of Revenue was still in the dark, the other ministers were even more so. However, they were all very pleased. After all, whether the Empress had grain and the court did not was not a significant difference. At most, they would have to kneel instead of stand when serving as officials in the future. Would the Empress really let them starve?
Within the imperial palace, the Empress stood by the granary with great delight, awaiting the grain's arrival.
Beside her were Chu Chen, Princess Xinyue, and four other princesses.
"Mother, how much longer until this grain arrives? We've been waiting for a quarter of an hour, and I'm so bored."
Fourth Princess Hanxiu clasped her jade hands together, fidgeting, growing impatient.
"Hanxiu, you should learn from your sister Xinyue. Look at yourself now, you're not even as good as Xinyue!"
The Empress reprimanded her, displeased.
Princess Xinyue's lips curved slightly. Once upon a time, she was the one being reprimanded. Now, she had become a role model. This felt... so satisfying.
"Tch, isn't it just because Fifth Sister has a husband and has reined in her temper? And such a capable husband at that. If Mother had matched Chu Chen with me, I could be like this too!"
Princess Hanxiu sneered at Princess Xinyue, retorting unhappily.
Her words first made Princess Xinyue blush, but the latter part of her statement also displeased her. She immediately said, "Fourth Sister, why are you still thinking about Chu Chen? I advise you to give up on that idea. Chu Chen is destined to be mine!"
"Tch~" Fourth Princess Hanxiu pouted unhappily and mumbled, "I don't know what's so great about Fifth Sister. She used to be so spoiled and willful, always threatening to take lives. Among the five princesses, I am clearly the best and most well-behaved."
Fourth Princess Hanxiu's seemingly mumbled words were heard by everyone present.
The Empress looked at the First Princess Baihua, Second Princess Mengdie, and Third Princess Yunting with a half-smile. Chu Chen, on the other hand, felt quite helpless.
It seemed that being too outstanding was also a problem, leading to too many women vying for attention!
Princess Xinyue gritted her teeth, glaring at her imperial sister, clearly displeased.
Then, her eyes darted, and she directly took Chu Chen's arm, raising her eyebrows at her four sisters and smiling.
First Princess Baihua smiled faintly, showing no reaction. Second Princess Mengdie's eyes flashed with a hint of coldness, her heart filled with extreme resentment. Third Princess Yunting frowned, harboring anger and unwillingness, yet feeling powerless.
Only Fourth Princess Hanxiu continued to wave her jade hands indifferently.
Chu Chen glanced at the four princesses. Besides Princess Xinyue, he had interacted most with Third Princess Yunting. He rarely saw First Princess Baihua, and he had only met Fourth Princess Hanxiu once during the court session when his false eunuch identity was revealed.
It was only Second Princess Mengdie, whose gaze, detected by Chu Chen's Qi Condensation realm spiritual sense, carried a cold glint and a hint of madness, as if harboring murderous intent. This made him instantly vigilant.
"What is going on? What's with this Second Princess? I don't think I've offended her to death, have I? Hmm, no!"
He initially thought the gaze was directed at him, but upon closer examination, Chu Chen realized it was not aimed at him but at Princess Xinyue beside him.
To be precise, it was directed at the part of her arm holding his, but their sizes were similar, so it shouldn't be like this!
Chu Chen was bewildered. He looked slightly towards the Empress and was greatly shocked.
He could vaguely sense a trace of spiritual pressure emanating from the Empress.
"Her Majesty actually possesses cultivation? And she's stronger than me? How is this possible!"
Chu Chen was astonished.