Inside the palace, Emperor Guangwu was reading and annotating memorials by lamplight. It has to be said that he was a very diligent emperor. The new dynasty had just been established, with many things waiting to be revived, court regulations, people's livelihoods, border wars, all awaiting his red brush.

  At present, he is most concerned about the war situation at both ends of the north and south.

  A few days ago, I received a secret report sent by Xie Yan. This was the first time Xie Yan had used this line of communication since their private agreement. However, judging from the content of the report, it didn't seem to be extremely urgent.

  It is mentioned in the document that due to the prolonged war, military rations need to be prepared. In the previous report to the imperial court, 300,000 dan of military rations were required, but recently the Ministry of Revenue replied that it was temporarily impossible to make up for them, and the date for making up for them was not yet certain. Xie Zhen repeatedly mentioned in his letter the importance of preparing military rations, hoping that Your Majesty would take care of this matter.

  From the content, there was no complaint about the household's food during this period, but in the words, I hoped to put pressure on the household.

  Emperor Guangwu knew that Xie Chen had been plotting with him for many years, enduring humiliation and hardship, he was not a person who loved to cause trouble. However, the Ministry of Revenue had always been managed by his respected elder, Pei's father Pei Zuo, who also held him in high esteem.

  After careful consideration, Emperor Guangwu decided to ask the Ministry of Revenue to sort out and report on the latest military grain procurement and arrangement plans before making a decision.

  The next day, the Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Pei Cui, entered the palace to pay his respects and presented all the contents that Emperor Guangwu wanted in a memorial, which he handed over to Emperor Guangwu in person.

  Pei Zuo was a man of dignified appearance and had a reputation for talent from his youth. During the reign of the previous emperor, he rose to the position of Minister of Personnel. Before Emperor Guangwu's enthronement, he moved his whole family across the Yangtze River in advance, and as the emperor personally appointed him, he was put in charge of the Ministry of Revenue.

  They had two sons and one daughter, the daughter was married off as a concubine, both sons followed in his military footsteps. The elder son took charge of the capital's defense, while the younger son led troops to recover Fujian and Guangdong. By this generation, the Pei family could not be said to be without glory.

  Emperor Guangwu finished reading the memorial and saw his father-in-law, An Tai, standing below him with a calm and composed expression, just as he usually was.

  "Yes, the report is very detailed, the Ministry of Revenue has done its best." Emperor Guangwu smiled and said to Pei Zhang. "But now that the court is at war on both sides, the military grain cannot be delayed. By the way, what about the grain and grass from Ahzhu's side?"

  This was also not the first time that Emperor Guangwu directly addressed Xie as "Azhuan" in front of his ministers, whether it was a slip of the tongue or intentional, it revealed the fact that the two had a close relationship despite their age difference.

  Pei Zhuo's heart skipped a beat. Actually, in the past few days, the Emperor had ordered the Ministry of Revenue to sort out the memorials, and he had already guessed a bit.

  "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the 300,000 dan of grain previously requested. I am in the process of arranging it. However..." He deliberately paused for a moment, wanting to gauge from Emperor Guangwu's expression whether his guess was correct. Unfortunately, the emperor was currently looking down at other memorials and couldn't see his face.

  He took a deep breath and continued: "It's just that our dynasty has just been established, and it's not good to disturb the people. Therefore, the matter of collecting grain is quite troublesome. If we're not careful, we'll provoke public resentment."

  "What's this?" Emperor Guangwu heard the two words "people's grievances" and suddenly raised his head, asking somewhat nervously: "Has something happened? Why haven't you mentioned it before?"

  Pei Zhao hastily stepped forward to report: "Nothing major has happened, Your Majesty need not worry. The problem is that last year's autumn harvest was poor and coincided with the transition from old to new, making it even more difficult to collect."

  This makes sense, it's a busy autumn with poor harvests, so naturally things can't be done as usual. The imperial court wants what they want, but the people's livelihood is also important. Saying this, Emperor Guangwu would definitely not think that the Ministry of Revenue is intentionally making things difficult.

  To further express his concern, Pei Zuo continued: "The Emperor's trusted general, leading the army to the southern border. I had also thought that as a private individual, I would like to speak frankly and hope that we can prepare enough food for the whole year in advance, so that when the war situation becomes tense, we will be ready to fight on all fronts. However, it is not that the Ministry of Revenue is shirking its responsibility, but rather the situation is special. But after I explained this to the Emperor's trusted general, he expressed his understanding and promised to try not to burden the court. If there are things that can be solved locally, then let the southern army solve them locally, which would also be a good solution."

  His own son is leading troops in battle outside, and he can't guarantee that he will be able to provide enough military supplies on time, let alone for someone else.

  Although these words are somewhat biased, they seem to be different from the ordinary. But precisely because it looks like a distinction between intimacy and distance, in reality, it is urgent for the imperial court, and it also comes up with its own solution, which shows the difficulty of grain collection and the sincerity of the Pei family.

  "But I, your old minister, will do my utmost to ensure the frontline supplies." Pei Zuo said, getting excited, then immediately changed to kneeling and swearing an oath, not giving Emperor Guangwu any time to react.

  The old man has said so, and Emperor Guangwu had no more doubts, and it was not good to mention them. Then, Liu Xiu left him and talked for a while, and asked the person to leave the palace.

  Xie Xuan received Emperor Guangwu's letter a day later, and seeing the sincere words in it, he was quite concerned. His heart was still warm. However, the letter did not mention anything about the 3 million dan of grain, leaving him feeling somewhat downcast.

  As expected, this old fellow had a good reason in advance, and even Emperor Guangwu couldn't find out the exact date. If the military rations didn't arrive on time, the previously planned battle plan would have an added uncertainty.

  Although it is not fatal at present, if this situation continues, the Ministry of Revenue will take control of military rations and hold itself and its army hostage. In the long run, it is not beneficial to the imperial court.

  Although there was no solid evidence, the Pei family had such great favor in the imperial court and the palace that it was difficult to directly express his actual speculation to the emperor. Xie Lin suddenly felt himself trapped in a swamp, unable to pull his legs out.

  On the other side of the city, Qin Miao had long been guarding the gate of Yi'anju with the women of his household. Afraid that Old Lady would be tired from standing for too long, they planned to send someone to inform her at Beiyuan after the princess woke up.

  Xie Wei was also dragged up by Qin Miao very early, and now she still had some drowsiness.

  "Sister-in-law, why are we coming so early? The princess hasn't even finished getting dressed yet."

  Qin Miaobai gave her a glance, leaned in close to her ear and whispered: "The first formal meeting, with such an imperial noble status, we should naturally be more courteous, take the initiative to pay respects, how can we let others announce our arrival before coming."

  This was her habit of doing business and getting along with people for many years. The more distinguished the guest, the more she wanted to make them feel that they were being taken care of, and everything was being done with their needs in mind. Last night before going to sleep, Old Lady had actually given some instructions as well.

  Qin Miao was even more afraid of being lazy, and as soon as the sky was bright, she had the maids go to each room and courtyard to wake everyone up.

  Xie Wei couldn't help but roll her eyes, although she and Qin Miao were of similar age, the way she thought about things was never as meticulous as her elder sister-in-law. No wonder her brother and grandmother always told her to follow her sister-in-law's example in managing household affairs.

  "Sister is right!" She smiled at Qin Miao and accompanied him while standing up straight.

  Inside the house, Yian had already finished washing and dressing under the service of the maids. She took off her palace attire and changed into a light yellow skirt, which suited her tender age.

  "The princess looks great in this outfit!" The maid beside her was choosing hairpins and earrings for her, seeing that she had a rosy complexion and a good mood when she got up this morning, so she praised her.

  This boast really made Yi An feel very pleased.

  The clothes were personally selected by her, not for anything else, but to set off her freshness. Today, she will officially meet Qin Miao, a big belly woman, who is several years older than herself, how can she compare with her own youthful beauty and slender figure?

  Even though they haven't met yet, just thinking about it makes her secretly excited.

  "You have a good eye for things. This fabric was specially selected by the empress dowager from the tribute goods brought from Jiangnan, and it's extremely valuable."

  She helped the princess tidy up her hair, took a glance in the mirror, and smiled with her eyebrows: "That's natural. Your Majesty and the Queen Mother have only one pearl like you, so naturally everything is the best." She had been accompanying the princess since she was young, with a clever mouth, relying on some emotional connection, and speaking more boldly than ordinary maidservants in daily life.

  "If Lord Xie were here today, he would surely be able to tell which one is more handsome."

  The princess's thoughts had never been hidden from her, so she was bolder this time. Indeed, as soon as Yi An heard Xie Yan, her face turned slightly red.

  "You're so glib, why don't you go be a matchmaker!"

  A house full of girls laughed and made a fuss for a long time, unaware that the Xie family had been waiting outside for almost an hour, including old Mrs. Xie who had arrived more than half an hour ago.

  "The princess has finished her breakfast, please enter and pay your respects, ladies!"