The Minister of the Left quickly said, "This old man dares not."
Dongfang Haotian didn't want them to continue arguing, so he said: "The salt official just spoke about the situation in Yan City. I'm afraid that we'll have to buy salt from another country for emergency use."
Leng Qiyue smiled. "This matter can be discussed later …"
"Empress, this matter concerns the lives of the people and cannot be discussed later." The Minister of the Left insisted.
Leng Qiyue frowned and said, "Alright, you guys go ahead and discuss it. I'll wait." She sat down in a chair to the side.
Zuo Xiang looked at the emperor and saw that he didn't object, so he didn't say anything more.
The salt official looked at Leng Qiyue with dissatisfaction, then said to the emperor, "Your majesty, Salt City has been raining for three consecutive months and is shrouded in dark clouds. Without sunlight, it is impossible for salt to be produced.
Zuo Xiang continued, "Your Majesty, in order to prevent the loss of salt, it would be better to increase the price of salt. This way, the commoners wouldn't have to stock up on salt because of the desolation."
The salt official continued, "No, there are already rumors everywhere. If we raise prices too quickly, it will only confirm the rumors and cause panic among the people. I hope that your majesty will reconsider. "
The Minister of the Left said unhappily, "If we don't raise the price of the salt, how can we explain this to the people when there is no salt after two months? Some wealthy merchants with good connections have already started hoarding salt. When the price of salt is comparable to gold, people will rebel if they can't afford it. "
The salt officer retorted, "Is it going to rain for another two months? Yan City has always had less rain, but this year's rainfall was only quite plentiful. It will stop in another ten days or so, and when the time comes, there will be no shortage of salt. "
"Hmph, who do you think you are? You say we can stop as soon as we can? This old man read the letter from the Venerate Heavens Sect and said that the heavy rain over there might continue until the end of next month. "
The two of them kept talking, and Dongfang Haotian just quietly listened. Leng Qiyue lazily said, "There's no need to argue. The most important thing right now is to think of another way to get the salt. Can't you produce enough rock salt? "
The two ministers did not pay any attention to Leng Qiyue and did not say a word. Dongfang Haotian said, "The mining of rock salt requires a large amount of manpower. The current rainfall is quite large, so the difficulty of gathering it is increased. Thus, the production rate is very small."
Leng Qiyue said, "Salt Officer, how much time will I give you to refine the salt?"
The salt official replied, "In reply to the Empress, it should be at least a month."
Leng Qiyue nodded. "Alright, then we still have a month to prepare. Your Majesty, chenqie has a way to resolve this problem. I just need Your Majesty's approval."
Dongfang Haotian looked at Leng Qiyue, his eyes shining. He said, "My beloved concubine, feel free to speak."
Leng Qiyue nodded and asked, "Does Your Majesty know of the Black Stone Mountain?"
Dongfang Haotian nodded and said: "Yes, there is a mountain there. The mountain is covered with black stones, so the name is Black Stone Mountain."
"That's easy to do. I ask the Emperor to send someone to the Black Stone Mountain to transport those black stones to Salt City. We need to transport as much of them as possible within a month."
Dongfang Haotian asked, "What do you think of those blackstones? You can't build a house and you can't pave the way. "
Leng Qiyue replied, "Chenqie has her own uses, but I don't know how much she can transport away. If it's less, it won't work."
Dongfang Haotian smiled and said, "Don't worry about this beloved concubine. Blackrock Mountain is only a hundred miles away from Salt City."
Leng Qiyue stood up and asked somewhat excitedly, "Really? Good, good milk. "Next, let the Emperor build some empty rooms in Salt City, with four iron pots and a stove in each room."
Dongfang Haotian nodded and said: "Alright, I will pass down the order right now. "Please go back, my two beloved ladies.
The Minister of the Left glanced at Leng Qiyue, his face filled with dissatisfaction. The salt officer was confused, but what could he say if the other party had a high position? The two of them bade farewell obediently and left.
Dongfang Haotian wrote the imperial edict and handed it to the nearby man, who took it and left.
Seeing that only the two of them were left, Leng Qiyue asked, "Did five palace maids disappear from the Plum Garden twenty years ago?"
Dongfang Haotian thought for a moment and said, "That's right. Plum Garden was the place where the empress dowager enjoyed the plum blossoms. After those five palace maids went missing, there were rumors that they were haunted, so it was sealed."
Leng Qiyue said, "Today, we dug out five corpses from the Plum Garden's well. Someone has already confirmed that those five corpses are the missing five palace maids."
Dongfang Haotian didn't mind and said: "There are countless people who have died in vain in the palace, so it isn't strange that we have to dig out their corpses. After the palace maid dies, her ashes will be scattered into the dry well. Is there a problem? "
Leng Qiyue replied, "What we found was not ashes, but complete corpses. I think they were killed by someone and thrown into a well, or they were thrown directly into it."
"So what? "It's been so long. Just bury him." Dongfang Haotian casually said.
Leng Qiyue was about to die from his anger. She snorted and said, "What a fool." After which, he turned around and left.
Dongfang Haotian had a smile on his face, but he didn't stop her. Instead, he picked up the imperial report and began to read.
When Leng Qiyue returned to the Moon Flower Palace, the sky had already darkened. After dinner, she called for Xiao Die, "Xiao Die, come with me to a place tonight."
Han Liu said with dissatisfaction, "Why didn't the Empress bring me?"
Leng Qiyue smiled, "You want to go? "Okay, as long as you're not afraid of the devil, come with me."
Han Liu was quick to respond and smiled. "I still have many things to do."
Xiao Die said bashfully, "Young lady, can I not go?"
Leng Qiyue asked, "Are you afraid of ghosts?" Aren't you a demon? "
Xiao Die said, "Humans have ghosts, and demons have ghosts. So I'm scared too!"
Leng Qiyue was depressed. She had never seen anyone who was afraid of demons or ghosts before.
"Where to? "Where to?" Mu Zixin asked as he bounced in from the side hall.
"Where's the princess? Isn't she with you? " Leng Qiyue asked.
Mu Zixin said, "The princess is sleeping together with the First Prince. I had originally wanted to go back and sleep, but I couldn't sleep in a different environment."
Leng Qiyue looked at the sky and saw that it was already completely dark. "If you're not afraid of ghosts, then let's go to an interesting place."
"Sure, sure." Mu Zixin was truly a person who feared nothing in the world.
Leng Qiyue pulled Mu Zixin out of the Palace silently and the two of them headed straight for the Plum Garden.
Today, the moonlight was very weak, and the Plum Garden was completely dark. A cold wind blew …
Mu Zixin could not help but become nervous as well. He gripped Leng Qiyue's hand tightly.
When the two of them arrived at the well, it was abnormally quiet. Even the crickets had been scared off.
"Empress, what are we doing here?" Mu Zixin's voice trembled slightly.
Leng Qiyue patted her hand and said, "Wait a little longer. If it doesn't come out by night, then my guess is wrong."
Although the two of them were wearing cloaks, the chilly wind was bone-piercing. Both of them felt chills running down their spines.
"Ahh …" A strange cry suddenly sounded out, frightening the two of them and causing them to quiver …