Chapter 58

Xia Zui followed Qi Shu on a tour of the inner palace, and she had to admit that the imperial harem was indeed vast.

Along the way, they encountered quite a few women of the inner palace. However, they were all consorts of the late emperor. Now that the late emperor had passed away, they spent their days strolling through the palace or gathering in small groups with their sisters.

To put it simply, their husbands were dead, they lacked for nothing in food or clothing, and all they had to do every day was live leisurely.

This gave Xia Zui an inspiration: why not organize a flower-viewing banquet later on, allowing female tourists to visit the inner palace? It would also add a bit of lively atmosphere to the otherwise quiet and aloof harem.

Of course, if the consorts wished not to be disturbed in their peace and quiet by tourists, certain areas could be cordoned off.

As for male tourists, that was also easy to arrange—weren't there poetry gatherings and the like?

Xia Zui and Qi Shu, accompanied by eunuchs and maids, headed toward the Imperial Study. Qi Shu stopped at the threshold and said, "I won't go in. His Majesty and the senior ministers of the court are all inside."

Although as empress she could frequently enter and exit the Imperial Study, there were numerous high-ranking officials inside, and the inner palace was not supposed to meddle in state affairs. It was better for her to avoid suspicion and steer clear of tongues.

That way, she could prevent the court ministers from raising unnecessary objections.

Xia Zui nodded and said, "Then I'm going in."

Sun Wensheng, who was waiting outside the hall, saw Xia Zui approaching and immediately bowed, leading her inside. "Your Majesty, the guest has arrived."

His announcement instantly drew the gaze of Pei Xiuyu and the others, who were seated and drinking tea.

The senior court ministers' first impression upon seeing Xia Zui was that this woman was indeed, just as His Majesty had described, dressed in a strange and peculiar manner.

Even her lovely hair had been cropped short. It seemed that people from the future no longer placed much importance on the Confucian saying that one's body and hair, being gifts from one's parents, should not be damaged.

Xia Zui felt no sense of awkwardness under their scrutinizing gazes. She casually seated herself in an empty chair, and a palace maid immediately stepped forward to serve her tea.

Pei Xiuyu smiled lightly seeing her so unconstrained. "This is Lü Yun, the traveler from beyond the heavens."

"These are the pillars of my court," Pei Xiuyu introduced.

Mu Lin looked at Xia Zui as she sipped her tea, a smile in his eyes. "I am Mu Lin, the Chancellor of the Xuan Dynasty. Hearing His Majesty speak of the young lady's elegance and intelligence, it truly appears to be true."

Xia Zui looked at him. "So it is Lord Chancellor. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

Haha! She had finally managed to say a line that she had only ever heard in novels and television dramas!

Zhong Hongfang frowned as he looked at Xia Zui, feeling that this woman was simply... too transparent.

Through her facial expressions, he could even tell that she was currently feeling very happy.

Just because the Chancellor had praised her?

Zhong Hongfang pressed his lips together. "I am the Grand Tutor of the current dynasty. May I ask if the tourism venture you mentioned can bind the tourists so that they do not harm the citizens of our Great Xuan Dynasty?"

He no longer suspected this woman of harboring malicious intentions; judging by the way she gulped down her tea, she either completely lacked guile or was entirely confident that nothing could go wrong.

After all, what if the tea had been poisoned?

Xia Zui put down her teacup. "We are engaging in tourism cooperation for a win-win situation. Rest assured, if you don't believe me, I can swear an oath: if any tourist harms the citizens of the Great Xuan Dynasty, may I be struck by lightning."

Seeing her swear such a severe oath, Zhong Hongfang, though still retaining some worries, at least felt a bit more at ease.

Lu Qi, the Minister of Revenue, also spoke up at this moment. "I wonder how the young lady plans to roll out this tourism venture?"

He had already calculated in his mind: the high-grade refined rice she had provided weighed one jin per catty, and if sold in the Great Xuan Dynasty, it would be worth about fifteen copper coins.

By that conversion, those four thousand yuan should amount to two taels of gold.

With the national treasury currently empty, if many tourists could indeed come to the Great Xuan Dynasty for travel, although it wouldn't solve all their problems, it would at least be a source of revenue.

Hearing this, Xia Zui realized that this tourism project was mostly negotiable. She said, "I took a stroll around the inner palace just now, and I was thinking that the harem is so vast with very few people in it. Why not open a flower-viewing banquet?"

"It will be exclusively for female tourists to experience, and it can also alleviate the loneliness of the ladies of the deep palace. What do you think?"

At this mention, Pei Xiuyu's brow furrowed slightly. Tourists coming to the inner palace for leisure...

Wouldn't that disturb Shuniang and the others' rest?

Did Shuniang also feel that the deep palace was lonely?

For a moment, Pei Xiuyu felt an even deeper ache in his heart for Shuniang. Shuniang had been with him for so many years; only the first few years were good, when he had the time to accompany her.

Now that he had ascended the throne, she was indeed inevitably lonely living alone in the inner palace.

However, he had no desire to take concubines or select maidens for the harem. He had long ago promised Shuniang a lifetime of devotion to one another, not to mention that Shuniang had once risked her life to save him.

Pei Xiuyu asked, "Has the young lady discussed this matter with Shuniang?"

Xia Zui smiled. "I spoke with her, and she was very happy. She said that this way, the senior imperial consorts probably won't feel bored either."

Pei Xiuyu slowly nodded. "As long as they agree, that works too."

"As for male tourists, I was thinking of organizing a poetry gathering or some other banquet, keeping male and female tourists separate," Xia Zui continued. "We can also arrange a mixed banquet that both male and female tourists can attend."

"Of course, you will have to figure out the specifics of those."

"You can even take them out of the imperial palace to play. Naturally, these are just items included in the standard package; you can add other projects as you see fit, and all the revenue generated from the projects you invent will belong entirely to you."

"Belong entirely to us?" Upon hearing this, Lu Qi, the Minister of Revenue, immediately began to ponder. "Then will they trade using gold or something else?"

Xia Zui tilted her head. She had already thought this through. "If you wish to exchange for supplies, I would strongly recommend using the currency of my side for transactions."

"Oh, right, the funds will be deposited directly with you. Whenever you want to exchange for supplies, you just need to call out 'Exchange Mall' and you can designate where the supplies should be placed."

The Exchange Mall was a feature Youyou had activated for her. After all, constantly asking her to help exchange supplies during the apocalypse was quite troublesome.

It was much better to let them exchange things themselves—buying whatever they wanted.

"Designate where the supplies should be placed?" Hearing this, Pei Xiuyu gripped the armrests tightly. "If I want the grain to be delivered directly to the border, is that possible?"

As soon as he said this, the numerous ministers immediately turned their gaze toward Xia Zui.

If this was feasible, how much grain would be saved, and how many soldiers' lives could be spared?

After all, in ancient times, the vast majority of grain transported was consumed along the way during transit, making warfare an extremely resource-draining endeavor.

For instance, when a city was besieged in ancient times, enemy forces sought to cut off their reinforcements and provisions. Once the grain supply was severed, the soldiers could hardly hold on.

Xia Zui looked at their expectant eyes. "As long as it is your territory, yes."

Hearing her words, Pei Xiuyu felt his blood surge with passion.

Think of how many corrupt officials this could bypass! In the future, when providing disaster relief, he could simply deposit the grain directly in the disaster-stricken area, preventing it from being peeled away layer by layer until less than one-tenth reached the victims.

The Minister of Revenue and the other ministers gripped their hands and muttered to themselves, "If what she says is true, that would be wonderful."

"In the future, our army on expedition will never have to worry about a shortage of grain."

"A magnificent blessing!"

"If we sign the contract today, when can the tourists arrive?" Pei Xiuyu was already growing impatient.

Lü Yun possessed extraordinary abilities; even if he refused to sign the contract, she could still bring people over. It was far better to sign the contract himself than to let her go and ally with other nations.

Not to mention that the superpowered individuals of the apocalypse were like immortals—just how powerful must Lü Yun be, who could transport tourists to the apocalypse?

With wars constantly raging and disasters unrelenting, he might as well take a gamble!

Xia Zui produced the contract. "They can arrive as early as tomorrow. However, before that, you must prepare and decide what tourism projects you will offer."

"I certainly hope my tourists don't just walk around and look at the scenery inside the palace when they arrive."

"Here, let me give you a suggestion," Xia Zui said, rubbing her chin. "Why not open up slots to attend the imperial court sessions? For instance, limit the number of people and set a price."

Hearing this proposal, Zhong Hongfang immediately spoke up, "State affairs are of utmost importance! How can they be turned into a game?"

Xia Zui shook her head. "Rest assured, the tourists will never cause trouble. If anyone does cause trouble, you can drag them out and execute them—though it's best to just expel them. If they actually want to experience a real execution, your court affairs won't be able to be discussed at all."

Pei Xiuyu: ......

Just what kind of tourists were these?

Why would anyone be lining up to be executed? Was execution really that interesting?

"At worst, just give it a try once," Xia Zui said, picking up a pastry and taking a bite. "If you feel it doesn't work out, you can cancel it."

"Let me think... experiencing a court session could be priced at around five hundred yuan. Oh, right, you can also sell your traditional garments to them; I imagine they would love those."

She had indeed observed the attire here. Although it was a fictional era, the clothing seemed quite diverse.

Based on her observations, the garments worn by Lingxian looked somewhat like a *hezi* skirt, while Shuniang's attire bore a closer resemblance to Tang Dynasty styles.

She figured many young girls would be eager to purchase them—though these items could only be called ancient-style rather than Hanfu, since the Great Xuan Dynasty did not belong to the historical dynasties of Huaxia.

The Minister of Revenue listened to her suggestions and silently calculated in his mind.

Pei Xiuyu looked at the contract she held. The paper was light and thin, far superior to the paper produced in their own Great Xuan Dynasty.

Sun Wensheng presented the contract. Pei Xiuyu examined it closely; although he didn't recognize the characters on it, he inexplicably found himself able to understand them.

After reading through it, amidst the gazes of everyone present, he retrieved his imperial seal and stamped it.

At that very moment, a strange interface suddenly appeared in his mind, bearing the words "Exchange Mall."

Pei Xiuyu calmly browsed the items inside the Exchange Mall and noticed he had a balance of ten thousand. He decided to test it by purchasing one jin of rice.

Then, thinking of having the rice placed right on the desk before him, it happened in the very next second.

Everyone watched as a bag of rice suddenly materialized on the desk in front of the emperor. The exterior of the rice was wrapped in a strange bag, and the rice inside looked exactly like the sample the emperor had shown them earlier.

"Your Majesty!" Chancellor Mu Lin stared wide-eyed at the bag of rice.

Pei Xiuyu picked up the bag of rice to inspect it. "Splendid! Splendid! Splendid!"

It could truly exchange for provisions!

Smiling, he lifted the bag of rice to show the gathered ministers. "This is precisely the high-grade refined grain I just exchanged."