In order to save the family from bankruptcy, Xue Linlang married the frail Wang Chongxi of Huai'an. She discovered that the palace had long been emptied, and that her husband was a spy chief pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger. The two reached an agreement: she paved the way for him through business means, and he promised her freedom for the rest of her life. She opened a bank to control the economic lifeline, built trade routes to deliver intelligence, and used food wars to destabilize enemy countries. When the emperor on the throne wanted to die, she smiled and presented the account book: "Your Majesty, the treasury owes the people 36 million taels. Should I write an IOU or abdicate?"
