When Shen Yunqi woke up and saw himself dressed in a crimson official robe, he thought his big break had finally come.
Had his turn to transmigrate finally arrived?
The next moment, he stared in silence at a storeroom packed with boxes upon boxes of gold bars, without a single piece of silver in sight. Well, damn...
They really knew how to embezzle.
Shen Yunqi looked at all those boxes of gold as if each one were a head. There weren't enough heads to chop off for all of this.
His neck was itching. Was he about to lose his head?
--
The late emperor was incompetent and extravagant, arbitrarily raising taxes until the people were left destitute.
After Huo Junyi ascended the throne, he immediately ordered tax relief. But the treasury was empty, and they couldn't even pay the soldiers stationed at the border.
He set his sights on Shen Yunqi. As Minister of Revenue, Shen Yunqi had embezzled who knew how much silver under the late emperor, though he'd behaved himself somewhat since Huo Junyi took the throne.
Just as Huo Junyi was wondering how to confiscate his property, Shen Yunqi suddenly seemed like a different person.
The smooth tongue that had once won him favor with the late emperor and propelled him to high office was gone. From the moment he attended court each morning, he started offending people.
"You flatter me, gentlemen. My subordinates were simply working themselves to the bone."
"Well, I suppose it's no wonder you all were so busy, since you lack any real authority."
One official, unaccustomed to receiving praise, remarked, "It's been a long time, Lord Shen. You've certainly become much more eloquent."
Shen Yunqi smiled bashfully. "Oh, you're too kind. I was just talking nonsense."
?
He knew he was bad at speaking. He'd done his best!
Fine, then. He'd just give them money.
All the silver in his residence would be invested in the name of the Ministry of Revenue!
State-owned taverns, grain and cooking oil chains directly overseen by the emperor, specialty shops selling women's products...
And that wasn't all. He abolished the ward-and-market system, reformed taxation, established a national budget, and opened trade with foreign lands...
Every coin they earned went straight into the treasury.
Military pay? Approved! Flood control? Approved! Road construction? Approved!
There was plenty for everyone. One thing at a time.
He asked for only one thing! He'd handed all the silver over to the treasury, so please don't chop off his head.
Huo Junyi: ...
"I can spare your head, but you will stay in my chambers tonight."
"Oh, huh? Do you want me to wash your feet? I'll get right to it!" Shen Yunqi grabbed a white towel, ready to give him a foot-spa treatment.
Huo Junyi grabbed Shen Yunqi, who was eagerly about to fetch a footbath, and pinned him to the dragon bed, gritting his teeth. "Go to sleep!"
A domineering, secretly fatherly seme × A beautiful, oblivious, excitable uke
1. Still a sweet and satisfying story!
2. Still a devoted 1v1 pairing. No switching, ever!
3. More to come if I think of anything!
Theme: Enrich the country and strengthen its people
