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The Hall of Political Affairs.

“Your Majesty, the recent flooding in the capital region and surrounding areas is extensive and extremely severe. Unfortunately, supplies of relief grain are running low…”

In the court, a middle-aged man wearing a purple official robe with a goldfish-shaped pouch at his waist wore a serious expression. This man was Li Yifu, Minister of Finance of the Great Zhou Empire.

On the spacious and luxurious dragon throne, a woman dressed in imperial robes leaned back slightly. Her delicate phoenix-shaped eyebrows were furrowed, and her cold, noble face showed a hint of confusion.

“Didn’t I allocate 300,000 catties of grain just half a month ago? How could it be gone so quickly?”

Although 300,000 catties of grain wasn’t a large amount, if cooked into porridge to help the disaster victims, it could sustain them for many days.

Li Yifu felt a flush of embarrassment.

“Perhaps there were casualties on the way,” he ventured cautiously.

The officials in the hall remained silent, seasoned veterans of the court who understood the intricacies of the situation.

Wu Zhao’s eyes narrowed sharply, her gaze as piercing as a blade.

“Losses?” she repeated.

“How far is the capital from Luoyang?”

“Your Majesty’s disaster relief grain—could it have been embezzled by those scoundrels?” Li Yifu stammered.

The hall fell silent. Not a single soul dared to speak.

Only the icy voice of the Empress echoed through the cavernous chamber.

“Every year, I allocate substantial salaries to maintain this bloated bureaucracy,” she declared, her tone glacial. “And yet these ingrates remain insatiable. They dare to steal the grain intended for disaster relief?”

“Incredible audacity!” Wu Zhao’s chest heaved with indignation, her anger palpable.

Despite her long confinement within the palace walls, she was no fool.

How could she remain ignorant of the intricate web of deceit?

Allocating 300,000 catties of grain, she navigated through layers of bureaucracy only to find that perhaps one in ten would reach the hands of the starving populace.

These parasites of the Empire, corrupt and venal in their daily affairs, now dared to embezzle even during a critical disaster relief effort.

Their contempt for the Empress was palpable. How could they dare embezzle grain meant for the starving people? It was their lifeline.

Wu Zhao clenched her white fist and longed to execute these corrupt officials and spill their blood like a river.

However, her remaining sanity reminded her that such an act was impossible. Even an Empress couldn’t defy the entire bureaucratic system.

The wanton slaughter would only destabilize their rule. Would replacing officials really eliminate corruption?

Hadn’t the neighbouring Ming emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang, used ruthless methods? Yet graft persisted, impervious to even the cruellest measures.

The palace hung in silence, as if every breath could be heard. Wu Zhao took a deep breath, her elegant face now etched with an icy, imperious determination.

“Minister Li, how much grain is left in the Luoyang granary that can be mobilized?” Empress Wu asked cautiously.

“Your Majesty,” Minister Li replied, “due to the continuous natural disasters over the past two years and the need for relief efforts, the granary currently holds a maximum of five hundred thousand catties of grain.”

“However,” he continued, “the floods in the surrounding areas are receding. If we can get through this period, the disaster situation will undoubtedly improve.”

Empress Wu’s slender, fair fingers tapped gently, the sound echoing crisply in the quiet chamber. Her narrow eyes narrowed further as she spoke coldly.

“The question is, if we distribute this remaining five hundred thousand catties of grain, how much will actually reach those in need?”

Li Yifu remained silent, unable to answer the Empress’s question.

Even though he held the position of Minister of Revenue, he dared not touch this matter that could overturn the entire table.

The issue of embezzlement persisted, not only among the lower-level officials, but even among the esteemed ministers in the upper echelons.

Going up against the officials of the Great Zhou was no small feat; even the Prime Minister would not escape unscathed.

Some matters could be handled discreetly, but once exposed, the consequences would be severe.

Seeing Li Yifu’s silence, Wu Zhao laughed coldly.

She was well aware of the principle of officials protecting each other and knew that such corruption couldn’t easily be eradicated.

However, deep inside, she still felt profoundly disappointed.

She said indifferently,

“These five hundred thousand catties of grain are the last hope for the disaster victims in the capital region. If the relief efforts are insufficient, the people may suffer great losses. In such a critical situation, I wonder which of my ministers would be willing to share my concern and solve this difficulty?”

Her phoenix eyes swept over the assembly of ministers in the hall.

Most of them bowed their heads in silence like statues, while some showed worried expressions, seemingly concerned about the country and its people. Yet, no one reacted.

It was a joke; the Empress was quite dissatisfied with Li Yifu’s inadequate disaster relief efforts and was now looking for someone to properly handle the final relief matters.

But with the grain being syphoned off at every level, who could stop it?

If even the powerful Minister of Revenue, Li Yifu, couldn’t do it, what could they do?

Besides, to truly take a stand and root out the officials who embezzled the grain would be to go against the entire bureaucracy.

One might as well kiss their government career goodbye! Who would be willing to take such a risk?

Most importantly, if even Li Yifu couldn’t do the job and you managed to, wouldn’t that suggest to others that you are superior to the Minister of Revenue himself?

Isn’t that a slap to Li Yifu’s face? Aren’t you afraid of being sabotaged later?

Under such considerations, no one dared to step forward. For a long time… the hall was deathly silent.

Wu Zhao’s fists clenched tightly in her sleeves, her phoenix eyes sharp and cold.

These good-for-nothings! When it comes to taking credit, they’re all fiercely competitive, but when it comes to acting, they’re nothing but turtles shrinking into their shells!

Her heart burned with anger. She wished she could drag these people out and behead them all!

However, such thoughts were just wishful thinking; even as an Empress, it was impossible.

After a short while, Wu Zhao rubbed her temples wearily.

Her spirit was beginning to fade.

This was her Empire.

At a critical moment, not a single person dared to come forward to share her worries.

She waved her hand in a somewhat impotent gesture. “Since this is the case, let this matter still be handled by Li—”

“Your Majesty, this humble official is willing to take the command…” A cool voice cut off her words.

Wu Zhao was startled and looked at the source of the voice in surprise.

The others were also taken aback. What young fool was this? Wasn’t he just courting death?

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, a young man dressed in scarlet robes and a headscarf, with a face as beautiful as jade, took a step forward.

The crowd gasped in shock.

Wasn’t this the top scholar who had just been placed on the gold list last month?

Yang Yi felt somewhat speechless under the astonished gazes of everyone.

Although he was a newcomer, he was a time traveller from the era of information explosion; he had seen countless palace dramas and knew the saying that the bird that sticks out will be shot.

But who would have thought that he would suddenly wake up the Poison Expert System? A virtual screen appeared before him.

【Ding! Poison Expert System loading successful…】

【Host: Yang Yi】

【Poison Value: 0】