Echoes of My Heart Throughout the Court

Little Bai Ze! Well said! No wonder you’re a divine beast understanding the common people’s hardships! Sob sob sob!

The Emperor:

The Emperor, embarrassed and angry, retorted, “Bathing every three days in winter? Why are you, a man, so particular? Can’t you just go once every ten days? Would going less often kill you?!”

“And meat! Is that something a minor ninth-rank official like you should eat every day? Every meal? Doesn’t the government canteen provide enough meat for lunch? Why are you still buying more meat at home?”

Xu Yanmiao: “… Your Majesty is correct.”

[But the food in the canteen is really terrible…]

The Emperor: “And about renting oxen! Why must you borrow from the government? Can’t you ask that friend of yours in the Ministry of War, that… that… Lian-something! Can’t you borrow from him and save some money?!”

Xu Yanmiao lowered his head silently.

Yet his inner voice roared.

[But Lian Hang also spends money to raise his oxen! How come you’re not calculating those costs? Plus, renting oxen isn’t even the big expense—feeding them is! What, should I borrow his oxen, starve them for a day, and then let them go home to eat before coming back the next day? That’s too wicked!]

[The previous dynasty even distributed meat, salt, tea, wine, flour, kitchen supplies, firewood, and paper to officials!]

Officials in attendance: Sob sob sob! Yes, exactly! Those were all provided!

The Emperor turned his head and shot them a frosty glare.

Officials in attendance: “…”

Quietly bowed their heads.

“And lamp oil!” the Emperor thundered. “Do you have that much work to do? Do you really need to burn the lamp until midnight every day?”

“… Your Majesty is correct.”

[But I already go to bed quite early—by 10 PM… Ugh, such exploitation. Apart from working for you, can’t we small officials have a bit of personal life?]

[And I can’t even afford a ride! A donkey costs 5,000 coins! Every morning, I have to walk across half the city to attend court…]

Xu Yanmiao’s current physical fitness had reached its peak—better than during his high school fitness exams.

The Emperor gritted his teeth. “Fine, let’s do it like the previous dynasty! Meat, flour, and even cloth will also be distributed!”

Officials in attendance: “?!”

The Emperor today… actually being generous for once?!

Xu Yanmiao also stared at the Emperor in shock.

The Emperor, visibly pained by the decision, waved his hand, pretending to be magnanimous. “We’ll distribute it! It’s been 32 years since the founding of the dynasty! We can afford it now!”

Xu Yanmiao: “!!!”

Xu Yanmiao: “Thank you, Your Majesty! Your Majesty is wise and mighty! Your Majesty is benevolent and virtuous! Your Majesty—”

The Emperor coughed. “Alright, alright, stop with the flattery!”

Xu Yanmiao immediately fell silent.

But in his heart…

[Woohoo! A raise! A raise!!!]

The Emperor couldn’t suppress his smile. Ah, why does this feel so good?

But then…

The Emperor turned to the accompanying officials, his expression suddenly icy. “The money has been granted. If there’s any corruption from now on, don’t blame me for being ruthless!”

The officials hurriedly bowed in unison. “Understood!”

The Emperor continued, “And learn from Xu Yanmiao! Look at him—no need for a large house or many servants. Just enough to get by. Of course, Xu Yanmiao’s lifestyle is a bit extravagant. Eating meat every day—how could his salary support that?!”

Officials in attendance: “… Yes.”

The Emperor: “And Xu Yanmiao’s official duties are flawless!”

Not corrupt, frugal in conduct, and diligent in work! The Emperor turned to Xu Yanmiao, growing more satisfied the longer he looked.

“Learn from him! All of you!”

Officials in attendance: “… Yes.”

The Emperor: “Alright, let’s head back…”

[Zzz…]

The Emperor froze.

That sound…

[Zzz… Master… Zzz… finally connected… Zzz…]

[System?!]

[Zzz… Zzz… Zzz…]

Another string of strange noises, but finally, a connection.

[Zzz… Host, I’ve finally… Zzz… connected with you… Zzz… Wait, why are you attracting so much resentment?!]

Xu Yanmiao was confused.

[I have no idea. I’ve been keeping a low profile every day for the past six months and haven’t offended anyone.]

Officials in attendance:

“…Honestly, based on the number of corrupt officials he’s exposed, it’s only natural some might bear a grudge. Poor Little Bai Ze is probably in for quite a few assassination attempts soon. But don’t worry—His Majesty will definitely protect…]

[Zzz… Connection might drop again… Zzz… Make sure to protect yourself! Otherwise, if the system collapses, while I can extract your soul and create a new body for you, all the gossip inside the system will spill out for the world to see! For a hundred years! Continuously updated with new gossip! Terrifying, right? Protect yourself at all costs!]

[Zzz… Zzz… Zzz…]

[System? System?!]

Well, it was disconnected again.

Xu Yanmiao scratched his head.

[By “resentment,” does it mean I’m being resented by corrupt officials because the Emperor is using me as an example of a clean official?]

[If dying just means the gossip gets leaked, well, that scared me for nothing. I thought it’d be something truly terrifying! What a relief it’s got nothing to do with me.]

The Emperor: “!!!”

Officials in attendance: “!!!”

No! It has everything to do with us!!!

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