Ye Ziāan shook his head, "She was probably asked to do so by the Li Family. I heard that before the Noble Princess Concubine entered the palace, she had a good relationship with Madam Li. Itās not surprising that Madam Li asked her to grant a marriage. Besides, the Li Family and the Luo Family are originally in-laws, so she might have agreed in the spirit of strengthening family ties. As for why the Li Family sought an imperial decree, itās likely they were inspired by the last incident with Linyu, thinking that an edict from the Noble Princess Concubine would be more effective than a marriage certificate."
"Haha, I told you they are courting disaster. Luo Linfei already received a lesson last time, yet they still send another one."
Yang Chuxia pondered for a moment and asked, "Is there no way to change things with Her Highness Noble Princess Consort?"
"Indeed, the Empressās seat is vacant, and the Noble Princess Concubine holds the highest authority. Her decree is not to be contested." Ye Ziāan rubbed his forehead, "The Luo familyās mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, really! For their selfish interests, they drag everyone back, not considering the current times, yet they have time to meddle in these matters."
"Is that so? Then I understand." Yang Chuxia thought, if they insist on barging into othersā lives, then they shouldnāt blame her for what happens next.
"Oh, by the way, my dear, prepare some silver. The people from the Ministry of Revenue will come to collect it tomorrow morning."
"What happened? Did you make a mistake? Are you being fined? How much is the fine?"
Upon hearing this, Yang Chuxia was immediately a bit alarmed; being an official is not easy, and being an official close to the Emperor is even harder. A small mistake can lead to big trouble.
Ye Ziāan was both amused and exasperated by her reaction, "When did I ever break the law? Besides, if I really did something wrong, it wouldnāt be solved with just money." He tucked her hair behind her ear and continued, "Thereās been a snow disaster in the Northeast; the court needs to provide disaster relief funds and grain. The Minister of the Ministry of Revenue is lamenting about lack of funds. Seeing this, Prince Ping took the lead by donating thirty thousand taels, saying it was a charitable deed for the people in the Northeast. You know, once he led, even Cousin Prince Le had to follow suit. We, supporting cousin, had to follow as well in donating."
"How much are you donating?" Upon hearing about a donation, Yang Chuxia didnāt think much of it. It was similar in modern times; whenever there was a disaster, donations would come from all directions. In ancient times, such donations were rare; people valued silver more than their lives, and donating it felt akin to giving oneās life.
She thought, Prince Ping is likely to offend quite a few people with this.
"Cousin donated thirty thousand, and I donated ten thousand along with him." As he said this, Ye Ziāan sneaked a glance at Yang Chuxia. Seeing she said nothing, he added, "Darling, I made this decision on my own, but there was no other choice given the situation. I promise I wonāt act on impulse again; from now on, you can take my salary."
"Heh..." Yang Chuxia chuckled upon hearing this, "Come on, just your meager salary? When will it ever reach ten thousand taels? Alright, alright, even though it pains me a little to part with ten thousand taels, itās not impossible."
Yang Chuxia could somewhat understand the need to donate silver under those circumstances.
"Hehe, my dear is truly understanding." Hearing this, Ye Ziāan was delighted and hugged Yang Chuxia, "One of our colleagues donated a thousand taels and was sighing when leaving the office, thinking about how to explain this to his wife back home."
"One can donate just a thousand taels?" Yang Chuxia raised an eyebrow and asked, "Then why did you donate ten thousand? Donāt you know how hard it is to earn money, you spendthrift man?"
"Alas, it canāt be helped. Everyone in the Capital City knows that youāre great at business. If I donated too little, people would definitely talk and pressure me to donate more. To shut them up, itās better to donate all at once."