In Love With My Fierce Farming Wife!
Chapter 1136 - 1048: I Will Absolutely Not Hinder!

Chapter 1136: Chapter 1048: I Will Absolutely Not Hinder!

Qin Yi was excited all night and only managed to doze off for a moment before he heard Eunuch An outside, urging him to get up.

Su Pan’er was also awakened by the noise and hurried to help Qin Yi dress, but he stopped her.

"You cannot ascend the altar, so you might as well sleep a little longer," he said.

"It’s alright, I can sleep after you’ve left the palace," she replied.

Su Pan’er insisted on arranging his clothes and hat properly and hurriedly brought him some breakfast to fill his stomach. Eunuch An was urging again.

"Your Majesty, you can’t be late for the Sacrifice to Heaven. You should rise," he said.

Indeed, one cannot be late for the Sacrifice to Heaven.

Qin Yi patted Su Pan’er on the shoulder with a light chuckle, "Wait for my return." Then he quickly followed Eunuch An out.

Seven moments before sunrise, as the time arrived, the Supreme Harmony Bell within the palace rang out long and loud, and the musical instruments such as chime bells, stone chimes, and bo bells, arranged on both sides of the altar, started to play as well.

When the bell stopped, the drums and music began, and the official ceremony started.

Taoist Priest Liao Chen stood at the base of the high altar, murmuring incantations while constantly circling.

After Qin Yi bathed at the southern gate and changed into his ceremonial robes, he walked along the left aisle to enter the sacred platform, stopping at the Main Seat for worship.

Taoist Priest Liao Chen’s face was solemn, his skeletal frame, which usually seemed rather grim, at that moment appeared harmonious.

He knelt before the supreme deity’s tablet in the Main Seat, offered incense, then moved to the ancestral tablets to offer incense and bow. Returning to the Main Seat, he performed the ritual of three kneelings and nine bows to the various deities... After the elaborate rituals, Qin Yi unfolded the sacrificial speech he had written in advance and read it aloud to the assembly. He burned the offerings, and after performing another series of three kneelings and nine bows, the entire Ceremony of Sacrifice to Heaven was finally considered complete.

From before dawn until the completion of the Sacrifice to Heaven ceremony, it was already the afternoon.

In that lengthy interval, Qin Yi repeatedly went through the exhausting process of bowing and rising. Yet, the officials kneeling below, not allowed a moment’s rest, were even more exhausted. When they stood up, everyone’s legs trembled visibly from the severe fatigue.

At that moment, Qin Yi had matters on his mind; he briefly instructed the crowd and let the ministers return to their homes.

Instead, he gave orders to Eunuch An at his side, "Go and see if Venerable Priest Liao Chen has finished his duties. If he has, please invite him over."

Eunuch An was gone for a long time before Venerable Priest Liao Chen finally arrived, taking his time.

"Immeasurable Heavenly Venerate, may I know why His Majesty has summoned this poor Daoist today? Is there an important matter?" he asked.

Today was a major day for the Sacrifice to Heaven, and His Majesty had urgently summoned him, even on such a day—it seemed the matter was not trivial.

"Indeed, there is a matter for which I need to see the priest," Qin Yi said.

Qin Yi didn’t conceal anything and quickly informed Taoist Priest Liao Chen about the relocation of his father’s tomb and the reburial with his mother, not hiding the key details.

"This is no small matter. After thinking it over, I feel uneasy entrusting this task to anyone else. Only by leaving it in your hands can I be completely at peace. I have to ask you to take on this arduous task," Qin Yi exclaimed.

"This indeed is no small matter," Liao Chen thought to himself, almost cursing inwardly! The reburial of the late emperor and the combination with His Majesty’s mother’s grave involved many complexities. While he was not afraid of tomb relocation, he worried about the ministers in court who, when full and idle, might plot against him. If this were to happen, it would indeed be a life-threatening assignment.

Seeing Taoist Priest Liao Chen frowning in silence, Qin Yi took the initiative to clarify, "You will not be going alone to this task. I’ll send Old General Cheng with you, and the Minister of Revenue will accompany you as well. Further, I’m allocating two hundred thousand taels of silver for you to manage this affair. You will have the utmost authority over the use of this money. I just want the remains of the two elders to be peacefully interred as soon as possible. Priest, what do you think of this proposal?"

It seems His Majesty has made up his mind and can’t wait even a moment longer.

"I am grateful for His Majesty’s trust and expectations of this poor Daoist, but with only two hundred thousand taels of silver, I’m afraid we might be left stretching our elbows to make ends meet."

Venerable Priest Liao Chen’s mental ledger was making a rattle as he sorted through the figures. Since ancient times, building imperial mausoleums has always been a costly endeavor. Normally, construction begins from the day an emperor ascends to the throne and continues until his death, at which point the mausoleum is considered complete and put to use.

If the construction is not fully completed, it will continue even after the burial of the emperor.

The deceased emperor did have a tomb constructed within the Imperial Mausoleum, and it could be used now which was feasible. However, building an Imperial Mausoleum is extremely costly. Two hundred thousand taels of silver? Even if you had two or three times that amount, it would still be consumed entirely.

"Venerable Priest, it’s not that I am unwilling to provide more silver, but since I have just ascended the throne, the national treasury is empty, and I truly cannot offer more. Of course, if the Venerable Priest could secure more funds from the Minister of Revenue... I would not stand in your way!"

Since Qin Yi’s ascension, he has twice exempted Tribute Taxes and also had to support the military and purchase horses. The national treasury was indeed empty. The two hundred thousand taels of silver had been meticulously scrimped and scraped together by Qin Yi after much thought and with great difficulty; where could he find any additional funds?

Done!

It seems there’s no hope of getting any more silver!

Nonetheless, as for tomb construction, if you have money you can build it lavish, without silver, naturally, there are ways to build without it.

Seeing there was no avoiding the issue, Venerable Priest Liao Chen naturally accepted.

"Rest assured, Your Majesty, even if it means peeling off the Minister of Revenue’s old skin, this poor Daoist will certainly build a proper tomb for Your Majesty!"

Having resolved a great concern, Qin Yi was also exceptionally pleased. The hesitation on the face of Venerable Priest Liao Chen did not escape his notice; silver was of the utmost importance!

But how to gather the necessary silver?

Perhaps preoccupied with this matter, Qin Yi walked and thought at the same time, not even realizing when he had arrived in front of the Warm Pavilion.

"What are you thinking about? You’re so engrossed."

Su Pan’er had originally come out to greet him but seeing Qin Yi’s furrowed brows, she curiously asked.

"Oh, it’s nothing important. The weather is chilly, why have you come out?"

Qin Yi came back to his senses, stepped forward, and took Su Pan’er’s hand. Feeling how cold it was, he quickly put her hand into his palm and gently rubbed it, trying to warm her.

This made Su Pan’er let out a soft snort and peck at his face.

"Your face screams ’I have something on my mind,’ yet you still say there’s nothing.!"

"Truly, there’s nothing major, just today I informed the Director of the Astronomical Bureau about the burial of both elders together. The Director’s opinion is that two hundred thousand taels of silver is too little. I was just wondering where to get more silver to use," Qin Yi didn’t ease his furrowed brow.

After a moment of silence, Su Pan’er said, "Building a tomb indeed costs the people and hurts their finances; it’s also due to my lack of thought previously. How much silver does Your Majesty need?"

"As a son and daughter, building a tomb for one’s parents is a righteous duty, so how can we speak of hurting the people and finances? If worst comes to worst, I won’t take any more from the national treasury, I’ll just find a way to gather the silver myself," Qin Yi couldn’t bear the words ’hurt the people and finances’ and quickly tried to justify.

"Don’t worry, leave the problem of lack of silver to me, I will find a way," Su Pan’er hurriedly said.