"More or less," Ye Qing'an replied with a nod, his expression slightly somber.
"You must understand—officials being exempt from agricultural tax has been the established norm for over a thousand years. Throughout the realm, it is regarded as a scholar's badge of honor.
There are countless sons of poor families who endure decades of hardship at their desks, all in pursuit of this very recognition.
To abolish it in one stroke... might very well lead to a sharp decline in the number of poor students pursuing their studies."
"So what you're saying is," Yun Shu groaned, cradling her face with both hands and frowning deeply, "there's simply no way to make the great noble clans pay land tax like everyone else?"
"Then what should we do? Should we come up with some new form of tax just for them?"
Hmm?
Though Yun Shu's words sounded like a casual musing, they struck Ye Qing'an like a thunderclap.
That's right.
It may be impossible to reverse centuries of precedent and force those with official status to pay land tax...
But if a new tax were created, one that from the outset applied even to the royal clans and nobility, then those powerful lineages would have no choice but to comply, would they not?
But... what sort of tax would target the great clans without burdening the common farmers—and ideally, also curb land annexation?
Land annexation...
Ye Qing'an felt as though he stood on the verge of grasping something vital, yet he could not seem to take that final step.
"Why do these noble families seize so much land anyway? It's just to produce more grain. But they can't possibly consume all of it themselves, so most of it ends up being sold."
As Ye Qing'an's thoughts reached an impasse, he heard Yun Shu muttering to herself in frustration:
"Grain always sells. The more land they annex, the more they produce. The more they produce, the more they sell. The more they sell, the more they profit—and the more they profit, the more land they want. It's a vicious cycle!"
Selling grain... making money... commerce tax!
Ye Qing'an's thoughts suddenly cleared.
Of course!
Was that not exactly the kind of tax that wouldn't affect farmers, but would certainly fall upon the noble clans?
There were commercial taxes in the Tian Sheng Dynasty already, but not many. Just passage tolls, market stall fees, and entry taxes.
That is, caravans had to pay tolls at certain checkpoints, and merchants who operated shops or market stalls in town had to pay location fees. Goods entering a city were taxed based on value.
Why, then, were merchants ranked last among the four classes—scholar, farmer, artisan, and merchant?
Because they were often seen as profit-driven and opportunistic.
Merchants produced nothing themselves, yet they lived in luxury and earned vast fortunes, all while paying relatively little in taxes.
Meanwhile, farmers labored from dawn to dusk, surviving on the plainest fare, yet still had to surrender half their yield in agricultural taxes...
It was unjust!
Commercial tax must be implemented!
The more Ye Qing'an thought, the clearer his path became. If it weren't still a holiday recess, he would have summoned a carriage on the spot and rushed to the palace to present his case to His Majesty.
Princess Sheng An truly was a blessing to the Tian Sheng Dynasty!
Though burning with inspiration and unable to report to court just yet, Ye Qing'an's eyes now blazed as he looked upon Yun Shu.
So much so that Yun Shu began to feel uneasy.
"Wait... was I too obvious just now? Did he figure it out?"
No, that must not happen!
If Imperial Father discovered her talent this early, wouldn't he just drag her into court and make her work for him every day?
Absolutely not!
Lowering her hands from her cheeks, Yun Shu put on an innocent face and asked, "Why does Grand Preceptor Ye look upon this princess so intently?"
Having suddenly switched her form of address from "I" to "this princess," Ye Qing'an finally realized how intensely he'd been staring.
A rare hint of embarrassment crossed his normally elegant features, though he quickly brushed it aside with poise.
"This humble servant merely thinks... that Your Highness is indeed remarkably astute."
"It is true that this princess is somewhat cleverer than most," Yun Shu said with a proud lift of her chin. "But Grand Preceptor needn't go out of his way to say so. It's quite embarrassing."
Yes, a proud little princess—clever, yet tinged with charming naïveté.
Perfectly handled!
Surely Grand Preceptor Ye wouldn't suspect her of anything now?
Yun Shu blinked.
She might possess knowledge from a future age—insights well beyond what the people of this era could grasp—
But at her core, she was still just a young university girl, newly thrust into the world (albeit now fabulously wealthy with a sudden fortune of ten billion).
Trying to act with deliberate cunning in front of someone like Ye Qing'an—a true genius who had earned a place in court at a young age—of course she would feel a little nervous.
Thinking that she had said all she needed—and fearing that if she stayed any longer, she might slip up—Yun Shu simply stood up and said,
"This princess has troubled Grand Preceptor long enough today. As for the matter of curbing land annexation, I shall continue pondering it upon returning to the palace.
If Grand Preceptor finds time to offer guidance, this student would be deeply grateful."
From "this princess" to "this student"—she had clearly mastered the art of self-address.
…
Meanwhile, Yun Shu had successfully misled her first scapegoat and returned to the palace in high spirits.
Over in Yaohua Palace, however—
Yun Chuhuan had spent the past three days crouched by the pond, frowning at the thin layer of ice forming on the surface.
His Fifth Elder Sister had asked him to find a way to divert the pond's water from Yaohua Palace to Fengyang Palace. He had thought the hardest part would be transporting the water over such a long distance.
But he hadn't even reached that stage—he was stuck at the very beginning!
"Xiao Anzi, do you really think it's impossible for water to flow upward?"
"I don't think so, Your Highness."
It was the third time Xiao Anzi had answered this question.
"In any case, this servant has never seen water flow upward."
"But the water in the pond is already lower than the edge!" Yun Chuhuan said, scratching his head in frustration.
"There's no way I can just dig up the whole pond and carve a channel all the way to Fifth Sister's Fengyang Palace, right?
She said very clearly—not to cause any grand disturbances!
Besides, digging ponds might work for us, but if this is meant to solve the issue of barren land across the empire, it's simply not viable!"
"Shall I fetch Xiao Sezi and Xiao Yuzi to come help?" Xiao Anzi offered cautiously.
"Though we servants are certainly not as clever as Your Highness, if we all put our heads together, we might just come up with something useful."
"That works."
Still frowning at the pond, Yun Chuhuan said,
"Call everyone, every last one of them. Tell them this:
Whoever comes up with a useful idea—this prince will reward with one hundred taels of silver!"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
The moment he heard the word 'reward,' Xiao Anzi's eyes lit up. He turned and ran off immediately to gather the others.