Emperor Xuanwu had no patience for idle chatter.
He cut straight to the heart of the matter.
"Have you thought of a solution?"
"...No."
Yun Shu lowered her head slightly, looking a touch embarrassed.
"I kept thinking about it... but each time, I ended up falling asleep again."
Emperor Xuanwu: "?"
What nonsense was this child spouting?
She just said she was so troubled by the matter that she couldn't sleep—yet now she claimed she kept falling asleep while thinking about it?
Did that even count as human speech?
Nearly driven to a headache by her roundabout rambling, Emperor Xuanwu shot her a glare.
"Then you had best sit there and think properly now!
Ye Qing'an made his proposal for the new commercial tax because of you. In doing so, he offended a great number of officials. And you? You've done nothing, yet now stand to reap the rewards. Do you think this is fitting?"
"…"
Was it not?
If one were to be precise, the new commercial tax was ultimately for Tian Sheng's benefit—for his benefit as the Son of Heaven.
Was her Imperial Father not also enjoying the fruits of Ye Qing'an's proposal?
Why was he allowed to sit back and benefit, but she, a mere idle princess, was not?
As her thoughts churned and complaints raced through her mind, Yun Shu kept her expression innocent, confused, and even a little timid.
"Um… then could you say again what exactly the difficulty is in implementing the new commercial tax?"
Emperor Xuanwu: "…"
He was beginning to question the legitimacy of the Simulation Life Selection System.
Could this child—who looked as though she'd just woken from a nap and clearly had a poor memory—really be counted on to solve problems?
His expression darkened, but he repeated the issue once more. Then, with a wave of his hand, he granted Ye Qing'an a seat.
"Ye Aiqing, take a seat and rest. At the rate she's going, we may be here until nightfall before she comes up with anything useful."
"...Yes. Many thanks, Your Majesty."
Ye Qing'an, catching the implied sarcasm beneath the Emperor's words, could not help glancing again at Yun Shu.
Judging from His Majesty's attitude, he clearly had no intention of backing down until he got a proper answer.
Could it be… His Majesty suspected, as he himself did, that Princess Sheng An had long since worked it all out in her mind?
The same thought flickered vividly through Yun Shu's own mind.
Otherwise, her Imperial Father's actions simply defied all reason.
Even if he were bitter about his own busyness, jealous that she could lie about idly all day, and bent on dragging her into the fray—this was not the sort of matter one could casually thrust upon a sleeping princess.
To toss her a proposal so contentious that the entire court was split in debate, and demand a solution within a single day?
That could only mean one thing.
She had been suspected.
Should she dig in and insist she had no solution?
Yun Shu wavered for less than three seconds before her expression suddenly cleared.
"This issue is quite easy to resolve."
"Oh?"
A moment ago, Emperor Xuanwu had still been doubting whether she was capable of thinking at all. Now, he instinctively leaned forward.
"And how do you propose to resolve it?"
"There are simply too many merchants under heaven to assess them one by one. So don't assess them individually—assess them by group instead."
With the most direct, straightforward logic, Yun Shu broke the deadlock.
"In the end, how is this any different from collecting the agricultural tax? Do the officials in the capital personally go out to collect taxes from each farmer?"
"Your Highness, the two are not the same."
Ye Qing'an had not expected her 'simple solution' to be this simplistic. He immediately stepped in to explain.
"Farmlands and households are all registered. Every prefecture knows precisely how many fields there are, how many farmers, and how much grain tax should be levied. The accounts are clear and traceable.
But merchants…"
"Then register the merchants too!" Yun Shu interrupted.
"That's precisely the problem."
Ye Qing'an let out a helpless sigh.
"Once merchants are registered, they become liable for the new commercial tax. This offers them no benefit whatsoever—only financial loss. Why would they agree to it?"
"Then give them a benefit," Yun Shu replied, still following the line of reasoning without the slightest detour.
"If the benefit outweighs the cost of the tax, they'll be willing."
"Easy for you to say!"
Emperor Xuanwu rolled his eyes in exasperation. Her words sounded as though she'd skipped the thinking part altogether.
"Then tell Us, what benefit could possibly outweigh such a large tax?"
"Didn't someone say just the other day that in this life, it's all about money and power…?"
Yun Shu scratched her head, finally showing a hint of actual thought.
"Since we obviously can't give out money—after all, we're collecting taxes to get money—then the only thing left is power."
"Power?"
Ye Qing'an echoed the word uncertainly, and Yun Shu nodded in full confidence.
"What else could there be? Scholar, farmer, artisan, merchant… merchants have long suffered under the burden of the lowest status. Surely they've grown weary of that by now."
"But how do we give them power?"
Ye Qing'an pressed further.
"We can't possibly grant merchants the same treatment as court officials."
"Why not?"
"What?"
Ye Qing'an froze. Emperor Xuanwu, on the other hand, felt the familiar urge to throw something directly at her head.
"Why not, you say? We think you must be tired of living comfortably!"
To grant merchants the same status as officials? Never mind the scholars—who would drown her in spit—those already serving in office would never stand for it.
Even the common folk would turn against her. If merchants were treated like officials, then what was the point of reading books and sitting the imperial exams?
Everyone would turn to trade instead. It was easier, quicker, and more profitable.
If no one read, if no one entered government, then the empire of Tian Sheng would be doomed!
"No, Father Emperor, please don't get angry. That's not what I meant!"
Noticing that Emperor Xuanwu's hand had once again drifted toward a memorial, Yun Shu quickly tried to explain.
"If merchants were truly granted equal treatment to court officials, the impact would be massive. Even though I don't enjoy studying much, I still understand that much.
What I meant was—what if we granted them limited authority, within their own circles?
This 'official title' would hold no power over anyone outside the merchant class."
"…Speak more clearly."
Emperor Xuanwu furrowed his brow. Though he still didn't quite understand what his daughter was getting at, his hand—already poised to throw something—reluctantly withdrew.
"What do you mean by authority only within their own circles?
Weren't we just saying that merchants across the land need to be willing to register themselves?"
Now that Emperor Xuanwu's temper had subsided, Yun Shu breathed a quiet sigh of relief and continued.
"I was thinking—we could establish a separate office, devoted solely to merchant affairs.
It could be called… the Merchants' Association. The head of this Association could be elected by the local registered merchants themselves.
From then on, the collection of commercial taxes in that region would be handled by the Merchants' Association. The head would gather the taxes from merchants directly and submit them to the national treasury. No involvement from court officials whatsoever. Whatever is collected is submitted in full, without deductions or delays."