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“This way, it will be much easier to eliminate the bandits.”

Qin Xiaoyao smiled and continued, “Although 1 didn’t manage to capture those few mountain bandits, my men have already followed them into the mountain.”

“I believe there will be news soon.”

She had already planned everything out when Song Rui asked her to put up this act.

Even if the old fox went to investigate, he would not be able to find out anything.

After all, there was indeed a group of mountain bandits on Grimalkin Mountain.

And she had indeed received the order to exterminate the mountain bandits.

It was just that she was too busy recently, so she had put that mission on hold.

Realization dawned on Minister Shen immediately.

He also understood why Qin Xiaoyao was at Grimalkin Mountain at that moment.

It seemed that everything was just a coincidence.

When he thought of this, Minister Shen became even more enthusiastic toward Qin Xiaoyao.

“Mm-hmm. Lord Marquis’s plan is brilliant. With Lord Marquis’s help, I believe that those mountain bandits won’t be able to survive for long.

“Alright. Lord Marquis, don’t stand at the entrance. Let’s talk in detail when we go into the residence.” As Minister Shen spoke, he invited Qin Xiaoyao inside.

“After you please.” Qin Xiaoyao accepted his invitation and stepped into the Prime Minister’s residence.

In the front hall of the Prime Minister’s residence.

The moment Qin Xiaoyao and Song Rui sat down, the servants served tea at once.

“Please help yourself…” Minister Shen sat on the seat of honor and extended his hand invitingly to Qin Xiaoyao.

“Thank you, Lord Shen,” Qin Xiaoyao responded and picked up her teacup.

She took a sip and found that the tea tasted pretty good.

Hence, she said, “Good tea!”

“Haha!” Minister Shen laughed out loud.

“This is the newly harvested Dragon Well Tea from the tea plantation in the Southern River region. If Lord Marquis likes it, I will ask the servants to bring some for Lord Marquis to take away later.”

Qin Xiaoyao’s eyes lit up.

“Then 1 must thank you, Lord Shen!” she expressed her thanks to him.

It would be a waste not to accept this tea.

Although she didn’t know how to appreciate tea, she still recognized that this tea was good.

It was not bad to have some in the residence to serve her guests.

As Song Rui watched his wife’s reaction, he couldn’t help but laugh inwardly.

His wife was a down-to-earth person.

Minister Shen, who was seated on the seat of honor, was stunned momentarily.

He didn’t expect that Qin Xiaoyao would really ask him for tea leaves.

However, it only took a moment for him to revert to his earlier expression.

It was just tea leaves. If Marquis Xiaoyao liked it, there was no harm in giving her some.

Thus, Minister Shen replied, “Lord Marquis, you’re welcome.”

Thereafter, he ordered the servants waiting outside the door to prepare the tea leaves.

Following that, he asked Qin Xiaoyao about the details of how she saved Shen Lian and Song Rui.

Qin Xiaoyao recounted the incident briefly.

Song Rui added some details every now and then.

Of course, during the process of adding details, he flattered Qin Xiaoyao effusively and expressed his admiration for her.

“Haha! Lord Marquis’s martial arts skills are indeed formidable!

“The Great Jin State is impregnable with Lord Marquis around.” Minister Shen looked at Qin Xiaoyao with admiration.

Putting everything else aside, Marquis Xiaoyao was indeed a good warrior in terms of fighting.

Previously, she was the one who turned the tide of the battle against the Liao State.

If this person was here, the Liao State would probably not dare to attack the Jin State again.

Just this point alone made Marquis Xiaoyao worthy of respect from all the people of the Great Jin State. Naturally, that included him.

Qin Xiaoyao exchanged pleasantries with Minister Shen for a while.

After that, she proposed to discuss some matters regarding the Ministry of War with Minister Shen.

Minister Shen was easy to talk to and agreed.

Then, Qin Xiaoyao told him about the soldiers and generals in the army who didn’t receive adequate benefits.

She even said that when she applied for those benefits, the Ministry of Revenue did not approve her application.

“Our soldiers risk their lives to go to the battlefield to slay the enemy.

“We wage bloody battles. Other than protecting our state, we are also fighting for a share of the glory or some money to support our families.

“This is especially true for those soldiers who died in battle. When soldiers die, we can only accept the fact.

“But their families haven’t been able to get their compensation payment despite waiting for a long time. Not only did they have to bear the pain of losing their loved ones, but they also had to face the pressures of life.

“In the long run, won’t it make the soldiers feel demoralized?” At this point,

Qin Xiaoyao’s voice rose a little, appearing somewhat indignant.

Besides helping her husband, the other reason she came to look for Minister Shen was indeed for this matter.

The Imperial Court had already tacitly agreed to let Prince Huaiyin support his own soldiers.

And her soldiers were also Prince Huaiyin’s soldiers.

Based on the previous arrangement, Prince Huaiyin should have paid for her soldiers.

However, after she was officially conferred the title of Marquis, Prince Huaiyin no longer cared about her and her soldiers.

She knew that Prince Huaiyin was intentionally keeping a distance from her.

However, the lack of funds had indeed brought her a lot of trouble.

In reality, she was able to support thousands of soldiers without problems.

However, she couldn’t bear to use her own money.

Wasn’t it nice for her to save up her own money and spend it on herself and her family? Why should she give it to outsiders?

However, she had no choice but to support them.

The soldiers went into battle to slay enemies. Now that there was no war, they still trained every day and all of them worked hard.

Everyone’s salary was only so little.

If she didn’t pay them, she would feel quite bad. After all, she still had the fiefdom in Xiaoyao County.

The taxes from the fiefdom were actually barely enough to support these few thousand people.

However, she would not want to pay if she could help it.

After all, although those soldiers were her soldiers, once she resigned from her current position as a general, they would no longer be hers.

As for her, she was prepared to resign in the future.

Minister Shen was stunned.

Then he seemed to remember something.

“Prince Huaiyin didn’t approve the soldiers’ salaries and compensation payments?” he asked Qin Xiaoyao.

Empress Jia held Marquis Xiaoyao in high regard and often summoned her into the palace. She even made Princess Xiangyang acknowledge her as her master.

Was it because of this reason that Prince Huaiyin excluded Marquis Xiaoyao?

Qin Xiaoyao revealed a troubled expression.

“His Highness knows that the Empress holds me in high regard and that I have taken Princess Xiangyang as a disciple. Thus, he has some veiled criticisms about me.

“The matter of food rations and pay was cut off by His Highness a month ago.” Qin Xiaoyao’s face was filled with bitterness.

When she saw Minister Shen look at her, she continued, “I already knew about the discord between His Highness and the Empress. But I did not expect that things had already reached this stage.

“Truth be told, I can guess what they are thinking.

“But 1 have no interest in joining factions or taking sides.

“I only want to be loyal to the Great Jin State and the Emperor.” As Qin Xiaoyao spoke, she cupped her hands.

“As for other things, I really don’t want to get involved.”

Minister Shen’s eyes flickered.

“Lord Marquis, you are right.”

“It’s a pity. There are too few people in the court who think in the same way as

Lord Marquis,” Minister Shen said with a sigh.

Then, an idea popped into his mind.

“The food rations and pay of Lord Marquis’s soldiers should indeed be paid by the Imperial Court.

“I will take note of this matter.

“Tomorrow, I will personally go to the Ministry of Revenue and help Lord Marquis procure the food rations,” Minister Shen said.

It was good to be neutral. He could not wait to completely shake off Empress

Jia and the Jia family and become a neutral party himself.

If he did this favor for Lord Marquis now, he might be able to get something in return in the future.

Qin Xiaoyao’s eyes lit up when she heard that.

“Lord Shen, do you really mean it?” she asked Minister Shen excitedly.

Minister Shen nodded.

“I’m not joking,” he said with a smile.

Qin Xiaoyao hurriedly stood up, straightened her body, and cupped her hands at Minister Shen.

“In that case, I must thank you, Lord Shen! And I also thank you on behalf of the eight thousand soldiers!”