Chapter 28: Father and Daughter Join Forces, First Foray into State Affairs

"Ye Qingyan! Get out here at once!"

Ye Chengzong returned to the manor radiating a chilling aura, tossing his official cap onto the console table in the entryway.

The servants were as silent as cicadas, lowering their heads in fear, not daring to make a sound. It was clear to everyone that he had suffered a crushing humiliation outside today.

Ye Qingyan sat in the warm pavilion, methodically stirring a bowl of bird's nest with a small silver spoon. Upon hearing the roar, her hand did not falter, and she did not even raise an eyelid. It was only when Ye Chengzong, wrapped in wind and snow, stormed in with fury that she set down the spoon and looked up at him.

"Father, why such a great fire?"

"Why?" Ye Chengzong, like a lit firecracker, pointed a finger at her nose and cursed. "You still have the nerve to ask me why? In the imperial court, I am tearing my hair out trying to scrape together military pay, only to be shredded by those censor officials! And you? A young lady of high birth, flaunting yourself by opening some rouge shop, bringing nothing but shame to the House of Ye!"

"The censors say I have failed to govern my household, allowing my daughter to engage in commerce, staining our family honor! Today, the Emperor looked at me as if I were nothing but a piece of refuse!"

The more he spoke, the angrier he became, his chest heaving violently. He had turned his hair white with worry over state affairs, yet his daughter was causing him trouble behind his back. How could he endure this?

Ye Qingyan listened to his tirade in silence, her face devoid of the grievance or panic one might expect from a scolded child. She rose, walked to the tea table, personally brewed a cup of scalding hot Pu'er, and offered it to him with both hands.

"Father, drink some tea and calm your spirit."

Ye Chengzong paused. He had expected her to cry, to defend herself, or even to talk back; he had never expected her to be so calm. He looked at the tea, and in the end, did not strike it away, accepting it instead.

Ye Qingyan sat down again, her voice flat and ripple-free: "Father, my money is also the House of Ye's money." She paused, locking eyes with him, and said, word for word, "Perhaps I can help you solve this dilemma."

Ye Chengzong let out a laugh as if hearing a grand joke. "You? How much can a little rouge shop earn? Do you have any idea how large the shortfall for the northern military pay is? Three million taels of silver! What will you use to fill that gap?"

Ye Qingyan did not argue; she simply clapped her hands lightly. Her maid, Chunhe, understood and immediately presented a thick box made of rosewood.

"What is this?" Ye Chengzong frowned.

"All the ledgers for Yanyu Workshop since its opening. Please, Father, take a look."

Suspicious, Ye Chengzong opened the box and picked up the ledger on top, flipping to the first page. Income, expenditure, cash flow, profit... rows of clear figures. He couldn't believe it, so he picked up the second, then the third...

His hands began to tremble slightly, and his breathing grew rapid. From initial disdain to shock, and finally, to sheer horror. This was no mere rouge shop; this was a bottomless mountain of gold! In such a short time, the net profit had already neared five hundred thousand taels of silver! What a terrifying ability to amass wealth. Having managed the Ministry of Revenue for years, he had never seen such a lucrative business.

"Is... is this all true?" Ye Chengzong’s voice was hoarse. He looked up at his daughter with a gaze filled with shock.

"Every word is true," Ye Qingyan’s tone remained calm. "And this is only the beginning. The reputation of Yanyu Workshop has been established; future profits will only grow."

Ye Chengzong fell silent. He closed the ledger heavily and collapsed into his chair. Decades of his understanding were overturned in this single moment.

Ye Qingyan seized the opportunity to present her plan. "Father, a mere five hundred thousand taels is, of course, a drop in the bucket. But what if we used this amount as a catalyst to leverage the wealth of the entire capital?"

"What do you mean?" Ye Chengzong grew alert.

"I have devised a method called 'War Bonds'," Ye Qingyan’s voice was clear and forceful. "We shall use the future earnings and reputation of Yanyu Workshop as collateral to issue bonds to all the princes, nobles, and wealthy merchants in the capital, raising the necessary funds."

"We promise that once the war is settled and the national treasury is full, we will not only return the principal but pay interest far higher than any bank in the market. By doing this, one serves the country, and the other gains great profit. I trust these shrewd people will see the sense in it."

"War... bonds?" Ye Chengzong chewed over the unheard-of term, his eyes filled with shock and confusion. The idea was too bold, too novel, far exceeding his understanding as a traditional bureaucrat. Using future money to solve present problems? It was like a fantasy.

"Will this work? If we lose the war, or if the imperial court defaults, what will the House of Ye use to repay them? That would mean losing our heads!" His innate caution made him resist.

Ye Qingyan smiled. This was the moment she had been waiting for.

"Father, great wealth is sought through great risk. If this succeeds, your position in court will be as solid as a rock, and I will be able to manage the family’s industries with proper authority. What are you still hesitating for?"

She stood up, walked to him, leaned in slightly, her eyes burning. "I have only one condition. Once this is done, I want the full management rights to all the shops and estates under the House of Ye."

Ye Chengzong looked up sharply at his third daughter, who stood before him with such confidence and even a hint of pressure. In that instant, he did not see a girl raised in the secluded chambers, but a strategist and decision-maker. She did not flinch in the slightest.

He thought of the faces of his political enemies, the Emperor’s look of disappointment, and the hundreds of thousands of soldiers at the border waiting for supplies. One step back was an abyss. One step forward might be a vast, open sky.

After a long silence, as if exhausting all his strength, Ye Chengzong slammed his hand on the table. "Fine! We shall do as you say!" His eyes were bloodshot as he stared at her. "If this fails, the entire House of Ye will accompany you to the executioner's block!"

He had gambled. For the first time, he placed the fate of his entire family on the daughter he had always dismissed as a "fool."

*Using commerce to support the military and the state—there is a touch of novelty in this,* the System’s voice resonated in Ye Qingyan's mind, carrying a hint of imperceptible approval. *I grant it.*

While the System spoke with disdain, it quietly worked its influence. When Ye Qingyan stayed up all night designing the exquisite "Great Xia War Bond" certificates, she discovered that a faint, invisible golden light flowed across each page, making the certificates appear exceptionally solemn, as if carrying the persuasive power of a Heaven-sent mandate.

With the personal promotion of Ye Chengzong, the Minister of Revenue, and Ye Qingyan’s behind-the-scenes planning, the issuance of the "War Bonds" caused a sensation in the capital.

At first, most people observed from the sidelines. But when the Eldest Princess was the first to subscribe to one hundred thousand taels, and several dukes and marquises on good terms with the Ye family followed suit, the entire noble circle of the capital was set ablaze.

Everyone had seen the success of Yanyu Workshop. Minister Ye was personally endorsing it, the Eldest Princess was leading the support, and there was the promise of staggering interest rates... No one was a fool. This was both an opportunity to show loyalty to the Emperor and a safe, high-yield investment.

For a time, the Ministry of Revenue was bustling with carriages and horses; the nobles and wealthy merchants clamoring to buy the bonds nearly broke down the doors. In just three days, the silver raised exceeded five million taels! They had not only filled the three-million-tael gap for military pay but had exceeded the target.

When the news reached the palace, the Emperor was overjoyed. In court, he heaped praise upon Ye Chengzong, calling him a "pillar of the nation" and bestowing countless rewards. Ye Chengzong, amidst the envious gazes of the officials, stood tall for the first time. He knew that all of this stemmed from the daughter he had ignored for over a decade.

Ye Qingyan’s name, for the first time, left a deep impression through unofficial channels among those who truly held power.

The night was like water. Ye Qingyan stood alone on the highest Star-Gazing Tower of the Ye manor, the night breeze fluttering her skirt. In her hand, she held the deeds and ledgers for all the House of Ye’s properties, handed to her by Ye Chengzong himself.

The smoke of the inner-chamber battles seemed to have completely dissipated. The stepmother and sisters who had once troubled her were, in her eyes, nothing more than insignificant specks of dust on a chessboard. Her gaze crossed the layers of eaves, looking toward the distant, brightly lit imperial palace.

A larger chessboard—the imperial court and the world—was slowly unfolding before her.

However, before she could fully savor the joy of this victory, a greater crisis loomed like a gathering storm.

In the Imperial Palace, the Royal Study. An urgent military report from the border, marked for express delivery, was presented to the Emperor by a messenger drenched in sweat. The Emperor broke the wax seal, and with a single glance, his face turned ash-gray.

It was not a minor skirmish by the barbarians, but an assembly of a three-hundred-thousand-strong army, their blades pointed directly at Yanmen Pass!

War was imminent!

Almost at the same moment, a sharp, piercing alarm, unlike anything the System had ever emitted, echoed in Ye Qingyan’s mind!

[Alert! Alert! Severe tremors detected in the Dragon Vein! National fortune warning!]
[Conditions met for the Ultimate Crisis Mode!]
[The Emperor's Personal Expedition... is about to begin!]