Chapter 122: Wagering Fate

"Everything in the capital is as usual." Princess Taiping recounted every detail she had heard from the banquet last night to Wu Ning one by one.

"My mother's ascension to the throne is now unstoppable. Even if there are civil and military officials in the court with silent grievances, none dare to openly object, mostly responding with silence."

"Mhm," Wu Ning nodded. "And then?"

"Do you know why she suddenly remembered to summon me to the capital?"

"I found out!" Taiping said. "It is said that during the court assembly, someone recommended you."

"What!?" Wu Ning was greatly startled. This answer was truly beyond his expectation.

*What the hell? Aside from old lady Wu, someone else was actually keeping an eye on me?*

"Young Master Jiu can surely never guess who it was?"

"Who?" Wu Lao Jiu stared wide-eyed.

"Shangguan Wan'er!"

"Uh."

Wu Ning choked right there. *Why is that woman giving me a hard time?*

Yet, upon second thought, what Shangguan Wan'er? Wasn't this simply the intention of old lady Wu herself, merely spoken through the mouth of little Shangguan?

Put that way, it really was old lady Wu who intentionally brought it up.

Then why? A genuine test? Just having nothing better to do?

He looked up at Taiping with a helpless expression. "Do you know what the court discussion was about that made the Holy Empress remember me?"

Only then did Taiping say, "Coincidentally, it really did have to do with accounts, finance, and taxation."

The cause of the court assembly that brought Wu Ning to the surface this time was—tribute.

As it happened to be the turn of the year, coupled with the fact that old lady Wu was about to ascend the throne, all the vassal states and foreign dependencies naturally had to offer lavish tributes to the Heavenly Tang.

The majestic Great Tang, with ten thousand nations coming to pay court—that was no trifling matter.

The likes of Japan, Goryeo, Khitan, Tubo, the various Western Regions, Arabia, South Asia, and East Africa—dark-skinned, yellow-skinned, white-skinned, counting them all, there were countless numbers of them.

With all these people coming to pay tribute to the Great Tang and offer New Year's greetings to old lady Wu, the old lady was practically hollowed out.

Offering tribute to China is something that small countries have always loved to do throughout the dynasties.

Although offering lavish tributes might seem rather costly, holy moly, the rate of return was high too!

As the celestial court of a great nation, however much stuff you send, they add a zero and bestow it back upon you, displaying the true character of a great power.

Once or twice is fine, but if they keep coming, even the celestial court cannot endure it!

For example, the Tubo envoy presented old lady Wu with two hundred fine steeds.

Just two hundred horses—the Great Tang didn't take them seriously at all. According to the current price of horses, one horse was worth about fifty guan, so two hundred horses amounted to no more than ten thousand guan in heavy cash.

Then, as the celestial court, so as not to take advantage of you, they add a zero and bestow them back to you...

Ten thousand becomes one hundred thousand.

Then, the Khitan sent some ginseng and furs, also not worth much, around five thousand guan.

Very well, add a zero, and it becomes fifty thousand!!

Dozens of small states and minor nations swarmed in. You with your ten thousand, he with his fifty thousand—dammit, even a wealthy landlord's family couldn't withstand such squandering. In just the half-month before the new year, solely on tribute returns, the imperial court had given away nearly three million guan.

...

One must know that the annual fiscal revenue of the Great Tang was only around thirty million guan.

Coupled with the fact that in recent years old lady Wu had been building temples and erecting the Mingtang hall, spending money like water, these past two weeks had nearly emptied the imperial treasury.

Yet she couldn't refuse to give; the old lady was about to sit on the dragon throne any minute now—could she afford to lose face?

When the financial officials reminded her in court to spend a little less, Wu Wuzeetian flew into a rage.

She berated the civil and military officials in the grand hall for their incompetence, demanding how a mere million or so could leave the Great Tang's treasury empty. Could it be that among all the wise ministers in the court, not a single talent capable of managing finance and taxation could be found?

Right at this juncture, Shangguan Wan'er stepped forward.

She reported to the Holy Empress: *While none may exist in the hall, they do exist among the common folk. This concubine happens to know of a talented youth in Fangzhou, well-versed in mathematics and finance—none other than Wu Ning!*

Just like that, Wu Lao Jiu was pushed forward, leading to this imperial decree summoning him to the capital.

...

Things having reached this point, Wu Ning could basically conclude that this was a play directed and performed by Wu Zetian herself.

Why would little Shangguan Wan'er recommend him for no reason?

Besides, was the national treasury something a mountain kid who hadn't even finished reading the *Zuo Zhuan* could manipulate?

Viewed this way, Wu Zetian's intent to test him seemed all the more fitting.

Wu Ning thought to himself, if he refused to enter official service, old lady Wu would probably rest easy, wouldn't she?

Yet, for some reason, Wu Ning fell into a dilemma at this moment, and the words he had previously spoken to Taiping involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

*"The suffering of the common people..."*

At this moment, those two words he had uttered himself came back to haunt him.

*"In that imperial court, the Li family wants to protect themselves, the Wu family wants to rise to power, and the aristocratic clans want to maintain their glory. Yet not a single person remembers the suffering of the common people, and not a single person genuinely wants to accomplish any practical deeds."*

Yet now, how was he any different from those people?

...

Although the empty state treasury and the lack of talent were excuses used by Wu Zetian...

Come to think of it, this excuse was genuinely real.

And Wu Ning, as a professionally trained accountant, was inherently a talent adept at managing accounts. Could he solve this problem?

He could—he truly could!

Yet, to save his skin and stay as far away from that terrifying old lady as possible, he had to pretend he couldn't, not even daring to try.

How was he any different from the powerful nobles in the capital?

At this moment, his heart harbored only selfish desires, utterly devoid of the suffering of the common people!

...

"Hoh..."

Princess Taiping let out a long breath of turbid air. "Looking at it now, as long as Young Master Jiu declines the official appointment, Mother will probably no longer do anything to you."

She stood up. "This princess will return to the city right now, intercede with the imperial decree eunuch on your behalf, and let him return to the capital by himself!"

"Wait!"

Wu Ning sat blankly in the room.

"Let me... think about this carefully once more."

...

————————

Self-preservation was logical and fit his current predicament.

Not to mention Wu Ning entering the capital, even if he didn't, the moment he showed the slightest sign of posing a threat, given Wu Zetian's current sensitivity, she would likely take his life.

Moreover, Wu Zetian would never truly give him a chance to stabilize the finances.

Even with all his skills, given his status, Wu Ning would have no way to execute them.

Therefore, showing weakness and seeking self-preservation was Wu Ning's most rational choice at present, or rather, his only choice.

Yet...

Could he really just let it go like this?

Could he really just ignore it and stand idly by?

Wu Lao Jiu was no saintly figure; he was usually full of schemes and worldly-wise, but neither was he a bad person.

On the contrary, he had always remembered the words "the suffering of the common people"!

And what he had seen and heard during his years living in the Great Tang told him that this opportunity, which seemed merely an excuse for old lady Wu, might very well be the turning point that steered the Great Tang in an entirely different direction.

A brand-new Great Tang—one different from history, different from any dynasty, a Great Tang that was originally slowly aging and declining from its peak, yet seized this very opportunity to undergo a secondary ascent.

Should Wu Ning really abandon such an opportunity for his own selfish gain?

"Qi Lei..."

Deep in thought, Wu Ning unconsciously muttered to himself, "This brother wants to take a risk. If I die, you must find another way!"

"Ah???"

Taiping voiced her confusion from the side. "What is Young Master Jiu saying?"

"...... What?" Wu Ning snapped back to reality. "Did I say something just now?"

His brows were tightly furrowed. Just now, those words had been purely subconscious. Why he had uttered them, even he himself did not know.

"What is all this talk about dying?" Taiping asked with concern. "Do not speak such nonsense."

"Oh, it's nothing."

Wu Ning didn't want to continue deep conversation with Taiping and brushed it off. "Trouble Your Highness to send someone to fetch some paper and ink."

"I have something I need to write."

...