The court ministers were already talking when she slipped into the hall.
Xinying crossed the stone floors and took the phoenix chair beside her lawful husband. She didn't speak. She didn't need to. Mingyu flicked his eyes to her once, one small glance that set the room's spine straighter, then returned to the agricultural minister arguing about boundary stones and the need to take more grain from the farmers.
"We will not take more than what we are due," Mingyu announced. "If you don't think that there will be enough rice and grain for the winter months, then feel free to plant the fields yourself and harvest everything for the sake of the court. That way, you will also understand what it means to labor for someone else's profit."
His voice carried without force. The scribe's brush scratched. The minister was stuck clenching his jaw, unable to protest now that Xinying was in the room. Bowing his head, he stepped back into place.
