"Very well, there's no need to look for the prince anymore. Let them be as they are," Qingyu said calmly, then had Rongyun accompany her back to the palace.

...

Within an hour, the news of the six concubines serving the emperor spread throughout the entire harem. Unfortunately, the people in the harem only knew how to criticize women, but they didn't say that it was Hongli's fault.

Listening to the palace maids' whispers, Qingyu smiled colorlessly, "They're all a bunch of bullies who prey on the weak."

As the sun began to set, the evening glow painted half the sky red, making it exceptionally beautiful on this autumn day.

Qingyu looked up at the sky, knowing that the Qing Dynasty began its slow decline from this point onward.

Hongli's numerous trips to the south of the Yangtze River have emptied the national treasury. Ironically, he was completely unaware of this and even narcissistically believed that he had done a better job than Yinzhen and Xuanye, and that the people were living in greater peace and prosperity.

Little did he know that it was precisely because of his arrogant demeanor that future generations would suffer unprecedented humiliation.

The thought of changing history flashed through her mind at that moment, but she didn't know how to do it.

After much deliberation, the best course of action was to kill Hongli, install a capable person as emperor, and then open the customs to keep pace with the times.

Perhaps in this way, the Opium War, the Eight-Nation Alliance invasion of China, and the tragedy of the Nanjing Massacre could have been avoided.

This is the so-called butterfly effect: if one policy goes wrong, a series of problems will follow.

The system could hear her thoughts, and upon hearing that she wanted to change history, it quickly stopped her, saying, "Your mission is to save a few people, but changing history is impossible."

"What if I insist on changing it?" Qingyu asked rhetorically.

"The consequences are beyond what you and I can bear."

This time, the system was very serious, unlike its usual carefree attitude.

Indeed, now that history has been changed, the future is unpredictable; things may get better or worse, and this is a responsibility she cannot bear.

She remained silent for a long time before finally saying, "I understand."

If the outcome can be better, she is willing to take responsibility; if it's worse, she doesn't want to become a sinner for all time.

"One is like this, two are like this too, how come they all change at this time of year?" the system muttered softly, then shut itself off again.

Qingyu ignored the system's complaints and slowly walked into the palace like a walking corpse.

The next day at dawn, as soon as she opened her eyes, she heard voices outside the door.

She tiptoed over, wanting to hear what they were saying.

"Twelfth Prince, Her Majesty the Empress has not yet woken up. Why don't you come over later?" The speaker was Rong Yun.

It turned out to be Yongji who had come.

"It's alright, I'll wait here for Mother Empress to wake up," Yongji said in his childish voice.

Rong Yun smiled, "Is it something very important? Or should I go and call Her Majesty the Empress..."

Before she could finish speaking, Yongji quickly shook his head, "Your Majesty is working so hard, please don't disturb her, I'll wait here."

Rong Yun was slightly taken aback. "Since the Twelfth Prince insists, this servant can only obey."

As soon as he finished speaking, the outside fell silent.

Seeing this, Qingyu immediately put on her clothes. How could she bear to keep such a sensible and adorable child waiting?

A moment later, she sat down and said, "Come in!"

Upon hearing that Qingyu had woken up, Yongji quickly pushed open the door and bowed with a smile, saying, "Greetings, Your Majesty."

Qingyu looked intently at the ten-year-old child in front of her. He had a fair and delicate face, and his big, dark, bright eyes revealed a hint of curiosity and anticipation.

"Good boy, get up quickly!" Qingyu called to him, "Why are you here? Is there something you need?"

Yongji straightened up and obediently replied, "Your subject has something he would like to ask Your Majesty for help with."

Qingyu laughed, "Tell me, I will agree to anything within the limits of what the Empress Dowager can do."

Upon hearing this, Yongji's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise. "Then I won't stand on ceremony. It's nothing really, I just wanted to ask Mother Empress for some silver."

"Oh?" Qingyu raised an eyebrow. "What do you need the money for?"

Firstly, Yongji was small, and secondly, the palace had everything, so Qingyu couldn't figure out what he needed the money for.

Yongji puffed out his cheeks, "The floods in Henan the other day destroyed many..."

The dikes have been breached, leaving many displaced and homeless. Your Majesty wishes to raise funds to provide relief to these victims.

Upon hearing this, Qingyu remained silent for a moment, then couldn't help but sigh. Such a young child already cared about the people, while Emperor Hongli only cared about his own enjoyment.

"Empress Mother, are you willing?"

Yongji's call brought Qingyu back to her senses. Instead of answering immediately, she asked, "How did your father handle this matter?"

“Father also said he would provide relief with silver, but there are just too many disaster victims this time. Your son and Sixth Uncle have calculated that the silver allocated from the national treasury is simply not enough,” Yongji said in detail.

How much more is needed?

“Five thousand taels!” He spread his palms, revealing five fingers. “However, my sixth uncle gave three thousand taels, and I gave him another five hundred taels. I still need one thousand five hundred taels.”

This five hundred taels was probably all of Yongji's savings, and Qingyu couldn't help but like the child more and more.

She reached out her right hand and touched Yongji's hair, saying softly, "Alright, Mother will give you this 1,500 taels."

It's just a year's salary; she can afford it.

Upon hearing this, Yongji smiled and said, "Your subject thanks Your Majesty on behalf of the people of Henan."

"You're welcome, it's what your mother should do." Qingyu patted his shoulder.

"By the way, Uncle Liu also said that in recent years, corrupt officials have become increasingly rampant. He's afraid that after this sum of money is distributed and stripped away layer by layer, there won't be much left for the common people." Yongji said, his brows furrowing.

Qingyu nodded in agreement. "What your sixth uncle said makes a lot of sense. So what plan does he have to prevent this from happening?"

He said the best way was for him to go to Henan and personally distribute the supplies to the people.

Upon hearing this, Qingyu immediately sighed in her heart: Such a good person, yet he didn't become emperor later. Did Fourth Master get senile in his old age?

Then he thought that Hongli was probably too good at pretending, and Fupei didn't have a deep obsession with the throne, so he became the emperor.

"This will have to trouble your sixth uncle." She had no way to resolve the matter, so she could only agree, perhaps this was the best solution.

“So… I also want to go, and share some of Sixth Uncle’s burdens.” Yongji lowered his head, afraid that Qingyu would blame him.

"You...you're going too?" Qingyu was a little surprised. What could a ten-year-old child do?

She didn't realize that in feudal times, ten-year-olds were considered little adults and not as innocent as modern children. You should know that when Xuan Ye was twelve, he already had his first child.