Consort Xian glanced around and naturally understood the expressions of these women. She raised her chin slightly and said in a light tone, "Ah, I originally thought that three thousand taels of gold was really not as good as the efforts of my three younger sisters, so I didn't plan to say anything."

Her meaning was simple: I didn't want to say it, but you forced me to.

Seeing her smug look, the three concubines, Xian, Liang, and Shu, were practically grinding their teeth in frustration.

Consort Shu's eyes darted around, and she smiled as she tried to salvage the situation: "Oh dear, I forgot. I not only sent two master craftsmen over, but I also brought them contracts. Our mines can directly supply raw materials to Xiao Liu."

This immediately shifted the focus of Consort Liang and Consort De's anger, and they stared intently at Consort Shu.

That wretched woman! Why didn't she explain herself earlier?!

Just because your family owns a mine doesn't mean you're so great!

The two men made no attempt to hide their jealousy, their back teeth grinding together.

The Empress, having watched the drama unfold, finally stepped in to mediate: "Alright, alright, we're all sisters, so let's not let these trivial matters ruin our harmony."

Originally, these women had planned to let her go because the Empress was pregnant, but unexpectedly, she took the initiative to step forward.

Consort Xian smiled and asked, "Empress, what are you giving to Xiao Liu?"

The Empress gave Consort Xian a disapproving look; she knew these people wouldn't let her off so easily.

However, she is not the kind of person who is unprepared.

The Empress touched her slightly protruding belly, sighed, and said, "Come to think of it, the gift I gave was probably the least thoughtful."

The least thoughtful?

Originality?

Which xin exactly?

When Consort Xian saw the Empress's reaction, she snorted coldly and said, "We sisters have known each other since we were in the Eastern Palace."

The implication is that we still don't know what you really are.

Saying such things will surely make the young prince very satisfied with the gifts he receives.

However, no matter how hard they thought about it, they couldn't figure out what the young prince was lacking besides the things they had given him.

Seeing that she had piqued their interest, the Empress smiled and said, "The Emperor once told me that Xiao Liu felt that Chief Secretary Xie and the others were too lonely..."

Everyone's eyebrows twitched; that bad premonition had indeed come true.

The Empress's smile deepened: "I think it makes sense. People like Chief Secretary Xie are all married with children who are already several years old. But because of the Emperor, they had to go to the northern desert with Xiao Liu to suffer..."

Upon hearing this, the four concubines immediately lost all their emotions.

Consort De wiped her eyes and said, "It's true, he's suffered. No matter how young Xiao Liu is, he's still a prince. Yet he's been bullied again and again by a merchant. Does he really think Xiao Liu has no backing?"

What Gu Yu didn't know was that Guard Zhang and the others had dug up the people from the Mobei Li Ji Trading Company, and the names of all those involved in serious cases were reported to the capital.

The concubines in the harem were instantly enraged.

Although they had never met Xiao Liu before, they couldn't resist how kind this child was. Even though she was incredibly poor herself, she still remembered to send them gifts.

Forget about giving gifts; which of these women doesn't come from a wealthy family? What good things haven't they seen?

What they cared about were the letters that Xiao Liu sent with each gift.

Life in the harem was monotonous, and they often passed the time by reading Xiao Liu's letters.

Therefore, the five most prestigious concubines in the harem were immediately given orders to be investigated.

As a result, their investigation uncovered quite a lot, even enriching the national treasury considerably.

The group sighed in unison, all looking rather worried.

The Empress coughed lightly and continued, "I thought that this couldn't go on for long, so I discussed it with the Emperor. We decided that all the married men in Xiao Liu's entourage would have their wives and children sent to the northern desert."

These days, every family has three to five children. There's no need for the wives of these children to fulfill their filial duties. It would be better to send them all to the northern desert.

Sending his wife and children over there will increase the population of Xinliang, won't it?

Besides, even a child like Xiao Liu, who doesn't understand anything, is thinking about this. Don't you think Xie Changshi and the others have any thoughts on this?

Gu Yuchen also knew that this wasn't how you manipulate people, so he simply abandoned his previous idea and agreed with a wave of his hand.

However, since Xinliang was in a bit of a mess before, they didn't announce it.

Now that Bai Jiwu has been sent to the capital by Guard Zhang and Lu Muchen has gone to the northern desert, the situation in the northern desert will definitely get better and better. The families of Xie Changshi and others can go back with Guard Zhang.

The Empress did indeed put a lot of effort into this matter.

In her letter to them, Xiao Liu had actually inquired about the whereabouts of Xie Changshi and other family members, but they thought that there must have been a reason why the Emperor hadn't allowed them to leave, so they pretended not to have seen it.

None of them considered trying to negotiate with the Emperor.

The thought that Xiao Liu would be extremely grateful to the Empress and become even closer to her once he knew that she had actually accomplished this task made the group even more regretful.

Why couldn't they think of saying something extra?

As they chatted, the Empress grew tired, and the men tactfully left.

It wasn't until evening that Consort De saw the Emperor, whose face still clearly showed anger.

Her eyes lit up and she guessed that Bai Jiwu must have done something to offend the emperor.

Consort De smiled and stepped forward to massage Gu Yuchen's head, whispering, "Your Majesty, did you come here just to give me a hard time? If so, I advise you to go to Consort Shu's place instead."

Consort Shu has really stolen the show today; she must be made to feel sad.

Gu Yuchen suddenly opened his eyes, a half-smile on his face, and said, "What, has Consort Shu offended you?"

Consort De snorted, withdrew her hand, sat down to the side, and pouted, saying, "Don't think I don't know why you come to me when you're angry."

I just wanted her to give me a massage.

She felt inferior today and was in a bad mood, so she didn't want to serve him anymore.

Gu Yuchen was almost laughing in exasperation at these women. They were fighting amongst themselves, and not only did they not care about him, but they also took their anger out on him.

What's the logic behind this?

But after reviewing memorials all day and listening to Guard Zhang talk so much about the affairs of Quanzhou, he was already exhausted and had no heart to argue with Consort De: "Alright, continue to massage me. Once the massage is better, I'll give you Xiao Liu's letter!"

Consort De, who had been grumbling and unwilling, immediately stood up, even wearing a fawning smile: "Your Majesty mustn't lie to me! Last time, Consort Liang got it first and bragged about it for a long time!"

She thought to herself with delight, "It seems that knowing how to massage does have its advantages!"