Concubine Lan was still feeling complacent.
The gift she gave, Taihu stone, was special and expensive, fully demonstrating a younger generation's respect for the elder. Lanpin felt that the Queen Mother would definitely look at her with new eyes.
Relying on Taihu stone, he won the favor of the Queen Mother. From now on, Concubine Lan will have the Empress Dowager as her support in the harem, and will never have to worry about not getting the Emperor's favor.
At the female seat, Lu Yun's lips slowly shrunk, and a hint of gloating flashed across her eyes.
"What an idiot. There are concubines in the palace who are so brainless." Lu Yun shook her head secretly.
As the flood in the south was still unresolved, the empress dowager took the lead in promoting frugality and sent the saved money to the disaster-stricken areas to help the suffering people, demonstrating the compassion of the Daqing royal family.
The likes of Concubine Shu and Concubine Chen all gave affordable and practical birthday gifts.
Only Concubine Lan from the Xie family, in order to please the empress dowager, actually sent the expensive and labor-intensive Taihu stones, and she sent a hundred pieces at a time.
What a stupid woman.
Lu Yun shook the embroidered round fan in her hand and thought secretly, no wonder Lu Xuan was so successful in the palace, it turned out that many concubines were as brainless as Concubine Lan.
At the banquet, Concubine Lan looked at the Queen Mother eagerly, hoping to get her praise.
Behind the gorgeous pearl curtain, the Queen Mother said in a cold voice: "Taihu stone is expensive, I can't afford it. I'd better send it back to the Xie family so that your father can enjoy it."
Lanpin stood there in a daze.
It was like a basin of cold water poured over my head, making my whole body feel cool.
The Queen Mother took a sip of the warm spring tea and glanced at the Emperor sitting on the throne. Li Yuanjing's eyes were dark and deep, as if he was in deep thought.
The Queen Mother shook her head silently.
The Xie family is simply courting their own destruction. Li Yuanjing had just dealt a heavy blow to the Tan Tai family, and now the Xie family had foolishly fallen into the trap.
The Xie family’s inside information was correct; the Queen Mother really liked Taihu stones.
When the late emperor first ascended the throne, a minister had a unique idea and presented two pieces of Taihu stones to the emperor and empress. The Taihu stone had a peculiar shape and was of great ornamental value. The emperor and the empress loved it so much that they placed the Taihu stone in the imperial garden as a rockery and admired the stone in their spare time.
The emperor and empress loved Taihu stones, and their followers, including high-ranking officials and literati, followed suit. For a time, Daqing was swept by a trend of "stone appreciation".
The value of Taihu stone continued to rise, and gradually, the emperor and empress discovered the huge negative impact brought by Taihu stone.
First, the people living near Taihu Lake stopped growing rice and farming and instead went out to quarry stones for a living, which resulted in abandoned fields and a shortage of food supply in Taihu Lake.
Secondly, a good piece of Taihu stone weighs several tons. In order to transport the Taihu stone, they had to break doors and dismantle bridges along the way, and the journey was thousands of miles long. There were even counties that broke down their city gates just to ensure that the Taihu stones could be transported intact to Yanjing. It is extremely costly and labor-intensive.
The late emperor was keenly aware of the harm caused by Taihu stones.
It happened that the old empress dowager passed away, and the late emperor said that the "Taihu stone" was unknown and it washed away the old empress dowager to death. The previous emperor sent people to smash the Taihu stones and throw them out of the city gate. From then on, the emperor and empress no longer appreciated stones, and the trend of "appreciating stones" in the court gradually disappeared.
Now, thirty years have passed and Taihu stone has disappeared from Yanjing.
Who would have thought that today, Concubine Lan would send another hundred Taihu stones to the emperor! This also indirectly shows that the Xie family is now very wealthy and has connections with officials in various states and counties along the water transport route, so they can successfully transport the Taihu stones to Yanjing.
If the Empress Dowager collected one hundred pieces of Taihu stones, Yanjing would probably be swept by a new round of "stone appreciation" craze, which would cost the people a lot of money and time.
As an emperor, how could Li Yuanjing not be vigilant?
Concubine Lan was still young and had no idea of the royal family's foresight. She was still in shock, and said blankly: "Queen Mother, I am sincere..."
The Queen Mother put down her teacup with a snap and said in a cold tone: "It's really unpleasant to send a pile of broken stones to celebrate my birthday."
Directly express the disgust for Taihu stone.
Concubine Lan felt very aggrieved and had to sit back in her seat silently. It seems that the news from the family was wrong. The Queen Mother no longer likes Taihu stones. It was a real mistake.
After Concubine Lan calmed down, other concubines and ladies of state also came one after another to present birthday gifts.
When it was Lu Yun's turn, she bowed respectfully to the Queen Mother and said in a clear voice: "Greetings, Queen Mother. I did not bring any valuable gifts today. My cousin opened a grain store in the flood-stricken area. I wrote to him, appealing to his feelings and reasoning. He then opened a porridge store in the disaster area and provided free porridge to the hungry victims for a month."
"It is the Queen Mother's birthday. I am doing this kind act to accumulate virtue for her. I wish her continued blessings and a long life."
After saying that, Lu Yun saluted the Queen Mother again.
The Queen Mother was indeed delighted, clapping her hands and praising her: "As expected of the daughter of Duke Lu, she is so smart and thoughtful at such a young age, which is really rare."
Lu Yun raised the corners of her lips and lowered her head slightly, hiding the pride in her eyes.
Even Concubine Lu Xuan, who was sitting high up, couldn't hide the surprise in her eyes. The naive and silly little sister before turned out to be so smart.
Did he get advice from Duke Lu?
The Queen Mother was very satisfied with the birthday gift from Lu Yun and rewarded her with a precious plum blossom hairpin inlaid with emerald. This hairpin was a dowry given to the Empress Dowager when she got married.
Lu Yun held the hairpin with joy. Although the hairpin is a little old, it is of extraordinary value.
Lu Yun suppressed her excitement, observed etiquette, and once again respectfully thanked the Queen Mother.
She thought to herself that she had caught the empress dowager's eye today, and when she entered the palace as a concubine in the future, the empress dowager would be able to provide her with support.
Shen Wei, who was drinking tea, glanced at the old hairpin and was amazed in her heart, thinking that Taiguo was really an old fox.
The empress dowager came from a prominent family and her dowry included as many as five hundred hairpins. Over time, many hairpins have been damaged and are worthless.
The ladies of honor presented their gifts one after another. Among them, Madam Tan Tai gave the empress dowager a cold jade pillow to help her sleep and maintain her health. The empress dowager specially praised it a few more times.
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