Even so, Consort Duan and Consort An are the envy of many. The highest rank in the palace now is Consort, and they also have access to palace affairs. Even if it's just a title, they can still gain a lot of benefits!
The newly appointed Consort Duan and Consort An moved to the palace the very next day, with the help of the Imperial Household Department!
Consort Duan moved into Yonghe Palace, and Consort An moved into Jingyang Palace! The two palaces are adjacent, and given that they've recently had good fortune while Consort Hui and Consort Rong are down on their luck, they've offended them to some extent! Therefore, the two plan to team up!
Thus, a new structure was formed in the harem: Consort Duan and Consort An held power, while Consort Hui and Consort Rong, who had considerable influence in secret but were stripped of their palace duties!
As for Consort Xian, Yunrong, there's absolutely no need to worry about these things!
Two days later, the families of Consort Hui and Consort Rong finally began to make their moves! During a court session, Mingzhu spoke up: "Your Majesty, this servant has something to report!"
Yinzhen: "Present the memorial."
Mingzhu: "This servant reports that Consort Xian's expenses exceed her rank!"
Yinzhen said casually, "Oh? How come I didn't know about this? Tell me in detail!"
Mingzhu: "This servant has heard that His Majesty's Qianqing Palace has started using electric lights. According to rank, only His Majesty and the Empress Dowager are entitled to the same level of luxury as His Majesty! Consort Xian's Yongshou Palace is far too extravagant!"
After Mingzhu finished speaking, a long string of people echoed her words!
Yinzhen glanced at everyone: "You all know my harem very well. It seems you are all very concerned about my harem. What, the pillars of the state that I have chosen do not focus on how to govern the country, but instead focus on the trivial matters of my harem?"
Yinzhen spoke in a nonchalant tone, which only made everyone more frightened!
After Yinzhen finished speaking, there was silence: "Why is no one saying anything? You spend the national treasury's salary, why don't you think more about the livelihood of the people? You're all eyeing my harem. I see you ministers have nothing better to do! Just now, I received a secret edict. The salt tax in Jiangnan is decreasing year by year. I haven't found any salt wells that have dried up on a large scale. I wonder if any minister can come up with a good solution for me. How should this matter be resolved?"
Still no one spoke!
Yinzhen then said, "Liang Jiugong, read aloud what I have found out!"
Liang Jiugong glanced at the ministers led by Mingzhu, silently mourning for them in his heart, and said aloud, "Lord Mingzhu dotes on his concubine Chen in the harem. Chen's food, clothing and daily necessities are no less than those of the Fujin (principal wife). Yuanwailang Gaishan dotes on his secondary wife Liu Jia, whose food, clothing and daily necessities are even more luxurious than those of his Fujin and mother..."
Liang Jiugong went on and on, naming all the officials who had stepped forward today, and everything he said was true! They were not allowed to refute him!
To be spoken to like this in front of so many colleagues is humiliating. In fact, men, especially those who have become officials and have been granted titles, would naturally not refuse a woman's advances. The principal wife is usually quite dignified, so they would naturally favor the beautiful one!
That's the general situation; everyone's pretty much the same, but to have it said outright is a bit embarrassing!
The ministers, led by Mingzhu, were embarrassed and dared not say another word!
Yinzhen continued, "I hope that all of you will pay more attention to the livelihood of the people. As for my family affairs, I will not trouble you with them. As for the electric lights, they were just used in Yongshou Palace on a whim. That's all for now! If you have anything to say, please speak. If not, the court is adjourned!"
Since His Majesty has said so, then there's nothing to worry about!
Because the inner palace has been under strict control recently, and Mingzhu and the others had just been reprimanded, they dared not send messages to the palace while the Emperor was still angry. Therefore, Consort Hui and Consort Rong are still unaware that their family has been defeated!
Consort Hui and Consort Rong spent five or six days copying scriptures before receiving news from their families. They never expected the Emperor to be so protective of Consort Xian! Enraged, they smashed a lot of things!
Consort Duan and Consort An were actually quite pleased to find out. Since Consort Hui and Consort Rong were not doing well, they could take the opportunity to develop their own power, so that they wouldn't be left powerless to fight back when Consort Hui and Consort Rong were released to bully them!
Yunrong had her own sources of information. She knew everything the Emperor had done for her, and her opinion of him had changed somewhat. History books only recorded history; she only saw what was in front of her!
Yunrong only knew that the current emperor did not love women (although there might be some hidden reasons), and that he valued her quite a bit (although it might be because of her outstanding talent), which made Yunrong feel a little goodwill towards Yinzhen (although not much)!
When Yinzhen dined with Yunrong, Yunrong said to him with a grateful expression, "I'm sorry to have troubled you! Thank you for protecting me!"
From Yinzhen and Yunrong's perspective, Yunrong had no responsibility whatsoever in this matter. However, this was ancient times, and although imperial power was supreme, it was meaningless without court officials! Yunrong was truly grateful that Yinzhen had gone to such lengths.
Yinzhen didn't think it was troublesome: "It's not troublesome. These ministers who have nothing better to do need to be taught a lesson. Don't think too much about it. Just do whatever makes you comfortable!"
Yunrong wasn't one for formalities; she was happy to live a more comfortable life: "Thank you very much then. I will definitely create more value for you!"
Yinzhen felt somewhat helpless after hearing her confident words! He thought she had a low emotional intelligence!
Is Yunrong really lacking in emotional intelligence? Not necessarily. She grew up in an orphanage! Without parental protection, it's easy to mature early, and it's rare to find someone with low emotional intelligence!
As for why she was slow to react to Yinzhen's feelings for her, it was simply because she found it unbelievable!
There are historical reasons, as historical records show that Emperor Kangxi was amorous, and there are also reasons why she didn't want to believe that the emperor would like her. So she kept hypnotizing herself that the emperor was only nice to her because he needed her talent!
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