Zhou Hongsheng was extremely busy and didn't have time to stay here any longer. He was worried that his maid might have been wronged because of Madam Feng'an's matter, so he comforted her.
But this attempt at comforting others quickly became inappropriate.
Despite being extremely busy, he still made time to pamper his girl before leaving.
Tang Baozhu lay on the bed, panting like a fish out of water. Although she was quite comfortable, the dog of a man touched her belly before leaving, and the expectation in his eyes was obvious to everyone.
This made her lower her eyes subconsciously. Anyway, she shouldn't think about having a child this year. If she wanted to have one, she would have to wait until next year.
The effects of that pill haven't worn off yet, and she doesn't want to take the antidote. She'll just wait for the effects to wear off and then get pregnant naturally.
The days passed quietly, and Tang Baozhu wasn't too bored because she had to make two sets of everyday clothes for her every night.
She wouldn't tire herself out; she would work for half an hour each day and then stop, spending the rest of her time wandering around the entire palace.
However, she was not entirely useless, because her divine sense was still intact, so she could easily discover those secrets buried deep underground.
The entire palace has been inhabited by emperors of countless dynasties, and the secret passages beneath it are incredibly numerous.
Zhou Hongsheng knew some of the people, but he had never heard of others. In order not to arouse too much suspicion, she would always pretend to be casually wandering around and then discover the entrance to the secret passage.
Either you accidentally pressed the stone that opens the secret passage, or you accidentally moved a small object and discovered another secret passage entrance.
Every time Zhou Hongsheng discovered a secret passage, his expression became particularly interesting, because some of these passages contained gold and silver treasures, while others were actually inhabited by people.
Just imagining living in the palace where there are people you don't know, or even people who know the palace's tunnels better than you, gives you an idea of what that feels like.
Zhou Hongsheng is feeling something like this right now, like his home is about to be raided.
The people living there can be considered remnants of the previous dynasty.
When the remnants of the previous dynasty were being escorted to the palace, they noticed that there were fewer people and assumed that they had died in the chaos of war. However, they never expected that they had taken advantage of the fact that no one knew and hid in the secret passage.
Tang Baozhu had already discovered it when she used her divine sense to observe. If there were no people inside, she probably wouldn't have paid attention to those secret passages below. However, there were signs of people living inside, and for the safety of her children, she had no choice but to find them all.
The treasures inside the secret passage are truly countless, even more abundant than the emperor's national treasury. It's safe to say that the previous emperors, or those who knew the secret of the passage, emptied the national treasury.
They were moved into an underground maze, leaving Zhou Hongsheng with nothing but an empty shell. However, everything has now been recovered, and there were even some unexpected surprises, so he is already very happy.
In addition to the entrances found inside the palace, they also discovered the exits of the tunnels, with a particularly large number of exits found in the outskirts of the capital.
Some are uninhabited houses in a village.
Some roads lead directly into the deep mountains, surrounded by cliffs on all sides, with a valley in the middle.
Even more extreme is the case of a large tree in the suburbs. The tree is hollow, but it is so big that it can survive even with just a small piece of support.
What are the specific plans? Are you going to fill in all the exits of the secret passage, or what?
Tang Baozhu didn't pay much attention to it; she simply left the rest to the emperor to handle.
However, it's unlikely that all the exits will be filled in; at least some way out should be left for future generations.
Because of the secret passage, Zhou Hongsheng hasn't had any free time in a long time, and he's been busy every day.
Things finally calmed down around the time of the Lunar New Year.
The palace was quite lively during the New Year; red lanterns were hung up even before the New Year was officially celebrated.
During the New Year, banquets would be held for ministers and their families, and they would even bring their daughters along.
As long as there are girls of suitable age, the young man will bring them along, which can be considered a different kind of matchmaking for them. If they can be favored by the emperor, that would be even better, as it would be like rising to the top in one step.
So as the Lunar New Year approached, all the clothing and jewelry shops outside made a fortune.
Even those precious pieces of jewelry that people usually wouldn't buy are now being sold without anyone haggling over the price, for fear that someone else might buy them if they're not careful.
Tang Baozhu knew that Zhou Hongsheng also owned several shops, and she figured he must have made a lot of money this Chinese New Year.
Zhou Hongsheng was not the kind of emperor who was detached from worldly affairs. During his decades as a hunter, he knew the importance of money and did not feel embarrassed or even think that being a merchant was lowly.
This Lunar New Year was also the first time that Empress Tang Baozhu appeared in front of the ministers, including their families, who were also seeing Empress Tang Baozhu for the first time.
For Tang Baozhu, this banquet for ministers would also include meeting Zhou Hongsheng's father and mother, which made her a little nervous, though only slightly.
Anyway, the emperor's attitude was clear, so as long as she didn't act impolitely, the rest was none of her business.
If she needs to do something herself, she will refuse directly if she can't do it; she won't compromise herself.
Having experienced so many worlds, she had long since outgrown the days of feeling wronged. From now on, she only wanted to live each day happily.
Zhou Hongsheng and Tang Baozhu lived together every day and had a very close and affectionate relationship.
Even though the rumors of harmony between the Emperor and Empress had spread far and wide, there were always those who didn't believe in such things, thinking that their own daughters were quite beautiful and still had a chance to compete.
Those people simply hadn't seen what Tang Baozhu looked like. If they had, they wouldn't have thought that way; they might have felt incredibly ashamed.
So on the day of the banquet for the ministers, everyone knelt down and shouted, "Long live the Emperor! Long live the Empress! Long live the Crown Prince!" When they stood up...
They would subconsciously glance at the Emperor and Empress standing on the high platform, and then they would see the Empress's face and fall into silence.
Those who harbored various ulterior motives thought about their own daughters' appearances, then looked at the Empress's appearance, sighed silently, and gave up their plans.
However, they only temporarily abandoned the idea, because in their view, the empress would grow old sooner or later, but there would be young and beautiful girls every year.
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