As they entered through Xuanfu Gate, the back gate of the East Palace, a group of attendants breathed a sigh of relief.
Although they were restraining themselves, Huan Yue could clearly sense it.
She noticed that the scoundrel was still quite calm, as if he had no idea how big a hole she had dug for him.
However, the male lead didn't like the poisonous empress who took his mother's place anyway.
Although he was also in a car, the setting sun shone on him, making him look like a refined scoundrel.
Compared to the current emperor, he's far more despicable. At least the current emperor gave Empress Mingde the position. The fake heiress was essentially never there.
It's as if her existence is a desecration to that scoundrel and his white moonlight; they're no longer pure.
They were never clean to begin with.
Xie Zhou looked at Pei Shi without any lingering fear. What did he mean by staring at him like that?
Her head didn't hurt anymore, and she looked rather cute when she was with Yan Boxuan.
Xie Zhou had other matters to attend to and left first.
Huan Yue wanted to wave his little handkerchief and go wherever he wanted.
She still had many things to do upon returning to Qing'e Palace.
The car was parked right in front of the main entrance.
Huan Yue took advantage of the daytime to examine the area carefully.
When Xie Zhou was appointed Crown Prince, he was a baby even younger than Yan Boxuan, so the Crown Prince's successors were not needed.
It was granted marriage and then completely renovated, so it looks quite new.
The main color is cyan, which represents life. In the past, cyan buildings were the residences of emperors or wealthy families.
The Eastern Palace is also called the Green Palace. The east belongs to the element of wood and its color is green. The Eastern Palace is also the time when life flourishes.
Huan Yue thought it was quite beautiful; she loved life.
Even now, during their honeymoon period, the atmosphere is still joyous everywhere.
The setting sun shone on the main hall, making it not only majestic but also somewhat like a celestial palace.
A misty haze hangs in the air, a gentle spring breeze blows, petals drift down, and branches grow vigorously.
It's quite quiet up ahead, not busy for now.
Upon arriving at the Chengen Hall at the back, a large group of people were bustling about.
Huan Yue went to the back to take a look.
This backyard is absolutely gorgeous! After all, she's just a country bumpkin and a poor bum.
Even in the countryside, where there's plenty of space, there aren't courtyards this upscale.
The most beautiful sights are the four ancient ginkgo trees, which dominate the backyard. The largest one is about the size of five people's arms.
Just imagine how beautiful it is in summer! Just imagine how beautiful it is when the leaves fall in autumn!
Huan Yue looked up at the tall tree, drooling, and asked, "Which one is male?"
A group of people are busy.
Some weren't in charge of this matter, and others were called in from outside to lend a hand and hurry up and tidy it up.
Everyone stopped to greet the returning Crown Princess.
An old eunuch chuckled, "Does Your Majesty know there are males?"
Huan Yue looked at it and said, "I guess this one is male. These three should yield quite a few ginkgo nuts, right?"
The old eunuch grinned even more broadly, "Your Majesty is wise! These three old trees yielded thirty-six loads last year. In previous years, the harvest was only twenty or so loads, and at most, it never reached forty loads."
Huan Yue was shocked: "The fruit from this old tree costs one or two qian of silver per jin, so it must yield three to five hundred taels a year? Does that belong to the Qing'e Palace?"
The old eunuch nodded: "That's correct."
Huan Yue was overjoyed: "You can keep it for yourself or offer it to His Majesty."
The old eunuch said, "It used to be all about dividing things up."
I thought the Empress was really going to sell it.
Three to five hundred taels of silver is a lot. But with so many people, it's not much when divided among everyone.
Some people looked at each other, as if they had discovered another side of the Crown Princess.
Even the ginkgo nuts in the yard have to be counted; is the Pei family really that poor?
The Pei family's appearance was respectable, but it's normal for them to maintain a glamorous facade.
The Pei family's dowry members were on the sidelines, some helping with the work and others unable to get a hand in it.
Two others stood by, either fuming or watching the show with indifference.
Huan Yue saw that the dowry had been brought out, but he wasn't in a hurry. He pointed at the two dowry maids and ordered, "Drag them away and beat them."
yes!
The group of workers, sweating profusely from their labor, had long wanted to take action against the two nitpickers. Even after the Empress's wrath earlier that morning, they hadn't learned their lesson. Did they think they could be so smug after the Empress suffered a loss in the Empress's palace?
Whatever you're thinking doesn't matter, just drag them away and beat them up first.
Before the two dowry maids could react, their mouths were gagged.
After they were dragged out through the back door, Yu Yan said, "The keys to these things are still with the Qi family."
There were quite a few boxes.
It's not that they're looking at the empress's dowry, but if it needs to be arranged, then it must be provided.
Huan Yue didn't care at all: "If we don't have Butcher Zhang, are we going to eat pigs with hair on?"
Yu Yan agreed, but the decision rests with their master upon his return.
Huan Yue noticed that Cui Zhu was covered in dirt from her work and asked, "Do you know the details of all this dowry?"
Cui Zhu honestly replied, "These are mainly the valuable ones."
Huan Yue understood: "The good stuff isn't for me, it's for the servants."
The servants in the courtyard dared not utter a sound. They roughly knew what was going on with the Pei family. Were they trying to manipulate the Crown Princess?
I don't want to see the Crown Princess doing well at all; she's even more of a rival than my own family.
Some clever people figured out that the Pei family looked down on the Crown Prince? Because the Crown Prince's position was unstable, many people were trying to curry favor with the Empress.
That's why the birth of a son by a concubine to the Duke of Rongguo caused such a stir, with many people coming to express their opinions.
The Pei family is clearly a fallen family, but they've found a good way out.
Some who were loyal to the Crown Prince thought the Pei family's servants did a good job of being beaten!
Looking quietly to the east, why isn't the Qi family making an appearance?
The Empress might just give her a beating.
The gifts have arrived, but the courtyard looks even more chaotic now.
However, Huan Yue thought that the sun was still high and everyone could finish if they hurried.
Cuizhu pointed to the box and said to her master, "These ten boxes are silver ingots, each box containing six hundred taels; these two boxes are gold ingots, also each box containing six hundred taels."
The total amount was approximately 18,000 taels of silver in cash, plus other dowry items, bringing the total to around 50,000 taels of silver.
Such a dowry was neither extravagant nor meager.
Huan Yue knew that the Pei family couldn't afford it; it was Pei Huanzhao's wife who had taken it, and she was waiting to get it back with interest.
Because the Pei family couldn't afford it, they valued it highly and wouldn't allow the fake heiress to use it casually.
The dowry served two purposes: to maintain appearances and to pave the way for the future.
The Pei family has finally become involved with the royal family, but the path they're paving isn't necessarily for the crown prince.
Paving the way for the true heiress, the white moonlight, and Chang Ziyu.
Huan Yue noticed that the brass locks on the box were exceptionally exquisite. She picked up a lock, squeezed it, and it changed shape. Then she pulled it off.
There were quite a few people in the backyard, all staring wide-eyed!
There were still many things I didn't see clearly, so I instinctively squeezed through to take a look.
Huan Yue opened the box and found neatly arranged silver ingots; she then pinched a lock, pulled it off, and opened the box.
The others weren't dazzled by the silver; instead, they were terrified by the lump of copper and the copper lock!
Huan Yue casually tossed the copper lock to the ground; though exquisite, it was no loss to destroy it.
The lock on a chest containing silver can never be more valuable than the silver itself.
Ji Shi carefully observed from the side, "What on the ground is no longer a lock? It's just a lump of copper."
*Thud!* Another lump of copper was thrown to the ground.
Everyone's heart skipped a beat.
Huan Yue stopped after throwing five or six pieces on the ground, looking quite satisfied with the pile of silver.
The seasoned veterans in the palace were all unusually obedient at this time, unaware that they might not even have enough necks to be pinched.
Huan Yue looked at his hands; they looked quite nice. His palms were red from squeezing them. Maybe he could practice more with walnuts in the future.
Having strength but not being able to use it is not enough.
If Madam Dong wants to kill her, she has to rely on herself to save her life.
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