Although spring has officially begun, the ice and snow have not yet melted. The plum blossoms in the corner of the wall bloom defying the frost, showing no signs of fading. The north wind outside the window howls fiercely, showing no sign of stopping.
The late spring cold snap in the capital was unusual; the biting wind was relentless, penetrating to the bone. With nothing else to do, Consort Hua didn't want to go out and suffer.
However, no matter how lazy you are, you still have to deal with the official business that needs to be done.
"Now that the porridge distribution is finished these past few days, one of those headaches is finally over. Consort Shen's idea was quite feasible and saved a lot of money."
"In the following months, there were no days when I needed to spend a lot of money, so I could finally breathe a sigh of relief."
"Once the money arrives, we won't have to live such a tight life anymore."
After speaking, Consort Hua also took the time to savor her tea. The palace had a wide variety of teas, many of them excellent, but she only preferred pre-rain Longjing.
I've been drinking it for so many years, I'm used to it.
(I once drank a bottle of pre-Qingming Longjing tea that cost 1,000 yuan per 50 grams at a relative's house. To be honest, it was no different from barley tea that cost 50 yuan per kilogram to me.)
Songzhi said, "Your Majesty has been working so hard these days, it breaks my heart to see you like this."
"If you ask me, these are things His Majesty should worry about himself."
"Anyway, the birthday banquet is his birthday banquet, the New Year's Eve palace banquet is his palace banquet, and face is his face. What does it have to do with Your Majesty?"
Consort Hua put down her teacup and shifted into a more comfortable position. Leaning back on the kang (heated brick bed), against two square pillows, she picked up a jade roller and rolled it on her face.
"I don't want to get involved, but I can't ignore it. After all, the Empress doesn't manage things now, so I'm in charge of the harem."
"If he really loses face, he'll blame it all on me and say that I'm incompetent."
"At that time, I will have even more reason to delegate palace power and let Consort Shen and Consort Jing share my burdens."
"I will not give him that opportunity. Even if the power of the palace is eventually divided up, I will decide which part it is."
Songzhi nodded, "That's true, it's a pity that Consort Jing and Noble Lady Shen benefited from it."
"But has Your Majesty decided which portion of the profits to give to the two of them?"
Consort Hua said, "Of course, let the two of them manage the Imperial Garden."
"Since Consort Shen has many ideas, let her take charge of the flowers and plants in the Imperial Garden, as well as those rare and exotic animals."
"As for Consort Jing, she used to be so quiet that she couldn't even utter a single word. She had no presence at all. If it weren't for her family's influence, she would have been living somewhere in the shadows long ago."
"Let her be in charge of buildings such as Qin'an Hall, Tianyi Gate, Qianqiu Pavilion and Wanchun Pavilion."
"Tell them that since they've only just started handling palace affairs, they should start by managing the Imperial Garden to get some experience. If either of them proves to be truly capable, I will naturally consider assigning them other tasks."
"That way, even if the Emperor finds out, he won't be able to find fault with me."
Songzhi flattered, "Your Majesty is wise; this servant could never have thought of so many things."
"The Imperial Garden sounds nice, and there's some money to be made there, but compared to places like the Imperial Household Department and the Imperial Kitchen, it's just superficially impressive."
"Give it to Consort Shen and Consort Jing to practice on. Everyone will say Your Majesty is generous."
"However, I'm afraid I should visit the garden less often in the future. I'm worried that since they're in charge of the Imperial Garden, they might have some bad intentions that could harm Your Highness."
"After all, if Her Majesty were to be unwell, the power of the palace would truly fall into the hands of those two."
Consort Hua said disdainfully, "Neither of them is bold enough to dare to cause any trouble for me in the Imperial Garden."
"Speaking of which, if it were in the past, with her titles of Noble Lady or Empress, would she have thought she could assist in managing the six palaces?"
"I think they want to help manage the Cold Palace!"
A cold glint flashed in Consort Hua's eyes, but she quickly regained her composure and continued,
"By the way, has the word already spread?"
Songzhi said, "Your Majesty, rest assured, the palace must already know by now. You are very dissatisfied with the favor shown to Consort An and Noble Lady Shen."
Consort Hua smiled and said, "That's good. This way, the Emperor will think that I am still the same Consort Hua as before, and things will go much more smoothly for us."
"By the way, bring me the account books. I need to carefully calculate the accounts for the past few days."
"yes."
Just as Songzhi placed the account book in Consort Hua's hands, Zhou Ninghai came in from outside.
"This servant greets Your Majesty. May Your Majesty be well."
Consort Hua flipped through the accounts in her hand, asking without looking up, "Get up, is there something you need?"
Zhou Ninghai said, "Your Majesty, just now Xiazi from Yangxin Hall came to deliver a message, saying that the Emperor has decreed that Jin'an will be appointed as a Changzai and given the title Jing."
"I heard from Xiaxia that the Emperor himself wrote down several titles and let Consort Jing choose one herself."
Consort Hua raised her head, her brows furrowing. There was no difference between a Changzai and a Daying; both were the lowest-ranking concubines.
Whether it's Jin or not makes no difference.
However, she was granted a title so soon afterward, and it was written by Big Fat Orange who let her choose it herself.
The newcomers selected this time are truly all extraordinary.
"I really underestimated her. She comes from a humble background, but she has some tricks up her sleeve."
"Consort Shen still doesn't have a proper title, she's just using her surname as her title. This Consort Jing, on the other hand, has come from behind and surpassed her."
Songzhi advised, "Your Majesty, please don't be angry. She comes from a humble background, has no family to support her, and the Emperor..."
"Without children, at best one is a noble person. Such a person is only fit to carry Your Majesty's shoes."
Consort Hua glanced at Songzhi, put the account book aside, and said calmly, "I have told you countless times, I will never get angry about such things again."
"I don't care how much Consort Jing is favored. What I care about is whether they will ruin my plans!"
Zhou Ninghai asked, "Is Jing Changzai here?"
"She probably wouldn't. She's just a rootless duckweed; how could she possibly have the ability to ruin Your Majesty's affairs?"
Consort Hua was still worried; she couldn't trust anyone until things were settled.
"Perhaps I am overthinking it; she really is nothing special."
"Let's wait and see. After all, that thing has never been used before. I'm worried that His Majesty only took it once, and that this will solve the problem once and for all."
Zhou Ninghai asked, "What do you mean?"
Consort Hua said, "Go and prepare some more, and put it in the Emperor's food when he comes. Only then can I feel at ease."
Zhou Ninghai said, "Your Majesty, doing this kind of thing too often will easily lead to leaks. This servant is also taking precautions against this, so I found a few strong young men with many children and secretly did some tampering."
"Whether it is thorough or not can be seen from their actions alone; there is no need to risk administering medicine to the Emperor."
Consort Hua smiled with satisfaction, "Zhou Ninghai, you've certainly learned a lot."
Zhou Ninghai suddenly chuckled憨厚ly, "This servant learned all these skills by following Your Highness around and being influenced by what you see and hear."
Consort Hua breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good."
"By the way, go check how the preparations are going. Tomorrow, Princess Consort Zhuang will escort the Fifth Prince to the palace; make sure nothing goes wrong."
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