Once the children in the harem were all taken care of, all the troublesome matters in the palace suddenly subsided.
Although verbal disputes are inevitable, they do not affect the overall situation.
On the one hand, high-ranking concubines like Sun Miaoqing would spend their free time organizing flower viewing, garden tours, opera performances, and card games.
Consort Hua spearheaded a pay raise for all the concubines. Although their monthly allowances remained the same, their daily rewards more than doubled.
Sun Miaoqing also frequently sent gifts to the imperial harem, spending large sums of money. Even a concubine who was not favored by the emperor had a considerable amount of money to spare.
On the other hand, perhaps due to his age, the chubby orange tree was no longer as strong. Now, he would go to the inner palace to have a meal and chat with the concubines.
Occasionally, when choosing a concubine, he would specifically pick one who wasn't very popular among the other concubines. Once in bed, they would each cover themselves with a blanket and chat.
Consort Fucha suffered greatly as a result, her initial joy turning into unspeakable bitterness. She initially thought the emperor was only treating her this way, and for a time, she began to doubt herself.
Big Fat Orange thought that such a private matter—they weren't like Zhen Huan and Shen Meizhuang, whose friendship had lasted since childhood—would be kept secret and they certainly wouldn't mention it to anyone.
Unexpectedly, after recovering from her illness, Consort Fucha reflected deeply on her mistakes. She realized that she was not clever enough and her personality was not as pleasing as others.
But that's not important. The most important thing is to be pragmatic and adaptable. As long as she follows behind those smart people, observes what they say and do, and learns from them, that's enough.
The letter her mother sent said that anyone smarter than her is always right. As long as she remembers this, she won't make any mistakes in the palace.
Her family no longer expects her to amount to anything. Since she can't please the emperor, she'll try to please the concubines instead.
If you live a comfortable life, your family will be at ease.
Therefore, she now imitates An Lingrong in everything she does, and in private, she is extremely flattering to Sun Miaoqing. As time goes by, she can also joke and banter with Zhen Huan and Shen Meizhuang.
One day at the mahjong table, Consort Xin brought up this topic, and she didn't try to hide it.
Therefore, the fact that the emperor was getting old was something that the concubines had long since reached a consensus on, except for the emperor himself who was trying to cover it up.
They were already outmatched, and now they can't even compete anymore. Even if some people still harbored some ambitions, they completely lost their will to fight upon hearing about this.
Suddenly, handsome eunuchs in the palace became highly sought after.
Consort Li, relying on her status as a senior member of the Emperor's inner circle and her years of service to Consort Hua, believed she had at least worked hard, even if she hadn't made any significant contributions.
They forcibly took Xiao Hezi, who served Consort Fucha, from her room. Consort Fucha was so angry that she cursed him for days on end.
Two years passed with these minor squabbles. The fleet that had gone to sea would be back in two or three months, and Big Fat Orange's health was getting weaker and weaker.
He used to be able to shoot arrows and handle government affairs until late at night every day. Now, if he walks even a little faster, his back is drenched in sweat and his clothes are soaked through.
Her complexion was not as good as before, and her face seemed puffy. Upon closer inspection, one could see that in addition to a faint flush, there was also a sallow color.
The symptoms of fainting and headaches became more and more severe, and the person was tormented by the illness, and his temper became increasingly strange.
Hall of Mental Cultivation
Big Fat Orange fell ill again. After taking the Golden Pill, it continued to feel unwell for the better part of an hour before it finally recovered.
There were still several baskets of reports to approve, but when he opened them and looked at the small print on them, he felt utterly exhausted.
So they had someone invite Sun Miaoqing over and had her stand beside them, reading the books aloud to him one by one.
"The prefect of Guangzhou reported that a strong wind arose at sea half a month ago, which stirred up huge waves and destroyed one-third of the harbor."
"Seven people died, more than 120 were injured, and eleven are missing."
"The local government has appeased the people and handled the disaster relief. However, the reconstruction of the harbor requires 300,000 taels of silver. We request the imperial court to allocate funds."
"The prefect of Guangzhou also said that the imperial fleet is about to return, so we might as well take this opportunity to expand the harbor. But if we really plan to expand, it will cost at least one million taels of silver. We ask Your Majesty to make a decision."
Big Fat Orange leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes to rest. If it weren't for the Buddhist prayer beads in his hand constantly turning, Sun Miaoqing would have thought he was asleep.
The prayer beads were spinning more and more slowly, clearly indicating that the person was pondering how to resolve the matter.
After a long while, the chubby orange stopped what it was doing, its brows furrowed tightly.
The wool business made him a fortune, and the land tax was constantly being increased, with the tax rate rising year by year over the past two years.
The improved varieties on Sun Zhuhe's estate had not yet been cultivated, but he had contributed pesticides, grafting and intercropping methods, and fertilizer production techniques.
He has now been promoted from Prefect of Tongzhou to Governor of Zhejiang, and is vigorously promoting this new planting method.
The Qing Dynasty is currently thriving, and in theory, it shouldn't be short of money. However, despite earning so much, it has just as many expenses.
He didn't want to give even 300,000 taels, let alone one million. However, although he didn't want to give the money, this was something he absolutely had to do.
"The people are suffering greatly. I am thinking of lifting the sea ban and developing maritime trade in the hope of making their lives a little better."
"There are many places where money is needed. Although one million taels of silver is not a lot, it is not easy to come up with it all at once."
"Two naval forces cost more than two million a year in military expenses, and your brother hasn't yet received the agricultural aid funds he guaranteed for the people."
"But the matter of the port cannot be delayed in the slightest; the sooner the better. It is really giving me a headache."
Sun Miaoqing pointed it out directly, "Does His Majesty intend to have the harbor built without spending a single penny?"
The chubby orange cat opened its eyes and looked at her expectantly, "Does Consort Cheng have a way to relieve my worries?"
In front of Sun Miaoqing, he no longer cared about saving face. Even his hemorrhoids, which he had hidden for many years, were known to Sun Miaoqing perfectly well.
Is there something else even more shameful that needs to be covered up?
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