Shen Meizhuang and Consort Jing couldn't come up with any good ideas for the time being.
Everyone says the imperial family is wealthy and powerful, but by the end of the year, even the emperor's family has no surplus grain. The proper pomp and circumstance cannot be lacking in the slightest, otherwise it would be a loss of face for the emperor.
Consort Hua said impatiently, "Are they all mute?"
"Don't you usually complain that I'm too powerful, clinging to palace authority and refusing to share any with you?"
"Now that I've given you this opportunity, and you still can't come up with a solution, how can I trust you to manage palace affairs!"
Consort Hua's words were both harsh and threatening, yet they left Consort Jing and Shen Meizhuang speechless.
But it also gave them a chance, as long as they could find a way to resolve the matter satisfactorily. Then Consort Hua would no longer have an excuse to make them just look at those old grievances.
Consort Jing said, "Please forgive me, Your Highness Consort Hua, but I have an idea. I wonder if it is feasible?"
Consort Hua perked up, "Oh, Consort Jing has made up her mind so quickly?"
"Then tell me. If it's really a good idea, then it'll be a contribution from you."
Consort Jing said, "The silver given to the ministers for ancestral worship cannot be reduced, nor can the imperial dishes bestowed on New Year's Eve and the rewards given to various households be skimped on. Therefore, we can only find a way to do so through the palace banquet."
"The Emperor's birthday celebrations haven't been over for long, and some of the silks and decorations left over from before should still be usable. Why don't we have the Imperial Household Department bring them out? That should save us some money."
"The flowers used at the palace banquets were all fresh flowers cultivated in the Xiaotangshan Hot Spring Palace in previous years, which were quite valuable."
"Winter is the season when plum blossoms are in full bloom, so why not have people cut the branches for decoration?"
Consort Hua said, "I already asked the servants in the flower room about this, and they said that the palace will be decorated mostly with red plum blossoms."
"Even if we use everything we can from the Emperor's birthday celebration, we can only save up to 20,000 taels of silver, leaving a shortfall of 30,000 taels."
Shen Meizhuang hesitated and said, "Since the sharp rise in rice prices has caused such a large shortage, why not try to find a way to distribute porridge?"
Consort Hua frowned. Whenever there was a joyous occasion in the palace, porridge was always distributed to the people to demonstrate the benevolence of the royal family.
The large iron pot used for serving porridge had a fixed amount of water and rice.
It can't be too dry, otherwise all the people in the capital will come to drink porridge, and even 300,000 taels of silver won't be enough.
It can't be too watery either, otherwise it'll be so watery that there won't be many grains of rice left, making people sigh that the emperor is stingy.
Consort Hua thought Shen Meizhuang looked quite composed, but her suggestion was not as good as what Consort Jing had just mentioned.
Not only will it not solve the problem, it will actually cause trouble.
"Providing porridge is to show the emperor’s benevolence to the people. Finding ways to save money on porridge will only hurt the people’s hearts and make the people laugh at us."
"Consort Shen, His Majesty values you so much that he sent you to learn from me how to handle official duties, yet you came up with such a terrible idea."
I've always known that Consort Hua is impatient, but this is far too impatient. She didn't even wait for her to finish speaking before launching into such a long speech.
Shen Meizhuang felt that Consort Hua simply disliked her, so she would verbally humiliate her whenever she had the chance.
Consort Jing had to speak up for Shen Meizhuang, "Your Highness Consort Hua, please forgive me, but Consort Shen has her reasons for saying this."
"Your Majesty, why don't you let Consort Shen explain clearly? If this idea is not good, Your Majesty can reprimand her then."
Consort Hua sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), a faint disdain on her face. She wanted to see if she could come up with anything interesting.
"Very well, in that case, I am all ears."
"Thank you, Consort Hua."
Shen Meizhuang said, "I have seen the accounts. The rice used for the porridge distribution is all new rice from this year, which is 20% more expensive than last year's rice."
"Although old rice is not as tasty as new rice, it is no different from high-quality refined rice in terms of filling one's stomach."
"And sweet potatoes, which are cheaper than rice and taste better than plain porridge."
“If we cook it all together, the people will be even more grateful for the Emperor’s grace. We can also use that to fill the gap of 30,000 taels of silver, and everyone will be happy.”
Upon hearing this, Consort Hua's furrowed brows finally relaxed, and Consort Jing's face lit up with joy as she happily said,
“Noble Lady Shen’s idea is good. If it can be done, we can do this for porridge distribution in the future. Over the years, it will amount to a considerable sum.”
Consort Hua said, "In that case, after I inform the Emperor and receive his approval, I will have people make the arrangements."
"This matter is settled for now. You may all return home. I will go see the Emperor now."
*
Shen Meizhuang and Consort Jing emerged from Yikun Palace, each holding a hand warmer, and slowly walked towards Xianfu Palace.
Along the way, palace maids and eunuchs were busy decorating the inner palace to welcome the arrival of New Year's Eve.
Consort Jing said, "Fifty thousand taels of silver is no small sum. It's thanks to your cleverness in coming up with the idea of cooking porridge with old rice and sweet potatoes. Otherwise, I really don't know how we would have made up for it."
Shen Meizhuang said, "I was thinking that my mother always did this when I was at home, so I thought I'd give it a try."
"I originally thought Consort Hua wouldn't listen, but I didn't expect her to actually agree."
Consort Jing smiled and said, "The Empress Dowager doesn't manage things, and the Empress is ill. It seems that she will be the one in charge of the palace."
"The Emperor won't care about anything, like heavy snow causing grain prices to rise. Even if you do a good job, you might not get any credit; all that work will probably just be a verbal compliment."
"But if there's no other way, Consort Hua will be the first to suffer, and the Emperor will think she's incompetent. In some minor matters, she can be personal and not objective."
“But Consort Hua isn’t stupid when it comes to these important matters. No matter who proposed it, as long as it solves the problem, she has no reason to disagree.”
Shen Meizhuang said, "Sister understands Consort Hua best."
"However, after reviewing the accounts from previous years these past few days, and those ledgers I just looked at, I'm sure you've noticed them too, haven't you, sister?"
"The expenses in the palace are truly alarming. No wonder the concubines are limited to a certain number of chickens and ducks each month, and they have to spend extra money to eat an extra plate of chicken wings."
Consort Jing said, "Sister, be careful what you say!"
"His Majesty is probably aware of this matter. Since he hasn't mentioned it, it either means he tacitly approves or it's not the right time yet. Let's just pretend we didn't see it and not take it to heart."
Consort Jing understood what Shen Meizhuang meant. Although they were women, they had now entered the palace and were separated from the outside world by a wall, making them two different worlds.
Not engaging in productive activities doesn't mean they're stupid...
Repairing a gate would cost several thousand taels of silver. The gate wasn't made of gold, and even if it were, it wouldn't cost that much.
Everyone knows there's something fishy going on here, but everyone pretends not to. Even the Empress and Consort Hua don't get involved, let alone have the ability to do so.
All that hard work and frugality ultimately benefited those lackeys.
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