An Lingrong didn't think there was anything wrong with Sun Miaoqing not telling her about the fake pregnancy.
This is more serious than murdering a royal heir. It's not just because it's deceiving the emperor, but also because it greatly increases the likelihood of confusing the royal bloodline.
She wasn't an ungrateful person; it was right for Sun Miaoqing not to tell her.
As for why Shen Meizhuang knew, perhaps she noticed some clues and figured it out herself.
She was guessing and conjecturing, wasn't she the same way? Besides, the two of them didn't hide anything from her.
An Lingrong suddenly felt sorry for the emperor. What good was having great power when he was still being manipulated by the concubines in the harem?
They knew the emperor's strengths and weaknesses, but the emperor did not know their depths.
However, seeing how much effort and scheming Sister Sun had put into getting a son, An Lingrong felt that she couldn't fall behind.
I can't keep promising you, my lady, for the rest of my life, can I?
After leaving Chuxiu Palace, An Lingrong began her preparations. First, she consulted Imperial Physician Lu, who prescribed her a medicine to help her recuperate.
Afterwards, Baojuan took some silver to the Imperial Household Department to exchange for several kinds of spices.
"My lady, here are the spices you requested. They are all top-quality."
An Lingrong picked up several herbs, including patchouli, cloves, and frankincense, smelled them carefully, and then said...
"That's good, the Imperial Household Department has put in a lot of effort."
Baojuan said, "Your Highness is currently favored by the Emperor, and with this hundred taels of silver, how could you not be attentive?"
"However, forgive my bluntness, but what you want are mostly common spices. Even if they were all top-grade, they wouldn't cost this much silver."
"Just tell Huang Guiquan directly, does he dare not give it to us?"
An Lingrong said, "My share as a concubine is only so much, and Huang Gui gave it all to me. So we have to take it from other people to make up for this debt."
"When I first entered the palace, I had several older sisters to take care of me, but I still suffered a lot of grievances. Those concubines who were not favored, if they had no one to help them, would probably be in a worse situation than I was back then."
"I would feel uneasy if they had their allowances reduced because of me."
"Moreover, just for this piece of agarwood and benzoin, the hundred taels of silver are well worth the money."
Huang Guiquan certainly wouldn't dare refuse at this moment, but in the palace, there are times when one is favored and times when one is out of favor.
The emperor treated her well, but only moderately; he didn't truly care for her. He certainly didn't show the same level of favoritism as he did for Consort Hua or Sun Miaoqing.
An Lingrong knew very well that the relationship between her and the Emperor was as shallow as tea that had been steeped eight or nine times.
The chief eunuch of the Imperial Household Department is not someone to be trifled with. If you offend him over a trivial matter, he might cause you a lot of trouble elsewhere, even if it doesn't kill you.
Haven't you seen how Consort Hua lavishly rewards the palace maids and eunuchs during festivals?
Baojuan said, "Your Highness is kind-hearted. It was this servant who was short-sighted and didn't think of these things."
An Lingrong reminded her, "You are someone close to me. How you are determines how others see me."
“There are some things I haven’t said before because I know you entered the palace at a young age and have been there for eight or nine years. You should understand even if I don’t say them.”
“I’m not afraid of trouble, but I don’t cause trouble either. I’m not going to get carried away just because I’m favored.”
"Once we leave Mingse Residence, if anything happens, even if I want to save you, I'll have to see if they're willing to give me that face, understand?"
Baojuan lowered her head and replied guiltily, "This servant knows, Your Highness, please rest assured, this servant will definitely not cause Your Highness any trouble outside."
An Lingrong said, "You just need to take care of yourselves and Baoque. But if it's not your fault and someone is deliberately causing trouble, come back and tell me, and I will take care of it for you."
Baojuan smiled. Her mistress was always protecting them!
"This servant understands."
An Lingrong said, "Go prepare a set of tools for mixing spices; I'll need them in a little while."
Baojuan replied, "This servant obeys."
*
Yikun Palace
Consort Hua looked at the accounts for the past month, rubbed her eyes, and Songzhi stood beside her, massaging her shoulders.
"Last month, Consort Shen spent four thousand taels in her palace, Consort An spent two thousand taels in her palace, Consort Cheng spent six thousand taels in her palace, and the Empress spent eight thousand taels in her palace. All of that adds up to quite a lot."
Songzhi's hands never stopped moving for a moment. "Yikun Palace spent nine thousand taels last month, so this isn't much for them."
The allowance received from the palace is one thing; the daily allowance for the concubines includes all the expenses of the palace maids and eunuchs, as well as the rewards that the emperor sends to the various palaces through the Imperial Household Department.
Every stitch and thread was counted as silver and recorded in a special account.
After the chubby orange king ascended the throne, he became even more obsessed with money than the previous emperor had been.
A cabbage costing two taels of silver and an egg costing ten taels of silver were unaffordable for the palace. However, a cabbage costing one tael of silver and an egg costing three taels of silver were plentiful.
So even if the concubines weren't treated very well, a concubine with a big appetite might not even be able to eat her fill. Yet, the amount of money spent on them was by no means small.
Consort Hua didn't think she spent too much, after all, when she was in her maiden home, as the one who was pampered, this was her standard of living.
But thinking about the expenses for the Lunar New Year made me feel dizzy and lightheaded.
I had calculated and recalculated the expenses: the cost of the palace banquet; the cost of bestowing dishes and blessings upon the princes, nobles, and high-ranking officials; the silver coins awarded to ministers and meritorious officials for ancestral worship; the rewards given to the families of the concubines; and the cost of distributing porridge...
All things considered, the original budget of 150,000 taels was almost enough.
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