Su Wanwan remained silent.
A man is willing to risk his life to save a woman.
If it's not true love, then what is it?
However, with Yan Ge'er in his hands, she couldn't even argue with him.
The result of the argument was that he said she was petty, which did nothing to help in reality.
She needs to strengthen herself as much as possible to protect her children.
Otherwise, when her beauty fades and love wanes, what will she use to support her child?
Do you not see the fate of Empress Wei Zifu, who ultimately committed suicide, had all her children killed, and her entire family wiped out?
She was not as good as Chen Ajiao, who was deposed and lived a peaceful and secluded life in Changmen Palace until her death.
Su Wanwan asked someone to invite Madam Jin over for a talk, and at the same time arranged for the imperial physician to take her pulse.
Lady Jin was overjoyed: "Her Majesty the Empress is pregnant?!"
Su Wanwan was a little uneasy, "I am young, so I am somewhat apprehensive."
Madam Jin immediately understood the implication of her words.
Now the entire Su family has returned to their hometown.
Su Wanwan knew that survival in the palace was difficult and feared she might not be able to protect the child, so she came to ask for help.
Madam Jin leaned back with satisfaction.
That's more like it.
After all, they are family members connected by blood, so of course they should stand together through thick and thin.
Madam Jin smiled broadly, "Your Majesty, please rest assured, the Marquis of Shouning's mansion is willing to help Your Majesty resolve any troubles."
Su Wanwan's eyes flickered, filled with worry: "What about the Empress Dowager..."
Madam Jin waved her hand, "She's just having trouble adjusting right now, Your Majesty needn't worry."
“Our Shouning Marquis’s Mansion, along with all our in-laws, will stand behind Your Highness.”
Su Wanwan nodded reservedly, allowing Yan Ge'er to greet Madam Jin.
"This is my adopted son whom I took in when I was in Jinling. I'd like to let the old lady see him as well."
Madam Jin's eyes flickered, and she offered a few polite compliments, but didn't seem to care.
Having a legitimate name and proper justification is of utmost importance.
Su Wanwan is the Empress, and her child is the legitimate son of the Empress, which is much more precious than the child in Ma Ji's womb.
If they can win over Su Wanwan, why would they need to care about Maggie and the child in her belly?
After all, Maggie's family has considerable influence, and it's hard to say whether they might kick the Zhang family aside in the future.
The Su family, now with few descendants and still holding the title of maternal relatives, will find it extremely difficult to recover.
Su Wanwan naturally knew what to choose.
As for Yan Ge'er, who was raised by Su Wanwan, he was fed and cared for well and raised to be a powerful minister at the very least.
But that would be at least ten or twenty years from now.
It is not uncommon for empresses in ancient times to adopt children.
For example, Empress Cao, the wife of Emperor Renzong of Song, adopted a daughter who eventually married the next emperor and became the next empress.
Madam Jin became much more enthusiastic, visiting her relatives and spreading the news of Su Wanwan's pregnancy.
All the relatives and in-laws of the Marquis of Shouning's household were mobilized.
Lady Jingyuan and Lady Huichang went to the palace together to present their congratulations.
Even the Lady of Huaining, who had kept a low profile for many years, used her kinship with the Marquis of Huichang to gain an audience with the emperor at the palace.
These families were all military nobles who were suppressed during the reign of Emperor Xianzong and have not dared to show their faces in recent decades.
Among them, the Marquis of Huaining once commanded the Three Thousand Camp, and his niece was Empress Wu, who was deposed just one month after Emperor Xianzong's wedding.
Marquis Huaining was also stripped of his military power and forced to live a life of leisure.
More than fifty years have passed. If the Marquis of Huaining's family cannot produce officials again, they will probably become mediocre noble families like the Duke of Wei's family, and it will be difficult for them to rise again.
Therefore, the Marquis of Huaining especially cherished this opportunity to curry favor with Empress Su.
Su Wanwan subtly indicated her intention to investigate the Wang family, and Lady Huaining readily agreed.
"If it weren't for the Wang family's sabotage behind the scenes, our family wouldn't have been silent for decades."
When the powerful Marquis of Huaining's faction fell, the Wang family, representing the interests of the Jiangnan region, became Emperor Xianzong's successor.
With decades of old grudges still lingering, the Marquis of Huaining's mansion would naturally be willing to turn the tables and trample on the Wang family if they could.
Lu Xingjian and Ma Ji never returned to Xiaoyuan.
He Jin from the Xixin Division brought news:
"I heard that the Emperor rewarded Ma Ji with several hundred thousand taels of silver. Now the Ma family owns a lot of land and property in the capital area and is very wealthy."
Su Wanwan lowered her eyes.
The grain price war in the Jiangnan region has come to an end.
Lu Xingjian probably made a fortune, and with money, he can spend lavishly on the woman he loves.
He Jin felt as if he had said something wrong.
The Empress is currently pregnant, but the Emperor not only ignores her, but also takes Ma Ji on trips and refuses to return to the palace, spending lavishly on her.
It's truly disheartening.
After He Jin left, He Ying hid the needlework bureau's account book behind her back.
Su Wanwan laughed instead: "What's there to hide?"
He Ying's eyes were filled with sympathy and heartache: "Your Majesty, please don't take it to heart, it's just a few pieces of clothing..."
Su Wanwan took the ledger and looked at it.
The needlework bureau rushed to make more than a dozen sets of clothes for Ma Ji, using all sorts of rare and precious items, costing as much as five thousand taels of silver.
"The needlework bureau said it was ordered by the Emperor, and they dared not disobey. So this year's budget couldn't be covered, so they specially applied to the Empress to have this bedding expense waived."
Su Wanwan took a closer look and immediately gasped.
The expenses for bedding were not large, totaling only six thousand two hundred taels of silver.
For a wealthy empress like her, it was nothing.
However.
This silver was for the annual bedding expenses of 12,420 palace officials, attendants, and eunuchs.
From Lu Xingjian's trusted steward, Chief Steward Li, to the lowly eunuch sweeping the corners of the room.
Li Rong was fine with it; he didn't care about the five qian of silver allocated to him.
But those middle- and lower-level eunuchs relied on this five-cent annual allowance for bedding to get through the winter.
These people can't afford to burn charcoal for heating, so they rely on thick bedding.
Once this annual custom is cancelled, Su Wanwan will have completely offended the eunuchs and pushed them to the opposite side.
This is clearly a trap set for Su Wanwan.
He Ying was so focused on making clothes for Ma Ji that she was likely to upset Su Wanwan, and didn't notice the sinister intentions hidden behind the annual bedding.
Without saying anything more, Su Wanwan immediately sent the Needlework Bureau's request to Lu Xingjian.
Let him provide a solution.
Lu Xingjian didn't hesitate and handed the matter over to the Ministry of Revenue to resolve.
Having learned its lesson the previous time, the Ministry of Revenue dared not offend the Emperor for such a small sum of money, and promptly allocated the funds.
However, the emperor's reputation for being stingy spread.
The imperial treasury was so poor that it couldn't even afford bedding for the eunuchs, yet the emperor was still spending lavishly outside, buying land and property for his most beloved concubines.
He is utterly incompetent.
Su Wanwan couldn't shake off the pent-up frustration in her heart.
She simply had someone send all the annual accounts of the Needlework Bureau to Lu Xingjian.
Lu Xingjian rubbed his temples as he saw the several large boxes of account books. "Has the Needlework Bureau offended the Empress?"
Meng Yue looked nervous. "It's understandable that Her Majesty the Empress is sensitive and thoughtful, given that she is pregnant."
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