Lin Xiang walked out, looking at the proud and arrogant Gui Fei sitting in the main hall, as well as Liu Shang Gong Zhang Shi standing in the center of the main hall with his head bowed and ears pressed against his chest, and the numerous large and small boxes and chests that filled the entire main hall. The boxes were filled with fabrics, cosmetics, silver incense sticks, fruits, tea leaves, and other items...
Lin Yan couldn't help but laugh and slowly walked over to sit down on the phoenix chair.
Wu Guifei stood up, also raised her eyebrows, lifted her chin and looked at her, still with a proud and unruly expression on her face, slightly bent one knee: "I have seen the Empress Dowager." Before Lin Xiao could call out, she had already gotten up.
Lin Dai looked at her, took a sip of tea with great interest, and didn't say a word, waiting for her to take the stage.
The Empress Wu smiled slightly, her tone arrogant: "After the death of the previous emperor, I was ordered to manage the harem. The rules were set up in advance, and each palace had to go through the Zhao Yang Palace to receive their allowance. Although the Chang Kun Palace is the main palace, it cannot be allowed for people from the Chang Kun Palace to come to my Zhao Yang Palace to receive their allowance, so I have personally brought the next quarter's allowance for the Chang Kun Palace."
Lin Xiang put down the tea bowl, her eyelashes fluttered slightly, and her clear eyes looked at her with a curved mouth: "The imperial concubine didn't mention it, but I almost forgot, you've been working hard for these two years."
The Empress Wu said, "It is the Emperor's personal order, how dare you mention hardship. In these two years, I have been diligent day and night, and it can be said that I have not failed to meet the Emperor's expectations, managing the harem in an orderly manner."
Empress Wu raised her chin and said, "Your Majesty has just entered the main palace, perhaps you are not familiar with the rules of the palace." She glanced at the six imperial consorts and continued, "The six imperial consorts, please explain to Her Majesty how much her annual allowance is."
The six Shang Gong looked at each other, and then the Shang Gong of the Shang Gong Bureau stepped forward, knelt on one knee to the Empress, and began to say: "According to the palace rules set by Emperor Taizong, the Empress is the master of the harem, with a rank above all others. The annual allowance is 5,000 taels of silver, 100 taels of gold, and 1,536 pieces of various brocades, satins, and silks, including 12 pieces of embroidered silk, 12 pieces of woven gold fabric, 20 pieces of decorative silk, and 40 pieces of sable fur..."
"Tea leaves 120 catties, including Liu'an tea leaves 10 catties, Tianchi tea leaves 8 catties, Xiangpian tea leaves 8 catties, Laoguanmi tea leaves 8 catties..."
"Various colored fragrant grease, 16 catties of Suhexiang, 16 catties of Chen Shui Xiang, 24 kinds of lip balm each 6 boxes..."
“……”
After the six Shang Gong finished speaking, Wu Guifei said to Lin Daiyu again: "The six Shang Gong just mentioned are all annual rules. The palace's share is issued quarterly, and the total amount for this quarter is here. Let someone count it."
"Ah!" Empress Wu suddenly seemed to remember something and said, "Look at my memory, the empress's salary is not here yet." As she spoke, she raised her hand and clapped three times. Immediately, an inner servant brought in two boxes, one large and one small, and placed them in the center of the hall, opening the lids. The larger box was filled with silver coins, while the smaller box was filled with glittering gold.
Lin He looked at her and couldn't help but laugh, saying: "No need to kneel, I trust you, Imperial Concubine." Then she said: "I know that you have worked hard for the past two years, and it's been very tiring. I will definitely reward you well. Since I've already entered the palace, why don't you hand over the palace affairs to Changkun Palace in these two days? That way, you won't have to rise early and sleep late, and you can even get a good night's sleep." As she spoke, she winked at her and smiled slyly, teasing: "I heard that you're so busy, you've even handed over the task of attending to the Emperor to your palace maid."
The corners of Wu Guifei's mouth suddenly fell, but it was not because of Lin Xiao's last sarcastic remark.
The imperial concubine used the palace maids under her to fight for favor, which was a common occurrence in every dynasty. To say that Lin's aunt and niece served one husband together, although not uncommon in the imperial family, was not a glorious thing either. No matter how thick-skinned she was, it couldn't be thicker than the Lin family.
What made her unhappy was Lin Yan's previous sentence about seizing imperial power. Imperial power had been in her hands for two years, and she had long regarded it as her own possession.
At first, when the emperor handed over imperial power to her, she thought that the emperor would establish her as his successor and that she had finally made it through.
She Lin Xian may have been the emperor's first wife, but she still couldn't outlast her. In the end, it would be Wu Yun who accompanied the emperor to rule the world and receive the homage of all people.
As a result, one Lin Xian died and another Lin Yan was born. The people of the Lin family were all hateful and detestable to her, just like the high mountains that stood in front of her and blocked her way - the women of the Lin family, who were born with a grudge against her.
Since the grand wedding, she knew that the emperor's attitude towards Changkun Palace meant that palace power would not last long in her hands. However, when it really came to handing over palace power, Wu Guifei still felt uncomfortable.
So she thought that while the imperial power was still in her hands, she would take good care of the face of Changkun Palace.
She wanted to see what kind of expression the empress would have when an imperial concubine took something from her hand.
However, what made her somewhat disappointed was that the Empress did not get angry or unhappy because of this. She seemed to be watching a noisy play as an outsider, performing with great enthusiasm on stage and watching with great interest off stage. It was as if she had been punched in the face, but it didn't hit her sore spot, instead scratching her itch, making her even more excited - such a result made Wu Guifei's heart even more uncomfortable.
Wu Guifei hid the depression on her face and restored her usual dignified expression, raised an eyebrow and said: "Of course, the Empress is the Central Palace, and the palace power should be handed over to Your Majesty. Although the Emperor did not explicitly order it, I have already prepared everything." Then she shouted loudly: "Someone come and bring in the account books of the harem, and hand them over to Her Majesty the Empress."
Then several eunuchs carried in three red wooden boxes, each three feet long and two feet wide. One box held account books, one held storehouse records, and the other held palace tablets.
Lin Xuan glanced at her, had someone collect the account books and palace plaques, nodded to Wu Guifei, and said: "It's hard for Guifei to make this trip. The palace has just taken over the affairs of the palace. If there is anything unclear, I will ask Guifei again." She also said: "Today's weather is late, so I won't keep Guifei here. Please go back, Guifei."
Empress Wu looked at the account book and palace sign again with a stern expression, then lowered her eyes. With a forceful swing of her sleeve, she bent her knees and said: "Your subject withdraws."
Then he led the crowd away from Changkun Palace once again.
Lin Xiao and Mu Qing exchanged a glance, smiling at each other.
After leaving Changkun Palace, Yu Zhan asked Wu Guifei with some reluctance: "Your Majesty, did you really return the palace power to Changkun Palace?"
According to Yu'e's idea, even if the Emperor didn't say anything, why did the Imperial Consort have to be so anxious.
" Humph, what's there to fear? Even if the palace affairs are handed over to her, so what. Governing a country is like cooking small shrimp, managing the harem is no different, if the timing isn't right it will only add to the jokes. She thinks this is the back garden of the Wu Guo Gong Fu? The six palaces and twenty-four departments of the harem, more than half are people from our palace. A little girl like her, even if she takes over the palace power, I can still make her a puppet."
