Hu Zhaorong glanced at Wu Guifei, then looked at Lin Xiang, smiled and said to Lin Xiang: "Your Majesty is right, the Emperor advocates frugality and has ordered that all things used in the palace should be simple. As imperial consorts, we should set an example together with the Emperor." She stood up from her seat and knelt down to Lin Xiang, saying: "I propose that starting from my Huayang Palace, we reduce our annual allowance by half each year to supplement national expenses."

  Choi Hyun-bi hesitated for a moment, then said: "The palace has fewer people, and the annual allocation of goods to the palace is also not fully used up. Year after year, it accumulates in the warehouse, which is also a waste. Since Shao Rong has already proposed it, why don't we reduce the allocation to my Yong'an Palace as well? If His Majesty is frugal, how can we justify extravagance in the harem?"

  Several lower-ranking courtesans also exchanged a glance, then knelt down one after another, expressing their willingness to reduce their share of the example.

  He Baolin looked at the other palace ladies who had already expressed their opinions, and felt a little uneasy in her heart. She glanced at Wu Guifei, but saw that Wu Guifei did not intend to follow suit, so she could only lower her head, clenching her fists to hold back.

  Empress Wu snorted inwardly and turned her face away in anger and annoyance.

  Lin Daiyu did not intend to ask for her opinion, and said: "Reducing the share by half is unnecessary, just reduce it by two or three tenths. Although we need to be frugal, there's no reason to make everyone live in poverty. The palace will submit a memorial to the emperor on behalf of the inner palace, informing him of the reduction of the inner palace's share."

  Lin Ke said, "In the past, the palace would distribute one month's worth of allowance at a time. However, after observing this, I found that after distributing the allowance to each palace, it was not well controlled and used up quickly. The first two months were spent lavishly, but by the third month, the allowance was depleted, and they had to tighten their belts. Therefore, I will change the rules and distribute the allowance once a month. The way of distribution remains the same as before, each palace can come to Changkun Palace with their palace card to collect it. Each palace can come to Changkun Palace tomorrow to collect next month's allowance."

  Cui Xianfei and Hu Zhaorong nodded in agreement, but Wu Guifei sat still, looking unimpressed.

  After Cui Xianfei and Hu Zhaorong came out of the Changkun Palace, Hu Zhaorong smiled and sighed to Cui Xianfei: "It's really a new official taking office with three fires, but I don't know if this fire can be lit."

  Cui Xianfei smiled slightly and didn't say a word.

  After Wu Guifei returned to the Zhao Yang Palace, she directly stretched out her hand and smashed a Qinghua porcelain plum vase on the small table, scolding with eyes blazing: "You cheap woman!"

  He Baolin followed closely behind, and upon seeing this, he exchanged a knowing glance with the palace maid beside him.

  The palace maid stepped forward and quietly picked up the fragments that had fallen on the floor.

  He Baolin stepped forward, carefully advising: "Your Majesty, don't be angry. Changkun Palace just wants to gain a reputation for being virtuous. Don't you have another plan?"

  The Empress Wu then calmed down her anger and ordered: "Go and bring the Second Prince to me."

  He Baolin knelt down and then went out, instructing the eunuchs of the Zhao Yang Palace to summon the Second Prince.

  The second prince didn't arrive quickly. When he entered the Shao Yang Palace, Wu Guifei was even a bit angry and asked: "Where did you go? Why are you only coming now?"

  Compared to the Crown Prince and the Third Imperial Son, the Second Imperial Son did not resemble the Emperor much. He looked more like a member of the Wu family, especially with those narrow phoenix eyes that were very similar to those of Consort Wu.

  He was one year younger than the crown prince, and not considered old, but he had an air of maturity that did not match his age. He wore a deep purple robe with four-clawed dragon patterns embroidered on it, and although he had not yet come of age, he wore his hair in a bun and inserted a hairpin.

  He walked in and said: "What's wrong with Your Majesty, is it Longkun Palace again?"

  The Empress Wu's suppressed anger suddenly flared up again, her brow furrowed, and she said: "Mentioning this makes me angry."

  The second prince walked to the side of Wu Guifei and sat down, pulling her sleeve, smiling: "Mother Fei, the new empress has been in the palace for less than half a month, I think you've aged ten years because of her. Why bother competing with her? Father is going to her palace every day now, just because she's the daughter of the Lin family and the empress. As for emotional ties, naturally it's you, Mother Fei, who has accompanied Father for over a decade, your emotional tie with Father is deeper."

  The Empress Wu was comforted by her son and indeed felt a lot better.

  She turned her head, reached out to touch the top of her son's head, and with a mix of pride in having this son and a serious tone, she said: "Jing Er, you must make an effort, you must win this for your mother."

  The second prince frowned slightly, somewhat displeased in his heart.

  This sentence is almost what Empress Wu reminds him every time she sees him. When he was young, seeing her being oppressed by his birth mother, he would still be moved when listening to her reminders and make up his mind to perform well in front of the emperor to fight for his biological mother's dignity. However, having heard this sentence many times, he has become immune to it, and sometimes feels a bit annoyed - what right does she have to let him fight for her, why won't she fight for herself?

  Sometimes the second prince really felt that this queen was not very competitive, previously being suppressed by Lin Xian, now Lin Xiao, a maid who is more than ten years younger than her, can still suppress her even though she is only two years older than his son.

  "The second prince asked: 'Mother Empress, why did you hastily summon me here?'"

  Empress Wu suddenly remembered and said, "You didn't mention it earlier, I forgot. I asked you, why is the monthly expenditure of your palace so high, even more than that of the Crown Prince's palace?"

  The second prince said discontentedly: "Why does the empress ask this? Although I have spent a lot, it is all within the rules."

  Empress Wu snorted and said, "What's the point of asking this? You're my son. What can you do about it? Today, the Empress asked about it and said that the Crown Prince is frugal, saying that you should learn from him."

  "The second prince sneered: 'Her hands are really long, she's been the empress for just a few days and already interferes with matters in the princes' palaces.'"

  Empress Wu said, "You should reduce your expenses a bit. There is no wall in the palace that doesn't leak wind. The empress's words will probably be spread outside in just a few days, and after being passed around, it will become that the crown prince is frugal, but you, the second imperial son, live extravagantly. The empress has just taken power and is on a high note, even planning to reduce the allocations for each palace in the harem."

  The second prince frowned and said: "How can we reduce it? I, the crown prince, already feel that our expenses are barely enough to make ends meet. If we reduce them further, my palace will have to go hungry."

  Empress Wu said: "Your expenses are so extravagant, the Crown Prince's spending is not as much as yours, yet he doesn't come crying poor."

  "The second prince said: 'How can I, a humble subject, compare to the Crown Prince? At present, neither I nor the Crown Prince have yet attended court meetings. The main thing to do now is to build relationships with other noble relatives and cultivate connections. Do you think it's possible to socialize without spending money? As for the Crown Prince, as the future ruler, everyone fawns over him, why would he need to spend money?'"

  Empress Wu thought for a moment and also felt that it made sense. After thinking for a while, she said to the Second Prince: "If you don't have any silver, ask your maternal grandfather and uncles to supplement you; as for the palace expenses, reduce them somewhat."

  The crown prince, although the heir apparent, still had to use silver when necessary. His accounts showed small expenses, but it was rumored that the Lin family was secretly subsidizing him. He was clever and knew not to take silver from the accounts, instead finding the Lin family to subsidize him, earning a good reputation while gaining benefits. On the other hand, they were caught off guard and let others grasp their weakness.

  Empress Wu snorted, wanting to compare with the Lin family, she didn't believe that the Wu family couldn't surpass them.

  The second prince said, "To say that the queen's actions are all aimed at Empress Dowager, can't she just let her bully Longkun Palace like this? Didn't you say that among the six palaces and twenty-four departments, more than half of them are your people? Why don't you let them find some trouble for Longkun Palace?"

  Empress Wu said: "Don't worry, I have a measure. Hmph, let me see how she manages the palace."