Changkung Palace

  The emperor looked at Lin Xiang, who was kneeling on the ground with a serious expression and presenting him with a folded paper, pulled her up and sat her down beside him, smiling: "You're really good, the first thing you do when you enter the palace is to save me money."

  Lin Xuan leaned on him and smiled: "I also love the reputation of being virtuous. Last time, I dealt with the noble consort, and then there were officials who impeached me for treating the imperial consorts harshly and being arrogant. I have to show them that I am also a person of great justice, virtue, and humility. Moreover, the emperor is a wise ruler, so naturally, I can only be a virtuous empress, this way it's like husband and wife singing in harmony."

  The Emperor smiled and said: "That would make me a foolish ruler."

  Lin Daiyu flattered him, saying: "Your Majesty is wise and brave, with a strong strategy and divine martial arts. How could you be an incompetent ruler?" She smiled and continued: "If Your Majesty were an incompetent ruler, then I would be a treacherous empress. In any case, my steps will always be in sync with yours."

  The emperor said: "Your father is a dumb melon, how did he give birth to such a clever and talkative girl like you?"

  Lin Xiao blinked at him and said, "Probably the one I resemble is my mother."

  Lin Daiya shook the emperor's arm again, half-jokingly and half-seriously: "Uncle, just tell me if my idea is right or not. Although I'm doing it for fame, I really think the expenses of the harem are too high. I've calculated carefully, and the annual expenses of the harem exceed 1 million taels, while the imperial court's annual income is only 40 million taels."

  This is still the case when there are only over ten masters in the harem. This year is a big election year, and after the selection of new palace concubines, if more come in, and later on, more princes and princesses are born, this number will be even more terrifying. A large amount of silver money is wasted in the harem, causing waste and increasing the burden on the court's finances.

  Think of the Lin family army in the northwest, one million two silver coins were their military salary for two years. In her three years in the northwest, she saw the generals and soldiers of the Wei Suo because sometimes the military salary came late or was insufficient, and in winter they could only rely on drinking chili water to keep warm.

  If these silvers sent down from the imperial palace are used as their military pay, it can make a large number of generals and soldiers guarding the border full and warm.

  The emperor smiled and looked at her, saying: "What else did you find out? Tell me."

  Lin Xiao's eyes were clear and bright as she looked at him, her eyebrows and eyes delicate and smiling: "I have found that the expenses of the harem are too high, starting from the time of the previous emperor. During the reign of Emperor Taizu, the annual expenditure of the harem was only around 200,000 to 300,000 taels. By the time of Emperor Taizong, it had increased to around 300,000 taels. When the previous emperor first ascended to the throne, the expenses of the harem were also around 400,000 taels. Later, they increased year by year, reaching over 1 million taels in the late years of the previous emperor's reign. After Your Majesty ascended to the throne, the expenses of the harem remained at the level of the previous emperor's later years, also around 1 million taels."

  The Emperor sighed and explained to Lin Xiang: "During the time of Taizu Emperor, when the country was first established, Taizu Emperor was enthroned by the ministers of the previous dynasty. The various regional kings and military governors were not convinced, and rebellions broke out everywhere. The people were trapped in war and could not rest and recover, so the court did not have much silver money, and naturally there would not be much silver money spent on the harem. Taizong Emperor only favored Empress Xu throughout his life, and only Empress Xu gave birth to the previous emperor and Princess Tanghe, a pair of children. The other concubines in the harem were virtually useless, so the expenses for the harem were also small. When it came to the previous emperor, he was much more romantic than Taizu and Taizong Emperors, with hundreds of palace ladies and over a dozen princes and princesses. With many masters and mistresses in the harem, the expenses naturally increased. Moreover, the previous emperor implemented policies to restore agriculture and sericulture, allowing people to live and work in peace and prosperity, making the economy flourish, and the court had plenty of silver money, which was also available for the harem to enjoy. Although my harem is not large, I still have to support the imperial consorts left behind by the previous emperor, so it's naturally difficult to reduce expenses."

  Lin Dai nodded, indicating she understood.

  The Taizu Emperor's harem expenses were low, because there really wasn't enough money. The Taizong Emperor's harem expenses weren't much either, because he only needed to focus on Empress Xu, and no matter how much one person spent, it couldn't be too excessive. The previous emperor's harem expenses increased greatly, first because the court had silver now, second because the previous emperor had many concubines. As for the current Emperor, although his concubines were few, there were many imperial mothers, so he couldn't save money either.

  Lin Xiang thought of those silver taels flowing into the palace, and indeed more than half had flowed into the hands of Empress Dowager Cixi and the imperial consorts.

  There were over 60 palace ladies still alive from the previous emperor's time, lower-ranking consorts were sent to Qingliang Temple to become nuns, while those who had children or held high positions during the previous emperor's reign numbered around twenty. Now they all live in the large and small side halls of Cian Palace. However, whether it was those who became nuns at Qingliang Temple or those ladies in Cian Palace, they still need to be supported by the emperor until old age.

  Being an emperor is also somewhat miserable. The emperor's biological mother, Empress Dowager Ci, passed away in the first year of his reign. The remaining imperial consorts had no relation to him. It was said that in her early years, Empress Dowager Ci was not favored in the palace and suffered from jealousy and bullying from other consorts. These consorts were said to have bullied both the empress dowager and the young emperor when he was a child.

  As a result, the emperor had to provide them with support and honor that even Empress Dowager Cixi did not enjoy.

  Lin Xiao buried her face in the emperor's clothes and chuckled softly, wondering what the emperor would feel when he doted on those imperial consorts.

  The emperor turned his head and narrowed his eyes at her, asking: "What are you smiling about, little girl?"

  Lin Xiao shook her head, revealing a pair of eyes from under her clothes, shining brightly as she continued to smile.

  The emperor helplessly and inexplicably shook his head, then flipped open the folded paper she had presented.

  Lin Xiang quietly amused herself for a while, then obediently sat down beside him, waiting for him to finish reading.

  The emperor said after reading: "However, the memorial you presented also makes sense. The expenses of the harem are indeed too large and should be reduced. Let's do it as you suggested."

  Look, he's actually unhappy with the imperial consorts who have nothing to do with supporting him.

  The emperor furrowed his brow and thought for a moment, then said: "However, reducing by 30% is too much, let's reduce it by 20%. If you cut too much, the palace will complain too much, and it won't be easy to implement." As he spoke, he took out a small, transparent jade seal from his body, half an inch long and one inch wide, and stamped it on the document.

  That is the emperor's private seal, with the two characters "Xiao Jian" written on it.

  Lin Xian smiled and said: "Your little seal may not necessarily work, you have to give me a jade seal."

  The emperor looked down at her and saw that she was smiling slyly on her face, but also looked very serious.

  The emperor nodded and pointed at her nose, then raised his head and ordered Wang Gonggong: "Go to the Diligent Government Hall and bring over the jade seal."

  Mr. Wan nodded and left.

  Lin Xiao started flattering: "I knew it, Your Majesty is wise and powerful, a rare enlightened ruler in history."