An Lingrong didn't think there was anything wrong with Sun Miaoqing not telling her about the false pregnancy.
This kind of thing is more serious than murdering the emperor's heir. Not only because of deceiving the emperor, but also because there is a great possibility of confusing the royal bloodline.
She was not a ungrateful person, so Sun Miaoqing was right not to tell her.
As for why Shen Meizhuang knew, maybe she noticed some clues and saw it herself.
Even if you have to guess, isn't she herself like this? Moreover, the two of them did not hide anything in front of her.
An Lingrong suddenly felt that the emperor was a bit pitiful. No matter how powerful he was, he was still being played around by the concubines in the harem.
They know the emperor's strengths and weaknesses, but the emperor does not know their depth.
But seeing how Sister Sun worked so hard and tried so hard to have a son, An Lingrong felt that she couldn't be left behind.
You can't just be a promised mistress for the rest of your life, right?
After leaving Chuxiu Palace, An Lingrong got ready. First, she went to Dr. Lu and prescribed some medicine for her to take good care of her body.
After that, Baojuan was asked to take some money and go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs in exchange for some spices.
"Little Master, these are the spices you want. They are all here. They are all of the best quality."
An Lingrong picked up a few items including patchouli, clove, frankincense, etc., smelled them carefully and said,
"It's good. The Ministry of Internal Affairs has paid careful attention to it."
Baojuan said, "The young master is favored now, and with this hundred taels of silver, can you not be careful?"
"But please forgive me for talking too much. The spices you want are almost all ordinary spices. Even if they are top-grade, they won't cost so much money."
"Just tell Huang Guiquan directly, how dare he refuse to give it?"
An Lingrong said, "My promise is only a small amount. If Huang Gui is given, I have to take it from others to make up for the debt."
"When I first entered the palace, I had several sisters taking care of me, and I suffered a lot of grievances. Those unfavored ones were always around. If there was no one to help me, I would probably be worse than I was before."
"I would feel uneasy if their status was deducted because of me."
"What's more, just for this piece of agarwood and benzoin, the one hundred taels of silver will be well spent."
Of course Huang Guiquan didn't dare not give it at this time, but when he was favored in the palace, it was inevitable that he would fall out of favor.
Although the emperor was nice to her, he was just nice and didn't care much about her. Not to mention the preference for Concubine Hua and Sun Miaoqing.
An Lingrong knew very well that the relationship between her and the emperor was like tea that had been brewed eight or nine times, very shallow.
The eunuch in charge of the Ministry of Internal Affairs is not someone to be trifled with. If he is offended over a trivial matter, and if he stumbles a little bit elsewhere, he will be disgusted even if he is not killed.
Haven’t you seen that Concubine Hua always rewards the maids and eunuchs every year?
Baojuan said, "My little master is kind-hearted, but this servant is short-sighted and didn't expect this."
An Lingrong reminded, "You are the person around me, so others will see me as you are."
"There are some things I didn't say before because I knew you entered the palace at a young age and have been in the palace for eight or nine years. You should understand even if I don't tell you."
"I'm not afraid of trouble, but I don't cause trouble either. If I think I'm a little pampered, I'll get carried away."
"Whatever happens after leaving Mingseju. Even if I want to save you, I still have to see if they are willing to give me face. Do you understand?"
Baojuan lowered her head and agreed with a guilty conscience, "I know this, so don't worry, I will definitely not cause trouble to you outside."
An Lingrong said, "Just take care of yourself and Bao Que. But if it's not your fault and someone is deliberately causing trouble, come back and tell me and I will make the decision for you."
Baojuan laughed, the little master always protects them!
"This slave knows."
An Lingrong said, "Go and prepare a set of things for making spices. I will use them soon."
Baojuan replied, "I obey my command."
*
Yikun Palace
Concubine Hua looked at the accounts for the last month and rubbed her eyes. Songzhi stood beside her and rubbed her shoulders.
"Last month, Shen Guiren's palace spent 4,000 taels, An promised to spend 2,000 taels in the palace, Cheng Concubine spent 6,000 taels in the palace, and the queen's palace spent 8,000 taels. They all add up really well. Quite a few.”
Songzhi didn't dare to stop moving her hands for a moment, "Yikun Palace spent nine thousand taels last month, which is not much for them."
The amount of money taken from the palace is one thing. The daily amount for the concubines includes all the expenses of the palace maids and eunuchs, as well as the rewards that the emperor asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs to send to each palace.
Every stitch and thread will be counted as silver and recorded in a special account.
After Big Fat Orange came to the throne, he held on to money even more tightly than he did during the late emperor's time.
Chinese cabbage costs twenty taels of silver each, and eggs cost ten taels of silver each. The palace cannot afford them. But there is no shortage of cabbage for one tael of silver each, and eggs for three taels of silver.
Therefore, even if the concubines are not treated well, they may not be able to eat enough if they meet someone with a big appetite. But the money spent was not much at all.
Concubine Hua didn't think she spent too much. After all, when she was in her parents' home, as the one who was loved, she had such a standard of living.
But thinking about the expenses for the New Year, I suddenly felt dizzy.
Originally, I calculated and calculated the money for palace banquets; the expenses for giving food and blessings to Prince Baylor, dear ministers; and the money given to ministers and nobles to worship their ancestors; the rewards for the natal families of the palace concubines; And money for soup kitchen...
All of them were added up, and the 150,000 taels originally prepared were almost enough.
At this time, there were less than ten days left, and it was said that the price of rice had risen due to heavy snowfall in Beijing.
Not only did the price of rice rise, but so did charcoal fire, meat, flour, etc. If we follow the previous arrangement, there will suddenly be a gap of fifty thousand taels of silver.
It can't be saved here, and it can't be saved there. Does the royal family still have to pay IOUs to those merchants?
Concubine Hua said upset, "What are Concubine Jing and Guiren Shen doing to eat? They haven't come here for so long!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhou Ninghai came in and announced, "Replying to your Majesty, Concubine Jing and Guiren Shen are here."
Concubine Hua said, "Since they are here, let them come in quickly."
After Concubine Jing and Shen Meizhuang came in, they saluted Concubine Hua.
"See Concubine Hua."
Concubine Hua said, "Get up and sit down."
"I called you here because I want you to help me think of something together. It's New Year's Eve soon, and there's suddenly a gap of fifty thousand taels in the calculated expenses. How should we plug this gap?"
With a look from Concubine Hua, Songzhi handed the accounts to Concubine Jing and Shen Meizhuang respectively.
After carefully flipping through it, the more the two of them looked at it, the more they frowned, and the folds squeezed out could trap a fly.
Concubine Hua said, "The royal family's face cannot be damaged, and it is not acceptable to default on the money. Moreover, I have just calculated that even the concubines will wear plain clothes from now on, and no expensive materials will be used."
"Also use more velvet flowers and Tongcao flowers for jewelry, and less use of pearls, agate, red coral and the like. It will take half a year to save these 50,000 taels of silver."
"And if we are too frugal, it won't be a big deal for us to suffer some grievances. I'm afraid it will damage the emperor's face."
"If you two have any suggestions, you can just tell me. If they are useful, it will solve the urgent problem at hand."
