The Return of An Lingrong in Legend of Zhen Huan

The matter of Concubine Li also came to an end. Just like in her previous life, she was locked up in the cold palace.

On this day, An Lingrong was making small shoes for her child, and suddenly she remembered that she would be going to the Old Summer Palace in a while. It was at that time that Shen Meizhuang suggested the method of cashing in rice, flour and other things.

I don't know if Shen Meizhuang is stupid or what, this silver can't be eaten. You gave the silver to the palaces and stopped supplying materials. Do you want the ladies in the palaces to send people to buy them themselves? Or do the masters and servants in the harem have good teeth, and everyone is ready to eat the silver together to fill their stomachs and cool down?

Buying things in the palace is not like buying things in the market. You need compradors to take care of it. Big compradors are greedy for a lot of money, but small compradors are also greedy for a lot of money, and it is directly related to everyone's quality of life.

You know, the Ministry of Internal Affairs knows how to flatter the powerful and bully the weak. If the big compradors are really removed, the small compradors will be even more ruthless and rip them off for a one-time transaction. It might be okay for a favored concubine, but if it were An Lingrong, an unfavored little flower or grass in the previous life, not only would her money be deducted by half, but the goods would definitely not be good either.

The emperor was already feeling unhappy because of the empty treasury, and on top of that, there was a ghost in the palace these days, which cost 1,800 taels. The empress insisted on asking whether to reduce the amount of mung bean soup. The cost of this ghost was enough for two months of mung bean soup, and the emperor would definitely not agree.

But the Queen didn't really want to make the mung bean soup, she just wanted to find an opportunity to show off her virtuous character to the Emperor. If the Emperor disagreed, it would be fine, but if he agreed, it would be even better, the Queen could use Shen Meizhuang as a pawn.

In the end, the emperor did not agree. Instead, Shen Meizhuang jumped out and said: Your Majesty, we concubines have more than enough shares to use up. Why not just convert them into silver and distribute them all?

The Emperor didn't know how to comment on this. He said very tactfully that you have good talent, but you are still young and need more experience. What he meant was, what is the point of this proposal? The Queen will not miss any opportunity to suppress newcomers. She did not really make such a big move as currency reform, but she seized on the problem of too many standard dishes mentioned by Shen Meizhuang and made drastic cuts.

But cutting down on the regular dishes is not a good way to save money. There are only a few people in the palace, and even fewer in the Old Summer Palace. The palaces of the concubines only have a few pounds of pork. Even if they provide it every day, how much money can they eat? Can they eat 1,800 taels?

However, An Lingrong herself could not directly tell Shen Meizhuang that this was not okay. After all, there was no need to ask about every detail of the other person in interpersonal relationships. This way of getting along was too tiring. It would be enough to just give reminders and suggestions. After all, the essence of friendship is to support each other rather than being each other's mother.

After An Lingrong arrived at Cunju Hall, she chatted with Shen Meiyu for a few words and the topic turned to this example. As expected, Shen Meiyu told An Lingrong her thoughts.

An Lingrong made a few appropriate remarks at the side: "But some people of lower status already rely on this allowance to live, what will they do if it is reduced further? Sister Xiang Wan was ill and out of favor at the time, and even though she was often in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, she was often deducted. After all, Sister Wan had family subsidies and we two took care of her from time to time. But even so, the charcoal for winter was not enough, and the charcoal she was given was still black charcoal."

After hearing An Lingrong's words, Shen Meizhuang immediately reacted: "Thanks to you, otherwise, I would have made a big mistake." The two discussed it and decided to hand this issue over to the Queen directly because Shen Meizhuang was favored and powerful recently. This would not only reduce the attention on Shen Meizhuang, but also avoid something that would easily offend people, killing two birds with one stone.

"Luckily, I have you. You are always careful. If it weren't for you, we almost let the mastermind go that time. If it weren't for you this time, I almost offended a lot of people." Shen Meizhuang suddenly felt like she had survived a disaster: "You saved me last time in the Thousand Carp Pond. This time, you saved my life again."

Shen Meizhuang was now particularly grateful to An Lingrong. She took An Lingrong aside and talked to her for a long time. When it was getting dark, she brought a lot of supplements to An Lingrong and arranged for Caiyue to send An Lingrong back to the Yanxi Palace.