An Lingrong's Rebirth: Red

When Lingrong heard the news from Baizhi, she just wanted to laugh. She really didn't expect that the emperor actually wanted to make Zhen Huan pregnant.

But Zhen Huan's health couldn't be any worse. Even if the imperial doctors in the harem took good care of her, she would still be like herself, pregnant with a child that she couldn't give birth to.

"Prescribe a pregnancy-maintaining medicine for Wan Changzai. Prescribe enough medicine. If she wants to get pregnant, we should give her the chance."

Lingrong ordered Zhaoshui to pass a message to Baizhi, and even specially notified Wei Lin and He Anming that if Zhen Huan came to ask for help, they would prescribe the best pregnancy-maintaining medicine for her.

Anyway, given her physical condition, she would be able to get pregnant but not give birth, and either the baby would be lost or there would be two deaths. It all depends on what choice Zhen Huan makes.

However, Zhen Huan seemed to be on guard. The imperial physician she called was the emperor's most trusted imperial physician Zhou, not Wei Lin, Wen Shichu's nominal apprentice.

But what about Doctor Zhou? The medicine that Baizhi brought back was a pregnancy-maintaining medicine, and he couldn't find any fault with it. At most, he could say that Baizhi was too anxious.

Given Zhen Huan's temper, she would definitely not blame Bai Zhi. She would even say that she was thinking of her and that it was a good thing, but she would have to ask herself about it in the future.

Then if she were to reward her with some jewelry, gold and silver, Bai Zhi would be so grateful that she would swear allegiance to Zhen Huan until death.

It’s a pity that Bai Zhi has long been Ling Rong’s woman, and Zhen Huan’s small favors are not enough to buy Bai Zhi off.

However, Bai Zhi's pretended obedience made Zhen Huan trust her a little, and she even asked Bai Zhi to inquire about Tang Di's whereabouts.

After learning that Tangdi was in Chengqian Palace, Zhen Huan no longer asked Baizhi to inquire about these trivial matters. She began to stay in Yongshou Palace to recuperate, and used the Fairy Jade Girl Powder given by the Emperor to try to restore her appearance.

The Emperor saw that Zhen Huan's appearance was gradually recovering and her temperament was becoming obedient, so he intended to promote her. However, he was stopped by the Empress Dowager, who said that Concubine Wan did not have any children to help her, so she could not be promoted.

The emperor always refused to listen to advice on such matters, but he could not stand the empress dowager's anger with him and fell ill.

The emperor finally compromised. After all, she was his biological mother. What's more, the empress dowager was angry because Zhen Huan had been entangled with Prince Guo. The emperor just felt that it was the empress dowager who cared about him.

Although Zhen Huan's position did not rise, her monthly allowance was raised. After all, she had to maintain her beauty and regulate her body to facilitate pregnancy, so the allowance of a maid was totally insufficient.

Lingrong and Concubine Jing reconciled the accounts every month and found that most of the money for Yongshou Palace came from the emperor. However, in order to show his frugality, the emperor's monthly allowance was also not much. As a result, the money was still spent in excess.

Ling Rong was very troubled as she moved the beads on the abacus. After calculating over and over again, she still spent several thousand taels of silver over the month.

"Sister Jing, the accounts don't add up. Can you take a look and see if I made any mistakes?"

"Don't forget it, sister." Concubine Jing also sighed. She reached out and closed the account book. "The decoration of Yongshou Palace is all made of tribute and priceless treasures.

"Wei Wan is always taking care of her body, and she uses rare medicinal herbs. These few thousand taels of silver are already considered a small amount, and last month's expenses were even greater."

"It was almost the same when Concubine Hua was here." Ling Rong pushed the abacus and sighed, "But Concubine Hua was paid by the Nian family at that time. We checked the previous account books and there was no omission.

How can we fill this hole now? "

Concubine Jing also sighed. She felt helpless looking at the three consecutive months of negative debt. Even if she was asked to pay for it out of her own pocket, she would not be able to do so.

Even if Concubine Sheng's contribution is added, it probably still won't be enough.

"Sister, it has been three months since Wan Changzai came back, and the monthly expenditure of Yongshou Palace has far exceeded the standard.

Someone should try to persuade her to stop behaving like this. If she continues like this, I'm afraid the emperor's share will also be used for her."

Speaking of this, Concubine Jing only felt more tired. This Concubine Wan had not left Yongshou Palace for three months, and when asked about it, she said that she was in poor health. However, people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs often ran over, transplanting apricot trees and making swings, and they were very busy.

But if anyone visited, she would say that she was afraid of passing on her illness to other people. However, every month, she was the one who received the most favors.

"Tell me, you are afraid of passing your disease on to others, but why aren't you afraid of passing your disease on to the emperor?!"

"Your Majesty is the Son of Heaven. Maybe this dragon energy can cure Concubine Wan's illness." Ling Rong smiled mischievously. "Some time ago, Concubine Wan and the Emperor were both asking if she could still get pregnant. She has been drinking the pregnancy medicine for three months, and I don't know how her body is doing."

Speaking of children, Concubine Jing's face looked obviously bad. Seeing that the younger Hongyu was able to jump around, but her own child fell ill from time to time due to the weather, she felt extremely anxious, yet helpless.

Concubine Jing had thought about having another child, but because of childbirth, she had not had physical contact with the emperor for a long time.

What's more, the Sixth Prince is also his own child. How can he give up on him just because he might die young?

Unconsciously, Concubine Jing let out a long sigh.

"Sister, if this matter is too difficult for you, I will bring it up with the Emperor," Ling Rong looked at Concubine Jing's pale face and took the responsibility on herself. "Sister, you look unwell. You should have a good rest."

"Actually, it's the Sixth Prince's health." After hesitating for a moment, Concubine Jing still told the Sixth Prince's condition. As he grew older, the Sixth Prince's health became worse and worse. He looked so skinny that Concubine Jing felt very distressed.

Unfortunately, the imperial physician had no good solution, and the folk doctors recommended by the ministers were more useless than each other and could not save the Sixth Prince at all.

"The imperial physician will find a way. It's a pity that I don't know any medical skills, so I can't help you much. But if you need any herbs, I will help you."

"Sister, it's enough that you have this intention." Concubine Jing sighed, "Now let's solve this current problem."

The two of them looked at the account book at the same time and sighed.

"In this case, the only way to fill this hole is to deduct all the allowances of Wan Changzai and the emperor for the next two months."

"But," Concubine Jing hesitated, "It's fine if Concubine Wan is still here, but the money from the Emperor can't be cut off."

"But, this money was clearly used by them." Ling Rong was helpless, "If we only deduct the money from Wan Changzai, there is no way to make up for it."

"Sister, the emperor's monthly allowance must not be touched. Just deduct mine."

"That won't do," Ling Rong rejected Concubine Jing's request without a second thought. "Sixth Prince is in poor health and has been taking medicine all the time. If your menstrual period is interrupted, Sixth Prince's medicine will also be interrupted. This is absolutely not allowed."

"But......"

"Sister, this is Concubine Wan's fault, and it's also the emperor's fault. You shouldn't be the one to pay for them."

Concubine Jing also knew that if this loophole was opened, it would become even more difficult to check the accounts in the future.

"What should we do?" Concubine Jing really had no idea what to do.

"One is to follow my sister's idea and deduct the monthly allowance of the emperor and Wan Changzai, and the other is to distribute the money equally to everyone."

"Share it equally? This method..."

Ling Rong thought about this method for a long time. It is the easiest way to fill the hole, and it is also the easiest way to make everyone hate Wan Changzai.

However, if she used it too directly, she was afraid that it would make the emperor angry, so she did not dare to give the order directly. Now she was discussing with Concubine Jing and was thinking of finding someone to form a united front with her.

"However," Ling Rong pretended to hesitate, "if we do this, the sisters in the harem will hate you and me, and I am afraid that we will encounter obstacles in managing the six palaces in the future."

Concubine Jing nodded. Lingrong's idea was good, but it would easily arouse jealousy, so she naturally didn't want to do it.

"Think about it again, sister."

Lingrong did not continue to worry about it. She just reminded Concubine Jing that the new monthly allowance would be paid soon. If a decision was not made early, the waste would probably continue.

"If we could save some from somewhere else..."

"Sister, sacrifices, meals, monthly wages for palace servants, care of flowers and plants in the imperial garden, maintenance of the greenhouse, dog farms, and horse farms, which one of them doesn't require money?

My sister should still remember the issue of cutting down on the regular dishes, and what a big mess it caused at the time.

I really don't dare to cut these expenses, sister, are you sure you want to do this? "

Concubine Jing was silent for a long time, and finally shook her head. She was not a sucker like Shen Meiyu, so how could she be the one to take the blame?

"But if it's shared equally among everyone, there will be complaints as well."

"Forget it, why not ask the Emperor or the Empress Dowager for advice?"

Concubine Jing is indecisive and I am not willing to take the lead, so it is better to leave this matter to the emperor to make the decision.

The two hit it off immediately and stopped dwelling on the matter. After having lunch together, they went to the Yangxin Palace to look for the emperor.

But the two of them were unlucky. The emperor had already gone to Yongshou Palace and now no one knew when he would come back.

With no other choice, the two could only leave separately, planning to look for the emperor tomorrow.

Fortunately, the two men stopped the emperor before lunch the next day and informed him of the financial accounts.

The emperor was originally eager to have lunch with Concubine Wan, but when he heard that so much extra money had been spent, a crack finally appeared on his face.

In the past, he disliked Concubine Hua for spending too much, but since Concubine Hua was given money by the Nian Family, the Emperor would tolerate it. Now, Concubine Wan has no family support to give her money, so all she spends is the Emperor's and her share.

It would have been fine if the emperor had not set a good example, but he chose to be frugal and adjusted his monthly allowance to be the same as that of the empress.

After all this time, the money was no longer enough.

"This... bring me the account book. It's just for medical treatment, why did it cost so much?"

Ling Rong didn't say anything and directly presented the account book. The accounts for other palaces were fine, but the account for Yongshou Palace was not finished after flipping through several pages. The emperor became even angrier.

Ling Rong laughed in her heart. She used to think that only concubines like herself who had no family support would worry about money. She didn't expect that the emperor, the king of a country, would also worry about spending too much money.

Concubine Jing standing by had already stopped breathing. If it were the former Concubine Hua, she would have given the emperor the money herself out of pity for him, but like Lingrong, she didn't have much money and couldn't help.

In the past, when there was Concubine Hua, this matter would never be brought to the attention of the Emperor. Now that she is gone, the Emperor can only find a solution on his own.

"Even my monthly allowance is in deficit!"

The account book was thrown on the table. It didn't make much sound, but it sounded like thunder to Concubine Jing's ears.

"Your Majesty, rest your anger."

"How can I calm my anger if you don't know how to be frugal?"

Lingrong rolled her eyes in her heart, if you hadn't been so partial to me, why would the Ministry of Internal Affairs be so attentive to me.

What's more, those treasures, precious fabrics, medicinal materials, gold, silver and porcelain were all sent to Yongshou Palace at your own request.

"Is the monthly salary at Jingren Palace still as usual?"

Ling Rong glanced at Concubine Jing and spoke slowly, "Your Majesty, we will still provide it according to the old rules, but the Empress is under house arrest, so she won't need much.

This part of the silver has been used to cover the expenses of Yongshou Palace.

The figures in the account book now are the result of subtracting all the available silver."

"From today on, Yongshou Palace will be given the same allotment as the regular maids, and no one is allowed to exceed it.

The missing money will be gradually deducted from the monthly allowances of me and the Queen."

The emperor did not adopt the ideas of Lingrong and Concubine Jing, but instead came up with a new idea.

Lingrong naturally didn't mind this result. Anyway, the Queen would be unhappy if her money was deducted.

Even if she was under house arrest, she still had a way to deal with Zhen Huan. She could just tell the Queen about it herself.

Of course, it would be good for other people to know, too.

"Your Majesty, I have another idea. We can call on the sisters in the six palaces to be frugal together. Part of the money saved can be used to make up for the deficit, and the rest can be used to do charity among the people and accumulate virtue for the royal family."

The emperor pondered for a while and then approved Lingrong's suggestion. After all, this was the most effective way to make up for the deficit.

After having passed the emperor's instructions, Ling Rong brought up the emperor's recent pursuit of frugality at the mid-month meeting.

Invite the concubines in the six palaces to follow the emperor's footsteps, live frugally and accumulate blessings for the people.

Concubine Tian had seen the account books, but she was not clear about the emperor's arrangements, so she directly raised the issue of the excessive expenses in Yongshou Palace.

"If Yongshou Palace were more frugal, the people of the world would have a month of good life."

"Empress Tian, ​​you're going too far." Ling Rong tried to stop Concubine Tian in a low voice, but she was a person who would not stop talking, so her voice became louder. "It's common for the emperor to favor a concubine, but Wan Changzai is the first one to be so spoiled by her favor."

"Starting from this month, Concubine Wan will also save money." Concubine Jing mentioned it briefly, with a look on her face as if she wanted to say something but was hesitant to say more.

"She spent so much, she should have saved money long ago." Concubine Tian snorted, "I'm afraid everyone is paying for her expenses. The so-called accumulating virtue and doing good deeds..."

"Concubine Tian, ​​don't say any more." Lingrong suddenly spoke loudly, stopping Concubine Tian from speaking.

Of course, she did it on purpose, in order to make everyone speculate and talk about it, so that they would know why she had to be frugal with her monthly allowance, and then dislike Concubine Wan.