The First Empress - Chapter 136

Chapter 136 Internal And External Troubles
It was as if Huiqi hadn’t noticed Linglong’s anomaly. ‘”You probably saw it today. Lan Zhenglin’s power is overwhelming. There are already a portion of them who are holding onto the dragon, cutting the grass without removing its roots. Spring breezes blow again. Why didn’t I want to get rid of this treacherous hero earlier? But now that he is facing more internal and external troubles, I don’t have enough time to deal with Lan Zhenglin anymore.” Lan Zhenglin said. Saying this, Huiqi’s voice became a little low. Linglong could feel that Huiqi hated steel very much.

“Your Majesty must not think like this. One day, you will remove all of his feathers and claws. At that time …” Hui Qi’s eyes were filled with a bit of fascination. “At that time, you will know.”

Linglong also knew that haste makes waste, so she could only slightly nod her head to express her grievances to the victims who had died unjustly at the Ministry of Household Affairs.

“Why didn’t the Emperor use Yu Lin Lang or Imperial Guard Long? They are so powerful that they can carry out assassinations, aren’t they?” Linglong frowned as she looked at Huiqi. When it came to strategy, this strategy was indeed not top-notch, but there was no other way.

Hui Qi nodded his head, “What you said is reasonable. I will arrange the arrangements. However, there are still more unjust cases in his hands. Private gifts are given to him, and there are all sorts of evil things that he does for personal gain. Moreover, there are also those things that he refuses to change. Do you understand that I want to do my best in this battle?” Hearing this, Lan Zhenglin understood that he couldn’t move now. Because Lan Zhenglin had more information, he had to eliminate Lan Zhenglin and all of Lan Zhenglin’s party members at once. However, the time was not ripe yet.

Linglong was filled with worry. She originally didn’t want to get involved in these open and secret battles, but she was dragged into the mud. “This concubine understands the Emperor’s good intentions. However, if the Emperor wants to protect thousands of people, he must make an example of them. When the time comes, the Emperor should not be soft-hearted.”

Huiqi’s stern expression flashed through his eyes, just like the frost in September. “Have you ever seen me being soft-hearted?”

Without hesitation, Linglong said, “Your Majesty, this concubine has transgressed.”

‘”No problem” Huiqi waved his hand and spread out the memorials. He read them one by one. Linglong helped Huiqi grind the memorials and deliver water and snacks. Very quickly, the memorials had been approved. Huiqi’s expression did not show any sorrow or joy. Linglong did not dare to arrogate the memorials. She could only avoid suspicions from afar and did not see what was discussed in the memorials.

Huiqi wrote all the memorials and said, “Right now, the women of your harem should not know. The previous dynasty has already suffered internal and external troubles.” Linglong smiled. Waiting for the Emperor’s words, Huiqi didn’t know what to say. He looked at Linglong and said, “What did you see?”

Linglong naturally couldn’t figure it out. She still smiled and said, “This concubine feels that it’s nothing. It’s just a matter of disaster relief. What does the Emperor think?”

Huiqi smiled. “This is a woman’s opinion. It’s not as simple as disaster relief. A small famine can be big or small. When you’re big, it’s the government’s business to deal with the aftermath. When you’re small, even sesame and mung beans can calm the waves. Now there are more and more victims …” Sure enough, the internal and external troubles are severe. Linglong seemed to have seen the bare ground and everyone running around telling each other.

Many children and old people who were unable to walk because of hunger had already died. Hunger was everywhere, and late autumn was the season of epidemic. It was as if a miserable scene had opened up in front of Linglong, and her grinding hands were trembling slightly.

Sure enough, Huiqi said, “Since you have already thought of it, I will tell you that there are some things that are much more serious than you think.”

How serious is it?

Linglong didn’t expect it.

Huiqi said, “Right now, not only are Rou Ran and the Xiongnu repeatedly attacking each other, but there are also groups of victims from the southwest who have arrived in the Imperial Capital. Now that the treasury has been opened, the officials have policies and countermeasures. According to my rumors, there is only one mouthful of porridge in the mouth of the people, only one mouthful of porridge …”

Compared to the 10,000 yuan for daily meals in the imperial palace and the entire Manchu and Han seats, Linglong was a little embarrassed. “If I could save some money from the palace, it would definitely be good. What does the Emperor think?”

Huiqi knew it was just a drop in the bucket, But Linglong was already sitting on a desk beside Huiqi. There was a small abacus on it, Huiqi counted all the monthly silver of the concubines, but half of it was cut off, “and he made a rough calculation of the gold, silver, and jewelry in the hands of the concubines,” The ending was indeed pleasant, These small sums would not have attracted much attention, But the harem’s three thousand beauties, It was an incredible number, Linglong handed the abacus to Huiqi and smiled, “Your Majesty, if you deduct half of the monthly silver of the concubines within a month, and save a lot of things and expenses, you already have hundreds of thousands of gold. If these hundreds of thousands of gold are turned into food, everyone will surely be able to get a mouthful of food.”

A flame of hope burned in Huiqi’s eyes as he gently stroked the abacus. “Alright, let’s do as you say.”

Linglong said, “This concubine still has a reluctant request.”

Seeing that Linglong was about to kneel again, Huiqi said, “Just say it. Don’t kneel.”

Linglong slightly pressed her hand on her temple and said, “Has the Emperor calculated the personal possessions of everyone in the palace?”

“Private possession?” Hui Qi slightly raised his eyes, “I have never considered this. Tell me about it.”

Linglong smiled and said with her fingers, “This concubine first counts the personal possessions of this concubine, Yunluan Palace. The Emperor, the Empress, and the other concubines have sent over items, gold, silver, jewelry, and antique artifacts. The Emperor, this concubine is willing to donate all of these items.” When Huiqi heard this, he said, “What do you mean?”

Linglong nodded slightly. “that emperor is a wise man, The concubines in the harem had always been extravagant, “Even though the Emperor has repeatedly issued orders, the imperial concubines cannot follow the same pattern. The expenses in the harem have always been extraordinary. If the empress can willingly take out the silver, the Emperor will think about how the large amount of gold and silver will be turned into cold weapons or grain. Will our dynasty have a much more stable foundation?”

“What you said makes sense, but you can’t quench your thirst from afar.” The flame in Huiqi’s eyes slowly extinguished. Linglong knew that this matter was easy to say, but it would be even harder if it were to be implemented. However, she did not know why Linglong was so concerned about the lives of the Li people. She said, “This concubine is willing to be the first Meng Chanjun. This concubine will go back now and send all the private collections to the Household Registry.”

Huiqi held Linglong’s hand. “There’s no need to send it to the Household Department. The Household Department’s Sun Yanghui is now a Pixiu. Only those who enter have yet to come out. When it is truly delivered to the mouths of the hungry people, it will be less than one in ten thousand. If you want to do so, you can count all of these and put them in your own palace. I will let Eunuch Lu take the time to move out.”

Huiqi’s expression was filled with unconcealable melancholy. He looked at Linglong and said, “All the women in the palace like to compete for beauty. If this goes on, I feel that it will be hard on you.”

Linglong didn’t feel any pain, He even smiled. “This concubine is willing to play hard, As long as the Emperor is at ease, “This concubine will definitely set an example. There are so many golden beads and precious jades bestowed by His Majesty in this concubine’s palace. This concubine has always disliked these things. Gold and silver are things outside of her body, and the people’s hearts are the most important. This concubine is willing to do such a thing to benefit the world. Your Majesty, treat me less. This concubine will go to my own palace to count my belongings.”

Huiqi seemed to be thinking about something and nodded slightly.

Linglong saw that Huiqi’s expression was not good. He could only walk out of school for the Emperor’s son resentfully, Along the way, she was not in the mood to see anything. She had just arrived at the Spring Wave Bridge when she suddenly heard a loud cry of sorrow coming from the Changle Palace. Originally, she did not intend to listen to it, but Qiu Feng was like a child who was playing tricks on her. He slowly blew over a few words. Linglong only heard Lan Sou Yu cursing at her and the Empress.

Linglong only smiled. The Duchy’s freeman commented that compared to Lan Zhenglin’s lion’s mouth and the way the beetle behaved, he and the Empress were only returning the favor with their own methods. Linglong did not listen anymore and did not intend to tell the Emperor and Empress these dirty words. She directly crossed the Spring Wave Bridge and entered her own Yunluan Palace.

When Qin’er and Sheng saw Linglong return safely, they were overjoyed. Because Linglong had been gone for more than half a day, they were worried, afraid that Linglong would not be able to blame them for what she said, but they were happy to see that Linglong had not been persecuted.

“Your Highness is back.” Qin’er’s eyes were already filled with tears. When Linglong saw that Li Sheng’s eyes were also red, she knew that both of them were worried about her own safety. She couldn’t help but feel a little depressed. “It was just a trip to the previous dynasty. Alright, we have other things to do.”

Li Sheng and Qin’er asked, Qin’er hurriedly went to the back hall to pack up some things. Because Linglong had never worn those gold, silver, and jewelry, she locked them all in the back hall. There was even a dazzling array of jade agates on the ancient shelves. At this time, Linglong could only give them up. She pointed at the things on the shelves and gritted her teeth. “Move them all into the back hall and pack them up.”

Qin’er was slightly stunned. “Concubine, this crystal stone is your favorite. You should keep this crystal stone.”

Linglong didn’t look at the crystal stone that she often used to play with. She smiled and said, “It’s just something outside her body. Think about how much food this crystal stone needs to feed the hungry people.”

Qin’er could only put the crystal stones in a large box at the back.

In his hand was another luminous pearl the size of a longan. Sheng sighed slightly. Finally, she put the Light Pearl in the box. After tidying it up, she took out a pen and counted the items. “There is a total of 40,000 silver taels. Such a large amount. If Your Highness donates all of it, I’m afraid it will make people gossip.”

“This palace has long ignored gossip. What this palace does is not for fame and fortune, much less care about it.” Linglong Zhiyi looked at Li Sheng. ‘”Money is an external item. Besides, I don’t like gold, silver and jewelry. You all know that. If you like anything, you can take it yourself. These things are given to the officials. If you want to use them in the future, you don’t have to take them anymore. The people are in a sorry state, and the people in the border area are in a sorry state. I can only take out so much.”

As he spoke, he took down a golden phoenix with silk on its head and said, “This is also a relic of the previous dynasty. Put it all in the box.”

Linglong thought for a moment and then said, “Also, put all the Luo Zidai rewarded by the Emperor into the big box. This palace has never used these things. Take them all.”

Li Sheng and Qin’er packed up these things with heartache on their faces and handed over a piece of paper. “Right now, it’s 49,500 silver taels. Your Highness, you can decide for yourself.”

Linglong held the piece of paper and stood up, “Qin’er, follow me to the study room.”

Qin’er Nuonuo followed Linglong. Before she left, Linglong did not forget to look back. “Li Sheng, go and see if there is anything else.”

Li Sheng could only nod.