While eating, Hai Ling spoke softly: "Yesterday I saw palace maids and eunuchs wandering around aimlessly, some even gambling in private. Keeping these people in the palace is quite expensive, and too many people will inevitably cause trouble. Right now, there aren't many masters in the palace. So my suggestion is to let the senior palace maids who should be released go out to get married, and all the old eunuchs be sent away to live out their days in peace. What do you think of this?"
"Alright, this is something you should do. It's boring in the palace anyway, and I can't be with you often, so you can do whatever you want, as long as you're happy."
Hailin beamed with joy upon hearing this; at least she wasn't bored anymore and had something to do.
"Come on, eat more to nourish your body."
These words immediately sparked her wild imagination again, so she quickly lowered her head to eat, acknowledging the man's shamelessness.
After breakfast, the two lingered for a while before Ye Lingfeng left Qingqian Palace to go to the Imperial Study to handle government affairs.
In reality, Northern Lu is not as prosperous as it appears. During the reign of the late emperor, he had numerous concubines in the harem, and his infatuation with women led to the neglect of state affairs. This resulted in widespread corruption, bribery, and the buying and selling of official positions, leaving the national treasury empty. Even for this grand wedding, he personally funded the arrangements, wanting only to give Ling'er a magnificent ceremony. Now that the woman he loves and cares about is by his side, he is even more motivated to reform the court. His most pressing task is to eliminate the corrupt officials and replace them with fresh blood. Therefore, he is discreetly assessing who in the current court is capable and who is not.
In short, he was overwhelmed with work, but he was reluctant to part with Ling'er. It was his wedding day, but he didn't have much time to spend with her. However, once everything settled down, he would definitely make it up to her.
Her earlier suggestion to clean up the palace eunuchs and maids was exactly what he wanted.
This not only gave her something to do but also saved unnecessary expenses, thus solving a difficult problem. Thinking of Ling'er, Ye Lingfeng couldn't help but smile, which made his eunuch Xiao Luzi and the others who followed him know how good the emperor's mood was. It was incomparable to his previous coldness and ruthlessness, which made them feel much better.
The Empress's charm is truly great, the eunuchs sighed inwardly.
In the main hall of Qingqian Palace, Shimei summoned a palace maid to remove the breakfast, and then she and her mistress went out of the main hall of Qingqian Palace and strolled in the back garden.
It was springtime, and the garden was full of flowers. As far as the eye could see, there were thousands of colors, which was very beautiful. With the wind blowing, it was refreshing and charming.
Hai Ling couldn't help but take a deep, comfortable breath and stretch her muscles. Her body was actually fine, but Ye Lingfeng was still worried. However, the intimacy of last night had left her legs feeling a little weak.
Shi Mei, Shi Lan, and the others followed behind Hai Ling with smiles, admiring the flowers and plants as they walked.
"Your Majesty, these flowers are blooming so beautifully."
"Yes, the flowers and plants in the palace are much more beautiful than elsewhere, and the variety is complete. As far as the eye can see, it is a sea of flowers."
Upon hearing this, Fu Yue playfully replied, "Your Majesty is the most beautiful flower in this garden."
Fu Yue's words drew praise from everyone. Not only Shi Mei and Shi Lan, but also the palace maids following behind nodded in agreement. Today, the Empress wore an elegant purple dress, her dark hair was loosely tied up, and a small bow brushed against her cheek. Her face was charming and beautiful, even more beautiful than a lotus flower emerging from the water. Wasn't she the most beautiful flower in the garden?
"Fuyue, you ate candy again today."
As soon as these words were spoken, laughter filled the garden again. After the laughter subsided, Hailing remembered something and instructed Fuyue to lead people to do it.
"Tomorrow morning, I will be hosting a banquet for the Ji family in a side hall of Qingqian Palace. Fuyue, you will lead them to make arrangements and ensure everything is ready."
"This servant obeys the decree."
Fu Yue curtsied and led several palace maids away.
In the back garden, only the two maids, Shi Mei and Shi Lan, remained. The two looked at Hai Ling together, and Shi Mei then reported on her departure from the palace the day before.
"Your Majesty, I have contacted the four heads of the Cold Demon Palace. I believe they will arrive soon after receiving the order. But how will Your Majesty leave the palace? What about His Majesty?"
"I told the Emperor about this, and he agreed to let me do it. I will tell him when I need to leave the palace."
"That's good," Shi Mei breathed a sigh of relief. She had been worried that the Emperor would not agree with her mistress's decision, but the Emperor agreed. Thinking about it, the Emperor was truly more respectable than ordinary people. A man who respects women is more lovable to women. She believed that her mistress had now wholeheartedly accepted the Emperor.
The three of them strolled around the back garden for a while, but then Hailing's legs became even weaker, so she went back to Qingqian Palace to rest.
In the afternoon, I went to Cixi Palace and told the Empress Dowager what I had told the Emperor before. Unexpectedly, this surprised the Empress Dowager.
"Could it be that there's really no money left?"
The Empress Dowager's face was full of unease. Hai Ling was somewhat puzzled. Looking at the Empress Dowager, she said calmly, "What do you mean by that, Mother?"
"I heard some rumors before that the Northern Lu treasury actually has very little cash left, but when I asked Feng'er, he said that was not the case. Now that Ling'er has said this, that's why I asked."
Upon hearing the Empress Dowager's words, Hai Ling raised an eyebrow. The national treasury was empty, which was a matter of utmost importance. Since they were out of money, their wedding was going to be extremely lavish.
The Empress Dowager noticed Hailing's confusion and slowly explained, "According to the Ministry of Revenue, all the expenses for this wedding were paid for by the Emperor himself; the national treasury was not touched at all."
The national treasury was empty, which was no joke. Hai Ling was genuinely shocked. Ye Lingfeng didn't reveal any information to her, but she didn't blame him for hiding it. They had just gotten married, so how could he possibly bring it up with her? He doted on her so much that even if something bad happened in the future, he probably wouldn't tell her. There were some things she wouldn't blame him for, because an emperor has his own dignity.
However, if she had the ability, she would naturally not refuse to help him.
"Mother, please don't overthink it. I don't know about this matter. I will definitely ask the Emperor about it later. As for the palace maids who have been released and the eunuchs who have left the palace, since there are no masters in the palace, those people have nothing to do, so they gather to cause trouble. Some of them even drink and gamble. If these things get out, wouldn't it damage the reputation of the royal family? That's why I came to ask Mother for instructions."
The Empress Dowager's expression softened after hearing Hai Ling's words, but she was still gratified when she thought about what Hai Ling had done. Feng'er's judgment was indeed different; this young lady from the Ji family was indeed more intelligent than the average young lady from a prominent family.
"Alright, go ahead and do it. I'm getting old. From now on, you can handle whatever needs to be done in the palace."
"Yes, Mother."
Hai Ling received the decree and spoke with the Empress Dowager for a while before taking her leave of Cining Palace.
In the main hall of Cixi Palace, Granny Ying couldn't help but smile and say, "Her Majesty the Empress is quite shrewd. She's been busy with palace affairs since she entered the palace. It seems that His Majesty's decision was not wrong. Perhaps her presence will be of some help to His Majesty."
The Empress Dowager smiled and nodded. "Indeed, this daughter-in-law is quite good. It seems she can lend the Emperor a helping hand."
After Hailing returned to Qingqian Palace, the smile on her face disappeared from when she went to Cining Palace. Shimei and the others knew that their mistress was worried about the lack of money in the national treasury. If what the Empress Dowager said was true, then Beilu was indeed an empty shell. If the Emperor wanted to rectify it, it would probably not be a matter of a day or two.
"Your Majesty, did you hear this from the Empress Dowager? I think it might not be true. Such a large country doesn't have much silver. That's probably not very plausible."
Perhaps it is not much, but it is not as serious as the Empress Dowager said.
"But it must be serious. The gossip has even reached the Empress Dowager, so you can imagine that it must be serious. And didn't you see that the Empress Dowager's Cining Palace is very frugal?"
Although she only visited Cixi Palace twice, Hailing still noticed some things. The Empress Dowager's meals consisted of only a few dishes, and her clothes consisted of only two sets of magnificent robes, with the rest being very ordinary clothes. If the inner court really had a lot of cash, the Empress Dowager would not be so frugal.
"So what can we do now?" Shi Mei now deeply realized that setting up the Shadowless Pavilion was extremely timely. The national treasury was short of money, so they could take this opportunity to stand out, help the country, and most importantly, dig out all the money from those corrupt officials.