Finally, only Consort Jinlan and Hailing remained in the hall. Although Consort Jinlan was old, she was well-maintained and did not look old. Moreover, she still had a plump figure and must have been a beauty in her youth. She stayed until the end to give Hailing two pieces of advice.
Seeing that there were no outsiders in the main hall, only a few close maids of the Empress, Consort Jinlan smiled and spoke.
"Your Majesty, please take good care of yourself. It is a blessing for the people of Beilu to have such a good empress."
Hailing also liked this concubine very much. When she looked at her, her eyes were full of affection, somewhat like her mother, Du Caiyue.
"Your Highness, please don't call me Empress anymore. Just call me Ling'er."
"Alright, Ling'er, although you are doing this for the people of the south, you should still be careful."
After the Dowager Consort finished speaking, she stood up. She left it at that. Hailing was a clever girl. The Dowager Consort had stayed behind and said this to her. She naturally understood what the Dowager Consort meant. She liked the Dowager Consort even more. Moreover, she wanted to learn more about someone from the Dowager Consort. Thinking of this, Hailing reached out and took the Dowager Consort's hand.
"Ling'er is very fond of the Imperial Concubine. May I invite Her Highness to visit Liuyue Palace?"
When Hai Ling spoke up, the Dowager Consort's eyes flickered. She knew what the Empress wanted to know, but there were probably spies of the Empress Dowager in the palace. It wouldn't be good for the Empress if she went to Liuyue Palace, and who knew how the Empress Dowager would deal with the Zhaoyang Prince's Mansion. So the Dowager Consort shook her head: "It's getting late. Let's go another day."
However, she kept holding Hailing's hand and then said insincerely, "Ling'er, you don't need to see me off."
Hai Ling knew what she meant as soon as she saw her actions, and quickly took the Dowager's hand: "Ling'er seems to like the Dowager quite a bit, so let's give it to her."
Actually, what she said was true; she really liked this Imperial Concubine Dowager.
The two walked slowly towards the palace gate. Hai Ling lowered her voice and whispered a question to the Empress Dowager.
"Your Highness, what kind of person was the Empress Dowager back then?"
"Back then, when she entered the palace, she was cunning and scheming, plotting against several concubines and causing the emperor to lose two of his children. Therefore, the late emperor did not like her. Later, she became pregnant, and for some reason, a rumor spread in the palace that the child in her womb was not the late emperor's. About a month after she gave birth, the late emperor led people to her palace to conduct a blood test to prove the child's paternity. However, the palace where she lived caught fire that night. Everyone thought that she and the child had burned to death. But who knew that more than 20 years later, she returned, and the child was so outstanding. As soon as she returned, she had the child and the emperor undergo a blood test. The test proved that the child was indeed the late emperor's. She also said that someone had set fire to her palace back then, and that all the previous events in the palace were the result of malicious people's schemes. The late emperor fell in love with the new emperor at first sight, and it was proven that the new emperor was still his bloodline. So he issued an edict to let the new emperor succeed to the throne."
The two had already reached the outside of the palace while they were talking. Hailing personally escorted the Dowager Consort to her sedan chair, and then said loudly, "If Your Highness the Dowager Consort ever comes to the palace again, please visit Ling'er's Liuyue Palace."
"good."
The sedan chair headed out of the palace.
Under the moonlight, Hailing looked up at the sky. Why did she feel that this matter was somewhat puzzling? And it turned out that the Empress Dowager was such a person back then.
Shi Mei and Shi Lan walked over from behind and said softly, "Your Highness, it's getting late. Please go back to Liuyue Palace to rest."
"Alright," Hai Ling said, snapping out of her reverie. She led Shi Mei and Shi Lan back to Liuyue Palace. On the way, Hai Ling asked Shi Mei, "How much silver did you raise today?"
As Shi Mei helped the sedan chair along, she replied, "Today's donations, including those from Princess Mingzhu and Her Majesty the Empress, totaled about 320,000 taels of silver."
Hailin inside the sedan chair was somewhat surprised to hear this, not expecting that so much money had been raised.
Outside the sedan chair, Shi Mei handed the list inside. Hai Ling took it and then reminded Shi Mei, "Tomorrow, take a few eunuchs from the palace and go out to collect all the silver according to the amount on the list. The Emperor will need it soon."
If nothing unexpected happens, the night will use this money to open a canal in the south.
The group returned to Liuyue Palace, where the Emperor had already returned and was reading in his bedchamber, waiting for Hailing.
Inside the palace, Shi Mei, Shi Lan, and the others withdrew. By the large bed, Ye Lingfeng opened his arms to welcome Hai Ling. He only withdrew his arms after she nestled into his embrace, holding her tightly before asking her with concern.
"Aren't you tired? Why is it taking so long?" He had already sent people to keep an eye on the banquet, so he felt it was taking a while. Ling'er was now more than six months pregnant and couldn't be too tired. Pregnancy was no joke. So, although he was reading in his palace, he was on tenterhooks. Several times he couldn't help but go over, but if he went over, it would make the ladies of the nobility nervous, so he endured it and waited until now.
"It's alright, but do you know how much silver we raised today?"
Hai Ling, with a childlike expression, proudly waved the booklet in her hand. Ye Lingfeng was about to take it when Hai Ling slapped it away, then smiled like a little fox.
"Take a guess, just guess."
Ye Lingfeng thought about it seriously. Previously, the ministers had donated silver. Now, if these noblewomen were to donate again, it would only be a thousand or two thousand taels each. If calculated this way, it would be quite good if they donated more than 100,000 taels.
"About 120,000 to 130,000 taels?"
Hai Ling's smile widened, then she shook her head and winked: "Guess again?"
Judging from her expression, it was clearly more than 120,000 taels. Ye Lingfeng also became interested. Could it be that it was even more than that?
"About 150,000 to 160,000 taels."
"Guess again, this is your last chance! If you can't guess, you'll be punished!"
"As punishment, you have to sleep in my arms tonight."
Hai Ling reached out and wrapped her arms around Ye Lingfeng's neck, speaking affectionately. Ye Lingfeng immediately wrapped his arms around her waist and suggested earnestly, "Let's punish each other every night. I love sleeping with you in my arms the most."
"shameless."
After Hai Ling finished speaking, she urged him again. This time, Ye Lingfeng guessed seriously and even guessed higher: "Around two hundred thousand taels."
"Wrong, you'll sleep with me in your arms tonight."
"Yes, I am more than happy to do so."
Ye Lingfeng spoke glibly, and Hai Ling laughed, handing the booklet in her hand to Ye Lingfeng: "Around 320,000 taels."
"so much."
Ye Lingfeng was surprised and raised his narrow eyebrows. Even if all those noblewomen donated more, they wouldn't have that much silver. He opened the book and saw the names of the two people at the top: Nalan Mingzhu from Nanling Kingdom donated 51,600 taels, and Ling'er also donated 50,000 taels.
No wonder the amount was so large; the two of them alone had 100,000 taels. He hadn't expected these two to have so much.
Unexpectedly, Nalan Mingzhu is quite righteous. It seems that she has spent a lot of time with Ling'er, so she regards money as dirt. She seems to be a really good woman.
As for Ling'er, this 50,000 taels was the dowry from the Ji family. If she donates it all, what will she use in the future? The empress of a country has many expenses. Ye Lingfeng disagreed and spoke up.
"Ling'er, why did you donate your dowry money? You'll need money for many things in the future."