Ming De, an elderly official who had managed the inner court for many years, knew the palace treasures and curiosities better than anyone.

He was well aware that there were no such things as the “Star of Integrity offending the throne.”

The items listed were all familiar to him; he knew who had presented them.

Though he knew, the inner palace’s complexities were not limited to this matter alone.

Returning the items was one thing, but the order was given in such a rush that the Emperor had decreed that none of the items on the list could be missing.

It was easy to discuss in words, but he had to manage the distribution of these items to the six palaces.

Items like the silks, furs, jade ornaments, trendy trinkets from Tang Ji, and other seasonal goods were traditionally distributed from Tang Ji’s offerings to the six palaces.

This arrangement kept the accounts balanced and saved a significant amount in handling costs.

Now, to replenish what was lost, he needed to retrieve rewards previously given out from the palaces.

The prestigious palace of the Emperor had never experienced such a disgraceful task since the founding of the dynasty.

Of course, these grand matters were not Ming De’s concern.

What worried him was which palace lady, consort, prince, or princess might be easy to deal with, as the Emperor had not issued clear orders.

The difficulty lay in those of them who were stuck in the middle.

Even if he used all his effort to recover these items, he couldn’t let the palaces become like they had been raided.

Eventually, he would need to ask the inner court for replacements, creating a double loss.

Moreover, the already consumed items and the indispensable items cherished by the esteemed figures added to the complexity.

For instance, the Emperor had worn a string of sandalwood beads on his wrist for years, now shining black with use. Replacing it with a new one was out of the question.

The inner court had to find a string of beads of similar value to make up for it.

The difficulty lay in finding sandalwood beads from the Eastern Sea, which were not only priceless but also extremely rare.

Even if he managed to find one item and balance the account, hundreds of similar difficulties awaited him.

In short, items in the royal collection were limited.

Ming De was just a steward managing the Emperor’s possessions.

Even if he were to be drained of all his blood, he couldn’t solve the problem.

Ming De nearly begged, “Please, Chief Eunuch, give me a way out. Even if I tighten my belt, I can’t make up for this shortfall. If there’s no other way, my belt might have to be tightened around my neck.”

“Why are you in such a hurry?” Yuan Cong, standing under the shade of an old locust tree, casually dusted off his sleeves. “If you truly fail to complete the task, do you think the Emperor will spare anyone?”

Ming De’s cold sweat ran from the back of his head to the soles of his feet.

Although he was at the same rank as Yuan Cong, he now set aside all formality and kowtowed, pleading for Yuan Cong to save him.

Yuan Cong sighed. “Considering your pitiful state, I can point you in the right direction. Do you know how those two houses on Qingxi Dike were bought? Don’t you have any clue?” He smirked. “Building private residences in an area filled with royal relatives, Ming De, you’re braver than I am. The saying ‘a horse without night grass doesn’t get fat’ is indeed true. You might as well sell the property or bring the deeds directly to Wu Yi Alley.”

Ming De was startled.

He hadn’t expected that this secret wouldn’t escape the sharp eyes of this old fox.

He hesitated, “That… that…”

Yuan Cong waved his hand impatiently. “You’re worried about your personal property at a time like this? It’s not even yours. This is just a matter of taking from Tang Ji and returning to Tang Ji. Not just you, but while you’re still in a position of power, give the managers below a good thrashing. Whatever you’ve received from Tang Ji in the past, return what should be returned and relinquish what should be relinquished. The Emperor is currently worried about finding someone to blame.”

Ming De knew that the Chief Eunuch was well-regarded by the Emperor and wouldn’t speak falsely.

He muttered, “Is it really that serious?”

Yuan Cong looked up with a cold smile.

The Emperor had already given away the imperial estates, and even the Crown Prince’s treasured calligraphy and paintings had been moved.

Yet these people still clung to their small schemes.

“How can you call them little bodhisattvas and forget that even bodhisattvas have their wrathful forms?”

After this point, Ming De lost his last shred of hope and dared not delay any further.

He had to retrieve all the scattered items from the six palaces, no matter how difficult it was.

This action, however, displeased the ladies.

Most of them were still unaware, thinking that the inner court’s servants were using the celestial phenomenon as an excuse to enrich themselves, causing a commotion.

They then expressed their resentment towards the Empress, feeling that she was neglecting the inner court’s affairs, which was no different from mistreating the harem.

Ming De, with no words to express his grievances, had just been reprimanded at the Fragrant Hall when he entered Yu Ning Palace and was struck again.

This time, it was a luminous pearl thrown in anger by Princess Zhen He, which fell to Ming De’s feet and cracked with a sharp sound.

Ming De’s heart felt similarly shattered.

Now he had to make up for this loss from the inner treasury.

At this rate, he felt he was on the verge of disaster.

Zhen He’s childish temper persisted despite Ming De’s pleas.

Liang Fei, after allowing it for a while, finally sent a maid with a booklet to Ming De, her expression calm. “These are the items sent by the Tang family over the years and those delivered to the inner court. I had them sorted out, though there may be some omissions. You can reconcile them with Zhu Mo.”

Ming De was moved to tears on the spot. Liang Fei was truly a wise and understanding person, or rather, she was like a pure and noble maiden in the harem, saving him from disaster.

Before he could express his gratitude, Liang Fei handed him a square flat jade box, instructing him to take it as well.

Ming De opened it to find a pair of high-quality white jade bangles.

He hesitated, “These bangles don’t seem to be on the list. Please instruct me.”

Liang Fei gently replied, “I know. These are a congratulatory gift from Fu Zanying on her coming-of-age day. Since the girl left the palace alone that day, she didn’t take them with her. Please take them along.”

“And,” Lady Liang Fei pointed to a white porcelain vase with an intricate red carving of plum blossoms standing by the window, a top-quality piece of porcelain.

“This was a gift from Fu Zanying on my birthday a few years ago, and it’s also not on the list. I feel unworthy to keep it. Please return it as well. Consider it a small contribution to make up for the inner court’s shortfall.”

Ming De checked the accounts and confirmed that these items were indeed not on the list.

It seemed that Tang’s statement had been very clear, distinguishing between genuine gifts from the Tang family and those from the royal family.

Ming De promptly expressed his gratitude and left with a basketful of compliments.

“Mother, what are you doing?” Zhen He asked, confused and displeased as she watched the inner court’s small eunuchs moving items out.

Lady Liang Fei smiled, “Just helping the Empress a little.”

Meanwhile, in the Xianyang Palace, Empress Yu sat dejectedly on a chessboard-patterned mat, staring at the twelve tasseled phoenix crowns laid out in front of her, her face expressionless.

Every year on her birthday, Tang would send a phoenix crown made of red gold, one each year, totaling twelve crowns.

If one were to say she was greedy, it wasn’t for the weight of gold but for the fluttering and grandeur of the gilded phoenix wings, which symbolized her dignity as the Empress of the Jin Dynasty.

Now, someone was trying to strip away that dignity.

“Your Majesty,” Guan Ju gently inquired.

Empress Yu, with her sharp red nails digging into her palm, bit her teeth and said, “Put them away and send them off.”

Twelve golden phoenix crowns were sealed in boxes right before her eyes, and Empress Yu’s gaze was cold.

At this moment, a clinking sound of coins falling came from outside the hall.

It was the Empress’s order to gather all the boxes of five-zhu coins that had been stored in the deepest corner of the Xianyang Palace treasury for countless years.

This was done to offset the expenses of the Tang Ji spices and other sundries.

Since the coins were strung together with ropes that had rotted with time, they scattered everywhere as soon as they were moved.

The clattering of the copper coins was sharp and continuous, making one’s ears sting and heart race.

Empress Yu, annoyed, scolded.

Even with her eyes closed, she could imagine the inner court servants squatting on the floor, picking up each coin one by one, which made her feel disgusted.

The only thought left in her mind was a disgrace to her dignity.

She had painstakingly taught Fu Zanying to avoid contact with Tang Ji’s shopkeepers and to stay away from the mundane dealings of merchants, only to strip away the business-mindedness from her.

She didn’t need Fu Zanying to learn the palace’s expenses or to plan and calculate.

All she wanted was for her to quietly accompany Huan’er and provide him with company.

Yet now, even such a simple task, Fu Zanying had refused.

Who would have thought that the person she had raised would turn against her, turning Xianyang Palace into a marketplace, and dealing with accounts and coins to annoy her.

Empress Yu could not swallow this humiliation, but she couldn’t vent her frustration either because the Emperor favored Fu Zanying.

Empress Yu knew well that the Emperor’s leniency towards Fu Zanying was not truly about her misbehavior but was part of a larger plan.

Compared to the Tang family’s wealth, the items on the silk list were a mere trifle.

The principle of “to gain, one must first give” applied here.

She now told herself to step back for this reason.

The Ministry of Works was urgently demanding the construction funds for the Yuanbei palace.

If Fu Zanying was not pacified first, where would the substantial expenses for the palace come from?

The state treasury couldn’t be touched, and after this incident, the inner treasury had been drained by Fu Zanying’s demands, leaving very little.

Meanwhile, the gatehouse and decorative pillars of the palace had already been built. If the construction were to halt due to lack of funds, it would be a glaring embarrassment for the royal family, visible to the citizens.

In that case, not only would she be unable to present a successful celebration to the Emperor, but she might also be blamed for the failure to manage the construction of the palace.

After all, the advance payment for the palace was a result of her efforts.

Thus, even knowing that the people in the inner palace had their complaints and dared to privately criticize the Empress for being stingy, Yu Linghong had no other choice.

She drank a cup of bitter chrysanthemum tea, her heart boiling with frustration.

“Your Majesty.”