Professional Ethics of a Concubine

"Qingqing, why don't you praise me for doing a good job?" Xie Jin asked again while holding her.

"I was so surprised that I couldn't react for a while." Ye Qingzhi took the initiative to kiss him and said to him half-truthfully,

"It's great that there are no new people in the mansion. This way, not only will no one come to compete with me for the throne, but I won't have to follow the rules and still be able to live freely and at ease.

If a few noble ladies from aristocratic families really come in, there will definitely be a lot more trouble in the harem, and there may even be frame-ups and fights. I feel tired just thinking about it.

Your Highness, I now feel that your entire mind, vision, thinking, and pattern have all been elevated to more than one level.

Besides, Your Highness, do you know what is your most charming and powerful point?"

Xie Jin drank her bowl of magic potion, feeling very happy, and asked in a daze, "Where is it?"

"It is you who is constantly making progress, constantly learning, and very open-minded and unconventional in your work attitude!" Ye Qingzhi's eyes sparkled, and this time she praised and appreciated him from the bottom of her heart.

"You are so charming like this. I feel very honored to have a place by your side and to be with you like this all the time.

Watch you expand your territory, watch you conquer the world, watch you change the world bit by bit, watch you let the people of the world live a rich and happy life. "

Xie Jin, ...

Xie Jin felt his heart beating faster and faster, and couldn't help but hug her tightly in his arms again.

She was really good at talking and knew how to control him.

Xie Jin unilaterally announced that no matter how sincere her words were, he regarded them as recognition and confession of her love for him!

-

Inside the palace.

After Crown Prince Xie Jin left, the Emperor pondered over and over again what he had said about the expense of keeping a woman.

That makes a lot of sense!

The emperor gave birth to his first child and carefully calculated how much the women in his harem cost him every day and every month.

Therefore, he summoned the eunuch chiefs of various departments in the palace, the chief of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the virtuous concubine who currently held the Phoenix Seal, Rong Zhaoyi who assisted in the management of the harem, and two other concubines.

When Concubine Xian, Concubine Rong and others arrived at the imperial study and heard the emperor's question, they were slightly stunned, thinking that the emperor was going to use someone present as an excuse.

Although they were a little scared, they still had to report what needed to be reported. Everyone talked about the expenses and reported a total amount without giving any specific details.

The emperor fell silent after hearing this.

He had always felt that compared with the extravagance and corruption of the previous royal family, with their massive construction of civil engineering projects, the building of various palaces, the construction of oversized imperial tombs, etc., his life as an emperor had been much more simple.

He never said anything about building a palace, a tower or a temple. Of course, he also built an imperial mausoleum, but over the years, it was built in a very restrained manner and money was not spent freely.

However, after hearing all these accounts from the harem, the emperor suddenly realized that there was a big hole in his purse right under his nose!

Two years ago, some ministers even wrote to him to ask him to hold a beauty contest. Fortunately, he felt that he was old and had little interest in women. Besides, there were already many women in the harem, so he did not hold a beauty contest.

Otherwise, I would be regretting it so much now!

But if you say that in order to save money, all the concubines in the palace should be sent out, that would be really funny.

The emperor doesn't mean that.

However, shouldn’t we also save on some unnecessary expenses?

The emperor said to Concubine Xian, "Write a charter to see which expenses are unnecessary and where the staff can be reduced. The palace maids and eunuchs can be released from the palace early."

Xianfei was stunned. She stared at the emperor for a long time and asked, "Your Majesty, why do you have to do this? Are you so short of money?"

I haven't heard of any particularly serious disasters happening anywhere, and there's no news that we should take the lead in being frugal and donating money to disaster relief.

Why did the emperor suddenly do this? It makes people feel very scared.

"Just do it if I tell you to." The emperor said with a serious face.

Could it be that he was going to say that he had been taught a lesson by the Crown Prince today, and that he was now thinking about learning how to save money from the Crown Prince? !

It would be a bit embarrassing to say this to others.

Even if he wanted to cut costs, he had to come up with a better reason, preferably one that would bring him both fame and fortune. However, the emperor didn't think of it for the time being and planned to ask the prince about it.

I feel like the prince is very good at this.

When Concubine Xian heard that the emperor was angry, she dared not ask any more questions and quickly agreed. However, she felt bitter before she even started the job.

Everyone in the harem was asked to tighten their belts and eat less, save money in various ways, and even let go of the palace maids and eunuchs (layoffs). These were all things that would offend people!

Being in charge of the Phoenix Seal on behalf of someone else seems glorious, but there are troubles one after another. When something goes wrong, you have to take responsibility and cannot shirk the blame.

She hasn't had a good night's sleep for a long time. There are really too many chores in the palace.

Now that she has to deal with such a hot potato, Concubine Xian really doesn't want to do it anymore.

However, if I refuse to do it now, the emperor will definitely be angry. I'd better pretend to be sick in a few days and throw this hot potato away. Whoever wants to take it can do so.

In just a short moment, Concubine Xian figured out what to do.

-

The virtuous concubine and others all left, but Rong Zhaoyi stayed. She mainly wanted to ask the emperor when the marriage of Ling Yue and Fang Yunyan would be settled.

"I'm afraid the situation has changed." The emperor said to Rong Zhaoyi.

Rong Zhaoyi's heart skipped a beat, but her expression remained unchanged as she asked with a smile, "Is it because the emperor doesn't want the other prime minister to let go?"

"Indeed, the court has just purged a group of officials, and it is time to recruit new people." The emperor said, "I cannot let Lord Fang leave the court at this time."

"I understand. The affairs of the court are more important." Rong Zhaoyi swallowed her disappointment and said with a smile.

"Ling Yue is not too old, and I want to keep her by my side for another year or two. Otherwise, she will belong to someone else's family after she gets married, and I may not see her for several months."

"You don't understand what I mean." The emperor said with a smile, "Although I still intend to use Fang Yunyan, I haven't said that I won't grant Ling Yue a marriage."

"Ah?" Rong Zhaoyi was shocked. She looked at the emperor in a daze and asked in disbelief.

"The Emperor wants Ling Yue to marry an important official in the court? This, this is probably inappropriate."

Although there have been examples of princesses marrying powerful officials throughout the dynasties, it is generally accepted that the prince consort is just a mascot.

It's just an idle position and can't hold great power, and people are afraid of dictatorship by relatives of the emperor's wife.

"I believe in the character of Lord Fang. He is not the kind of person who abuses his power. Ling Yue is also a good child who knows what he is doing."

The emperor spoke.

Crown Prince Xie Jin could even tolerate the deposed crown prince and let him go to the State of Chu to show his talents. How could he not tolerate the minister whom he had employed for more than ten years just because of his status as a son-in-law?

The emperor felt it was a great loss for such a capable minister, who was still in his prime, to set up an academy to teach.

If you want to edit books and devote yourself to academic research, it’s not too late to do it when you are in your fifties or sixties!

If we talk about the influence of others, the leadership of the people around us has the greatest influence.

Under Xie Jin's guidance, the emperor's vision became broader, and uh, he also became more stingy.