The maidservant is too charming. I want to help her become the queen.

Xu Ming'er was convinced by her two reasons and began to think about it carefully.

"The Empress once mentioned to me that since the Emperor ascended the throne, there have been two birthday celebrations, and the gifts presented by Concubine Shu were both exceptionally gorgeous."

"The first time, a nine-foot pure gold statue of Sakyamuni Buddha was presented, and the second time, a nine-foot pure gold statue of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva was presented."

Lu Qingqing fiddled with the teacup, rubbing the lid of the teacup around the rim of the cup.

Buddha statues? Bodhisattva statues? Are they all made of pure gold?

Ancient emperors loved to worship Buddha, and Concubine Shu catered to their taste by presenting statues to them. Her thoughts were clear and understandable.

However, the statue is nine feet tall!

She vaguely remembered that one foot in ancient times was about 30 centimeters. Converted into modern measurement units, nine feet is at least meters! And it was made of pure gold!

"A nine-foot pure gold statue is really worth a lot of money. The Imperial Merchant Family is indeed worthy of its reputation."

Lu Qingqing pretended to admire, but actually she already had some doubts in her heart.

She sighed slightly, a look of loss appeared on her charming face, and her narrow willow-shaped eyebrows were twisted into a knot.

"I'm afraid I can't match the immense wealth of Concubine Shu. It looks like I'll have to admit defeat on the birthday banquet day."

Xu Ming'er smiled contemptuously, as if mocking Lu Qingqing's naivety and overestimation of her own abilities.

Although she hated Concubine Shu, she was still clear about the power and financial resources of the Zhao family. Such a deep foundation was beyond the reach of Lu Qingqing, who was born as a mere palace maid.

She went on to say, "I heard that on the day when Concubine Shu presented the treasure, more than fifty palace servants worked together to move out the statue she presented at the birthday banquet.

"When the statue was brought out, everyone at the banquet was stunned. No one had ever seen such a large and expensive statue. It was much bigger than any other gift presented by the guests at the banquet."

Hearing this, Lu Qingqing's doubts became even stronger.

If it was just because of her strong financial resources, it would make sense that Concubine Shu's offering of treasures was so expensive.

However, during the Emperor's birthday banquet, all civil and military officials, princes' families, and concubines would attend the banquet. Under the watchful eyes of all the dignitaries, he would make offerings openly and command more than 50 palace servants from the Ministry of Internal Affairs to cooperate in the presentation of treasures.

This matter is absolutely of great importance!

Lu Qingqing tried her best to suppress the doubts in her heart and asked in a nonchalant tone, as if asking casually.

"But how was such a huge object transported into the palace? How did the Ministry of Internal Affairs store the statue before presenting it as a treasure?"

Xu Ming'er took a sip of tea, her eyes seemed to be meaningful. She did not answer Lu Qingqing's question immediately, but was very secretive. She deliberately lowered her voice and motioned Lu Qingqing to listen carefully when she spoke.

"Of course, ordinary concubines can't do it, but the Zhao family has a close relationship with the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is eager to do things for Concubine Shu."

"It's just a matter of storing the statue. It's nothing more than finding an empty room and assigning a few palace servants to guard it. This is not a difficult task for the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

After the conversation, Lu Qingqing got more and more information about Concubine Zhao's family.

Openly and ostentatiously, they presented you with a statue of your majesty, which was more valuable than all the guests present.

Isn't it true that in this palace, respect for hierarchy and etiquette are the most important?

Could it be that the gift offered by a royal merchant family could surpass that offered by other royal relatives and nobles?

Among them, there must be someone in a high position of power who is backing the Zhao family behind the scenes!

As for who this person is, the emperor? The empress? Or, the empress dowager who has lived in the deep palace for a long time and never shows up easily?

Lu Qingqing's mind was filled with a myriad of thoughts. She was dazed for a moment, her delicate little hands supporting her chin, and her delicate face seemed a little melancholy.

Seeing Lu Qingqing in a low mood, Xu Minger thought that she was sad because of her humble background. Thinking that he had similar experiences with her, he couldn't help but feel pity for her.

"There are many concubines in the harem, most of whom are from official families, but she is the only one with such strong financial resources as Concubine Shu. You don't need to belittle yourself."

"Why not make some girlish objects of affection and present them to His Majesty, as a token of your appreciation."

Hearing Xu Ming'er say this, Lu Qingqing realized that it was her expression just now that made her misunderstand. However, she was kind-hearted enough to comfort herself with her words, and she was indeed a person worth making friends with.

She raised her head, still smiling brightly, "Thank you, Miss Xu, for your comfort. I understand what you mean. It's getting late, so I won't bother you anymore."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

As soon as Lu Qingqing returned to her west hall, she immediately asked Erxi to bring her paper and pen.

According to what Xu Ming'er had just said, she carefully calculated the price of the two statues on paper.

After calculating for a long time, the number that finally appeared on the rice paper shocked her. Unconsciously, fine beads of cold sweat had already seeped out from her brows.

Ten million taels!

This is simply an astronomical figure for her.

You have to know that her annual allowance as a noble lady was only one hundred taels, and the annual allowance of a concubine was only three hundred taels. Even the Heshuo Prince, who was of noble status and second only to the emperor, only received an annual salary of ten thousand taels.

The two pure gold statues presented by Concubine Shu were worth the salary of ten princes for a hundred years.

She couldn't help but gasp.

The imperial merchant Zhao family is not just wealthy, they are extremely wealthy!!!

So this doesn't look like a simple birthday gift, but more like a transaction between the Zhao family and the royal family.

When Lu Qingqing thought of this, she suddenly put down her pen and paper and asked anxiously, "Erxi, has there been any movement in the Ministry of Internal Affairs recently?"

Erxi looked at the numbers her young mistress was calculating on paper, which looked like ghostly talismans. She couldn't figure out what Lu Qingqing was doing. She tilted her head and thought for a while.

"Nothing else, but I heard from Eunuch Huang from the Ministry of Internal Affairs that the palace is preparing for the Wanshou Festival recently, and they are very short of manpower. They have to draw third-class maids from each palace to take turns to keep watch at night."

"Vigil?"

When Lu Qingqing worked as a maid in the flower room, she was also a third-class palace maid and had never heard of the job of night watch.

"Isn't night watch the job of the first-class maids in each palace? Moreover, night watch is only after nightfall. The personal maids of the ladies in each palace are on duty outside the warm room. Why do we need to mobilize the third-class maids?"

Erxi hurried to explain.

"My lady may not have been selected before. You may not know that every year before the Wanshou Festival, the Ministry of Internal Affairs will select palace servants to take turns at night."

"It seems that they are trying to suppress the evil spirit of Mingjing Hall with the energy of living beings. However, there is no need to continue the night watch after the Wanshou Banquet."

Mingjing Hall was a palace built during the reign of the previous emperor, Li Xuansheng's father.

It was originally a place for palace monks to chant Buddhist scriptures and hold rituals, but because Li Xuansheng was not as devoted to Buddhism as his father, the place was gradually abandoned after the new emperor ascended the throne.

The unused Mingjing Hall and the newly added night guard before the Wanshou Festival are all inextricably linked to the storage of the pure gold statue mentioned by the Xuguan woman.

She was sure that this was not a coincidence!