Harem Daily Life

The imperial concubine rubbed her temples and said, "We can't use all the money to pay out the New Year's bonuses. We have to ensure the monthly allowance first. We just paid out last month's allowance, and we have to keep some money to pay out this month's allowance after the New Year."

Manager Li nodded: "That's right, that's why I'm so anxious! We also have to leave some money for the clan members, just in case something happens and they have to spend money."

The imperial concubine sighed: "What did the Ministry of Revenue say? They can't even get a single cent?"

Li Zongguan said in embarrassment: "Yes, I went there several times, but was always told off by the Minister of Finance. The two times I went there, the Minister of Finance was too busy to see me, so it was the Minister of Finance, Tao, who saw me. Tao is new to the position, so he can't make the decision."

"Lord Tao? Lady Tao's father?" asked the imperial concubine.

Chief Steward Li nodded: "Exactly. He was just transferred from Jiangcheng to the capital. He said that the money in the national treasury should be used for disaster prevention first. The expenses for the harem have been approved, but the national treasury is really tight and cannot be given for the time being."

"It's no use dragging it out. Come on, you and I will go to His Majesty and ask him to put pressure on us to get the money. Otherwise, during this New Year, I will be in charge of the palace affairs for the Queen and won't be able to give out the reward money. I will be drowned in spit."

He Linzhang happened to be discussing matters with the Ministry of Revenue, and was talking about the imperial grain shops selling grain at a fair price to curb the soaring prices caused by the cold disaster.

"Your Majesty, not only the capital city should sell grain at a fair price for a period of time, but all disaster-stricken areas across the country should also be sold grain at a fair price by the government. Otherwise, prices will soar, which will not only be detrimental to people's livelihood, but also may cause unrest. We must not take it lightly," Tao Qian suggested.

"But low prices can easily lead to looting." The Minister of Revenue raised a question: "Besides, the grain reserves are limited. What if there is not enough to sell after panic buying?"

Tao Qian said: "So we have to keep the price stable while limiting the quantity. Each household can only buy five kilograms of rice every seven days, which is twenty kilograms a month. After this period of time, when spring comes and everything recovers and the cold disaster is over, the market will stabilize and there will be no need to stabilize prices."

"I think it's feasible. Let the Ministry of Revenue handle it." Just as he finished speaking, Eunuch Zhang came in to report that the imperial concubine and Li, the chief steward of the Imperial Household Department, had arrived, and asked the officials from the Ministry of Revenue not to leave yet as they had something to discuss.

Minister Lu and Tao Qian looked at each other quickly, and both knew why the imperial concubine came.

"I see you, Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you."

After the two men exchanged greetings, they also met two officials from the Ministry of Revenue.

"Your Majesty, I came here today specifically to discuss the New Year's Day reward for the harem. The Ministry of Revenue is unable to allocate silver, and I am really stretched to the limit. I would like to ask Your Majesty to help me think of a way to get through this hurdle first."

After listening to this, He Linzhang glanced at Minister Lu, who said with a stiff upper lip: "It's really not the right time. The Ministry of Revenue is currently stretched to its limits and cannot consider the expenses of the harem right away! I hope your majesty and the imperial concubine will forgive me."

"Lord Lu, I know you are in a difficult situation, but the harem is only short of 8,000 taels this time. Can you think of a solution?"

On normal days, eight thousand taels is really not a lot, but this year is particularly difficult. Lord Lu failed to give an answer, and the scene was quite awkward.

Seeing that his superior had been tricked, Tao Qian came to the rescue and said, "Your Majesty, every expenditure of the treasury is made according to the priority. Disaster relief is the most urgent thing now. Please be flexible and wait until spring comes and the disaster situation is alleviated. The Ministry of Revenue will transfer the money."

"Master Tao, it's easy for you to say that. If you ask me to make concessions, who among the people in the harem can make concessions for me? I originally wanted to advance the payment myself. I did it last year, but this year my money was donated to disaster relief, so I can't do anything about it. Otherwise, I would never come to the Ministry of Revenue."

Seeing that neither side would give in, He Linzhang said, "I will do the filling. Zhang Fuhai, go open my private vault and take out 8,000 taels of silver for the imperial concubine."

Eunuch Zhang said with some embarrassment: "Your Majesty, I'm afraid your private treasury cannot produce eight thousand taels of silver notes today."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone was shocked.

The emperor has no money?

It's not a big sum, only eight thousand taels, and it's not enough?

Your Majesty has never lived a lavish life. Where did the 100,000 taels of income go?

He Linzhang himself couldn't believe it.

I thought to myself, "Am I so poor? I don't even have eight thousand taels?"

Eunuch Zhang explained immediately: "The records are all there. Your Majesty used to subsidize the military pay, which cost tens of thousands of taels. The Queen Mother gave 10,000 taels as a gift on her birthday. There were also many other rewards given to the palaces on weekdays, which added up to almost 10,000 taels. There were also daily expenses, and some was spent on the southern tour. There really isn't much left."

He Linzhang coughed lightly to ease the embarrassment: "Then, whatever is left in the account, give it all to the imperial concubine for emergency."

Eunuch Zhang thought for a moment and said, "About five thousand taels."

Then there is still a gap of three thousand taels.

Tao Qian said: "In this emergency, we should make an emergency decision. It is better to pay half of the money first, and then make up the rest after the disaster is over and the Ministry of Revenue allocates silver."

The imperial concubine said calmly, "Lord Tao makes it sound so easy. Why don't we temporarily stop giving out gifts to Lady Tao in the palace? She should take the lead in supporting Lord Tao's proposal. Fortunately, she has received many rewards this year, so I don't think she will mind the year-end reward."

Tao Qian was speechless for a moment, thinking of how his daughter had forced one thousand taels of silver on his wife so that they would not be short of money in the capital. A beauty only earned twenty taels of silver a month. She had to live frugally to save up that much money!

But he couldn't say anything that would make him look bad, so Tao Qian said, "Lady Tao knows the current difficulties and won't mind the late delivery. I think the ladies are also very conscious and willing to share the worries of Your Majesty. I think they won't complain if I wait for a month."

The imperial concubine looked at him hatefully. This was not a matter of complaining or not, but a matter of unfairness. She had failed to manage the harem well for the queen and was not capable enough!

Tao Qian could not help but say: "Although the national treasury is obliged to bear the expenses of the royal harem, the primary task of the national treasury is still to focus on the national economy and people's livelihood. I think we should find a way to increase the income of the royal industry so that we can be self-sufficient without relying on the national treasury."

He Linzhang raised his eyebrows and finally understood where the little beauty's straightforward remarks came from. Like father, like daughter!

Chief Steward Li was in charge of the Imperial Household Department, which was also responsible for the cultivation of imperial farms, the sale of agricultural products, the leasing and operation of royal shops, as well as some investment matters. At this time, Lord Tao's words were like putting him on the fire.

He looked at the emperor with an embarrassed expression, he was speechless!

The imperial concubine smiled and said, "Lord Tao is very insightful, and that is indeed the truth. Since your majesty ascended the throne, the royal industry has earned about 200,000 taels of silver each year, but the expenses are also huge, and your majesty has to take out silver to subsidize military pay from time to time. If we can increase the income from the industry, it will indeed solve the problem."

Changing the subject, the imperial concubine said, "I manage the palace affairs for the queen, and I also look at the account books of the royal property. It is not easy to increase the income on the basis of 200,000 taels. I wonder if Lord Tao has a good solution? If there is no good solution, it is just a casual remark, which is not easy to say."