Going to Beijing to save his father, all the powerful officials in the city are vying to be his fath

The emperor's words made the queen a little confused: "What does the emperor mean? Someone used the emperor's reward to exchange for something else?"

The emperor snorted coldly and told Zhao Liangchen about the reward he had given him.

The Queen knew that Zhao Liangchen had taken a lot of things from the Shangfu Bureau. After all, she was in charge of the Shanggong Bureau, and if anything was taken, there would be palace servants to report to her.

Originally, the emperor allowed the people to take the things, and the empress didn't care how much or how little they took. However, it was disrespectful and inappropriate to exchange the imperial gifts for foreigners' things.

The Queen frowned and asked, "Didn't Elder Zeng take care of Zhaodu Yuhou?"

As someone who loves poetry and songs, she naturally has great respect for Mr. Zeng. Therefore, she is happy to see the emperor and Zhao Liangchen get close. She thinks that a student that Mr. Zeng likes, regardless of his literary talent, must at least have some character.

But she didn't expect Zhao Liangchen to be so unbearable.

The Emperor said: "How can Mr. Zeng manage this? Zhao Liangchen has no money to spend, and his teacher is not rich either, so he can't give him money."

The Queen's face was full of disapproval: "Even if he is short of money, he can find a way from other places. He shouldn't sell the things given by the emperor. As a teacher, Mr. Zeng should advise him."

The Emperor: "Let's not talk about this anymore. I get angry when I mention it."

Queen: "Yes."

After some thought, I asked, "Zhao Liangchen said that the Shangfu Bureau has a lot of stuff piled up, and some of it is about to break. Is that true?"

The Empress had never been to the Shangfu Bureau. She only looked at the account books when the servants came to report what had been brought in and what had been paid out. She didn't understand why the Emperor was asking this question, so she tentatively said, "I don't know. I've only been in charge of the harem for a year, and I've only looked at the account books for one year. They were all paid according to regulations. I haven't looked at the accounts for previous years."

The emperor nodded: "In that case, you should accompany me to take a look. You should know everything about the harem."

The Queen didn't understand what he meant, but she still answered respectfully. The two of them went to the Shangfu Bureau together. When the Emperor saw the warehouses piled high with things, he finally understood what Zhao Liangchen meant.

The emperor is getting married and there is a new queen in the harem, so naturally there needs to be new food, clothing and other necessities. However, there are not only things for this year, but also things from previous years.

Although the late emperor was old, he had few children. Therefore, in order to expand his family, he took many concubines into the harem. Naturally, the expenses were high with so many concubines, so the Shanggong Bureau prepared a lot of food, clothing and other expenses. In addition, the late emperor himself was a person who loved luxury, so there were even more things. This is why there was not much silver in the national treasury and the emperor's private treasury.

After the death of the late emperor, all the concubines who had no children were sent to the royal temple to chant sutras and pray for the late emperor. The harem was suddenly empty. The people were gone, but the things were still there. The queen had just entered the palace, so it was not convenient for her to dispose of all the things of the late emperor's concubines, so so many things were piled up here.

Some of these things were very old, some of the silk had lost its color, and some were damaged, and they broke into pieces with just a slight pull from the emperor.

The emperor frowned slightly: "There are not many people in the harem now. It's a waste to pile these things here. Some of them should be disposed of."

The queen didn't know what the emperor meant, whether he complained that there were too many things or not enough people in the harem.

She frowned slightly. It had been a year since she entered the palace, but there was still no movement in her belly. Could it be that the people of the previous dynasty couldn't wait to find a concubine for the emperor?

She didn't object to taking a concubine. When she knew she had to enter the palace, she knew what she would experience in the future. However, she was still unwilling to let the emperor take a concubine without having a child.

She knew that the emperor did not like her. She was afraid that if a new concubine entered the palace, the emperor would favor other concubines and would never come to her palace again. She did not want the emperor's favor, but wanted a child. Whether for the sake of her family or for her own support in the second half of her life, she must have her own legitimate son.

As long as he has a legitimate son, she has no objection to how many concubines the emperor takes in the future.

The Emperor saw that the Queen was hesitant to respond and looked at her doubtfully: "The Queen is unwilling to dispose of these things?"

The Queen came back to her senses and quickly apologized: "Your Majesty, please forgive me. It is my fault. These things should have been dealt with long ago. The affairs of the former court are busy, and Your Majesty should not worry about these matters in the harem."

The emperor waved his hand considerately, "You've only been in the palace for a year, so you don't understand many things. Besides, if you were to deal with your father's belongings so drastically right after entering the palace, it would probably lead to gossip. You don't have to worry about it. I'll send someone to deal with it, making room for some new things for you."

The Queen knew that the Emperor had come to her today to dispose of the things in the storeroom, but why? Even if these things were to go bad, it wouldn't be a problem for the Emperor.

After much thought, she still felt that the emperor wanted to have some new people in the harem. Only by making room here would there be room to prepare new things for the new people.

Although she felt aggrieved and unwilling in her heart, she did not show it. She also looked as if the emperor was thinking of her. She said with great gratitude: "Thank you for your consideration, Your Majesty. I will be lazy for a while and trouble you to worry about me."

The emperor nodded in satisfaction. This was great. He could do whatever he wanted with the things in his palace. How could he steal them like a thief?

He was very pleased with the queen's tact, so he was in high spirits and picked out two pieces of silk for her: "These two patterns suit you very well. When the weather gets colder, I'll have someone make you two winter coats."

Queen: "Thank you, Your Majesty."

The Queen knew what to do, so the Emperor naturally stayed in her palace. The Queen wanted to get pregnant before taking a concubine, so she suppressed her shyness and cooperated a little more than usual, which made the Emperor feel better.

-

Soon after Zhao Liangchen left the palace, many people learned that he was injured after being punished by the emperor. Those who did not want Zhao Liangchen to be the deputy commander thought that Zhao Liangchen had lost favor and were gloating, thinking that he would not be able to be the deputy commander this time.

Prince Liang was the first to receive the news, and the information he received was more comprehensive than others. After reading the news from the palace, he fell into deep thought. He was not surprised that the emperor would be angry at Zhao Liangchen, but he didn't understand why the emperor would pay attention to the things of the Shanggong Bureau after meeting Zhao Liangchen.

He sent people to the Queen's palace to inquire, and learned what the Emperor and the Queen had said. His expression became even more meaningful. He would never have thought that the Emperor wanted to use those things to make money. He had a similar idea to the Queen, thinking that the Emperor wanted to take a concubine.

However, unlike the Queen who thought that the Emperor took concubines in order to have offspring, Prince Liang believed that the Emperor wanted to win over the ministers in the court by taking concubines.

If the emperor really proposed to take a concubine, he would have no reason to stop it. After all, as the emperor, it was one of his duties to expand the royal family. Besides, even if he stopped it, the officials headed by Grand Tutor Yan would oppose it.

Since he couldn't stop it, he controlled the candidates who could enter the palace. He had to carefully identify which officials were easy to control and which were troublemakers.

He ordered his attendants: "Go and fetch the list of the ladies from the imperial families who are eligible to enter the palace and be chosen as concubines."