The wives of the concubines are empresses

The civil officials were shocked and the military officers were excited, and they all wanted to go to the battlefield to make meritorious deeds.

Listening to the noisy court, Shangguan Wanjun urgently wanted blue-ear headphones to block out all the noise.

Seeing that the emperor looked unhappy, Liu Cheng thought for a long time and finally raised his head and chest, looking straight down.

"Everyone, please be quiet." It was so noisy that my head and ears hurt.

Many ministers with good sense immediately fell silent, and the court gradually became quiet.

"My dear ministers, please continue your memorials. The Ministry of Revenue should return and continue writing. Please do not affect the interests of the people or harm the country."

A minister of the Ministry of Works stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, urgent news has arrived from the Lizhou border: food and fodder are in short supply. Winter is approaching, and the weather is getting colder. It's time to start preparing for winter clothing."

But now the treasury is empty and everyone needs money.

Regarding the Lizhou incident, she had already sent people to secretly investigate the situation, but she did not expect that the Ministry of Works would receive the good news a whole month late. Could it be that someone did it on purpose?

The Minister of Revenue was anxious when he heard this: "Your Majesty, the treasury is out of money."

When Shangguan Wanjun heard that there was no money, she got angry.

"My dear, as the Minister of Revenue, shouldn't money be your concern?"

She discovered that some of the ministers in the court were incompetent. Did she have to reorganize the court, letting the capable ones take the top spots and the incompetent ones step down?

When Shangguan Wanjun saw Lu Zilan out of the corner of her eye, her eyes lit up.

"Minister of Justice, didn't you confiscate the property of that Miss Lu's in-laws? It can't be an empty shell, right?" The Minister of Justice shuddered when he heard the emperor's words.

"I will copy it when I get back." Oh, how could he forget about this? Will the emperor think he is incompetent?

He quietly looked up at Lu Zilan, wondering why the emperor would keep a death row prisoner by his side. The emperor's mind was truly unpredictable.

Shangguan Wanjun was afraid that the Minister of Justice was corrupt, so she looked at Lu Zilan with a scrutinizing look.

"Miss Lu, tell me about your former husband's family."

Lu Zilan's body stiffened. She seemed to understand what the emperor meant. He wanted to inquire about the financial situation.

Lu Zilan quickly adjusted her mood and bowed respectfully.

"Your Majesty, my husband's family was surnamed Gao, and my mother-in-law gave birth to three sons and one daughter. My ex-husband was the eldest son, but he was a man who despised the poor and loved the rich. He was attracted to me and forced me into his family.

After we got married, we had a daughter, but I became ill and never got pregnant again. My mother-in-law and husband disliked me very much, and they even withheld my food, clothing, and other expenses, leaving me even less than my husband's concubines.

My husband's favorite concubine costs over a hundred taels of silver a month, not including food, clothing and other expenses.

My mother-in-law's second son is a person who is indifferent to fame and fortune and lives a carefree life. He is extremely unhappy with what happens at home. Because filial piety is the most important virtue, he has no choice but to travel around the world and has not returned for ten years.

The third son was a little bully, already twenty-five, and a life of drinking, whoring, and gambling. It could be said that he had no good qualities at all. He had one wife and five concubines, and he treated his wife with contempt. Like his eldest brother, he favored his concubine over his wife, and each of his five concubines cost him at least a hundred taels of silver per month.

My mother-in-law lives a life of luxury, receiving a hundred taels of silver every month."

Talking about the sad past, she felt heartbroken but also seemed to feel relieved.

Master Yun frowned when he heard this: "Excuse me, Miss Lu, how much is your monthly salary?"

Lu Zilan looked embarrassed: "Less than half an ounce of silver."

The whole court was in an uproar. This was too much of a case of favoring a concubine over his wife. Some civil servants could not tolerate it.

"Your Majesty, the Gao family must have a lot of wealth. Even the concubines cost hundreds of taels a month. Not to mention other things, the concubines alone probably cost thousands of taels a month. They must be exploiting the people's wealth."

Shangguan Wanjun also agrees with this issue.

Favoring a concubine and neglecting one's wife shows that one's character is bad. A concubine lives more freely than the wife. The character of this family is really worrying.

"Minister of Justice, please go ahead."

The Minister of Justice bowed and said, "I'll take my leave."

Lu Zilan looked up and seemed to be about to say something, but stopped herself. Liu Cheng saw this and frowned.

"Anything else to say?"

Lu Zilan knelt down with a plop: "Your Majesty, can you please spare my third brother's wife and my second brother?"

Shangguan Wanjun looked at her leisurely: "Who else?"

Lu Zilan looked up in surprise: Can she say anything else?

Looking at her expression, Shangguan Wanjun knew that there were quite a few people there, so she spoke lightly.

"But it doesn't matter."

"The twenty people I brought as a dowry include Nanny Fang, Yan'er, Xinling, and others."

Shangguan Wanjun looked at the Minister of Justice and said, "My dear, you have heard me. Bring these people back and hand them over to Miss Lu."

The Minister of Justice was shocked. What does the emperor mean?

Miss Lu is no longer a maid, so does she need someone to serve her?

Your heart is becoming more and more difficult to predict.

The Minister of Justice bowed and left, while Lu Zilan was still standing there in a daze.

When Liu Cheng saw this, he felt that this person was really tactless.

"Miss Lu, why don't you thank the Lord for His grace?"

Lu Zilan suddenly came to his senses and knelt down respectfully to express his gratitude.

"I thank the emperor." I will never forget your great kindness.

The Empress Dowager of the Eastern Palace has recently fallen in love with vegetarianism and Buddhist chanting.

At this moment, the Queen Mother was kneeling in the small Buddhist temple, reciting scriptures.

Nanny Li stood beside him, not looking away.

Xigong Taihong is still working hard on embroidering a dragon robe. This dragon robe is different from ordinary dragon robes. It is a women's style, but it has a dragon embroidered on it.

Aunt Cui sighed as she watched her master embroidering with great enthusiasm.

Isn't the Queen blaming herself and always wanting to do something for her daughter?

After leaving court, Shangguan Wanjun sat on the couch with a headache.

Being an emperor is really tiring, you have to take care of everything.

Liuli, who was serving in front of the emperor, looked cautiously at the person on the couch. Seeing that the emperor looked tired, she felt worried too. Finally, she mustered up the courage to speak.

"Your Majesty, do you need a servant to massage you?"

Shangguan Wanjun raised her eyes to look at the source of the voice, and seeing that it was the beautiful girl Liuli, she responded slightly.

"Alright."

Liuli walked forward to the soft couch, and Shangguan Wanjun sat beside her to make it easier for Liuli to massage her.

Feeling the soft, boneless little hands pressing on her temples and massaging them a few times, Shangguan Wanjun felt much more comfortable.

"Your Majesty, let me massage your shoulders and arms as well."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work Liuli."

The Minister of Justice led the officers and soldiers straight to the Gao family. This job had to be done well. Hundreds of thousands of silver coins had to be confiscated. Lizhou's food, fodder, and winter clothes would all be secured, which would be considered a meritorious service.

The Gao family's clever guard felt like he was facing a great enemy and ran towards the backyard of the inner house.

"Oh no! The officers and soldiers are coming with people."

Listening to the noise outside, Mrs. Gao frowned.

"Why are you making such a fuss? It's so disgraceful."

Her personal bride, Madam Lu, said, "This old slave will go and take a look."

"Go."

The guard saw Madam Lu beside the old lady and hurried to report.

"Madam Lu, it's bad, the soldiers are coming to the mansion."

Madam Lu was shocked: "What? I'll go report to the old lady."

"Madam, something big has happened."

Fifty-five-year-old Mrs. Gao Li was stunned and the teacup in her hand fell to the ground and broke.

"What did you say? Why are the soldiers here?"

Hadn't their family already taken care of everything with the government?