Transmigration: Reverse Exploitation, the System Works for Me

After bowing, Zhou Ninghai directly stated his purpose and explained to her the whole story of how the Imperial Concubine had entrusted her with the matter of giving alms.

"Five thousand taels is not a large sum, but it is not a small amount either. The Empress Dowager was not at ease entrusting it to anyone else, so she mentioned it to the Emperor. The money is all here, so please take good care of it, Princess."

A glint of light flashed in Xi Qiao's eyes. This was like a pillow delivered to someone who was sleepy. She was thinking about how to train people without attracting attention.

Wouldn't setting up a relief center solve the problem?

Moreover, she could use the title of Imperial Concubine, and had already been officially recognized by the Emperor.

Xi Qiao suppressed his excitement and looked at Zhou Ninghai with a troubled expression: "Eunuch Zhou, please forgive my bluntness, but this matter is not easy to do."

Zhou Ninghai stared at her with wide eyes. It was just distributing porridge; what was so difficult about that?

Xi Qiao smiled helplessly: "The Consort and Consort Jing's original intention was not for fame, but to truly accumulate blessings for the princess. Since it is to accumulate blessings, then naturally these grains should end up in the bellies of those who truly need them."

"Eunuch Zhou knows how cold it is in the capital. Do you think those who are truly lacking food would have the money to buy warm clothes? Would they risk catching a cold and brave the wind and snow to drink a bowl of porridge?"

Of course not. You won't starve to death if you drink less porridge, but catching a cold could be fatal.

Zhou Ninghai suddenly realized that, given the temperature in Beijing, apart from homeless people, those who could go out were either wealthy or seeking death.

"What does the Princess Consort think?"

Regardless, this act of merit must be performed!

Xi Qiao frowned and thought for a moment: "As the Buddhists say, saving a life is worse than building a seven-story pagoda. Why not change the widespread distribution of porridge to targeted aid? Only help those who are unable to survive this winter."

"What do you think, sir?"

Zhou Ninghai naturally thought there was no problem. Upon closer examination, he realized that it was indeed more effective in accumulating blessings than simply distributing porridge.

"Your Majesty is very thoughtful. This servant will now return to report."

Xi Qiao stopped him: "Please wait a moment, sir. I have something I would like to trouble you with. I planted some vegetables in my spare time and just harvested them today. Please help me bring them into the palace."

"I don't deserve the title of 'madam's wife's trouble,' it's just a small matter."

But he was quite surprised when he saw that the carriage was almost full of pea shoots.

Xiao Linzi stuffed a bulging purse into Zhou Ninghai's sleeve. "Eunuch Zhou, thank you for your trouble. These boxes are labeled; please send someone to deliver them to the various palaces."

Since they were to be sent to the palace, the Empress Dowager, the Emperor, and the Empress must all be included, as well as the Imperial Concubine's Yikun Palace. Only the remaining palaces would be for Zhongcui Palace.

They harvested about 60% of the pea shoots from their greenhouse, and that's all they got were these nine baskets.

Although they are just some vegetable leaves, it took a lot of manpower and resources to cultivate them.

After seeing Zhou Ninghai off, Xi Qiao immediately sat down at his desk to write the plan. He worked hard for most of the day before finally completing the draft.

Then she handed the task over to the person that Granny Kang had recommended to her before.

Half of the people in the Prince's Mansion's properties were recommended by Granny Liu, and the other half were people she found herself.

This matter is best left to Kang Mama's people. Once they help the relief center get on track, she can open a few more shops and, under the guise of rewarding them, transfer them all away.

Meanwhile, in the palace, Yu Ying'er was overjoyed to receive five baskets of pea shoots from her elder sister. She twirled around excitedly and repeatedly ordered people to cook a basket for lunch so that everyone around her could enjoy the fresh treat.

After the hot pot was cooked and served, Yu Ying'er had already eaten the crisp and tender pea shoots when she suddenly remembered the emperor.

She hesitated, looking at Qingzhu and Xiaolezi standing to the side, eating with their bowls and chopsticks, "Um, should I send a basket of these to the Emperor?"

Although it's not anything special, these green leaves in winter are a rare treat; even those with power, influence, and money can't always afford to eat fresh ones.

She was a big spender, after all. She donated two hundred taels, and then sent her five hundred taels right afterward. With this one-off transaction, she made a net profit of three hundred taels!

If she had known about this good thing, she should have donated a thousand or eight hundred; she could have earned much more!

Xiao Lezi and Qingzhu were amused by her frighteningly slow reaction time: "My lady, please eat with peace of mind. These five baskets were specially prepared for you by the Fujin (principal wife). The Fujin entrusted the Consort to deliver them to the Emperor."

Yu Ying'er frowned slightly: "Really? Then why haven't I heard that the Emperor rewarded you, sister? You worked so hard to grow these!"

Is the emperor really that stingy?

Qingzhu said helplessly, "Your Majesty, the Fujin is a widow. Even among commoners, her brother-in-law would have to avoid suspicion, let alone the royal family. Even if the Emperor wanted to bestow a reward, it would be the Empress Dowager and the Empress who would do it."

Yu Ying'er said "Oh," and her worries vanished. When she picked up her chopsticks to pick up some food, she found that the pot was empty!

She glared angrily at Qingzhu and Xiaolezi, those two gluttons: "I only took one bite!"

The two men exchanged a smile: "Your Highness, this dish is all about being crisp, tender, and fresh. If you cook it for too long, it won't taste right. This is the Princess's thoughtful gift, so we can't waste it. Please wait a moment, we'll cook it for you again right away."

Inside the main hall, the master and his servants closed the door to eat hot pot, while the other palace servants outside each received a chopstick of leafy greens and five slices of fatty pork belly.

While Zhongcui Palace didn't offer the best treatment in the palace, its food was certainly the most nutritious and delicious.

You're guaranteed to eat meat on the 5th and 10th of each month, even if it's only six or seven slices, you can eat it six times a month. That's something many people can only dream of.

Besides meat, there are also warming mutton soup and ginger soup in winter, refreshing mung bean soup and herbal tea in summer, and nourishing bone soup in spring and autumn.

They used to be able to eat lard cakes, glutinous rice cakes, and radish cakes from time to time. Now, they can even eat vegetables grown by the wife herself.

This is not merely a satisfaction of the palate, but a spiritual satisfaction that cannot be compared to anything external.

In the afternoon, when Yu Ying'er was feeding her son rice cereal, Consort Jin, Consort Xin, and Noble Lady Zhao all came to visit her.

Yu Ying'er was completely bewildered. Her Zhongcui Palace might not receive any guests for ten days or half a month. What was going on today?

They all arrived together as if by prior arrangement, and none of them came empty-handed; they all brought generous gifts, clearly indicating that they had something to ask of them.

"What's going on, ladies?"

Yu Ying'er looked at the three of them with a blank expression, then at the gifts piled up on the table like a small mountain.

Hey?

Did these two sisters get into trouble?

She couldn't say a word either!

And then there's Consort Zhao, she's the only one favored by the emperor!

The emperor stays at Yonghe Palace every night, so why would he need her?