Zhu Kongshan's background was not too good. She was the daughter of a lowly sixth-rank official, and she was just the daughter of a concubine. Fortunately, the Zhu family treated her quite well for the sake of the two imperial concubines and two princes. At the very least, she could be taught how to read, play, go, and draw together with the daughter of the first wife. But she did not have much interest in things like the four arts; however, she had her own way of thinking about how to deal with people. In the Zhu manor, she had helped her father resolve quite a few problems and provided quite a few ideas. It was such that in Peng Zhou, the Zhu family's reputation was better than that of Peng Zhou's prefect.
Today, she had spoken to the Eighth Prince about what had happened in the palace, and she expressed her own views, saying: "Although cousin Feng is also a prince, I heard that he is not very good at court matters, nor does he like remaining in the capital. Over the years, he has either been hiding at the border or in Ji 'an Prefecture. To have this sort of person go and fight for the throne, I fear that even he is against it. Moreover, I have met second aunt. To say something overboard, even if she has that ambition, she does not have the ability. Cousin, don't ask me how I can tell. It's just based on my feelings, and Kongshan's feelings have always been very accurate. That's why as Kongshan sees it, this matter will not be difficult. Tomorrow, Kongshan will go into the palace to congratulate second aunt. Since she has taken that position, we need to think of a way to have her help us. "
Xuantian Mo felt that speaking with someone like Zhu Kongshan was very enjoyable. The two could always think of the same thing. This girl was smart enough, and she was always thinking for his sake. With this sort of cousin helping him from the side, it really was a great help to him. He could not help but think about Noble Lady Yuan's plans. After this matter was settled, if this girl took the position of empress, he would be able to save quite a bit of effort in this world. After all, she was his own cousin. No matter how one looked at it, she could be relied on. It would be better than helping another girl take the position. As for whether he liked her or not, it didn't matter. After all, it was impossible for him to only have one woman by his side. If there was someone who helped him pacify the world, there would also be someone who would speak softly to him. As long as the world belonged to him, what couldn't he get?
Zhu Kongshan did not try to guess at what Xuantian Mo was thinking. She knew that it was too early to bring up the matter of being unified or not. For some things, the more one looked at it, the more one would not be able to obtain it. It would be better to just set aside his thoughts and do things one step at a time. One day, he would be able to achieve success.
After Xuantian Mo left, she began to arrange the gifts she needed to prepare when she entered the palace the next day. As for the relief money for the commoners, she handed it over to the accountant for the final tally. She would personally deliver it when she left the palace the next day.
After Zhu Kongshan came to the capital, she had gained an understanding of her two aunts in the palace. Earlier, when she had said that Consort Li was ambitious but had no ability, she was still being lenient. In truth, as she saw it, Consort Li was just a pile of mud that could not be supported. She only knew how to be bored and listless. Once it came time to get serious, she would give up. But since she wanted to get some benefits from her, she had no choice but to curry favor with her.
She knew that Consort Li was a rather poor imperial concubine. Although the Sixth Prince was not completely clean, he could not compare to the other princes. Emperor Tianwu did not care about the inner palace at all, and he had not bestowed anything in over 20 years. The imperial concubines all relied on their own resources to pass their days, or they relied on the assistance of the princes. Consort Li could not be relied on in any way. Now that she had returned to the position of imperial concubine, there should be quite a few people going to congratulate her. Thinking about it, she would need to prepare a large number of small items.
Zhu Kongshan really was very smart. She did not have the accountant prepare large banknotes. Instead, she had them exchange for ten taels of silver and five taels of silver for a total of one thousand taels. There were also some that were even more scattered, as they were placed into ten or so small cloth bags. As for these, they were all left for Consort Li to use as a reward. Also, she found three sets of head ornaments that were suitable for the position of imperial concubine from the Sheng Palace's storeroom. These three sets of head ornaments were very beautiful and expensive. They were truly things that could be brought out. She also found quite a few pieces of cloth from the storeroom. Among them, she even found two bolts of water-cloud satin.
The next day, Zhu Kongshan entered the palace with the Imperial Guard that the Eighth Prince had arranged for her to help carry the chest of money, as they headed toward Zhang Ning Palace.
Over the past two days, Zhang Ning Palace had been very lively. From the Empress to the talented maidens, there was not a single person that did not come to congratulate her. Many of the imperial concubines and concubines had come on their own. There were also some that had sent servants over. Consort Li's hands were about to go limp from receiving so many gifts, but she did not have enough money to send off the palace maids and eunuchs that had come to deliver the gifts. As a result, she was criticized for being poor.
Zuo helplessly suggested to Consort Li: "Either way, we've received so many things. How about this servant think of a way to send some out of the palace in exchange for some money! The King of Hell likes to fight, and the imps are hard to deal with. Those masters and imperial concubines don't care about that bit of money, but the people below are counting on it to survive. I'm afraid that when they accept the task of sending gifts to us, they will be very happy, because there will definitely be a reward. However, the small amounts of silver we have were all given out yesterday, so we can't use large amounts of silver notes to reward them. "
Consort Li was also worried about this matter, but taking things out of the palace to be sold was not something that would be pleasant to talk about! Once it was discovered by someone and they made a fuss about it, it would not be worth it. She shook her head, disapproving of Zuo's actions.
Zuo also knew that this was not a good idea. Master and servant sighed to each other, not knowing what they should do.
It was at this time that Zhu Kongshan entered Zhang Ning Palace. Upon announcing herself as the Liu family's young miss, the servants of Zhang Ning Palace quickly went inside to report. After Consort Li heard this, she was not too surprised. She just quietly pulled out a box from a cabinet. Reaching out, she patted it a little and said with a bit of reluctance: "This is the best thing that I can bring out. After all, I relied on her to climb back to my position as imperial concubine. If I don't reward her with some good gifts, if it is said by someone, I fear that it will be difficult to explain to His Majesty."
Zuo quickly consoled her: "Your Highness, don't feel distressed over these things. Just take a look at the things that have been received over the past few days. Not to mention the others, but the things that His Majesty and the Empress have bestowed are all good things. You did not lose out."
Consort Li also understood this reasoning, thus she did not say anything else. She just handed the box to Zuo then personally left the main hall to receive her.
When Zhu Kongshan met this second aunt once more, her status had undergone a complete change. From a noble lady to an imperial concubine, she had to kneel and kowtow when she came today.
She obediently kneeled and kowtowed to Consort Li, saying: "Kongshan heard that second aunt had returned to the position of imperial concubine and was very happy. This morning, I was unable to hold back and begged cousin Mo for a token to come into the palace to congratulate second aunt! Kongshan kowtows to second aunt and greets Your Highness Consort Li! "
Consort Li put on a professional smile. After all, she had lived in the imperial harem for many years. She still had some understanding of this. She quickly went forward and helped her up before saying: "We're all family. There's no need to be so courteous. Speaking of, me being able to return to the position of imperial concubine is all thanks to Kongshan's good fortune. "
"What sort of thing is second aunt saying. In the past, Kongshan was unable to show filial piety to aunty. Now that I have come to the capital, no matter what is said, I need to share aunty's burden." The two chatted while walking into the main hall. When they sat down, the imperial guards that had come with them, the Sheng Palace's servants, as well as Zhu Kongshan's two servants, brought in the congratulatory gifts. Zhu Kongshan said: "Because I was staying at cousin Mo's place, I was unable to bring out many nice things. These were all things that were picked out from the Sheng Palace's storage. Cousin Mo said that it was inconvenient for him to come over here, thus he had me pick out some nice things. It could be considered a bit of his sincerity. Even the two bolts of water-cloud satin that were left in the storage were personally brought out by cousin Mo. He advised Kongshan to bring them in and give them to second aunt. "
She kept calling him cousin Mo, which caused Consort Li to feel irritated; however, no matter how irritated she was, it was suppressed by the two bolts of water-cloud satin. Material from one of the five treasures was something that even the masters of the palace would have a hard time obtaining. She had never even touched it before; however, she had obtained two bolts today. How could she not be moved?
Consort Li quickly gestured for Zuo to bring the box over to Zhu Kongshan then said: "Aunty doesn't know what to give you. Life in the palace looks glorious, but it's not as glorious as it appears on the surface. Inside is the best thing that aunty can bring out. Don't dislike it. "
Zhu Kongshan quickly stood up and gave thanks, not bothering to be courteous, as she just said: "Kongshan thanks aunty for the concern. Kongshan will definitely take good care of these things. When I return to Peng Zhou, I will give them to mother. Mother has missed my two aunts very much. Seeing these things can be considered something to remember."
She brought up the topic of kinship, and it also brought up Consort Li's sighs. Thinking back to her days as a young girl in the manor, she could not remember the appearance of that younger sister of a concubine; however, she still remembered that there was such a person. Thinking like this, she recalled the people in the Liu manor. Her father, mother and Noble Lady Yuan's older sister. Her heart was unable to calm down for a long time.
"Aunty." Zhu Kongshan saluted then said: "Aside from bringing some head ornaments and water-cloud satin to congratulate aunty, Kongshan also brought some loose silver." As she spoke, she ordered for the servants to open the chests. Inside, there was a large amount of silver. It was not very large, and there were some in the range of five to ten taels. At the same time, the two maidservants, A-Huan and A-Ruo, also opened up the bundle that they carried with them. Inside were small bundles of even more scattered silver taels. Zhu Kongshan said: "This silver is not worth much in total. Kongshan brought it in for aunty to use as a reward. It's not easy to get some silver in the palace. Kongshan has already exchanged it for smaller amounts. The chests have at least five taels and the chests have at most ten taels. As for the loose silver, there are some in the range of one to two taels. It's not for the sake of putting it to great use. It's just for aunty's convenience. "
Consort Li and Zuo looked at the small amounts of silver and let out a sigh of relief. At present, there were servants in the yard receiving and sending people off. Noble Lady Li gave Zuo a look, and Zuo stepped forward. First, he saluted to Zhu Kongshan. He then picked up a small bag of loose silver and picked up a few pieces of five to ten taels each. Stuffing them all into his sleeve, he quickly walked out.
Zhu Kongshan saw this reaction and knew that her gift had hit the nail on the head. An even deeper smile appeared on her face. As for Consort Li, she felt a bit closer to Zhu Kongshan because of this timely help, as she directly said: "It really is you that's meticulous. It really is you that's meticulous!"
The two sat down and began chatting. Consort Li asked about many things regarding the Liu manor and the Zhu manor, and Zhu Kongshan answered them all. At the same time, she inquired about whether or not Xuan Tianfeng was doing well outside. It was as though they were a family, and the conversation was all about the daily lives of the family.
Finally, as they chatted, Consort Li casually mentioned her own thoughts: "Now that this One has returned to the position of imperial concubine, and I have received so many congratulatory gifts, this One was thinking of holding a banquet in a few days. It will not be too ostentatious, and it will not be inviting too many people. It will just be held in Zhang Ning Palace. In any case, it will be considered auspicious. This One was demoted to noble lady earlier, and your cousin Feng also suffered a grievance. Now that I can hold my head high, I can't allow your cousin Feng to be looked down upon by others! "
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