The Lucky Farmgirl

Entering Daming Palace by boat, Manbao found that Daming Palace looked even more... wild.

After the emperor and empress dowager brought Prince Gong and Mingda, along with several princes and princesses, to escape the summer heat, Daming Palace had a brief renovation opportunity. Unfortunately, it was very short, and after less than two months, it was halted due to financial issues. In two months, only one half-built palace was completed, but even that palace was empty, with no furniture or other items inside.

Later, the emperor remained quite poor, with the internal treasury in a state of deficit. The national treasury was tightly controlled by the court ministers, and whenever the emperor expressed intentions to renovate Daming Palace, officials from Wei Zhi down to the sixth-rank censors would submit memorials to dissuade him. They believed that stability for the people had just been achieved, and the nation was still far from prosperity, so it was not appropriate to undertake major construction projects at this time.

The emperor heeded their advice and subsequently pushed Daming Palace to the back of his mind.

Later still, they observed mourning, making it inappropriate to engage in large-scale construction. Last year, there was the Western Expedition, leaving the national treasury empty, so Daming Palace... well, forget about construction; even renovations were few, leading to grass and trees growing freely. Manbao stood on the boat looking at the wild grass on both banks, gently shaking her head, thinking the emperor’s family was indeed fortunate, having so many houses that they could let this place fall into such disrepair.

Upon reaching the pier, the eunuch stopped the boat and let Zhou Man disembark.

Manbao came ashore and walked to look at the palace rooms being refurbished by the Ministry of Public Works.

There weren’t many people here, mostly personnel from the Ministry of Public Works and laborers. This time, the emperor didn’t manage to build a palace but instead aimed to remodel.

The emperor instructed the Ministry of Public Works to select the two largest palaces and wall them up completely: one palace for the princesses and female members, the other for the princes and males, separating genders for smallpox inoculation, with entry allowed but no exit.

And between the two palaces, a very long corridor was built for the Imperial Hospital physicians to move between.

Once the royal family members moved in, the two palaces would be sealed shut, with food delivered via baskets.

This caution was due to the proximity of Daming Palace to Taiji Palace, aiming to prevent smallpox from spreading outside.

Originally, inoculation should have been conducted at the imperial estates, where it’s safest.

But the emperor couldn’t bear his children and grandchildren suffering; over there, six people shared a room hastily made from mixed earth and stone, incomparable to the palaces at Daming Palace.

Here, it could at least guarantee one person per room.

Yes, here, it was one person per room, with the emperor generously having long screens made to divide large rooms into two. Inside a room, not only could a young princess or county princess stay, but they could also have a servant girl accompany them.

The selected servant girls were around sixteen years old, and they, like their masters, needed inoculation. If everything went smoothly, they would continue to serve their masters in the future.

Manbao came to inspect whether the two palaces were truly sealed, with no hidden pathways for smuggling items. Such matters wouldn’t be too problematic in the imperial estates, but in the palace, they were strictly forbidden.

She also needed to check whether the drug supply for the Imperial Hospital was compliant and the palace’s sanitation standards, among other things.

After completing today’s inspections, Manbao looked up and watched the craftsmen busy at work, pondering that with the meticulousness of their work today, it would likely take several years to complete the rest of Daming Palace, even if the emperor had a lot of money.

If the funds were insufficient, it might not be finished in over a decade.

Manbao shook her head, noted down the construction progress, and left.

Her official hours were nearly over. By the time she took the boat back to Taiji Palace, it would roughly coincide with quitting time. Yes, she’d still have to walk back to the Imperial Hospital; it was quite a distance.

But upon thinking of the makeup box in the Imperial Hospital, she was full of motivation again.

Manbao happily embraced the makeup box out of the palace but saw Bai Shan waiting outside the palace gate before she even stepped out.

Manbao immediately approached with a smile, and the guards checked her makeup box, eyeing it intently.

Manbao generously said, "This was given to me by Princess Consort Gong."

Of course, the guards didn’t see it as a bribe, but as a reward.

Zhou Man was one of the most rewarded external officials they knew.

Excluding Prince Gong and the former Prince of Yizhou.

The guards threw a look of envy at her, noted what she took out that day, and let her pass.

As soon as she came out, Bai Shan reached out to take the makeup box. Feeling its weight, he steadied it and asked, "Why did Princess Consort Gong give you a gift?"

Manbao said, "Let’s talk in the carriage."

Daji came to pick them up to go home after their day in the office.

Once in the carriage, Manbao rubbed her sore arms and said, "This was Princess Consort Gong bribing me, though she said it was for my bridal trousseau."

Manbao paused and then said, "I bet Prince Gong doesn’t know about this. I reckon they will definitely argue when they go back."

Bai Shan asked in confusion, "Why would they argue?"

Manbao thought for a moment and then said, "If I secretly gave Lu Yue a very expensive gift and said it was from you, wouldn’t you get angry?"

Bai Shan and Lu Yue didn’t have a great relationship, maintaining a superficial cordiality mainly because they were fellow students at Chongwen Pavilion.

Yes, with Zhao Liulang acting as a mediator.

If Manbao were to give Lu Yue something in private and claim it was from Bai Shan, in Lu Yue’s eyes it would mean Bai Shan was seeking reconciliation, which would certainly make Bai Shan angry!

Bai Shan glanced at her sideways, "Would you give Lu Yue a gift?"

Manbao shook her head, "We don’t have any stakes involved with him. Not to mention there’s nothing we need from him, even if there was, our ways of handling things are different, so of course we wouldn’t seek him out."

She paused and then said, "However, Princess Consort Gong is a gentle person."

But she was too gentle, hence unable to take charge in Prince Gong’s affairs, or even influence him significantly.

Zhou Man was not incorrect; indeed, Prince Gong and Princess Consort Gong argued. Or rather, Prince Gong one-sidedly scolded Princess Consort Gong to tears.

Meanwhile, in the main hall of the Taiji Hall, the empress was scolding the emperor, "Why did you mention in front of Sanlang that his wife wanted to give Zhou Man a gift?"

"Didn’t you say Sanlang’s wife wanted to ease their relations with Zhou Man?"

Empress: "... But did Sanlang look willing? You know his temper, pointing it out only made him feel embarrassed, and in the end, it was Sanlang’s wife who was wronged, and the relationship may not necessarily improve."

She continued, "It would’ve been better if Sanlang’s wife quietly sent it. Whether Zhou Man and Sanlang get along well is not important; as long as she gets along well with Sanlang’s wife, that’s enough."

This is the wisdom of survival in the inner courtyard: apart from a few irreconcilable grievances, other conflicts are for the men to bicker over, while they maintain their own friendships.

In fact, speaking of it, Zhou Man didn’t have any substantial deep hatred with Prince Gong. It was merely different positions on the matter of the crown prince.

Zhou Man never inflicted harm on others; she was always involved in treating diseases and saving lives, only that the patient happened to be the crown prince.

Therefore, the empress believed that given enough time, the grudges between them would fade, and regardless of whether they existed or not, Zhou Man was a righteous person who wouldn’t harm others for it. So it’s better to let things take their natural course; the emperor’s meddling was a well-intentioned intervention gone wrong.

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