Chapter 218: Volume 1, Chapter 218 — If She Couldn't Be Empress, She Could Still Be Imperial Noble Consort

How could Rong Luoge not know the Empress Dowager's intentions—she wanted to put Su Ying on the throne of Empress. So she put on a show of laughing and said, "How could I involve myself in such a major matter? Empress Dowager, it's not as if you don't know my status. I wouldn't dare covet the position of Empress."

She didn't want it, but if Han Xinglan insisted on giving it to her, she would just have to accept it—how truly embarrassing.

The Empress Dowager studied Rong Luoge's expression; she didn't look like she was lying, but she couldn't be too trusting either. Still, Noble Consort Rong had some self-awareness—given her status as a divorced woman, ascending to the position of Empress would be unjustifiable and easily criticized.

Thinking of this, she looked at Rong Luoge and said, "You are the person currently closest to the Emperor's heart, and you carry His Majesty's child in your womb. If His Majesty truly establishes an Empress, I won't let him shortchange you. If you can't be Empress, you can still be an Imperial Noble Consort."

Rong Luoge sneered inwardly—the Empress Dowager truly was a shrewd calculator, using the position of Imperial Noble Consort as bait to keep her dangling.

Unfortunately, she didn't fall for that.

"I thank you, Empress Dowager." Rong Luoge's airy word of thanks wouldn't cost her any flesh, and it could still cloud the Empress Dowager's sight.

Once she gave birth to her child and the Emperor's decree of conferral came down, what did the Empress Dowager's mood matter to her then?

The Empress Dowager felt she had tacitly reached an agreement with Rong Luoge and was in a very good mood. With Noble Consort Rong no longer playing the obstructionist, the likelihood of Su Ying ascending to the position of Empress was much greater.

As for Lady Zhenshen and Marquis Ningyuan, there were other ways to keep them in check—it would just take more effort.

Rong Luoge departed from Funing Palace, and behind her, the palace servants of Yuzhao Gong carried several brocade boxes, all rewarded by the Empress Dowager for her being "sensible"—truly a generous gesture.

Yan Yin watched the Noble Consort's departing figure with deep unease in her heart. Noble Consort Rong and His Majesty had always been close—how could she truly not care about the position of Empress? She, for one, didn't believe it.

But the Empress Dowager insisted that Noble Consort Rong felt ashamed because of her divorced status and didn't dare contend for the position of Empress. She had originally wanted to persuade her otherwise, but somehow she recalled what Noble Consort Rong had said to her before, and swallowed the words that had reached her lips.

It wasn't that she wouldn't persuade her, but at this juncture, the Empress Dowager probably wouldn't believe her anyway.

Yan Yin kept recalling the day Noble Consort Rong had asked her whether she would be willing to leave the palace to live out her days in comfort. She very much wanted to leave, but she couldn't let go of the Empress Dowager.

If only the Empress Dowager could let go of her obsession with the Su family producing another Empress.

Rong Luoge didn't return to Yuzhao Gong, but instead made her way to Guanju Palace. She hadn't expected Qin Zhaohua to be there as well. Both were quite surprised to see the Noble Consort and hurried out to welcome her.

Rong Luoge smiled as she entered the main hall and looked at the two of them, saying, "I was just passing by and came to take a look. Guanju Palace has truly changed a great deal."

Xu Shuyuan smiled. "The previous décor of Guanju Palace was far too dazzling—I couldn't have borne it. The way it is now is quite nice."

After everyone sat down, Rong Luoge noticed the ledgers on the table and was amused. "Are these the ledgers for the Hou Gong?"

Xu Shuyuan nodded. "The accounts must be reconciled every month. You said that having eyes that tolerate no dust cannot be done, but we also can't let people keep fishing in troubled waters. I look through the ledgers and know where to loosen the reins and where to tighten them."

"Thank you for your hard work," Rong Luoge said.

"Being able to share your burdens is my good fortune," Xu Shuyuan said. Because she helped the Noble Consort manage palace affairs, her standing in the palace had risen accordingly—who didn't greet her with a beaming smile nowadays?

"Do the accounts add up?" Rong Luoge asked casually.

"More or less, but with the cold weather coming, the charcoal allotments for each palace are no small matter." Xu Shuyuan frowned slightly as she spoke. "I've looked over the previous palace allotments, and we're currently distributing charcoal according to past years' allotments. But Lady Zhenshen's side keeps saying it's not enough and demands an increased share—I haven't agreed. If Yunhua Palace sets this precedent, will the other palaces also demand increased shares?"

Qin Zhaohua added quietly from the side, "Lady Zhenshen was very dissatisfied about this matter. Yesterday she had Sister Shuyuan go over, only to leave her standing in the courtyard for most of the day."

Rong Luoge's brow furrowed slightly. "Such a thing happened?"

Xu Shuyuan said without much concern, "It's nothing major—just standing around for a bit. Now that I work under you, Lady Zhenshen wouldn't dare go too far."

But Rong Luoge said, "You can't put it that way. If I let this instance of you being wronged slide, she'll only escalate next time. Don't worry—I'll seek justice for you later."

"Your Ladyship, it truly is a small matter. You should focus on nurturing your pregnancy—there's no need to trouble yourself over this," Xu Shuyuan said hurriedly.

Rong Luoge looked at Xu Shuyuan with a smile. "I know what I'm doing. Is there anything else?"

"Yes, and I was just thinking that today is perfect—I was going to come seek your instruction tomorrow." Xu Shuyuan brought out the notes she had recorded earlier. "This year's winter clothing has already been distributed, but the responses from each palace vary—some good, some bad. Because of the recent major upheaval, it seems something also went wrong on the seamstresses' side at the Internal Court Office, so some minor problems arose with the winter clothing."

Rong Luoge asked what the problems were—unsurprisingly, all matters of patterns and furs. Though the fur trim on the winter garments seemed like a trivial detail, furs were also graded by quality.

This time, the embroidery workshop of the Internal Court Office had passed off inferior goods as quality ones. They likely figured that since the mistresses of the Hou Gong were still in mourning, even if they felt slighted, they wouldn't dare speak up.

Rong Luoge said, "The manager of the Internal Court Office's embroidery workshop probably acted on his own initiative. Tomorrow, take those defective items directly to Fan Mingzhang and ask him how he intends to handle this. I believe Chief Fan is likely unaware of this matter. Since he is the Chief, let him deal with it himself."

"Yes." Xu Shuyuan breathed a sigh of relief. The Internal Court Office was gradually being brought under control, and inevitably some people wanted to start testing the Noble Consort's bottom line.

If Her Ladyship turned a blind eye this time, they would likely dare to do the same next time—and go even further.

Skimming the provisions of concubines was not unusual in any dynasty. They wouldn't dare target favored consorts, but those who were out of favor, as well as widowed Imperial Consorts who hadn't yet left the palace—such as Imperial Consort Zhong and Imperial Consort Liu—were their targets.

Imperial Consort Zhong was even carrying the Late Emperor's posthumous child in her womb—if word got out, it would reflect poorly on His Majesty's reputation.

After finishing her official business with Xu Shuyuan, Rong Luoge rose to leave. Upon returning to Yuzhao Gong, she felt somewhat uneasy and looked at Que Cai, saying, "Go check on Imperial Consort Zhong and Imperial Consort Liu."

"Yes, this servant will go right now," Que Cai said hurriedly.

Rong Luoge waved her hand to send her off. There were only this few mistresses in the palace, and the Internal Court Office still dared to pull stunts. After all, the place had only just been reorganized—these people certainly had nerve.

It seemed the matter of dividing the Internal Court Office's powers had to be done as soon as possible. After next year's selection, the palace would have another batch of people—wouldn't they be even bolder then?

Rong Luoge's eyes narrowed slightly. How to divide the Internal Court Office would require a reliable plan.

Not letting the Internal Court Office cause trouble while still getting things done properly—that was no easy feat.