Reborn as a Happy Wife in a Rural Family

Chapter 336: Rectification

Supporting such a large number of people each month was inevitably a significant expenditure. No matter how wealthy she was, she couldn't afford to be so wasteful.

She had to reduce the number of staff.

Lost in her thoughts, Gu Qingli hadn't even realized she had arrived at the Imperial Study.

The three characters for 'Imperial Study' were written in flamboyant calligraphy, and the entire hall was grandly adorned with carvings of dragons and phoenixes, exuding magnificence.

Gu Qingli merely glanced at it. Such grand architecture no longer sparked her curiosity; after all, it all belonged to her now.

When the eunuchs saw Wuqing leading the Empress, they all rustled to their knees and kowtowed. "We servants greet Your Majesty, the Empress!"

"Rise," Gu Qingli said. "Is the Emperor present?"

"Li'er, what brings you here?" Xiao Yunjing exclaimed upon hearing her voice, rushing out to support her.

"I brought you something to eat. You haven't had your meal, have you?" Gu Qingli asked as she entered the Imperial Study with Xiao Yunjing.

"I haven't eaten," Xiao Yunjing replied in a hushed voice, afraid his wife would fly into a rage.

Gu Qingli shot him a disdainful look, had Wuqing serve breakfast, and then chided, "Men are made of flesh, and food is their steel. Do you truly believe you have three heads and six arms, fearing nothing? If your health fails, not even an immortal could save you."

Xiao Yunjing obediently ate his breakfast, not daring to retort, letting Gu Qingli continue her lecture.

After her tirade, Gu Qingli's anger subsided, and she finally said, "Yunjing, there are too many eunuchs and palace maids in the Imperial Palace, and now there are too few masters. I'm thinking of releasing some of them from the Imperial Palace. What do you think?"

"That concerns the affairs of the inner palace. Li'er, you may do as you see fit."

"Alright then."

"Oh, right. Your uncle and his party are about to reach the Capital City," Xiao Yunjing said, remembering the memorial he had just seen.

"What are they coming for?" Gu Qingli asked, moving closer to Xiao Yunjing to read the memorial he handed her.

The memorial reported that the Beijiang Kingdom was coming to discuss diplomatic relations between the two kingdoms.

Though it was presented as diplomatic relations, Gu Qingli guessed Xiao Ce was likely scheming for Xiao Han. Given Daqian's strength, annihilating the Beijiang Kingdom would be a matter of minutes.

Xiao Ce was indeed afraid of Xiao Yunjing.

"Your uncle is afraid of you."

"It's only normal for him to fear me," Xiao Yunjing teased, patting Gu Qingli's nose affectionately.

Xiao Ce had personally raised Xiao Yunjing and knew his temperament like the back of his hand. Only by bowing in submission to Daqian and willingly becoming its vassal state could Beijiang be preserved.

This move was made correctly.

The other factions in Beijiang wouldn't dare to target Xiao Han either. Presumably, those people had already discovered the relationship between Xiao Han and Xiao Yunjing.

"What about the other three kingdoms now?" Gu Qingli asked again. Qingchen was merely an internal affliction; the three kingdoms were the true external threat.

At the mention of the three kingdoms, Xiao Yunjing's expression grew grave. He said, "Our agents have received intelligence that the three kingdoms intend to ally and attack our Daqian. I want to strike and defeat them individually before they can launch their offensive. However, I'm concerned they might act rashly if cornered—like a desperate dog leaping over a wall. If the Empress in the east attacks, our army may not necessarily prevail."

Although that Empress is a woman, her capabilities are not to be underestimated. Her kingdom is powerful and prosperous, and for reasons unknown, it had always coexisted peacefully with Daqian. Yet now, she has actually joined forces with the other two kingdoms.

Was it because she feared him, the 'Imperial Star'?

Gu Qingli frowned; her thoughts were similar to Xiao Yunjing's. Daqian had just suppressed an internal rebellion and was now about to face a war with three kingdoms. Attacked from three sides, their army, no matter how formidable, would have no chance of victory.

It was indeed a headache.

To want to attack Daqian at this juncture—they're truly taking advantage of our vulnerability.

But when the fate of their three kingdoms was at stake, why would they concern themselves with martial virtue?

After the two discussed their next steps, Gu Qingli returned to Fengqi Palace and reviewed the Imperial Palace's account books.

These were the account books created since their arrival at the Imperial Palace; the older ones were irrelevant.

After Gu Qingli finished reading, she found that, indeed, many expenses were wasteful. She hadn't realized the extent of it until she looked, and what she saw shocked her: the Imperial Palace currently had over 5,000 eunuchs and palace maids combined, while the masters numbered no more than 50. This latter group even included Chu Xiong's concubines and the Dowager Consorts.

Supporting so many people was a colossal daily expense. The money saved from this could easily sustain an army of 10,000.

The living expenses of these palace maids and eunuchs were far more lavish than those of soldiers.

Moreover, Gu Qingli saw that the procurement costs were higher than market prices. She was so angry she almost laughed: one *dan* of rice actually cost 200 taels of silver, and a single egg twenty copper coins! The rest went without saying.

This wasn't eating food; this was eating silver! Even if she possessed mountains of gold and silver, it wouldn't be enough to feed these parasites.𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Gu Qingli slammed the account book down and said sharply, "Wuqing, I'm entrusting this matter to you! Replace all the personnel in the various palace departments with our own people. The way these current ones operate is outrageous! Make them disgorge every bit of silver they've embezzled. Any who resist are to be handed over to the Department of Punishment. We must recover all the silver. If you're short-handed, get help from Yun No. 14.

"Also, allow any eunuchs and palace maids who wish to leave the Imperial Palace to do so. This applies especially to the palace maids; eunuchs who wish to stay may do so.

"The number of palace maids should not exceed five hundred."

Gu Qingli considered that most eunuchs, upon leaving the Imperial Palace, would be unable to make a living, unlike palace maids who could still marry.

But the eunuchs wouldn't be kept on to eat for free either; she would arrange work for them in the future.

Every Gu Clinic and the manors under her name needed people to work. Their leisurely life serving in the Imperial Palace was too idle; they would all go to work for her.

At least they would have food to eat and wouldn't starve. When they grew old and could no longer work, she would provide for their old age.

She could still afford to support several thousand eunuchs.

"Yes, Miss." Wuqing immediately went to carry out the orders. She too was very angry that the Imperial Palace was in such a state of disarray.

Having followed Gu Qingli for a considerable time, Wuqing had learned many of her methods. She handled matters with lightning speed and decisive action, and for a time, the Imperial Palace was thrown into an uproar, with chickens flying and dogs jumping.

Within three days, Wuqing presented the results of her actions to Gu Qingli.

Looking at the list of people dealt with, Gu Qingli noted that Wuqing had done an excellent job; even the attendants of the Dowager Consorts, who resided deep within the Imperial Palace, were implicated.

Those people alone had disgorged over 500,000 taels of silver.

Adding the silver disgorged by others, the total came to over 2,000,000 taels, plus many unquantifiable gold and silver treasures. This sum utterly shattered Gu Qingli's worldview.

A mere palace maid or eunuch had practically emptied the national treasury!

It was no wonder Chu Xiong had lost the kingdom; such corruption made it inevitable!

"Deal with them according to the laws of Daqian. Send all these people to the Department of Punishment. They need never come out again."

They were all palace maids and eunuchs from the Imperial Palace; the Department of Punishment was specifically established for palace personnel. Let them remain there forever.

Gu Qingli would not be lenient with these people. If they dared to embezzle such vast sums of money, they should be prepared to lose their heads.

"Miss, rest assured," Wuqing said. "These people have all been thrown into the Department of Punishment. Perhaps we can still dig something more out of them."

Wuqing wouldn't let them die until every last drop of blood had been squeezed from them. To let them die so easily would be too lenient.

To think that a eunuch or palace maid, seemingly too weak to even truss a chicken, could possess such a black heart!

"Mm, that's for the best. Send all these things to the national treasury."

The national treasury was depleted, and she herself had no lack of these items. This was a time when money was desperately needed, and this could, to some extent, lighten Xiao Yunjing's burden.