Chapter 296 - 123: There’s Always Someone Tactless
She was about to make a tactful exit, but Consort Lu impolitely stopped her.
For the moment, Song Yunzhao couldn’t guess why Consort Lu had sought her out, so she simply smiled. "What can I do for you, Your Highness?"
Consort Lu looked at Song Yunzhao. "The silver you all contributed has been spent on coarse cloth, but there’s still some remaining."
Song Yunzhao paused. ’There’s money left over... That must mean they couldn’t find any more cloth to buy.’
Her heart sank at the thought. She had long suspected that in a situation like this, merchants would surely hoard their goods and wait for the right moment to sell at exorbitant prices.
Consort Lu looked at Song Yunzhao. "It can’t be helped. Some cloth and silk shops have fabric but are refusing to sell, and the court can’t very well just take it by force."
Song Yunzhao nodded slightly. ’Of course not. The Right Minister wouldn’t offend the powerful people backing these merchants just for the sake of some disaster victims.’
"Besides cloth, we haven’t been able to buy much cotton or other materials either. My father has ordered a call for embroideresses, but without a formal edict from the court, he can’t conscript them."
"What use is there in Your Highness telling me this? If even the Prime Minister is at a loss, all I can do is sigh at the scale of the problem." Song Yunzhao truly had no solution. She was just one woman; it was hard enough for her to look out for herself. She was genuinely powerless when it came to matters of this magnitude.
"I’m telling you this, first, to account for where your silver went, so you don’t think I’ve misappropriated it. Second, I’m telling you this because I’m out of ideas and was hoping you might be able to come up with a solution."
Song Yunzhao shook her head. "Your Highness thinks too highly of me. I can only offer what little help I can, but I truly cannot assist with the rest."
’A concubine interfering in political affairs? Does she have a death wish?’
’The Right Minister finds me useful at the moment, so of course he wants me to devise a good plan that will help him earn merit. But neither the Right Minister nor Consort Lu are people one can trust as long-term allies. After this is over, that father-daughter pair might very well turn on me.’
’A concubine meddling in politics is a life-or-death matter.’
’It wasn’t that she had no good ideas. But even if she did, she would never tell the Right Minister. She would only tell the Emperor.’
Seeing that Song Yunzhao’s expression truly didn’t look like she was lying, Consort Lu felt helpless as well. She could only say, "If there’s no other way, then I suppose this is all we can do. The rest, we’ll leave to fate."
Song Yunzhao’s heart grew heavy. She rose in silence and bid her farewell.
Consort Lu did not stop her this time. Instead, she watched her retreating figure and said, "Song Yunzhao, for this matter, I owe you a favor."
Song Yunzhao knew what Consort Lu meant. ’Trading a single favor for the credit I gave her by helping the Right Minister get back on his feet... what a good deal for her.’
But Song Yunzhao didn’t quibble over such things. Her original intention had been to use the Right Minister to help the disaster victims; having him owe her a favor was merely a bonus.
After Song Yunzhao left, Consort Lu turned to Nanny Wen. "What do you think?"
Nanny Wen shook her head slightly. "I cannot read Song Jieyu’s mind either, Your Highness. However, it seems the Concubine doesn’t place much value on the favor you mentioned. She is unlikely to try and leverage it for a reward."
Consort Lu scoffed. "She’s a clever one."
Even her father had said it was best not to cross a person like Song Yunzhao. Unless you could finish her in one fell swoop, it was better not to act against her at all.
Consort Lu’s expression soured at the thought. ’Someone like Song Yunzhao already has talent, looks, and the Emperor’s favor. If she were to give birth to a Prince on top of all that, there would be no room for anyone else in this harem.’
’Simply terrifying.’
She had been in the palace for five years. To outsiders, her promotion to Consort seemed glamorous, but she knew the truth of her own situation. The favor she held was as fragile as paper, unable to withstand the slightest gust of wind.
The only thing that brought her a sliver of comfort was that even though Song Yunzhao had been exclusively favored for so long, she still wasn’t pregnant.
Consort Lu even began to wonder, ’My favor is a pretense. Princess Consort Zhuang and Princess Consort Wan have also received the Emperor’s attention, yet they failed to conceive. Now Song Yunzhao is showing no signs either. With so many of us remaining barren, perhaps the problem isn’t with us... perhaps it’s the Emperor.’
’What if the Emperor is incapable of fathering a child?’
’In that case, an heir would have to be adopted from a collateral branch of the Imperial Family.’
The thought made Consort Lu stir with ambition. She wondered if she should start vetting potential candidates now and begin her own schemes.
Song Yunzhao, of course, had no idea what was going through Consort Lu’s mind. Even if she had known, she would likely have been left speechless by the sheer audacity of her thoughts.
The Emperor was still young. Even if he really were infertile, the matter of choosing a Crown Prince from a collateral branch of the Imperial Family would be a decision for ten or twenty years in the future.
To dare to entertain such thoughts now... Consort Lu truly was not afraid of death.