Quick Transmigration: Underdog Turns out to be Untouchable

Chapter 929: Chapter 840: Unwilling to Be a Slave

Now, Lady Jing holds the position of Junior First Rank Lady, and the lady beside her is of Junior Fourth Rank—this rank is even higher than the new court position awarded to Nangong Chengxuan by the Emperor, with a higher salary. Plus, with Lady Jing’s frequent rewards, Nangong Shuangshuang feels more than capable of supporting her family.

Nangong Shuangshuang’s decision to serve as her own lady secretary made Lady Jing particularly happy. She specially searched the entire palace for many pieces of jewelry without imperial markings to give to Nangong Shuangshuang, so that Shuangshuang could either wear these adornments or pawn them for silver.

It’s not that Lady Jing didn’t want to reward Nangong Shuangshuang with silver directly; it’s just that her recent rise in rank has been so rapid, with every promotion involving substantial monetary rewards, that Lady Jing herself now has very little silver left.

Though it’s common for concubines to seek financial support from their families, Lady Jing dares not ask her father for too much help. Her father is only a Left Vice Censor-in-Chief, with a significant but not excessive salary. If he were to subsidize her with too much silver, even an idiot would realize something was amiss.

The Emperor deeply despises corruption, and Lady Jing has always been cautious in this regard. While she never claims to be poor, she is also never extravagant. This is why even without Nangong Shuangshuang’s advice, Lady Jing could still rise to the rank of Noble Consort, becoming one of the few high-ranking concubines, relying solely on her discretion and sensibility.

As for the Emperor, he is both impoverished and extravagant. Impoverished in the sense that he has to carefully count the silver in both the National Treasury and his private treasury before he dares spend even a little. It’s not that the Emperor doesn’t want to be generous, but rather, he simply doesn’t have enough.

Yet, the extravagant part is that the National Treasury and his private treasury are overflowing with fine treasures, so countless that it’s impossible to tally them all. Any one item alone would be worth a fortune.

However, the Emperor is insistent on saving face, refusing to convert these treasures into money, and also prohibiting the concubines from doing so. Otherwise, the concubines would not have preferred to stash or recast their possessions rather than sell them to the wives and daughters of ministers during disasters.

The consequence is that while Lady Jing has plenty of valuable items, she has very little silver, making it particularly troublesome to reward her subordinates without funds.

However, even though Lady Jing didn’t give silver, Nangong Shuangshuang was quite satisfied. The jewelry and other items given by Lady Jing were worth at least a thousand taels, even considering they would lose nearly half their value if pawned.

Nangong Shuangshuang hadn’t planned to convert these jewels into money but intended to keep them for her mother, Luo Yueying, to wear. Once her father, Nangong Chengxuan, returned and her mother regained her title, she would naturally need to attend social functions.

Although the Emperor returned the confiscated residence, and the furniture was intact and hadn’t been sealed for long—less than a year in total—meaning it likely wouldn’t have deteriorated, the clothes and confiscated ornaments were undoubtedly gone.

Although procuring new jewelry outside is possible, it certainly wouldn’t be as exquisite as the pieces rewarded by Lady Jing, which would certainly boost their status. These items perfectly solved Nangong Shuangshuang and Luo Yueying’s urgent needs.

In truth, Lady Jing’s extensive efforts and considerations had her motives. She increasingly relied on Nangong Shuangshuang, yet feared Shuangshuang might not be entirely loyal to her.

Nangong Shuangshuang, with her clever mind, deep cunning, exceptional medical skills, and stunning beauty, if she desired to become the Emperor’s concubine and earn his favor, Lady Jing had no assurance she could compete with Shuangshuang.

Lady Jing had her father continually check on Nangong Chengxuan’s affairs, offering prompt assistance, helping Nangong Shuangshuang restore her status as an official’s daughter, only to see if Shuangshuang’s thoughts would change due to her status shift.

If Nangong Shuangshuang wanted to enter the palace as a concubine, being a grateful person, Lady Jing was sure the benefits allotted to Shuangshuang would suffice to ensure peaceful coexistence without scheming against her.

If Nangong Shuangshuang did not wish to be a concubine, it would be the best result. Lady Jing could entrust Shuangshuang with confidence. When making this decision to test Shuangshuang, Lady Jing was incredibly nervous, fearing Shuangshuang would choose to oppose her.

When Nangong Shuangshuang came to her resolutely declaring her intention to become her lady secretary and a female official, Lady Jing was greatly relieved, her unsettled mind finally calming.

Lady Jing felt secure because female officials have a unique implication; every girl choosing to become one implicitly signifies a lack of desire to become the Emperor’s concubine and opt to serve concubines instead.

In reality, every girl choosing to be a female official is undoubtedly smart. While the Emperor’s harem boasts three thousand beauties, and gaining favor is notoriously difficult, each woman confident in her beauty believes she could become the favored concubine or among them, bringing glory to her family.

But in truth, there isn’t a single concubine like this in the current Emperor’s harem. Even though Lady Xuan seems the most favored in the harem, the Emperor is quick to abandon her without hesitation.

It appears the Empress is the most respected woman by the Emperor. However, without the Empress’s title, she wouldn’t even measure up to Lady Xuan. Regardless of who becomes the Empress, the Emperor’s attitude remains unchanged.

Therefore, girls wise enough to forsake this delusion and choose to become female officials are certainly intelligent, and additionally, they come from families that cherish them.

Because even if a girl comprehends everything, if her family insists on using her to gamble for wealth, regardless of the outcome, it is in vain.

Meanwhile, the fate of a female official is vastly different from that of a palace maid. Palace maids leave the palace at twenty-five with an often-predestined troubled destiny, so tragic that even dying of old age is a luxury, whereas female officials leave at twenty. Upon leaving, the concubines they serve usually bestow them with a dowry.

In the Capital City, it’s considered an honor for many lower-ranked official families or wealthy merchants’ sons to marry female officials. Moreover, the concubines they served naturally become their patrons, ensuring that after marriage, their in-laws wouldn’t dare mistreat them.

Only when Nangong Shuangshuang determined her intention to become a female official did Lady Jing consider Shuangshuang as someone she could trust completely and entirely.

Moreover, as an advisor-like confidant, although Lady Jing always respected Nangong Shuangshuang and never treated her as a mere servant to be ordered and beaten, Shuangshuang’s identity back then was still that of a servant.

Now, it was different. As Nangong Shuangshuang became a female official, her standing before Lady Jing was akin to a minister before an Emperor.

The most evident distinction lies in attire. Female officials’ clothing is distinct from palace maids, whose outfits are uniform and identical for everyone, whereas female officials can dress as they like, with their headpieces differing from the simplistic adornments of ordinary palace maids.