Quick Transmigration: Underdog Turns out to be Untouchable

Chapter 935: Chapter 846: Unwilling to Be a Slave 66

The Imperial Censors who submitted petitions were fiercely attacked by the Ding Family, but the Emperor was not angry and did not punish these Censors. Of course, the Emperor kept the petitions accusing the Empress Dowager of lacking motherly kindness in the archives and did not issue them, but soon, several Censors were promoted and rewarded, which made everyone understand the Emperor’s intentions.

Although the impeachment of the Empress Dowager for her lack of motherly kindness seemed to be unresolved, the fact that the Empress Dowager tormented the frail Empress to the brink of death thoroughly ruined the Empress Dowager’s reputation.

Now, members of the Ding Family, including the formidable Commander of the Infantry Ding Yiqi and Prince Donglin, are somewhat afraid to show themselves because of the various rumors and disdainful looks outside.

Meanwhile, although Gao Yan seems to have gained no apparent benefit, he actually obtained quite a lot of advantages. Firstly, he avenged Lady Jing by getting back at the Empress Dowager’s scheme that caused the deformity of her unborn child.

Secondly, due to Gao Yan’s reminder, his superior understood the Emperor’s mindset and received the Emperor’s reward, thus fostering a closer relationship with Gao Yan. He is now considered a successor in training.

When an official is promoted, their position is either assigned by the Emperor or filled by a deputy or subordinate. For officials in charge of speaking, the opinion of the official takes up ninety percent, so when Gao Yan’s superior is promoted, Gao Yan will surely be promoted by one level as well.

In the harem, the Empress’s health gradually improved under the care and treatment of Nangong Shuangshuang. From initially having to lie in bed groggy, she can now get up and walk outside, though her legs are still weak, it is much better.

Although still weaker than an average person, the Empress’s health has significantly improved. Originally weak in health, she suffered a great loss of vitality due to this ordeal, making it impossible for her to be as energetic as a regular person.

Now, the remaining task is the painstaking process of recuperation, and there is no need for Nangong Shuangshuang to constantly watch over the Empress, just periodic check-ups will suffice.

The Empress was very generous, rewarding Nangong Shuangshuang with two thousand taels of silver and four hundred bolts of silk, along with a large box of jewelry, where the silver was the least valuable and the jewelry the most precious.

Nangong Shuangshuang generously took out two hundred taels of silver to distribute among all the palace maids and eunuchs in Yingyue Palace, with Lan Ying and Chun Sheng, the trusted aides of Lady Jing, receiving the most—thirty taels of silver each, while the little palace maids received several taels each, which was not a small amount.

Within Yingyue Palace, aside from Lady Jing, Nangong Shuangshuang was practically the lead. To be a leader and have people obey, besides skills and intelligence, benefits were indispensable, so Nangong Shuangshuang always shared a portion of the rewards she received.

She didn’t distribute the silk to Lan Ying and the others not because she was unwilling, but because the clothing for palace maids and eunuchs had regulations on material and style, and only the embroidered collar and cuffs of palace maids’ garments could be modified, nothing else. Nangong Shuangshuang’s silk could not be worn by them due to their insufficient rank.

This silk is of the highest quality, extremely rare and top-grade in the folk markets. Without the Empress’s reward, Nangong Shuangshuang would never have spent money to buy them, and the Empress was very considerate, rewarding Nangong Shuangshuang with silk of various colors.

There were colors suitable for making clothes for men and for women. Nangong Shuangshuang planned to use this silk to make clothes for her mother Luo Yueying and father Nangong Chengxuan. With so much silk, they wouldn’t need to worry about clothes for the next ten years.

Nangong Shuangshuang kept two hundred taels of silver with her for convenience and left some jewelry for adornment, while sending the remainder out of the palace to her mother Luo Yueying. The jewelry sent by the Empress was certainly exquisite and made inside the palace, but such inner-crafted jewelry would be recorded and could not be exchanged for money, only used personally.

Since civilian use of palace-made ornaments is prohibited, they cannot circulate. Nangong Shuangshuang, being a female official with a rank, can wear them, and Luo Yueying, likewise having a rank title, can wear them too.

After the Empress’s reward came the Emperor’s. The Emperor rewarded Nangong Shuangshuang by promoting her female official rank. Her current rank is Junior Fourth Rank, and the Emperor promoted her directly by two levels to Secondary Third Rank.

Recently, the atmosphere in Yingyue Palace has been extremely joyous. This time, with the Empress being gravely ill, Yingyue Palace benefited the most, with Lady Jing receiving the greatest advantage.

Due to this event, the Empress has become close and trusting toward Lady Jing, entrusting her with most of the palace duties that have become unmanageable due to her prolonged illness and fatigue, granting her authority.

This is unlike during the reign of the late Emperor, during which anyone who pleased the Emperor could obtain a portion of palace management rights from the Empress, but under the current reign, the Emperor doesn’t concern himself with such matters, and without the Empress’s consent, no concubine could hope to dip their fingers into palace power.

Although gentle and not harsh towards the harem, the Empress is not one to relinquish power lightly. She prefers to let her nanny handle palace management rather than allow the concubines to gain authority over palace affairs.

The Empress’s current delegation of authority to Lady Jing, especially to such a significant extent, is entirely because during the Empress’s critical condition, Lady Jing brought Nangong Shuangshuang to save her life, making the Empress regard Lady Jing as one of her own, thus unstintingly granting her authority.

Nangong Shuangshuang also received substantial benefits, gaining both wealth and position, second only to Lady Jing in terms of advantages obtained, and the palace maids and eunuchs of Yingyue Palace are equally pleased, as Lady Jing gained real power over palace duties and is very satisfied.

Despite the joy, Lady Jing refrains from flaunting it outside, celebrating behind closed doors by providing extra meals for three consecutive days to the servants, with two large dishes at each meal.

Besides this, Lady Jing also rewarded them with silver, along with the silver Nangong Shuangshuang gave, resulting in considerable benefits for these palace maids and eunuchs, amounting to at least half a year’s extra income, which serves as retirement funds for the maids when they leave the palace.

Compared to the joyous atmosphere in Yingyue Palace, the atmosphere in Furong Palace is quite oppressive. The Empress Dowager feels particularly unlucky this year, with everything going poorly.

Initially, when she acted against Lady Jing, she underestimated Lady Jing’s courage, not expecting her to retaliate. The negligence and lack of discretion in handling past matters resulted in a series of unfortunate consequences.

Especially recently, the Empress Dowager feels she has been terribly unlucky. Although knowing the Empress is not in good health, she observed her living quite spiritedly over the years without significant ailments, suspecting that the Empress’s condition is partially genuine and mostly feigned.

It’s understandable why the Empress Dowager thinks this way. During her own time as Empress, the late Emperor was exceptionally capricious, with countless methods among the women in the harem to vie for favor, and feigning illness was one of the most common strategies, as fragile beauty often elicited a man’s sympathy.