Ming Dynasty: Is a mere unruly commoner rebelling against heaven?

After hearing Chen Yuanyuan's reply, Empress Dowager Wu's expression remained cold.

When the Ming Dynasty emperors chose consorts, women from the common populace were preferred, followed by daughters of officials and meritorious subjects.

As for other backgrounds, let alone becoming a consort, even concubines were rare, not to mention Noble Consorts or Empresses.

Therefore, no matter how outstanding Chen Yuanyuan and the others were, Empress Dowager Wu did not think they possessed any value worth investing in.

Empress Dowager Wu simply nodded, said nothing more, and turned to look at the other candidates.

This action deeply stung Chen Yuanyuan and the others.

In an instant, the faces of Chen Yuanyuan, Liu Rushi, and the other eight women turned pale.

Gu Hengbo bit her lip and softly comforted her sisters.

"Although Empress Dowager Wu doesn't favor us, it doesn't mean we have no hope."

"The palace selection is for the Emperor to choose consorts, and His Majesty's opinion is the most important factor."

"Compared to the other candidates, we already have a great advantage. They still have to go through a month of training and selection before they have a chance to meet the Emperor."

"And we just met the Emperor, didn't we?"

Chen Yuanyuan picked up the conversation: "Sister Gu is right. We saw His Majesty before them, and that's our biggest advantage."

"Moreover, judging from His Majesty's attitude towards us today, if not satisfied, at least he doesn't dislike us."

"That's right, everyone must work hard in the coming month."

Liu Rushi held Chen Yuanyuan and Gu Hengbo's hands, encouraging the other sisters and herself.

"Sisters, you must perform well in the future. If any of you are fortunate enough to receive His Majesty's favor, don't forget the other sisters."

Dong Xiaowan nodded in agreement, encouraging the other sisters.

"Sister Liu is right. In the palace, the eight of us must rely on each other and advance together."

In the harem, even during the selection process, undercurrents were already surging.

...

Imperial Study.

Zhu You樘 returned to the Imperial Study after the morning court.

Wang Zhi closely followed behind, reporting to him on the current situation of the Central Bank.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, in the past few days, the Bureau of Precious Notes has printed a total of 1.2 million strings of Hongzhi Precious Notes, exchanging them for 1.2 million taels of silver."

"Except for 100,000 taels of silver left in the capital's branch for exchange purposes, the other 1.1 million taels of silver have been deposited into the Imperial Treasury."

"Adding the silver and wealth confiscated from the previous raids, the Imperial Treasury now has nearly 3 million taels of silver."

In such a short period, Zhu You樘 had accumulated 3 million taels of silver for the Imperial Treasury.

This speed was considered very fast.

According to Zhu You樘's estimate, the total amount of silver hidden by all the officials, nobles, and relatives of the emperor in the capital was at least 30 million taels.

These 1.2 million strings of notes were just for their emergency use.

Most of their silver, they were reluctant to exchange for Hongzhi Precious Notes, and kept it hidden at home.

Officials hid 30 million taels of silver, while Zhu You樘, the Emperor of the Great Ming, only had nearly 3 million taels in the Imperial Treasury.

Was this reasonable?!

Zhu You樘 took a deep breath, exhaling the frustration in his heart.

After thinking for a while, Zhu You樘 put down the memorial in his hand.

"There's nothing to do today, accompany me to the Imperial Treasury."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Zhu You樘 and Wang Zhi left the Imperial Study and headed to the Imperial Treasury.

The Imperial Treasury was a collective name for the twelve storehouses in the Imperial Palace, all managed by eunuchs and responsible only to the Emperor.

Among the twelve storehouses of the Imperial Palace, the Inner Transportation Storehouse was specifically responsible for storing gold and silver, and had the highest status among the twelve storehouses.

Sometimes, the term Imperial Treasury specifically referred to the Inner Transportation Storehouse.

The Inner Transportation Storehouse was next to the Grand Secretariat, not far from it, and Zhu You樘 quickly arrived at the Inner Transportation Storehouse.

Opening the Inner Transportation Storehouse, Zhu You樘 stepped inside, looking at the mountains and seas of silver, feeling a little relieved.

In the future, there would be more and more silver in the Imperial Treasury, and the Great Ming would no longer have to worry about silver.

In addition to gold and silver, there were also dozens of boxes of jewelry and valuables that had not yet been sorted.

Zhu You樘 opened them and glanced, discovering that they were all antiques and paintings.

Zhu You樘 casually pulled out a picture and looked at it, finding that it depicted a mansion.

This mansion occupied dozens of acres and was built beautifully.

Among them were pavilions, terraces, waterside pavilions, singing platforms, jade towers, winding streams, reflecting buildings, refreshing bamboo shadows, and a sea of flowers melting into spring.

The beauty of this scenery made people linger and yearn for it.

Zhu You樘 stared at the painting, admiring it immensely.

"This garden is so exquisitely built, it is truly ingenious. Which master's work is this scroll from?"

Wang Zhi quickly approached and whispered, "Reporting to Your Majesty, this scroll is from a painter in Junzhou, depicting Ma Wensheng's residence in Junzhou."

"What?!"

Zhu You樘 was stunned, then became furious!

"My palace has not even had the money to repair it since the fire in the nineteenth year of Chenghua, yet Ma Wensheng was able to build such a luxurious residence in Junzhou?!"

"These good officials of mine live in residences more magnificent than my palace!"

"My Imperial Garden is less than twenty acres, yet Ma Wensheng's residence is dozens of acres!"

"Who is the Emperor, him or me?!"

Zhu You樘 clenched his hands tightly, the anger in his heart suppressed to the extreme.

The Ming Dynasty Imperial Palace often suffered fires. There were many fires during the Yongle, Zhengtong, and Tianshun years.

Among them, the fires during the Yongle and Zhengtong years were the most serious. At the worst, even the three great halls of Fengtian were burned down.

However, at that time, Emperor Taizong and Emperor Yingzong had money in their Imperial Treasury, and they could repair them in at most three years.

But the Imperial Palace had a fire in the nineteenth year of Chenghua, and the flames burned down the roofs of the three great halls of Fengtian.

Emperor Xianzong wanted to repair the three great halls of Fengtian, but the Minister of Works at the time reported an astronomical price, and Xianzong was reluctant to repair them, so it was delayed.

Until Zhu You樘 ascended the throne, the roofs of the three great halls of Fengtian were still black.

The Emperor didn't even have the money to repair the three great halls, but the ministers built residences in their hometowns that were like fairylands.

How ironic, how ridiculous!

Zhu You樘 turned and walked towards the Imperial Study: "Summon the Minister of Works to me. I want to repair the three great halls of Fengtian!"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Wang Zhi obeyed and quickly went to the Ministry of Works.

Zhu You樘 returned to the Imperial Study, drank a sip of cool tea, but still couldn't suppress the anger in his heart.

Thinking of the picture of Ma Wensheng's residence that he had just seen, Zhu You樘 felt stifled.

These civil officials still need to be killed!

...

Minister of Works Jia Jun was in the Ministry of Works, calculating the Ministry's budget for this year.

Suddenly, Wang Zhi visited, without any pleasantries, only coldly saying: "Minister Jia, His Majesty summons you, quickly follow this Supervisor into the palace."

"Ah?! His Majesty wants to see me?"

Jia Jun froze in place, his heart beating fast.

Wang Zhi's serious expression made Jia Jun feel panicked.

Under Wang Zhi's gaze, Jia Jun followed Wang Zhi into the palace to meet the Emperor with a worried heart.