"Miss, are you saying we should search the rooms where the other selected maidens used to live and take their leftover belongings for ourselves?"
Su Muyao nodded. Meeting Yun Mo's astonished gaze, she pursed her lips, preparing to find the right words to persuade her.
After all, the original host was an ancient person from a prestigious family. Yun Mo had served the original host all along, so the Confucian principle of "do not touch what is not proper" was likely deeply ingrained in her mind.
Su Muyao understood perfectly well. Under normal circumstances, she wouldn't touch other people's belongings either.
But now, they were facing a life-or-death crisis.
If the heavy snow continued nonstop this month, their remaining charcoal would last at most ten more days. By the twenty-third of this month, they would completely run out of charcoal.
By then, they could only wait for death.
Su Muyao did not want to die. As the saying goes, a wretched life is better than a good death. She had always cherished her own life.
Moreover, to put it more harshly, those selected maidens would never have a chance to return in this lifetime.
Su Muyao knew very clearly that guarding the imperial mausoleum was a path destined for death.
Although Kangxi did not avoid discussions of life and death and did not believe in ghosts or gods, when it came to safeguarding his imperial power, he was no different from previous emperors—in fact, he was even more extreme.
Nine is the number of ultimate yang, used to embody the emperor's nobility.
To align with this number of ultimate yang, Kangxi's mausoleum was built ninety-nine feet underground, which, converted to modern measurement, is thirty-two point six-seven meters.
The accompanying coffins in the side chambers of the mausoleum were prepared for the palace attendants sent to guard the imperial mausoleum. When the emperor was buried, they would also enter the tomb. Afterward, the tomb entrance would be sealed shut, leaving only a small opening above ground. Every day, someone would place food and water in a box, which would be slowly lowered down by a rope.
After about a month at most, there would be no need to lower anything anymore.
There were no longer any living people inside.
Su Muyao didn't even dare to imagine what she would do if she had been assigned to guard the imperial mausoleum right after transmigrating.
She did feel some sympathy for those selected maidens guarding the mausoleum, but what use was sympathy?
All she could do was live her own life well. As for other matters, she couldn't manage them, nor did she intend to.
In her heart, she always came first.
Just as Su Muyao was pondering how to persuade Yun Mo, she saw Yun Mo suddenly take a deep breath and exclaim, "Miss, that's wonderful!"
Su Muyao: "???"
Why did she feel a bit confused?
Yun Mo was nearly moved to tears of joy. Sniffling, she said, "Miss, these past few days, because of the damp charcoal, I've been tormented with guilt. I regret it so much I could almost turn green with remorse, wishing I could slap myself twice…"
Her eyes reddened as she continued, "Even if I froze to death, it wouldn't matter. But if I dragged you down with me, I would truly suffer more than death!"
So, Yun Mo's mindset was quite open-minded, with no psychological burden at all. Had she misunderstood?
Su Muyao blinked. "Then, about searching the other rooms…"
Yun Mo patted her chest and assured her, "Miss, don't you worry. With me here, I guarantee not even a crack in the floor will be missed."
Su Muyao not only felt reassured but also wished she could give Yun Mo a rocket of praise.
Because over the next few days, she discovered that Yun Mo not only had no aversion to plundering others' "legacies" but actually took great pleasure in it.
She was like a swarm of locusts sweeping through—any room she searched would be stripped bare except for furniture like tables, chairs, beds, and stools. Nothing else remained.
Completely barren, even the copper washbasins were taken away.
All the scavenged supplies, sorted into twenty-five piles according to the previously searched rooms, were placed by Yun Mo in the two empty side chambers, filling the rooms to the brim.
After finishing the scavenging, Yun Mo began taking inventory of the supplies.
When Su Muyao entered, there wasn’t even a place to stand. She carefully maneuvered around several large boxes piled near the entrance and made her way to the innermost part.
Seeing her approach, Yun Mo’s eyes curved into a smile as she shifted aside, presenting her discovery like a treasure. “Look, miss!”
At her feet was an exquisitely crafted, round-topped and square-bottomed red lacquer basket, filled with charcoal. The charcoal was pitch-black and glossy, visibly of much higher quality than the Heitan she had used before.
Su Muyao blurted out, “Is this Hongluotan?”
Though phrased as a question, her tone carried certainty.
Her confidence stemmed partly from the appearance of the charcoal, but more so from the red lacquer basket that held it.
Hongluotan, or “red basket charcoal,” was named not for its color but for the red lacquer basket used to store it.
Unlike modern times, with advanced technology and various chemical synthetic products, ancient lacquer was made from natural lacquer tree sap and was considered a luxury. Among these, red lacquer, known as “carved red,” was the most precious.
Red lacquer was extracted from lacquer trees over sixteen years old, yielding very little. The application process was complex: layers had to be applied using silk or hemp pads, with over a hundred coats needed to achieve a smooth, even vermilion hue. This was followed by intricate carving, a step that allowed no room for error—the slightest mistake could ruin all the painstaking work.
Hongluotan was valuable, but the basket that held it was even more so. Such a carved basket, in modern times, could at least be exchanged for a large villa.
The problem, however, was that in the imperial harem, Hongluotan was reserved for consorts of the rank of Guiren or higher.
Qianxi Sisuo was where palace maidens resided. How could Hongluotan appear there?
Unless… among those maidens, someone was related to a high-ranking consort of the late emperor.
Unfortunately, a palace intrigue drama had ended before it even began.
With the passing of Kangxi, aside from the Empress Dowager, all other high-ranking consorts had withdrawn from the center of power, and those maidens were no more.
Another case of a new reign bringing new officials.
Su Muyao shook her head, dismissing further thoughts, and asked, “How long will this Hongluotan last?”
Her primary concern was surviving the winter.
Yun Mo replied cheerfully, “There are twenty catties of charcoal in total. Hongluotan burns over five times longer than Heitan, equivalent to a hundred catties of Heitan.”
With some frugality, it would last through the month.
Su Muyao breathed a deep sigh of relief.
“But miss, that’s not all…” Yun Mo wagged her index finger mysteriously. “I also found quite a bit of Heitan stored in the backyard tea room. Guess how much there is in total?”
Su Muyao chuckled. “Just tell me, don’t keep me in suspense.”
Yun Mo grinned. “Seven thousand five hundred catties in total—more than enough to last us through this winter.”
With a normal daily consumption of fifteen catties of Heitan in winter, or twenty catties for a more luxurious use, this amount would last three hundred and seventy days.
It was absolutely sufficient.
Su Muyao smiled, thought for a moment, and then instructed, "First, burn the Hongluotan charcoal. Once it's burned, that's it. Also, dump the ashes in the empty space in the backyard to use as fertilizer for growing vegetables later. That way, we avoid accidentally being discovered and inviting trouble."
The Yingzaosi sent specialists every month to collect charcoal ashes. Since Hongluotan charcoal was made with added fragrant powder, the ashes retained a faint, delicate scent after burning. Although it wasn’t easily detectable, what if someone noticed?
Su Muyao had always been cautious about details.
Yun Mo nodded repeatedly in agreement.
Among the twenty-five former court ladies, several came from quite prominent families.
Soon, Su Muyao realized that the Hongluotan charcoal was just the beginning.
When Yun Mo opened a large chest storing clothing and Su Muyao saw a peacock-feather cloak woven with golden peacock threads on top, she knew the items in this chest wouldn’t be cheap.
They wouldn’t use other people’s clothing.
Yun Mo took out the garments one by one and casually placed them on the couch table nearby. She had planned to move the now-empty chest to the outer corridor to save space.
However, after removing all the clothing, two small golden nanmu wood boxes appeared at the bottom.
Yun Mo glanced at Su Muyao and took out one of the boxes.
As soon as she opened it, a dazzling, golden light burst forth. When Yun Mo looked inside, she gasped sharply.
It was filled to the brim with gold ingots!
They had struck it rich!
She had never seen so much gold in her entire life!
Seeing Yun Mo practically in a daze, Su Muyao gently patted her and chuckled, "Take a look at the other one too."
After her initial surprise at the appearance of the Hongluotan charcoal, Su Muyao had already calmed down. Unexpectedly, Yun Mo was the one who couldn’t stay composed.
Yun Mo nodded blankly and hurriedly took out the other golden nanmu wood box. This time, opening it wasn’t as breathtaking—it was filled with silver ingots.
Even so, Yun Mo still felt her legs go weak.
She was nearly overwhelmed by the power of money.
Watching Yun Mo’s stunned expression, Su Muyao smiled faintly and began calculating.
Two boxes: one filled with gold ingots, the other with silver ingots, both in ten-tael (forty-gram) pieces. There were twenty gold ingots and forty silver ingots.
In the current dynasty, one tael of gold was equivalent to ten taels of silver. Converting it, the total came to two thousand four hundred taels of silver.
She remembered that in the Qing Dynasty, twenty taels of silver was enough to cover a year’s food expenses for a family of four living on the outskirts of the capital.
She wasn’t sure about the purchasing power within the palace, but it was certainly more expensive than outside.
Su Muyao thought for a moment and instructed again, "Let’s not spend any of this gold or silver for now."
Yun Mo asked in confusion, "Why, Miss?"
With this money, they could easily order dishes and meals from the Shoushanfang to improve their diet.
In the palace, the Zhushan (main meals) were fixed, but the Fushan (supplementary meals) were not.
Upper-ranking masters like the Empress Dowager, Empress, and Imperial Consort could order dishes from the kitchen at will with just a word. Lower-ranking consorts didn’t have that privilege, but they could purchase meals directly with silver.
Last month, because her mistress’s Zhushan rations had been withheld, Yun Mo had to keep spending money on Fushan meals, which exhausted all the silver they had brought into the palace.
Honestly, she didn’t mind going hungry herself, but watching her mistress suffer made her anxious and heartbroken—it was unbearable.
Su Muyao sighed helplessly, "You should think about it. Just a few days ago, we were at the end of our rope, starving and desperate. Now, suddenly, so much silver appears out of thin air—how could it not attract attention?"
The stewards of Shoushanfang generally knew about their situation.
If these unexpected riches were not handled carefully, they might turn into arsenic coated in honey, sending both mistress and servant to their deaths.
They still had to be cautious.
She needed to think of a way to legitimize this gold and silver first.