On the short journey back to the palace in the imperial carriage, Zhang Maoze stood with his hands tucked into his sleeves, his mind a tempest of shock and turmoil. The events of the morning court session had unfolded far beyond his expectations.
Forcing the prime minister to retreat and consolidating the power of the chancellery. Even more terrifying was the Emperor's display of turning clouds with one hand and rain with the other—how did Guanjia know the full story behind Guo Xi and others accepting bribes? It was as if a pair of eyes had been closely watching their every move.
Most importantly for him, as the Emperor's most trusted inner attendant, he had been completely unaware of any of this. The message conveyed by this situation left him no choice but to ponder deeply.
Zhao Zhen reclined on the couch, his neatly arranged imperial robes slightly disheveled. Between his fingers, he toyed with a shattered jade bead. The warm, smooth white jade complemented his jade-like fingers, making it hard to distinguish where the jade ended and his skin began.
Since his return, he had finally gained a certain advantage in the court. All the exhaustive planning and countless schemes had paid off. After such a major move, it was necessary to ease tensions for a while—alternating tension and relaxation was the proper way.
With his mind relaxed, the Emperor also had the mood to think of Lady Xue, who could solve his problems. He instructed Zhang Maoze in detail, "Today, your Lady Xue is moving to Yanhui Hall. I shall also congratulate her on her new residence. Wasn't there a fresh batch of seasonal fruits newly tributed from Fujian? Select the best ones and send some to her."
"Then go to the treasury and find some interestingly styled jewelry to sort out. Also, pack a few boxes of gemstones from the west and send them to Lady Xue."
Zhang Maoze immediately composed his expression and boldly spoke, "With such deep affection and great kindness from Guanjia, Lady Xue is sure to appreciate it."
Zhao Zhen neither affirmed nor denied it. Xue Dongyu was somewhat amusing and to his liking; at the very least, in his heart, he was willing to look after her more in the palace. Now, however, his fondness for her stemmed more from her usefulness to him.
It could hardly be called deep affection. Guanjia casually waved his hand. Zhang Maoze fell silent, bowed respectfully, and retreated from the carriage. He beckoned his apprentice to enter and attend to the Emperor, while he went off to handle the matters.
With Guanjia's specific instructions, Zhang Maoze naturally hurried off eagerly. As long as Lady Xue remained favored for a day, he, Zhang Maoze, would flatter her for a day. If she lost hope, like the current Lady Zhang, even if Aunt Jia sent the finest jade cicadas, it would be useless.
Zhang Maoze boarded a small carriage and hurried to the Emperor's private treasury. The Song Dynasty's economy was prosperous, commerce flourishing. In addition to paying taxes, it was customary for various regions to tribute gold, silver, and local specialties to the Emperor's private treasury.
Coupled with the income from the imperial family's own industries, sometimes the private treasury held even more than the national treasury. Unlike the national treasury, the private treasury belonged entirely to Guanjia. Though the items were precious, they were also disorganized, and of course, there was more than one storeroom.
First, Zhang Maoze went to the storeroom holding tributed fruits. He summoned the steward and selected the finest southern fruits—unblemished, well-shaped, half ripe and half semi-ripe, so Lady Xue could enjoy them longer. In total, five large baskets were filled.
Then he turned and went to a row of side storerooms. The one Zhang Maoze entered was specifically for storing jewelry, gemstones, pearls, coral, and similar items. Though he held the high status of the chief eunuch by the Emperor's side and possessed the main key to the private treasury, to open the storeroom, he still needed a small key from Zhongguan Xu.
Zhongguan Xu, named Xu Hui, like Liu Yue, was an old-timer arranged by the Empress Dowager. However, he had won the Emperor's favor. Even after retiring, he still managed the Emperor's personal assets, truly having a place in the Emperor's heart.
To open the storeroom and retrieve items, Zhang Maoze also had to leave a record with him for proper documentation.
Eunuch Xu, having served the Emperor for many years with the habit of attending morning court, woke up before the mao hour (5 a.m.). A few clever young eunuchs kept him company with jokes and laughter. Seeing Zhang Maoze approach, he smiled and said, "It's still time for court. Why aren't you accompanying Guanjia? What brings you here? Does Guanjia need something?"
Zhang Maoze dared not put on airs as the Chief Eunuch of the Imperial Presence in front of Eunuch Xu. He replied with a smile, "You're at leisure, sir. Guanjia has ordered me to fetch some fine jewelry and precious gems to send to the ladies of the rear palace."
Eunuch Xu took a sip of tea and said knowingly, "If not for this, your esteemed feet would never tread upon my humble ground." Though Zhang Maoze showed respect to veterans like him on the surface, he hardly regarded them highly. Eunuch Xu's words inevitably carried a hint of sarcasm.
Zhang Maoze cursed inwardly, thinking, Still acting like a big shot? Do you think Empress Dowager Liu still rules the palace? Remembering how Eunuch Xu and his ilk had once suffocated him with pressure, he reflected that with a new emperor came new ministers. If Zhang Maoze didn't trample them into the mud, it was only out of consideration for Guanjia's lingering sentiment for the old guard.
Thinking this, Zhang Maoze maintained a smiling face. "You jest, sir. How could the place you occupy be humble? I'd love to visit more often to bask in your good fortune, but I'm swamped with work. You know how it is—if I don't keep an eye on those little rascals below for a single day, they'll poke a hole in the sky." His words emphasized his current busy and lofty status.
Eunuch Xu knew when to stop. "Enough, I won't banter with you, lad. Which lady is this for? Consort Zhang or Consort Miao?"
Zhang Maoze smirked. "You're out of touch, sir. The most popular now isn't either of them—it's the newly risen Lady Xue." Eunuch Xu was indeed getting old, his information no longer sharp.
Eunuch Xu was startled. Lady Xue was the one rumored to be pregnant. How could she, in this dog Zhang Maoze's words, seem more favored than Consort Zhang? This was no small matter. In his position, not knowing which cloud carried rain could spell disaster.
Eunuch Xu thought fiercely of purging his own ranks but dared not delay. He fetched the keys and personally accompanied Zhang Maoze to the treasury. First, he pressed his fingerprint to record the time and person opening the treasury. Then, using two keys together, they unlocked the door.
Inside was a dazzling array, like a celestial palace. Pearls and jade lay scattered like sand and stones, while gold and silver gleamed brilliantly. Coral from the sea, cat's eye from the west, crystal, amber, rubies, sapphires, agate, and emeralds—each piece large and sparkling.
Neither man dared to glance sideways. Zhang Maoze walked to the large shelf holding gemstones and filled three arm-length boxes with various precious stones.
Eunuch Xu, more experienced, went to select jewelry. He picked a crown inlaid with gold and full-color pink pearls, a complete eighteen-piece set of pigeon's blood ruby jewelry, and over a dozen other items: filigree pearl hairpins, mutton-fat jade bracelets, jadeite double-loop armlets, and kingfisher-feather cloud-curled hairpins.
Leaving the treasury, Zhang Maoze dared not entrust the task to others, fearing damage. He carried the items carefully all the way to Lady Xue's residence.
Xue Dongyu had just woken up. Thinking of the System, she hastily ate some food and shook the small blue light sphere awake—having confirmed that no one but the Host could see it. She opened the interface to check her various data.
A few lines of numbers appeared before Xue Dongyu's eyes, extremely simple and clear at a glance.
Host: Xue Dongyu (transmigration)
Physique: 5 (an ordinary weakling)
Intelligence: 7 (a slightly above-average ordinary person)
Level: 1 (Novice Newbie)
Fate Points: 34 (Note: The system is damaged and requires 50 points per month to maintain operation. This month, 20 points have already been repaid, with 30 points remaining. Keep up the hard work!)
Other sections like the system shop and forum are grayed out and cannot be clicked. A note indicates they need to be repurchased and downloaded from the Main System to unlock.
She knew there were no easy advantages with this useless little system.
Xue Dongyu urgently wanted to know how she could repay her debt. When she asked the little light sphere, it only replied that it depended on the Host's own choices. She could become a demon king, crushing and destroying worlds; pursue scientific research to advance the world's development; play the part of a mystic and follow the path of cultivation; or even plot to usurp the throne or seduce powerful figures—all of which could earn her plenty of Fate Points.
Currently, Host Xue Dongyu receives a fixed two Fate Points daily as feedback from the child in her womb. This is enough to cover the monthly debt repayment but insufficient for anything else.
With no better options for now—and lacking the startup capital for the more advanced routes—Xue Dongyu decided against overthinking it. She resolved to take the arrogant and domineering favored consort route. The core idea was to show off, gain notoriety, and attract as much hatred as possible.
To be honest, Xue Dongyu had never tried such a reckless persona before, and she was rather eager to give it a shot.