After finishing her work, Ye Tangtang patted her heavy bag. It was filled with gold and silver.
She borrowed a drum from a young eunuch and shouted as she beat it.
"Portraits! Get your cheap portraits here!"
Ye Tangtang laid a few photographs on a stone stool, instantly drawing a crowd.
"Ninth Princess, these are your paintings? They look so lifelike!"
"Yes, incredibly lifelike! The little princess is amazing. She can actually paint pictures this realistic."
"I really want a portrait, too. Little Princess, how much silver does one of these cost?"
Ye Tangtang put on a serious expression. "Ahem, since we all belong to the same palace, I'll give you a discount. Just one hundred copper coins per portrait."
"One hundred copper coins!"
Ye Tangtang's eyes darted around. "Is one hundred too much? Then how about..."
"Not at all! Not too much in the slightest! One hundred coins for such a lifelike portrait is an absolute bargain. I'll take two!"
"Ninth Princess, I'd like one, too!"
"And me! I want one as well."
The palace maids and eunuchs rushed forward to pay, and Ye Tangtang collected money until her hands practically went limp.
[Hahahaha, I'm rich, I'm rich! I've struck it rich again! All this lovely money will buy me so much delicious food.]
The system: [Tang Tang, have you forgotten your mission?]
Ye Tangtang: [Mission? What's that? No one can stand in my way of becoming a rich woman!!]
The system: [...]
This host was not only boy-crazy, but money-crazy as well.
She wasn't doing her missions at all. At this rate, when would she ever finish?
The system checked the page. Her conquest progress was only 1.1%...
Ye Tangtang waved to the people at the back. "Take your time, one at a time. Line up first. Everyone will get a portrait, don't worry."
"Yes, Ninth Princess!"
The palace maids and eunuchs all lined up, waiting their turn for the Ninth Princess to paint them.
Ye Tangtang held up the camera and snapped away. Golden composition, self-taught mastery-she was simply unbeatable.
"Here's yours. See if you're happy with it."
"Happy? I couldn't be happier! Thank you, Ninth Princess!"
The young palace maid took her portrait and left in high spirits.
"Ninth Princess, can the two of us be in the same portrait?"
Ye Tangtang nodded. "Of course. And I'll only charge you for one."
[Another day of envying best friends. What kind of heavenly, beautiful friendship is this? They even want a portrait together. Boohoo, I love it, I love it~]
Yet the very next second, reality slapped Ye Tangtang across the face.
"Xiao Tao, you pay for this one."
"No, you should pay."
"You pay!"
"You pay!"
Ye Tangtang: "..."
The two argued for ages, neither willing to pay... and finally parted on bad terms.
Ye Tangtang: [(இωஇ ) Little Useless System, did I break up another pair of best friends?]
[What best friends? Their friendship was clearly made of plastic. You can't blame yourself, Tang Tang.]
Somewhat comforted, Ye Tangtang went back to making money.
Life was hard, so the princess sold her art.
The Phoenix Hall.
"Mother, it's that Ye Tangtang! Not only does she bully me, she's a fox spirit, too! She seduced Lu Wuyou and Song Jinshi away from me, and now several of my imperial brothers like her as well."
Ye Muxue stayed by the Empress's side, complaining all morning, but the Empress showed no intention of taking action.
"Mu Xue, Ye Tangtang is currently in Emperor Father's favor. Bear with it for now. In a few days, I'll certainly avenge you."
Ye Muxue wiped the tears from her face and sobbed, "Mother, how long do I have to wait? She even has a really pretty cloth bag shaped like a rabbit with ears. I've never seen anything like it. Emperor Father must be playing favorites and giving all the lovely things to her. He used to dote on me the most."
The Empress soothed her. "All right, be good, Xue'er. We can ignore everything else, but you must keep a firm hold on Lu Wuyou. He has the entire Lu Family and all the great clans behind him. That will help your eldest imperial brother secure the position of crown prince."
Ye Muxue frowned. "But Lu Wuyou won't even pay attention to me now. He keeps following Ye Tangtang around. Today, Ye Tangtang brought some strange demonic thing and drew them all away."
"A demonic thing?"
Ye Muxue nodded. "Yes. Ye Tangtang has lots of demonic things, including shoes with lots of wheels that let her move really fast. This time, it was a little box that could paint all of us."
Empress Lu's expression changed in alarm. Could it really be a demonic object?
Ever since Ye Tangtang had appeared, many strange things had indeed happened in the palace. If that was the case, couldn't she seize this opportunity to bring down Shen Qingqing and her daughter?
"Don't worry, Xue'er. Ye Tangtang won't be swaggering around for much longer. My Xue'er is the most noble princess in all of Northern Li."
Empress Lu stroked Ye Muxue affectionately and continued, "As for Lu Wuyou, take your time coaxing him. When an opportunity arises, I'll summon him to the palace. After all, I'm his aunt in name, so he'll still listen to some of what I say."
"All right. I'll listen to you, Mother."
Ye Muxue could only compromise. If Lu Wuyou recognized his mistake and mended his ways, she could forgive him this once.
"Good girl, Xue'er."
"Hongguo, what's that commotion outside?"
Hongguo answered respectfully, "Your Majesty, it's the Ninth Princess, beating drums and gongs to sell her paintings."
Empress Lu snorted coldly. "As expected of something that crawled out of the Cold Palace. She can never rise to polite society, just like her mother."
"Your Majesty, her paintings are very beautiful. A few of your palace maids went to have their portraits painted..."
Empress Lu's face darkened, and she snapped, "Are you saying that people from the Phoenix Hall have gone to Ye Tangtang for portraits, too?"
Hongguo immediately dropped to her knees in terror, trembling all over. "Your Majesty, yes... a few."
"Drag them out, give them twenty strokes of the rod, and send them to the Bondservant Office."
"Yes, Your Majesty." Hongguo lay prostrate on the floor, shaking uncontrollably with fear.
Although their mistress usually wore a pleasant expression and treated everyone kindly, in private she was vicious and ruthless. Anyone who displeased her in the slightest had to die.
"Go."
Empress Lu waved a hand. That little wretch Ye Tangtang currently enjoyed such imperial favor that she couldn't touch her, but she still had the authority to punish the palace maids. A pack of ingrates who bit the hand that fed them.
Ye Tangtang's hands ached from taking photographs. She looked at the long line, its end nowhere in sight. Why were there still so many people?
She hadn't even eaten lunch yet!!
She was so hungry.
Ye Yubei stood in black robes and asked quietly, "Eunuch Wang, what are all these people doing? What sort of decorum is this, gathering in the rear courtyard!"
"Your Majesty, I don't know either. I'll disperse them at once."
Eunuch Wang took two steps forward and called in a shrill voice, "What are you all gathering here for? Blocking His Majesty's way-do none of you want to keep the heads on your necks?"
"Hi, Eunuch Wang! It's me." Ye Tangtang poked half her little head out of the crowd.
Seeing Ye Tangtang, Eunuch Wang immediately approached with a genial expression. "Oh, it's the Ninth Princess. What are you doing here, Ninth Princess?"
"Selling portraits to make money."
[I'm a princess, but I don't get any allowance. I even have to earn my own money. My tyrant of a scumbag dad is so stingy, he won't give me a single coin.]
[Sigh, having such a stingy scumbag dad is just too miserable.]
[Being a princess is hard, so Tang Tang sells her art.]
Ye Yubei: "..."
He was stingy?
Before you continue