This Laundry Bureau Is Much Harder to Reform Than the Cold Palace

Zhou Wanwan twitched her lips and said, "Then you guys got way too little money this month! You're such Zhou Bapi, unwilling to spend a single penny."

The young palace maid gave a wry smile, while the older women sighed and said, "Even we don't get much money. Except for the head matron, everyone else only gets 500 coins."

That's quite low indeed.

The head maid stood up and said, "I only earn two taels of silver a month, but we still have to pay tribute to our superiors."

Even the head maid is supervised by someone above her, which is why they say entering the palace is like entering a deep sea—and it truly is!

Zhou Wanwan looked at them and said, "Are you willing to follow me? From now on, you can not only receive your monthly allowance from the palace, but also the monthly allowance I will give you."

Who wouldn't want that?

They all kowtowed to express their gratitude. Zhou Wanwan looked at them and said:

"I think the Laundry Bureau needs some adjustments. Do you guys find it meaningful to wash their clothes here every day?"

"I can never earn more money, but I can make you more money. Are you willing?"

The head maid looked at Zhou Wanwan and said, "You say so, and we'll do whatever we can."

Zhou Wanwan thought for a moment and said:

"You guys go and rest first! We've finished today's work, we'll talk about it tomorrow."

I'll come up with the plan and let you know when it's ready.

This Laundry Bureau is much harder to reform than the Cold Palace.

Zhou Wanwan asked, "Uncle Scholar Tree, is this place close to the hot springs?"

Uncle Scholar Tree thought for a moment and said, "It's not close, but it's not far either. You mean to bring the hot spring in?"

Zhou Wanwan nodded and said, "Isn't this project a bit too massive?"

The Old Scholar Tree thought for a moment and said:

"It's not that grand! There are hot springs inside the palace."

All we need to do is build a culvert made of bluestone to directly divert the water here.

"If all the brothers in our palace were to take action, it would only be a matter of a few nights."

Zhou Wanwan nodded. "That's great, you can just bring the hot spring over here."

The Old Scholar Tree had the trees below it handle the matter; doing it in broad daylight would be too ostentatious. Such things should wait until night.

After Zhou Wanwan finished speaking, she went back to her room.

As soon as I returned to my room, I heard the Old Ancestor say, "Tomorrow is the Empress Dowager's birthday. She wants to embarrass the eldest princess. The stage is all set up; she's just waiting to watch the play tomorrow."

Zhou Wanwan raised an eyebrow and asked, "What does she want to do?"

Tomorrow, all the princesses, eldest princesses, princes, and princes will enter the palace to celebrate the Empress Dowager's birthday.

The Old Ancestor said, "The gifts prepared by those princesses are all quite valuable; our princess doesn't have anything worth mentioning."

The eldest princess now only has some shops and estates left, unless she sells them all.

Unfortunately, the eldest princess was unwilling, and she was also very worried. "Nanny Gui, what should I do if I have to go to the palace tomorrow?"

Nanny Gui sighed and said, "Didn't you have a forehead band made? Let's give you this as a gift!"

The eldest princess sighed and said:

Last year, I sent a whole piece of warm jade, carved with a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix, which I had searched a thousand miles away.

But do you remember what she said? She said she didn't lack such things; the palace had plenty.

Nanny Gui sighed and said, "You're not favored; nothing you do will be accepted."

The eldest princess sneered, "They kept it a secret very well. I'm almost 50 years old, and I only just found out she's not my mother."

Nanny Gui advised:

"A superficial harmony is still necessary."

However, I've heard that Consort De's family isn't doing well; you should visit them when you have time.

The eldest princess frowned and said:

"The Consort De's family? Isn't that the Xiao Family?"

In the past, the Xiao Family was extremely powerful, Fugui, and prosperous, enjoying a life of unparalleled glory.

Little did they know that they had offended the Empress Dowager's maternal clan. The Empress Dowager was biased towards her own relatives and targeted and suppressed the Xiao Family at every turn, secretly setting up numerous traps.

The court pressed them relentlessly, while secretly sabotaging them at every turn, ultimately driving the Xiao Family to the brink of despair.

No one knows where the Xiao Family has gone now.

Nanny Gui said, "I think we should have the young lady go and find them. Her background is different from that of ordinary people."

The eldest princess nodded and said, "I'll talk to her about it when I go to the palace this time!"

"You should go to bed early too!" Nanny Gui advised.

The eldest princess was filled with anxiety. Tomorrow would definitely be a criticism meeting, and she was also very upset, but there was nothing she could do now.

She had nothing decent to offer.

Zhou Wanwan thought for a moment in the cold palace and said:

"Old Ancestor, what do you think my grandma should send tomorrow?"

Giving such a small gift would be too stingy, and people would laugh at us; giving such a large gift would be too extravagant!

I think it's unnecessary to give it to that old hag."

The Old Ancestor thought for a moment and said:

"Then I'll give you a painting. My paintings are worth a lot now; any one of them can fetch a good price."

Besides, what's this talk about scarcity marketing? My paintings are practically impossible to find on the market right now."

Zhou Wanwan's eyes lit up and she said, "Old Ancestor, you're so clever! Painting doesn't cost anything, so who dares to say that Mr. Nanshan's paintings aren't good?"

The paintings by our Old Ancestor are now incredibly popular, extremely difficult to obtain. The last painting sold for a high price of 20,000 taels of silver.

This would have been very rare even in ancient times.

The Old Ancestor chuckled and said, "That's right, this thing isn't worth much, it just took a little effort to send her this."

Early the next morning, someone handed Princess Mingzhao a painting. Grand Princess Mingzhao looked at the framed painting and said, "It's actually a painting by Mr. Nanshan! This is so rare! I wanted to buy one of his paintings last time, but I never managed to."

Nanny Gui was standing nearby, asked, "Is this Mr. Nanshan so famous now?"

The eldest princess nodded and said, "His paintings are worth a fortune. Anyone who understands painting knows how good they are. Look at the artistic conception in this painting; it's absolutely exquisite."

Nanny Gui has no knowledge of painting.

She smiled and said, "Our young lady is really something, managing to get her hands on such a famous painting. Now you won't be laughed at by them."

This was a Pine and Crane Longevity Painting. The princess took the painting and boarded the carriage directly.

The carriage, prepared by Zhou Wanwan, was very spacious. She looked at Liu Su'e and Zhou Fusheng and asked, "Do you usually ride in carriages like this?"

Liu Su'e was stunned for a moment, then looked at Zhou Fusheng.

Zhou Fusheng looked at the Princess and said softly, "Is there something wrong?"

This carriage looks quite comfortable. Perhaps the princess thinks their carriage is too low-class?

Zhou Fusheng and Liu Su'e were feeling uneasy, but the Princess said calmly, "It's nothing, I was just asking. The carriage is quite nice."

It's not just good there, it's also good.

The carriage looked ordinary from the outside, and was not particularly eye-catching.

The interior is made entirely of the finest materials; the walls are lined with soft brocade, the floor is covered with precious animal hide cushions, and the tables and chairs are crafted from the best wood.

Although its exterior is unassuming, its interior is exquisite and spacious, no less so than the carriages in the princess's residence.

As soon as they reached the palace gate, they heard the guards shout, "Who goes there? State your name and disarm yourselves!"