Chapter 567 - 345: Better to Rely on Yourself
A steady stream of news came from Zhichun Palace. A girl from this family had argued with one person, another had gotten into a fight with someone else. Catfights were an almost daily occurrence.
The clever ones left no evidence to be caught. The less cunning ones were set up and caught red-handed. Those girls did not advance any further; they were sent directly out of the palace.
Song Yunzhao was only paying attention to two people: An Shutong and Xu Mingying.
Xu Mingying was the youngest daughter of Marchioness Wu Xin. It seemed the Marquis Wuxin Mansion felt the marriage alliance between Xu Anxing and Song Qinghan was not only unreliable but had also made them a laughingstock. Thus, they had sent their younger daughter to participate in the concubine selection.
In any case, it was better to rely on yourself than on anyone else.
Xu Mingying was much smarter than her brother; she hadn’t been dragged into the mud yet.
Song Yunzhao found this very troublesome. She didn’t know any of the other concubine candidates. Only these two had some sort of history with her.
With Feng Yi’s words of reassurance, Yunzhao wasn’t worried at all anymore. She could just roll up her sleeves and go all out.
Feng Ze was still young. For her son’s sake alone, she had to secure the Emperor’s favor for at least another five to eight years.
Besides, her relationship with Feng Yi had evolved, and her mindset was somewhat different from before. Song Yunzhao found that their views on many matters aligned, and their personalities complemented each other. It would be for the best if things could continue this way forever.
But Yunzhao didn’t dare to bet on it. Her face couldn’t stay this young and beautiful forever.
A man’s promise, especially an Emperor’s, sounds like heavenly music when passion burns bright. But what about the day her beauty fades and his love wanes?
’I shouldn’t be so pessimistic,’ Yunzhao thought, ’but divorce isn’t an option in this era. I can only test the waters and take things one step at a time.’
’When it comes right down to it, I’m just a cold-hearted person.’
’No matter what, I always put myself first.’
Zhichun Palace was bustling. Consort Shu would come over from time to time to gossip with her. Sometimes, she would run into Feng Yunjin and the others playing cards at her residence, and Consort Shu would jump right in.
Song Yunzhao: ...
’This is getting stranger and stranger.’
Wang Zhaorong and Consort Shu had never quite gotten along. They had been at odds for years. Even though Wang Zhaorong was now willing to take a step back due to her demotion, Consort Shu sometimes spoke without thinking. Not wanting to get into a catfight with her, Wang Zhaorong would simply let Feng Yunjin and the others play cards with the consort while she herself chatted with Song Yunzhao on the side.
Wang Zhaorong’s current worry was that her monthly salary silver wasn’t enough. After her demotion to Zhaorong, her benefits had dropped drastically, but the expenses she needed to cover hadn’t decreased.
Since she was on good terms with Yunzhao, she couldn’t help but complain to her.
Song Yunzhao already had an idea in mind. Instead of focusing all her energy on the internal strife of the harem, it would be better to broaden her horizons and look outward.
For example, by earning a little money.
Of course, Yunzhao had no intention of revealing her dealings with the Xie family. She had other plans.
"I’ve noticed your embroidery is usually very exquisite, and you seem to know a lot about rouge and powders," Song Yunzhao said.
Wang Zhaorong waved it off. "What young lady from a good family doesn’t have some skill with a needle? That’s nothing special."
"And I only mix my own rouge and powders to pass the time. That’s hardly anything."
Song Yunzhao fell silent. ’Women’s money is the easiest to earn. Just think of all the cosmetics in later generations.’
"Didn’t you just tell me you were short on funds?"
Wang Zhaorong sighed. "I never felt like I didn’t have enough silver before, but now I’m stretched thin everywhere."
The main issue was that besides her expenses in the palace, she also had to save some silver for her mother and younger sister. No matter how dim-witted her sister was, she had to prepare some sort of dowry to marry her off.
Her mother had been an official’s wife her whole life and was now a commoner. She knew life must be hard for her. Furthermore, her own dowry had been used to cover the family’s debts, so she just wanted to make her mother’s life more comfortable.
With one thing and another, her own finances had become tight.
"What young lady or new bride doesn’t have a few boxes of rouge and powder on her dressing table? Don’t underestimate these small things; they’re not cheap. Take what we use, for example. How much silver is one box of the palace’s supply?"
Wang Zhaorong thought for a moment before saying, "At least ten taels of silver, I’d guess?"
The concubines didn’t have to buy the rouge and powders in the palace; each palace received an allocation. The palace maids, however, had to use their own silver. She recalled hearing one of her attendants mention it once, saying it was ridiculously expensive—ten taels of silver for one box.
If it cost the Palace Attendants ten taels for a box, wouldn’t the ones for the concubines be even more valuable?
Song Yunzhao was very knowledgeable about this. She explained to Wang Zhaorong in detail, "You can’t put a price on what’s used in the palace."
"Why not?" Wang Zhaorong asked, confused.
Song Yunzhao said slowly, "How can they be the same? What we use are all tributes sent from various regions. Are you going to haggle over the price of a tribute?"
Besides, during the Qing Dynasty, the Imperial Household dared to charge the emperor dozens of taels of silver for a single egg. While it wasn’t that exaggerated in this era, the prices inside the palace were still different from those outside.
The Emperor knew this, too. But ’when the water is too clear, there are no fish.’ He had to let them skim a little off the top; otherwise, who would be willing to work so hard for him?
Wang Zhaorong felt that what Yunzhao said made sense. "Then what are the prices outside? Back when I was a young maiden, I never paid attention to these things. My mother always had people buy them and send them to me. Thinking about it now, I really was a person who didn’t know the cost of living."
Song Yunzhao: ...
’No need to be so dramatic.’
What young lady from a good family would bother with such household affairs before getting married? Only in less affluent families would the children help manage the household from an early age.
"Outside the palace, rouge and powders are generally priced between two or three taels of silver. For better quality ones, the price is slightly higher, but it rarely exceeds ten taels. Products like that are basically sold to wealthy households."
Wang Zhaorong understood. She meant families like hers. But that was in the past; her family couldn’t afford them now.
"Moderately wealthy families mostly buy ones that cost around one tael of silver. Further down, common folk use ones that cost a few dozen coins. The actual cost of producing rouge and powders isn’t high, but the selling price is. The profit margin is huge. It’s a very lucrative business."
Wang Zhaorong was stunned. "How do you know all this?"
Of course, Song Yunzhao couldn’t say that in her early years, when she was having a hard time under Mrs. Cai, she had also thought of ways to make money. It was just that her father discovered her plight quickly and rescued her from her predicament, so she never got to go through with the business.
’Besides,’ she thought, ’as a transmigrator, I can’t command the elements like other powerful female protagonists, but I do have a few small skills. It’s just that my upbringing never gave me many opportunities to use them.’
She felt that the Empress Dowager would certainly do everything possible to support An Shutong. At a time like this, it was necessary to tie Wang Zhaorong tightly to her own ship. Human sentiment was too flimsy; only shared interests were truly reliable.
Wang Zhaorong was short on money right now, and Yunzhao could help her with this weakness.