Take control of Wei Zhongxian at the start and confiscate 100 million from him!

Chapter 356 Wealth and honor not returned to the palace are like wearing brocade in the dark.

On a mid-autumn afternoon, the East Warm Pavilion of Kunning Palace was filled with a warm fragrance.

A crisp clinking of porcelain broke the afternoon tranquility. The most lively Consort Jingbei put down her teacup, looked at Empress Zhang Yan in the center, and spoke with a mixture of coquettishness and resentment:
“Sister-in-law, what has His Majesty been busy with lately? He’s either in the Wenhua Hall or running around to those ‘factories’ in the outskirts of the capital. It’s so hard for us sisters to even see him. This palace is getting so boring.”

Her words seemed to enliven the atmosphere in the warm pavilion.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Jingshu raised her gentle, watery eyes, shook her head slightly, and softly replied, "Sister, don't complain like that. His Majesty has the entire world on his mind. I heard Eunuch Wang mention in private that His Majesty said that those newly opened factories in the suburbs of the capital are related to the national economy and people's livelihood, and are the foundation for making our Great Ming Dynasty prosperous and strong."

He works tirelessly day and night, not only for himself, but also for this vast empire and its hundreds of millions of people. We, the women beside him, may not understand the affairs of the court and can't offer much help; if we can't appreciate his hard work, then we are truly inconsiderate.

Her words were soft, yet every sentence conveyed her admiration, understanding, and deep love for her husband.

In Zhou Jingshu's eyes, Zhu Youjian was not only her husband, but also the pillar supporting the world.

His busyness and hard work were all shrouded in an aura of glory, making her feel both heartache and pride.

Consort Jingbei blushed slightly upon hearing this, realizing that her words had been somewhat petty. She then fell silent and lowered her head to fiddle with the tassels on the hem of her dress.

Empress Zhang Yan, who had been silent all along, slowly turned her gaze away from the window.

She put down her teacup, a complex and unfathomable light flashing in her phoenix eyes.

She spoke slowly, her voice steady and distant, as if from a faraway time: "Jing Shu is right. The changes in His Majesty's reign over the past year have been truly remarkable."

Her voice drew the full attention of Zhou Jingshu and Consort Jingbei.

Zhang Yan's gaze swept across the two faces one by one, and she continued, "You entered the Prince's Mansion later, so you may not know. Back then, when His Majesty was still the Prince of Xin, although he was calm and capable and meticulous, he always acted with a degree of caution, hiding his true strength and keeping a low profile."

But now, they act with swift and decisive action, their methods so ruthless and their actions so unpredictable that even the seasoned veterans of the palace, accustomed to weathering storms, often tremble with fear.

She paused, picked up the teacup, but didn't drink. Instead, she ran her fingertips along the warm, smooth surface of the cup, her eyes becoming unfocused.

"Those science institutes and factories he's tinkering with now remind me of the late Emperor..."

Upon hearing the words "the late emperor," both Zhou Jingshu and Consort Jingbei held their breath.

Emperor Tianqi, Zhu Youxiao, was Zhang Yan's deceased husband and the elder brother of the current emperor. Mentioning him always evokes a less-than-glorious past.

A faint, bitter smile appeared on Zhang Yan's lips, her expression growing increasingly complex.
"When the late Emperor was alive, he also greatly loved the study of objects, and his intelligence and ingenuity were no less than Your Majesty's. However, he devoted all his energy to the ingenuity of woodworking. Those tables, chairs, beds, cabinets, and mechanical birds and beasts were exquisitely crafted and lifelike, but in the end, they were nothing more than frivolous and frivolous crafts that distracted one from one's studies. As for Your Majesty,"

She looked at Zhou Jingshu, "yet he used this extraordinary intelligence on the affairs of the nation. What he sought was no longer a small piece of wood, but this vast empire. Such intellect, such skill..."

Empress Zhang spoke the last sentence very softly, as if she were talking to herself, yet it was like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, stirring up ripples in the hearts of Zhou Jingshu and Consort Jingbei.

Zhou Jingshu's heart tightened.

She naturally hoped that her husband would be a lucky star descended to earth, a restorer of the dynasty.

But Zhang Yan's words made her see a hidden risk in that blind worship.

The emperor's actions have completely exceeded the scope of previous emperors; he is leading the Ming Dynasty onto a path that no one has ever walked before.

Whether the road ahead is smooth or precipitous, no one can predict.

Although Consort Jingbei was not very knowledgeable about those important political affairs, she could still sense a heavy weight in Zhang Yan's words.

In an instant, the warm pavilion returned to tranquility, with only the fragrance of ambergris growing ever more profound, as if it too were imbued with the unpredictable human nature and the fate of the nation.

In the midst of this almost stagnant silence, a series of light and hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the hall.

Immediately afterwards, the announcement broke the silence:

"Your Majesty has arrived——!"

This sound, like a sudden clap of thunder in spring, startled the three noble ladies who were deep in thought in the pavilion.

All three were startled, and then a look of surprise and joy appeared on their faces.

They quickly got up, straightened their clothes, and hurried out of the warm pavilion to prepare to greet the emperor.

Said Cao Cao, Cao Cao.

They had just been talking about the emperor, but unexpectedly he actually came.

The palace doors were wide open, and Emperor Zhu Youjian, dressed in a bright yellow robe, strode in.

He seemed to be in a very good mood today. His usually stern face was adorned with a warm smile, and the lingering air of heroism and majesty between his brows was softened considerably.

Following behind him was the chief eunuch, Wang Chengen.

Wang Chengen remained humble and obedient, but behind him were several eunuchs carefully carrying several items wrapped in bright yellow brocade.

"Your Majesty, we pay our respects! Long live the Emperor!" Zhang Yan, Zhou Jingshu, and Consort Jingbei bowed gracefully.

"No need for formalities, please rise." Zhu Youjian smiled and waved his hand, an invisible force supporting them.

He walked to the Luohan bed and sat down, then pulled Zhou Jingshu to sit beside him. He smiled at Zhang Yan and Consort Jingbei and said, "Sister-in-law, my beloved consort, please sit down, don't be shy." After the three of them were seated, Consort Jingbei's bright almond eyes could no longer contain her curiosity and she frequently glanced at the objects being carried by the eunuchs.

The emperor took in her expression, which pleased him even more. He laughed and said, "I acquired a few interesting items today, which delighted me, so I thought I'd share them with you all, my sister-in-law. These aren't rare treasures from the West, nor are they tributes from the Jiangnan textile factories. They're just fresh off the production line in my precious factories!"

Upon hearing about the Treasure Factory and novel gadgets, the three women's curiosity was immediately piqued.

In their imagination, anything that the emperor so solemnly and excitedly called a treasure and a fun object must be extraordinary.

Could it be the legendary, shimmering glassware that surpasses even gemstones? Or a self-propelled clock that chimes the hour? Or perhaps some kind of unprecedented, dazzling jewelry?

After all, the emperor's factories had long been mythologized in the palace as treasure troves capable of turning stones into gold.

Three pairs of beautiful eyes, six gazes, all focused on the items covered in brocade, filled with anticipation and speculation.

The emperor enjoyed their curiosity. He waved his hand and said to Wang Chengen, "Chengen, bring the things up so that the empress and concubines can see them."

Wang Chengen bowed and obeyed the order, directing the eunuchs to place the items one by one on the open ground in the hall, and then carefully unveiled the brocade on them.

However, when the brocade was lifted, revealing the true face of Mount Lu, the air inside the warm pavilion seemed to freeze instantly.

The expectant looks on the faces of the three noble ladies froze, followed by disbelief, astonishment, and confusion.

There were three things on the ground.

The first item was a rectangular wooden box made of precious rosewood. The box was exquisitely carved and inlaid with silver edges. It looked quite refined, but it was just ordinary packaging used to hold valuable gifts and nothing special.

The second item was a slightly smaller carved brocade box, decorated with gold and painted designs of magpies perched on plum blossoms, symbolizing good fortune, and crafted with great care. However, it was, again, just a box.

These two things were still within their comprehension, but the third thing completely stunned them.

It was a basket made of coarse pottery, utterly devoid of any aesthetic appeal.

The basket contained several dark, round, disc-shaped objects covered with honeycomb-like holes.

The black coal briquettes seemed to still have some dust and coal ash clinging to them, creating a stark contrast with the magnificent and spotless Kunning Palace.

It was placed there blatantly on the polished gold bricks, looking out of place, even dirty and ugly.

A strange smell, a mixture of earth and some kind of mineral, wafted faintly from the basket, causing the noble ladies, accustomed to the scents of ambergris and a hundred flowers, to unconsciously furrow their brows.

This...this is the interesting thing the emperor was talking about?

This is the fresh stuff coming out of his precious factory.

Consort Jingbei, being the most direct of them all, couldn't hold back any longer. Pointing at the basket of dark honeycomb briquettes, her almond-shaped eyes widened in surprise as she asked, "Your Majesty, is this the interesting thing you mentioned? What is this dark, hole-filled thing?"

Her words were direct and frank, expressing the sentiments of everyone.

Although Zhou Jingshu did not speak, her gentle and beautiful eyes were filled with confusion.

She looked at the ugly black coal briquettes, then at her husband's enthusiastic face, and was filled with confusion.

She firmly believed that her husband would not make baseless accusations by using such vulgar objects to mock them.

But no matter how hard she racked her brains, she still couldn't figure out what was so special about these seemingly ordinary, even ugly, things.

Only Empress Zhang Yan, after her initial surprise, frowned deeply.

Her gaze was calm and collected as she carefully examined the three items on the ground, especially the ugly black coal briquettes, which filled her with even more doubts.

Others may not know, but she does.

Given the current emperor's vision and shrewdness, it is impossible for him to use ordinary things to create a mystery.

There must be a deeper meaning behind what he does.

The more ordinary and crude something appears, the more astonishing and complex the secrets hidden behind it are likely to be.

As the emperor looked at the three women's varied expressions—surprise, confusion, and deep thought—his mysterious smile deepened.

He wasn't in a hurry to explain, but rather enjoyed the thrill of having such exclusive knowledge of the secrets of heaven.

He slowly stood up, walked to the three items, gently ran his slender fingers over the surface of the sandalwood box, then picked it up and slowly said to his three close female relatives, who were filled with suspicion:

"Imperial sister-in-law, Jing Shu, my beloved concubine, do not be anxious."

His voice was steady and magnetic, possessing a power that compelled people to believe him.

"Good things should be examined one by one."

As he finished speaking, a glint of insight into the future flashed in his deep eyes.

(End of this chapter)