He asked you to serve him in bed and become his concubine, how did you manage to win his heart and s

Having ability and talent alone is not enough; financial support is also essential.

It just so happens that the Li family was the richest family in Zhangzhou before. Later, their business expanded to Jiangnan, and they became even richer, with enough assets to feed people for several generations.

Li Ruolan was born in such a place, and even after entering the palace, her food, clothing, and daily necessities were no less than those of others.

After entering the palace, she no longer felt that Consort Su was much more noble than her, after all, her family's wealth was something even the Emperor coveted.

This is one of the reasons why Mu Xiaoci values ​​Li Zhengrong.

Now that the national treasury is depleted, even if the emperor wants to take money from the Li family, he must do so through legitimate means, and cannot simply rob the people of their wealth, thereby damaging his imperial authority.

Those with a bit of foresight, like Consort Su, had already asked their maternal family to find ways to help the Emperor resolve his troubles.

Being able to wage war is a good thing, but the prerequisite for waging war is that the national treasury has a surplus; this is the principle behind "supplies and horses first".

Now, it remains to be seen how Li Ruolan will use this incident to regain the Emperor's attention.

Yunxi listened to their discussion from the side, silently thinking about her own things.

She knew that Li Ruolan's actions would surely earn her Mu Xiaoci's attention.

In her previous life, she was promoted to the rank of concubine because she had the Li family distribute grain for disaster relief, and she herself distributed porridge at the palace gate, which earned her a good reputation.

This was the path paved for her by the Li family, so that the emperor would know that the Li family's daughter was doing well in the palace, and that the Li family could offer even more in return.

Mu Xiaoci may appear unapproachable, but he is always calculating gains and losses. As a king, he will never belong exclusively to any one woman.

But in order to gain more support, he would give some benefits to women who longed for his love.

Li Ruolan fell for her trick, and he knew how to use her.

These days, my visits to Yaoguang Palace are not accidental, and we will meet there often afterward.

The situation unfolded much like in her previous life. For a fleeting moment, Yunxi even felt that her identity was insignificant, and that she would have to put in much more effort to shake the balance of power and wealth.

For Li Ruolan, the Empress Dowager was a good turning point, and for her as well.

In her past life, she helped Li Ruolan gain the Empress Dowager's favor, but now, she plans to fight for herself.

I wonder how far Li Ruolan and Granny Gui can go without my help, and whether they can really win the Empress Dowager's favor.

It seems only heaven knows the answer.

Mu Xiaoci has been busy again recently. I heard that the morning court session lasted for almost three hours, with the ministers arguing heatedly over matters concerning the national treasury.

Even after the court session ended, he would still hold the emperor's discussions.

Unable to find an opportunity to see Mu Xiaoci, Li Ruolan wrote him a letter and sent a eunuch to find Richard and ask him to deliver a message to the Emperor.

The harem is not involved in politics, but that does not mean that the harem cannot donate money to the emperor.

Hearing that the letter had been delivered to Richard, Li Ruolan began to dress up again, spending about half an hour before finally managing to put on a plain dress.

She didn't like this understated style of dress, feeling it wasn't flamboyant or eye-catching enough.

Being delicate and frail was not her style, and she didn't need to pretend to be noble and aloof. She only wanted to dedicate all her love to the emperor and make him feel her sacrifice.

However, the imperial harem was cutting back on spending, so she had to give up her extravagant and flamboyant attire. She chose a simple jade hairpin, put on her makeup, and waited for the emperor to arrive.

While waiting, Li Ruolan looked in the bronze mirror and asked Yunxi again:

"Little sister, how do I look? Don't I look a bit pale and tired?"

"Your Highness, shall I apply some more rouge for you?"

"Alright, let's keep it simple then. Although I don't like this attire, I still want to show His Majesty a different look."

Li Ruolan spoke to herself without any regard for others, and asking Yunxi was just out of boredom; she had already made up her mind.

Everyone has their own aesthetic sense, and Li Ruolan knows how to make herself more perfect.

She was already good-looking, and even with light makeup, you could still tell she was a natural beauty.

that's enough.

Yunxi fell silent and quietly withdrew, preparing to wait outside.

Just as I turned around, I heard Li Ruolan's voice behind me.

"Oh, right, go to the imperial kitchen and prepare some late-night snacks. Keep it simple. What kind of pastries were you preparing last time? Go get some more from the imperial kitchen. Don't make any mistakes."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Yunxi obeyed obediently, a smile flashing across her lips.

Even if Li Ruolan didn't say anything, she would still prepare pastries and tea.

Li Ruolan wasn't the only woman who wanted to attract Mu Xiaoci's attention. Yun Xi admitted that she was terrified of failure and didn't want to miss any opportunity to meet Mu Xiaoci.

As a personal maid, she actually represented Li Ruolan when she went out.

This identity is a double-edged sword; it has advantages, but not all of them are advantages.

You must always be careful when doing things, otherwise you might accidentally reveal your mistakes and ruin your own life.

The personal maid's attire was slightly different from that of ordinary maids, which made it easier to conceal herself at night. However, during the day, it was extremely difficult for her to hide in the crowded palace.

I'm afraid that before she even gets to Mu Xiaoci's side, she'll already be discovered and framed by Consort Su's people.

The safest way is to let Mu Xiaoci come to you on his own, let him take the initiative to approach you, and then use a little trick to keep him in suspense, so that he can only long for you but never get you.

Li Ruolan was waiting, and Yunxi was also there.

That evening, Mu Xiaoci did indeed come, looking somewhat tired, but after seeing the letter, he still decided to come and see Li Ruolan.

As a monarch, it is impossible for him to act like a robber. It would be best if the Li family could offer money voluntarily.

Li Ruolan still had this thought in mind; he was determined to come no matter what.

Today's Li Ruolan is quite different from the past.

Mu Xiaoci was, after all, a man. When he saw a woman change her style to please him, he naturally felt a sense of pleasure at being flattered.

Who wouldn't be happy if someone was willing to put in the effort for them, even offering ten thousand taels of gold?

Today, his face didn't show the usual aloofness. Instead, he took the initiative to greet her and asked why Li Ruolan wasn't waiting inside.

"Your Majesty, I am eagerly awaiting your arrival. If you do not come today, I will wait for you tomorrow as well."

Not only can she dress well, but even her speech makes people feel comfortable.

Mu Xiaoci tried to lessen the coldness around him, letting the other person lead him inside.

As always, Li Ruolan liked to burn strong incense. When she first got close to Mu Xiaoci, he felt a little uncomfortable and it took him a while to recover.

It's not unusual for a woman to love fragrances, but this particular scent was somewhat overpowering. He had hinted at it several times before, but she always thought he was complimenting her on how nice her fragrance was, and he never managed to make it clear.

Now, Mu Xiaoci finds it even more difficult to bring this up.

Sometimes even the emperor can't do whatever he wants. For example, right now, he doesn't like this incense, but he can't tell Li Ruolan what's on his mind.

She was surrounded by them, and her bedroom was also there.

However, the incense in the bedroom was much more pleasant, and it even had a calming effect, which helped to dispel much of the anxiety I had been feeling.

Mu Xiaoci subconsciously looked at the incense burner not far away and saw a woman dressed as a palace maid adding incense.

I had never noticed this person before, but now that I see his back, he seems somewhat familiar.

He squinted, trying to get a better look, but was pulled away by Li Ruolan beside him.

"Your Majesty, let me help you remove your cloak."

Li Ruolan did it on purpose.

When she noticed that Mu Xiaoci's eyes looked a little strange, she immediately pulled him away, determined not to let him have a chance to meet and talk to Yun Xi.

When the Emperor is coming, according to the rules, the palace maids and eunuchs must wait outside so as not to disturb their time together.

But Mu Xiaoci arrived just as Yunxi was adding incense, the timing was too precise, making her feel that Yunxi did it on purpose.

On second thought, that didn't make sense. Yunxi was just a palace maid. Even she wasn't sure when the emperor would arrive, so how could Yunxi know better than her?

Deep down, I felt that the other party definitely didn't have the ability or means, so I put that thought aside and didn't take it seriously at all.

Yunxi withdrew.

Knowing that there was a pair of eyes watching behind her, she even swayed her hips when she walked.

She knew she had succeeded.

Mu Xiaoci's greatest skill is observation. When he enters a place, the first thing he does is look around to see if there are any people there and who they are.

He survived an assassination attempt as a child, making him far more perceptive in this regard than others.

Therefore, as long as she finds a view of Li Ruolan's back that she wants him to see, she will definitely attract his attention and make him realize her existence.

Yunxi has been keeping a close watch on her lately, so she can only serve outside the palace from now on and won't be able to get close to her assistant.

And now is the last chance.

Once she gets pregnant, she fears she'll have even fewer opportunities to meet Mu Xiaoci, so she tries to make sure he sees her as much as possible while she still has the ability to move around.

This is definitely not a simple matter; she needs to provide the other party with more details.

Granny Gui took over her position. Even Granny Gui knew that Li Ruolan didn't like Yunxi serving her, and she couldn't let Yunxi appear in front of Mu Xiaoci too often.

Yunxi's back view is so similar that if Mu Xiaoci sees it too many times, it will definitely arouse suspicion.

This is something we must guard against, and it's also to prepare for the future replacement of palace maids.

If she were truly pregnant, her large belly would definitely be discovered. Before that, Li Ruolan would need to become the head of a palace to have the ability to hide a palace maid.

The Li family has paid a heavy price for this, and they certainly won't let Yunxi, a mere criminal slave, ruin such a big deal.

As before, Yunxi presented the plum blossom cakes she had made.

Along with the plum blossom cakes, the emperor's favorite food was also presented—

Water chestnut and lotus seed soup.

Ordinary lotus seed soup would not have caught the emperor's eye; she made the lotus seed soup that the emperor's mother used to make.

Whether she can win back the emperor's heart once again depends on how much of his memory of his mother remains.