Uncle from a poor family

Chapter 503 The Taoist Foundation
After Zhu Youtang and his wife finished their lunch and left with Huai'en, Empress Dowager Zhou lay there with a contented look on her face, resting her eyes.

She was not taking a nap either. She was just thinking about what happened at the dinner table and trying to figure out how her grandson and his wife got along with each other.

After all, a grandson is not a son, there is a generation between them. She can beat and scold her son, but she must be strategic when dealing with her grandson. She needs to consolidate her own power while carefully handling the relationship with the people around her grandson, especially the current queen Zhang Yu.

It happened that Chen Gui came to Qingning Palace in person to deliver daily necessities to Empress Dowager Zhou, and was called over by her.

"Chen Gui, I often see you going to Qingning Palace. Do you want to do everything yourself?"

Queen Mother Zhou asked curiously.

"It is my great honor to have the opportunity to meet the old ancestor. Can I not be more diligent?"

Chen Gui said shamelessly.

"Ok!"

Queen Mother Zhou nodded, then smiled and said, "You are a thoughtful person. Oh, by the way, has the Imperial Household Department's expenses been high recently? Are you busy with a lot of things on hand?"

Chen Gui was startled at first, then shook his head: "No, since your majesty ascended the throne, the palace's expenses have been reduced a lot. Your majesty has always advocated frugality, and everyone in the palace is working hard to save money."

"is it?"

Empress Dowager Zhou frowned and said, "Frugal? Why don't we see any signs of reducing expenses in Qingning Palace? Oh, this child is too filial. He advocates frugality in other places, but only allows Qingning Palace to be extravagant. How can that be possible? This really makes me feel ashamed!"

Chen Gui quickly explained: "Grandfather, you misunderstood. You don't have any big expenses on your side... Since you are already very frugal, why do you need to do this?"

Queen Mother Zhou looked around and asked, "Are you very frugal? How come I didn't notice it?"

Chen Gui said: "Compared to other palaces, the expenses of Qingning Palace are indeed the lowest in history... When the late emperor was alive, the expenses of the ladies in the six palaces in the east and west were indeed very high, especially the Wan Fei and Chen Fei..."

"That bitch is causing endless trouble!"

Queen Mother Zhou said angrily, and then continued: "Wan'an and Liang Fang were both supported by that bitch... Liang Fang was particularly excessive. During his tenure, she almost spent all the money in the treasury. It makes me angry to death just thinking about it... My son is really stupid. He favors such a guy who only knows how to spend money. I don't know what he is thinking..."

Queen Mother Zhou always complained, and her target was usually dead people.

Chen Gui was horrified after hearing this, and thought to himself, you are the only one in the world who dares to evaluate your son directly.

You really speak without restraint!
But who made you a mother?

But after all, the dead are the greatest, so why should we blame our son for his mistakes at this time?

Queen Mother Zhou muttered, "Our grandson can keep his poverty because he is not a show-off by nature. He has always kept to his duty in the East Palace, and he has not been dazzled by the glitz and glamour after becoming the emperor.

"But the problem is, the queen... isn't she also extravagant? She doesn't come from a big family. Logically, as the queen and the emperor treats her so well, she should ask for more."

"what!?"

Chen Gui was shocked when he heard this.

He thought to himself, after slandering the late emperor, now you’re attacking the queen?

Looking at your kind face, most people would think you are a good person. Who would have thought that you are so narrow-minded?

Chen Gui explained: "Grandfather, the Queen lives a very frugal life. She is reluctant to eat any good food, and some of her expenses are even sent from outside the palace..."

"What? You can't even bear to eat it? Is it that serious?" Queen Mother Zhou frowned when she heard this.

It turns out that my granddaughter-in-law is quite good at pretending?

Chen Gui continued to explain: "In fact, the Queen's family conditions are not bad. Not long after the father-in-law became the right assistant minister of the Ministry of Revenue, he immediately sent a large sum of money to the inner court, which greatly alleviated the shortage of funds in the inner treasury. Usually, the Zhang family also fills in and helps the Queen..."

"What? Someone outside the palace is helping the queen? Are you treating the royal family like beggars?"

Queen Mother Zhou was very unhappy when she heard this.

What is my eldest nephew trying to do?
Even if he wants to show off his ability, he shouldn't joke with the emperor's face. Doing so will make the royal family lose face, don't you understand?
Chen Gui smiled bitterly and said, "Just as you said before, after His Majesty passed away, there was really not much money left in the palace, and all the money was spent by those treacherous ministers during the reign of the previous emperor.

"Now that Your Majesty has ascended the throne, in addition to repairing the mausoleum of the late emperor, you are also responsible for all aspects of the daily expenses of the palace. I really can't come up with more money."

Queen Mother Zhou frowned and asked, "Does this have anything to do with the Queen's frugality? Since she is not here for wealth, will she think more and want to gain more benefits?"

Chen Gui was stunned.

I thought to myself, you are such a sinister person, old man!
Your granddaughter-in-law knows how to manage her life, and you say she has ulterior motives?
If you don't want money, does that mean you have a bigger agenda?
But the problem is, she is already the queen, there is no more room for advancement...

This is not Concubine Wan who was in an awkward position during the previous emperor's time. Does she need to consider other things in order to improve her status?
As long as she gave birth to a son, she would be the biological mother of the future prince...

For both her husband and her children, how could she have any bad intentions?
Aren’t you such a person yourself?
Why do women make it difficult for women?

"Chen Gui, do you usually see the Queen often?"

Queen Mother Zhou continued to ask, "For example, did she usually call you over to ask you about the expenses of the inner court? Or... ask you something else?"

Chen Gui shook his head and said, "Never before!"

Queen Mother Zhou said sternly, "Yes, yes. No, no. Don't try to hide it!"

Chen Gui said helplessly: "Grandfather, you think too highly of me... The Queen is a wealthy woman, how can she have the time to grant an audience to a small person like me?"

When Empress Dowager Zhou heard this, she finally felt relieved. At least Zhang Yu showed no signs of seizing power.

"Then...how does the emperor usually treat her?"

Queen Mother Zhou asked with interest, "I saw that the young couple was so affectionate and affectionate. They were so affectionate and affectionate during the meal, feeding each other, which made others envious...Are they just pretending in front of me?"

Chen Gui smiled and said, "That's not true... Your Majesty is good to the Queen, and the Queen also respects Your Majesty very much... It can be said that they are a couple with deep love, which really makes everyone in the palace envious.

"Whenever His Majesty has something delicious to eat, drink or play with, he always thinks of the Empress first and sends it to Kunning Palace at any time. Lunch and dinner are also unshakable, and he and the Empress always eat together... Sometimes they even eat breakfast together, just like a loving couple in the folks."

Queen Mother Zhou nodded and said, "It is indeed not easy to pamper your wife like this... I have heard of many kings who pampered their concubines since ancient times, but no matter how much they pampered, for example, my son had to have three palaces and six courtyards. Why is it different for my grandson?"

Chen Gui thought, the love between the young couple is as strong as gold, what's it to you to interfere?
"The little girl does look nice, and she doesn't seem like an ambitious person."

Finally, Queen Mother Zhou began to make a closing statement, "In general, my eldest nephew Lai Zhan taught her well... He was a man who spent his days just wandering around, and his daughter has similar character, as if she has a good foundation as a monk.

"Oh, by the way, go back and check if Lai Zhan really knows about Taoism. It is said that he knows geomancy and can even predict the fate of a country... plus his personality... no one would believe him if he said he was not a Taoist priest, right?"

(End of this chapter)