While most of the consorts in Yun Shu's dear Imperial Father's harem were quite wealthy, few could rival the extravagance of Noble Consort Liu.
Spending one hundred thousand taels of silver just to install a Di Long throughout her palace?Yun Shu suspected only Noble Consort Liu would entertain such a price without batting an eye.
Still, Yun Shu had no intention of setting such an outrageous price if she truly wanted to grow this business.
As for charging Noble Consort Liu one hundred thousand and offering the others a discount?
That would be asking for trouble.
Even though her heart throbbed at the mere thought of those one hundred thousand taels, Yun Shu forced herself to remain calm. She shook her head and said firmly:
"It doesn't need to be that much. Just count how many rooms in Yaohua Palace need the Di Long. We'll charge five thousand taels per room."
"So cheap?!"
Yun Chuhuan blinked in surprise and immediately started counting on his fingers. "The main hall needs it for sure. The side halls too. Then Consort Mother's bedchamber, my own chamber, my study, the dining hall… and also the classroom and dining room near the Upper Study. That's only forty thousand taels."
He fished out a stack of silver notes from his inner robe, scratched the back of his head, then asked hesitantly:
"Can we install it in Zuo Prime Minister's Residence too?"
"Of course!"
Oh, this boy was worth all the good food and warm clothes she'd been treating him to recently.
Yun Shu had originally planned to expand gradually—first focusing on the rear palace, and only afterward working her way into the residences of court officials.
She hadn't expected Yun Chuhuan to open both doors at once: the imperial harem and the court.
And as if that weren't enough, he even threw the Upper Academy Hall into the deal.
Yun Shu patted Yun Chuhuan on the shoulder with genuine appreciation.
"Once you've calculated how many rooms you want in the Prime Minister's Residence, just tell me directly. If you reach ten rooms, I'll give you a discount."
"A discount?"
Yun Chuhuan's expression turned puzzled—then slightly panicked.
Wait... was she going to break his legs?
Did Fifth Sister secretly not want the job, and this was her way of protesting the workload?
"Don't misunderstand! I meant a price discount!"
Only then did Yun Shu realize—ancient people didn't use the term 'discount'.
She quickly corrected herself.
"If you have ten rooms done, I'll only charge you for nine. If it's twenty, you pay for eighteen. One free room per ten."
"Ohhh..."
Yun Chuhuan let out a breath of relief. At the same time, his eyes lit up as if he'd just discovered a new continent.
"Wait... I already mentioned eight rooms, didn't I? So if I just pay for one more, I get to install heating in two extra rooms?"
"Exactly."
Yun Shu smiled sweetly, her tone full of temptation.
"So? Do you want to round it out?"
"Absolutely!"
Yun Chuhuan slapped his thigh, full of conviction.
"Of course I do!"
Who could possibly resist the thrill of buy-more-save-more?
This kind of joy—spending your own money while still feeling like you'd taken advantage of someone—was immensely appealing to Yun Chuhuan, who was experiencing it for the first time.
On the spot, he added two more rooms to the list—rooms that neither he nor his mother consort ever really used—and gleefully handed over forty-five thousand taels in silver notes to Yun Shu.
"The amount's correct, right? Can we start construction today?"
"Tomorrow."
Yun Shu nodded without hesitation.
Installing the Di Long system wasn't especially complicated.
Back when she outfitted Fengyang Palace, Yun Shu had already considered using this for profit later. A dedicated construction crew was going to be essential.
So, aside from close attendants like Ting Xue, she had gathered every reliable palace servant in Fengyang Palace and trained them thoroughly.
Now, she could divide them into several teams, each capable of operating independently.
At this point, she could easily deploy seven construction teams at once.
And that was just within the palace.
Outside, the Di Long installation at the restaurant should be complete by now, too.
Perfect timing—those workers could be assigned to Zuo Prime Minister's Residence and other court households.
As Yun Shu mentally tallied her available crews, Yun Chuhuan chattered beside her, insisting that he would personally visit Fengyang Palace after lessons today to experience the Di Long warmth himself.
Half-distracted, Yun Shu nodded in agreement without much thought.
But when school let out, something unexpected happened—
"Fifth Princess, Her Majesty the Empress requests your presence."
"Right now?"
Yun Shu stopped in her tracks.
She had seen the Empress once before during the autumn hunt, though only from a distance. The Empress had seemed a little stern... and they'd never spoken in private.
After the success of the Di Long, Yun Shu had suspected that the Empress might summon her eventually. But now that the moment was here, a knot still tightened in her stomach.
Because that woman—whom she had to address as Empress Mother, though they shared no blood—is one of the most dangerous figures in the original book.
Emperor Xuanwu's harem was vast. Just the named consorts exceeded thirty.
And he was known for being... even-handed.
Even when he favored one or two concubines, he never neglected the others.
Yet in over twenty years, there were only five imperial princes and one princess born.
Was that due to the consorts' lack of fertility?
Hardly.
Everyone knew the truth lay in the vicious palace intrigue. In the original novel, after the Crown Prince crippled his leg and lost his title, the ambitious Empress lost all hope for power—and lost her mind in the process.
At least the Crown Prince only became obsessed with avenging himself against the First Prince who ruined him.
The Empress?
She wanted everyone to perish.
When she fell, she intended to drag the entire harem down with her.
Noble Consort Shu, the First Prince's birth mother, was the first to suffer. She was disfigured and died mysteriously soon after.
Concubine Liang, mother of the Fourth Prince, had believed her son had a real shot at the throne since the First and Crown Princes were both out, and the Third was a useless fop.
She dared to show a bit of ambition—and was pushed into an icy lake one winter night, never to return.
Concubine Hui, the Third Prince's mother, was smarter. She knew better than to provoke the Empress, especially not once the woman had gone mad. She lived cautiously, eyes always cast downward.
Yet even that wasn't enough.
The Empress detested her simply because the Third Prince remained alive and well.
Eventually, she was forced into a Buddhist nunnery, condemned to a life of incense and solitude.
Even Noble Consort Liu and Yun Chuhuan weren't spared.
If not for Yun Chuhuan being the male lead of the story, he likely wouldn't have survived the Empress's machinations.
As it was, he still suffered—and came out colder and more brutal than ever.
Oh, and the original Fifth Princess?
She was to be sent to Bei Xiang for a diplomatic marriage at fifteen. But she never made it there. She vanished en route.
Yun Shu: "…"
And now she had to go meet that woman?
She would be lying if she said she wasn't nervous.
Thankfully, the Crown Prince hadn't been crippled yet. He hadn't lost his title.
That meant the Empress hadn't broken—not yet.
If she had, Yun Shu wouldn't have dared set foot in Fengyi Palace today.