Chapter 1343 Furen Palace!
May 11, Yijing
In an open space on the east side of the imperial palace, thousands of construction workers were working hard to lay the foundation. Although it was three quarters after noon and a bright sun was shining in the sky, they still had no time to rest. Even though their clothes were soaked with sour sweat, they still had to continue building the Daqian Furen Palace under the scorching sun.

In a corner of the construction site, a dozen beautiful palace maids who looked out of place at the construction site were standing in a pergola.

As the saying goes, sows on the construction site are as beautiful as Diao Chan, so even though they know that these dozen palace maids are not something they can touch or fantasize about, the workers on the construction site still take a sneak peek at them from time to time, even at the risk of being scolded by the supervisors, and imagine some indescribable scenes in their minds.

These young and beautiful palace maids were now gathered in the pergola, surrounding a graceful and beautiful woman like stars surrounding the moon.

At this time, Chen Fu, the Minister of Industry and one of the elders of the Daqian Cabinet, was standing respectfully beside the noble lady and introduced her somewhat stiffly:
"Empress, everything is going smoothly at the Furen Palace. The workers are currently laying the foundation. It is expected that the foundation will be completed by next month, and then we can start building the palace!"

After listening to Chen Fu's introduction, An Miaoyi looked at the busy scene on the construction site for a while and then began to speak:
"When will this palace be completed?"

Facing An Miaoyi's question, Chen Fu looked a little hesitant. After thinking it over, he whispered:

"Your Majesty, according to the current progress, if everything goes well, it should be October next year..."

"What? Next October?"

Facing An Miaoyi's questioning gaze, Chen Fu nodded and said:

"The construction scale of this Furen Palace is too large, and your Majesty the Queen has also made many requests, so April or May next year is the fastest!"

Hearing Chen Fu's words, An Miaoyi glanced at the Minister of Works of Daqian, who was old enough to be her father, and then said lightly:
"Why, Minister Chen, do you think my request is too much?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Fu wanted to give a positive answer in his heart. As an expert in architecture, facing An Miaoyi, a layman who knew nothing and had many demands, he was really angry and helpless. If possible, he really wanted to give up this business!
However, due to An Miaoyi's identity, he could only think about the matter silently in his heart. At this time, facing An Miaoyi's question, he could only bow and say:
"You have misunderstood, Madam Royal Palace Lady. It is my humble servant's great honor to be able to serve the Empress!"

Hearing Chen Fu's answer, An Miaoyi snorted coldly:

"I'm sorry you don't have the guts!"

"I'm telling you, this Furen Palace is not for me to live in, but for the Queen Mother. It's where she'll spend her remaining years. Minister Chen, you must do your best and take it to heart, don't make mistakes!"

It is not known whether An Miaoyi meant it or not, but when she said the last sentence "Don't make a mistake", she deliberately emphasized her tone, which shocked Chen Fu's heart and made him sweat a little. Minister Chen hurriedly said:
"Please rest assured, Your Majesty. I will do my best to build the Furen Palace and make the Empress Dowager live comfortably and contentedly..."

"Minister Chen, you should say this in a more human way!"

After saying this, An Miaoyi changed the subject and continued:
"Minister Chen, you should also know that the Queen Mother's birthday is in July. Next July will be her 63rd birthday, so this Furen Palace must be completed before next July no matter what. I want to present this Furen Palace to the Queen Mother as a birthday gift!"

Hearing An Miaoyi's request, Chen Fu's expression suddenly changed slightly and he said bitterly:

"Your Majesty, I'm telling you the truth. With the current progress and manpower, it should have been completed by the end of next year. I said October is already a rush hour for overtime!"

"You now require that the work be completed before July so that we can present it to the Queen Mother as a gift. I'm afraid that's really impossible!"

An Miaoyi was a little unhappy when she heard this:
"Chen Fu, what do you do as the Minister of Industry? You can't even handle such a small matter?"

Since he had already revealed everything, facing An Miaoyi's rebuke, Chen Fu simply said:
"Given the current situation, even if you report to His Majesty and dismiss me as the Minister of Works, I will not be able to complete the project before July next year. Yijing is located in the north, and it will be difficult to continue construction in October when winter comes!"

“The thousands of workers on the construction site are already working very hard. They start working at 1 a.m. in the morning and work until 1 p.m. at night with torches. Sometimes they don’t even have a break at noon and only have time for a meal. Three people have already lost their jobs this month…”

"If the workload is increased, more people will die of exhaustion. I, the Minister of Works, am afraid I can't handle it!"

Seeing Chen Fu complaining to her, An Miaoyi felt extremely disgusted and wished she could slap Chen Fu twice to make him shut his stinky mouth.

But An Miaoyi still suppressed her inner impulse. After all, although Chen Fu was a surrendered official, he was just a worker in the Yijing court and had no status or say.

But no matter what, Chen Fu is also a second-rank Minister of Works and one of the cabinet elders of Daqian. If I really slap him twice, it will not only have a great negative impact on myself, but His Majesty will also reprimand me, so in the end it will not be worth it.

At this time, Chen Fu saw An Miaoyi's unfriendly look and quickly proposed a solution:

"Empress, although it is impossible to complete the project before July next year under the current circumstances, as long as you give me more workers or remove some of the requirements, there is a chance that it can be completed before July next year!"

An Miaoyi immediately said:
"Don't even think about reducing the decorations, Chen Fu. You must do it exactly as I ask. If there is any problem, I will hold you accountable!"

Because Ye Mingsheng asked her to pay for the expansion of the palace from her own small treasury, An Miaoyi became more demanding regarding various matters concerning the expansion and renovation of the palace.

Especially towards the Furen Palace, An Miaoyi has very complicated feelings!
Although the Furen Palace was built specifically for the Empress Dowager Ye Cui to live in and enjoy her old age, An Miaoyi had her own ideas. So she not only participated in the design of the Furen Palace in person, but also came to the construction site to supervise from time to time like today.

Although An Miaoyi's actions were under the banner of filial piety to Ye Cui, only she knew her innermost thoughts.
Hearing An Miaoyi's ruthless rejection, Chen Fu looked embarrassed and bowed deeply to An Miaoyi and said:

"Then please ask the Queen to send me 3,000 more workers, so that I can gather 10,000 people and finish the project before July next year!" An Miaoyi frowned and said:
"Chen Fu, you are the Minister of Works. If there are not enough workers, you can find them yourself. What are you telling me?"

Chen Fu smiled bitterly and said:

"Your Majesty, I am the Minister of Works. I can find the laborers myself, but the problem is that they have to be paid when they come!"

"Empress, things are different now. Yijing is now one of the pilot cities for the Work Law. The Censorate and Yijing government have set a minimum wage and strictly investigate and punish wage arrears, work-related injuries and other issues!"

"Based on our current construction workload, adding 3,000 workers will cost at least 20,000 taels of silver. This does not include the compensation for work-related injuries and G's death. If this is taken into account, it may cost even more silver!"

"Why don't you talk to His Majesty and let me go to the Ministry of Revenue to collect this silver?"

"I promise you that as soon as the workers arrive, I will complete the project by July next year. If I fail to complete it, I will resign from my position as Minister of Works and apologize to Your Majesty and the Queen..."

Seeing that this old man Chen Fu dared to attack her army, An Miaoyi's eyes became even colder.

Although she wanted to ask the guards to chop the old man into pieces and feed him to the dogs, An Miaoyi felt uneasy when it came to the issue of money.

Regarding the expansion and renovation of the imperial palace, she originally hoped that the Ministry of Revenue would provide the money. In her eyes, the whole world belonged to their Ye family, so it was only right for the Ministry of Revenue to provide the money for the expansion of the palace. However, although Ye Mingsheng agreed to the expansion and renovation of the palace, he firmly disagreed with the Ministry of Revenue providing the money!

At Ye Mingsheng's request, most of the money for the expansion and renovation of the palace was paid for by the imperial treasury, and the remaining small amount was paid for by the two wealthy women, An Miaoyi and Murong Qingwu.
In Ye Mingsheng's opinion, these two women often used inside information to make money. The matter was not serious. For the sake of family harmony and to avoid unnecessary trouble, he would not bother with them. It was time for them to pay and make some contribution to the family!

Although it was painful, the two noble ladies had no choice but to take out the silver at Ye Mingsheng's request. Among them, An Miaoyi was the queen, so she was forced to pay a total of 50,000 taels of silver, which made An Miaoyi very depressed.

Therefore, An Miaoyi was determined not to take out another 20,000 taels of silver at this time!

An Miaoyi did not want to take the money, and the treasury did not have that much money, so she could only report it to Ye Mingsheng. However, based on An Miaoyi's understanding of Ye Mingsheng, this "Great Ming King and Great Benevolent King" of Daqian would probably not be willing to let the Ministry of Revenue pay the money!
Thinking of this, An Miaoyi was also very depressed, but at this time facing Chen Fu, she still said in a deep voice:

"I will report this matter to His Majesty!"

"Thank you, Her Majesty, for your generosity..."

Although Chen Fu lowered his head and looked very respectful and humble at this time, the more An Miaoyi looked at this old man, the more she disliked him. At the moment, she was in no mood to continue supervising the construction site. She turned around and left, returning to the palace with the palace maids around her.

"Your Highness, please send me off."

Seeing this, Chen Fu and other members of the Engineering Department bowed and watched An Miaoyi leave.

After An Miaoyi walked away, Chen Fu looked at the back of the Queen Daqian as she left and shook his head helplessly.

After an incense stick of time, An Miaoyi, who was full of anger, returned to her own courtyard. Although she was angry, she was now thinking about where to get the 22,000 taels of silver for Chen Fu.

In order to secure her position as queen, there is no need for Ye Cui to please or win over others. In this Ye Dong incident, An Miaoyi also saw Ye Cui's strong influence and appeal among the Ye clan, so Furen Palace must be completed before July next year.

But can this money really be obtained from Ye Mingsheng?

When An Miaoyi thought of Ye Mingsheng's firm attitude, she couldn't help but feel a headache. She really didn't understand why Ye Mingsheng couldn't allow this and that when the whole world obviously belonged to the Ye family!
Shouldn't the money from the Ministry of Revenue be given to them to spend? Why did Ye Mingsheng impose so many restrictions?
As my daughter-in-law, I have built the Furen Palace. Isn't this also a way for me to show filial piety to you, my son?

Among all virtues, filial piety is the most important. When the Furen Palace is completed, won’t the people of the world praise you, Ye Mingsheng, as a filial son?
Why are you, Ye Mingsheng, unwilling to fulfill it?
Although she is Ye Mingsheng's bedmate, An Miaoyi really cannot understand Ye Mingsheng's thoughts. She feels that Ye Mingsheng's thoughts are not those of a normal person at all. His thoughts are not on the same dimension as those of normal people!

Just when An Miaoyi was feeling distressed, Qiqige walked into the house and handed a stack of banknotes to An Miaoyi and said:

"My Lady, this is what Ren Hai asked me to give you! He made a total of 17,000 taels of silver from the repurchase of Dadongsheng bonds this time, and he gave it all to you as a gift!"

An Miaoyi was a little surprised to hear this, because after knowing that Ren Hai was a spineless person who couldn't handle things, An Miaoyi no longer paid attention to him. At the same time, because Ren Hai joined the Coordination Office, An Miaoyi's plan to profit from the price difference by buying back Dadongsheng bonds from the User Department was basically ruined!

Unexpectedly, Ren Hai actually accomplished this task and even got back 17,000 taels of silver!

Although Ren Hai said that he earned 17,000 taels of silver and brought it all back to give to her as a filial gift, An Miaoyi would not believe a word of such nonsense. Born into a powerful family, she knew from a young age what kind of people these GLs were!
After a moment of silence, An Miaoyi said doubtfully:
"Didn't he report the matter of the Dadongsheng bonds to the Coordination Office?"

Qiqige heard this and said:

“Ren Hai confessed that he certainly couldn’t withstand the interrogation of the Coordination Office, but he said that the Coordination Office didn’t make things difficult for him on this matter…”

An Miaoyi couldn't help but frown after hearing this, and she was a little confused in her heart. Although this matter was not a big deal, it was not a small matter either. Would the Coordination Office really let it go?