Damn, this guy really knows how to climb the social ladder. But thinking about it, it makes sense—there aren’t many young eunuchs or palace maids who dare to randomly accept reward money. If it’s ever exposed, it’s a crime of deceiving the emperor, and the whole family could be executed. Money, oh money, William Carter started pondering how to reward himself with a few million coins. Otherwise, secretly building up his own power would always require money, and even as the emperor, he couldn’t expect the horse to run without feeding it—anything else would be pure fantasy.

……

Chapter 8: The Secret Chamber

……

Of course, going to the Imperial Household Department to get money and win people’s hearts is, for now, definitely a foolish idea. He still needed to find a way to get some money from elsewhere. After waving off the excited Little Alice, who had just made a small fortune, William Carter started rummaging around on the dragon bed again. Many people actually have the habit of hiding their secrets under the mattress—money, bankbooks, certain books, and so on. William Carter had already done a rough search before, but found nothing. Now, he wanted to try his luck again. Just as he was crawling and rolling around on the bed, he heard Little Alice shouting from outside, “The Empress is here…”

After a moment, The Queen entered alone, walking gracefully with elegant little steps. As usual, she left the serving maids outside. Just as she was about to bow, William Carter stopped her, saying, “No need, no need, The Queen, come help me look for something.”

“What is Your Majesty looking for?” Ever since they’d been spending time together lately, maybe The Queen felt that the soul-lost William Carter wasn’t so bad after all, and her words even carried a hint of cuteness. Unconsciously, her attitude toward him had improved a lot.

“I’m looking for my private stash of money. I really can’t remember where I put it.” William Carter tried to move the dragon bed, but the thing was so big and heavy that even with all his strength, it didn’t budge an inch.

“Money?” The Queen frowned in confusion. “Your Majesty, what do you need money for?” Still, she came over to help search. Apparently, The Queen didn’t have the bad habit of rummaging through things at home. Her movements were clumsy and awkward, not knowing where to start. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. “Your Majesty, I remember there’s a secret chamber in the royal family’s bedchamber in the Warm Pavilion of the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Only royal family members can open it. Why don’t we look for that?”

“Where did you hear about this?” William Carter asked curiously.

“From unofficial histories and miscellaneous notes,” The Queen said, suddenly a bit excited. “It’s said that emperors of past dynasties would put their most treasured possessions in the secret chamber, leaving a treasure for their descendants.”

William Carter got excited when he heard this—the royal family’s treasure vault! How many treasures could be in there? Still, this kind of thing called for caution. He raised his voice and shouted outside the curtains, “Little Alice, I need to handle something with The Queen. The rest of you, get far away from here. If I catch you eavesdropping, even a word, I’ll fine you two hundred coins.”

“Your servant will withdraw immediately and wouldn’t dare eavesdrop even a word,” Little Alice replied, quickly leading two maids out in a hurry. After finally getting a reward of a hundred coins, he definitely didn’t want to lose a hundred himself. For a little eunuch like him, the desire for money was still very strong.

“Y-Your Majesty,” The Queen’s flawless jade-like face flushed slightly, and she lowered her head in embarrassment. “How could you say such a thing? How am I supposed to hold my head up after this?”

“What’s there to be afraid of? I am Qian, and you, The Queen, are Kun. Our union is in accordance with the laws of heaven.” Although he hadn’t been emperor for long, he was gradually getting used to the role, and besides, he’d never been thin-skinned. With this mindset, even when facing a woman as noble and graceful as The Queen, he could tease her without any psychological burden. Especially seeing her blushing shyly, William Carter felt secretly delighted.

But now wasn’t the time to get lost in beauty. He needed to find some treasure first, build up his own real power, and then come back to this. Otherwise, even sleeping at night wouldn’t feel secure. After sending away the close eunuchs and maids, only he and The Queen were left in the East Warm Pavilion. He let himself go, searching everywhere as he said, “After what happened with that witch Consort Shu, I don’t really trust the people around me, so I sent them away. The Queen, hurry and help me look.”

The Queen understood William Carter’s difficulties, so she earnestly helped him rummage through the boxes and cabinets. After searching for quite a while, The Queen finally covered her mouth in delight and called out, “Your Majesty, come look at this!”

Hearing this, William Carter hurried over, only to see that The Queen had accidentally pressed a mechanism on the dressing table. The whole dressing table slowly moved aside, revealing an entrance leading underground. The passage was lined with luminous pearls, so the corridor, which should have been dark, shimmered with light, making it just barely possible to see the way.

William Carter hesitated for a moment, but after taking a deep breath, he slowly stepped inside. Although it was a bit risky, fortune favors the bold. If this treasure really existed, it would greatly help him quickly build up his own power and firmly secure his position as emperor, becoming a true ruler who could indulge in beauty by night and wield power over the world by day.