Palace Schemes? Make Money! tells the story of modern best friends Lin Xiaoxiao, a food-loving livestreamer, and Su Qianqian, an accountant skilled with numbers, who accidentally transmigrate and become expendable palace maids in the imperial laundry bureau. From the start, they have nothing but ragged clothes and stale flatbread, yet they use their modern knowledge to forge a new path. They begin by making “Jade Fragrance” soap from plant ash and grease, then use the network of palace maids to build a customer base. From there, they branch out into snacks, flowers, grain, finance, and more, setting off a money-making frenzy deep inside the palace.
They have no interest in power or palace intrigue, and put all their energy into business. They mass-produce soap, open the “Palace Delights Shop” to sell hit products, establish nurseries to cultivate new crops, and found a bank that issues drafts. They even issue government bonds and promote disaster insurance, bringing modern business models into the ancient court. From lowly maids nearly silenced for good to the emperor’s trusted “County Lady of Prosperity” and “County Lady of Enterprise,” they replace manuals on palace intrigue with ledgers and fight schemes with their abacuses. They not only make a fortune, but also spread corn and potatoes across the fields and bring interest-bearing savings into ordinary households.
With a lighthearted, humorous style, the story follows two modern women as they use their intelligence and teamwork to rise through the ranks in an ancient imperial palace. From struggling to survive to building a better future, they ultimately change their destinies and benefit the realm through making money, offering an unconventional philosophy of palace survival: “More important than fighting for favor is making life better.”
