"Shang Yi."
The eunuch who came out to announce the news saw that she had been looking at where Deng Ying was kneeling, so he walked up to her and said, "The ancestor asked you to go."
Jiang Shangyi retracted her gaze, turned around and pointed at the two jars behind her, "I have two more jars of pickled vegetables here, you can carry them and come in with me, I won't ask them to follow me."
The eunuch took it quickly and said, "Hey, I'll wait for you to go in."
In the main hall of the Imperial Household Department, all the other scribes except Deng Ying and Zheng Yuejia were present.
Several people were having dinner. He Yixian had a bad stomach and liked to drink porridge and eat pickles. The other writers were also old and were also happy to follow him to practice palm printing to maintain their health.
He Yixian was about to finish a bowl of minced meat porridge when she saw Jiang Shangyi come in. Her face was filled with smiles and she raised her hand to invite her to come and sit with her.
"It's time for you to come and see your godfather."
Everyone knew that He Yixian loved this goddaughter very much, and after hearing what he said, they echoed: "Since Shang Yi is here, we are not worthy to sit with the old ancestor."
Jiang Shangyi bowed and sat down next to He Yixian. She took the chopsticks handed to her by the eunuch. Before she could look at them, she heard He Yixian say, "This is the pair you usually use."
Jiang Shangyi smiled, asked the eunuch holding the jar to put it on the table, opened the lid of the jar herself, picked up a piece of pickled meat with chopsticks and put it into He Yixian's bowl, "Last time, godfather said that the pork skin had some flavor, so I cooked it for half an hour longer this time. It's even more tender than the previous stew. Godfather, please try it."
After saying that, he picked up a few more pieces of rice and put them into a few bowls.
Several people looked on and laughed, not daring to pick up their chopsticks.
He Yixian smiled and said, "She is honoring you, so you can try it."
Everyone responded "Yes." Then they started to eat.
The pickled meat becomes mushy as soon as it is picked up, and the rich aroma of the sauce emerges from the jar. The meat is soft and fatty, and when it is put into the mouth, it melts like solidified fat. The aroma of the meat flows into the mouth and nose, completely satisfying the stomachs of these older people.
"My daughter knows my temper."
After saying that, he pointed at Hu Xiang and the others with his chopsticks and said, "You are all blessed by following me."
Hu Xiang said, "Yes, we wait for you to share this with us every month. It tastes better than the imperial meal. Let's not talk about other things. The key is this dignity. Shang Yi personally gave it to us. How can others expect it?"
Jiang Shangyi put down her chopsticks and sat down. "My daughter was thinking, should I leave a few pieces as a gift to Director Deng outside and Zheng Bingbi who is serving in front of the emperor today?"
He Yixian paused for a moment, and Jiang Shangyi calmly poured a cup of tea and handed it to He Yixian. "On the one hand, it is a tribute to my godfather as a daughter, and on the other hand, it is also a courtesy from our Shangyi Bureau to the Silijian. Several of the officials have already paid their respects, so there is no reason to leave out the other two."
He Yixian laughed and said, "You, you had already thought about asking for mercy before you came in, right?"
"Forgive me, godfather."
She said, and stood up and bowed, "Godfather protected us in the past. Now that I'm older, I want to learn from him and take care of the girls in the Shangyi Bureau."
He Yixian asked, "The girl named Yang Wan?"
Jiang Shangyi nodded.
"I'm asking for this favor for Yang Wan's sake. If it's not a serious crime, godfather, can you please show some mercy for my sake?"
He Yixian smiled without saying anything, slowly finished the meat in the bowl, and then put down his chopsticks and said, "Do you know why you are being punished?"
“I don’t know.”
"Since you have repeatedly broken godfather's rules, all the things that we have been doing in the Imperial Household Department have now been brought to the cabinet's duty room. The cabinet can now recommend someone to the master before godfather."
Jiang Shangyi nodded, "My daughter understands. If you feel sorry for me, just treat me as being immature. If I have made you unhappy, I apologize."
He Yixian waved his hand, "Forget it, this is the first time you've said this to your godfather, and no matter what, your godfather will give you this face. When you go out, wake him up. Tell me at the same time. If you don't want to be humiliated like this again, explain the matter of the Ministry of Industry to me clearly."
"yes."
Jiang Shangyi responded, lowered her head and picked up another piece of pickled meat from He Yixian's bowl.
A few people sat down and chatted about some palace gossip. Soon, it was getting dark.
Jiang Shangyi walked out of the main hall and went straight towards Deng Ying.
"Director Deng, our ancestor wants you to get up."
"yes."
Deng Ying responded softly, then tried to stand up. Two factory guards who were not far away saw this and hurried over to support her.
Deng Ying stood up straight, released the hands of the two factory guards, and bowed to Jiang Shangyi, saying, "Thank you, Shangyi, for helping me out."
Jiang Shangyi said, "I am not trying to help you out, but I don't want the people in my Shangyi Bureau to have too deep a grudge with the Silijian because of you."
After she finished speaking, she said to the two factory guards beside Deng Ying, "You leave first."
The guards said, "We are the governor's men. Why should we listen to a female official like you? If we have to listen to you, we should listen to Yang the head of the household department."
Deng Ying turned aside and said, "Don't be rude, leave first."
After hearing what he said, the factory guards retreated to the palace road.
Deng Ying took a step back, enduring the pain, and bowed again, saying, "Shang Yi, please forgive me."
Jiang Shangyi squatted down to return the greeting, and then said, "Director Deng, the Shangyi Bureau is in my hands, and we all prosper together and suffer together. The Silijian is in the hands of our ancestors in the same way. There are thousands of mouths to feed in the palace, and we have to run the family in addition to eating. We are all miserable people, otherwise we would not lock ourselves in. Since we are here, we have to fight for the living outside. You cut off all the financial resources of the Silijian. Have you ever thought about how many people will hate you?"
Deng Ying bowed her head and replied, "Deng Ying understands."
Jiang Shangyi sighed, "I am a woman with a short-sighted vision. If you think what I said is unreasonable, just pretend I didn't say it. But Yang Wan is a very smart person. She sees things in detail and thoroughly. She grasps the key points and her moves are precise. I like her very much. Now she is still restrained, but I am still very worried that she will be killed by her own cleverness like you in the future. You have to understand that the palace can tolerate all kinds of people, but it cannot tolerate people who are too smart."
Having said this, I finally got to the bottom of the matter.
Deng Ying and Jiang Shangyi didn't know that the so-called "too smart" actually does not come from the existing civilization, but is the comprehensive thinking and critical characterization of the predecessors by later generations. This kind of "smartness" has been high and mighty from the beginning. However, its superiority only exists on the spiritual level. In fact, it is "born at the wrong time" and will only bring Yang Wan a feeling of sitting alone on the high platform and making connections with others but ultimately fruitless and hopeless.
The reason why she was restrained was that the thickness of history had not yet been completely overwhelmed by the vividness of human life.
Where is the opportunity for “living people” to crush “old papers”
On the first day of May, the "Heju case" that Yang Wan had been waiting for finally happened.
That evening, Yang Wanzheng and Deng Ying were writing in the inner school.
After Yang Lun left, most of the duties of the inner school hall were handed over to Deng Ying. Although Deng Ying was extremely busy with his duties as both a scribe and a supervisor, he was still willing to take time out to teach the eunuchs in the inner school.
At this time, the inner school had already been dismissed. Apart from the two eunuchs who stayed behind to recite books under the porch, only Yang Wan and Deng Ying were left in the hall. Yang Wan had been compiling a book catalogue for Hu Siji to be printed at the Hanjing Factory. Hu Siji was in a hurry, and she had been working day and night for three days.
Deng Ying was rarely reading the textbooks taught in the Inner Academy, and occasionally he would pick up a pen to make notes. Yang Wan would sit opposite him, burying her head and writing furiously without saying a word.
Deng Ying couldn't help but lower her book to look at her.
Once Yang Wan started burying herself in a pile of papers, she had the attitude of never turning back. She would have a cup of tea at hand and a handful of nuts next to the tea. After writing for a while, she would habitually poke her forehead with the pen.
Just as she was poking her forehead, Li Yu suddenly rushed in from outside, fell at the door, and his nose started bleeding.
Yang Wan was frightened and a red mark was immediately left on her forehead by the pen.
She raised her head and looked at Li Yu, taking out her handkerchief and asking, "What are you doing?"
Li Yu held his nose and got up and said, "Something happened! Something big has happened."
Deng Ying stood up and said, "Speak slowly and clearly."
Li Yu pressed his chest and said, "The second prince was almost strangled to death by a wet nurse, You Guichun! They didn't catch him in Yanxi Palace, and now I don't know where You Guichun has fled to. My sister asked me to come to you and told you not to go back to the Fifth Residence for the time being, but to go to Chengqian Palace. The Northern Pacification Division has already dispatched a guard to the palace, and the Fifth Residence has been sealed off. When I came here, the four main gates were all under martial law, and even the officials who will be attending the cabinet meeting today are not allowed to leave the palace."
As soon as finished speaking, the voice of the factory guard came from outside the door.
"Master, are you in there?"
"I am here."
"You can go to the Yangxin Palace as soon as His Majesty summons you."
"knew."
Deng Ying was about to leave when she saw Yang Wan sitting in front of the desk in a daze. The ink from her pen had drooped and stained most of the transcript she had just written.
"Yang Wan."
Deng Ying called her and she came back to her senses, but the pen in her hand fell to the ground with a thud.
Deng Ying squatted down to pick it up for her and put it on the pen holder beside her, "You are worried..."
"Zheng Yuejia..."
She called out Zheng Yuejia's name directly.
Her premonition turned out to be correct. The vague "palace lady" in history now had a name - You Guichun, and even had her origin. Her age and hometown could be found through the Nai (Harmonious) Zi Mansion outside Dong'an Gate.
Deng Ying said softly, "Don't panic. Since it was the wet nurse who committed the crime, not only the eunuchs in the Imperial Household Department, but also the wet nurses' house and the place where the baby was delivered will be investigated. Let me go and take a look first. I will tell you when I have a clearer view. You can go back to Chengqian Palace."
Yang Wan raised her head and said, "When you find out the whole story, you must tell me. This matter may not be as simple as it seems."
"good."
Deng Ying stood up and said to the outside, "Captain Qin, please escort Yang Zhangji back to Chengqian Palace."