Hu Shanwei didn't expect that she had almost become "famous" in the harem in another way.
Concubine Hu's words were a bit harsh, but they were the truth. Hu Shanwei admitted generously, "Yes, I am not part of the six bureaus and one department. I am only responsible for managing the collection."
Imperial Concubine Hu looked at Hu Shanwei with great interest. "It's quite interesting. I heard that the Tibetan Tibetans are very lively and I have wanted to come and see them for a long time. Unfortunately, it was too hot during the day and I was afraid of getting a heat stroke. So I waited until the night was cooler to come. Since you are in charge of the Tibetan Tibetans, take me around to see what treasures are there."
The Tibetan book was built for the royal family, and Hu Shanwei could not refuse Concubine Hu's request.
Just don't force Jiang Quan to leave. Hu Shanwei gestured and said, "Please come in, Madam Royal Concubine."
The first floor was the anthology section. Concubine Hu seemed to be interested in popular books such as travel notes and vernacular novels. She picked up a few and asked the accompanying palace maid to hold them and "send them to the Yanxi Palace. I will read them when I have time."
Every time Concubine Hu chose a book, Hu Shanwei took notes. It was not until the palace maid was holding a book that her face was almost covered by it that Concubine Hu stopped and said, "Okay, take me to the second floor."
"Your Majesty, please wait a moment." Hu Shanwei handed the list of borrowed books to the eunuch in charge of the Yanx Palace and asked him to sign and seal it.
The eunuch in charge waved the whisk in his hand and refused to sign. "It's just to lend you a few books. We have everything in Yanxi Palace. Are you afraid that you won't return the borrowed things?"
Hu Shanwei said: "These books are not mine. I am only responsible for keeping them for your viewing. Every time a book is put on the shelf or circulated, it needs to be recorded."
As a eunuch in charge, he must have become a shrewd person. How could he not see the real purpose of Concubine Hu's visit tonight
Concubine Hu became increasingly arrogant. She was born into a noble family and was pregnant with the emperor's heir. Empress Ma did not dare to suppress her directly, so she used the excuse of asking Fan Gongzheng to compile the deeds of Concubine Zhao Song and her family traditions and rules into a book to educate the concubines in the harem. In fact, she was targeting Concubine Hu alone.
No matter how favored Concubine Hu was, she was still a concubine. Empress Ma waved the banner of justice by being virtuous and establishing family traditions and rules, without any flaws, and Concubine Hu had no way to stop her.
However, Concubine Hu could not deal with Empress Ma. It was easy for her to tease an eighth-rank female historian who had no power and no senior female official of the "Shang" generation to protect her, and to create some disturbances and obstacles for the compilation of the book.
Hu Shanwei held a low-ranking official position, so there was no need for Concubine Hu to personally teach him, for fear of getting her hands dirty. It would be more appropriate for the eunuch in charge to take charge of this matter.
Therefore, the eunuch in charge deliberately refused to sign and ridiculed Hu Shanwei, "Your Highness, the Imperial Concubine, you have to return the book? Then if Your Highness picks a flower or a fruit in the Imperial Garden in the future, do you have to sign and seal it with us?"
Hu Shanwei said, "The flowers and fruits in the Imperial Garden are taken care of by the female officials of the Shangqinsi. I am only responsible for the storage matters."
The eunuchs in charge of each palace were all of the seventh rank, and Hu Shanwei was an eighth rank female historian, so she called herself "humble".
In fact, last year, the eunuchs in charge were all of the sixth rank. An old eunuch discussed politics in front of Emperor Hongwu and was almost beheaded. Emperor Hongwu ordered people to erect an iron tablet on the East and West Chang Streets that read "Eunuchs are not allowed to interfere in political affairs. Those who interfere will be beheaded." Then the eunuchs were collectively demoted. The highest rank was the fifth rank, but now it is the sixth rank. The original sixth rank was demoted to the seventh rank, and so on.
At the same time, Emperor Hongwu raised the rank of female officials. Previously, the Shang generation was ranked sixth, but now it was ranked fifth. Therefore, Emperor Hongwu made this change, undoubtedly to use female officials to suppress the growing power of eunuchs.
Although eunuchs and female officials were colleagues and served in the palace together, they were actually in competition with each other and sometimes even hostile to each other.
The eunuch in charge was demoted for no reason, and he did not dare to resent Emperor Hongwu, so he took it out on Hu Shanwei. Of course, he had to choose a soft persimmon that was comfortable to squeeze and did not prick his hands.
The one I'm pinching is you!
The head eunuch placed his whisk on his elbow, his eyes full of contempt, "Hey, you are just a female official of the eighth rank, and you dare to talk back? You need the signature of our head eunuch to borrow or hide books. I have never heard of such palace rules."
"Have you heard of it?" the eunuch in charge asked the crowd. The ten female officials who were editing the book did not agree with him, but everyone in the Yanxi Palace shook their heads and said, "Never heard of it."
The eunuch in charge laughed and said, "Did you hear that? No one has ever heard of this rule - move the books away!"
"Wait a minute!" Hu Shanwei stopped at the door. "The collection has just been built, and there are no written regulations. But I have drafted some rules for the management of the collection, and sent them to Fan Gongzheng of the Palace Administration Department. I am waiting for Fan Gongzheng's decision."
"Hahahaha." The eunuch in charge laughed so hard that he bent over, as if he had heard a joke. The palace maids in the Yanx Palace also followed suit to make fun of him.
Concubine Hu did not stop him. She sat on the armchair, fanning herself with interest, as if she was watching a drama.
The eunuch in charge suddenly stopped laughing and asked Hu Shanwei, "How long have you been in the palace?"
Hu Shanwei: "One hundred and seven days."
"That's more than three months." The head eunuch said to Concubine Hu, "My lady, I have been serving the emperor in the Wuwang Mansion for more than 30 years, and I have never dared to make my own rules. Now this Miss Hu has only been in the palace for three months, and she is using chicken feathers as a token of authority to make her own rules. This has never happened before."
Imperial Concubine Hu pointed at Hu Shanwei with her fan in her hand and said, "You are very courageous. You dare to use the rules you set and let the seventh-rank eunuch in charge give you orders."
Both Tibet and Hushanwei belong to the "no man's land", so they can only manage themselves.
Hu Shanwei said, "Reporting to the Imperial Concubine, it takes time for the rules to be written down. I have received the Tibetan, but the Palace Administration Office has no ready-made rules for me. But without rules, there is no order. I am not talented enough, but I have boldly drafted a set of rules, and the Palace Administration Office will give me a reply soon."
The eunuch in charge deliberately found fault, "That means that Lord Fan did not agree, and the regulations have no deterrent effect."
Hu Shanwei said: "Neither agree nor deny. Before that, I can only implement the drafted charter as a rule."
The eunuch in charge was not convinced. "We only follow the palace rules issued by the Palace Administration Office. You just wrote a few words and you want us to listen to you? What a joke!"
Hu Shanwei was fearless and said, "Mr. Fan has arranged for me to manage the collection. Every book and every piece of paper here is under my control. How the books come in and out is of course my responsibility."
Otherwise, what? If the book was lost, Fan Gongzheng would blame her for not doing her job properly and she would be punished. Hu Shanwei didn't want to ring the bell in the deep palace in the middle of the night and shout "Peace in the world".
The eunuch in charge thought that the person was an easy target and he was determined to give him a good fight today. However, he never expected that he had caught a little wild cat that could bite people. He was originally only three parts angry, but was aroused by Hu Shanwei's tough attitude and became seven parts furious!
The eunuch in charge waved the whisk in his hand and said, "Pull this ignorant person aside and take the book away."
When Concubine Hu went out for a night walk, there were no less than thirty people around her, some holding lanterns, some burning incense, some holding handkerchiefs, some holding spittoons, some waving fans, etc., not to mention the strong eunuchs who carried the sedan chair.
The eunuchs and palace maids rushed forward and pulled Hu Shanwei away, but Shanwei refused to comply and held tightly onto the copper door knocker. Ten female officials on the night shift wanted to help, but they were all well-mannered and polite, but were surrounded by the palace maids and pinned to their chairs, unable to move.
Seeing that the situation had gotten out of hand, Jiang Quan hurried to persuade Concubine Hu, "Your Majesty, I will go back to the Yanxi Palace and tell you the story. It's too chaotic here. Don't hurt the fetus."
Concubine Hu pulled Jiang Quan to sit down and said, "How can telling stories be as fun as watching a ready-made drama? This Hu Shanwei is really interesting. This trip tonight is worthwhile."
Hu Shanwei grasped the door knocker tightly with both hands, veins bulging on the back of her hands. The palace maids pried her fingers open one by one, and only heard a crackling sound from her knuckles, as if they were broken.
Jiang Quan couldn't sit still any longer, so he begged Concubine Hu again, whispering, "Your Majesty, please revise the letter according to the imperial order. If the matter gets out of hand, it will be embarrassing for the Queen."
Imperial Concubine Hu covered her face with a silk fan and whispered, "Don't worry, there are no written rules. It's just taking a few books, it doesn't count as a violation of palace rules. Why should I accept the Queen's displeasure? Imperial Concubine must behave like an Imperial Concubine, otherwise, everyone in the palace will think I'm easy to mess with and try to squeeze me out."
Jiang Quan showed a melancholy look, "Madam, you have to stop now."
Concubine Hu said, "You have been in the palace for more than three months, and you haven't understood the rules of the palace? The strong prey on the weak, and if you show any weakness, someone will find an opportunity to stab you and drag you down. There are more than a hundred concubines in the six palaces, both with and without official titles, and they all want me to move. I want to protect myself, so I must establish my authority."
Jiang Quan said: "Your Majesty is of noble status, why do you need to use a little female official to establish your authority?"
Concubine Hu sneered: "Whoever helps to revise that lousy book of Concubine Zhao Song is helping the Queen to slap me in the face. Of course I have to slap it back."
At this time, Hu Shanwei's fingers had been forcibly pried apart one by one, like a gecko that had lost its suction, and was pulled off the vermilion lacquered gate by a group of people.
During the struggle, the black gauze official hat on Hu Shanwei's head was pulled off by someone, fell to the ground and was stepped on, in order to make it easier to wear the black gauze hat, his black hair was tied into a bun on top of his head and pinned with a white jade hairpin. At this moment, during the pushing and jostle, the jade hairpin fell off and his black hair spread out.
Hu Shanwei left the door, squatted on the ground, hugged the door sill, and shouted: "If you want to steal books, then step over my dead body! These books are presented to the emperor and empress from all over the country! If you lose one, I will chop off your heads!"
After hearing this, no one dared to drag Hu Shanwei anymore.
The eunuch in charge sneered, "Don't spit blood at me. Who wants to steal it? It's just for borrowing. Anyone in the royal family can use it. Why can't Concubine Hu read it?"
Hu Shanwei roared, "Taking something without permission is considered stealing! How can it not be considered stealing?"
The eunuch in charge asked, "I have told you countless times that I came to hide and borrow books. Why didn't you tell me?"
Hu Shanwei replied, "Words alone are not enough. We need written evidence. My father-in-law receives his salary every month. Does he just take the money and leave? Doesn't he also have to sign the account to show that he received it?"
The eunuch in charge said sarcastically: "With your eloquence, you shouldn't be admitted to the harem as a female official. You should go to the court to be an imperial censor, arguing with people in the court every day, so that you can display your intelligence and talents. It's a waste of your talent to stay in Tibet..."
Hu Shanwei and the eunuch in charge started a heated argument. On the other side, watching the show, Concubine Hu whispered to her confidant, "The news should have reached Fan Gongzheng by now. I guess she's going to hide here. Find something to do on the way to trip Fan Gongzheng up and delay her for a while. Don't delay me from watching the show."