Chen Ermei had no choice but to obey the order. That night, the Shangshi Bureau worked overtime until midnight. The next morning, Chen Ermei took the ingredients that needed to be added temporarily to Huang Wei De and asked him to open a green channel and send someone to buy them urgently.
In Hu Shangong's absence, Huang Weide took full responsibility.
Huang Wei De was originally a maid in the imperial kitchen, and her former name was Mei Xiang. She knew too well the hard work in the kitchen. When she saw Chen Ermei's red eyes from staying up late, she hurriedly signed and stamped the document, and sent the person to do it immediately, otherwise she would not be able to make it in time for the Mid-Autumn family dinner tonight.
Chen Ermei complained to Huang Weide, saying, "From Hongwu to Jianwen, and then to Yongle, I have never met such a difficult concubine in the Shangshi Bureau. She changed her mind at the last minute. It is clear that she is a new official who dares not confront Hu Shanggong head-on. She took advantage of Hu Shanggong's absence from the palace when she went home for the holidays to attack me. You should also be careful not to let her use it as a handle to teach others a lesson. We have experienced three dynasties, and she can trample on our reputation at will."
Huang Weide was also a female official who had seen a lot of things. She comforted Chen Ermei, "I don't think Concubine Zhang Shu did it on purpose. She was born in a famous family and grew up in pampered pampering. How could she understand the hard work of the subordinates? She is young and has just taken charge of the harem. She is afraid of being despised and fooled, and losing power, so she shows her strong side. You think she is targeting you on purpose, but in fact, this just shows that she is a little guilty and wants to take the opportunity to establish her authority. Not only did she reject your words, but even when Hu Shanggong asked for permission to give her shoulders and pick up the wife of the Duke of Qian that day, she refused twice before granting her permission."
"Concubine Zhang's request is a bit excessive, but she wants to host the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet. This is her first time hosting a festival ceremony, and she is eager to gain the approval of the emperor and the royal family. Please be patient. Today is the first time that Concubine Hu returns home on leave. Nothing can happen in the palace. Don't call Concubine Hu back suddenly. She has a ten-year-old sister to take care of at home. Let her spend the festival at home."
Chen Ermei heard this and said, "Well, let's not give a shit about the monk, but about the Buddha. The Shangshi Bureau will do its best."
Even so, it was still a bit hard to accept. Chen Ermei said, "Concubine Zhang Shu wanted to establish her authority. She chose to target our Shangshi Bureau among the six bureaus and one department in the palace. Did she think that our Shangshi Bureau was a soft persimmon that was easy to control? It's also my fault that I like to talk and laugh. They all thought I was good-tempered and easy to bully."
Chen Ermei has been in the palace for more than 20 years, but she is still as cheerful as before, loving to eat, play, talk and laugh. She can't hold back and says whatever comes to her mind.
Chen Ermei helped Huang Weide find his relatives and found his niece, who was raised in the Chen family. Recently, the Chen family arranged a perfect marriage for Huang Weide's niece. The man's surname was Liang and he was from a famous family in Shunde, Guangdong. Huang Weide gave his savings accumulated over the years to the Chen family and asked them to help buy a dowry for his niece. Therefore, Huang Weide and Chen Ermei had a very good personal relationship and could be trusted with relatives and money. The two spoke quite frankly.
Huang Weide continued to persuade her, "Empress Renxiao is in mourning, and her coffin is still in Rouyi Palace. During the mourning period, there can be no dancing or music at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, so we can only focus on the food. Concubine Zhang is eager to take credit, so she wants you to dig out all the recipes in the bottom of the box. If there is no Concubine Zhang, there will be Concubine Li. It is not intentional to target you."
Chen Ermei was dissatisfied. "In the past, Empress Xiaoci, Empress Xiaoma, and Empress Renxiao didn't have so many problems. As soon as Concubine Zhang Shu came to power, she ordered the Imperial Food Bureau around."
Huang Weide said, "The problem is that it's legitimate. If the queen hosted a family banquet, and it was simple, just white porridge with pickles, it could be called remembering the bitter past and thinking of the sweet past. Who can complain? It's different when a concubine is in charge. If she doesn't do it well, which prince or princess will be easy to mess with? Don't be angry. Concubine Zhang is under more pressure than us."
Chen Ermei thought it made sense, but she still said, "We understand Concubine Zhang's difficulties, but Concubine Zhang doesn't understand our difficulties. She is just too eager to do the job."
Huang Weide smiled, "Concubine Zhang Shu is not a fool. After hitting the wall a few times, she will understand how to be a concubine who takes charge of the harem. Let's wait and see what happens."
With Huang Weide's cooperation, Chen Ermei finally gathered all the ingredients before the Mid-Autumn Festival family dinner and instructed the kitchen: "Since Concubine Zhang Shufei has taken out all the hidden menus, you should show your best cooking skills. Don't let Concubine Zhang Shufei down. A new official will start with three fires. If someone gets burned, I won't have the face to help you put out the fire."
Concubine Zhang provoked Chen Ermei, who was filled with rage, and started to create hatred for Concubine Zhang.
Concubine Zhang wanted to establish her authority, so no one dared to be the first to do so. Everyone went to work obediently. Fortunately, the weather turned cooler in August, otherwise, under the smoke and fire, the workload would have increased tenfold. Who could bear it
Therefore, the palace ladies missed Empress Renxiao even more.
Before the banquet began, Chen Ermei went to the Yanxi Palace to report her work, "Madam Shufei, the Imperial Food Bureau has prepared everything."
The palace maid was combing Concubine Zhang's hair and dressing her up. During the period of national mourning, she was not allowed to use makeup or bright jewelry, but Concubine Zhang had a natural face. Her eyebrows were green without any makeup, her lips were red without any makeup, and she could wear a plain dress to show off her curves.
From today on, she is the woman closest to the emperor, and everything must be perfect.
Five palace maids held five Western-style mirrors so that Concubine Zhang could see her face from all angles.
Concubine Zhang picked up the comb, dipped some sawdust water in it, and as if she had obsessive-compulsive disorder, she combed her hair into her bun, which had no loose hair at all. Her hair was well-maintained, piled on top of her head like a dark cloud, with only a jade hairpin without any pattern on it.
The hair was now as smooth as a mirror, and a fly's legs would slip and fall to death if it rested on it.
Concubine Zhang then waved her hand in satisfaction, and the five palace maids put away their mirrors.
Concubine Zhang Shu said, "I see. Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Chen."
Chen Ermei said, "I am not tired, I just talked a lot, and the kitchen staff and the shopping staff were tired."
There was something thorny in Chen Ermei's words. The palace maids around Concubine Zhang Shu couldn't help but say, "Chen Shangshi, what do you mean by this? Before, when I asked you to change the menu, you refused and now you are saying these things to block our queen."
This person is Wei Hasi Tuya, the maidservant of Concubine Zhang Shufei. She is a Mongolian, tall and strong, with a big face, good at martial arts, and has the tough and fiery character of the grassland people. In Mongolian, Tuya means beautiful jade. Half of the ten Mongolian girls are called Tuya. Her name means beautiful jade of Wei Hasi's family, and the number of girls in the Central Plains is about the same as Shuzhen. The name is too long to remember, so she is usually just called Tuya.
As a female official of the sixth rank, would Chen Ermei be afraid of a maid like Tuya who has no rank? She said calmly, "The six bureaus and one department are fully assisting the Concubine Shu to manage the affairs of the six palaces. How dare I, a mere Shangshi, be rude to the Concubine Shu. If Miss Tuya has any objection to what I said just now, let's go to the Palace Administration Office to confront her and ask for the decision. Don't quarrel here and disturb the Concubine Shu's peace."
After three dynasties, Chen Ermei thought she could control her words and knew the art of speaking. She could curse people without using any dirty words. It was obviously ironic, but it was hard to find fault with them. If she went to the Palace Administration Department, Tuya would definitely be charged with false accusation and she would be in big trouble.
Tuya glared, "You—"
Concubine Zhang Shu gave her a look, interrupted her, and said to Chen Ermei, "The family banquet is about to begin, Chen Shangshi, go and get busy. Tuya, this girl, doesn't know the etiquette, I will teach her well."
Chen Ermei let out her anger, felt relieved, and bowed and left.
As soon as Chen Ermei left, Tuya muttered, "The Sixth Bureau and the First Division are too bullying. It's obviously her fault—"
Concubine Zhang stretched out her jade finger and poked her forehead fiercely, saying, "Don't follow me to the banquet tonight. Study hard in the palace. You must be selected as a female scholar to be a female official this year. Otherwise, you are no match for others. You can't even win an argument. I need a left and right arm, otherwise I will really be sidelined by the six bureaus and one department and become a puppet who can only nod and shake his head."
Concubine Zhang Shufei had a natural distrust and vigilance towards the six bureaus and one department, and felt that "there are always people who want to harm me." This was because Concubine Zhang Shufei came from a vassal prince's mansion, and had lived in the Northern Yuan Dynasty and later in Peking. As a Northern Yuan noblewoman who surrendered to the Ming Dynasty, it was difficult for her to immediately understand the complexity of the Ming Dynasty court and the subtlety of the balance of power at this stage.
From the perspective of Concubine Zhang Shu, when she was a concubine, the six bureaus and one department did whatever Empress Renxiao said, and never refused the Empress's face. When she was a concubine, she didn't need to worry about anything, she had nothing to do all day, just waiting for food and drink, and enjoying the wealth.
When Concubine Zhang Shu took over the management of the harem and sat in this position, she thought she could give orders to the six bureaus and one department like Empress Renxiao did, but the reality was completely different from what she had imagined.
Concubine Zhang Shufei was young, had a good family background, and had a strong personality. She wanted the six bureaus and one department to listen to her, but the six bureaus and one department seemed to want Concubine Zhang Shufei to listen to them, so as to check and balance each other.
Why is it that the six bureaus and one department were the right-hand man of Queen Inhyo, but became a hindrance in my hands, always finding fault with me
The system of six bureaus and one department in the harem was established by Empress Xiaoci, and it would not be shaken overnight. Concubine Zhang decided to start by placing her own people in the six bureaus and one department.
If a palace maid wants to get promoted, the first step is to take the female scholar examination. The examination does not test martial arts, but only literature. Tuya vows to study for the Empress Shufei and works late into the night.
The palace, the Mid-Autumn Festival family dinner. No joy, only sadness.
There was an empty seat next to Emperor Yongle, which was filled with the food that Empress Renxiao loved to eat during her lifetime, and the wine glasses were also full. Emperor Yongle would stare at the empty seat next to him from time to time, as if he saw the soul of Empress Renxiao eating at the table.
All the princesses and their princes-in-law came, including the Han family, the Zhao family, and the Eastern Palace family. The three princes' families all had concubines, but the number of seats for the family dinner was limited, so except for Guo Liangdi from the Eastern Palace who attended the Mid-Autumn family dinner and had a seat, the rest of the royal concubines stayed at home.
Emperor Yongle missed his deceased wife, the princesses and princes missed their deceased mother, the grandchildren missed their grandmother, and the atmosphere was depressing. The rest of the people dared not even breathe. Even the most lively second grandson Zhu Zhanhe had a sad face. Halfway through the Mid-Autumn family dinner, no one noticed that the dishes for this year's family dinner had changed a lot. They were all their favorites, and the dishes on each small table were almost different.
Or maybe someone discovered it but didn't want to say it, was too lazy to say it, or felt there was no need to point it out, so while they were missing Empress Renxiao, they were praising a concubine who was in charge of the harem.
Who are you working so hard for? Concubine Zhang Shu was greatly disappointed and felt empty.
Sitting below Concubine Zhang Shu was Concubine Quan Xianfei, and behind her was the Korean girl group that occupied half of the harem. No, they were the Korean concubines. These concubines from the vassal states all had low brows and pleasant looks, even their expressions were uniform, with large round white faces, and their facial shapes were slightly flatter than those of the women from the Central Plains.
Concubine Quan had a fair complexion, just like the snow and ice that had not melted for years on the Changbai Mountains. Because she was not allowed to wear makeup, her features were pale and her lips were almost non-existent, giving her a somewhat morbid beauty. She was undoubtedly the most colorful of all the Korean concubines, and her compatriots sitting in the back seats seemed to be just her background.
Consort Quan Xian said to the palace servants beside her, "The lotus seed soup on Queen Renxiao's table has gotten cold. Go and get a hot bowl."
Concubine Zhang Shufei: You are crazy!
Upon hearing this, Emperor Yongle, who had been in a trance, suddenly woke up, picked up the lotus seed soup from the neighboring table, tasted it, and put it down, "Concubine Quan is really thoughtful. Except for the mooncakes and wine, the rest of the dishes were served hot."
Concubine Zhang Shu never expected Concubine Quan to do such a shady thing: Concubine Quan is so treacherous! I did the work and I offended the person, so how come the credit belongs to her
She just said something nonsense!
Emperor Yongle looked at Concubine Quan with a soft gaze. "When my queen was alive, she loved to hear Concubine Quan play the flute. In the past, Concubine Quan would perform a piece of music during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Although today is a period of mourning, there can be no dancing or music to entertain us, but Concubine Quan can make an exception and play a piece of music as a tribute to the queen."
Concubine Quan nodded gently, "Yes, Your Majesty."
The author has something to say: Please welcome the second seed of Yongle Dynasty, Consort Quan Xianfei, to make a shining debut~ Honestly, when I wrote Consort Quan Xianfei said "Yes, Your Majesty," the line "Ye, Bah (Yes, Your Highness)" from the Korean palace fighting drama rang in my mind. Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated me with nutrient solution~
Thanks to the little angels who cast [mines]: 29912851, Xia~Taoyuan 1;
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Xin 130 bottles; Sunny Fish 20 bottles; Who Sends the Candle in the Clouds, Egyptian Lotus, 17184939, Yan Yan, Tao Li Yan, Tiger Pepper, Ye Zi 10 bottles; yminchen 6 bottles; Xiao You's Master 5 bottles; Brilliant Summer, Deep Forest Tree Spirit, Peaceful Orchid, Either Endure or Be Cruel or Get Out, gingkotree, puffertony 1 bottle;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!