Cao Shang Gong and Fan Gong were discussing how to reward the female officials who assisted in compiling the book.
Cao Shang Gong said with a hint of sourness: "You are the president of the book "The Instructions of the Concubines of the Zhao and Song Dynasties", and you have made the greatest contribution. How can any reward be too much? Tell me, what do you want?"
The book was finished and the Queen approved of it. The most difficult task of this summer was accomplished. She also recruited a talent like Hu Shanwei to work for her. Finally, she could have a little leisure time.
Fan Gongzheng had nothing to worry about, and he didn't bother to pay attention to Cao Shanggong's jealousy. He gently waved his round fan and said, "I used to like getting promoted the most. But now, my official position has reached the top. If I can go one step further..."
Fan Gongzheng pointed at the seat of Cao Shanggong with his round fan in his hand, "Would you like to move a seat?"
Among the female officials in the harem, the Shang Gong has the greatest power.
Concubine Cao raised her eyebrows, "How dare you!"
"Tsk tsk." Fan Gongzheng continued to wave his round fan, "You are still so angry. The Shang Gong Bureau is busy all year round, and you, a Shang Gong, don't even have time to breathe. You are willing to move your seat, but I am not willing to sit."
Lady Cao secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but said, "I was born to be busy, and I like to be busy. Let's quickly decide on the reward. I have a lot of things to do and don't have time to joke with you."
Fan Gongzheng said, "I don't care. I have everything, so I don't care much. I should reward the twenty female officials who helped me edit the book. The bigger the reward, the more the Empress values the book. Once the book is printed and given to the concubines, royal family members, and relatives, they will pay attention to it and take it seriously."
Cao Shang Gong lowered her voice, "We have worked together for many years and know each other well. Don't be confused in front of me. We all know why the Queen wanted to compile the book "Instructions/Admonitions of Concubines of the Zhao and Song Dynasties". It was for that—"
Cao Shang Gong pointed to the direction of the Yanxi Palace in the East Six Palaces, "But now Hu Shuren is dead, and the three clans of the Hu family have been wiped out. Why is the Queen still promoting this book with such fanfare?"
As expected of Empress Ma's confidant, Cao Shang Gong realized something was wrong when the imperial decree came out to print 500 copies and reward the female official who edited the book. "The imperial concubine fell from power overnight. Recently, the six palaces in the east and west have been peaceful and everyone is behaving themselves. Who dares to show off again?"
Fan Gongzheng also looked puzzled. "I also feel something is wrong. I want to ask you something. You are always by the Queen's side. How can I know something that you don't know? This book was originally only for the concubines in the harem, but now it has been expanded to the entire royal family. Even the princesses have been given the book. The Queen would not do this for no reason. There must be a deep meaning behind it."
When working in the harem, you have to think three steps ahead before taking one step. By the time they got to this position, the two fifth-rank female officials had already sensed that the wind was changing.
Now that the matter has been brought to light, there is no need to play dumb. Concubine Cao said bluntly, "The Queen's style has always been to make light of important matters, and her emotions are not revealed. It is hard to guess. Now, we can only do whatever the Queen wants us to do. We will not achieve great success, but we will not make mistakes either."
Ask less, do more. This is the survival experience of Lady Cao in the harem.
Fan Gongzheng nodded and said, "If you guess anything, remember to tell me. If I hear any rumors, I will also tell you, so that you won't be unaware and get into trouble, and die without knowing how."
The two of them agreed, and the topic returned to the issue of rewarding the female officials who edited the book. Fan Gongzheng suggested: "For the female officials, what better reward is there than promotion? Everyone should be promoted one level."
Since Empress Ma had instructed that the reward must be generous and not stingy, Lady Cao would not be stingy on behalf of the Empress, "Promoting him to a higher rank is no problem, but..."
Cao Shang Gong pointed to the list of twenty female officials who assisted in compiling the book, "Jiang Quan, Chen Ermei, Shen Qionglian, Li Yuzhen, and Hu Shanwei, these five people have been promoted from eighth-rank female historians to eighth-rank female officials in just five months since entering the palace. I'm afraid it's hard to convince everyone. There has never been a female official promoted so quickly in the palace. Even a female official like you, Fan Gongzheng, who comes from a famous family and is down-to-earth and capable, took a year to be promoted from eighth-rank female historian to eighth-rank female official in a year."
Fan Gong was the granddaughter of Fan Qie, one of the four great poets of the Yuan Dynasty. She was a lady from a prominent family, and even a proud lady like Cao Shang Gong had to admit defeat.
"Oh, it's rare for Lady Cao to praise me." Lady Fan was covering her face with a round fan, pretending to be shy, and then said seriously, "Promoting them is the grace of the Empress, showing the importance of the book revision, so that the harem and the maternal relatives will pay attention to the "Instructions/Admonitions of the Concubines of the Zhao Song Dynasty", and the concubines should not make trouble in the harem, and the maternal relatives should pay attention to rectifying the family tradition. Whether the female officials can win the support of the public depends on their ability to do things in the future. Those who are capable will be promoted, and those who are not will be demoted according to the palace rules. How can you confuse grace with winning the support of the public?"
That’s right. Queen Grace has already given it generously. If they can’t keep their position, it’s their own problem.
Cao Shang Gong nodded and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you and promote them one level higher."
Fan Gongzheng took a pen and circled Hu Shanwei's name. "She is now a member of my Gongzheng Division. Our Gongzheng Division is different from the Sixth Bureau. The Sixth Bureau has five levels: Shang, Si, Dian, Zhang, and Nüshi. Gongzheng Division only has four levels: Gongzheng, Sizheng, Dianzheng, and Nüshi. So if Hu Shanwei wants to be promoted, she will be Dianzheng, the seventh rank."
"Promoted twice in a row?" Lady Cao couldn't believe that these words came out of the mouth of the well-known strict Fan Gongzheng, "You really like to joke today."
"I'm not kidding." Fan Gongzheng said, "We have a supervisory position in the Gongzheng Division, and there is no such rank as Zhang. The higher the rank of female historian is, the seventh rank Dianzheng. I can't change the official rank system in the division and create a Zhangzheng out of thin air just for Hu Shanwei."
Cao Shang Gong firmly objected: "Hu Shanwei has been promoted twice in five months since entering the palace? Fan Gongzheng is making a fool of himself!"
Fan Gongzheng also refused to give in: "The system of female officials in the Ming Dynasty was jointly formulated by the emperor and the Ministry of Rites. The emperor issued an imperial decree to implement it. You, me, and even the queen cannot change it without authorization. Hu Shanwei should either not be promoted or be promoted directly to Dianzheng."
Concubine Cao slammed the table and stood up, "Then don't give Hu Shanwei a promotion! Just give her money!"
Fan Gongzheng slammed the teacup on the table, causing the tea to splash out. "All twenty female officials who edited the books must be promoted, not one less. If one is missing, it will be unfair."
Concubine Cao responded sharply: "Only Hu Shanwei was promoted twice, this is unfair!"
Fan Gongzheng asked: "Let me ask you, why did the Queen want to reward twenty female officials generously?"
Lady Cao: "Nonsense, of course it's to revise the book."
Fan Gongzheng said, "Okay, that's what you said. If Hu Shanwei hadn't taken care of the collection alone before, categorized the books in the Bingzi Library, and entered the bibliographic index, we would have been able to get twice the result with half the effort. How could the progress of the book revision be so fast? And Hu Shushu interfered with the revision of the book many times, and brought people from the Yanxi Palace to make trouble. It was Hu Shanwei who stood up alone to protect the collection. So in terms of the merits of the revision of the book, Hu Shanwei made the greatest contribution among the twenty female officials. Everyone in the palace knows that she is qualified to be promoted twice."
Cao Shang Gong fell into Fan Gong Zheng's trap and struggled in it, "Promoting two levels in four months is something that has never happened in the harem. We can't set this precedent."
Fan Gongzheng said, "Last year, you, Cao Shang Gong, were promoted to Shang Gong of the Shang Gong Bureau at the age of 33. You are in charge of the six departments and assist the Empress Dowager. This is also a precedent for the promotion of female officials in the harem. All the previous Shang Gongs were over 40 years old. Do you think that your position as Shang Gong was not legitimate? You are not worthy of being a Shang Gong?"
"You... are so outrageous! So bold!" The more Shang Gong Cao struggled, the tighter the noose became. Fan Gongzheng was so cunning!
Fan Gongzheng struck while the iron was hot. "The palace ladies are all selected from inside and outside the palace through examinations. They are judged by their talent, character and ability. Those who just have experience are eliminated. Hu Shanwei has excellent character, talent and ability, and she never evades or delays or shirks responsibility when encountering problems. I think she can serve as our palace official. If there is any problem, I will take the responsibility! What are you afraid of! I didn't expect you to be such a timid Cao Shanggong!"
Cao Shang Gong patted her chest and said, "What am I afraid of? If I were a coward, would I be promoted to Shang Gong at the age of 33?"
Fan Gongzheng said: "Since you are not afraid, just agree to it!"
As the conversation went on, Lady Cao said, "If you agree, then agree. Who's afraid of who?"
Fan Gongzheng clapped his hands and said, "It's a deal!"
I've been fooled. Lady Cao drank the tea in the cup in one gulp. "I will give the list of rewards to the Queen for her review. If the Queen nods, it will be settled. If the Queen disagrees, don't blame me for going back on my word."
The two men finished their discussion during the quarrel, drafted a list of rewards, and presented it to Empress Ma for her review.
Empress Ma's eyes lingered on Hu Shanwei's name and the position of Seventh Rank Dianzheng for a moment, without even moving her eyelashes. "Just give it as it is."
Even Empress Ma agreed, so of course Consort Cao couldn't say anything else. "Yes, I'll do it right away."
Empress Ma added, "Mu Chun will be back today. You need the imperial kitchen to prepare his favorite dishes."
Cao Shang Gong and others took the order and left. When Empress Ma had nothing to do, she liked to be alone in the study, reading books and writing. She was not like other people in high positions who liked to show off and were always surrounded by people serving them wherever they went.
The room became quiet. Empress Ma spread a piece of paper on the desk, picked up a pen and wrote a few words. Then she felt uneasy, so she put down her pen, picked up the half-finished needle and thread, and slowly sewed a military cotton coat to calm her heart.
Some things can't be rushed, take your time...
Empress Ma was thinking about something. Liu Siyan said outside the door, "Empress, Concubine Sun Shu of Yikun Palace is seriously ill. Ru Siyao wrote down Concubine Sun Shu's pulse and symptoms and sent them to the Imperial Hospital for consultation. However, the imperial doctors said that Concubine Shu's condition has been recurring recently and she needs to be examined in person before the right medicine can be prescribed. Ru Siyao requested that Concubine Sun Shu be moved to Qianqing Palace for the imperial doctors to see her."
The Imperial Instructions of the Ming Dynasty clearly stated that the imperial physicians were not allowed to enter the harem. If there were special circumstances, the patient would be moved to the Qianqing Palace where the emperor lived, and the imperial physicians would come to consult.
But in this special situation, the Queen cannot make the decision alone and needs to consult the Emperor.
As soon as Liu Siyan finished speaking, Empress Ma put down her needlework and said, "I will tell the emperor, he will definitely agree, you guys hurry up and prepare."
Today is a very eventful day: the devil Mu Chun returns to the capital, the little princess has her hair cut and given a name on her full moon day, Fan Gongzheng and Cao Shanggong quarrel over rewards, the head of the West Six Palaces, the Queen of the West Palace, Sun Shufei, is seriously ill...
However, Hu Shanwei didn't know so much at this time. She was stunned by the imperial decree that promoted her twice and conferred her the title of seventh-rank Dianzheng, and she knelt on the ground in a daze.
Most of the court etiquette in the Ming Dynasty was a kind of bowing rite, and kneeling and kowtowing were rare. For example, when the ladies entered the palace to meet the empress during important festivals, they only had to perform the three bows rite, and there was no need to kneel.
This kind of kneeling ceremony is only performed when receiving an imperial decree, expressing gratitude, or apologizing.
"Hu Shanwei?" The female official who came to announce the decree shouted, "Hu Shanwei, why don't you accept the decree and thank the emperor!"
"Thank you for the grace, Her Majesty." Hu Shanwei suddenly woke up, kowtowed in the direction of Kunning Palace, raised his hands above his head, and received the Queen's order.
A group of people from Tibet swarmed over and surrounded Hu Shanwei, "Congratulations to Hu Dianzheng, congratulations to Hu Dianzheng!"
Hu Shanwei held the imperial edict in her hands, her mind went blank at the moment, it was not that simple, being promoted twice in a row was too unusual, there must be some great challenge waiting for her ahead.
The author has something to say: The greater the ability, the greater the responsibility and the higher the position. Come on, Sister Shanwei.
In addition, last night a little angel left a message saying that Muchun Sheyu's wife has the male lead halo. In fact, this is a geography question for first-year high school students, about thermal cycles. It is written in the syllabus, and I believe that all high school teachers must have talked about it. It says that in the Three Kingdoms, Zhuge Liang burned Sima Yi and almost burned Sima Yi to death. However, a sudden heavy rain extinguished Zhuge Liang's last hope. Why
There is only one truth, that is, when a fire burns, a large amount of hot air and smoke rises, and when they encounter the cold air in the air, they condense into water droplets. Because the fire is so big and there is a lot of hot air, more and more water droplets gather, forming heavy rain. This is the simplest artificial rainfall! The hot and humid air rises into the air, cools down, and forms clouds and fog. The large amount of smoke and dust produced by the burning of dry wood just provides an ideal condensation nucleus for the condensation of water vapor, thus accelerating the condensation of clouds and fog into water droplets and heavy rain.
Therefore, tonight, in addition to the routine 100 red envelopes, Zhou also has a special prize-winning quiz about thermal circulation. The first student to answer it will receive a super big red envelope of 100 points! ! ! !
Please listen to the question:
The typhoon brought heavy rain to Zhejiang, Fujian and other places. The main reason was ( ).
a. Warm and humid air currents from the ocean meet cold air over land to form rainfall
b. Warm and humid ocean air is lifted by the land terrain to form rainfall
c. The airflow in the cyclone converges and rises to form rainfall
d. The land temperature is high, and the air rises by convection to form rainfall