Hu Shanwei and twenty other female officials received the imperial edict to express their gratitude. According to the rules, they also had to go to Kunning Palace to thank Empress Ma again.
Since entering the palace, Hu Shanwei had never seen the legendary mother of a country. She dressed up specially, chose the latest official hat and robe, and even wore the boots that Mu Chun asked for her from Queen Ma on the first day she entered the palace without feeling hot.
The boots are made of lambskin on the outside and Fujian Zhangrong on the lining. They fit the feet perfectly. Hu Shanwei, like Empress Ma, has a pair of big feet.
Unfortunately, today was an unfortunate day. Empress Ma was concerned about Concubine Sun's condition, so she went to the Qianqing Palace to see the female doctor in person and consult with the imperial doctors.
In Kunning Palace, Liu Siyan invited twenty newly promoted female officials to sit down and have tea. "The Queen had something urgent to do today, so she asked me to treat you to tea."
It was difficult for ordinary people to see the empress in person when they came to express their gratitude, so they just kowtowed outside the palace. In the harem, the ten female officials in the Siyan Department of the Shanggong Bureau were the mouthpieces of the emperor and empress, and they were specifically responsible for conveying the emperor and empress's orders. Since Empress Ma asked the sixth-rank Siyan to greet these female officials, it had already shown her importance to them.
The palace maids brought tea and snacks. The female officials ate politely, taking a little at a time, as it was a reward from the Queen after all.
Only the thirteen-year-old Shen Qionglian was the most relaxed, focusing on the sweet-scented osmanthus cake in front of her, with icing on her cheeks. Seeing how sweetly she ate, Liu Siyan ordered the palace maid to bring another plate and change her tea, "Change a cup of black tea for Shen Zhangji, which is good for removing greasiness."
Shen Qionglian works in the Records Department of the Shangyi Bureau. She has now been promoted to a female official of the Zhang generation. As the Zhang, she is still a female instructor in the harem, teaching the palace ladies.
"Thank you, Liu Siyan." Shen Qionglian finished one plate and then used her fat hand to "attack" the second plate of osmanthus cake.
The other female officials all drank green Longjing tea, but Shen Qionglian changed her tea to Wuyi Mountain black tea. She wore a black gauze hat and official robes. The more mature she looked, the more childish her round face looked, making her look lovable, as if she had secretly worn adult clothes. Even Liu Siyan couldn't help but "feel maternal" and took extra care of her.
Liu Siyan found it interesting and asked her, "You have been in the palace for five months. Are you used to the life in the palace?"
Shen Qionglian said: "I'm not used to it."
Hu Shanwei and the ladies: Fortunately, the Queen is not in Kunning Palace today! Otherwise, it would be embarrassing!
Liu Siyan coughed twice and asked, "What's wrong with you?"
Shen Qionglian: "I'm not used to it there."
Liu Siyan didn't know whether he should continue the tea party. The female officials were so nervous that they could hardly swallow the snacks in their mouths.
Fortunately, Shen Qionglian continued, "The palace is different from home, there are many rules. I have lived at home for thirteen years and have only been in the palace for five months. Of course I am not used to it. However, I will get used to it slowly in the future."
The female officials breathed a sigh of relief, and the tea party ended without any major incident.
Liu Siyan personally escorted the twenty female officials out of Kunning Palace. After being busy in the meeting room for a while, Cao Shanggong came out to take a breath and happened to run into Liu Siyan, her subordinate. Seeing the backs of the twenty female officials, Cao Shanggong joked, "How are they? The new ones are pretty good, right? Have they tried to find out about Hu Shanwei?"
Liu Siyan took out a handkerchief and wiped his sweat. "Don't mention it. Shen Qionglian alone is enough for me to bear. Hu Shanwei is probably even more annoying. All these female officials are not easy to deal with."
Hu Shanwei returned to the Palace Administration Office and reported to Palace Administrator Fan about the tea-giving ceremony in Kunning Palace.
Fan Gong was fanning himself lazily, "Shen Qionglian is always unexpected. She is aloof and proud, but she always makes up for it in the end and leaves people speechless. It's a pity that I'm not as lucky as Cui Shangyi, and I can't get such a genius. I'm not saying you're worse than her, you have your advantages."
Hu Shanwei said awkwardly: "I am not comparing myself with Shen Qionglian."
Fan Gongzheng handed her an ivory badge, "This is your name badge, to prove your identity."
Hu Shanwei took the ivory plate, which was round and palm-sized. On the front was written: "Palace Justice Department, Dian Zheng, Hu Shanwei", and on the back was written "Female officials must wear this plate and are not allowed to borrow or lose it. Violators will be punished."
There is also a line of faint regular script engraved on the spine, "Made in the 13th year of Hongwu".
Fan Gongzheng said, "You must be loyal to the emperor. You are a seventh-rank official, and you must be worthy of this job from today. Your first task is to complete the queen's new decree and print 500 copies of "The Instructions/Admonitions of the Virtuous Concubines of the Zhao Song Dynasty" and distribute them to the concubines in the harem, the concubines and other concubines in the royal prince's palace, and the female relatives of the imperial relatives. Explain it clearly to them not to violate the rules, to learn from these examples of virtuous concubines, and to attach importance to family traditions and rules. In the past, when they made mistakes, they made excuses that ignorance is not a crime. Now that you have explained it clearly to them, if they make the same mistake again, don't blame the emperor and the queen for being furious. The concubines and their families have followed in the footsteps of the Hu family because of their own carelessness."
Hu Shanwei suddenly felt that the ivory plate around his waist was worth a thousand gold!
Hu Shanwei paused, mustered up his courage, and asked, "Does Fan Gongzheng mean that printing the book, giving the book, lecturing on the book, and executing the book are all done by me alone?"
Except for printing books which seems to be relatively simple, all other tasks seem to be offensive!
From the harem, to the princesses and concubines in the prince's mansion, to the relatives by marriage, as long as they are female, he will offend them all.
"Otherwise, how could you be promoted twice?" Fan Gongzheng patted Hu Shanwei, whose body was gradually becoming stiff. "I see that you are talented, have good character, are strong and eager to learn, so I will leave this difficult task to you."
It is obvious to the naked eye that the future is a sea of fire and swords.
But if she retreats, she will have nothing. Hu Shanwei tightly grasped the ivory plate on her waist. The identity of Dianzheng gave her strength and courage. She said, "Thank you very much for your trust in me, Fan Gongzheng. I will complete the task even if it costs me my life."
Fan Gongzheng asked: "Aren't you afraid?"
Hu Shanwei said: "As long as I can complete the task, even if there is a frying pan in front of me, I will jump into it."
Fan Gongzheng admired the ruthlessness that Hu Shanwei had in his bones. The greater the pressure he put on her, the greater her potential would be, and she would always give people surprises.
Fan Gongzheng originally couldn't figure out the Queen's true intentions and wanted to find a suitable person to blame and transfer the pressure, but now she felt a little guilty about her admiration for Hu Shanwei, so she said, "The Palace Administration Department and the Queen's decree are your backers. If you need help from anyone, just ask me and I will help you complete the task."
Hu Shanwei was not polite and said, "Great! In the future, I would like to ask you, Fan Gongzheng, to personally teach the first day of study for the concubines in the harem."
This… It’s too late to take back what has been done. Fan Gongzheng just said it, and he was too embarrassed to refuse Hu Shanwei, “Okay, I promise you.”
Hu Shanwei added, "These 500 books are to be given away as a reward to represent the dignity of the royal family. We need to hire the best engraving masters, and also the cover, paper selection, binding, etc. If we want every detail to be done well, Hangzhou is the only choice. My family runs a bookshop. Since the Song Dynasty, Hangzhou has been the best place for engraved books, followed by Sichuan, and Fujian is the worst."
Hu Shanwei was an expert in printing books. Fan Gongzheng felt that he had found the right person, and said, "This is a bargain. You go to Hangzhou to gather a dozen woodcutters, select paper, ink, binding, etc., and print 500 sets overnight and ship them to the capital. I will give you ten days. Can you do it?"
"It can be done, but it will cost a lot of money."
Fan Gongzheng asked: "How much silver do you want?"
Hu Shanwei stretched out a finger.
Fan Gongzheng: "Ten thousand taels?"
Hu Shanwei: "About one thousand taels."
Fan Gongzheng laughed, "Look at your useless look, I thought it was a lot of silver, but ten thousand taels of silver can't even make a dragon robe. I'll give you two thousand taels of silver, and you must choose the best for everything, and the faster the better. The Queen Mother attaches great importance to this matter. If the book is beautiful, the Queen Mother will also be glorious."
Hu Shanwei said: "It is Fan Gongzheng who edited the book well."
Everyone loves to hear nice words. Fan Gongzheng smiled even more. "Oh, your little mouth is getting sweeter and sweeter. You need someone to serve you during your trip to Hangzhou, so that you can look respectable as a royal family. I will send you a few female scholars and palace maids. The female scholars will serve you with your writing, and the palace maids will take care of your food and daily life."
Hu Shanwei took the opportunity to say, "I hope that Fan Gongzheng will transfer Meixiang from the imperial kitchen to accompany me."
Fan Gongzheng said, "She's just a maid in the kitchen. I'll take it."
Meixiang finally got rid of her role as a kitchen maid and left the greasy and stuffy kitchen. She thanked Hu Shanwei profusely and brought hot water to wash Hu Shanwei's feet.
Hu Shanwei refused. "I pulled you out of the kitchen not to ask you to serve me, nor to ask you to thank me and work like a slave for me. You don't have to work in the kitchen, so you can have more time to study. At the end of the year, the palace maids will take an exam. Those who pass the exam will be called female scholars. Only by becoming female scholars can you become female historians and have the possibility of promotion. Otherwise, you will easily fall back to the status of a maid in the kitchen. Time is wasted. You are already in your thirties. If you don't make a breakthrough, you may never have another chance in your life."
Meixiang felt ashamed and knew that she had underestimated Hu Shanwei, so she took a book and went to study hard under the lamp.
Two flowers bloom, each with its own beauty. It is said that Mu Chun returned triumphantly with a thousand miscellaneous troops. The Hongwu Emperor was very pleased and gave him a banquet in the palace. Mu Chun appointed eight bandits as 100 households at once, and the Hongwu Emperor approved it with a wave of his hand, giving him face.
At the banquet, Mu Chun drank some wine and felt dizzy. He leaned over to show his beard to Empress Ma, "Empress, do you think I look like an adult?"
As soon as Empress Ma saw Mu Chun, she felt happy. She put aside all her worries and stroked her grandson's beard, "Yes, Xiaochun has grown up."
After eating and drinking, Mu Chun returned to Xipinghou Mansion with the gifts given by the emperor and empress. Mu Chun didn't want to go home, but according to filial piety, these imperial gifts should be offered to the ancestors in the ancestral hall and given to his parents.
Muchun first went to the ancestral hall to burn incense to his ancestors, and then went to the main house to pay his respects to his parents.
Mrs. Geng, the wife of Marquis Xiping, was so moved that she shed tears. "I heard that you encountered 10,000 Humei rebels. It was very dangerous. If it weren't for the blessing of our ancestors and the heavy rain, I'm afraid—"
"You just got lucky this time." Xiping Hou Mu Ying interrupted his wife and lectured his eldest son with a stern face, "You are so smart to set fire to the mountain. You should know that playing with fire will get you burned. Don't act so rashly in the future."
Muchun felt that his father was picking on him, "I'm not playing with fire, I'm attacking with fire."
Playing with fire is for children, fire attack is a tactic of guerrilla generals, we are different!
Mu Ying's face was gloomy. "Do you think that you have the right to contradict me just because you have eliminated a few bandits?"
Mu Chun drank a lot of wine, "Father, I didn't suppress bandits later, I suppressed the rebellion. I fought ten with one, defeated the enemy with a small force, and wiped out 10,000 Hu Mei rebels."
Muchun was very proud that she had won the virgin expedition.
Mu Ying sneered, "There are charred corpses all over the mountain, and there is no evidence at all. Who knows if they are bandits or rebels?"
Mu Chun laughed and said sarcastically, "What father taught me is that maybe those charred corpses are just a group of monkeys."
"How dare you!" Mu Ying threw the teacup in his hand towards his son. Mu Chun turned his head and avoided the attack.
Mu Ying picked up the whip and whipped Mu Chun. Mu Chun blocked it with a chair and retreated to the door.
Mu Chun was furious and cursed his father, "You just think I can't fight back, so you always beat me up when you don't agree with me. You're not a hero if you beat up someone who can't fight back!"
Mu Ying was a hero in his lifetime, and this year he won the third victory in the Northern Expedition. His son said he was nothing but a fart. How could he not be angry? He threw a long sword to Mu Chun and shouted, "Come on, come on, from now on, you and I are not father and son. If you have the guts, fight me!"
Mu Chun said with a snort, "You say it's not true? If I really fight you, and one unfilial person comes to me, I'll be finished. I won't be fooled."
After saying that, Mu Chun ran away. Mu Ying wanted to chase him, but his wife Geng hugged his legs tightly and said, "No, Lord, he is your biological son."
Mu Ying finally got rid of his wife, but his children gathered around him and knelt down together to beg their father to spare their eldest brother.
Mu Ying treated everyone equally in the Marquis of Xiping's mansion. In addition to the second son Mu Sheng, born to Geng, there were two sons and four daughters born to other concubines, all with different mothers.
Mu Chun fled from home in a panic, and the celebration party turned into a "domestic violence" party.
He drank too much and vomited violently while holding onto a tree. He felt dizzy, physically and mentally uncomfortable, and curled up in front of a shop and fell asleep.
At night, a homeless man stole his coat, purse, and even his shoes and socks. It wasn't cold at night in the summer, but there were many mosquitoes, which bit his face and made it swollen. The next day, the shop owner opened the door and found the "beggar" sleeping at the door. He was disgusted by his ugliness and kicked him awake. He gave him two copper coins and said, "Hey, go sleep under the bridge over there. Don't be an eyesore at my door."
Mu Chun staggered to the Qinhuai River to wash his face. When he woke up, he was shocked by his reflection in the river. He had an unshaven beard, untidy clothes, a mess of hair, and his face was full of pits from mosquito bites. He looked so ugly.
Muchun washed his face, his stomach growling with hunger. He went to the steamed buns shop, with only two copper coins that the shopkeeper gave to beggars.
Muchun bought a steamed bun, but the owner of the bun shop thought it was dirty and didn't allow him to sit on the stool.
Muchun squatted on the street eating steamed buns, looking more like a beggar.
At this time, two teams of about fifty Jinyiwei were passing by on horseback, with a carriage in the middle, and Ji Gang was leading the team.
Mu Chun quickly spat out the steamed bun in his mouth and rushed over and shouted: "Ji Gang! Lend me some money!"
If the voice hadn't been so familiar, Ji Gang would have almost thought that the beggar rushing towards him was an assassin.
"General Mu? How did you become like this?"
Mu Chun said: "It's hard to explain. What are you doing so early in the morning?"
Ji Gang said: "We were ordered to protect Hu Dianzheng as he went to Hangzhou to print books."
"Oh." Mu Chun snatched Ji Gang's purse and poured out a few pieces of silver. "I'll pay you back when you come back."
Mu Chun took the silver and wanted to buy two trays of steamed dumplings. After taking two steps, he suddenly remembered something and asked, "Who is Hu Dianzheng? I have never heard of such a person in the palace."
Ji Gang said, "It's that Hu Shanwei. He was just promoted to Dianzheng yesterday, a promotion of two levels in a row."
Mu Chun's eyes lit up, and he climbed onto Ji Gang's horseback, "I'm going to Hangzhou, too."
The author has something to say: Continue to give out 100 red envelopes tonight.
During the quiz session of last night's chapter, the comment section was like the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, with abcd all in a mess.
It feels like the geography teachers of the readers are already on their way with their 30-meter-long swords. The teachers’ swords are thirsty...
Among the three long and one short, choose the shortest one. If you really can’t choose C,
The first reader to answer correctly last night was xingyi. He was given a 120-point red envelope, which was fair and just.
№2 Netizen: xingyi Comment: "Hu Shanwei" Score: 2 Published: 2018-11-22 21:08:23 Reviewed chapter: 31
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