When Nangong Yue returned to the palace, it was past time.
Nangong Yue got off the carriage in front of the second gate, looked around the huge palace, and suddenly felt empty, and that feeling seemed to spread to her heart.
She stood there in a daze, unable to recover for a long time, until Baihui whispered in her ear: "Shi Zifei, Uncle Zhou and Uncle Zhu are here to see you!"
Uncle Zhou and Uncle Zhu? Nangong Yue followed Baihui's line of sight, and saw a black-faced man and a bearded man waiting not far away, bowing and respectful. I have seen Zhou Dacheng and Zhu Xing.
It turned out that Xiao Yi didn't bring the two of them with him this time.
Nangong Yue walked towards the two of them, and they bowed together to salute her: "I have seen the concubine."
Nangong Yue raised her hand and said: "Excuse me, let's go to the outer study to talk." Xiao Yi left, and his outer study was also used by Nangong Yue.
After the few people arrived at the outer study room, Nangong Yue sat down behind the desk, "Sit down too, don't be too restrained." Since Xiao Yi asked them to come to see him specially, he must have something to talk about.
"Thank you, Concubine Shizi." Zhou Dacheng and Zhu Xing sat down on two pear wood armchairs disrespectfully, followed by Zhu Xing who was the first to speak: "Concubine Shizi, Master Shizi left his subordinates in the hope that they will stay in the palace. Temporarily acting as the steward, and in addition, the affairs of the outer courtyard are also temporarily managed by the subordinates."
Butler? Nangong Yue was taken aback. Wouldn't it be overkill for someone who came down from the battlefield to be a butler
Zhu Xing continued to explain: "The original housekeeper of the Zhennan Palace was the successor of the princess. After the princess left, he was driven away by the prince. Before that, Cheng Yu was acting as the housekeeper temporarily. This time, Cheng Yu followed the prince. Grandpa has returned to southern Xinjiang, so he handed it over to his subordinates."
Nangong Yue couldn't help thinking of Xiao Yi's remarks last night that he was "looking for someone's teeth", and she was really sweating profusely. Hey, as far as the housekeeper is concerned, he is really messing around. Cheng Yu looked at it like a military adviser or a staff member, but he was also used as a big housekeeper, and he really used a sledgehammer to kill chickens. But this time, Cheng Yu followed Xiao Yi back to southern Xinjiang, and finally he could show his strengths, and he didn't have to worry about these trivial matters anymore.
Then, Nangong Yue looked at Zhou Dacheng again, without her asking, Zhou Dacheng took the initiative to say: "Concubine Shi Zi, this subordinate is in charge of the guards in the palace for the time being, and is responsible for the defense of the palace." He really didn't know how to deal with it A delicate little girl like Nangong Yue could only find something to say stiffly, "Don't worry, Shi Zifei, with my subordinates, I will definitely not let any Xiaoxiao disturb Shi Zifei!"
It is obvious that Xiao Yi forced Zhou Dacheng to find something to do. The palace is empty, only Nangong Yue is the master, and there are no servants. I am afraid that even Zhu Xing, the housekeeper, is very idle.
Nangong Yue said helplessly: "Then I will trouble you from now on."
"Don't bother, don't bother, this is the responsibility of the subordinate!" However, Zhou Dacheng is a straight-hearted person, and he can't understand the meaning behind his words. Zhu Xing, who is beside him, is so embarrassed that his forehead is dripping with cold sweat. He really wants to pretend that he doesn't know this brother. .
Nangong Yue was amused, and the corners of her mouth twitched.
After pondering for a while, she said to Zhu Xing: "Zhu Xing, you can send me all the accounts of this mansion tomorrow, and I will have a look."
If it were an ordinary servant, the most fearful thing would be the master checking the accounts, but Zhu Xing's eyes lit up when he heard it, and he couldn't wait to answer. He knew in his heart that Nangong Yue was about to start hosting Zhongfu, and once the concubine made a move, it would be easy for him in the future.
Not only Nangong Yue could see his relieved look, but even Baihui and Baihe beside him could see it. The two little girls exchanged a look.
Lily thought to herself: The people under this son are really unreliable!
After talking for a while, Nangong Yue took Baihui Lily back to Fufengyuan.
For the affairs of the mansion, she plans to wait until she has read the roster left by Xiao Yi and the accounts of the mansion. Now the most urgent task is to sort out her dowry and file it into the warehouse. Also, although the new house was decorated festively, it was obvious that the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs were just trying their best to create a festive atmosphere, and it was somewhat awkward, so she planned to tidy it up.
As a result, the entire Fufengyuan became busy under the leadership of Nangong Yue.
She opened three new small storerooms, put all the dowry into storage, and replaced all the furnishings in the house, from screens to vases to curtains to seat cushions, etc. The festive bright red is the main color, but it also adds a bit of low-key and elegant Shilin.
It took two days to finish all this, and Nangong Yue happily tidied up the small study room in the west room.
This small study is more than double the size of the one she had in Black Bamboo Courtyard, and next time it was the Medicine Pavilion specially built by Xiao Yi for her.
There is a row of partition windows facing south in the study room, and it seems that the light is very bright. Inside, there are book cases, painting cases, piano cases, case tables, beauty couch, tables and chairs, etc., and there are rows of bookshelves against the wall. It is empty now, but Nangong Yue seems to have smelled the strong and familiar scent of books.
A few maidservants cleaned the study room again, and Baihui directed the wives of the palace to move in boxes of large camphor wood boxes. sweating a lot. A woman asked curiously in a low voice: "Miss Baihui, this box is so heavy, isn't it full of books?" But she thought in her heart, how many books should there be in so many boxes? I'm afraid it's in the prince's study room. There are not so many books in total!
Baihui glanced at the woman indifferently, and said: "Go out after finishing your work, why ask so many questions?"
The mother-in-law obediently went out with a few other women, and she could faintly hear the voices of the women talking: "I heard that the concubine Shizi is from a scholarly family, so she is really different from others! She has married so many scholars over here .”
"That's right, so many books, can the Crown Princess finish them all?"
"..."
There are no rules!
Baihui shook her head, let those voices go away, and ordered the little maids to open the boxes, and took out several boxes of medical books, medicine books, Lin Jingchen's medical practice notes, Nangong Yue's own experience notes and so on. Nangong Yue personally sorted them into the largest bookshelf, and then asked the maids to help organize a shelf of "University", "The Analects of Confucius", "Spring and Autumn", "Historical Records" and so on. Strange novels, unofficial essays, etc.
According to Nangong Yue's preference, the book case is decorated with Duan inkstone from Zhaoqing, pine smoke and ink stone from Sui Gong from Goryeo, Hetian white jade brush washers, and a rack of Zihao brushes of different sizes.
After the whole small study was tidied up, Nangong Yue placed the dowry herbs one by one in the medicine cabinet, and it was considered a success.
Nangong Yue looked around with satisfaction. Although she was a little tired after working for a long time, she finally decided to look around and find comfort. Even if she wanted to work, she had to find an environment that made her feel comfortable.
Nangong Yue lazily leaned on the beauty couch by the window of the small study just like in the boudoir of the Black Bamboo Courtyard in the past, and casually ordered the maids to bring the account books that Zhu Xing sent over yesterday.
Not long after, a few maidservants brought over the account books, and there was a big stack of these account books on the desk.
When Nangong Yue was looking at her with some headaches, Baihe blessed her body and said: "Concubine Shizi, Uncle Zhu just delivered the news from the palace."
Nangong Yue raised her eyebrows. Although Xiao Yi had planted people in the palace, the news was transmitted directly to the outer courtyard, unless it was related to her.
She glanced at Baihe, and she saw that Baihe said with some embarrassment: "... It is said that the second princess left the palace secretly two days ago, and it seems that she went after the eldest son."
Nangong Yue lowered her eyes slightly, her face showing displeasure.
The second princess's love for Xiao Yi is obvious, "If you know lust, you will admire Shaoai", and it cannot be said that yearning for others is completely wrong.
However, after Xiao Yi made an engagement with himself, and even now that they are married, the second princess is still pestering a married man like this, that is simply shameless! Do you really think you are made of mud
Xiao Yi is her husband, how can he allow others to covet him!
Nangong Yue couldn't see any emotional fluctuations on her face, "Does the queen know?"
"The queen doesn't know yet." Lily replied, "Concubine Zhang announced that the second princess is ill and needs to recuperate, so she suppressed the news. The third prince is quietly dispatching people to find the second princess."
The corners of Nangong Yue's lips curled slightly, and she said with a sneer: "Tell Zhou Dacheng, let someone find a way to reveal this news to the queen."
Lily responded and hurried out to deliver the order.
Nangong Yue waved her hand with a gloomy expression, and asked Baihui and Que'er to look at the account books first.
She took a sip of tea, opened the white-sealed roster of the palace given by Xiao Yi, and flipped through it casually.
There are only fifty-eight servants and guards in this huge Zhennan Prince's Mansion, which is almost inconceivably small for Nangong Yue who was born in a famous family.
There are notes on the origins of these people on the roster. After Nangong Yue read it, she found that most of them were bought by Zhennan Princess Xiaofang in the capital, and they have only been in the mansion for a few years; some of them are slaves and guards who are rewarded by today; A small part was left in the royal mansion by the first emperor to watch and clean the house; there was also a small part brought by King Zhennan and the Xiaofang family from southern Xinjiang, but this part of the number was smaller than she expected many.
That's right, the Zhennan King and the Xiaofang clan's people probably don't care much about staying in the capital. Letting them stay in the capital is probably the same as being exiled, and they may have no future in their lives.
At this time, Que'er suddenly whispered: "This is too outrageous." She held the account book in her hand and showed it to Nangong Yue, "Third Miss, the clothes worn by the people in the inner courtyard are all made-up clothes outside. Bought from a shop..." As she spoke, the corners of her mouth twitched, this is not like the palace of a vassal king, I am afraid that even a slightly richer merchant would look down on it!
Nangong Yue glanced at it casually, judging from the number of ready-made clothes on the account, it was really the case.
In other words, there is another urgent matter in the past two days, which is to open the warehouse and get materials to make autumn and winter clothes for the servants in the inner courtyard first, and also add her own maid and the people in the house.
However, it's getting late, let's talk about tomorrow's affairs tomorrow.
Nangong Yue yawned lazily, closed the roster, and asked the maids to prepare meals.
…
In the morning of the next day, Nangong Yue, who didn't need to worry about the morning and evening, got up leisurely, washed, dressed, and ate. Anyway, there were no elders in this mansion. The sky was big, the earth was big, and she was the biggest.
After everything was over, Baihui asked: "Concubine Shizi, when you were having breakfast, Nanny Zhang and Nanny Song had already come and said they wanted to greet you, but they were dismissed first by the servants. Are you going to do it later?" Let Nanny Zhang and Nanny Song bring the servant girl from the mansion to greet you, so that you can recognize him?" With Xiao Fang's absence, there is no mistress in the inner courtyard of Zhennan Prince's Mansion, so on weekdays All affairs in the inner courtyard are basically managed by Nanny Zhang and Nanny Song.
Nangong Yue didn't want those irrelevant people to enter her yard and make a lot of noise, so she said, "Let them go to the front hall."
"Yes, Shizi Concubine." Que'er took the order to go to work, and waited for Huamei to report back that those maids and wives had already arrived, so Nangong Yue brought An Niang and a group of beautiful maids, like stars arching the moon Like going to the main hall.
At this time, the sky outside was already bright.
The main hall of this inner courtyard is facing the second gate, with blue bricks, white walls and red tiles, four black lacquered partition doors are opened together, two couplets are hung on the left and right walls, and a red gold Nine Dragons and blue ground is hung high on the main wall. On the plaque, there are three big characters of Dou Da - "Wu Shoutang".
These three big characters were inscribed by the first emperor himself.
The font is vigorous, galloping and indulgent, magnificent.
Under the large plaque is a large red sandalwood carving table, on which hangs a large painting of ink dragons waiting to be leaked, and on both sides are two red sandalwood chairs inlaid with marble, which are thick and upright, elegant and unique, and sixteen pineapple flower wooden chairs on the bottom two rows , A small desk is placed between every two chairs. The ground is a marble floor that shines like a mirror.
What a magnificent hall!
Nangong Yue's eyes stopped on the red sandalwood grand master's chair next to the large red sandalwood carving table. This grand master's chair was originally an official chair and a symbol of power and status. Such a man is suitable for an old lady who is as powerful as the Su family, but not suitable for Nangong Yue.
Seeing her slender figure sitting on it, it seemed that the grand teacher's chair was empty, not only did it not set off her aura, but it made her thin, weak and pitiful.
The servants and servants who were waiting inside and outside the hall quietly glanced at the concubine who had just passed the door, and secretly exchanged glances with each other.
The maid at the side hurriedly served her hot tea.
Nangong Yue took a sip of hot tea and looked up. In the main hall, there stood respectfully two middle-aged women in their forties and fifties. A short, fat, round-faced woman appeared to be a bit simple and honest. She was dressed in emerald blue. A silk beanie with a pigmented surface; the other is neither short nor fat, neither tall nor thin, with a beauty mole on the corner of her mouth, and a parrot green silk beanie.
Even if no one introduced them, Nangong Yue guessed that these two people were Nanny Zhang and Nanny Song.
According to the records in the roster, this Nanny Zhang came out of the palace. It is said that when the first emperor gave this mansion to Xiao Yi's grandfather, he has guarded the mansion here all these years. Originally, she was the talker in the backyard, but after Xiao Fang came to the capital, she left Nanny Song to help with the affairs.
Outside the main hall, there were rows of maidservants standing messily, some straightened their backs, some bowed their backs, and some whispered to each other. They seemed to be lazy and undisciplined.
Que'er stepped forward to bless Nangong Yue, and introduced Nanny Zhang and Nanny Song to Nangongyue.
Nanny Zhang and Nanny Song both took a step forward, bowed respectfully and said: "I have seen the concubine!" The two nuns just found out that the new housekeeper had met the concubine in the outer study, and later Fufeng From the movement in the courtyard, I guessed that the concubine Shizi was about to start supporting the concubine, so I wanted to try the concubine's temperament.
This Fufeng courtyard is like an iron bucket, and the servants in it are basically the maids who are married by the concubine. It turns out that the maids in the mansion do some rough sweeping at most, not just the sweeping wheels in the concubine's bedroom. When it comes to them, even when they enter the main room to clean, there are always people staring at them, and they don't see the princess at all.
However, the two nuns did not back down. They thought that the dry road would not work, so they took the water route. They could not see the concubine's person, so they could use the time when the meal was delivered by the kitchen to determine the concubine's meal time, so The two of them knew that the imperial concubine had just started having breakfast, so they ran to say hello to her, and wanted to see how the imperial concubine would respond. Unexpectedly, the servant girl of this concubine was so stubborn that she dismissed them lightly without notifying her, which also made them feel suspicious. Seeing that the maid could see her master, this concubine might be a formidable one.
Therefore, although the two old women saw that Nangong Yue looked young and delicate, they did not dare to make mistakes, and kept kneeling until Nangong Yue signaled them to be polite, and then they straightened up.
Nanny Song first said: "Originally, this old slave should have come to greet the concubine, but thinking that the concubine is busy these days, I dare not come to disturb you casually, and ask the concubine to forgive me." After a pause, she continued. , "Concubine Shizi, all the servants in the inner courtyard are waiting outside the hall, only the two women guarding the gate are not here. Do you want them all to come in and kowtow to you, Concubine Shizi?"
She smiled courteously at Nangong Yue, with a groveling look, and Zhang Nanny on the side was not in a hurry, and sneered secretly, thinking: This Song Nanny is brought by Princess Xiaofang, no matter how she behaves No matter how loyal she is, the imperial concubine will never trust her. No matter how much she does, it's just a blind man lighting a lamp -- wasting wax.
Nangong Yue took a look at Baihui, and Baihui said: "Let a few managers come in, and the others will kowtow to the concubine outside, and let's go."
"Yes, Concubine Shizi. This old slave is going to call someone now." After Nanny Song responded, she walked out of the hall courteously, and soon brought four women and two daughter-in-laws in their 30s and 40s. came in.
And the rest of the people outside all prostrated themselves on the bluestone floor, kowtowed to Nangong Yue, and then dispersed.
After Nanny Song brought people into the hall, she introduced them one by one. This one is in charge of the kitchen, this one is in charge of needlework, this one is in charge of cleaning, this one is in charge of shopping, this one is in charge of gatekeeping, This one is for flowers and trees.
Afterwards, the six of them also knelt down and kowtowed to pay respects in unison.
Nangong Yue didn't tell them to get up, instead she told Que'er: "Che'er, call them here."
they
Nanny Zhang and Nanny Song were both startled, not knowing what kind of medicine Nangong Yue was selling in the gourd.
Soon, they saw Que'er leading three people in, one was an old woman in her fifties, and the other two seemed to be young daughters-in-law in her early thirties.
The two nuns and the others felt a little nervous. Although they didn't know the names of the people Que'er brought, they knew that they were the concubine's companions. Called over, a thought suddenly appeared in their hearts...
But she quickly rejected it in her heart, isn't it possible? Even if the concubine Shizi definitely wanted to put people in the mansion, she wouldn't just make a move as soon as they met, would she? After all, she just got married, so she couldn't do too much and spread the word Not good for her reputation either...
They just thought about it, and they heard Que'er introduce with a smile: "These three are Nanny Pan, Yu Dawei's family, and Wu Ran's family."
All three of them gave blessings to Nanny Zhang and Nanny Song, which is regarded as a gift.
Then, Nangong Yue said unhurriedly: "From now on, Nanny Pan, Yu Dawei's family, and Wu Ran's family will take over the kitchen, gatekeeping and purchasing affairs!"
One sentence made the six people in the hall stare in disbelief. Three of the six kneeling on the ground suddenly raised their heads. They were shocked and indignant. Before they dared to make a sound, Nanny Song had already jumped. Get up, and said: "Concubine Shizi, why? Although the three of them can't say that they have made any achievements on weekdays, they haven't made any serious mistakes. They have worked hard without credit. How can they take someone's job for no reason? ?”
After being shocked for a short time, Nanny Zhang immediately regained her composure.
As the saying goes: a new official takes office with three fires, anyway, the fire of the concubine Shizi has little effect on him. Since Nanny Song came to the capital more than four years ago, she has taken away the kitchen, shopping and needlework from herself. The kitchen and shopping are a lot of trouble. What good is there for Nanny? It means that Nanny Song's backyard steward is just a superficial job. As for his own side, it was just that he missed a gatekeeper.
After thinking it over, Nanny Zhang smiled sarcastically in her heart, thinking that she was right in her prediction, the concubine and the concubine Xiaofang were destined to be natural enemies, how could the concubine tolerate Nanny Song being in charge of the kitchen and shopping like this? Important errand!
Zhang Momo thought about it again, and felt more and more that the concubine Shizi must have thought about it carefully. The gatekeeper is dispensable to him, but for the concubine Shizi, guarding the gate of the inner courtyard is naturally the most important thing , must not have a little sloppy!
Since this concubine knows what she knows, she should just wait and see the good show.
Nangong Yue glanced at Nanny Song indifferently, still neither arrogant nor impetuous, said: "I am the imperial concubine, if I want to transfer people, don't I ask Nanny Song for your consent? Then if I want to transfer Nanny Song to die today Master Song is in Zhuangzi of Ritang Mountain, mother Song, are you going or not?"
Nanny Song's old face turned red for a moment, and her breath stuck in her chest. Could this concubine be threatening her? Nanny Song was so angry that she almost couldn't breathe, she said forcefully, "Concubine, old... this old slave is appointed by the concubine herself!"
Nangong Yue hooked the corners of her mouth, and said with a half smile but not a smile: "Nurse Song, my mother and concubine have always cared and cared for your son. If you know that your son's village is not in charge, you will definitely be willing to send your mother to help your son. Now my concubine is in Qianli Besides, it’s not convenient for me to ask for instructions, so let me make the decision and send my mother over there.”
Without her ordering, Baihui had already ordered two women with big and round arms to come forward and pinch Nanny Song from left to right.
"you… "
Nanny Song still wanted to yell, but Lily had already stuffed her mouth with a rag, and she kicked her legs and was pulled out.
Several mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law who were kneeling on the ground looked at each other in secret, their heads were getting big.
Since the concubine left, the eldest son Xiao Yi is the biggest in this mansion. Of course they want to seize power and run on others, stepping others down, so that they can stand out, but the eldest son doesn't care about everything and just locks the inner courtyard simply and rudely. Lock them up like a prison, and they are not allowed to enter or leave except for shopping.
The prince didn't discuss it, and they thought that there was nothing to look forward to in this difficult time, but they didn't expect the emperor to marry the prince so soon.
Originally, they thought that after the concubine came in, the inner courtyard would not have to be locked, and they could finally "get out of prison", and they could let go of their hands and feet and show their talents, but they didn't want this concubine who was supposed to be young and ignorant to act. Even rougher than Shizi, when Shizi was around, he avoided seeing them; as soon as Shizi left, he showed Lushan's true face, how could this ordinary newlywed just take away a few people's errands without saying a word , and then blatantly arranged for his own dowry, even Nanny Song, who had always been majestic in this mansion, was suppressed in the blink of an eye, and ended up in exile!
This was clearly an example of killing chickens to scare monkeys, and everyone else was silent, with a layer of cold sweat dripping from their foreheads.
Didn't the concubine say that the concubine is the daughter of the Nangong family? Isn't this kind of girl brought up by the Shilin family supposed to be gentle and elegant, how can she be more ruthless than those who come from the generals' family
Nangong Yue saw the reactions of several people in the hall, but she smiled and said nothing.
-off topic-
Hmm... two updates today, the second at 18:00
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