When he entered the room, he saw Zi'an sitting on a chair in a plain brocade dress, with his hair tied in a bun. His headdress was simple, adorned only with a silver hairpin decorated with kingfisher feathers and various treasures.
Her face is lightly made up, her eyebrows are slightly thick, her nose is small and straight, and her lips are red without any dye.
On the ebony carved coffee table next to her stood a pink and purple teacup with a grape pattern. Next to the chest of drawers stood a triangular beast incense burner. Smoke curled up from the air, filling the room with a lingering, refreshing aroma.
The group entered the room and bowed politely. Apart from their arrogance, there was nothing wrong with them.
They are here to perform etiquette, so naturally they have to be considerate in etiquette.
"What's your name? Tell me your name." Zi'an had a smile on his face and was very amiable.
Seeing her like this, Madam Liang thought she knew how powerful she was, and said bluntly, "We are the people around the Empress Dowager, and our surname is Liang."
"It's Madam Liang." Zi'an smiled and took the red envelope he had prepared. "This is a meeting gift for Madam Liang."
Madam Liang was not polite and took it over. She weighed it and found it was about two taels of silver. She was sarcastic in her heart. Did she want to bribe them with two taels of silver? After all, she was a young lady from a prime minister's family, but she didn't know etiquette.
But she didn't say anything, just took the red envelope and stepped aside.
"My surname is Chen, and I used to work in the palace's bedroom."
"My surname is Sun, and I used to work in the palace's Shanggong Bureau."
"My surname is Huang, and I used to work for Empress Dowager Shengde in the palace."
The four maids all took the red envelopes, and then it was the palace maids below.
"My name is Mingchun."
"My name is Mingxia."
"My name is Mingqiu."
"My name is Mingdong."
These palace maids were pretty, bright-looking, and very polite.
When Zi'an asked questions, they bowed slightly, and when they received the red envelopes, they came to express their gratitude.
After reporting her name and receiving the red envelope from her new master, Zi'an spoke slowly. She first looked at Nanny Liang and said, "Since the departure of the noble concubine, this princess has been left without anyone to take care of her. Now the Empress Dowager has been so kind to let you come out to take charge of the affairs for me. I am very happy, but as the saying goes, there is no order without rules. You are here to work in the palace, so there are some rules that I must explain to you first."
After saying this, he waved his hand, signaling Nanny Yang to speak.
Nanny Yang came out and said to Nanny Liang, "There weren't enough people in the mansion to begin with, and now some of you have left, so, according to the princess's order, I have sent someone to pick some people over..."
Before Nanny Yang finished speaking, Nanny Liang said, "Princess, I don't think it's necessary to go to such trouble. If you don't have enough people, just ask the Queen Mother to send someone. There are many idle people in the palace, so there is really no need to look for servants. Besides, the palace is a valuable place, and those servants have unknown origins, so I don't feel safe using them."
Nanny Yang sneered, "The prince lives in another mansion and has left the palace. If you have to trouble the empress dowager even for manpower matters, isn't it absurd? If every household is like this, the empress dowager will have ten mouths to give orders. This is what the princess said, you should listen to it first before you argue."
Nanny Liang bowed her head respectfully, but her words were very sharp, "Nanny Yang is indeed someone who served the queen in the past, she is very majestic."
"In front of the master, how can you be so majestic? Madam Liang, since the Empress Dowager has assigned you to serve the princess in the palace, then your masters are only the prince and the princess. I hope you remember this. If you interrupt before the master has finished speaking, those who know will say that the princess is kind, while those who don't will think that someone from the palace is so ignorant of etiquette."
Madam Liang said unconvincedly: "I don't know what rank Madam Yang is in the palace? You are so arrogant, and the master hasn't spoken yet, right? You are talking so much first. If the Empress Dowager knew your arrogance, hum..."
When she left the palace, the Empress Dowager bestowed upon her the rank of a second-rank head nanny. Presumably, this Nanny Yang would not be able to rise above the second rank.
Nanny Yang said coldly, "This is the prince's residence, not the palace. Don't mention the empress dowager all the time. The empress dowager has sent you here to serve the princess. If you don't serve the princess well, you will just gossip about her."
"Who are you talking about? Who is gossiping?" Madam Liang was furious, her face flushed red. "Are you talking about me or the Empress Dowager? Aren't you dragging the Empress Dowager into this? You are so bold."
"Did I mention the Empress Dowager? When I say gossip, I mean you talk nonsense in the mansion, not what you say when you return to the palace. You are so angry and embarrassed. You must feel guilty, right?" Nanny Yang snorted.
"Princess!" Madam Liang knelt down immediately, with a hint of tantrum, "I and others were ordered to serve the prince, but I never thought that I would be assigned like this before I even started serving the master. You have to make the decision with me."
Zi'an said nothing, but her lips curled up slightly. She stood up and walked to the incense burner, put another spoonful of spices in it, closed the lid, and sat back down. Her eyebrows were raised, and her eyelashes were fluttering, which made her look lively. "Madame Yang is always so aggressive in her speech. Madame Liang, just bear with it."
Ma Liang knelt forward and felt the fragrance coming over her head. She took a deep breath and felt her blood boiling. She wished she could vent everything in her heart to feel better.
She tried to control her anger, but still couldn't help but said in a harsh voice: "Princess, we are here by order of the emperor. If we are wronged, those who know will say that the people around you are ignorant, and those who don't know will think that it was the princess's order. It would be bad if the empress dowager misunderstood."
Her tone was so harsh that the old women and palace maids behind her were all stunned, wondering why Madam Liang was so impatient.
Nanny Yang took a big step forward and said angrily, "How dare you yell in front of the palace? Don't you take the princess seriously? Ever since you entered the room, Princess Tonggong has only said a few words, and you have been making trouble. Who is so impolite? You are an old man in the palace, but you don't know how to be proud of your status. No wonder you are getting worse and worse in the palace. Now that you are lifted up by the grace of the Queen Mother, you come to the palace to make trouble."
Madam Liang was furious. She jumped up and rushed over. "You old hag, I'm going to tear your mouth to pieces!"
She grabbed Madam Yang's clothes and raised her hand to slap her, but Madam Yang bent down to avoid it, her feet staggered, and she fell to the ground.
Everyone was stunned, even Nanny Liang. She looked at her hands in disbelief, then at Nanny Yang who was lying on the ground.
But she was only stunned for a moment, and then she felt her anger rising. She said to Zi'an, "Princess, you saw it too. She was the one who flirted with me first."
Zi'an picked up the pink and purple teacup with grape pattern on the coffee table, swept the lid, blew gently, and said nothing.
Seeing her like this, Madam Liang was frightened, but she thought that the wicked should complain first, so she shouted in a timid voice, "Princess!"
"Where did this servant come from? Why is he so unruly?" Then a gloomy and majestic voice was heard exploding at the door.
(End of this chapter)