Fengqi crabapple

Chapter 269 The Queen's Wrist

Ling Xue, who was standing outside the city gate, suddenly felt deeply that the palace was not a place he liked.It's just that there is his deceased master there, so he is willing to stay where he needs to be.

At this moment, in the dusk of the palace, Ling Xue heard Xie Ruitang's words, which strengthened his belief. He believed that his master would take him away from here and live a free life.

Xie Yuanfang went to Shu. Before him, King Xian and King Cheng also left Beijing and went to their fiefdoms.Only Prince Kang was still lingering, and Prince Kang's mansion, which was said to be a fiefdom, was still being repaired.Xie Ruitang did not indulge him and gave him a final time limit to leave Beijing.

In the harem, Haitang does whatever she says.

The Queen summoned the leading female officers of the Six Bureaus and One Division and asked them to sort out the female officers under their jurisdiction.All female officials over the age of 24 will be sent out of the palace. Those who are over 22 years old but under 24 years old can also apply to leave the palace or stay for two more years according to their actual situation.

Similarly, the maids in each palace also follow this standard, but the maids have an additional rule. If the master agrees to stay, they can also apply to stay if they are over the age.

As a result, not only the age of being released from the palace was strictly enforced, but there were many fewer girls and maids in the palace.

"Queen, it is not easy for our Shang Palace Bureau to train a skilled embroiderer and craftsmanship. The ones with good craftsmanship are older palace maids. If they all leave, it will be difficult for Shang Palace Bureau to ensure the quality!"

Xu Shanggong of the Shanggong Bureau is the niece of Mrs. Xu. Four emperors have been in charge of the Shanggong Bureau. As soon as the new emperor came to power, the queen had to take action against the six bureaus and one division and cut off her people. Xu Shanggong was very upset. satisfy.

The queen smiled and said: "Xu Shanggong, there are few people in the harem now, and the corresponding work of the Shanggong Bureau is also less, which just gives you time to train new people. There are one hundred and two people in the Shanggong Bureau now, even those who are old enough have left. You still have 50 people.

You see, the emperor abolished two thousand ministers, which happened overnight. I act according to the rules. How can I still stump you?If you feel that it is difficult for you to do the job, I will not force you to do it. "The queen's meaning is very clear: If you don't change your thoughts, change your people.

Xu Shanggong was of course reluctant to part with her as a fourth-grade female official, so he gritted his teeth and remained silent.

The queen didn't want to force her, so she smiled and said: "If you have the ability to cut down to only 40 people, I can let the remaining 40 people in the Shanggong Bureau receive a monthly salary equivalent to the current 50 people. Do you think these 40 people are enough?"

Xu Shanggong not only wanted to keep his official position, but also wanted the extra money for ten people. His expression began to soften, and he still gritted his teeth and said: "Enough!"

So the queen asked each bureau to refer to the Shang Palace Bureau, and not only release the palace maids who reached the age, but also held competitions in their own crafts in each bureau. Female officials who were ranked lower or unqualified would be released from the palace if no other bureau retained them.

Although the concubines of each palace still live in the same place, the number of maids and servants are all allocated according to the number of concubines.This will naturally be much less than when I was a concubine.

Concubine Su cursed in private, hating herself for not being able to put her son on the throne. The treatment of the concubine and the queen mother was very different.Nuo is a big palace, but there are only about a dozen palace residents left.Concubine Su was so sad that she burst into tears.But she completely forgot that if the new emperor opened three palaces and six courtyards, she would have moved in with other concubines long ago. Why did she have one palace to herself now?
The queen smiled slightly after hearing this, and went to see Mrs. Yuan in person.The number of people in Princess Yuan's palace has also decreased. When the queen entered the palace, she found that the palace had become a little different: the side hall doors on both sides were locked, and there was a row of large flowerpots outside the porch, with four-season osmanthus as tall as one person planted. It's like entering the forest.The queen smiled and said: "The concubine has such a clever idea. Although there are fewer people, her popularity has not diminished."

Concubine Yuan shook her head and said solemnly to the queen: "I know you and your wife are kind-hearted and let us live where we are. But concubines and concubines are different after all. As people get older, they eat less and wear less. , I move around less, and I just wish I could talk to more people. I would suggest the Queen to change it."

"Teacher, please tell me. Haitang is young and is really weak in managing such a large harem. If you can give me some advice, that would be the best!" The queen looked happy, knowing that she had come to the right place today.

"Except for your mother-in-law, the Queen Mother, there are seven or eight concubines in our generation, not counting the one in Chiyun Palace. There are always good ones among them who are willing to live together. How about letting everyone choose freely, Queen? If the palaces are combined and lived together, the original configuration will not be reduced, but the money will be combined in one place, and the excess of the overlap will be at your own disposal. The queen will not worry about these old guys complaining."

The words were raised by Concubine Yuan, and those concubines could not chew the Queen's tongue.

Concubine Yuan and Concubine Liu, the biological mother of the eldest princess, first proposed to live together in the palace. In this way, the small kitchen and yard are shared, and the palace people do not need to take care of several things alone. People are free and money is saved. Even though we are not around, we can still keep each other company.For a time, except for Concubine Su, the other concubines were happy to be together in pairs.

The queen also opened a medical women's hall in the harem. The extra maids and officials who were not old enough to leave the palace could go to the medical women's hall to learn medical skills.Ji'er and Liuying were both given the surname Cheng.The two were transferred to the Medical Women's Hall to be the leading female officers and taught them some basic knowledge of medicine and pharmacy.

In addition to providing daily medical treatment for palace maids, court ladies, and chamberlains, the Medical Women's Pavilion also has an important function. They will prepare some jasmine powder, rose saltpeter, and rose ointment themselves and give them to the palaces for use, which also reduces the cost of purchasing this part. cost.

There are fewer people and more things to do. Everyone is busy every day. Not to mention saving a lot of money every month, there are even fewer idle people in the palace talking.

In this way, the emperor and the queen worked together to sort out the maids and courtiers in the palace from top to bottom.The current palace is like a home they run themselves.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs also saw something, and they realized that the Queen, like the Emperor, was both cruel to them!

People from the Queen's Xuanyun Palace were transferred out, and no one was replaced. Even the servants around Yunjue who were not needed at all were arranged for other errands in the palace.

Xie Ruitang couldn't help but rub Haitang's head and said with a smile: "I laid off people in the front office despite opposition, and you laid off people in the harem against the spit of the palace. Forget it, now you don't even have to be with your son." I won’t let anyone go, she is really a cruel mother!”

Chang Xi on the side couldn't help but feel a little ashamed. He had long put away his small thoughts of getting ahead, and from then on served the emperor wholeheartedly and helped the emperor restrain his ministers.Later, in Xie Ruitang's dynasty, there was no such thing as internal courtiers being in power.

However, what the emperor has to face is far more than just a palace.

(End of this chapter)