Author: Nanshan Youlong

Wan Zhen'er leaned forward and knelt down, burying her head low, her body trembling slightly.

Queen Qian was a little surprised. She didn't know why the emperor wanted to interrogate a palace maid alone.

The incident of water leakage in the East Palace can be said to be due to the negligence of the palace officials and failure to take preventive measures.

If we get to the bottom of things, it turns out that the prince is too naughty and preparing gunpowder in the palace is really out of line.

However, is it inappropriate to put all the blame on a palace maid?

Zhu Qizhen turned around and sat on the chair. He picked up the tea cup, but it was empty, so he put it down again.

Queen Qian quickly took the teapot and went out and ordered someone to add more tea.

Zhu Qizhen continued to look at Wan Zhen'er, and after a while, he said: "Stand up."

Wan Zhen'er whispered: "I dare not..."

"I said, stand up!"

Zhu Qizhen repeated the sentence with unquestionable majesty in his tone.

Wan Zhen'er stood up slowly, her head still lowered.

Zhu Qizhen said again: "Raise your head!"

Wan Zhen'er trembled and looked directly at Tianyan. This was a sin of beheading.

She doesn't have the guts...

"Do I need to repeat every sentence?"

Zhu Qizhen's tone was a little impatient because he didn't want to talk nonsense.

Wan Zhen'er had no choice but to slowly raise her head, but due to timidity, she did not dare to raise it too high.

Zhu Qizhen suddenly stretched out his hand, pinched Wan Zhen'er's chin, and lifted it gently, and a crying face appeared in front of her.

At this time, Wan Zhen'er was extremely frightened. She wanted to cry but didn't dare to cry. Her body was shaking involuntarily, but she was worried that she would be disrespectful. It was obvious that she was trying her best to control it.

Queen Qian came back with a pot of tea. When she saw this scene, her face was a little confused.

However, she was just stunned for a moment, then walked forward like a normal person and poured a cup of hot tea.

"Your Majesty, please have some tea!"

Only then did Zhu Qizhen let go of his hand and turned around to sit on the chair. Wan Zhen'er suddenly felt that the huge pressure dissipated instantly, as if she was suffocating, and breathed heavily.

"Queen, are there any vacancies for female officers in the palace?"

Zhu Qizhen picked up the tea cup, took a sip, and then said something incredible.

Queen Qian said doubtfully: "There are a few vacancies, I don't know, Your Majesty..."

She really didn't understand why she suddenly asked about the female officer at this time.

On weekdays, the emperor rarely asked about these matters.

Could it be...

She inadvertently glanced at Wan Zhen'er standing next to her, and an ominous premonition came to her heart.

Zhu Qizhen put down his tea cup and said calmly: "Do you have any special skills? Or do you have any hobbies?"

Queen Qian was even more confused because she was not asking herself these questions.

Wan Zhen'er also realized that something was wrong. She glanced at Queen Qian in a panic, and then said: "My slave... my slave... I don't have any special skills..."

"Did you read before entering the palace?"

"No...but I have learned some words in these years in the palace."

"You should be clear about the six bureaus and one department in the palace, right?"

Wan Zhen'er nodded timidly and said: "I roughly understand..."

The female officials of the Ming Dynasty were divided into six bureaus and one division. The so-called six bureaus refer to the Shang Gong Bureau, Shang Yi Bureau, Shang Fu Bureau, Shang Shi Bureau, Shang Bed Bureau, and Shang Gong Bureau. The first division refers to the Palace Chief Division.

Under the six rounds, each round can lead four small divisions, with a total of twenty-four divisions under its jurisdiction.

Each bureau will establish one or two female officers of high rank, and in the twenty-four divisions under its jurisdiction, a total of 66 female officers of middle rank will be established.

Wan Zhen'er entered the palace at the age of four, and Zhu Qizhen was only seven years old at that time.

It has been more than ten years now, and she is naturally very familiar with everything in the palace. However, there is a separate process for selecting female officials in the Ming Dynasty, which is different from selecting palace ladies.

During the Hongwu period, when selecting female officials, they would go to the private sector to select some talented single women, whether they were not out of the government or widowed, as long as they were single.

Due to the particularity of the position of female officer, the selection usually focuses on women from scholarly families in the south of the Yangtze River. These people are influenced by their families, have a certain knowledge reserve, and pay great attention to virtue.

There is no age requirement, but most are between thirty and forty years old.

Because these people entered the palace to be officials, or to work for the royal family, not to fill the harem.

Of course, it’s not that we don’t want young women, it’s just that there is no age standard and it mainly depends on talent and learning.

Zhu Qizhen's idea is very simple. The current Wan Zhen'er is just an ordinary palace maid, not the Wan Guifei who covered the sky with one hand in later generations. She is responsible for the fire in the East Palace, but her fault will not lead to death.

If this incident is used as an excuse to impose severe punishment, I'm afraid it will be difficult to convince the public.

We must also consider that what happened to Zhu Jianshen's prodigal son will be enough for him to remember it for a lifetime. If he executes the palace maids around him again, it will leave a shadow on him and he will never dare to touch these new things again in his life.

Once bitten by a snake, you will be afraid of well ropes for ten years.

The prince's actions were certainly outrageous, but what else could be done?

Not only should we not punish him, we should also encourage him and instill in him the concept of vigorously developing science and technology.

The Ming Dynasty still needs someone to take over the country. The growth of the prince is very important.

After much thought, it was better to find something for Wan Zhen'er to do, at least to keep a distance between her and the prince.

After all, there is no precedent for an emperor or prince to marry a female official in the Ming Dynasty.

Otherwise, who can say clearly about fate...

Zhu Qizhen pondered for a moment and asked: "If I gave you a chance, six bureaus and one division, where would you most like to go?"

Wan Zhen'er didn't understand. Why did the emperor still promote her when she had obviously made a mistake?

Female officials are also officials. In the harem, apart from concubines, female officials are the largest.

"This servant only knows how to serve people and has no skills..."

Zhu Qizhen looked at Queen Qian again and asked: "Queen, what do you think?"

Queen Qian's mood at this time was similar to Wan Zhen'er's, both were in a state of confusion.

Her first reaction was, did the emperor fall in love with this Wan Zhen'er?

However, when I heard that the emperor was planning to promote her to an official position, I immediately gave up this idea.

There has never been a precedent for an emperor to marry a female official in the Ming Dynasty. Relatively speaking, the status of female officials in the harem is relatively high. For example, female historians such as Gong Zhengsi are treated like teachers. Even if they are as noble as a queen or a noble concubine, they will be treated differently.

treat.

Little did he know that the emperor liked Wan Zhen'er and suddenly wanted to give her an official position.

"I think Shangyi Bureau is more suitable."

Although Queen Qian didn't know the reason, she had no choice but to find an answer.

The Shangyi Bureau is responsible for the etiquette in the palace, and it has four departments: Si Ji, Si Yue, Si Bin, and Si Zan.

In this era, it is a virtue for a woman not to be talented. Although the average woman has not read a book, she still has a grasp of basic etiquette, not to mention that Wan Zhen'er has been in the palace for more than ten years and has been immersed in it.

But Zhu Qizhen shook his head and said: "Shangyi Bureau needs to read the Six Classics thoroughly, especially the Zhou Rites, otherwise it is inappropriate to have a half-understanding of many etiquettes."

Queen Qian thought for a while and then said: "Then go to the Shangfu Bureau."

The Shangfu Bureau has four divisions: Si Bao, Yi, Zhan, and Decoration. To put it bluntly, they are the full-time tailors in the palace.

The clothing of the Ming Dynasty was very particular. Whether officials or eunuchs or maids, there were strict regulations on what clothes to wear according to their rank.

Even the emperor's dragon robe had several styles.

The highest standard is the crown dress, which is also the most noble dress from ancient times to the present. It is used for important occasions such as enthronement, sacrifice, and Zen.

Secondly, there are Gongfu, which are used to attend daily sacrifices and festival ceremonies, such as Zhengdan, Winter Solstice and other occasions.

In addition, there are Pi Bian clothes, Wu Bian clothes, Yan Bian clothes, Tongtian crown clothes, Jifu, Qingfu... and more than a dozen types. Different styles are required for different occasions, and they are all exquisite.

.

Tailoring is a job that is suitable for women, so Empress Qian recommended Shangfu Bureau.

Zhu Qizhen was a little confused and asked, "What do you think?"

Wan Zhen'er didn't dare to say anything. She just kept nodding her head, her expression still very frightened.

"Why……"

At this time, Queen Qian suddenly snorted, then held her stomach and frowned tightly.
To be continued...