Yao Mei's room is located in the main courtyard, which is the princess's yard. It covers an area of three acres and has dozens of rooms. Chen Qing's inner study is also here, but in the side yard, there is enough open space for him to plant crops.
Corn and Pumpkin, Yao Mei's room is of course a single room, and it is relatively simple at the moment. It has a bed, a table and chairs, and a cupboard, but there are not many things that belong to her.
The luggage she brought from Datong Mansion was very small, just a small box containing a few changes of clothes, a set of four study treasures given to her by her uncle, some toiletries, and a small jar of soil from her hometown. Other items were just
No more, she didn't even have a penny, and all her belongings were left to her parents.
There was a new set of quilts, pillows, and a package on the bed, which were given to her by the princess.
Yao Mei was stunned as she looked at the contents of the package. Inside were three sets of brand new satin skirts, and a very thick cotton skirt that she had never seen before. There was also a set of exquisite gold jewelry, hairpins, hairpins, and flower beads.
, bracelets, necklaces, anklets, they are many times more beautiful than the previous set of gold jewelry.
At this time, there were footsteps behind her. Yao Mei turned around and saw a very young woman appearing behind her, looking at her with a smile.
Yao Mei remembered that she was one of the twin concubines of His Highness King Yong.
She quickly stepped forward and saluted, "See you, Madam!"
Yu Ying stepped forward, took her hand and smiled: "You can call me Sister Aying, Chunxi also calls me the same way."
Yao Mei hesitated, "Madam said, I want to call her Fourth Madam."
Yu Ying said softly: "That was in public. You don't need to be so polite in private. We used to be the official's personal maids just like you. Alian and I were only thirteen years old at that time. Seeing you now, I
It reminds me of my old self.”
Yao Mei's heart was pounding. Being a personal maid was the only way to become a concubine!
Yu Ying felt her hands were cold and touched her skirt again. It was very thin. She frowned and said, "It's such a cold day and you're wearing so little. Aren't you cold?"
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"It's a little cold!"
Yu Ying saw the cotton skirt on the bed, quickly picked it up and said, "Madam gave you the cotton skirt, put it on quickly, put it on quickly!"
Yao Mei put on a cotton skirt, a cotton coat, and a pair of close-fitting cotton trousers. Although they were a little bloated, they were indeed much warmer.
Only then did Yu Ying realize that she didn't have a mirror. She looked around again and saw that she lacked too many things, including copper basins, cups, kettles, tea stoves, toilets, shoes, and too few clothes. She only had one set of cotton skirts, so she had to change them all.
No.
"Hey! What did this Mrs. Wu do? She was not prepared!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Aunt Wu and several strong women came over carrying two large boxes, which were placed at the door.
Aunt Wu smiled and said: "Miss Xiaomei, these are all yours. You can clean them up slowly, and we won't come in."
"Thank you, ma'am!"
Yao Mei walked out quickly and saw two large boxes full of various daily necessities. Next to them were a brazier and a box of charcoal, fire tongs and flints.
Yu Ying stepped forward and took a look. There was a bronze mirror, a copper basin, a water cup, a toilet, towels...etc., everything was ready.
But she had no clothes, no shoes, and no makeup. Yu Ying smiled and said, "I'll bring you something later. You need some other things."
Yao Mei pulled her and asked in a low voice: "Sister Ah Ying, what should I do if I want to go to the toilet?"
"There is a clean bucket here. It is new. You can put it behind the screen for your convenience. Put it next to the door early tomorrow morning. A maid will take it away, clean it and send it back."
"Could it be a mistake?"
"No, they all know it well and never make a mistake."
Yu Ying smiled and said: "Okay, please close the door first for your convenience! I'm leaving, and I'll ask the maid to bring you something later."
"Thank you, Sister Aying!"
Yu Ying smiled and left. Yao Mei quickly closed the door, carrying the toilet and ran towards the corner screen.
........
Chen Qing came back in the afternoon, but he was stuck with his two daughters. It was not until after dinner that he sat down on his long-lost chair. Yao Mei brought him a cup of tea. She just knew that this tea cup
It was worth thousands of guan and was a fine product from an official kiln. She was so frightened that she moved forward step by step. After a long while, she slowly placed the tea cup on the table.
Chen Qing smiled and said: "Tomorrow you can use a plate and bring it in, so it won't spill."
"I'm afraid of breaking the tea cup. Chunxi said it's very expensive."
Chen Qing smiled helplessly and said: "One of the expensive official kiln tea cups was broken by two little girls. I don't dare to use it anymore. Now they are ordinary tea cups, so don't worry!"
"That's good, otherwise I would be really worried."
"How are you? Are you used to living here?"
"Replying to the master, I have settled down. My wife is very good to me. Sister Aying takes special care of me. She sent me many dresses, shoes, and even a few sets of rouge, just..."
"It just... feels like eating a bit luxurious."
Chen Qing smiled slightly, "This is a prince's palace, not an ordinary house, but it is far from luxurious. The real luxury is beyond your imagination."
"It's my short-sightedness!"
Chen Qing nodded and said: "You sit outside. There is a table outside where you can practice calligraphy. When I call you, you will ring the bell. If a few ladies are looking for me, you don't have to stop them. If others are looking for me, you can report it to me. That's right."
Now, two little girls are looking for me, so you don’t have to stop them."
"I see!"
"Besides, when I go back to rest, you also go back to rest."
"Don't you need me to stay overnight? Sister Aying said that she used to sleep outside."
"You don't need to stay up all night, just follow the madam's arrangements."
"I see!"
Yao Mei bowed her knees and went outside.
........
Chen Qing paced back and forth in the room with his hands behind his hands. This afternoon, he and Zhao Kai talked for most of an hour. Zhao Kai was old, already seventy-five years old, and could no longer take on the role of counselor, so he resigned.
Chen Qing was embarrassed to keep him anymore. After all, at such an old age, others had long enjoyed the happiness of family, but he was still working hard for himself.
The most important thing now is, who will succeed Zhao Kai? All four of Zhao Kai's sons are promising. The eldest son, Zhao Changyou, serves as the Sichuan Road Transport Envoy, taking over from his father. The other sons are all local officials.
Of course, Zhao Changyou's qualifications were still a little low, so it was impossible for him to serve as counselor. In fact, Chen Qing felt that the most suitable candidate was Zhou Kuan. Zhou Kuan was originally the Superintendent of the Financial Department and gave up his position to Zhao Kai.
His ability in financial management was no less than that of Zhao Kai, but he was more suitable than Zhao Kai to serve as the Department of Personnel Affairs. Chen Qingcai transferred Zhou Kuan to the Department of Personnel Affairs.
Now Zhou Kuan can be transferred back to the Finance Department, but who will take over as the Superintendent of the Department of Civil Affairs? Chen Qing thought of two people, one was Zhang Xiao, the pacifier of Henan Road, and the other was Shi Lu Qingshan, the director of Sichuan Road Shangshuxing
.
Of course, both of them have sufficient qualifications and similar abilities. The key is that Chen Qing needs to consider the bigger picture.
He transferred Lu Qingshan to the Internal Affairs Hall as a counselor, and took this opportunity to disband the Sichuan Road Shangshu Xingtai. He had already taken advantage of Zhang Xiaochun's resignation and returned to his hometown to recuperate, completely evacuating the Hedong Road Shangshu Xingtai, and the next goal was to cancel the Shangshu Xingtai.
It's Sichuan Road.
The best opportunity is to transfer Lu Qingshan back to Jingzhao to serve. Deputy Chief Shi Jiangxin can serve as the prefect of Chengdu. In this way, the two chief officials are gone, and only some functional agencies are left, which can directly serve as the departments of the Internal Affairs Hall.
of expatriation.
Guan Shigu has many old injuries and is not in good health. He will finish his work this year at most. At that time, Zhang Xiao will be asked to take over the stall of the Military Department.
At this moment, Chen Qing made the decision to transfer Lu Qingshan to the Internal Affairs Hall as a counselor and take over the Department of Personnel.
Take this opportunity to erect the Sichuan Road Shangshuxingtai, and then abolish it when the time is right.