After the rebellion was successful, I realized that this place was the Red Mansion

Chapter 153 Min Tanchun Appointed President to Welcome the Emperor (Part 1)

On this day, the residents of Ningrong Street witnessed a scene they hadn't seen in a long time.

Early in the morning, four or five hundred eunuchs and palace maids lined up and entered the street to set up curtains in various places. Some of the eunuchs from the palace went into the Ning and Rong mansions, while others stayed to patrol the streets.

An hour later, officials from the Ministry of Works and the military officials of the Five Cities came to clean the streets, drive away the street vendors, and prohibit them from doing business here for the next few days.

Someone hurriedly asked what had happened, but the Imperial Concubine was coming to the Jia family again?
"It's not the Imperial Concubine, it's His Majesty who is going to visit the Ning and Rong residences. This place will be His Majesty's temporary palace from now on!"

The eunuch's words made everyone realize that the Ning and Rong Dukes' mansions were close to each other and had ample space, making them very suitable as imperial palaces.

After the eunuchs set up the curtain, the people living on Ningrong Street could only walk behind the curtain.

The Jia family residence, inside the courtyard of Grandmother Jia.

"This servant greets the young ladies!"

Several eunuchs and female officials in charge of the palaces, including those in Fengzao Palace, Qianqing Palace, and Cining Palace, went to greet the three sisters Ying, Tan, and Xi, who were seated below Grandmother Jia, with ingratiating smiles.

Xichun stood up, looking bewildered, while Yingchun hesitated.

Eunuch Sun hurriedly said, "Please sit down, young lady. We've come to pay our respects!"

Xichun glanced at the old lady before sitting down again.

She thought to herself, "She has not entered the palace, yet these eunuchs treat her as a concubine."

The eunuchs and female officials came again to pay their respects to Old Madam Shi.

Grandmother Jia stood up slightly, greeted them, and then sat down again.

After everyone took their seats, Yingchun glanced around the room and noticed that there were far fewer people than usual. Daiyu, Baochai, Baoqin, Xiangyun, and others had all gone to the palace.

Many people were still sitting, including Aunt Xue, Sister-in-law Zhen, Mrs. Shi, Mrs. Wang, and even the old matriarch of the Shi family. They knew that welcoming the emperor was a grand affair and no mistakes could be made.

These eunuchs came this morning to arrange for people to do things.

After everyone had taken a sip of tea, Grandmother Jia said, “The mansion is not what it used to be. The men are all outside the city, and the housekeepers’ daughters have gone to the palace. Only a few of us are left. I’m old and can’t worry about such an important matter as welcoming the Emperor. A few of the wives used to be housekeepers. If they are of any use, you can use them as you see fit.”

As he spoke, he pointed to Madam Wang, Madam Xing, and Wang Xifeng.

Upon hearing this, Madam Wang became somewhat nervous.

After the Jia family was raided, her status in the Jia mansion plummeted. Apart from a few maids and servants, no other maids or servants reported to her anymore. All matters, big and small, in the mansion were decided by the three young ladies who were in charge of the household.

If the young lady is not here, go and consult Wang Xifeng and Li Wan, one of them in charge of the garden and the other in charge of the mansion.

She, a dignified Mrs. Jia, is even worse than her own daughter-in-law!

Over there, the Shi family matriarch also said, "Our daughter has also gone to the palace. Now, Zhen's daughter-in-law and several daughters-in-law from the Shi and Wang families are managing the Ningguo Mansion together."

Eunuch Sun looked at Ying, Tan, and Xi, and asked with a forced smile, "Are there only three young ladies in the manor now?"

"The Shi and Wang families have several daughters, but none of them have ever been to the palace. The second and third daughters were there a few days ago."

"That's it!"

Eunuch Sun laughed and said, "We've invited you, young lady, to be the chief officer in charge of preparing to welcome the Emperor. If there's anything we can't decide, we'll come to you for your opinion!"

Inside the room, everyone turned their attention to the three sisters, Ying, Tan, and Xi.

Xi Chun hurriedly said, "I have never been to the palace before, and I am not qualified to be this kind of chief official. I hope you will understand!"

She was the first to distance herself from the situation, not wanting to get involved.

Grandmother Jia laughed and said, "My granddaughter is still young and has never managed a household before, so there's no need to ask her for permission."

After protecting Xichun, he said, "Third Sister is usually quick-witted and clever, and her sister is steady and reliable. If there are any issues, we should ask them to make the decisions... However, the Emperor did not appoint them to manage the household. If anything goes wrong, it will implicate Bao and the others."

Tan Chun then laughed and said to Grandmother Jia, "Yesterday, Sister Bao came to me and said that the Emperor had not yet issued an edict. She was worried about the household and specifically told me... I have been to the palace before and can take over the management for them. If there is anything important, I can send someone to the palace to tell them. They are all in the palace and can report to the Emperor."

Upon hearing this, everyone laughed and said, "That's safe!"

So it was decided that the chief officials in charge of welcoming the emperor would be the two young ladies, Yingchun and Tanchun, while the others, such as Wang Xifeng, You Shi, and Madam Shi, would assist in the management.

Since Baochai had previously designated Wang Xifeng to manage the household, Tanchun still entrusted most of the household affairs to her and did not mention Lady Wang too much.

Wang Xifeng, who had stayed up all night embroidering a bellyband and was quite exhausted, was now full of energy again. Her bright phoenix eyes were full of smiles. After standing up, she gave Yingchun and Tanchun a curtsy and said with a smile:
"Greetings to the young ladies. If you need anything, just tell me. But please don't treat me like your sister-in-law anymore, or treat me like a servant. You are all ladies in the palace now!"

His words made everyone laugh.

Grandmother Jia laughed and said, "It's too early for Feng'er to have to pay her respects. When they actually enter the palace, even I will have to get up and pay my respects." Hearing the old lady's words, Tan Chun's thoughts were complicated.

She was initially very reluctant to enter the palace and did not want to become the emperor's concubine. She even argued with her mother about it. However, she eventually could not overcome the fact that the Jia family had been raided and agreed to enter the palace in order to win the emperor's favor.

On her very first visit to the palace, the emperor kissed Xiangyun in front of her, staging a scene of an emperor doting on his concubine.

Looking back now, the emperor's favor easily brought her unimaginable power.

In both the Ning and Rong mansions, all matters, both inside and outside, were decided by her and her second sister!
Although there were people to handle all the affairs of the household and many eunuchs and maids, she might not be able to do much, but this was her first time managing the household.

“Miss,” the head eunuch of Qianqing Palace said with a smile, “If you have any instructions on how to handle things, please give us a plan so we can follow it.”

Upon hearing this, Wang Xifeng snorted coldly in her heart.

This old man is clearly making things difficult for San Ya Tou. Tan Chun has never managed a household, let alone handled any important matters such as welcoming the emperor. The old man comes up and asks her to establish rules and regulations, clearly wanting to test Tan Chun's temper.

If she is weak and easily bullied, they will treat her like royalty and let her make all the decisions herself without having to ask her any more questions.

"Eunuch Wang."

Under everyone's gaze, Tan Chun smiled and said, "Our mansion has only ever welcomed the Imperial Concubine home for a visit, never the Emperor himself. Therefore, we don't know how to follow many of the rules and regulations. We have to rely on the help of the eunuchs and nannies so that our maids and servants know how to do things."

Wang Chengen nodded repeatedly, and was about to speak when Tan Chun continued, "But I also think that when His Majesty travels, the most important thing is to ensure His Majesty's safety and not give any opportunity to the remnants of the previous dynasty or assassins with ulterior motives."

She then smiled at everyone and said, "We women in the inner quarters can't manage things outside; those matters need to be arranged by the government and the palace. But we are in charge of things inside the mansion, so we should come up with a perfect plan to make His Majesty comfortable!"

Upon hearing this, Grandmother Jia quickly straightened up and said to her, "Girl, you've reminded me. With the Emperor's arrival, all the sharp utensils in the mansion should be put away. All the knives in the kitchen, the hoes and sickles in the garden, and the weapons and armor left by our ancestors in the storeroom should be confiscated and kept under safekeeping!"

Wang Xifeng smiled and said, "Grandma has thought things through very well. That's the right thing to do. I'll personally lead people to search the place later!"

An old woman laughed and said, "If all the knives in the kitchen are put away, how are we supposed to cut vegetables?"

"Just take it out when you need it!"

"There are quite a few hoes in the garden; are they all to be confiscated?"

They were talking amongst themselves, and seeing the disorder, Tan Chun stopped them and said, "We can discuss these things later. Right now, we need to quickly decide what everyone in the manor should do. We only have four days to prepare, which is too rushed."

Seeing that she was not easily fooled, the eunuch Wang Chengen had no choice but to say, "Miss's concerns are very valid. We will send some people to search each room for sharp objects, so that His Majesty may not be injured by the women in the mansion if he suddenly visits them. That would be a matter of losing one's head!"

The moment he uttered the word "favored," the women of the Jia, Wang, Shi, and Xue families in the room blushed with embarrassment.

Aunt Xue was among them.

She had been widowed for many years, but now she learned from the eunuch that the emperor would visit the Jia family at will, and would do so at will. Whoever he wanted to summon on a particular day would have to obediently comply with him.

The eunuchs were worried that the emperor would not comply, so they said they would confiscate the sharp knives from each room to prevent him from being injured.

But after thinking about it, she couldn't help but feel relieved.

Her daughter Baochai was serving in the palace; how could the emperor possibly be interested in a withered flower like her? She was overthinking it.

Because she was still worried about Li Wan, who had not yet returned, Lady Wang tried asking them, "If the Emperor takes a fancy to a young wife..."

Inside the room, all the maids and servants looked at Wang Xifeng. If it came to a young and beautiful daughter-in-law, none other than Second Mistress Lian could compare!

With phoenix eyes, upturned eyebrows, a charming figure, and a rosy face, she was the subject of much gossip among the servants, who said that although Second Mistress Lian was beautiful, she was a shrew.

It's true that she's a big female tiger, and it's also true that she's good-looking.

Sun, the eunuch of Fengzao Palace, glanced at the women of the Jia, Wang, Shi, and Xue families with a half-smile and said slowly, "Where are the young wives here? And where are the ladies and grandmothers?"

These words made everyone's hearts skip a beat.

Grandmother Jia nodded and said, "That makes sense. Our families have all been banished to the inner palace, and we no longer need to mention our former status." She also glanced at Wang Xifeng and the second wife, Madam Xing, and said, "If the emperor takes a fancy to any young woman's beauty, it will be a blessing for our Jia, Wang, Shi, and Xue families."

Aunt Xue was startled.

Madam Wang Ziteng, Shi Xiangyun's second and third aunts, a group of young wives, and the pretty maids standing outside were all both surprised and embarrassed.

The emperor is the supreme ruler, the one who reigns supreme.

He was about to visit the Ning and Rong mansions. At this time, the four female relatives still living in the two mansions were at his disposal, and he could summon them to his liking to favor them.

The new emperor of the Great Qian Dynasty stormed into the capital with thunderous force, confiscating the property of the former Shun Dynasty princes and nobles and exiling them. Now he only summons these servants and palace maids to his favor. Why would outsiders dare to submit any memorials?

They're not empresses!
(End of this chapter)