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

Chapter 154 Min Tanchun Appointed President to Welcome the Emperor (Part 2)

No one dared to object to the emperor's arbitrary summons of them anymore, at least not openly.

Lady You then asked, "When the Emperor visits, he stays in the garden, which is separated from the Ningguo Mansion by a wall. Can we confiscate knives in our mansion?"

Everyone then looked at her. Things were different now. Madam You was no longer the eldest mistress of the Zhen family and was inconspicuous in the East Mansion. After Qin Keqing entered the palace, Shi Xiangyun took over the Ningguo Mansion, and the female members of the Shi and Wang families also moved in. Madam You had no daughters, and her status as the eldest mistress became even more awkward.

Jia Zhen had only been dead for less than two months, so Lady You was still in mourning for her husband. Dressed in coarse cloth and without makeup, she sat in a corner and only now spoke up to ask a question.

When everyone looked at her more closely, they saw that Jia Zhen's second wife, You Shi, was about the same age as Aunt Xue. Although she was not young, she was still beautiful. After her husband's death, a trace of sorrow lingered between her brows, making her even more charming.

Wang Chengen said calmly, "Since the Emperor is coming to the Ning and Rong residences, how can you be exempted? All places must be searched, and no knives are allowed to be left in the rooms."

Eunuch Sun also smiled and said, "Consort Qin comes from the Eastern Palace and will be returning with His Majesty this time. Perhaps Consort Qin will go back to the Eastern Palace for a visit."

Lady You had long known that with her daughter-in-law's looks, she would surely be favored in the palace. She just hadn't expected that the eunuchs would treat her with the same respect as the young ladies, just as her daughter-in-law was also very favored in the palace.

One of the female officials said, "In that case, I will arrange for someone to search for the knives!"

"Wait a minute."

Tan Chun stopped her and said, "Although there is no Madam or Grandmother in the mansion, our old lady and the granddaughter and daughter raised by the Madam are serving the Emperor in the palace. The young ladies in the garden are not here, so how can we allow others to search their private quarters at will?"

The female official asked, "What would you like to do, young lady?"

Tan Chun said, "I think the rooms of the Madam, the Grandmother, and the young ladies should be searched by people from the mansion, and a few people from the palace should follow and monitor them, especially the young ladies' boudoirs. If they come back from the palace and find the house in such a mess, wouldn't they blame us?"

The eunuchs and female officials all laughed and said, "What you've considered is right, Miss. We'll do as you wish!"

So Tan Chun, along with Wang Xifeng, Madam, You Shi, Madam Shi, Aunt Xue, and others, discussed and decided how to search for knives. If any house contained poisons such as arsenic or arsenic trioxide, they would be confiscated.

Grandmother Jia watched from the side and smiled at Aunt Xue, saying, "My granddaughter has really made something of herself; she's almost as capable as Miss Bao when she was in charge of the household."

Baochai and Tanchun manage the household one after the other. Grandmother Jia was being modest. From what the maids and servants in the house just saw, the Third Miss is bold and responsible, unafraid of trouble, and able to protect the reputation of the ladies and mistresses in the family. She is even better than Baochai!
Aunt Xue smiled and said, "Bao'er also told me last night that she will be entering the palace in the future. I don't know who His Majesty will entrust with the affairs of the mansion. If the Third Miss is not in a hurry to enter the palace, she will be in charge of the household. His Majesty dotes on the young ladies."

Grandmother Jia glanced at Tan Chun, who was discussing the matter with the others, and said, "Since they have also entered the palace, they will eventually live there... Never mind, let's wait until the Emperor visits our residence, and then we'll talk about it."

Aunt Xue nodded and watched Tan Chun discuss matters with them.

The Xue family's shops and storefronts have all been confiscated. She has been staying at home with nothing to do lately, only worrying about her son Xue Pan and daughter Baochai, and not paying much attention to managing the household affairs.

After discussing for a quarter of an hour, the group reached a general agreement and then dispersed to get to work.

These days they are so busy that they don't even have time to eat. Last time they welcomed the Empress Dowager Yuan's visit home, they prepared from the first day of the Lunar New Year to the fifteenth. Now they only have four days to prepare for the Emperor's arrival. How could they not be busy?
Wang Xifeng arranged for people to search each room together with the palace maids, and then sent someone to the West Street to tell the men of the Shi and Wang families that some people should wait, and that they would be given a list to buy things later.

Ping'er assisted her as usual.

Tan Chun pulled her second sister along to the council hall to wait for a reply. Whenever there was a matter in the mansion that could not be decided, people would come to her for a decision.

Yingchun was also dragged here by Baochai last time, so she wasn't too flustered this time. She just sat with her third sister and watched her take charge.

inside the house.

Grandmother Jia said to Yuanyang, "This is the first time Third Sister has managed the household, and it's such an important matter of welcoming the Emperor. I'm worried about her. Go and take a look. I have Amber here to serve her."

Yuanyang agreed, lifted the curtain and went out, only to see Xiren standing alone outside. The maids and servants had all left, but she was still lingering in the corner outside.

Yuanyang was observant, and seeing her like this, she guessed three or four things. As she pulled Xiren to walk outside, she smiled and said to her, "Why are you still here?" Xiren was speechless for a moment, and a few more sorrows appeared on her pretty face. She sighed and said, "Where can I go if I'm not waiting outside for Madam and Miss to take orders? Qingwen and Sheyue are quite easygoing. They stay at home all day with their heads tilted to the side. They either sleep or play games and play games. They don't do much work... But I can't sit still."

Yuanyang looked at her and sighed, "You are such a hardworking maid. Today, Baoyu is not at home, and Yihong Courtyard is without its master, yet you feel uneasy."

Xiren shook off her hand and complained, "Who is destined to be debase? I came to see you because of our past friendship, and you still make fun of me!"

Yuanyang pulled her hand back and smiled, "Good sister, it's my good fortune that you came to see me. You treat me like someone you can talk to."

Xiren laughed and said, "We played together since we were little, but who knew that we would all have our own fates when we grew up. Not to mention Jin Chuan who died and Qian Xue who left, even Zijuan and Cuilu, one followed Miss Lin and the other followed Miss Yun, and they both entered the palace. Who knows what will happen to them in the future?"

Yuanyang thought for a while before sighing, "What else can we do? Entering the palace is actually more difficult than staying in the manor."

"What do you mean? What's the difficulty?" Xiren sighed. "Serving the Empress in the palace is better than what Yuchuan and I are doing now. Yuchuan is in Miss Lin's room. Miss Lin has gone to the palace several times but hasn't taken her with her. Perhaps she's going to let her go."

Yuanyang asked in surprise, "Does she not want to go out?"

After Yu Chuan complained about Madam Wang to Bao Chai and Dai Yu, she stopped serving her mistress and went to work as a lowly maid in Dai Yu's room.

Everyone in the manor had almost forgotten about her. Yuanyang hadn't spoken to her these past few days. Only Xiren, who had nothing else to do, often went to Xiaoxiang Pavilion to chat with her.

Xiren said, "It would be best if we could stay in the manor."

Looking at her, he whispered, "Think about it, the emperor punishes the ladies and grandmothers, but he shows kindness to us maids. I heard from Suyun that the palace maids and eunuchs also like the new emperor because he allows them to take a ten-day break and lets them go to Daming Palace to play in their spare time. He doesn't restrict them from being in the palace."

The mandarin ducks seemed lost in thought.

The two chatted as they walked, their steps never faltering, and soon they arrived at the council hall in front of the Grand View Garden.

Yuanyang said to her, "The manor needs people now. When we go in later, I'll find an opportunity to talk to the Third Miss and see what she can arrange for you to do."

Xiren smiled and thanked her, then said, "There are about twenty maids and servants in Yihong Courtyard, all of whom are capable of doing things. But now they are all idle, and no one is taking care of them."

Yuanyang nodded and pulled her into the council hall.

A group of wives and servants were lining up to give Tan Chun a reply. Some were asking what was missing, some were reporting things, some were people sent by Second Madam Lian to ask questions, some were servants from the East Mansion conveying a message from Madam Wang Ziteng, and there were also several palace maids and eunuchs present.

All these matters concerning the welcoming of the Emperor's arrival in the two mansions were brought together by Tan Chun and Ying Chun.

Even if she doesn't need to make the decision, I should still let her know.

Yuanyang finally found an opportunity to tell Tanchun that the old lady had asked her to come and take a look, and then took the opportunity to push Xiren out.

When Tan Chun saw her, she couldn't help but think of her second brother Bao Yu, so she said, "His Majesty is about to move into the Grand View Garden, and the garden needs to be cleaned everywhere. We are short of people right now, so you go back and lead the maids and servants from Yi Hong Courtyard to clean and sweep everywhere."

After thinking for a moment, Tan Chun smiled at her and said, "I know that you are usually very thoughtful and considerate, Xi Ren. Why don't you lead the people to clean the villa for the imperial visit, so that the people from the palace won't be unaware of what's going on in the garden?"

Xiren quickly agreed and said with a smile, "The name 'Provincial Visit Villa' was given by the eldest young lady when she returned home to visit her family. If His Majesty stays there, shouldn't the name be changed?"

Tan Chun laughed even harder upon hearing this, "You are so thoughtful, we didn't even think of that... But I can't make a decision on what name to change it to. Let's have someone prepare a plaque first, and then ask the emperor to bestow a name upon us when he arrives."

He then instructed an old woman to call someone to prepare a plaque.

Xiren hurried back to Yihong Courtyard, intending to call Qingwen and the others to do some work. Yuanyang stood watching for a while before sending a maid back to report to the old lady:
The third young lady is very steady in her work, and she handles all matters, big and small, in the mansion without any disorder.

(End of this chapter)