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

Chapter 203 Teaching the Maid

Day two.

After getting up in the morning, Baochai called Ying'er over: "You and Ruiguan should call a few more people and go to Tianxiang Tower. Maybe they can be of some help."

Ying'er smiled and said, "The Emperor has many people around him, and with Qingwen and Xiangling there, he probably doesn't need us."

Baochai said, "You just go."

Ying'er hurriedly said, "I'll go right away." Then she whispered, "His Majesty hasn't summoned any other girls to serve him yet. I suppose he's waiting until he's closer to the girls before sending them."

Baochai blushed, knowing that she was making wild guesses about her thoughts, so she scolded her and said, "I heard from Xiangling that His Majesty recently visited Lingguan. His Majesty is also very energetic. I think those maids and actresses in the room will become concubines sooner or later, and who knows, they may even be made into imperial concubines. You should pay attention to that."

Ying'er blushed, but she was also surprised by His Majesty's vigor. She had seen it last night at Tianxiang Tower, where His Majesty had his arms around both the young lady and Consort Qin, and he could easily have one on each side.

After she left, she called Ruiguan, then two maids and an old woman, and together they went to Tianxiang Tower.

Just as they arrived at the East Corner Gate, they happened to run into Qingwen and her companions, who were carrying some of the emperor's clothes. A group of palace maids and eunuchs were also nearby, but the two groups were quite far apart and seemed to be at odds with Qingwen and her companions.

What are you doing going to the East Mansion right now?

Qingwen asked in surprise, "It's just dawn, the maids and servants should be busy with morning tasks."

Ying'er smiled and said, "Miss lost a bracelet last night and doesn't know where it is. She asked me to go to Tianxiang Tower to look for it."

Upon hearing this, Qingwen turned to look at the palace maids and eunuchs, and asked with a sidelong glance, "Did any of you see Baochai's bracelet last night?"

A palace maid sneered, "We didn't see any bracelets. We don't care for the bracelets outside. If you don't believe me, you can call the people from the Palace Affairs Bureau to search us!"

Qingwen remained silent, as did Xiangling and Yuchuan, and went to Tianxiang Tower with Ying'er.

After entering, she went upstairs and knocked on the door to wake the Emperor. Ying'er saw that the palace maids all had expressions of watching a good show.

Sure enough, after Qingwen went in, Chu Yan asked her, "Where's the hot water I used for my shower this morning?"

Ying'er didn't go in, but listened from outside. However, she could imagine that Qingwen and the other two must be very flustered at this moment.

Xiangling hurriedly asked, "Does Your Majesty take a bath every morning?"

After exchanging a few words inside, Qingwen stormed out and shouted at the palace maids and eunuchs outside, "All of you, come here! Who's in charge of delivering hot water this morning?"

Ying'er saw them arguing.

The palace maids and eunuchs said that Qingwen was in charge now, and they had forgotten to go to the kitchen to prepare without being instructed. Qingwen scolded them for being heartless and ganging up on her, and for a moment neither side was satisfied.

"Come in, all of you." The Emperor's calm voice silenced everyone on both sides.

Ying'er also went into the room in fear and unease. She secretly peeked in and saw that the emperor was only wearing a pair of trousers and was sitting in a chair with an imposing aura.

Qingwen, Xiangling, and a group of palace maids knelt on the ground. Although it had nothing to do with Ying'er, she had no choice but to kneel as well.

She only heard the emperor speak: "You may be arguing, and both sides have their grievances, and I am too lazy to pay attention to it, but you should not use me as a pretext."

Ying'er's heart skipped a beat. Before she could think any further, the emperor's punishment was already handed down:
"Qingwen, the three of you did not do things properly. Considering that you are new here, I will only fine you half a month's salary."

"You palace maids and eunuchs are the main culprits. Go and deliver the imperial decree to the Shanggong Bureau to find out who came up with this terrible idea. Then tell Empress Zhang what happened and order her to deal with it."

As soon as Chu Yan finished speaking, a palace maid suddenly kowtowed and cried, "Your Majesty, this servant did not participate in today's events. I beg Your Majesty to have mercy. Since Your Majesty entered the palace, this servant has been serving Your Majesty in bathing and changing clothes. Today, someone instructed us to try to dampen the spirits of Miss Qingwen and the other two."

"Humph!"

Qingwen turned around and glared angrily at those people. Sure enough, these were the ones who were causing trouble behind the scenes! Because the Emperor was staying at Tianxiang Tower today, they deliberately didn't prepare hot water so they could shift the blame onto the three of them!

Yu Chuan was surprised that His Majesty had so easily figured out the whole story.

Chu Yan said calmly, "You all go out and investigate thoroughly before we talk. Xiangling, have someone bring two buckets of cold water and put them in the courtyard. I'll just wash with cold water today. Also, prepare some hot water for Consort Qin."

Qin Keqing's laughter came from inside the room: "Thank you for your generous gift, Your Majesty!"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Xiangling kowtowed before getting up to do her work. Qingwen chased everyone out and ordered the maids Ying'er had brought to carry water buckets.

"You three come in."

Chu Yan continued.

Qingwen, Xiangling, and Yuchuan hurried inside and stood there with their heads down.

Chu Yan looked at the three of them and said, "You must remember that you are my maids. As long as it is an order from me, you are the ones who convey the decree, and no one is allowed to disobey it."

For example, just now, Xiangling, if you need to order people around, Qingwen, you should send someone to the East Mansion to ask the Wang and Shi families to send people to serve you. The people in the palace and the Daguan Palace should also be at your beck and call, not just two or three people. What can a few of them accomplish?"

Qingwen blushed instantly, and Xiangling was also very ashamed. Aunt Xue had said that she would be given a maid after her face was opened, so she had always served others and never asked anyone to do anything for her.

Chu Yan laughed and said, "I told you not to bully others by relying on your power, but I didn't mean you should cower in fear. If you are in the right, just go ahead and order people around. For example, right now, before the punishment is given, you should order the eunuchs and palace maids to stand by the wall and wait for their fate."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Once the investigation is complete, and it is found that Empress Zhang punished people, all those who were punished should be sent out of the palace, while those who were not punished should be let go and not punished at all, and should still be allowed to serve."

Remember, those who have been punished should not be allowed to remain. Those who remain are those who have not committed serious crimes, lest they harbor resentment towards me or you.

Although he had a system, he didn't want to cause trouble like being killed by a chef or strangled by a palace maid.

Seeing that they had taken his words to heart, Chu Yan waved for them to leave.

After Qingwen left, she immediately ordered the group of palace servants to leave Tianxiang Tower and stand in line against the wall, forbidding any of them from running away. She also sent someone to the East Mansion to order about ten maids and servants to come quickly to serve her.

After a while, two buckets of cold water were brought over. Xiangling asked, "Your Majesty wants to wash with cold water? You might catch a cold. Perhaps you should wait a little longer. The kitchen is boiling water."

"It's fine. I can take a cold shower even in winter, let alone in summer."

Chu Yan came to the courtyard on the first floor naked, and without asking them to wash him, he quickly washed himself as if he were still on the march and fighting.

Qingwen, Xiangling, and the others watched from the side. Baozhu and Ruizhu, who had received favors last night, also put on their clothes and came out to help after realizing that there were fewer people to serve them.

Ying'er and Ruiguan were seeing the emperor for the first time, and their faces flushed with embarrassment upon seeing his strong and tall figure.

Ying'er glanced at them a few times, then looked at the emperor, thinking to herself, "He truly deserves to be called a man who seized the throne through rebellion. He is as strong as an ox, with bulging shoulders and a very solid waist and abdomen."

She was somewhat stunned, recalling the last time the emperor held her in his arms.

Chu Yan was already used to being watched while taking a bath, so he didn't care. After a quick and simple shower, Qingwen and the others helped him dry off before he got dressed for the morning court session. He didn't dwell on the little incident earlier and left it to them to handle.

Xia Shouzhong rushed over upon hearing the news. He was startled to see a group of palace maids and eunuchs being punished by standing against the wall. He quickly came forward, kowtowed, and begged for forgiveness.

"Do as they say."

Chu Yan made a casual remark and went straight to court.

"Miss Qingwen, please give me any instructions, and I will carry them out!" Xia Shouzhong said with a fawning smile as he came forward to receive orders. "First, summon the people from the Shanggong Bureau!"

Qingwen was seething with anger: "Let them find out who the mastermind is! What kind of hussies are they? It's one thing if they don't like us, but they actually dragged His Majesty into this!"

She was determined to kick those people out!

Xia Shouzhong hurriedly ordered the eunuch to summon someone.

Yu Chuan said, "His Majesty also ordered us to deliver a message... no, an edict to the Empress, but the Empress is in the palace, what should we do?"

Xiangling and Qingwen were unsure what to do, but Xia Shouzhong laughed and said, "What's so difficult about that? I'll just have a few eunuchs accompany you to the palace and deliver the message to Her Majesty the Empress!"

The three of them then realized:

Although they had never been inside the palace, to them it was merely a place where they would live in the future, and they could come and go freely within it.

……

After Ying'er returned home, she told the young lady what had happened that morning.

Upon hearing this, Baochai couldn't help but feel puzzled:
The Emperor did not entrust the matter to Tan Chun because he was dissatisfied with her managing the household these days, or because he thought she was not familiar with the affairs of the palace, and thus ordered Empress Zhang to handle it.
Judging from this, it seems that in the emperor's mind, Empress Zhang's ability to manage the harem was even higher than that of Consort Yuan Chun, after all, she was the legitimate empress of the previous dynasty and had been in charge of the harem for ten years.

After thinking it over, Baochai stood up and said, "Let's go to my eldest sister's place."

Just as she was leaving, she saw Lin Daiyu gracefully walking into Hengwu Garden. Upon seeing her, she smiled and said, "Sister Bao, are you going out? Where is Sister Qin? I was just about to ask you to go to the old lady's room together."

Baoqin came out to greet her, smiling, "I was just about to go out when Sister Lin happened to come looking for me."

Zijuan immediately realized that Miss Qin hadn't intended to go out earlier; she only came out after hearing them come in.

In the past, the sisters would gather together before going to pay their respects to Grandmother Jia. Since it was usually Baochai who went to Xiaoxiang Pavilion, it was rare for Daiyu to come to see her today.

Daiyu smiled and asked, "Where is Sister Bao going?"

Baochai had no choice but to recount what had just happened, and then said, "Now that Third Sister is the Minister of the Grand View Palace, it would be good to go and tell her."

Daiyu thought for a moment and then smiled and said, "Why bother with him? It's a matter for the Emperor's family. There's no imperial decree for Third Sister. There's no point in her going up there."

Baoqin smiled and said, "When we pass by Qiushuangzhai later, we'll tell Third Sister to go and discuss it with Eldest Sister. His Majesty has ordered Xiangling and the others to handle it, so we won't get involved too much."

Daiyu and Baochai both agreed, so they went out together. When they passed Daoxiang Village, Daiyu said, "We haven't seen our sister-in-law for several days. Let's go and bother her and see what she's up to now."

Upon hearing this, Baochai smiled at her and said, "Pin'er is the most clever. You can say it later. I'm too embarrassed to say these things; it would be too shameful."

Baoqin smiled and followed her inside.

Zijuan, Ying'er, and Xiaoluo, the three maids who were following along, were puzzled. What kind of riddle were their young ladies playing?
Upon entering Daoxiang Village, Ying'er saw Li Wan but not Jia Lan. Only then did she realize that Jia Lan had been staying in Grandmother Jia's room and had not returned since that night.

After they met, Daiyu smiled and asked, "Is the Palace Attendant feeling any better?"

Baoqin smiled, knowing that this was indeed her sister Lin, who was exceptionally intelligent and spoke in a way that was different from others.

Li Wan sighed, "It's kind of you to still remember me and come to visit me, but as soon as Daiyu arrived, she started making fun of me. How awful!"

After she had slept with the emperor, she felt triumphant for a day or two.

But soon she noticed the change in the attitude of the people in the mansion towards her. Not to mention the old lady and the madam, the people in the mansion gradually stopped treating her as the eldest mistress of the Zhu family and only regarded her as a concubine in the palace, showing her great respect but also keeping her at a distance.

She was too embarrassed to go to the emperor again.

Jia Lan didn't come back to live in Daoxiang Village either!
Only today have Lin Daiyu and two others come to visit her.

"Stop talking about this, come with us." Daiyu took Li Wan's hand and said with a smile, "You can't possibly stay away from people forever, can you?"

Li Wan had no choice but to go out with them.

Zijuan and the others then understood that this was the reason.

The group then went to Nuanxiangwu. Once inside, Daiyu quickly noticed that Xichun's room had many more items. Upon closer inspection, she discovered that they were a pile of paints and coloring brushes.

Xichun had just finished dressing and greeted them by inviting them to sit down.

Li Wan laughed and asked, "Where did you get all these things?"

Xichun said, "It was given to me by the Emperor."

Li Wan asked in surprise, "Did His Majesty bestow this upon you for painting?"

Baochai then laughed and said, "You don't know, His Majesty wants Fourth Sister to paint a 'Grand View Garden Beauty Picture' based on 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival,' and he wants us all to be in it!"

Xichun nodded and smiled in agreement.

Daiyu hurriedly asked, "Do you have any for Sister Bao?"

Baoqin quickly replied with a smile, "Sister's scenery is chasing butterflies!"

Then she told him about chasing butterflies, and Baochai couldn't stop her even if she wanted to.

Li Wan smiled at Baochai and said, "Miss Bao doesn't usually seem like the type to chase butterflies with a fan. We'll have to take a good look at the painting when Fourth Sister finishes it!"

Baochai smiled and said, "There's also one for Sister Pin."

Upon hearing this, Li Wan knew that her own painting wasn't included, and she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. However, she smiled and asked, "What scenery did you paint, Sister Pin? Were there other scenes that His Majesty specifically requested Fourth Sister to paint?"

Daiyu was also a little curious.

Xichun couldn't bring herself to say it, but Baoqin, seeing this, smiled and said, "We still need to go find Third Sister. We'll talk about painting when we get back."

Daiyu nodded and said, "Let's go find Yun'er later. She'll definitely want to come and see this interesting thing."

So they sent someone to the side hall to see if Xiangyun was there, and then they took Xichun with them. The group walked through the Lotus Fragrance Pavilion and arrived at the Autumn Breeze Studio.

After entering, they did not see Tan Chun, so they went to Zilingzhou to call Ying Chun. They heard that Xiang Yun was not in the side hall, so they all went to Jia Mu's room to pay their respects.

Upon entering the room, they saw Xiangyun, who was already sitting with Yuanchun, chatting and laughing with Grandmother Jia. When she saw them, Xiangyun quickly got up to greet them, saying with a smile, "You all came together without calling me!"

Baochai smiled and said, "It was Daiyu who came to see me."

Xiangyun immediately understood; her sister Lin was afraid to go to the side hall to find her, lest she run into His Majesty the Emperor.

The young ladies greeted the old lady and the madam. Li Wan mingled among them and gave a perfunctory bow. Fortunately, Jia Lan was there, so Li Wan used the excuse of asking him about his studies to pull her son aside and avoid showing herself in front of her mother-in-law as usual.

Just then, a maid came to report: "Third Miss invites Second Mistress to Tianxiang Tower!"

Everyone was puzzled, but when Baochai explained what had happened, they learned that the emperor had unusually punished someone that morning.

(End of this chapter)