It’s Better to be the Empress Dowager

In winter, the sky darkened quickly. Master Tang carried the lantern and returned to the cymbal courtyard. The maidservants rushed up, waiting for Master Tang to undress the cloak and change the indoor clothes.

As Du Juan tidyed up the clothes of Master Tang, he complained: "There is no size for three days of newlyweds, and the county magistrate still has nine days off for marriage. This is the next day, and the girl is going to work."

Master Tang laughed: "It's the elder son who got married, but it's not me. What leave do I have? This is the decision of the prince, so let's just say a few words."

Du Juan is just a slander, how dare you really question Zhao Chengjun's decision. Master Tang changed into the soft-soled shoes worn indoors and wore a flimsy home-style jacket and skirt. Du Juan asked, "Girl, do you have dinner prepared for you. Do you want to pass it on now or take a break?"

Master Tang thought for a while and said, "Tell it now."

"Yes."

Dujuan led the maid to set up the dining table. Master Tang touched the little fox for a while, and went to the dining room for dinner in no hurry.

Although there is a small kitchen in the yard of Master Tang, it is too troublesome to open the stove. Master Tang didn't have the courage to open a small stove for herself, so she always followed the big kitchen to eat. There are rules for everything in the palace, what status is worth what kind of treatment, how much money is paid each month, how many dishes can be ordered per meal, and how many new clothes to make every quarter are all stipulated. As a teacher and teacher of Tang, he has a monthly salary of twelve, four dishes and one soup for each meal in the morning, afternoon and evening, four clothes per quarter, and new jewelry during the holidays.

If you don’t have enough clothes to wear, or if you want to eat other dishes, you have to spend your own money to go to the sewing room and kitchen. In fact, for the female family members in the house, relying on the example of the public school is definitely not enough.

Putting aside the appetite for the moment, just talk about clothes, who can only wear four clothes in a season? Even if the single product comes back to wear it, it is too shabby.

Not to mention, the ten beauties of the palace are still in vogue. If anyone wears repetitive clothes, they are sure to be laughed at.

In fact, it’s not that Tang Shishi’s quota is low, on the contrary, her treatment is already the only one in the mansion, and the monthly offerings are the same as that of Aunt Tongxiu. Of course, Tongxiu has been in charge of internal affairs for many years, and the oil and water in private are counted separately, but the salary level of the two people is the same.

Teachers and teachers of Tang are like this, but Ji Xinxian is far behind. When Ji Xinxian and others entered the palace, the family prepared them a generous amount of private money. Now they can still rely on their old books to support them. After a while, I am afraid they will be stretched.

That's why women are stubborn about butler rights. After all, whoever is the housekeeper will hold the money and connections, regardless of what the man says, it is true that he has money in his hands.

Master Tang sat down at the table and found six dishes on it. Master Tang glanced and asked, "Why is there one more?"

"Girl, this is the dessert from the big kitchen today. They said that the milk sent from the Zhuangzi recently was fresh, so they made cheese for the girl and asked the girl to try it."

Teacher Tang smiled: "Mother Yang is polite. When the people from the big kitchen come back tomorrow, I will thank Mama Yang for me."

The person in charge of the kitchen is Mrs. Yang, who is used to stepping up and down. Now Master Tang is in full swing, and she changes her method every day to please Master Tang. Although the rules for each person are well-prescribed, the rules are dead and people are alive. As long as the big kitchen thinks about it, there are some workarounds.

The four dishes in Master Tang's example are all exquisite and grand, and the dishes are more than four dishes. Not only that, Po Yang also came to give Master Tang dim sum, desserts, and seasonal fresh food from time to time, which far exceeded the case.

Master Tang sighed, it's no wonder that no matter the court or the back house, every woman wants to climb up. To be pleased and ignored is too much difference.

Once Tang Shishi was the one who was neglected. Although she had no shortage of food, clothing, shelter and transportation in the Tang family, she was left alone in everything. Su clan and Tang Yanyan’s mother and daughter hold the housekeeping rights. Every time no matter what Master Tang wants, Su clan always pushes back on the grounds of "not enough money in the public", "I don’t know how much money is in my family", and sometimes even Lin Wanxi All the medicinal materials are deducted.

But now, the clothes and jewelry of the Royal Palace are first sent to Master Tang for viewing, and will be given to several others after Master Tang has finished picking them. Fresh fruits and vegetables were close to Master Tang, she didn't say a word, and the large kitchen would even take the initiative to bring snacks.

Sure enough, the taste of being pleased by others, as long as you try it once, you don't want to let go.

Master Tang smiled, and said, "It's rare that they are interested. Let's take a bowl and come over."

"Yes." Du Juan replied, scooped a bowl of cheese, and put it in front of Master Tang. Master Tang stirred, tasted a small spoonful, sweet but not greasy, the milk was fragrant and soft, and it was done well.

Master Tang put down the spoon and said, "Yes. Why does she think of giving me something?"

Dujuan arranged vegetables for Master Tang, heard the words, and said casually: "Who knows, it may be that the concubine of the world is cleaning up the staff drastically today, which scared them. The kitchen manager is fat and poor, and Mrs. Yang does not know how much oil and water he has fished, and now the concubine of the world takes over. In Zhongcui, Mrs. Yang is afraid of finding her, so it makes sense to come to please the girl in advance."

Master Tang took a bite of tofu and asked, "The concubine?"

"Yes, girl, you are in the study today. I don’t know what happened in the mansion. The concubine took two people to be concubines. In the afternoon, he summoned all the servants of the mansion. Haosheng reprimanded him and said that he wanted to clean up the house and discipline. The concubine also said that she will be rewarded if she has merits, she will be punished if she has done anything, and she will never let go of someone who commits crimes such as rape, slippery, mixed eating, and so on."

Master Tang gave a hum and said, "It's a coincidence, I'm the group of people who sneaked, raped, ate, and died."

"Girl, what are you talking about?" Du Juan smiled, "You work as an errand in the study of the prince. You don’t even take a break from the big wedding of your elder son. How important is it! You have an important job, and you look good, and the girl’s blessing is still good. Behind."

Master Tang chuckled and didn't speak. I don’t know why everyone in the palace felt that she was particularly used in the study. Is she a woman, or a woman sent by the Queen Mother, might she be trusted by King Jing?

impossible. In the study, she copied useless books every day, just dragging the time. Mechanical, repetitive, never in the first day, and open all year round, no late arrival or early departure is not allowed.

Master Tang felt bitter, but she couldn't say anything.

Dujuan tentatively asked Tang Shishi while adding vegetables, "Girl, the concubine Shizi carried Zhou Meiren and Ren Meiren as concubines. Do we want to send some gifts?"

"Hey? Why are they concubines for the eldest son?" Master Tang wiped the corners of his mouth with the kerchief, and said slowly, "Don't worry about the affairs of the Yi Nian Academy. It doesn’t matter. The prince concubine is now the new master of the palace. Once the emperor and the courtier, many things are different from before. You should settle down, focus on your own affairs, and don’t go out and provocation. No matter what you arrange, you should Next, you know?"

As soon as Du Juan heard Master Tang's words, she knew that this was not a joke. She tied her hands and replied respectfully: "Yes."

In the dead of night, Master Tang turned the book and saw a new plot. In the original book, Lu Yufei also came in early, and as soon as he entered the mansion, he was bold and ambitious. Zhao Zixun has a sense of freshness, and is considered courteous to Lu Yufei. On the second day of his wedding, Lu Yufei carried two concubines in succession. They were obviously virtuous and generous. In fact, they used Ren Yujun to divide Zhou Shunhua’s favor to provoke them. The relationship between the two.

Lu Yufei did succeed, and Ren Yujun and Zhou Shunhua became more and more strangers, never going back to the beginning. However, Lu Yufei's move was tantamount to drinking poison to quench his thirst. The concubine opened his head and couldn't stop it afterwards. The concubine's concubine divided Zhou Shunhua's favor, as did her.

This was Zhou Shunhua’s most difficult period of time. She experienced a huge gap from the noble woman to the concubine’s room, and her living expenses were secretly deducted by Lu Yufei. The best sister became the sharp knife that stabbed her. The most terrifying thing was that Lian Zhao Zixun was also weak to her.

Suddenly there are so many women around, how much energy does Zhao Zixun have to give Zhou Shunhua? The book describes it like this, "Zhou Shunhua keeps a low profile, stays away from the edge, ignores the arrogant and domineering concubine, and does not listen to the recent news about who is favored again, and is devoted to her little life. She believes that the young man by the lake is right. She is different. The more lonely she is now, the more distressed she will be when Zhao Zixun learns everything. Zhou Shunhua is waiting, waiting for a chance to fight back."

Master Tang immediately turned to the catalog and looked for Zhou Shunhua's opportunity to "reverse the Jedi". I don’t see much in the catalog. Most of them are flashy descriptions. According to the title, it is really impossible to guess what the content is. Based on years of experience in reading scripts, Master Tang found a chapter with spring, flowers and desires in the title, and at first glance it was a chapter of that kind of drama. He pushed back and tried to extract the keywords in the title.

The nearby chapters all mention "firecrackers", "new year", "fireworks", etc., which seems to be something New Year's Eve. Master Tang touched his chin and pondered slowly: "New Year's Eve..."

Could it be that Zhou Shunhua's turning point was during the Chinese New Year? Master Tang glanced at the moonlight, now it has entered December, and it will soon be New Year's Eve.

When it came time to guess the plot again, Master Tang was holding her head with a headache. She really couldn't understand the thoughts of the hero and the hero, and she couldn't believe her now. Teachers and students of Teacher Tang were afraid that they had chosen the wrong option again. Out of prudence, she conservatively decided to stay on hold recently. When she was sure to see the female initiative, she would come forward to grab it.

Master Tang thought with a fright, this time, there will be no mistakes, right?

Master Tang and Du Juan had only mentioned their concubine, but they didn't expect that within a few days, Lu Yufei would even send someone to invite Master Tang to speak.

Master Tang was instinctively vigilant, and went to the Yi Nian Academy to make an appointment with his heart. The red silk in Yinianyuan has not been removed yet, and the red happy characters can be seen everywhere. Lu Yufei's nanny drew the curtains for Teacher Tang herself, and shouted inside: "Second concubine, girl Tang is here."

As soon as Master Tang entered the door, Lu Yufei greeted him with a smile on his face: "It turns out that Miss Tang is here. I just took a nap and didn't pay attention to the outside voice. Why didn't Miss Tang send someone to tell me when Miss Tang came? Go outside to greet you."

Teacher Tang also smiled and said courteous words: "Don't dare, the concubine is noble, how can I be greeted by the concubine. It's my misfortune that interrupted the concubine's rest and apologized to her.

Master Tang made a powerful salute, and Lu Yufei hurriedly took hold of Master Tang’s arm and groaned: "Girl Tang must not say that. You are a powerful person by your father's side. Thanks to Girl Tang for taking care of his father these days, I thank you for being too late. Why? Dare to blame you? Look at me, as soon as I am happy, the etiquette is over, Miss Tang will soon sit inside."

Lu Yufei took Master Tang to sit down, and Master Tang sat on the Luohan bed, opposite Lu Yufei. After she sat down, the maidservant filed forward to change tea and put cakes. After everything was cleaned up, two beauties dressed in palace costumes stepped forward and saluted Master Tang: "Tang girl, Wanfu."

Master Tang has seen them two long ago and has been pretending not to know. Until now, she has turned her gaze to these two people and pretended to evade hurriedly: "It was my negligence that I didn't even see Sister Ren and Sister Zhou. How dare I be a gift to the two sisters..."

Lu Yufei held down Master Tang's hand and said, "What are you talking about, Miss Tang? You are my distinguished guest, and the concubine salutes you. Why can't you be a concubine? If Miss Tang said this again, she would look down on me."

Master Tang did just pretend, she sat down if she had done enough, and said, "If that's the case, I'll be bold. Two people, please get up."

Zhou Shunhua and Ren Yujun kept squatting. During the period Tang Shishi talked to Lu Yufei, they kept their heads down and kept this position motionless. After hearing the words of Master Tang, they said, "Thank you, Miss Tang."

Zhou Shunhua and Ren Yujun filed aside, bowed their heads and closed their eyes, like submissive rabbits. Master Tang was holding tea in his hand, stepping on his feet, sitting on the warm and magnificent Luohan bed, and asked: "The concubine, what can I do if you call me this time?"

Lu Yufei smiled and said: "I don't want to hide from Miss Tang, I'm calling you this time, there is indeed something I want to ask Miss Tang for help."

"Oh?" Master Tang put the tea on the table and said, "I would like to hear the details."

"It will be New Year's Eve soon. I am a new wife who has just entered the door. It is the first time I have managed such a big banquet. I am really worried. I invited Miss Tang to ask about the New Year's Eve festival."

"Ask me?" Master Tang was really surprised. She said, "Early concubine, I am just a maid. I entered the mansion not much earlier than you, and I don't know much about these things. If the concubine is really uncertain, it is better to ask Tong. Aunt Xiu."

"I have asked Aunt Tongxiu for the regulations of previous years. I'm sorry to trouble Auntie." Lu Yufei said, "Moreover, this New Year's Eve banquet is different from previous years. There are usually few people in the palace, so you can have a casual meal on New Year's Eve banquet. The meal is over, it's really a bit sad. This year, I want to do a big deal."

Master Tang's eyes moved, revealing some meaningful expressions. Lu Yufei had just married into the Prince Jing’s mansion and hadn’t even figured out the staff below, so Lu Yufei dared to host the New Year’s Eve banquet in a big way, and even wanted to do it. This concubine is so confident about herself?

Master Tang smiled and stopped making suggestions. Instead, he followed Lu Yufei's meaning and said: "I heard that the concubine of the concubine is very capable, and now it seems that the prince's gaze is indeed correct. I don't know how big the concubine is going to be. do?"

Lu Yufei had a real smile on his face when he heard the praise. Since entering the door, Lu Yufei has always been polite to Master Tang, but this kind of politeness is completely on the surface. In fact, the corners of Lu Yufei's eyes are full of pride and contempt.

She is an official concubine from an innocent background, and now she is still a concubine, how can she be regarded as a group of beauties who serve people in Israel? Even if this group of people came from the court.

Lu Yufei took out the list and said, "This is my rough song and dance list. Look, Miss Tang, is there anything else I want to add?"

Master Tang took the list, looked down, and found that the time and repertoire were arranged on it. Where did you come to solicit opinions? Master Tang put down his things, nodded, and said, "The arrangement is very good. I like it very much. There is nothing to change."

Lu Yufei hurriedly asked: "Ms. Tang often follows her father, trying to understand her father's preferences very well. I don't know, Miss Yitang, would her father like it?"

Where does Master Tang know? Without changing her face, she said: "Don't worry about the concubine, the prince likes this type, and the concubine will just let it go."

Lu Yufei breathed a sigh of relief, with a real smile on his face: "That's good. Thank you Miss Tang."

While they were talking here, the little maid outside suddenly reported: "The son is back."

Master Tang was surprised and realized that Zhao Zixun would not need to go to the study hall for a few days off. Master Tang hesitated for a while, and still stood up and said, "The son is back, it is inconvenient for me to bother, so I will leave."

Lu Yufei didn't expect Master Tang to leave so neatly. She wanted to leave a sentence, and sent Master Tang out. After all, Lu Yufei didn't want another woman to be pestered next to him when he was talking to Zhao Zixun.

When Zhao Zixun entered the main entrance, he happened to see Master Tang lift the bead curtain and exit from the inner room. When Master Tang saw Zhao Zixun, he nodded with a smile, and gently saluted: "The world's son Wanan."

Zhao Zixun was stunned. He didn't expect that he would meet Master Tang here.

Lu Yufei followed out, stood beside Zhao Zixun, and whispered to Master Tang to be careful on the road. Master Tang nodded with a smile, stretched out her hand, and the maid fastened her cloak, put on ear warmers and hand guards, and finally, held the hand stove.

In the blink of an eye, Master Tang took care of everything, and the costumes were exquisite and grand and bright. She said to Lu Yufei, "The concubine of the empire stays for a walk", then looked at Zhao Zixun, nodded, and opened the curtain to go out.

It looks glamorous, without nostalgia.