125. Is there no such thing as peace and joy

Let's say that the little eunuch Xiang Ping'en had his two paws scalded the day before, and he also met the soldiers in the palace to clean up the population in a hurry.He could only shiver and hide in his room, not daring to make a sound, waiting for this moment of chaos to pass.

He thought that as the only one who was not implicated, those colleagues who were kicked out would definitely hate him when they saw him.After all, this has happened more than once, and he is still very self-aware of his ability to pull hatred.

However, it was quite amazing that when his colleagues packed their things and left the palace, they passed by him one by one like running water, but they didn't take a second look at him.There is neither jealousy nor resentment, as if this person does not exist.

Finally, he couldn't bear it any longer, and before the last person stepped out of the house, Xiang Ping stopped him and asked suspiciously:

"You...you didn't bother me?"

The little eunuch who was stopped was holding a salute bag in his arms, and looked at him strangely for a while:

"I heard from them, haven't you already decided to stay in the palace and never return to the palace? So why do we bother you?"

Then he shook his head, and suddenly a strange expression of pity and contempt appeared on his face:

"I really don't know what you think. Originally, you got the favor of the prince and learned a good skill. After returning to the palace, you will naturally be able to rise to the sky. But you are in this palace... no matter how good you are at cooking,There is only a big kitchen at the top, and there are only a few dozen people under him, what kind of tricks can this make?"

"As for us...Even if we have failed at the prince's place this time, we will still work in the Ministry of Internal Affairs when we go back. Even if we don't get any benefits for the time being, as long as we look smart, we will always be able to climb up in the future.”

"..."

Xiang Ping's face was dull, the little eunuch looked at him for a while incomprehension, shook his head again, and walked out the door without looking back while holding his luggage.

Waiting until the stewards of the palace kicked out those people one by one with their burdens, it was already the climax of the moon.Xiang Ping'en walked around in the courtyard where he lived, but no one from the palace came to arrange work for him.

So he had no choice but to look at the places where they lived one by one, and saw that they left in a hurry, and there were some traces of not cleaning up.

He thought, he could not let the people in the palace clean them up, so he brought buckets, rags and other cleaning tools from the backyard to clean up all the places where all of them lived, and then went back to sleep exhausted.

………………

On the second day, just after dawn, he woke up as usual.At this time in the past, they would have already got up to boil water, chop firewood and put the stove on, and did the heavy work of the imperial dining room first.Then all the staff made breakfast for His Majesty, and gave His Majesty half an hour to finish eating them before the morning meeting.

However, when he raised his eyes and saw the elegant flowers and plants in the yard outside the window, he realized that he was already a member of the palace.

Thinking of this, he suddenly became a little nervous. He was still a newcomer when he first arrived, so naturally he should look smarter, and the relationship between the upper and lower levels had to be smoothed over.He was assigned by the prince to work at Yunzhangshan, so he quickly got up and went to the small kitchen to see if there was anything he needed to do.

After all, according to the usual practice, Shangfeng will give them the jobs that they don't want to do for their servants.

What's important is that doing these jobs is nothing to him, it's something he's used to.As long as he can live a peaceful life in this palace, he doesn't have to be wary of someone who doesn't like him every day, it will be a great comfort for him.

…………………

After Pei Nianyu sent away the group of unsightly imperial kitchen apprentices, he finally felt refreshed.

He looked at the day, and before he knew it, it was already the twenty-third of the twelfth lunar month, which was the time of the new year.

But thinking about it, it's almost the same. Those people came to the palace after Laba, and he taught them for more than ten days before they all left the house.Now that there are no such troublesome things, he finally has time to think about how to live this year in the mansion.

All matters related to etiquette at the end of the year, including sacrifices and the like, as well as daily new clothes, etc., can be handed over to Manager Gao, and he does not need to worry about these.There is only one thing he needs to worry about, and that is what delicious food he can cook during the Chinese New Year.

So early in the morning, Pei Nianyu went to the small kitchen in the backyard, thinking to discuss with Yun Shao, what kind of hard dishes could be cooked.However, just as he walked to the door of the backyard, he heard Yun Shao's slightly angry voice, which seemed to be reprimanding someone:

"How long have you been here? No, what are you cleaning up in this small kitchen? Did you clean it up? Don't you see that your hands are swollen into pig's feet, and you still work?"

"Still sweeping the floor! I don't understand. What's the use of sweeping the fallen leaves in the yard? Doesn't the bare marble floor look good after sweeping?"

Pei Nianyu frowned, and quickly walked in, only to see Yun Shao frowning and crossing his arms to scold others, while Xiang Pingen, who was holding a big broom of his height, was listening to Yun Shao's chatter with a confused face..

He saw Xiang Ping'en's hands at a glance—obviously Yun Shao was not exaggerating, his hands were almost twice as swollen after being scalded, and the rough broom had also hurt a lot.

Pei Nianyu asked:

"what happened?"

Yun Shao hurriedly complained:

"The subordinates have seen him sweeping the floor in this yard early in the morning, and they don't know why he is crazy."

Pei Nianyu frowned, and asked about his injury first:

"After you burned your hands yesterday, didn't you go to deal with it?"

When Xiang Ping saw that the prince came here, he quickly threw away the broom as a salute, and then explained in embarrassment that no one cared about his affairs yesterday, but it sounded like he was blaming the people in the mansion.

Pei Nianyu slapped his head, quite apologetically:

"I'm sorry, I was negligent. I should have sent someone to arrange for you yesterday. You can deal with your hands later. You don't need to do these tasks. There are special people to clean them up. My palace doesn't care.As for the lack of people, let you have a cook to sweep the floor."

"As for learning how to cook...let's talk about it after the new year. You can't eat hot tofu in a hurry. You need to raise your hands for a few more days. Otherwise, you can't even hold a knife steadily. How can you practice knife skills?"

"It just so happens that Yun Shao and I are going to prepare ingredients for the New Year these few days, so you just study by the side."

He froze for a moment to Pingen, what does this mean, because he could burn his hands with hot water...for a few days without working?But the prince is cooking, and he is watching from the side, what's the matter with that?

"Don't refute me, you are my apprentice, just do as I say."

"Yes, slave...I see."

"Yun Shao, you ask Director Gao to give him... Forget it, you go and arrange it. Arrange a place for him, and then take him to various places in the mansion to get his name. The monthly salary and living expenses will be paid according toAccording to the grade of Deputy Shangshan, if there is anything missing, you can go to the treasurer to get it."

Xiang Ping'en quickly thanked the prince, and then said to Yun Shao:

"This time, there is really Mr. Lao Yun..."

Yun Shao raised an eyebrow:

"I'm just a little maidservant of the prince, why do you call me every adult?"

"..."

After staying in the palace for a long time, Xiang Ping'en has never seen such a person who is not happy to be honored by others. He racked his brains to come up with a flattering word, and quickly patted it:

"My lord...the bearing is extraordinary, like the master of the mansion, it is not comparable to ordinary maids."

"..."

Pei Nianyu and Yun Shao looked at each other, and Qi Qi sighed helplessly.Yun Shao satirized him and said:

"You are quite courageous, and you dare to say this. Except for the prince, the masters in the palace are either princesses or princesses. If you call me a maid as the master of the palace, if you let meThe prince has heard, this is a crime of treason and immorality."

Yun Shao said that she was "just a maid", but her expression was still calm.It's just that Xiang Ping'en, who was next to him, realized that he seemed to have said something wrong, and he was so frightened that he hugged the broom in his hand tightly again, while secretly looking at the prince's face.

Pei Nianyu was helpless:

"Yun Shao, why did you start to scare him to play. But, Pingen, you... you... well, I really don't know how you managed to survive in the Ministry of Internal Affairs for so many years with your temper."

Xiang Pingen: "..."

Yun Shao patted him on the shoulder:

"Since you are the prince's apprentice, you can just call me senior sister. Let's go, sister will take you to find a place to live, and tell you about the rules of this mansion by the way."

"yes."

……………………

Yun Shao arranged for him a courtyard not far from the small kitchen of Hanqiu Pavilion.Because he was an eunuch, he didn't have any scruples about men and women. He lived in a yard with three other maids and two maids, and he lived in a wing room by himself.

Then Yun Shao took him to meet the other stewards in the mansion, the two walked on the road in the palace, Yun Shao told him the rules of the mansion.Xiang Pingen's heart trembled, and he quickly remembered:

"The ethos of our King Yu Palace is very different from that of your palace. In informal occasions, the address in the weekdays does not have to be said to be an official position. For those who work in the palace, the maids call them girls and sisters, and the others are called girls according to their ages.Just call it."

"If you see the shadow guards, call your lord—they are all with military positions above the fifth rank. Oh, yes, the shadow guards in the mansion are divided into two shifts, day and night. The shadow guards on duty at night do not need to be on duty during the day.He will wander around the mansion or eat and drink, you don’t have to make a fuss if you see him.”

"and also……"

He said a lot of random things, and Xiang Ping kept it in his heart, but he was a little puzzled.These things are not so much "rules", but there are no rules. It is better to say "don't be surprised when you see these scenes".

"As for the rules in this mansion, the last one is the most important one, which is to respect... the princess."

Xiang Ping'en was taken aback, he hadn't heard that the prince has accepted the concubine?

"You will know if you see the princess later. The princess was originally the shadow guard of the prince. She has been with the prince for more than ten years. She has made great contributions and has a strong friendship..."

Unknowingly, the two of them turned back to the periphery of Hanqiu Pavilion while they were talking.Lou Yefeng from Dongkuayuan happened to hear the two gossiping outside the wall, and couldn't help turning over and getting out.

The black figure landed lightly, and Yun Shao immediately introduced:

"No, this is the princess."

Lou Yefeng was angry:

"Yun Shao, what are you talking about?"

"This is what the master said in a golden mouth. Why, the master said it, but I can't say it?"

"you……"

Xiang Pingen who was next to him didn't understand what happened, he just bowed respectfully according to Yun Shao's previous instructions:

"Meet the princess..."

After thinking about it, the concubine is obviously wrong, and the concubine is a shadow guard, so he said again:

"Meet my lord princess!"

Lou Yefeng: "..."

Seeing that his expression was not right, Yun Shao hurriedly waved Xiang Ping'en away first, and let him clean up his own room.

Lou Yefeng sighed:

"You...why do you have to joke like that, you bastards always tease me. But... alas."

Yun Shao naturally knew what Lou Yefeng was worried about, and asked softly:

"Master's side..."

When this matter was mentioned, Lou Yefeng's face quickly became a little embarrassed:

"I, I mentioned it a few times, but the master still didn't let me sit in bed... I don't dare to offend the master anymore..."

Yun Shao blinked:

"It means you haven't worked hard enough! Work harder!"

"..."

Looking at the back of Yun Shao going away, Lou Yefeng's eyes were dim.

He is just a person who is disliked by his master even physically and is not allowed to sleep in bed... How can he be called a princess.

Although I am already a person close to the master, but the master may just regard himself as a close companion because of the suppressed feelings of the previous twenty years.

I am already thirty years old, and I am still a heroic man, this kind of situation... I should have thought of it long ago.

As long as the master is still willing to let himself be by his side, that's fine.Although he was always yearning for his master's demands in his dreams countless times, if he had the ability to make his master want him... how great it would be.

Lou Yefeng stood where he was, letting his mind wander for a long time before returning to his room.

……………

At the same time, Pei Nianyu received a letter from Pei Niancheng while planning what dishes to cook for the New Year's Eve dinner:

"Are you still going to help me with the New Year's Eve banquet in the palace this year..."

When Pei Nianyu thought of his younger brother's misdeeds of using him as a gunman and the people in the imperial dining room, he tore up the letter in anger, and replied:

"I'm not going, you can eat by yourself!!!"

Pei Niancheng replied quickly:

"How could I eat what they made in the imperial dining room... Shouldn't the family reunite during the Chinese New Year? I'll go to your house for dinner on New Year's Eve, that's the deal."

Pei Nianyu:????

The author has something to say:

Pei Nianyu: You are really justified. How can you have such a big face.

Pei Niancheng: A thick skin is the first accomplishment of a politician...