Chapter 140: Selecting Staff

Chapter 140: Selecting Staff

The spring breeze was still chilly. Consort Yi, who had been frail since giving birth, was susceptible to both cold and heat. She sat wrapped in a cloud brocade jacket by the writing desk, helping Princess Xiao Yan, who was about to start studying at the Chongwen Academy, read the 'Thousand Character Classic.'

Princess Xiao Yan, like her birth mother, Hu Shi, had a pair of dimples on her cheeks, which made her look adorable when she smiled. However, she rarely smiled except in front of the Emperor.

At this moment, Princess Xiao Yan showed a rare smile to Consort Yi, asking proactively, "Mother Consort, is this character pronounced 'Xin'?"

Consort Yi leaned closer, smiling, "Yes, Yan'er, you got it right."

Princess Xiao Yan's dimples appeared faintly as she continued, "Then, what does 'like the fragrance of orchids and the grandeur of pines' in this sentence mean?"

"Have you seen orchids before, Yan'er?" Consort Yi explained gently, "‘Like the fragrance of orchids’ means to make your virtue as refreshing and pleasant as orchids..."

Princess Xiao Yan nodded and added, "So, 'like the grandeur of pines' means to make your virtue as tall and... grand as pine trees?"

The palace was often adorned with pine and cypress, and her impression of them was their towering height.

"Yes," Consort Yi smiled and patted Princess Xiao Yan's head, softly saying, "To make your virtue as flourishing as pine and cypress, you understand it correctly, Yan'er."

"Yan'er understands now." Princess Xiao Yan lowered her head again, continuing to flip through the 'Thousand Character Classic.'

At that moment, Sujuan entered quietly and respectfully said to Consort Yi, "My lady, the Empress has sent Auntie Okra to invite you to the Internal Affairs Office to select staff for Jinlan Garden."

"Selecting staff?" Consort Yi nodded and asked, "Is it just for Jinlan Garden, or are other palaces involved too?"

Sujuan shook her head, looking embarrassed, and apologized, "I don’t know, my lady. Please punish me."

Consort Yi did not blame her. She turned to speak a few words with Princess Xiao Yan, then instructed the palace staff to take care of the princess before changing her clothes to meet Okra.

Su Jin was personally serving tea to Okra, who was sitting on an embroidered stool. Despite being a favored court lady of Fengyi Palace, her face showed no arrogance.

Upon seeing Consort Yi, Okra stood up and bowed, softly explaining the purpose of her visit.

Consort Yi responded, "I am grateful for the Empress’s consideration. For such a small matter, sending someone from the Internal Affairs Office would have sufficed; there was no need for Auntie Okra to make the trip herself."

Ever since Luo Rou's promotion to Consort Yi, the Internal Affairs Office had already sent a group of servants. Not to mention, after Wang Shi's demotion, Princess Xiao Yan was also raised in Jinlan Garden, and the servants attending the princess were also at her disposal, so she had enough people to serve her.

However, when the Empress sends someone to bestow a favor, she naturally could not refuse.

Okra smiled warmly, softly saying, "This is my duty. The Empress thought that the staff chosen by Consort Yi herself would be most to her liking."

Hearing this, Consort Yi smiled, "In that case, I would be disrespectful to decline."

She then took her attendants and followed Okra to the Internal Affairs Office.

Upon arrival, the courtyard was neatly filled with palace staff waiting to be selected. Quan Xi stood aside, telling Consort Yi, "All the staff of the Internal Affairs Office are here, Consort Yi. Those on the east side can recognize a few characters."

Consort Yi nodded and smiled at Okra, "I've never been good at selecting people. May I ask Auntie Okra for some guidance?"

Okra smiled slightly and shook her head, "This is for Consort Yi to decide. How can I overstep my bounds?"

A flash of surprise appeared in Consort Yi's eyes, and then she said, "In that case, could Eunuch Quan Xi recommend one or two? Recently, Princess Xiao Yan has been interested in gardening. We are in need of someone skilled in planting and tending to flowers."

……

Consort Yi spent the whole morning at the Internal Affairs Office. When she returned to Jinlan Garden, she was accompanied by an ordinary-looking palace maid in green.

To familiarize the servants with their surroundings, Consort Yi entered the inner chamber to change clothes, with Su Jin attending her. Su Jin asked in confusion, "My lady, what does the Empress mean by this?"

If it was to keep a close watch on her own master, why allow the master to choose her own attendants?

If it was genuinely about the insufficient number of servants in Jinlan Garden, it would have been sufficient to have the Internal Affairs Department send people over, without making such a grand gesture.

Consort Yi, touching the pearl earring on her ear, slowly said, "It seems the Empress has seen the note in the sachet yesterday. I initially thought she was testing my attitude, but as you saw, the people from the Internal Affairs Department indeed allowed me to choose."

She paused, then continued, "Indeed, if the Empress really wanted to plant spies, why be so obvious? This might be a show for others."

"For others?" Su Jin, helping Consort Yi into her robe, still didn't understand, "Is it for Princess Huaiqing? How does it benefit to let her know that you have people from Fengyi Palace around you?"

But Consort Yi shook her head, smiling, "Not just that. It's also for Concubine Sun to see."

She spoke softly, "Princess Huaiqing just showed some goodwill towards me and Concubine Sun, and the Empress added people to Jinlan Garden. Su Jin, if you were Princess Huaiqing, what would you think?"

"Me?" After pondering, Su Jin hesitantly whispered, "I would suspect that among my own people, or between you and Concubine Sun, there are the Empress’s spies. But maybe, it's Concubine Sun who leaked the information."

"Exactly," Consort Yi said persuasively, "But if Princess Huaiqing thinks deeper, she might believe the Empress did this deliberately, making it look like the leak came from me."

"Ah?" Su Jin exclaimed in surprise, "But Princess Huaiqing is only eight years old..."

"Eight is not too young," Consort Yi interrupted, speaking indifferently, "No matter how Princess Huaiqing interprets it, she won't make a move for a while."

Su Jin, however, said, "But if the Empress did nothing, pretended ignorance, and waited for Princess Huaiqing to act before informing His Majesty, wouldn’t that be better?"

Consort Yi gave Su Jin a look and said quietly, "You're right, but that's just a tactic of the inner palace. Who is Princess Huaiqing? She's the Emperor's first child, a legitimate princess, and still seven or eight years away from marrying age. Having lost her birth mother, she only has the Emperor's pity. Even if she did something, as long as it's not too extreme, the Emperor won't punish her severely. It might instead harm the relationship between the Emperor and the Empress."

"On the contrary, if we make Princess Huaiqing withdraw now, there will only be two possible outcomes."

Su Jin asked softly, "Which two?"

Consort Yi smiled faintly at her and said calmly, "One, she becomes obedient and shows filial piety towards the Empress; two, she stops acting rashly and waits for a more secretive and appropriate opportunity to act."

"If it's the second option..."

"If it's the latter," Consort Yi said while wrapping her shawl, her voice as light as mist, "His Majesty will not be lenient."

Su Jin had a moment of realization and then asked, "But you mentioned this was also for Noble Lady Sun to see?"