Chapter 700: What they saw in Xiyuan
When Zhu Pingan and Liu Dadao rushed to Xiyuan on horseback, the sky was still dark and the palace gate had not yet been opened.
However, the open space more than a hundred meters outside the palace gate is very lively and brightly lit. Vendors selling liver soup, rice rolls, steamed buns, rice porridge and other snacks are greeting you. Officials can be seen from time to time. With people, housekeepers, and attendants waiting in front of the stalls, it seems like a mature morning market.
Fortunately this was in the Ming Dynasty. If it were in modern times, these vendors would have been suppressed by the urban management, the world's number one armed force.
After Emperor Jiajing moved to Xiyuan, the political center of Ming Dynasty naturally moved from the Forbidden City to Xiyuan.
Who dares to be late under the eyes of the emperor? In order to rush for time, many officials slandered getting up and had no time to have breakfast. But officials are people too, and they also need to have breakfast, so vendors who saw business opportunities spontaneously formed a morning market here.
"Okay, I'm waiting here to enter the palace, you go and have breakfast."
Zhu Pingan got off his horse, took a piece of silver from his purse and handed it to Liu Mu, Let the two go to the morning market for breakfast.
"No need, Mr. Madam. A few days ago, the young lady asked the housekeeper to give us monthly money in advance. Each person is more than one tael of silver." Li Dadao smiled and shook his head. When he mentioned the monthly money, he said The face is full of satisfaction.
The young lady he was talking about was naturally Li Shu. The monthly money was in the form of a subsidy. It was pocket money given to the upper, middle and lower families in the family according to their status every month. It was not wages. They also had other allowances. Salary is calculated separately.
More than one tael of silver, which is comparable to the monthly payment of a first-class girl.
More than one tael of silver is just pocket money. This is not a small amount for Liu Dadao and the others.
At Mao hour, a bell rang from Xiyuan, and then the door of Xiyuan opened.
Zhu Pingan handed over the dark horse to Liu Mu and the others, and once again told them to finish their breakfast at the morning market before returning home.
After giving instructions, Zhu Pingan entered Xiyuan along with several officials.
"My lord, please stay."
Zhu Ping'an was stopped by the guards of Xiyuan just after he entered Xiyuan.
Except for the palace examination and being summoned twice by Emperor Jiajing, Zhu Pingan had never been to Xiyuan. When the guards of Xiyuan saw Zhu Pingan, out of consideration of their duties, they politely Zhu Pingan stopped.
"Oh, I am Zhu Ping'an, the Imperial Academy's Attendant and Secretary of the Cabinet. I have been ordered by the Holy Spirit to be the Secretary of the Cabinet from today."
Zhu Ping'an stopped and thought about it for a moment. After understanding what was going on, he turned around and explained to the guard with a smile.
"Haha, Mr. Zhu is here, please sign in here."
At this moment, a little eunuch in tea camel clothes came over, smiled and greeted Zhu Ping'an, and then asked the imperial guard Explained.
With the eunuch in the palace as a guarantee, there would be no falsehood. The guard at the door held his fists and apologized to Zhu Pingan before letting him go.
"The captain has fulfilled his duties, and there is nothing wrong with him." Zhu Ping'an returned the salute to the imperial guards with his hands in hand.
After entering the palace gate, Zhu Ping'an once again thanked the young eunuch in tea camel clothes, "Thank you so much for your father-in-law's rescue. I'm sorry for Ping'an's blindness. I wonder who my father-in-law is?"
"Master Zhu is very polite. If you don't mind, Master Zhu can call me Xiao Caozi. Master Zhu doesn't know the Zajia family, but the Zajia family has long admired Master Zhu's name." Xiao Caozi, the eunuch in tea camel clothes, laughed and looked familiar. look.
"It turns out it's Eunuch Cao. I'm glad to meet you." Zhu Pingan replied with a smile, but he was full of confusion. Apart from Feng Bao, he really didn't know any other servants in the palace, and This little eunuch is too enthusiastic.
"The Zajia family used to work in the Clothing Bureau. Thanks to Eunuch Feng's public relations, he is now transferred to the palace gate supervisor. The Zajia family often hears Eunuch Feng mention Mr. Zhu, and Eunuch Feng highly respects Mr. Zhu." Tea Camel Clothes The eunuch Xiao Caozi laughed and explained to Zhu Pingan.
Oh, it turned out to be Feng Bao’s small team. Zhu Pingan suddenly realized it after listening to the little eunuch’s explanation.
The palace eunuch department of the Ming Dynasty mainly consisted of twelve supervisors, four divisions and eight bureaus, namely Si Li, Nei Guan, Yu Yong, Si She, Yu Ma, Shen Guan, Shang Shan, Shang Bao, Yin Shou, Zhidian, Shang clothes, capital Twelve supervisors, including the magistrate; four divisions, including Xixin, Bells and Drums, Baochao, and Huntang; eight divisions, including military warfare, silver work, clothing, scarves and hats, needlework, internal weaving and dyeing, wine, vinegar, and noodles, and Siyuan. The above departments are also commonly known as the Twenty-Four Yamen.
The Laundry Bureau is responsible for providing laundry services to the palace masters. It is the most difficult department among the twenty-four yamen. It is also the only eunuch agency among the twenty-four yamen that is not in the palace. It is mainly composed of retired and retired eunuchs. It can be said that serving as an unpopular palace servant is hard work and has no future.
The Palace Gate Supervisor is a specially appointed position, responsible for registering officials who join Xiyuan, supervising the officials' work and get off work, and is equivalent to a disciplinary committee member. The Ming Dynasty kept a close eye on officials who joined Xiyuan. If an official left early due to official duties, he must inform the eunuch of the reason for leaving early and register it for verification. Because of this, even high-ranking cabinet ministers are polite to the palace gates and prison gates.
So, the prison gate is a fat job with a bright future.
It is understandable that Xiao Caozi was transferred from the Huanyi Bureau to the Palace Gate Supervisor and was grateful to Feng Bao.
And Feng Baoneng transferred Xiao Caozi from the Huanyi Bureau to the Palace Gate Prison, which shows that he has established a firm foothold in the palace and has begun to develop his own team.
After the greetings, Eunuch Cao led Zhu Pingan to the sign-in desk, and Zhu Pingan wrote his name on the sign-in book.
"Master Zhu, because of his responsibilities, it is inconvenient for the Zajia family to leave. However, Eunuch Feng has already explained that it will be this little Eunuch Zhang who will lead Master Zhu to report to the Cabinet Office of Wuyi Palace." Eunuch Cao reported to Zhu Ping'an. After signing in, a young eunuch in gray was introduced to Zhu Pingan.
"Thank you Eunuch Feng and Eunuch Cao for their troubles. Eunuch Zhang will be the one to take care of you." Zhu Pingan thanked him and slipped the red envelope that Li Shu had wrapped in advance into the sleeves of Eunuch Cao and Eunuch Zhang without leaving any trace.
"Master Zhu, you are too polite. Just call me Xiao Zhangzi. Master Zhu, please go this way." Eunuch Zhang, the little eunuch in gray, led the way.
Xiyuan covers a large area, including the current Zhongnanhai, Beihai Park, and the National Library of Art and Culture, as well as the Jin'ao and Jade Bridge. The place where Zhu Pingan entered was the south gate, and Wuyi Hall, where the Cabinet Office is located, was east of Zuoye Gate. It was a long way away, and Zhu Pingan was not qualified to ride a horse or sedan, so he could only rely on his legs.
"Further forward, after passing the Yuxi Palace and the Shenyingxuan Palace, and then passing the Binfeng Pavilion, you can see a rice field. In front of the rice field is the Wuyi Palace." Eunuch Zhang led the way and gave Zhu Pingan introduced.
Zhu Ping'an looked in the direction of Eunuch Zhang's finger. Among the rows of palace auxiliary halls in front of him, there was no trace of Wuyi Hall at all.
After walking for almost a quarter of an hour, or about 15 minutes, Zhu Pingan saw the rice field that Eunuch Zhang had mentioned. The morning breeze was blowing the green rice fields, and there were waves of green waves. ripple.
This rice field should be the place where Emperor Jiajing gave lessons in farming and mulberry farming. Zhu Pingan and Zhu Pingan stopped in front of the rice field and looked at it for a moment. (End of this chapter)