The next day, the Crown Prince went to attend court, while Zhuang Yunlan went to the Crown Princess’s quarters to begin her duties.
Although it was not a day for Grand Morning Greetings, as the Zhaoyi of the Crown Prince who had been officially registered and was in charge of all affairs in Zhaohua Hall, she was required to pay her respects to the Crown Princess in the main hall every day.
Zhuang Yunlan felt somewhat uneasy when she saw her.
Whether by rank or seniority, it should have been Shen Zhaoyi assisting the Crown Princess in managing palace affairs.
However, Shen Zhaoyi showed no dissatisfaction whatsoever with Zhuang Yunlan helping the Crown Princess manage palace affairs—at least, nothing was apparent on the surface.
After paying her respects to both superiors, Zhuang Yunlan quietly sat to the side.
The Zhaoyi of the Crown Prince spoke little as well, and most of the time, she only answered respectfully and properly when the Crown Princess spoke first.
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the Crown Princess dismissed the Zhaoyi of the Crown Prince.
The female officials were already waiting outside the hall by then.
Today’s discussion was about the arrangements for setting off fireworks and installing the Ao Mountain Lanterns starting from the twenty-fourth day of La Month.
This involved many departments, and it seemed that besides the Six Bureaus, it also required coordination with the Twenty-Four Offices.
The Crown Princess forced herself to listen for a while but soon couldn’t hold on any longer. Mama Hu helped her to the inner hall to rest and then returned to stand beside Zhuang Yunlan, accompanying her as she listened to the female officials’ reports.
Zhuang Yunlan was familiar with matters related to food and clothing, but she knew little about fireworks and Ao Mountain Lanterns.
However, the female officials certainly didn’t expect the concubines to produce such things themselves. Their purpose was to seek the Crown Princess’s approval on what types of fireworks and lanterns the Eastern Palace would display and to have her seal the expenditures for these items.
Zhuang Yunlan’s task was to listen to the female officials describe the designs of the fireworks and Ao Mountain Lanterns, then sit to the side and use an abacus to check whether the quantities in the expenses were miscalculated.
During this time, she and Mama Hu even went outside to an open area to examine a few types of fireworks and returned to the hall to review the blueprints for the Ao Mountain Lanterns.
The female officials explained to her that when the time came, these fireworks would soar higher and appear more magnificent than what they were seeing now. For now, they were mainly examining the designs, as setting them off like during the New Year celebrations might disturb the noble ladies in the inner palace.
Zhuang Yunlan quickly agreed and then described the fireworks and lanterns she found appealing to the Crown Princess to see which ones she preferred.
She was essentially just a messenger.
Without delicious food or fine clothing, the task was clearly far less engaging.
Zhuang Yunlan felt much more exhausted today than she had the day before.
After finishing the day’s tasks and taking her leave from the Crown Princess, Mama Hu personally escorted her out once again, this time walking even farther than the day before—all the way to the front passageway.
“Mama Hu,” Zhuang Yunlan cautiously inquired as they parted, “since we’ve already discussed matters for the twenty-fourth today, does that mean the preparations for the New Year celebrations are almost finished?”
A more genuine smile appeared at the corners of Mama Hu’s lips.
Ever since Zhuang Yunlan began assisting the Crown Princess with affairs in the rear courtyard’s main hall, Mama Hu had been observing her closely.
To be honest, this Cairen Zhuang’s behavior was completely different from what Mama Hu had initially imagined.
Normally, one would tread cautiously when first handling authority that wasn’t rightfully theirs, gradually growing bolder over time.
But Cairen Zhuang was not like that.
Mama Hu noticed that Cairen Zhuang had shown much more interest in her duties yesterday than she did today.
It wasn't that Cairen Zhuang was being careless with her duties today. Mama Hu could see clearly—this young mistress was quick and precise with her calculations, having carefully checked the account books twice before presenting them to the Crown Princess.
However, Mama Hu also noticed that Cairen Zhuang simply wasn't interested in these matters at all.
Compared to yesterday, when she enthusiastically sampled dishes and admired the designs for clothing and jewelry drawn by the female officials, Cairen Zhuang found today's tasks utterly boring.
It wasn't the kind of boredom that comes from having grown accustomed to grander affairs and looking down on such trivial duties. Rather, it was the kind of boredom that arises when something simply doesn't align with her interests.
In other words, Cairen Zhuang didn't care about this rare opportunity to interact with the female officials of the Six Bureaus and the inner officials of the Twenty-Four Offices. Nor did she show any inclination to inquire further about the palace's various expenditures.
Compared to these matters, Cairen Zhuang only cared about the things that interested her.
So, what did Cairen Zhuang find interesting?
Food, drink, and entertainment.
None of which had anything to do with power or ambition.
That made things much easier.
Looking at Cairen Zhuang, who seemed on the verge of writing "Is it over yet? If it's over, I'm going back to rest" on her face, Mama Hu's smile unexpectedly softened with a touch of warmth.
"Young mistress, you're thinking too simply. This is just the beginning of the busy season," Mama Hu explained. "According to the customs of the Previous Dynasty, official duties aren't handled before Shangyuan. Although the inner palace and the rear courtyard of our Eastern Palace don't strictly adhere to this rule, routine matters still need to be finalized before Zhengdan. Today, we've discussed matters up to the twenty-fourth, but there's still the entire month of the first lunar year next year. All the plans must be drafted before the New Year, so that Her Highness and you can celebrate the New Year without worries, isn't that right?"
Zhuang Yunlan: QAQ So the overtime continues.
Mama Hu bowed to her. "This servant will escort you no further. Please return quickly to rest today. Tomorrow is the day for the Grand Morning Greetings. After Her Highness dismisses everyone, you don't need to follow Shen Zhaoyi and the others back. Instead, stay in the inner hall to assist Her Highness with deliberations."
Zhuang Yunlan could only thank Mama Hu for her guidance and then head back.
As she was leaving the main courtyard, she was nearly bumped into by a young palace maid hurrying along.
The little palace maid quickly knelt and kowtowed to her. Zhuang Yunlan didn't make things difficult for her and told her to rise. The little palace maid then continued running into the main courtyard.
"Mistress… that one just now seemed to be a palace maid serving Pu Xuanshi," Shaoyao whispered into Zhuang Yunlan's ear after they had walked a distance from the main courtyard.
Huh?
Zhuang Yunlan was a bit face-blind and hadn't recognized her at all. Besides, the palace maid had kept her head lowered the entire time.
Zhuang Yunlan looked at Shaoyao and silently praised her cheat-like brain. She felt that if Shaoyao were to serve as the Cairen of the Crown Prince, she would likely do a much better job than herself.
Having been assigned such a reliable employee, she truly was fortunate.
Zhuang Yunlan planned to give her employees extra bonuses during the New Year festivities.
While she was lost in her random thoughts, Shaoyao had already begun pondering why Pu Xuanshi's palace maid was in such a hurry to seek out the Crown Princess.
However, this time, before they could close the palace doors and brainstorm together, the news came to them on its own.
Song Miaorong walked quickly, slightly out of breath. After taking a sip of tea, she said directly, "Pu Xuanshi is pregnant."
Huh?
Zhuang Yunlan didn't react immediately.
Song Miaorong sat down and said, "Wasn't it her turn to serve the meal to the Zhaoyi yesterday? It seems she felt nauseous at that time. When the Zhaoyi inquired, she heard that her monthly cycle had been delayed for some time. The Zhaoyi immediately reported it to the Crown Princess, and now the female physician has come. After taking her pulse, she said she’s three months along."
A subtle, indescribable smile played on Song Miaorong’s lips as she let out a soft, disdainful snort. "Three months—that would be right around the time we first entered the Eastern Palace. If you think about it, His Highness the Crown Prince only summoned her that one time, and she actually conceived. A tribute woman from a foreign land, yet she’s so fortunate. Just wait and see—now she’ll be even more full of herself."