The matter progressed with surprising smoothness.
After Zhou De’an returned, he explained the proposal to Ding Zaobao, the head of the Imperial Household Department. Without a moment’s hesitation, Ding Zaobao immediately approved it.
The Imperial Household Department oversaw all palace affairs. While it appeared dignified from the outside, few knew the sheer volume of trivial and scattered troubles it handled.
Manufacturing of utensils, chanting of sutras by lamas, food and medicine, rents and taxes from imperial estates, repairs to the department itself, duties for the empress’s palace, cattle and sheep for sacrifices… and so on and so forth.
The Imperial Household Department was involved in every affair within the palace. It had over fifty subordinate offices alone, with more than three thousand officials serving under it.
Under normal circumstances, trivial matters like which palace needed something—especially if the Guangchusi didn’t have it—would never even reach Ding Zaobao’s ears.
But the situation was different now.
For some reason, a sudden “pear blossom trend” had swept through the imperial harem. It wasn’t just one or two consorts seeking pear blossoms for vases—almost all the consorts were reaching out to the Imperial Household Department, requesting blooming pear blossom branches for display.
This was no small matter.
As the head of the Imperial Household Department, if he couldn’t even fulfill such a request, it would make him appear utterly incompetent.
For an official whose sole duty was to manage the daily lives of the imperial harem consorts, the label of “incompetent” was fatal.
Though Ding Zaobao came from a Plain Yellow Banner bondservant background, having climbed to the position of a second-rank department head in the court, he understood perfectly well where his value lay.
If it were any other flowers or plants, it wouldn’t be an issue. The palace greenhouses cultivated everything—canna lilies, green calyx plum blossoms, white lilacs… Failing that, he could simply order local officials to procure them. With such a vast empire, rare and exotic flora were abundant.
But pear blossoms were different.
First, they grew on trees and couldn’t be cultivated in greenhouses.
Second, pear blossoms had a short blooming period. Even if there were flowering pear trees in other provinces, by the time they were transported to the capital, they would likely have withered.
Third, and most importantly, who could have predicted that ordinary pear blossoms would suddenly become a priceless treasure?
Ding Zaobao was so worried that his hair was falling out in clumps.
Not long ago, when he heard there were pear blossoms in the Qianxi Sisuo, he was tempted to go and ask for them directly. Unfortunately, as a court official, he couldn’t enter the inner palace without a summons.
Moreover, the late emperor’s consorts resided there. No matter how low their rank, they were still the masters.
The Imperial Household Department was meant to deliver items, not to request them.
Now that a solution had presented itself, how could he not accept it with a beaming smile?
Once Ding Zaobao had given his approval, all that remained was execution.
Su Muyao soon received the good news brought by Zhou De’an, along with a handwritten letter from Ding Zaobao, the head of the Imperial Household Department.
After reading the letter, Su Muyao was quite surprised.
She had originally assumed her “Snow Peak Spring Pear” would be categorized under “seasonal flowers.” To her surprise, Ding Zaobao had classified it under “rare and exotic flowers.”
This was certainly not a bad thing—in fact, it was a great boon.
It was almost like a pie falling from the sky.
Though the two categories might sound similar, the profits allocated for “rare and exotic flowers” were at least five times greater than those for “seasonal flowers.”
It was worth noting that the office under the Imperial Household Department responsible for supplying flowers and potted plants to the various palaces was called the Garden and Park Office. This office was further divided into two departments:
the General Flower House and the Exotic Flower Pavilion.
The General Flower House specialized in supplying “seasonal flowers,” while the Exotic Flower Pavilion was dedicated to “rare and exotic flowers.” The two were entirely separate.
In comparison, the General Flower House had far less opportunity for profit than the Exotic Flower Pavilion.
Why is that?
Because the seasonal flowers allocated to each palace were also governed by fixed quotas.
Take the osmanthus gifts prepared for the Mid-Autumn Festival as an example. The Empress's palace had a quota of ten catties of premium Dianhong osmanthus, twenty catties of silver dragon osmanthus, fifty catties of roasted green osmanthus, and one hundred pots of various osmanthus bonsai.
Meanwhile, the lowest-ranking ladies-in-waiting only received fifteen catties of roasted green osmanthus and ten pots of various osmanthus bonsai, with nothing else beyond that.
Once these quotas were established, the amount of silver reimbursed from the Hubu also fell within a general range. Exceeding it would lead to accountability.
The Exotic Flower Pavilion was different. Exotic flowers were prized for their rarity. For instance, the double-petaled, multi-colored peonies cultivated in the greenhouse might yield twenty pots this year, fifty pots next year, or perhaps none at all.
In short, although the number of pots supplied to each palace also had a quota, it was not specified by flower type. Therefore, the amount spent had no fixed limit.
However, given the current surge in demand for pear branches for vases, it was likely that this year's quota for "rare and exotic flowers" in each palace would be entirely spent on Snow Peak Spring Pears.
When that time came…
Su Muyao's mind stirred, and she asked, "Eunuch Zhou, do you know how much Chief Steward Ding plans to price each pot of Snow Peak Spring Pear?"
Zhou De'an smiled, his eyes narrowing. "Among the flowers in the Exotic Flower Pavilion, even the cheapest green chrysanthemum costs ten taels of silver per pot. According to Chief Steward Ding, since cultivating the Snow Peak Spring Pear was not easy for you and you've solved a difficult problem for our Imperial Household Department, the price naturally shouldn't be set too low. So… it's fifty taels of silver per vase."
Fifty taels!
Her monthly stipend was only thirty taels!
Calculating it this way, she couldn't even afford her own pear blossoms!
Su Muyao's attention drifted for a moment but quickly refocused. Her ink-black, bright eyes fixed on Zhou De'an as she asked, "Isn't that a bit too expensive?"
"How could it be?" Zhou De'an bowed with a smile. "These fifty taels aren't just for the Snow Peak Spring Pear you cultivated; they also include the matching Apple Green Glazed Vase for the floral arrangement. The glazed vase alone costs at least ten taels of silver. So… Chief Steward Ding's intention is to allocate twenty taels of silver to you for each vase of Snow Peak Spring Pear. If you're not satisfied, I can bring it up with the higher-ups…"
"No need," Su Muyao wasn't that greedy. According to her original calculations, each vase of Snow Peak Spring Pear would earn her about five taels of silver. Now, each vase could earn twenty taels, far exceeding her expectations.
What more could she possibly be dissatisfied with?
Su Muyao immediately said, "Let it be as it is."
Zhou De'an breathed a sigh of relief and then brought up the issue of how to register the name.
Originally, there was no dispute about this.
Previously, both Zhou De'an and Su Muyao had assumed that the "Snow Peak Spring Pear" would be assigned to the General Flower House, which would naturally place it under the Flower and Plant Bureau.
After all, the "Snow Peak Spring Pear" was still a type of pear blossom.
Pear blossoms were a secondary flower category and didn't have a dedicated bureau, so they naturally fell under the Flower and Plant Bureau.
But now that the "Snow Peak Spring Pear" had been assigned to the Exotic Flower Pavilion, things were different.
The flower bonsai in the Exotic Flower Pavilion came from two sources: those cultivated in the imperial greenhouses, and those presented by local officials or tributary envoys.
Both were considered imperial tributes.
The "Snow Peak Spring Pear" didn't fit into either of these categories, nor could it.
Take the imperial greenhouse for example. It's like a state-owned enterprise in modern times. State-owned enterprises can outsource some projects to private companies, but private companies cannot profit under the name of state-owned enterprises. If discovered by regulatory authorities, a fine would be a minor issue; one careless move could even land someone in prison doing hard labor.
If it's this strict in modern times, it was even stricter in ancient times. Impersonating flowers cultivated by the imperial greenhouse, if discovered, could lead to beheading at the very least, or even the execution of one's entire clan in severe cases. This was no joke.
The second source was even more untouchable.
Items presented by local officials or envoys from vassal states carried political implications—whether to express loyalty, pay respects, show submission, or curry favor…
Getting involved with such matters was like carrying one's head on one's belt.
Su Muyao had always been cautious and never made foolish mistakes when it came to matters of life and death. She immediately wanted to refuse.
At worst, she wouldn't earn this money.
Zhou De'an noticed Su Muyao's hesitation and quickly said, "Please don't rush to decide. Listen to what I have to say."
He paused, lowered his voice, and continued, "This matter has been discussed by our Chief Steward Ding and Li Huizhang, the supervisor of the Flower and Plant Bureau. Supervisor Li's idea is to establish a temporary flower bureau separate from the Flower and Plant Bureau—the Pear Flower Bureau—under the name of Su Jia, a bondservant of the Xiangbai Banner in the Imperial Household Department."
Yun Mo blinked, confused. "Su Jia?"
Zhou De'an smiled apologetically. "He is the deputy supervisor of the Flower and Plant Bureau. Supervisor Li assigned him here for your benefit. The Guaerjia clan oversees eight Han Chinese surnames of bondservants, ranked by closeness: Su, Ye, Gu, Bai, Men, Wu, Tang, and Rong. He happens to be the first, the Su surname."
"During Emperor Shunzhi's reign, his family was already registered in the Hubu, specializing in providing miscellaneous flowers to the royal family. It wasn't until his generation that they gained some seniority. Last year, he entered the Imperial Household Department as a fifth-rank supervisor. Sending him for this task couldn't be more appropriate."
Su Muyao nodded, understanding.
The original host was from the Guaerjia clan, the Su family was of the Su surname, and the Su surname had been bondservants of the Guaerjia clan for generations, connected to the original host. Not only did this eliminate concerns about betrayal, but it also made things easier to explain on the surface.
The Imperial Household Department had indeed considered everything carefully.
However, she couldn't help feeling something was off…
The Su family had been bondservants of the Guaerjia clan for generations…
And she just happened to be surnamed Su.
So, did that mean she had transmigrated into her own ancestor?
That still didn't seem quite right… No, she couldn't dwell on this any longer.
Su Muyao decisively dismissed the unsettling thoughts from her mind and pondered, "So, the Imperial Household Department plans to establish another Pear Flower Bureau, but separate it from the other flower bureaus. The other bureaus supply the main greenhouse, while the newly established Pear Flower Bureau is different—it only supplies flowers to the Exotic Flower Pavilion."
Zhou De'an nodded with a smile. "Exactly."
Su Muyao couldn't help but want to praise the stewards of the Imperial Household Department.
This idea was simply brilliant. Not only did it perfectly solve all the problems, but it also cleverly circumvented the law. It could practically be included in textbooks.
The Imperial Household Department truly lived up to its reputation as a gathering place for the shrewdest minds of ancient times.