Mrs. Wu paid no attention and walked out, holding her daughter's hand. Someone came in to report that Ms. Zhang had arrived.
As mentioned earlier, the palace had two female historians, one surnamed Zhang and the other surnamed Li. These two were assigned by the palace when Prince Rui married. Initially, they served as assistants to Lin, one responsible for ceremonial matters, the other for clerical work, and would accompany Lin whenever she entered the palace.
Later, when Lin died and Gong married in, their duties remained the same. However, by then, young Lin had already entered the mansion and, taking advantage of Gong's poor health, she used Song Baimo's name to take over some of the housekeeping power, thus reducing the power of the two women historians.
Later, Gong also passed away. Without a mistress, the female historians naturally had fewer responsibilities. They were not like Matron Hai. Even without a mistress, the prince still needed Matron Hai to help him with matters concerning the inner chambers. Furthermore, Matron Hai was in charge of the deployment of all the servants in the palace.
(A word of explanation is needed here. Of course, the servants in each courtyard of the master are under the management of the master of each courtyard. Madam Hai's management refers to those in other places. For example, a few days ago, the cook in the main kitchen was replaced. Xiaolin and Li both wanted to bring in candidates, but Madam Hai still had to make the final move. Because they couldn't reach an agreement, she proposed a second-class steward who didn't rely on anyone else.)
Therefore, although Xiao Lin was in charge of the kitchen, she could not decide on her own who would be the manager. This was also a way of mutual restraint and balance.
It was precisely because of this current situation in the palace that the two female historians had almost no specific tasks to perform. Therefore, when they went to the Huainan Marquis's residence to teach Meng Qi etiquette, they didn't follow the strict standards of Nanny Sang and Aunt Guan. If Meng Qi didn't enter the palace, and they still didn't need them, their value in the palace would be even lower. Although they had ranks, their meager salaries were far from enough. If they could win the favor of the princess, the benefits would naturally be greater.
But Meng Qi had defied their expectations. Almost a month had passed since her marriage, and she hadn't even gotten a housekeeper. Furthermore, she frequently annoyed the prince. Furthermore, since their marriage, he had never summoned them, nor had he allowed them to accompany him to the palace. This was obvious. They could find a way to be transferred back under the guise of the palace, then assigned to another prince's palace or remain in the palace. But that wouldn't do them any good. No prince, having married and established his own household, would want a female historian who arrived halfway through, and there weren't any good jobs for them in the palace.
Ms. Zhang had always been able to get along well with Mrs. Wu. Since Meng Qi got married, Ms. Zhang, who had nothing to do, came more often.
Wu also enjoyed chatting with Ms. Zhang. In the palace, Bai was Xiaolin's lackey, and the two of them were together almost every day. Li was a clear-headed person, neither close to anyone nor distant from anyone. She was a genuine good person.
Apart from taking care of Song Nongyu, she didn't have anyone to confide in on a daily basis. Ms. Zhang came and went frequently, and talking about palace affairs made her feel that she knew a lot.
"Oh, Miss, you are so beautiful. What are you going to do?"
Wu squeezed Song Nongyu's hand and said, "Tell the lady that you have to recite a poem for your father."
When Ms. Zhang heard this, she asked, "The concubine is going too?"
"What do you mean? Who else went?"
"When I just came here, I saw Concubine Lin taking the eldest young master towards the Bibo Hall."
"Hmph, she just has fast legs. Every time she pulls and drags me there, what sin did the eldest young master commit to have an aunt like her?" After saying that, he urged Jinzhi to go faster.
"Are you going now?" asked Ms. Zhang.
"Of course, if she can go, I can go too. Our eldest daughter has been reciting poems well recently and wants to perform them for His Majesty."
Ms. Zhang thought for a moment and said, "It's probably not appropriate to go at this time."
Jinzhi heaved a sigh of relief when she heard Ms. Zhang say this. Wu Shi didn't get along with anyone in the mansion. If she hadn't been lucky enough to give birth to the eldest daughter, she would have been ostracized long ago.
As servants, they had no choice but to obey Wu's decisions. Even if they knew they were wrong, they dared not say anything, just like when Wu wanted to take the eldest daughter to join in the fun. Fortunately, Wu listened to Ms. Zhang's words, which was also because Wu had no one to talk to.
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