As soon as Mother Liu came in, Yuanyue and Xiaoman came back with lunch boxes.
Yuan Dong looked at Yuan Yue, whose face was not looking good, and then looked at Xiao Man, "What's wrong?"
Xiaoman sighed, "I didn't know if the princess would be back for lunch, so Madam Liu didn't ask us to prepare anything. She just said that if the princess wasn't back, we'd just eat with everyone else. Now that the princess is back, Sister Yuanyue has drawn up today's menu and asked the maid to send it to the kitchen. I thought it wouldn't be anything complicated, so wouldn't two incense sticks be enough time?"
Before Xiaoman could finish, Yuanyue finished her water, took a deep breath, and continued, "I had intended to let Xiaoman and Guyu go. But I thought since we're new here, it would be good to get out and about and meet some people. I even brought a purse of copper coins with me, thinking I could give them some if I saw someone who was kind enough to show me some. But I didn't expect that when we got to the big kitchen, they couldn't even make half of the dishes the princess had prepared."
Yuan Dong frowned when he heard this, "Reason?"
"They said they've been busy with the rest of yesterday's work since early this morning. They've washed more than ten baskets of dishes alone. They also have to help the outer courtyard kitchen prepare food for the guests who haven't left yet, so they can't start the stove for the time being."
Yuan Yue opened the top layer of the food box and took out the food while showing it to Yuan Dong. She continued, "I originally thought that was the reason. Although the women in the inner house didn't stay, it was really like that in the outer courtyard. Every family that came would have several people with them, and they might be too busy. I figured the princess wouldn't mind if a few dishes were missing, so I just asked them to pack up the ones that were ready. I was about to leave with the dishes when I met the little girl from Hua Muyuan. She said she was going to get the pagoda meat she made for Sister Liu Nian."
Xiaoman interjected, "Sister Yuanyue also had this dish on the menu she prepared for the princess. Knowing how troublesome it was to prepare, when she sent the menu over, she also said that if it wasn't ready at noon, we could make it in the evening."
"Did they do it to Liunian?" Yuan Dong asked coldly.
Yuan Yue nodded. "The kitchen manager saw me staring at her and seemed to realize what was happening. She smiled and apologized, saying that Hua Muyuan had ordered it early in the morning, but the princess was short on time, so she couldn't make it."
Yuandong was almost amused by the cook's theory. No matter how long it took, since there was food, the princess should be served first. How could a maid have the right to compete with the princess for food?
Meng Qi, who was giving instructions to Mother Liu in the east room, naturally didn't know about these things.
"After lunch, call Li Mancang over."
The princes of the Great Xia Dynasty had eunuchs, but not as well-organized as those in the palace. This was especially true of the inner quarters, where each courtyard had its own dedicated eunuchs. The eunuch in charge of the inner quarters of Prince Rui's palace was Li Mancang, also known as the Chief Eunuch of the Inner Quarters. He had also come from the palace when Song Chengze established his own residence.
Wang Chenghai was the deputy chamberlain, responsible for assisting Li Mancang in managing the inner quarters. There were also over twenty eunuchs responsible for daily cleaning. These eunuchs primarily completed tasks that the maids and servants couldn't handle. In other words, if any courtyard needed work for eunuchs, they would report it, and Li Mancang would arrange it.
Song Chengze's outer court also had a chief attendant named Zhang Decheng. Although he was also transferred directly from the palace when the palace was established, he was completely different from Li Mancang. Li Mancang was appointed by the Queen, while Zhang Decheng, like Nanny Hai, had been serving Song Chengze since he was a child and was extremely trusted by Song Chengze.
Zhang Decheng was responsible for taking care of all the miscellaneous matters in Song Chengze's outer courtyard.
In her previous life, she had never taken these eunuchs seriously, and usually they were not allowed to enter her courtyard. In addition, her mind was not on the Ruiwang Mansion at all, so she didn't know much about these people.
All I know is that Li Mancang is a very smooth person. He seems to be on good terms with every master, but also seems to rely on no one.
She just remembered that Li Mancang and Wang Chenghai were not on good terms, but she didn't know the reason. Li Mancang had made things difficult for Wang Chenghai because he was one grade higher than Wang Chenghai. On two occasions, the incident had even come to her attention, but she was too lazy to care and pushed the matter to Xiaolin to settle the case.
"Also, I'm afraid I won't be able to go back home tomorrow."
Mother Liu exclaimed, "Princess, what happened? Did my visit to the palace today upset the Empress or Consort Lian?"
Meng Qi smiled and said, "No, I did want to upset them, but you see I came back so quickly, I didn't have the time to make them unhappy."
Upon hearing this, Madam Liu asked cautiously, "Is that... is that the prince unhappy? Last night, the old servant was too talkative, last night that..."
Meng Qi blushed. She knew what Mama Liu was asking, but she couldn't say much. Mama Liu was the kind of person who was loyal but not very clever. There were some things that were better for her to keep hidden, which was beneficial to her own plans and arrangements.
"Last night was fine. Nothing serious. It was just a small misunderstanding that made the prince unhappy. As for why the prince didn't come back with me, I don't know the reason. I guess the prince had important matters to deal with."
Mother Liu was still worried and wanted to ask something else, but seeing Meng Qilue looked a little tired, she didn't ask anymore. Instead, she said, "Then will this old servant go back tomorrow?"
Meng Qi nodded. "Yes, you should go back. I'm afraid Mother will worry about me. As for the reason, I'll think about it and tell you tomorrow. Then tell Second Sister not to listen to those rumors. Just remember what I said to her that day and take good care of Mother. Everything else can be discussed when we meet in person."
"Should I take the return gift back?" Madam Liu asked. "When the princess went to the palace, Madam Hai and I discussed this matter. She has prepared everything according to the regulations, but the list has not been reviewed by the prince yet, so I don't know if there are any additions or subtractions."
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