Yuan Shen was stunned by Song Xibai's words.
It took him a long time to find his voice.
"I've always seen people seize power, but I've never seen anyone like you who voluntarily relinquishes it. Aren't you afraid they'll do something after they gain power?"
"It's not like we're really giving them power. The ones who actually do the work are still the palace maids and eunuchs! We're just having them keep an eye on things and give them something to do so they don't just sit around tattling all day."
Song Xibai shook her head, wanting to give herself a thumbs up for her cleverness.
Yuan Shen thought about it carefully, and it was indeed a good idea.
They weren't given real power, and they were kept separate so they wouldn't get together all the time to argue and cause trouble.
So he nodded.
"You can make the decision."
Song Xibai was in a great mood and immediately sent someone to inform them to come over in the afternoon.
Guo and Du were still facing the wall in repentance, so they didn't let them come over.
After finishing lunch, Yuan Shen went back to the front.
With the New Year approaching, the former emperor was very busy, and he had to squeeze out time to eat with Song Xibai every day.
At the end of the year, officials in various departments are assessed and rated, and their performance determines whether they stay in their positions or are promoted or demoted. The petitions from local officials are piled up like small mountains.
The Ministry of Revenue had to conduct a cleanup, the Ministry of Rites had to prepare for the New Year, the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Works were also busy, and even the Ministry of Justice was running around like crazy. All the old cases had to be dealt with before the New Year, and the Ministry of Justice's prison had to be cleared out. Those who needed to be punished were punished, and those who needed to be exiled were exiled. In short, no prisoners could be left to spend the New Year in jail.
Not long after he left, Wu Jieyu and the others arrived.
The three of them felt uneasy as they entered the room.
While waiting, Wu Jieyu kept glancing at Cao Jieyu out of the corner of her eye.
The two exchanged glances.
You were too impulsive, which displeased the Imperial Concubine. What if you implicate others?
Who told Guo Jiayi to mess with me? She deserved it!
Both of them were blinking so hard their eyelids were about to cramp when Song Xibai lifted the curtain and came in.
The three of them quickly stood up and bowed.
"No need for formalities, please sit down! I called you here to ask you something."
Song Xibai walked up to Feng Ying first, his face showing affection.
Can you do accounting?
When Feng Ying was in the Eastern Palace, she was a nobody, timid, shy, and cowardly, even less noticeable than Lady Du.
At this moment, she was sitting at the very back, keeping her head down like a quail, when she suddenly heard Song Xibai's voice and she was completely stunned.
Wei Hong spoke up to remind her, "Consort Feng, Her Majesty is asking you a question!"
She seemed to wake from a dream and quickly nodded in reply.
"This servant...I can do accounts, but I'm not very good at it."
"It doesn't matter whether it's sophisticated or not. There are account books and an abacus in the west side room. Go and take a look first."
Song Xibai grabbed her wrist, called Yingchun over, and took her there.
Then, Song Xibai turned to look at the other two.
Wu Jieyu and Cao Jieyu suddenly felt like they were being watched by their aunt when they were young, and subconsciously straightened their backs.
Song Xibai smiled and took their hands, asking them softly about their past.
For example, they asked her a whole bunch of questions, such as what she did in the palace before, which palace she served in, who she was close to, whether she could write, and whether she knew how to do accounting. They left Consort Wu and Consort Cao completely bewildered.
After one round of "interviews," Song Xibai was fairly satisfied and took them to the front hall.
Unaware of what was going on, the two stood on either side of Song Xibai behind her, listening to her handle palace affairs and distribute tokens, before belatedly realizing what was happening.
Is this asking us to cooperate with the Six Palaces?
Both of them became excited, and even Wu Jieyu's usually kind and gentle face couldn't help but reveal excitement and agitation.
Song Xibai didn't assign them any tasks directly. He only led them for two days. On the third day, he temporarily asked them to handle two matters. Seeing that they performed well, he assigned them some more tasks.
With Wu and Cao stabilized, Song Xibai went to check on Consort Feng.
She spent three days calculating that messy account.
She calculated very slowly on the first day, probably because she hadn't touched an abacus in a long time and couldn't speed up. But on the second day, Feng Jieyu got back into the swing of things, and the abacus beads clicked away with a loud clatter.
By the third day, she had maintained her speed while reducing her mistakes.
Song Xibai exclaimed: "What a talent!"
If this were modern times, she could definitely become a senior accountant.
Unfortunately, in ancient times, they could only be confined to the inner quarters of the house.
Song Xibai felt a deep sense of pity for capable people, especially capable women.
This pity is different from the pity shown to a weak person like Du Jieyu; it is a lament for her being born at the wrong time.
Dingxiang felt this way, and now, looking at Feng Ying, she felt the same way.
Feng Ying clutched her handkerchief, looking at Song Xibai with trepidation.
"Your Majesty?"
Song Xibai snapped out of his daze, put down the ledger, took her hand, and sat down on a chair nearby.
"Your calculations are quite good, almost without any discrepancies. I didn't expect you to have this talent! Did you learn to use an abacus at home?"
Feng Ying pursed her lips: "My father taught me. My family has been in business for generations. My father and uncles are all experts at using an abacus, as are my brothers. I've always been good with numbers, and I can do arithmetic faster than my brothers. But I'm a girl, and my mother wanted me to marry into a wealthy family, so she wouldn't let me learn these things... Later, the family found a female tutor to teach me music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, but I have no talent in these areas, and my mother even called me a blockhead..."
From the moment Feng Ying entered the Eastern Palace, she carried an indescribable sense of inferiority.
She was actually very beautiful, the kind of beauty that evokes pity and tenderness; otherwise, she wouldn't have been chosen to be presented to the crown prince at the time.
But she was always timid, her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz when she spoke to people, and she would blush easily.
Looking back now, I realize it was because of her mother's criticism.
She is three years younger than Song Xibai, only sixteen this year. In Song Xibai's eyes, she is just a little girl who hasn't grown up yet.
Moreover, compared to others, she is truly naive and has no ulterior motives.
Even Du Jieyu was instigated to scheme against Song Xibai back then!
Is it good or bad for a young girl like this to be trapped in the palace for the rest of her life?
After hesitating for a long time, Song Xibai suddenly dismissed the servants and asked her in a low voice.
Have you ever thought about leaving the palace?
Feng Ying suddenly raised her head, her eyes filled with astonishment and fear.
"Have I done something wrong? Why does Your Majesty want to send me away?"
As soon as she opened her mouth, tears streamed down her cheeks, truly a sight to behold, making one feel pity for her.
Song Xibai cursed Yuan Shen in her heart.
“I’m not trying to kick you out, it’s just… look at the situation in the palace, you won’t be favored. Rather than being all alone in the palace, why not leave, find someone you like, get married, have children, and live a happy and fulfilling life? Isn’t that the life many people want?”
It was rare for Song Xibai to feel sympathy for Yuan Shen's "women".
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