Not only was Su Wan a little embarrassed, but the Su family members also did not expect that these words could be heard by the palace ladies-in-waiting. They were so scared that they immediately saluted.
The female officials pretended not to see anything, but when they heard the girl asking them to treat her aunt well, and seeing how young the girl was, they roughly understood what was going on, and naturally became colder towards the Su family.
But when he spoke to the Third Aunt, he smiled and even comforted her: "Don't worry, we in the Shangshi Division are the kindest. You don't have to do the washing and sprinkling work. Your daughter has skills. If she works hard, she will come back."
The third concubine looked at the female officials and could only nod her head.
Su Wan's eyes lit up. No matter how she threatened, it was not as effective as a word from the female officials.
Moreover, this leading female official seemed to be very powerful.
However, they did not have long to say goodbye. Su Wan walked into the team of palace maids carrying her package. At this time, there were already five or six palace maids in the team. They all looked at Su Wan curiously, but they were obviously older than Su Wan, about fourteen or fifteen years old.
Su Wan finally waved to the Third Aunt, believing that with a talented female official, the Third Aunt would have a better life at home.
No matter what happens behind the scenes, people will definitely give some face on the surface.
That's enough.
Su Wan bid farewell to her family and slowly left with the team.
There were three female officials leading the group in front. There were fifteen people on their list. After they were all taken away from their homes, they got on a huge carriage in the palace and went to the palace together.
It is not so easy for ordinary palace maids to enter the palace. There are many rules.
But most of the people in this car are from Shangshisi. They either have family-inherited skills or have extraordinary culinary talents at a young age.
Fifteen girls sat together and looked at each other.
Finally, an older woman spoke up: "My name is Li Rongrong, I'm sixteen years old, and I'm good at making steamed dishes, which is a family tradition. How about you?"
Shangshi is a delicate job, responsible for steaming and stewing dishes, etc., and cooking red cases is related to meat.
Being able to cook meat dishes clearly shows that he has some family background.
Su Wan listened silently. This was what her mother taught her. However, many dynasties had different names, and the names might change every few years. Some names might be different. She kept silent for now and wanted to see what everyone else said.
After someone started talking, they were introduced one after another.
When it came to Su Wan, she said, "My family does case work. My name is Su Wan, and I'm twelve years old."
Bai'an is a noodle snack, there is nothing special about it.
Everyone looked at her and couldn't help but say, "I thought you were only eight or nine, or ten years old."
"How could your family be willing to let you out?"
"We just saw that you have an older sister."
Su Wan did not answer, but just smiled faintly, with a little helplessness in her smile.
She didn't say what it meant specifically, so you can just guess!
Sure enough, when she smiled like that, people started to imagine more things.
I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Such a cute and thin girl was sent here. Wouldn't she be pitied?
Su Wan didn't expect that laughing would have such a big effect, so she had to explain: "It's okay, we used to be palace maids and we got monthly wages. I will make money and treat my aunt better in the future."
There were also quite a few concubines' daughters among them. After hearing what Su Wan said, they thought that this little girl was so adorable.
Li Rongrong also looked at Su Wan and had a good impression of her. Who wouldn’t like a well-behaved child?
Since we are talking about monthly wages, this topic is naturally very attractive. The women in the carriage are basically earning money for the first time, so they are very excited.
Li Rongrong, who was more informed, whispered, "Little palace maids like us get three taels of silver a month, senior palace maids get ten taels, and the higher you go, the more you get."
"Wow, is there such a big difference between a senior maid and a junior maid?"
"It would be nice if I could be a maid of honor."
"What about above?"
"Above are the female officials. Above the head maid is the female official in charge, an eighth-rank official, wearing a light green official uniform."
"Above the female official in charge is the vice chancellor of the Imperial Kitchen, a seventh rank official who wears dark green official uniforms."
After saying this, the fifteen women simultaneously looked towards the more exquisite carriage in front of them.
Leading them were the female officials, and the one leading them was the deputy prime minister? She was wearing a dark green official uniform.
Her subordinates should be the left and right officers, all wearing light green clothes.
It turned out that it was the Prime Minister and the Vice Prime Minister who came to pick them up. How impressive.
Su Wan did not expect that the female official who had just comforted the Third Aunt was actually the Prime Minister's deputy. A female official of the seventh rank was already very good.
If she could sit in this position, she wouldn't have to worry about her aunt at all.
No, it would be good enough to be a female official in charge or a head maid in the palace.
You still have to have dreams! The head maid gets ten taels of silver a month!
Su Wan thought of money, and so did the others. Li Rongrong smiled, "We are all officials of high rank, so our monthly salary will naturally double."
"And they still eat the court's salary. Above the rank of magistrate, they are treated like men, all court officials. There are no restrictions on marriage, and apart from their shifts, they can go home every night and have a rest during the New Year holidays."
Being in charge of something above this, is it so powerful?
It’s the same as the officials in the court.
Su Wan felt that her dream suddenly grew bigger!
It turns out that as long as you work hard to get promoted, working in the palace is just a normal job?
Li Rongrong saw everyone's expressions and laughed again: "But such a big Shangshi Division has only eight people in charge. It's not that easy to be in charge."
Yes, there are nearly a thousand palace maids of all sizes in the Shangshi Department, and only eight of them are in charge. It is indeed not easy.
"Then what's above? Is it the chief of the Imperial Food Department?"
Li Rongrong lowered her voice and said, "Yes, it's the head of the Imperial Food Department, a fifth-rank position with a special office, wearing a scarlet official uniform and a silver fish bag."
A special government office, a fifth-rank position, and a silverfish bag.
This is a formal court official.
If a female official sat in the position of the chief of the Imperial Food Department, she would be a prominent figure, and the empress would be polite when meeting them.
Su Wan listened and watched silently as everyone got excited, but she knew in her heart that if she wanted to be such a powerful female official, it would definitely not be easy.
I guess he not only needs to be a good cook and have good character, but also needs to know how to manage such a large restaurant.
In modern times, he would be an extremely strong management talent.
The Imperial Palace's Shangshisi is not, as people stereotype, responsible for only cooking for the concubines and mistresses in the palaces.
A more important responsibility is to be responsible for all departments and sections of the imperial city, whether they are palace maids, eunuchs, or staff in various government offices, and to be responsible for the meals and tea of all of them.
If Su Wan were to explain, it was the imperial palace cafeteria.
There are so many masters in the palace, but most of them eat in the small kitchen of the palace.
The masters need to eat, and so do others.
The Shangshisi is mainly responsible for the dining matters of most people.
There were almost 8,000 people in the palace, from palace maids and eunuchs to government officials and patrol guards.
The meals for so many people are all prepared by Shangshisi.
Taking care of the food issues for more than 8,000 people, the position of Chief of the Imperial Food Department is not something that everyone can do, so her abilities must be very strong.
So just listen to this position, it has nothing to do with most of them.
But now, the atmosphere in the carriage has become tense.
Especially when Li Rongrong mentioned this, her eyes sparkled and she was obviously looking forward to it.
She entered the palace at the age of sixteen, and was definitely not there to be a maid like Su Wan. She must have come here for some kind of female official position.
But she is still willing to share the news with everyone now, which shows that she is not a stingy person.
Su Wan looked at Li Rongrong twice more, and a candy was stuffed into her hand: "We will be at the palace soon, and there are many things to do. Eat a candy to fill your stomach, otherwise you will faint."
Who knew that after this, others also took snacks to exchange with each other.
Eat your fill and wait for your seats to be allocated!
The Shangshisi is so big, and there are different departments within it. We will see what I will say about where they are divided into later.
There were also some snacks in Su Wan's package, but she was still fed soft and glutinous cakes. Li Rongrong also reminded everyone not to eat smelly things, otherwise it would be unsightly.
They were having a great time here, and the news spread to the exquisite little carriage in front.
Among them, Zuo Zhizhang smiled and said, "Rongrong is indeed your niece, she is sensible."
The right-hand man also said: "It is very dignified."
The female official in the dark green official uniform who led the group shook her head helplessly: "He is a heartless man."
It’s better this way. People with no ulterior motives are easier to get along with than those with intentions. They like people everywhere.
The carriage traveled for nearly an hour and finally arrived at Hebian Street. Hebian Street entered Dong'anli Gate. The carriage was about to stop at the gate. At this time, other prime ministers and deputies had already arrived here with the female officials.
There are four chancellors and deputy chancellors in the Imperial Food Department, each with two assistants and fifteen young palace maids who are about to enter the palace.
After everyone has arrived and has been verified by the guards at Dong'anli Gate, the group can enter through the south gate of the palace.
Su Wan is the shortest, so she stands at the front of the team, making her look even younger.
Just a few steps after entering from Dong'anli Gate, you can see the sign of Guanglu Temple. There are people coming and going here. It is the department in charge of sacrifices, court meetings, and large banquets.
Behind the Guanglu Temple is the Shangshenjian, the official office of the Shangshi Bureau.
According to Su Wan's understanding, this is a unit of the same level.
The Guanglu Temple was in charge of large-scale banquets and sacrifices.
The Shangshi Bureau is in charge of daily diet.
When there are major festivals, we definitely have to cooperate, so the relationship between the two departments is pretty good.
When the officials of the Guanglu Temple at the door saw the new palace maids passing by, they immediately turned around and made way for them so as not to offend the women in front of them.
Although the Tianxiang Kingdom does not emphasize hierarchy, it attaches great importance to etiquette, and they absolutely cannot do such impolite things.
If the Censorate knew about this, memorials would be poured in like snowflakes.
After passing the Guanglu Temple, you will walk along the palace road and soon arrive at the Shangshenjian.
Su Wan followed the team forward and saw that the place was very quiet, as if something big had happened.
I only heard a sarcastic voice of a eunuch saying, "Sir, I just asked you for a female official. With such good cooking skills, she should serve the queen. She went to our West Fifth House and still cooked."
The officer replied in a calm and gentle voice, "It's good to cook for the noble, but once she goes to the inner palace, she is no longer a female official, but a simple cook. She finally became the left supervisor of the Southern Kitchen, and is also an eighth-rank female official."
The eunuch interrupted directly: "Just ask Jiang Hongye, ask her whether she wants to be a small female official in your office, or to serve the noble, okay?"
When the female official who brought the new palace maids over saw this, she immediately went to the room to remind them.
The room really became quiet.
After a while, Su Wan saw the smug eunuch bringing a woman in light green official uniform. The woman also had a happy look on her face, and it was obvious that she wanted to serve the Empress in the palace.
But I have to take off this outfit and can’t wear it again.
This scene left the new palace maids stunned.
Is it possible to see such a thing just after arriving at the palace?
Why is the noble lady coming to the Shangshisi to ask for someone?
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