When Su Wan first met Yan Pei, she felt that he had a different temperament, different from ordinary palace servants.
Just think of me as a little disciple in the Taoist temple, always different from others.
But after getting to know him more closely, you will find that Yan Pei's conversation is even more special.
I thought I was overthinking, but from the palace maids around me, to Wei Jun Zhuohui, and the Lingtai Gate guards who came from better-off families, the latter's family background was already good, but the feeling was still different from Yan Pei's.
If Su Wan was just an ordinary palace maid, she would not have noticed it, but she came from the modern era after all, and had seen many people and things.
It would have been fine if Yan Pei was busy during that period of time, but on the day when the Third Prince was holding court, his time couldn't be too far behind.
Furthermore, although his whereabouts are uncertain, he can always get things done exceptionally well.
Even when he was busy, his aunt could be taken care of, so naturally he had some ideas.
When she privately consulted the doctor of the Ministry of Rites, she found out that the Third Prince's name was Xie Pei.
What else is there to say?
She shouldn't have known the names of the princes. The names of other princes would be fine, but the Third Prince rarely appeared, so his name was a little less famous.
But the people in the Ministry of Rites and Ceremonies knew all this best, after all, they had nothing to do except writing sacrificial texts, organizing royal information, etc.
Anyway, you will definitely come into contact with the name.
Before Xie Pei went to the small kitchen, the doctor in the ceremonial department in the small kitchen was asked a few more questions by her and was given a few pieces of cheese and pastries. These things, which were not secrets, were naturally revealed by him.
Su Wan sighed late at night, but there was a warm stove at her feet and a warm hand warmer at her hands.
Of course I'm not angry, but maybe I won't be so casual when getting along with each other in the future?
But thinking about Xie Pei's current situation, he should be very busy and doesn't have that much free time to come here.
No, I have to find an opportunity to ask him to stop sending things to my aunt. It seems like a trivial matter now, but it always feels weird.
If the two people's status were similar, I would have the opportunity to repay them in the future, but the gap in status was so great that it was not easy to have much contact.
Although it was freezing and snowy outside, Su Wan's bed was warm enough and she slept soundly.
When I woke up the next day, the snow had stopped, but people outside were shouting that it was the Third Prince's birthday and the court was in session. It was snowing, which was a good thing.
Su Wan didn’t know whether it was a good thing or not, but she suddenly had to get busy.
Yesterday, she was still saying that Xie Pei would be busy next, but she didn't expect that not long after she got up, Su Wan was called to be the Deputy Prime Minister of West and go to the Shangshenjian with the Right Chief.
Now it is the seventh day of November, and there is a very important event to do.
That is the winter solstice.
From a modern perspective, the Spring Festival is definitely more lively than the Winter Solstice in most places, but in ancient times, the Winter Solstice was often the most important day of the year and the most important solar term among the 24 solar terms.
In many ancient calendars, the winter month is considered the first month and is also the first in the sequence of the twelve zodiac signs.
Let’s not talk about these complicated calendars for now. The Sitianjian has already deduced that the winter solstice this year is on November 29th.
Therefore, the Ministry of Rites must speed up preparations for this year's ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven.
Although there are previous years' regulations as a basis, they still have to carry out it.
But this winter solstice is different. Throughout the year, various sacrifices are performed, but none of them can be as grand as the winter solstice.
The Guanglu Temple and the Yibu under the Ministry of Rites were all busy with this matter.
This year, a Shangshisi was added. Although the Shangshisi did not need to provide full assistance, according to the wishes of the Minister of Rites, some people were also selected to work with the Guanglu Temple to prepare food for the sacrificial ceremony.
In winter, everyone is busy.
Their Shangshisi did not hide away either. They had originally wanted to deliberately distance themselves from Xie Pei, but now it seemed that there was no need to do so.
Here we need to explain why the time of the winter solstice is uncertain.
The calendar is a very complicated matter, so it requires a specialized department like the Imperial Astronomical Bureau to do it. They don't just look at the celestial phenomena all day and tell us whether it's good or bad.
Instead, it is based on astronomical observations discovered in ancient times, which determine when the summer solstice and the winter solstice are based on the changes in the sun, moon and stars.
The winter solstice is also determined based on the position of the sun, and is not fixed every year.
In ancient times, the celestial phenomena could be deduced with an accuracy of half a day more or less in a year. Apart from other things, the calendar was particularly important for farming.
Only by mastering the 24 solar terms can this year's farming be more successful. This is also the reason why the Sitianjian and the Astronomical Calendar Bureau have been important since ancient times.
When the Right Secretary and Su Wan arrived at the Imperial Kitchen, they saw Aunt Yonglan wearing a dark green official uniform.
She was the left supervisor of the west kitchen before, and now she is the head of the imperial kitchen. However, she is still efficient and sharp-tongued. When she saw Su Wan and the right supervisor coming over, she immediately smiled and said, "I was just saying that for such a big thing, you two must be involved."
Although the Shangshi Division had helped with sacrificial matters in the past, this was the first time they officially participated this year, so naturally there were many things to deal with.
The head chef was even busier, and now that the two of them had arrived, he directly gave them some clerical work, asking them to first look at what the sacrifices were like in previous years so that they would have a better idea of what was going on, and then it would be better if they could come and help.
Aunt Yonglan is now very methodical in her work, but after working in the Imperial Kitchen for more than a month, she has gained so much experience.
Other people from the Shangshenjian also came to say hello, and they made room for the two of them to familiarize themselves with the winter sacrificial procedures first, as everyone else had other things to do.
As for the female officials of the Imperial Food Department, they had to attend court meetings. There was a big court meeting every 15 days and a small court meeting every 3 days. They had to attend all of them.
It is winter now, and there may be temporary meetings and the court meeting time may be extended.
Is there a misery in getting promoted?
Taking advantage of this gap, Su Wan and Xi Youzhizhang immediately looked at the documents in their hands.
These documents were obviously copied from the Ministry of Rites, and the details of the rules of previous years were clearly remembered.
Su Wan was given a headache by all the trivial matters, big and small.
It was also because she had never stopped studying since she arrived at the palace, and she came from a test-oriented education system, so she read the scroll with one hand and took notes with the other. Anyway, it was better to write down the main points first than to read these scrolls without punctuation marks and full of traditional Chinese characters.
I worked hard to read the book for most of the day and finally understood the process of the winter festival. Of course, I couldn't remember all the details, but I went through it roughly, focusing only on what the Guanglu Temple and the Shangshi Department had to do.
First of all, the elephants in the elephant house must be trained in advance. When the elephants patrol the streets, they must be respectful and gentle. This is also related to the saint's belief in Buddhism.
It also represents the saints sending blessings and so on.
Three days before the winter festival, the nobles in the palace got up before dawn, passed through the Huangji Gate and went to the Sheji Altar and the Taimiao in the outer city of the imperial palace to offer sacrifices before setting off again.
This time they set out with carriages and elephants leading the way, taking the Imperial Street and passing Chengtian Gate and Tianxiang Gate, which was already at the outskirts of the city.
Go further south from the outskirts of the city until you reach Dayang Gate and stay overnight at Daxiang Hall.
They had already been on the road for a whole day, so they decided to stay overnight. After all, this was not an ordinary journey, and with the carriages and ceremonial guards, they could not be careless for a moment.
So even if you walk to the southern suburbs, it will take this long.
At five o'clock in the morning of the second day, the saint would get up and perform the elaborate rituals of sacrifice. It had nothing to do with Su Wan and the others, but it looked like there would be a performance soon, including a sacrificial dance.
No, it's a sacrificial ritual! You can't talk about it in front of outsiders.
After watching the performance in the Daxiang Hall, everyone will follow the saint to the Shanchuan Altar to offer sacrifices. After the whole circle, they will stay overnight in the Zhai Palace. Naturally, they have to be vegetarian, and the accompanying officials and others will eat vegetarian food together.
At three o'clock in the morning on the third day, the saint got up again and led everyone in performing the sacrificial ceremony.
This time they are going to the Temple of Heaven next to the Altar of Land and Grain, which is also the most important place this time. The saint and the prince will change into the most solemn crown and robes, and then various worship ceremonies will be held.
If a saint believes in Buddhism, there will be monks coming out to chant, mostly auspicious words.
There are also rituals and music for sacrifices, etc., which have little to do with Su Wan and the others, but Xie Pei will be troubled.
But the more trouble a sacrificial ceremony causes, the more important it is.
We worked from three o'clock in the morning until the afternoon, and then returned to Kyoto with music and ceremony to rest.
On the way back to Kyoto, there were tents set up by dignitaries to welcome the saint. There was no need to be too serious along the way. It was mostly to celebrate the success of the sacrifice, so it was very lively.
When they arrived at Chengtian Gate, which was the entrance to the outer city of the imperial palace, he issued a general amnesty on the tower of Chengtian Gate, read out the oral edict, and gave tea to all officials.
Now that the ceremony is over, before returning to the inner city of the imperial palace, you can go to the Taimiao to offer sacrifices, and everything will be fine.
It's basically time for the saints to wait for their annual holiday.
It was already December, and the atmosphere of the New Year was everywhere.
Su Wan had an idea after reading it.
These three days are too full!
Basically, I get up early, set out early, work all day, take a nap, and have a vegetarian meal.
My goodness, this is too much hard work.
What’s more, the five watches and three watches mentioned here are the departure times, not the getting-up times.
Wait, does she have to get up at this time too?
It's already midnight, isn't it?!
The fifth watch is about three o'clock in the morning?
Not only the little palace maids like them who were accompanying them could not rest, but also the people participating in various sacrificial ceremonies could not rest.
But looking at what is written here, it’s okay. These palace maids can take turns. Although it is still very hard, it is much better after all.
The Ministry of Rites has too much to do during this sacrificial ceremony.
It is almost entirely handled by the Ministry of Rites and the Imperial Astronomical Bureau. Not to mention the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, the Ministry of Rites has a special ancestral temple department, which is related to the ancestral temple. They are responsible for the first day of ancestral worship.
The Ministry of Ceremonies is responsible for coordinating all kinds of etiquette, rules, and crowns. Didn’t you see that Cui Hucheng, the doctor of the Ministry of Ceremonies, no longer comes to the west kitchen for meals because he is busy with this matter?
As for the remaining tribute examinations, the people in charge of the schools are not busy yet, but they have now been transferred to other departments.
Finally, there is the catering department, which includes the Guanglu Temple, which is responsible for large-scale banquets and sacrificial ceremonies, and the Shangshi Division, which is responsible for the meals of all palace officials.
Anyway, after reading the whole thing, Su Wan has a deeper understanding of all the affairs of the Ministry of Rites. She only knew that they were busy before, but now she knows what they are busy with.
Everyone has his own duties and things to do.
Su Wan and her colleagues were only responsible for meals together with Guanglu Temple, but what they would do specifically would depend on the assignments later.
Su Wan and Xi Youzhizhang were relatively late in joining the effort. The Guanglu Temple had been busy with this matter for more than a month, and the head of the Shangshi Division was not in a hurry either.
Everything is going smoothly. There are still more than twenty days until the Winter Festival, so it’s not too late to ask them to come over now.
As Su Wan watched, she knew that their superior was extremely organized and careful. Even though people from their department had just been transferred over, they were able to quickly understand the situation.
It was similar to what Su Wan thought. The head of the Shangshi Department had only been incorporated into the Ministry of Rites for a few months, and the Minister of Rites had already allowed many important tasks to be handed over to female officials.
The chief of the Imperial Kitchen was careful and methodical in his work.
Privately, the Minister of Rites also thanked the Grand Secretary of Zhongji Palace for finding him such a good helper, which helped to ease the trouble of complicated affairs at the end of the year.
This thank you naturally made it easier for the superior to do his work, but he also had more things to do.
As soon as the court was about to start, the Minister of Rites naturally called a few superiors to explain things again, confirm the process of the winter sacrifice, and ensure that there were no mistakes in every link.
Among them, the Minister of Guanglu Temple breathed a sigh of relief, as the Guanglu Temple was next to the Shangshisi office, and the two of them went back together.
After leaving the Ministry of Rites, the Minister of Imperial Households said, "The sacrificial rituals and supplies alone give me a headache. It's great to have you prepare the food. In the past, we made the request and you did it. This time, I don't have to worry about it."
To put it bluntly, in the past, when sacrifices were performed, the Shangshisi also followed, but they were just tools to help with the cooking.
Moreover, during the three days of sacrifice, ordinary food was prepared. The meals for the saint were naturally prepared by the small kitchen in the inner palace, and the Shangshi Department did not have to take care of it.
A complete cooking tool.
But after being merged into the Ministry of Rites this year, the responsibilities have indeed increased. From sacrificial supplies to tea, fruits and seeds, all have become the responsibility of the Shangshisi. It is indeed cumbersome, otherwise the Guanglu Temple Minister would not be so relieved.
But this is also very important.
There are many people involved in the sacrifice, including civil and military officials, lords and nobles, and it is difficult to get along with any of them. Although they will not be too concerned for the sake of the sacrifice, it is inevitable that there will be right and wrong.
However, if we do a good job this time, the Imperial Food Department won’t have to worry about any sacrifices or banquets of any size in the court in the future.
The head of the Imperial Food Department laughed and said, "We also need you to look up the documents from previous years so that we can have a solution."
I’ve done it the same way as before and now I have a better idea of what to do.
Most of the documents that the Shangshenjian is translating now come from this source.
"That's nothing. Let's work together to make the Winter Festival a success. This is the top priority."
Worshiping heaven and earth has always been a major national event and is naturally important.
The Imperial Food Bureau was able to fully participate and was truly integrated into the court affairs.
The two officials reached the intersection of Guanglu Temple and Shangshisi and were about to return to their respective offices.
It's difficult. There are a lot of tasks coming down from above, and I have to assign a lot of tasks to myself. It's easy to make mistakes at any point.
It's simply the reality of Tianxiang country's office slaves.
However, the Minister of Imperial Households also said, "Forget about the other things. The meals in each place are customized. Just make them according to the requirements. But you have to be careful with the vegetarian dishes."
At this point, the temple official whispered, "Those monks are not easy to mess with. Most of them eat the vegetarian food prepared by the saint's small kitchen, but the disciples and monks below want to eat the food you prepare."
"If these disciples brought their regular cooks, it would be fine. We can just set up a stove next to yours. If not, you must carefully prepare vegetarian meals for them."
This is a reminder, and the head of the Imperial Food Bureau will naturally take note of it.
She had also heard about these things. It was well known that saints attached great importance to Buddhism, but only those who were inside knew to what extent.
When the superiors heard about this, their faith in the sage grew stronger and stronger, so the monks around the sage, and even the monks' disciples, were all highly respected.
You have to be careful and polite to them, otherwise who knows what kind of trouble you might get into.
Preparing vegetarian meals is easy, as the Shangshi Bureau has its own vegetarian recipes.
Thinking of this, the officer subconsciously thought of a name, Su Wan.
Su Wan should have arrived by now?
Not only has it arrived, but it is also reading the scroll.
Why could sacrifices be so complicated? Why did the documents give her a headache?
There is a disease in modern times called dyslexia. She would have it if she didn’t have it!
There were quite a few notes written on the side, but there were many people here and the notes were too much of her habit, so she put them away after reading them.
Nowadays, there are people coming and going in the Shangshenjian, and various departments often come to coordinate, and the Sitianjian will also send people over, so these small items have to be kept by yourself.
Ever since Su Wan found out that the child she had been raising for almost a year was the Third Prince, she suddenly became cautious!
You have to be careful!
Fortunately, he is the only one in the palace who can conceal his identity?
After reading the scroll again, the chief of the Imperial Food Department finally came over, followed by Deputy Prime Minister Nan and Deputy Prime Minister Li from the Miscellaneous Affairs Department. Both of them brought palace maids with them. Like the Right Chief of West, they were all here to help.
The number of people transferred this time is not as large as the last time they went to the palace.
But each of them was carefully selected. They would sort out the regulations first, and there would be no rush to recruit people just before departure, which was November 26th.
As long as the people above know the process, the people below just need to give orders and do their work.
In the past, the Ministry of Rites and the Guanglu Temple were in charge of the procedures, but now it has become the Shangshi Bureau, which is considered a change.
When the chief of the Imperial Kitchen came back, everyone naturally put down what they were holding and talked briefly about what they were going to do next.
Su Wan looked around at the members of this working group.
First there was the chief of the Shangshenjian, and under him were two Shangshenlangzhong, one Yuanwailang and one Zhushi.
These have been introduced before, so I won’t say more, as they are all familiar people anyway.
There are also four senior palace maids.
Next came Deputy Prime Minister Nan from the Southern Kitchen, who brought the palace maid Li Rongrong, her niece. Su Wan also knew her. When they first entered the palace, they rode in the same carriage.
No one from the Northern Kitchen was sent this time, mainly because two female officials were transferred from the Northern Kitchen to the Shangshenjian last time, and they are still in the process of getting used to each other, so no one was selected this time.
The west kitchen is naturally headed by Aunt Feng Ping and Su Wan.
The Zaliku was still Li Chengfu. She was there when he went to the palace last time, which showed the commander's trust in her. She was accompanied by Nanny Si of the Sweets Department and Nanny Si's apprentice. Su Wan was also familiar with these three people.
After going through the whole circle, she is familiar with everything.
No, except for Deputy Prime Minister Nan and Li Rongrong, we only met once when they first entered the palace, and now we haven’t seen each other for more than half a year, so we are not very familiar with each other.
The last time I went to the palace, Deputy Prime Minister Nan and Li Rongrong were there, which shows that they are also capable.
Anyway, there are a total of sixteen people in this winter festival working group.
Except for himself and Li Rongrong, all the others, big and small, are managers and have rich experience in work.
Su Wan suddenly felt that she was picked up and it felt like she was just faking her qualifications!
It's over. Ever since I found out that the chiefs of the Imperial Food Department have morning meetings, and that they have to hold additional meetings because there's a lot to do recently, I've started to develop the mentality of a corporate slave.
Su Wan was multitasking, listening to her superior's instructions while laughing.
Finally, the superior said, "Su Wan will follow the head of the Imperial Kitchen and help her. You need to connect with various departments, including the Ministry of Rites, the Imperial Observatory, the Imperial Household Department, and the Imperial Household Department. The work is complicated and the most important thing is to be meticulous."
It is equivalent to a transmission link, taking the meal requirements of other departments and then sending them to the person in charge of meals. After both parties confirm that they are correct, they will be implemented.
It’s just that there’s a thing here and a thing there, which is quite annoying.
But once these tasks are completed, it will only take about twenty days, and then the responsibilities of each government office will become very clear.
It's a very tiring job, but it allows you to understand each department.
Deputy Prime Minister Nan looked at his niece Li Rongrong and said, "Let Rongrong come along. The winter festival meals have set rules, and she is making steamed red vegetables. Most people eat vegetarian food, and they can't cook red meat. She is suitable for these tedious tasks."
When Li Rongrong introduced herself before, she said what she could cook was steamed meat dishes, also called steamed red vegetables here.
But during the winter festival last year, we had to prepare meals for three days in total. We could only eat meat on the first day, and we had to switch to vegetarian dishes on the second and third days. So it didn't make much sense to arrange Li Rongrong to the kitchen.
Moreover, Deputy Prime Minister Nan knew that even if it was previously stipulated that meat could be eaten on the first day of the Winter Festival, now in order to cater to the emperor's will, no one would dare to eat meat on the first day.
Then Li Rongrong's skills were completely useless.
Therefore, the purpose of Deputy Prime Minister Xi bringing Li Rongrong here was to do some "odd jobs".
For example, helping Aunt Yonglan, the head chef.
Being familiar with each department is very important for training female officials.
These female officials basically all came in this way, but they also went from one department to another. This year's situation was the first time they had such a convenient opportunity to contact various departments.
When Deputy Prime Minister Nan Cheng thought of this, he would naturally bring Li Rongrong over.
But she didn't expect that the chief of the Imperial Food Department would give the opportunity to Su Wan, and Aunt Yonglan, the head of the Imperial Food Department, was Su Wan's former left-hand man, so naturally she would not refuse.
Deputy Nan Cheng spoke, and the head of the Imperial Food Department looked at her and said, "Okay, then the two of them will help the head of the Imperial Food Department together."
Li Rongrong looked at Su Wan.
Of course she remembered Su Wan. After all, she was too small, but her eyes were so beautiful that anyone who saw her couldn't help but feel sorry for her.
But I never expected that one day I would have to compete with her for a position.
This made Li Rongrong feel awkward and uncomfortable.
These little things have been buried under all sorts of messy things, so nothing big will happen for the time being.
After these instructions were given, the head of the Imperial Food Department asked again, "Su Wan, what do you think of vegetarian food?"
Vegetarian?
Many ideas of food immediately flashed through Su Wan’s mind.
“Vegetarian, delicious!”
That’s it?
The head of the Imperial Food Bureau was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. What a silly child! Everyone else is thinking about fighting for power, but you are the only one thinking about delicious food.
The author has something to say:
The heroine also wants to pursue a career!
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