As the year draws to a close, both the imperial court and the inner palace are busily preparing.
After the death of Empress Xiaozhaoren, the second empress of Emperor Kangxi, the main power in the harem was concentrated in the hands of Consort Tong and several other concubines, such as Consort Hui.
Although Geng Youran had anticipated being busy before the end of the year, she did not expect it to be this busy.
Because Consort Hui has been assisting the six palaces for many years, she is busier at the end of the year.
Because Consort Tong's health has been fluctuating recently, most of the affairs of the inner palace this year have actually been concentrated on Consort Hui.
First, there's the decoration of the harem.
Just like the people in the Forbidden City and outside the city, the inner palace also needed to be decorated for festivals.
The Imperial Household Department would present the prepared decoration plan, which mainly included the theme, style, and specific layout of the decoration.
"Your Majesty, these are the decorative designs that your servants have created for the palace for the New Year. Please take a look."
Xinyi took the tray from the head steward of the Imperial Household Department. Consort Hui picked it up, glanced at it briefly, and then put it back.
"Steward, you seem to have it all very easy with this job!"
The steward immediately bowed his head.
"Your Majesty is too kind to this humble servant."
Consort Hui slammed her hand hard on the table next to her.
"You audacious servant, daring to try and fool me with styles from a few years ago! I think you're tired of living!"
Upon hearing this, the steward immediately knelt down:
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. It's all because I haven't disciplined them properly, allowing those little brats to try and fool you with such things. Don't worry, I'll go back immediately and revise it myself!"
Taking advantage of the moment, Qingzhi served Consort Hui a cup of tea, which calmed Consort Hui down a little.
"In that case, I'll give you one more chance. If you make another mistake, you can forget about your head."
Afterwards, Consort Hui summoned Geng Youran to her side.
"You Ran, you go with the head steward. I thought the things you had Xin Yi finish making the other day were quite impressive."
"Your Majesty, this is against the rules."
Geng Youran was merely a palace maid in Yanxi Palace, and she was well aware of that.
Putting aside whether she could participate in this matter, even if she could, she didn't want to be the one to stick her neck out.
"The master of this palace is the Emperor. If the Emperor is dissatisfied, I don't think I need to say more about the consequences."
Before Geng Youran could speak, the head steward of the Imperial Household Department immediately continued:
"Thank you, Your Highness. This servant promises to return Miss You Ran as soon as possible."
Geng Youran then passively followed the head eunuch of the Imperial Household Department out of Yanxi Palace.
However, Geng Youran was troubled by this matter.
The patterns she drew for Xinyi a few days ago were originally just for Xinyi to use as a reference, but unexpectedly Xinyi presented them directly to Consort Hui and even had the Imperial Household Department turn some of them into finished products.
"Miss You Ran, you serve as the head maid by Consort Hui's side, so you must be very familiar with the Consort's preferences. This time, please give me your guidance."
"You flatter me, Steward. I am but a palace maid with a few clever ideas. I am not worthy of your 'guidance'."
Next, using some of her memories, Geng Youran organized her thoughts into words and handed them over to the steward.
First, let's look at the overall style.
The style presented by the Grand Steward of the Imperial Household Department was also very good, but it was too extravagant.
Emperor Kangxi's two campaigns against Galdan were precisely when he needed to increase revenue and reduce expenditure.
Secondly, there are decorative items, such as lanterns and colorful flags.
To enhance the festive atmosphere, the imperial palace would hang numerous red lanterns and colorful flags. The red lanterns not only symbolized joy and good fortune but also added a warm touch to the palace at night. The colorful flags, fluttering in the wind, brought a cheerful and lively atmosphere to the palace.
Geng Youran made a suggestion, implying "seeking peace and stability for the world," and asked Consort Hui to request an imperial edict from Emperor Kangxi, that is, for Emperor Kangxi and all the princes to bestow their calligraphy and hang it in the palace.
Then there are the murals.
In addition to auspicious and lucky images, paintings depicting people living in peace and contentment can be added.
"My lord, these are all I can think of for now. If you don't mind, you may refer to one or two of them."
The head steward of the Imperial Household Department took a look and thought it was worth a try.
On the third day, the Imperial Household Department submitted a new plan.
Consort Hui nodded upon seeing this, indicating her satisfaction.
At the same time, Emperor Kangxi also received a memorial with the same content.
After reading it, he pondered for a while, then nodded, stood up, and called out:
"Li Dequan!"
"Your servant is here."
"Go to Yanxi Palace."
"Yes, sir!"
Soon after, Emperor Kangxi arrived at Yanxi Palace, where Consort Hui and her entourage were already waiting at the entrance.
"Your Majesty, I wish you good fortune."
"Get up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Kangxi first exchanged pleasantries with Consort Hui, and then told her about reading the memorials from the Imperial Household Department.
Surprisingly, he praised Consort Hui for doing a very good job this time.
Kangxi was particularly satisfied with the 'open source and cost reduction' measures.
Consort Hui never expected that Emperor Kangxi, who rarely concerned himself with matters of the inner palace, would praise her for this.
Later, Emperor Kangxi also bestowed a Western item upon Consort Hui.
This made Consort Hui extremely happy.
It should be noted that although Emperor Kangxi appointed her to assist in managing the six palaces, she had entered the palace early on. Compared to the constant stream of new concubines, she had long since given up the idea of vying for the emperor's favor and focused most of her attention on her son.
This time, Kangxi specially praised and rewarded her, which also indirectly told the others in the harem that he had not yet fallen out of favor.
After that, Emperor Kangxi visited Consort Hui more often.
Consort Hui knew that this was partly due to Geng Youran's achievements in the previous days, and therefore valued her even more.
They even brought up the matter of bestowing Geng Youran upon the eldest prince as a princess.
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