The White-haired Queen

Wen Lanyue slapped the table, and suddenly there was silence. Wen Lanyue explained: "This month, Concubine Pang will temporarily take charge of the harem. After a month, we will hold a speech and vote for election."

"We adhere to the principle of equality for all. Any concubine who is interested in leading the harem and holding the Phoenix Seal can participate in the speech election. All the people in the harem, including eunuchs and palace maids, will participate in the voting, and the concubine with the most votes will be elected."

As soon as he finished speaking, the chattering began again.

"Why can eunuchs and palace maids participate in the voting?"

"Eunuchs and palace maids are all servants. What qualifications do they have to decide who is the master?"

“Isn’t this still unfair?”

"If more than 200 eunuchs and palace maids unite as one and vote for one person, wouldn't that mean they have the final say?"

"Once you choose, you won't change for life? That's not appropriate, right?"

……

Wen Lanyue slapped the table again, stood up and said, "The theme of the speech is 'What can I do for the harem' or 'How to build a good harem'. You need to clearly state your methods and goals for building a harem. Does anyone have any opinions on this theme?"

Silence fell.

Wen Lanyue continued, "Very good! It seems that everyone agrees. After the election, the term of office will be four years, which means that we will hold a new speech voting election every four years."

Wen Lanyue paused, and there was still silence. Then she said, "The palace maids and eunuchs are also part of the harem. We should care about them, help them, and let them build our home with us."

At this time, the Empress Dowager Cixi came in clapping her hands and said, "I heard that my sister was injured, so I came to see her. But when I left, I heard that my sister wanted to take out the Phoenix Seal, so I came to see who would get it. I just heard your idea, and I think it's a good one."

Wen Lanyue looked at the Empress Dowager Cixi carefully. She was tall, strong, dark-skinned, and had regular features. She looked very down-to-earth and was definitely a good hand at farm work.

Wen Lanyue said with a smile: "Thank you for your visit, sister. I am fine now. Thank you for your praise, sister. Do you have anything else to add?"

The Empress Dowager brushed her sleeves and said, "No, just do as my sister asks." Then, she told the maid behind her, "Cui Ping, give my sister the jade ruyi that the late emperor gave me. My son has caused trouble for my sister."

Seeing Bilian taking the jade ruyi, the Empress Dowager continued, "Sister, you go on with your work. I won't disturb you anymore." Then she walked out amid the sound of kneeling.

Wen Lanyue couldn't help but admire the Empress Dowager Cixi. She was really broad-minded and could let go of anything regardless of worldly affairs.

Wen Lanyue looked at everyone and saw that no one was talking, so she said, "No problem, let's go. I'm tired too."

Finally, only Concubine Pang was left. Wen Lanyue saw that she seemed to have something to say, but seemed afraid of disturbing her rest, so she stood there a little at a loss.

Wen Lanyue said, "I only need to be clear about two things."

Concubine Pang said, "Please speak, Queen Mother."

Wen Lanyue said: "The first thing is to keep a good account of the money expenditures, so that it can withstand my inspection at any time."

This was a trivial matter for Concubine Pang. As a legitimate daughter, she had learned how to read, record, sort and manage accounts, so she said, "I understand."

Wen Lanyue continued, "The second matter is not a matter of life and death. You are solely responsible for handling it. Don't trouble me."

Concubine Pang said: "I would like to thank the Queen Mother for her trust and promotion. I will keep the Queen Mother's teachings in mind."

Wen Lanyue went on to say: "Whether you can keep this position after a month depends on your own ability." After saying that, she waved her hand and let Concubine Pang leave.

Wen Lanyue sat down with satisfaction and thought: This month, the harem should be peaceful.

After lunch, Wen Lanyue took Honghe out.

There were people walking in twos and threes on the street. Wen Lanyue thought: At this time of year, everyone is either eating or taking a nap, so it's understandable that there is no one here.

There happened to be a teahouse in front, so I could go in and sit down. At this time, I heard the sound of a gavel slamming on a table. It turned out that someone was telling a story.

"It is said that Prince Gu Changfeng led his troops to attack the Dayuan garrison at night and burned their food and grass..."

"Yue'er."

Wen Lanyue looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was her master calling her. She hurried over and said, "Master, you are here too."

The master said, "This is the only way for you to leave the palace and go to Liuwen Pavilion. I have been waiting for you for half an hour. I saw you from afar and was about to go over to meet you. How did you get in?"

Wen Lanyue scratched her head, feeling embarrassed like a playful child caught by his parents. She quickly explained, "I saw someone talking about Gu Changfeng, so I came in without realizing it."

The master poked Wen Lanyue's head with his index finger and said, "You!" Then, he pulled Wen Lanyue's arm and said, "Let's go to Liuwen Pavilion first."

Along the way, Wen Lanyue discovered that the houses here were mostly one or two stories high, except for Liuwen Pavilion which was three stories high. It seemed that a lean camel was bigger than a horse.

Walking into Liuwen Pavilion, the wooden furniture exudes a simple and antique charm, the shelves are filled with a dazzling array of jewelry and jade, the jewelry display cabinets have a wide variety of categories, and the customers in the store are dressed extremely luxuriously. You can tell at first glance that this is a high-end luxury store.

At this time, a young man dressed as a scholar came over with extremely elegant steps and said, "Dear guest, please go upstairs."

Wen Lanyue followed his master up to the third floor, and the young man immediately said, "Master, the Pavilion Masters are all here, please enter the meeting room."

When they arrived at the meeting hall, the master introduced: "This is Princess Lanyue of Wenjing Kingdom. She is now the Queen Mother of Shangxie Kingdom. From now on, she will be your new building owner."

Everyone knelt down in unison and said, "Your Highness, we pay our respects to the Princess. May the Princess live a thousand years, a thousand thousand years."

Wen Lanyue said, "No need to be polite. From now on, when there are no outsiders around, there will be no distinction between the senior and the junior. Just call him the owner of the building or pavilion."

The master said, "Everyone please sit down and introduce yourself to the new owner."

A man in his fifties stood up and said, "I am Mo Jiang from the Cultural and Creative Pavilion. The main problem of our pavilion now is that we have no funds, research and development is slow, and the subsequent talents cannot keep up. The subsequent maintenance costs a lot of manpower and financial resources, and it is difficult to continue."

Wen Lanyue summed it up in three words in her mind: "It costs money."

Then a man in his forties stood up and said, "I am Qian Wan from Wenshang Pavilion. Our pavilion has not had any new development in the past twenty years. All of our businesses were founded by the late emperor, and are now declining. We need new ideas and new businesses."

Wen Lanyue summed it up in three words: “Not much money.”

Then a burly man in his thirties stood up and said, "I am Wei Guang from the Wenwu Pavilion. The last batch of people in our pavilion have not been settled, so we are basically not accepting new members. In addition, everyone's salary has not been paid for several years. Now we are occupying the mountains and training while reclaiming wasteland. We can't eat enough, but we can't starve to death."

Wen Lanyue muttered to herself, "It still costs money."