Volume 3: Dragon and Snake Movement Chapter 428: Who is the Butler? Selection Competition
After eating three meals at noon, Zhang Shou went to a small teahouse in the afternoon to drink tea with three elders. They first talked about Longmen account and then Jiuzhangtang. They talked a lot. Then the three elders dragged him to select two candidates for imperial chefs in a formal manner - because he specifically instructed that in each guild hall, all dishes should be the work of one chef - in the end, Huaiyang cuisine and Shandong cuisine were selected.
As for the slightly sweet Suzhou cuisine, he thought it was good, but the elders did not like it, so he only got one vote out of four. Although he could decide on his own, he finally decided to go back and mention it to the emperor. However, at the same time, he had an extremely bold idea in his mind.
By the evening of that day, when Zhang Shou sent Ge Yong and the other two home one by one, it was already evening. The feeling of fullness from the three meals at noon was long gone. Although he was not starving, he could not help but think to himself with self-mockery that the more he ate, the hungrier he would get.
At this moment, he heard Ah Liu muttering beside him: "Can mathematics really make a living?"
Zhang Shou glanced at Ah Liu, who had been mute the whole afternoon. Since persuading him to study was completely useless to this kid, he could only sneer and say, "For the teacher and those two gentlemen, it is indeed a delicacy and an elixir of eternal youth. Can you imagine how miserable the teacher and those two gentlemen will be when they are old and can no longer study these things?"
Ah Liu tilted his head and thought about it carefully, then nodded knowingly: "Yeah, I can't imagine what will happen when I get old and can't fight anymore."
When you are old and can’t fight anymore...haha, I can’t imagine what that will be like!
Zhang Shou couldn't help laughing, but then he heard Ah Liu suddenly say, "Do you want me to check again to see what the frame-up is all about? I think it's true that Concubine Guo stole things, and it's also true that the man surnamed Zhou from the Imperial Kitchen had an affair with her and took advantage of her countless times in the Imperial Kitchen over the years, but there's something wrong with that frame-up."
Zhang Shou never doubted Ah Liu's sensitivity, and he himself believed that there might be something fishy behind this matter. However, seeing Ah Liu's murderous look at this moment, he couldn't help but laugh: "Didn't the emperor ask the imperial attendant to investigate? That means your master is leading the team, what are you worried about?"
Ah Liu frowned in annoyance: "But madmen do things in a messy way!" Besides, it's hard to tell where the source of this matter came from!
You make it sound like you're not messing around! Zhang Shou couldn't help but laugh: "This is about the imperial palace. Unless you want to switch jobs and go back to your old job, don't even think about me agreeing to it! Don't think too much. Maybe they sent you such a fool and the wooden man that the emperor often plays with on purpose. Instead of fussing over the details now, you might as well think about how to get your revenge in the future!"
"I understand." Although he agreed readily, Ah Liu once again began to think about all the people in the capital. Although he had beaten some of them with his fists, poached some with promises, and had some people keep an eye on others, as a migrant worker who had just arrived in the capital for more than a year, he still felt that he lacked some means and that the people at home were not working hard enough.
Isn't it just sleeping for two hours a day, and the rest of the time is either used for martial arts training or for work?
If Zhang Shou knew that Ah Liu actually imposed his strict standards on others, he would definitely find it funny and blame this kid for being too demanding. But since he didn't know, everyone in the family who was under someone's pressure was doomed to be in dire straits for a short time. No one had the courage to go to Zhang Shou to complain about this.
When the master and servant arrived at the gate of Zhang Garden, it was already completely dark. Two lanterns with the word "Zhang" written on them were hung on both sides of the gate. The two black painted doors were tightly closed, and only the small door on one side was open for people to enter and exit.
According to Zhang Shou's rank, the shape of the gate tower was obviously prohibited. However, the emperor had already issued a special order to keep it as it was, so he just repainted the red lacquer gate black. In this era when only the imperial palace and other palaces could have red lacquer gates, the color of the gate alone showed how glorious and domineering the Prince Lu was.
He rode his horse into the house and listened to Old Liu talking about the situation at home. He couldn't help but think of the past in the countryside. He didn't think he was being nagging for a moment, but when he got off the horse and threw the reins out, he suddenly realized a very important problem. Although Ah Liu recruited a lot of people and the Zhu family also borrowed a lot of people to send over, but...
The inner courtyard is fine, with Wu in charge, and two housekeepers are enough to assist, but for the outer courtyard, who is the housekeeper?
He thought of this question, and seeing that Ah Liu had dismounted and followed him, he asked this question casually. But then, he saw Ah Liu glance at him with an extremely strange look, and then he actually held his head high and puffed out his chest. At this moment, he suddenly thought of a possibility that he had never thought of before.
"Could it be... it's you?"
"It was me." Ah Liu said these five powerful words. Seeing Zhang Shou's face full of disbelief, he suddenly felt unhappy and aggrieved. "Why, I can't do it? Lu Sanlang is in charge of the expenses of the outer courtyard, Old Liu is in charge of the reception, Lame An Lu is in charge of the defense, and Xu Po is in charge of the outer kitchen. We don't have enough people at home, so we have to do multiple things by ourselves."
It was understandable that the others at the back were also in charge of Zhang Shou, and that was normal, but what was the point of Lu Sanlang's trial? Why would the little fat guy agree to take care of such trivial matters? The more he thought about it, the more suspicious he became. He also found it funny, but then he couldn't help but look at Ah Liu and asked, "What do you, the housekeeper, take care of?"
"I don't care about them! If anyone is lazy, steals, or is a traitor... hehe."
Hearing this laugh, Zhang Shou couldn't help but cover his forehead. He knew it! Ah Liu really took the word "housekeeper" to its literal meaning. A housekeeper is someone who manages the family... right? He took a deep breath and finally decided not to explain what a housekeeper is to this little guy who believes that he is very loyal to his duties.
After calculating the current manpower at home, he realized that with the current configuration of the family, if he wanted to pick a housekeeper who could shock everyone, it would only be Ah Liu in front of him. Because no one else could control the situation! However, thinking about the situation where Ah Liu followed him out all day, he sighed.
"Well, you continue to be the butler. There is indeed no one else who can replace you. No one else has the prestige you have."
Seeing Ah Liu's smug smile, he continued, "But Lu Sanlang's auditing of accounts can't last long. It will become a joke if it's told to others. Peanut can learn from him in the future... No, that kid was scolded by Lao Xianyu for not studying hard. So, remember to remind me later to ask everyone in Jiuzhang Hall to give him ten arithmetic problems to do every day."
"Those who go to Guanglu Temple and the public school don't have time, so let others help. For them, this kind of thing is just a breath away. When Xiaohuasheng finishes, you take it to someone to help correct it. If he makes a mistake, punish him to copy it ten times!"
Ah Liu's face immediately showed deep sympathy. When he was in the countryside, Zhang Shou forced him to do 40 problems every day, which almost killed him. What's more, Xiao Huasheng had to do at least 200 problems a day now?
At that time, he begged and pleaded in every possible way, and was punished by being forced to squat for every wrong answer. At least he didn't end up as miserable as Xiao Huasheng is now!
Since Xiao Huasheng had been given such a task, Zhang Shou changed his mind and said with a smile, "Why not find a companion for Xiao Cheng? Although Xiao Huasheng is a few years older than him, he also grew up among the common people. He always wants to be self-reliant, so let him do odd jobs at Jiuzhang Hall. If he can hone some talent for numbers in the future, he can at least help you, the butler, to look after the accounts."
Hearing Zhang Shou once again emphasize the legitimacy of his position as housekeeper, Liu was immediately delighted and agreed immediately.
Zhang Shou left Guanglu Temple that day and picked up Ge Yong and the other two. He then went out to eat and drink tea. He was so relaxed that he didn't even go to Guanglu Temple to ask about the results of today's audit. However, the people who were watching him suffered again. And the many bigwigs in the court who received the news from Guanglu Temple in the evening were even more happy and sad.
Even though Confucius didn't know that Chu Kuan had been secretly plotting against him, he remembered that his relative had retired from the post of Guanglu Shaoqing. He also knew that a bunch of imperial chefs in the imperial kitchen had been dismissed, and some were even imprisoned. He also knew that his family had been searched and found to have much more wealth than they should have.
And now, he heard that the account books of Guanglu Temple in the past three months were a mess. Even if he hadn't checked five years ago, he had to consider whether he should kill his relatives for the sake of justice. He was really blind to have such a stupid and greedy in-law!
It was not just Academician Kong who was having a headache. Lord Wu, who was always kind to others and tried to understand the emperor's intentions in everything, was also having a headache because his nephew held an idle position in the Guanglu Temple. Although he was not among those imprisoned this time because his position was too low and the time was not long, he still lost his official position. His wife cried endlessly in front of him and almost annoyed him to death.
As for Zhang Yu, the Grand Secretary who was promoted by the emperor only at the beginning of last year and had the lowest ranking among all the people in the cabinet but had always been strong in character... although he had no connection with the Guanglu Temple, no one knew who had spread the news that his housekeeper and the head of the imperial kitchen, whose surname was Zhou, were from the same clan. Before he could ask about the matter and deal with it, the housekeeper ran away, so he also got into trouble.
This is just the Cabinet, the Six Ministries, the Censorate and the other temples and supervisors. There are also many people who have close ties with the Guanglu Temple and the Imperial Kitchen.
Even though the emperor limited the scope of the thorough investigation to the Guanglu Temple and the Imperial Kitchen, and there was also witnesses and evidence of the palace ladies stealing forbidden items and the Guanglu Temple's corruption, some people still felt uneasy.
Although Guanglu Temple and Imperial Kitchen were not extremely powerful places in the past, they were also the closest to the emperor, so the people who interacted with them were naturally the prominent figures in the court - those who were not prominent would ignore you! But once a problem occurred, the former prominent figures involved in these two places would naturally be embarrassed.
Therefore, when the three cabinet elders who were not on good terms with each other met at the morning court the next day, Grand Secretary Kong noticed the dark circles under Grand Secretary Wu's eyes, Grand Secretary Wu noticed the yellow complexion of Grand Secretary Zhang, and Grand Secretary Zhang... he noticed a strand of messy hair that fell outside the official hat of Grand Secretary Kong, who was always meticulous.
At this moment, the three of them seemed to be in sync with each other and smiled bitterly at the same time.
It is said that he is second only to one person and above ten thousand people, but when it comes to gains and losses, what is the difference between him and ordinary people?
Sure enough, the court meeting that day was dull and boring. There was nothing worth talking about, or anything worth making a fuss about. It ended quickly and smoothly. After the court meeting ended, all the officials returned to their respective offices. When the three officials, including Kong Daxueshi, were also ready to leave, someone suddenly came and invited them to move to the Qianqing Palace.
Although the three of them now had their own ulterior motives, and of course their guilt levels varied, but when they entered the Palace of Heavenly Purity, they all had serious expressions on their faces, and anyone would praise their open and honest demeanor as the Prime Minister. However, when they straightened up after paying their respects in front of the emperor, and saw the emperor turn the wooden man in his hand to face forward, their expressions all changed.
The emperor didn't even need to explain it, they knew that was the cause and effect of the theft in the palace.
"The imperial kitchen will be under the jurisdiction of the palace from now on. My food and the expenses allocated by the inner treasury have nothing to do with the outside world, so there is no need for the Guanglu Temple to manage them. This is one reason." After the emperor said this with a smile, he saw that Grand Secretary Kong was slightly startled and immediately opened his mouth to protest, but he stretched out his hand to stop him directly.
"I have made up my mind. The messy scandals of the Guanglu Temple and the Imperial Kitchen have spread throughout the capital. I don't even know how many literati have written them into their own miscellaneous notes. I am afraid that even the common people know that I, the emperor, have been deprived of food by a group of corrupt officials and cooks who have colluded with each other. Even the concubines in the palace have become a joke."
"I don't believe any of the rumors about you, but you shouldn't try to keep things quiet, let alone suppress this major case. Some things are better to be managed than blocked, and I believe you know this better than I do."
The emperor's words were so serious that the three of them looked at each other, and finally all were speechless.
Why would they be so worried if the rumors hadn't spread more and more outrageously?
However, Grand Secretary Kong was not an ordinary man after all. With his strong will, he recovered in just a moment and bowed again: "Your Majesty, many people in the Imperial Kitchen have been blamed, but since you are in charge of the palace's meals, you cannot be absent for a long time. Do you have a backup candidate? If there is no backup candidate, and you cannot trust the Guanglu Temple, you can ask the censors in the court to recommend someone."
Ask the censors who are always picking on people to recommend chefs to me? Are you sure you are not joking? The emperor sneered and then said lightly: "I originally asked Zhang Shou, a foodie, to select a few imperial chefs for me, but Zhang Shou gave me a better idea. Since the officials and people in the capital are in a state of panic recently, let's hold an imperial chef selection competition in the name of selecting imperial chefs!"
