"The little girl's surname is Chu, and her name is Jiayi. It means Jia from 'delicious food' and 'yi' from 'suitable'."
Hearing Chu Jiayi's answer, the steward was stunned. After looking at Chu Jiayi up and down for a few more times, he asked, "Oh? The way you use words and phrases when you speak doesn't sound like an ordinary woman. She must have read a book, right?" I don’t think you come from a poor family, so why do you want to come to my Zhao Mansion to be a maid?”
But upon hearing the steward's inquiry, Chu Jiayi couldn't help but feel nervous.
In fact, she had tried to explain her name in the simplest terms just now, because she was afraid that others would see that she was literate. Unexpectedly, this steward turned out to be very discerning, and it was eventually exposed.
Don’t you know that this has nothing to do with the simplicity of the vocabulary? In this era, this method of self-introduction is generally only used by scholars. Otherwise, most of the people today cannot even write their own names. , how could he deliberately explain what words his name actually consists of?
"The little girl's family is in decline..." After Chu Jiayi hesitated for a moment, his eyes suddenly turned red, and his originally bright eyes were suddenly full of sadness. He lowered his head and whispered: "I was persecuted by the villain again, and now everyone in the family is dying. After all, the little girl is living alone in the capital, with no one to rely on and being bullied everywhere, so she wants to join the Zhao family to find a job and support, so that she can survive."
Seeing how pitiful Jiayi said, the steward couldn't help but feel pity. Just as he was about to say something, a senior servant of the Zhao family who was standing behind him suddenly coughed, then walked to the steward and whispered: "Wang Steward, I think this woman has a pitiful background, but it’s not good to bring her into the Zhao Mansion like this, right?”
The steward frowned and asked, "What's wrong? Is it possible that our Zhao family can't afford a maid?"
The servant reminded: "Manager Wang, I mean, this woman's appearance is too beautiful, and she is getting more and more beautiful every time she looks at her. In our house, I am afraid that only Mrs. Ruyi can compare with her. After entering the house, I think It would be difficult not to attract attention. If she actually wins the favor of the master in the future, and Mrs. Ruyi knows about it..."
After hearing this servant's explanation, Manager Wang couldn't help but change his expression.
The "Mrs. Ruyi" in the Zhao Mansion is naturally Fang Ru.
Nowadays, Fang Ru single-handedly manages the entire Zhao family, and as the manager of the Zhao family, Manager Wang naturally knows very well how crazy Fang Ru's feelings for Zhao Junchen are. This kind of crazy can even be described as terrifying. It can be said that Fang Ru can do anything for Zhao Junchen.
If the maids he brought into the house actually attracted Zhao Junchen's attention in the future and eventually became Fang Ru's special favor, no one could guess how Fang Ru would deal with them then.
Thinking of this, Manager Wang couldn't help but trembled, and asked in a low voice: "You mean to drive her out?"
However, before the servant could answer, Chu Jiayi had already left the queue of servants and walked up to Manager Wang. He looked confused at first, then bit his silver teeth lightly, grabbed a jade pendant from his waist, and handed it to Steward Wang cried and said at the same time: "I don't know why this steward suddenly hesitated and wanted to drive me away. But now the Zhao Mansion is the only place for me to go. This steward, After her family fell into decline, this jade pendant has become the only thing that the little girl has with her. I hope the steward can accept it and take care of it in the future."
Seeing that the jade pendant in front of him was of high quality and actually worth a lot of money, Manager Wang couldn't help but hesitate. Finally, he gritted his teeth, took the jade pendant and put it in his arms, and then told Chu Jiayi: "I think you might do the same thing." If you don’t want to do menial and tiring work, you can help in the kitchen from today on. The work there will be easier after all. If someone in the house bullies you as a new member in the future, you can tell me my name."
Manager Wang thought that once Chu Jiayi went to help in the kitchen, she would not be able to show her face on weekdays, so she would not cause trouble.
After hearing what Manager Wang said, Chu Jiayi frowned slightly, then showed gratitude and said softly: "Thank you very much, Manager Wang, for taking care of me."
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There are hundreds of servants and maids in the Zhao Mansion, and there are countless big and small things happening every day. A new maid, let alone Zhao Junchen, even Xu Qingyan and Fang Ru will not care at all.
In the following days, everything was calm, but seeing the Spring Examination getting closer and closer, Zhao Junchen became more and more concerned about it. After all, the exam-taking students who had taken refuge in Zhao Junchen had to help make arrangements.
On this day, a special guest came to the Zhao Mansion. He was the disciple of Emperor Deqing's eunuch Zhang De, and the eunuch Zhang Xiu of the Yangxin Palace who had once had a relationship with Zhao Junchen.
Zhang Xiulai hid, but Zhao Junchen met him in the study.
Since Zhao Junchen helped the inner court avoid a purge and rectification disaster, the two have been working happily together these days. Zhang Xiu was even more respectful when he saw Zhao Junchen.
After Zhang Xiu sat down, Zhao Junchen had tea and snacks brought to him. Then he dismissed the people around him and asked Zhang Xiu, "Eunuch Zhang Xiu is here today, but the questions for this year's general examination have finally been decided?"
Zhang Xiu nodded quickly and said: "I know that Mr. Zhao, you have been keeping an eye on this matter these days. Our master is following His Majesty and is very concerned about it and is always paying attention. Today, the master asked us to come This is why I met you, Sir."
Zhao Junchen sighed and said: "I heard that your Majesty has never been satisfied with the questions drawn up by the two examiners. The first two sessions were just classics and poems. I heard that your Majesty actually rejected the questions in the last session. We have applied three times, and now that the exam is approaching, it has finally been decided. If it is delayed for a few more days, I'm afraid things will be delayed."
Zhang Xiu said with a smile: "My family admires your concern for the country and the people."
While talking, Zhang Xiu pulled out a roll of paper from his sleeve. It was the examination questions that Zhang De had found out when he was serving Emperor Deqing.
After Zhang Xiu handed the paper book to Xu Qingyan, Xu Qingyan handed it to Zhao Junchen.
Zhao Junchen unfolded the paper and looked at it, and casually said to Zhang Xiu: "Eat some cakes first, father-in-law, and wait for me to take a look at the exam questions for this subject."
Zhang Xiu naturally agreed, picked up a piece of glutinous rice cake and put it into his mouth. After chewing for a while, he suddenly looked surprised and praised: "The cook in your residence is indeed extraordinary. This piece of glutinous rice cake is sweet and soft. The skin is crispy, the filling is sweet, and the sticky aroma is delicious. I'm afraid it can't compare to what our family ate in the palace."
Hearing what Zhang Xiu said, Zhao Junchen thought he was just being polite and didn't care. He smiled and said, "You are so polite, father-in-law. How can the pastries here dare to compare with the royal chefs in the palace?"
Zhang Xiu shook his head repeatedly and said, "I'm not being polite. Let's be honest. Most of the chefs in the palace are from the north. Southern pastries like glutinous rice cakes are indeed not as authentic as the ones you get here."
Zhao Junchen smiled and shook his head, still not paying attention, just looking at the test questions in his hands.
After reading the test questions quickly, Zhao Junchen smiled softly and thought to himself: "Today's test questions are indeed like this."
It turns out that the test questions in the current examination, whether classics, poems, or policy questions, are very focused on the theme of "loyalty to the emperor and patriotism." Zhao Junchen had actually expected this. Although he didn't know the specific questions yet, he had already prepared it early. Let Liu Zimin and the others focus on reviewing.
Without him, a lot of things have happened in the court in recent times. Emperor Deqing will definitely feel that he has lost some control over the situation in the temple. Therefore, Emperor Deqing will definitely focus on the questions in the current examination. I am building momentum for my future rectification of the court.
After reading, Zhao Junchen put the paper aside casually, and after saying a few polite words to Zhang Xiu, he sent Zhang Xiu away without holding back.
After Zhang Xiu left, Zhao Junchen handed the paper book to Xu Qingyan aside and said, "Give these questions to Liu Zimin and ask him to pass them on to the exam-taking students who are willing to join me. Remember to give me a few more words when the time comes. This matter must not be made public, only your own people should know about it.”
Xu Qingyan nodded and said in a deep voice: "Don't worry, young master, I will send people to keep an eye on them and I will not let them cause trouble for the young master."
After saying that, Xu Qingyan quickly left the study without stopping and followed Zhao Junchen's instructions.
After learning another thing, Zhao Junchen took a deep breath and couldn't help but relax. He picked up a piece of glutinous rice cake next to him and put it into his mouth. The taste was just like Zhang Xiu said before, soft and sweet, sweet but not greasy. , crispy skin, sweet filling, sticky and delicious, and the craftsmanship is truly extraordinary.
"Is it possible that the cooks in the mansion have improved their skills in recent days?"
While thinking to himself, Zhao Junchen shook his head and laughed. In an instant, he no longer cared about such a small matter, but he continued to deal with the official affairs of the DPRK and China.
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ps: First update! (To be continued. Please search, the novel will be better and updated faster!)
