tallest building

Chapter 326 Seeing Old Things

At dusk, Ying'er from the Empress's palace arrived. She first greeted Wen Mingqian with a smile, then looked at Zhang Ma and said with a smile, "This must be Zhang Mama, whom Consort Hui highly recommended. I am Ying'er, a maidservant by the Empress's side. Greetings, Mama."

Zhang Ma returned the greeting, saying, "Greetings, Miss Ying'er. This old woman is unfamiliar with palace etiquette, please forgive me."

"Mother, don't say that. You came to the palace to serve the masters. We are just helping out. How can you be picky?"
"Chief Steward Yu sent me to ask you to go and pay your respects to the masters of the various palaces. This will both follow the proper etiquette and let everyone know that you have entered the palace." Ying'er usually gets along very well with Wen Mingqian, and besides, Zhang Ma was specially invited to the palace by the Empress, so she is not an ordinary servant and will naturally be treated with special regard.

“In that case, Zhang Ma, you can go with Ying’er! But if you don’t understand anything, just ask her and listen to her.” Wen Mingqian said, and secretly slipped a small packet of sesame cakes to Ying’er. “These are cracked and can’t be taken out. If you don’t mind, take a few. It’s almost the hottest time of summer, and the house is damp. It’s good to fumigate it occasionally.”

These incense cakes are blended incense made by Wen Mingqian, combining several spices together, coating them in honey, shaping them into balls, and then air-drying them. When using them, they are burned in an incense burner, producing fragrance without smoke.

"How could I possibly refuse? Since my wife has given it to me, I won't refuse it." Ying'er accepted it happily.

Although these incense sticks are not suitable for high-ranking officials, the raw materials used are all of good quality. They just have some minor flaws in appearance, so others might not be able to get them even if they wanted them.

Ying'er led Zhang Ma to the Empress's palace first, and standing outside the bedroom door, she sent someone inside to deliver a message.

A moment later, a young eunuch came out and said to Zhang Ma, "Her Majesty the Empress is very pleased to know that you have come to the palace. She told you not to be too reserved. If there is anything you don't understand, feel free to ask."

Her Majesty is busy right now, so she won't summon you in. This purse is a reward for you. She also said that you only need to meet Consort Hui, Consort Jing, and Princess Duanmin later; the rest can be discussed later.

Dinner can be prepared for these few households; you can inquire about the preferences of each palace mistress first. As for the kitchen helpers, the imperial kitchen staff can be dispatched at will.

After thanking the emperor, Zhang Ma followed Ying'er to Consort Jing's residence.

Although he went in to pay his respects, Consort Jing did not take him seriously, but still had her subordinates reward him according to the rules.

After Zhang Ma kowtowed to Consort Jing, she went to Consort Hui's place.

The eldest princess now lives in Consort Hui's palace. She was very happy to hear that Zhang Ma had come and called her in: "Zhang Ma, you've finally come to the palace. You have no idea how much I've been looking forward to seeing you."

"Your Highness, you flatter me too much. I heard you haven't had much of an appetite lately. What would you like for dinner? I'll make it for you." Zhang Ma looked at her and saw that she had indeed become even thinner, looking like a big-headed doll.

"Tofu stew with gluten and lotus leaf soup are a must. You can decide on the rest!" the eldest princess said. "I don't know where my mother is. You know her tastes. Just make sure it's light at night."

The purse they gave to Zhang Ma was unusually heavy.

Zhang Ma thanked her and left.

They arrived at Princess Duanmin's place, where Consort Yun was also there talking with her.

When Zhang Ma saw her, she was momentarily dazed. Back when Shen Fu was in the palace, Consort Yun often visited her.

The two of them would talk and read together, sometimes spending most of the day together.

Looking at Consort Yun now, she is much thinner than before, and her face looks haggard.

Clearly, she has not had a good time in the palace these past years, otherwise she would not have become so haggard.

"So you're Zhang Ma. I've often heard Chang'an talk about you. I've heard your cooking is superb; I'd love to see for myself then." Princess Duanmin knew Zhang Ma's true identity, but she couldn't reveal it. She simply looked him over again, a sigh escaping her lips. Of course, she still remembered the original Wei Fu, around forty years old, dignified, and clever.

If she hadn't known beforehand, she would never have recognized the plump old woman in front of her as the refined and shrewd chief eunuch from back then.

"Your Highness, you flatter me. I only have a little bit of cooking skills, but the noble ladies have not minded and have allowed me to come to the palace to embarrass myself," Zhang Ma said, bowing her head.

"Will you be cooking dinner tonight? I'd love to try your cooking." Princess Duanmin asked with a smile. "Just make whatever you like, anything is fine."

“The princess is now quite far along in her pregnancy, and her appetite is getting better and better. Before, there were many foods she didn’t like to eat, but now her appetite has completely changed,” Consort Yun said with a smile.

"Oh dear, I can really enjoy everything I eat now, and I can never get enough of anything. As people say, I could eat an entire sow without even looking up," Princess Duanmin said self-deprecatingly.

Then she asked Zhang Ma, "You came from your aunt's place. Is your aunt doing well? The Empress summoned you to the palace. Your aunt must be reluctant to let you go."

"Your Highness, the Princess is well. She instructed this old servant to go to the palace and serve all the masters diligently, and not to neglect them," said Zhang Ma.

“This is our first meeting, so I have nothing else to give you but this purse,” Princess Duanmin said with a smile. A maidservant then handed a purse to Zhang Ma.

Aunt Zhang thanked her and reached out to take it.

That purse should have contained silver, but the silver wasn't the important thing; Zhang Ma recognized the purse.

That was Shen Fu's needlework, embroidering willow branches and swallows, as well as a cluster of water lilies, on a smoky blue background.

This was a gift from Shen Fu to Princess Duanmin on her birthday years ago; it contained a pair of jade bracelets with intertwined threads.

Zhang Ma remembered it clearly because she herself had brought the birthday gift over.

The old objects remain, but the people are gone. Seeing these objects reminds us of them, inevitably causing us distress.

Zhang Ma quickly lowered her head and swallowed back the tears that welled up in her eyes.

"It's getting late, you should get back to work! Cheer up and show us your skills," Princess Duanmin said with a smile.

After leaving her place, Zhang Ma went to the Imperial Kitchen.

The people in the imperial kitchen knew he would be coming to the palace today, since the Empress had specifically requested his presence, and no one dared to make things difficult for him.

Even so, Yu Lu still came over specifically to instruct: "This Zhang Mama was invited from the Princess to the palace to prepare the meals for all the masters. You all need to keep your eyes wide open and not make things difficult for her in the slightest, otherwise I will not tolerate it if I find out."

The head of the imperial kitchen quickly put on a smile and said, "Please rest assured, Steward Yu, now that Mother Zhang is here, she's one of us. If she needs anything, just ask, and we'll do our best to help."

"It's good that you know. In the end, it's all for our master. As long as our master is well, we'll all be well, right?" Yu Lu nodded, satisfied with their attitude.

Before leaving, he reminded Zhang Ma, "Zhang Ma, if you need anything, just come to me. Don't be shy."