tallest building

Chapter 337 Another Informant

The rain stopped the next morning, but the sky was still over.

Zhang Ma arrived at the imperial kitchen early to prepare breakfast for the masters.

The old women who lived in the same courtyard as him also got up and went about their own business.

In their spare time, these people would joke that the palace was the place where no one slept in. It was a place with many rules and regulations, where everyone, whether master or servant, usually had to get up very early.

Zhang Ma was even busier, even though she only served the masters three meals a day. However, these meals were extremely particular, with some requiring preparation several days in advance and others requiring several hours' notice.

So he hardly rested at all during the day.

"Is it going to rain again this afternoon?" Granny Xia asked as she walked in.

The people in the imperial kitchen had just finished preparing lunch and had a brief moment to sit down and eat.

Upon seeing her arrive, they hurriedly offered her a seat: "Please sit down, Granny. We'll bring you a set of chopsticks and a bowl! We have some stir-fried pine nut meat, it's so tender!"

"Please eat, please eat. I ate before I came." Granny Xia sat down with a smile. "I just thought that I hadn't talked to my old sister for a long time, so I made a special trip to come and see you."

When she said this, no one except Zhang Ma suspected anything. Everyone knew that it was Consort Hui who introduced Zhang Ma to the palace, and they had spent some time together at Yuzhen Temple, so it was reasonable for Granny Xia to be close to him.

"Then, Granny, why don't you have some tea and some melon seeds?" The people in the Imperial Kitchen knew that Granny Xia liked to eat pumpkin seeds, which were always on hand here.

Pumpkins were frequently used in palace cooking, and it would be a waste to leave the pumpkin seeds uneaten. So people collected them, washed them clean, dried them, and would occasionally stir-fry a batch to eat as a snack.

"I knew there would be plenty of good food here," Granny Xia said with a smile. "Don't blame me, but I saw some really good fish maws you had the other day. Could I have a couple?"

"What do you need this for, sir?" someone immediately asked. "We have plenty of this."

Many of the masters in the palace loved to eat fish, but fish bladders were not used in their cooking because they were fishy and unappetizing.

But this stuff is also very useful, especially the swim bladders of big fish. They can be used not only for cooking but also for making glue.

So some people collect them separately, dry them, and keep them for later use.

“Well, I recently dropped and broke a tortoiseshell hairpin, and it broke so badly. They say that if you boil fish bladders into glue, you can stick it back together, and if you look closely, you won’t be able to tell at all. So I’d like to give it a try,” said Granny Xia. “This kind of thing is only easy to find here; it’s not so easy to find elsewhere.”

"It's easy for you to get a whole cartload of this stuff; I'll find it for you right away," said the steward in charge of the kitchen.

"Thank you very much then. But a whole cartload will do; two or three yuan will be enough," said Granny Xia with a smile.

She just sat there rambling on and on, not moving, until Zhang Ma finished eating, then she started making small talk for a long time.

Then a maid from their palace came and said, "Grandma Xia, so you're here! Consort Hui has woken up and is anxiously looking for you."

She stood up and said, "Look at me, I'm getting heavier as I get older. I forget the time as soon as I start talking, damn it, I have to go back now."

As she left, someone hurriedly chased after her, saying, "Granny, you forgot the fish maw you asked for."

She then stopped and accepted it with a smile.

It rained again in the afternoon, and then the sky cleared up again.

The sunset was beautiful for half a day, a mix of red and orange, and many people stood outside to watch. "Her Majesty the Empress has decreed that His Majesty will also have dinner at Her Majesty's palace tonight. Send everything over there. The menu is all listed; just follow it." It was time to prepare dinner, and the eunuchs who were supposed to deliver the message came from the various palaces.

The people in the imperial kitchen dared not be negligent. In no time, some were preparing dishes, others were tending the fire, and pots and pans were clanging and clattering.

It was the height of summer, and it got dark late.

After dinner, the people in the imperial kitchen could finally relax, a rare moment of leisure for them. Since it had just rained and the air was fresh, everyone sat in the courtyard to eat their dinner.

Even after they finished eating, they didn't disperse; instead, they gathered together and chatted.

Aunt Zhang stood up, rubbing her lower back, and said, "I want to go back and lie down for a while. I need to change my clothes since they're dirty."

He returned to his residence, went inside and looked around carefully. He squatted down and rummaged under the bed for a while before pulling out a copper basin.

Inside were incense, candles, paper money, and a paper memorial tablet.

Zhang Ma laughed as soon as she saw it. She took out the other things and put them aside, leaving only the memorial tablet in the copper basin, and then set it on fire.

The Emperor had just finished his dinner in the Empress's palace when Consort Hui hurriedly arrived.

"Sister Huifei, what brings you here? Have you had dinner yet?" the Empress asked her.

"Thank you for asking, Your Majesty. I have already used it," Consort Hui said quickly. "I have something else to report."

"What's the matter? You seem to be in a hurry." Seeing her like this, the Empress couldn't help but recall that she had been in a similar situation at the Emperor's birthday banquet. Her brow twitched, and a bad premonition welled up inside her.

Consort Hui, however, did not think so much: "Someone reported to me that someone in the inner palace had set up a private mourning hall and burned paper money for offerings. I do not know if it is true or not, and I dare not take any action, so I have come to ask Your Majesty the Empress for instructions."

"Is that so?" The Empress glanced at the Emperor. "In that case, let Yu Lu go and take a look."

Upon hearing this, Consort Hui quickly intervened, saying, "Please forgive my impertinence, but it is probably not appropriate for Chief Steward Yu to go."

"Why is that?" the Empress asked, even more puzzled.

"This person is very close to Chief Eunuch Yu, and I am a little worried..." Consort Hui hesitated, but her meaning was already very clear.

She was speaking from the heart; Yu Lu and Zhang Ma were very close. If Yu Lu went there this time, he might try to cover for Zhang Wa, and then all her efforts would be in vain.
"Who is this person you're talking about?" the Empress pressed.

"Well... I can't say it directly, Your Majesty. Why don't you personally lead people to take a look?" Consort Hui was still keeping her in suspense.

The Empress thought for a moment and said, "Very well, I have just had dinner, so it would be good for me to walk around."

After saying this, he asked the Emperor, "I wonder if Your Majesty would be interested in going along?"

"Since we're free right now, I'll go with you! Let's see who in the palace is so unruly." The Emperor said, standing up as well.

It was not yet dark, but the sun had already set.

Led by Steward Hu, the group arrived at the courtyard where Zhang Ma lived.

"Oh dear, there really does smell some burning paper money in this courtyard," said Granny Xia, deliberately sniffing the air. "Why would anyone be burning paper money for no reason?"