Chronicles of the Qin Dynasty

Chapter 206, Section 205: Dan and Fei Qing
Ji Heng always categorized people into useful and useless.

What is useful should be usable immediately.

Therefore, he would never look favorably upon women like the ladies of the harem who needed to undergo trials to become useful.

The Qin Dynasty has a system of four assessments per year, so as long as it wants, it can have an inexhaustible supply of talent. Although talents like the Queen are rare, the rest can be replaced.

It is precisely because of this mentality that he can easily manipulate the promotion and demotion of officials and the appointment of talented individuals.

Now that the Queen wants to use the ladies, although he does not agree, since it is within the Queen's power, he will naturally not interfere.

But Qin Shi knew that people who were idle for too long were prone to trouble.

Even the most insignificant chief and junior secretaries of the ladies in the harem are literate. Wouldn't it be a great waste not to make use of them?

Therefore, when Lady Chu arrived at Lanchi Palace, she found several people already seated inside.

Madam Chu did not want to pay them any attention.

In the past, as the person in the palace who saw the king most often, she would naturally have said a few more words.

But that was before.

After the king crowned her queen, they realized that there was indeed a woman in the world who could win the king's favor!

In comparison, doesn't their past seem like a joke?

Compared to Madam Chu's gloomy expression, Madam Zheng appeared much more at ease.

Madam Chu sneered inwardly; she remained unperturbed!
After all, even though Madam Zheng was foolish, she had princes and princesses who were good at scheming!
Despite being the heir of a prince, she possessed extraordinary talent for riding tigers, yet could only create playful works like the "Promotion Chart."

Prince Qian, that empty-headed fellow, couldn't even memorize a single volume of the Analects, yet he somehow managed to obtain the Queen's secret order to create something.

And what about the princess... Why should a mere princess be responsible for her and Zheng's relocation to the palace?

Now that the palace has been moved, all that remains are various trivial matters. Who is there to specifically take charge of these?
The Queen's actions were clearly intended to punish her.

Especially since she and Madam Zheng had been at odds for years, yet now she even had to listen to her daughter's words in palace affairs...

This made Madam Chu's already pale complexion even more unsightly.

Madam Zheng was already feeling somewhat bitter.

She had already witnessed the king's favor towards the queen.

The finest makeup powder, enormous South Sea pearls, and a constant stream of gold and silver were bestowed upon them.

She was then made queen and visited Lanchi every day. To Lady Zheng, it seemed that she was not so surprised.

But the Queen entrusted such an important task to Wen'er. Shouldn't she, as the mother, have more status and experience in handling such complicated palace affairs?

She wanted to think about it some more, but unfortunately her brain just wouldn't cooperate. After pretending to think for a long time, she could only guess that the Queen was warning her to behave herself, so she wasn't happy at all.

However, when she noticed that Madam Chu's expression had become even more unpleasant, she suddenly smiled and became happy again.

The two most powerful ladies in the palace remained silent, and the rest of the people naturally kept quiet as well.

Only Qin Ba Zi remained calm and composed, seemingly oblivious to the complex atmosphere, and simply smiled at the two Qi Zi sitting calmly behind him:
"I haven't had a chance to congratulate the two of you on your seven sons yet."

When the Empress was sorting out the six palaces, she felt that the chief and junior secretaries were redundant with her subordinates, so she simply promoted the chief secretary Dan and the junior secretary Feiqing, who were both thirty-three years old this year, to the position of seventh son.

Although it was just a simple promotion in rank, it meant that the palace had not forgotten the two seventh sons who were neither favored, had no opportunity to meet the king, and had no children.

The two men were filled with trepidation after receiving the Queen's decree, and now that they had received congratulations from Qin Ba Zi, they naturally said they dared not accept it.

The two women remained silent for a long time. Although they were both happy and apprehensive about their sudden promotion, they were also puzzled as to why Qin Ba Zi, who had been demoted two ranks not long ago, seemed so relaxed and cheerful now.

Why did the Queen think of the two of them again?
Could it be that they think these women are too old and lack competitiveness, and therefore want to promote them to show the king?
A jumble of thoughts swirled together, and before long, a messenger announced that the Queen had arrived. Everyone immediately straightened their posture and bowed.

However, they were still used to kneeling on the mat, while the queen had long since used tables and chairs, and there were high steps piled up in front of her.

Now it seems as if it has become much shorter.

Qin Shi didn't pay attention to any of that.

The Queen of Qin possessed political and military power, so the scheming and intrigue tactics she had witnessed in the harem were useless to her.

Because Ji Heng, the most crucial figure, doesn't care about anyone else.

In that case, all she needs to do is issue an edict, and the other party will comply.

If anyone disobeys, the authorities will suppress them without further ado.

At this moment, when she summoned the palace servants, the same procedure was followed—

"I am busy with palace affairs and have little free time, so I need the ladies to come and assist me."

“Red Maiden, distribute paper and pens—please have each lady write down all the skills you are good at and those you are not.”

She said casually, "It's fine if you don't want to write or hide your shortcomings, but you won't get any jobs here. During holidays, you'll just have to watch your other sisters wear gold and silver."

The queen's expression was unreadable, and her words were light and airy.

But the thought of this scene made them grit their teeth.

For example, Madam Chu would become anxious whenever she thought that Madam Zheng had received two more bolts of silk than her.

Lady Zheng was also thinking about the fine makeup powder that the Queen used. If it was only given to Lady Chu and not to her, she would also be unable to sleep at night.

If this was the case for the two highest-ranking ladies in the palace, then it goes without saying that it was the case for everyone else.

Everyone stared at the parchment paper and small pencil in front of them. Even though they were not used to it, no one dared to speak. They only wanted to get to the Queen's habits as quickly as possible.

The seven sons, Dan and Feiqing, in the last row, exchanged a glance, staring at the paper, unable to put pen to paper.

The two women were originally palace maids in the late king's harem. They were given to King Heng of Qin, who had not yet assumed power. The fact that they could read was already a testament to their hard work and ambition.

now……

The two hesitated, carefully comparing their names against the strange-looking square frame, looking at the information on it in turn, such as [Name], [Age], [Place of Origin], [Work Experience], etc.

After hesitating for a long time, I looked at another example sheet and gently and painstakingly wrote the two characters "weaving cloth" on the paper.

Deep within the palace walls, only this repetitive and monotonous work could help them pass the time.

Qin Bazi studied the tables and examples diligently, her eyes growing brighter with each passing moment. Then, she carefully picked up her pen and began writing in meticulous seal script, clearly demonstrating the rigorous training she had received from her family.

Madam Zheng's scalp tingled as she looked at the enormous table and the densely written examples before her.

She subconsciously looked around, wanting to learn from Princess Wen, but all she could find were maids and other palace women. After all, she was holding a thin charcoal pencil, and after hesitating for a long time, she could only manage to write her name neatly.

But... should she give a clear account of her ancestors, even just her name?
After all, she used to be from the State of Zheng. What if the Queen didn't like her? If she wrote down her surname and family name clearly and in detail, the Queen would know that she came to Xianyang Palace by chance.
Another question is, how can I write it so that the Queen neither assigns me any tasks nor gives Lady Chu any rewards?
There's also this "work experience" section, where the example book uses the example of the Chief Secretary Chi Nu: "[Entered Xianyang Palace as a sweeping maid in xx year, transferred to Fang Palace in xx year...]"

What about her?

[The King of Service in xx Year]?
Or was it in the state of Zheng in [year]?
Oh dear! What year was it? I can't remember! How old was I back then?

Madam Zheng was covered in sweat.

　Kavenka wandered all over the house...

　　(End of this chapter)