Wenyuan Pavilion is located outside Donghua Gate. It has a black glazed tile roof, green glazed tiles and a pool in front of the pavilion, which makes it appear quiet and harmonious.
Although the pavilion is not large, with only eight rooms, it is divided into three floors: upper, middle and lower. The middle and upper floors contain a large number of books, exuding a strong aroma of books.
At the lowest level, this is where the cabinet, the center of power of the Ming Dynasty, is located.
The cabinet, as the name suggests, is the Wenyuan Pavilion in the palace, referred to as the cabinet.
Huang Zongxi took small steps and arrived at the crowded cabinet.
As a member of the Hanlin Academy, after a month of serving as a daily servant, he took a rotation into the cabinet and served as the secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.
The entire cabinet gathered all the general affairs of the Ming Dynasty. The General Secretary simply collected memorials and public opinions from all over the country and submitted them to the cabinet.
The biggest task of those in Zhongshushe is to classify the memorials.
Small things, big things, and urgent things.
Just in case, a memorial must be confirmed by three secretaries of the Central Committee before being submitted to the three cabinet ministers.
Moreover, with the determination of the division of responsibilities, the six memorials must also be classified and presented to the cabinet minister respectively, so that no mistakes can be made.
Huang Zongxi was so tired that he was sweating profusely. Although this job was simple, it was extremely tiring and energy-consuming, and he couldn't bear it anymore.
It made him deeply understand that reading these memorials would not only add to his qualifications and put him ahead of other Jinshi, but also increase his experience and gain a preliminary understanding of various places in the Ming Dynasty.
At the beginning, he could only know superficially, such as how the nine borders were, which provinces, states and counties were affected by the disaster, how taxes were paid, etc.
But as his experience increased, he was gradually able to distinguish the authenticity of the memorial contents and the priorities. This is where practice makes perfect!
After sighing, Huang Zongxi hammered his waist.
"Let's rest for a while!" Zheng Sen, a tall man beside him, didn't care to speak, with a concerned smile on his face.
"Um!"
Huang Zongxi hummed softly and raised his eyes to look at his other colleagues. Some were resting, some were twisting their wrists, and some were even reading nonstop, with piles of classified memorials piled up beside them.
"When I first came here, I could not wait to read a memorial for half an hour, but now it takes less than a quarter of an hour to read ten copies. It's so fast."
Huang Zongxi chuckled.
"After reading so much, the memorials and essays are very similar, so I feel comfortable drafting them."
Zheng Sen echoed: "It is so difficult to govern this huge world. Even if you read the draft plan several times, it will be difficult to understand the truth."
"I wonder when we can draft an imperial edict!"
Zheng Sen looked out the window. On the other side, there was the Hanlin who was responsible for drafting the imperial edict. They had free time every day. They only needed to draft the edict, file it, and organize the files. They were so relaxed and at ease.
"Not urgent."
Huang Zongxi shook his head and said: "We still have much to learn now!"
At noon, several boxes of memorials were delivered to the cabinet elder's desk, and the eunuchs came in one after another and brought meals to the cabinet.
The welfare of the cabinet is such that the imperial dining room specially provides meals.
"For those of you, the food has arrived."
The eunuch said respectfully: "I drank sour plum soup specially today. Your Majesty is considerate of everyone and specially gave it to relieve the heat."
"Your Majesty's kindness cannot be repaid in return!"
Several people stood up hurriedly and bowed respectfully to the north. Then they opened their lunch boxes and went outside to eat.
Three dishes and one soup, including meat and vegetables, are exquisite in appearance.
Zheng Sen smiled, took out a silver coin from his pocket, and placed it in the lunch box.
Huang Zongxi was dumbfounded, took a sip and nodded.
The food in the imperial dining room is already considered disgusting by humans. It either lacks salt and oil and is tasteless, or it is rich in fish and meat and is greasy.
However, if you add some money, you can eat private dishes.
The great eunuchs kept the food privately to make up for the lack of food. During the Zhengde period, the eunuchs even hired famous chefs to create new dishes, just thinking that the emperor would come to eat at their place.
Later, the emperor's concubines also had private dishes, and the hardships of the imperial kitchen could only be eaten by the officials.
Huang Zongxi took advantage of Zheng Sen's attention, ate private food, and devoured it.
In a side hall, several pavilion elders finished their meals and drank tea to digest their food. The doors and windows were wide open, and they didn't care at all about the heat wave.
"I heard that the eldest son of the emperor has entered school?"
The three of them looked relaxed, drank the tea given by the emperor, and chatted about matters in the palace.
Although Wenyuan Pavilion is located in the outer court, it is still in the Forbidden City, and it also knows a lot about the affairs of the inner court.
Zhang Shenyan smiled slightly and said.
"good!"
Yan Chongxin was the youngest, with a hint of worry on his face: "Your Majesty, are you doing this, are you afraid it will be a serious matter?"
"No!" Zhao Shu shook his head and said casually: "It will only take a few years to revive the Ming Dynasty. Your Majesty has seen thousands of miles, and he will never lose his sense of proportion."
"We must not be too nervous about the prince's education."
"Having said that, who can not weigh every move of the Tian family?"
Yan Chongxin laughed and said.
"Relax."
Zhao Shu said softly: "The ancestral system is here, the foundation of the court's stability, and there will never be chaos."
As he spoke, he put down the tea cup in his hand and said the last sentence: "There can be no chaos."
Zhang Shenyan said expressionlessly: "I won't hide it from you two. Even if I give up my life, this matter will never happen."
"Drink tea, drink tea -" Yan Chongxin said hurriedly, the atmosphere was too solemn.
Kunning Palace is located in the north and faces south. It has 9 corridors in front and 3 rooms in depth. It has yellow glazed tiles on the roof of the verandah with double eaves.
As the queen's residence, Kunning Palace and Qianqing Palace stand side by side, and can be said to be second to none in the entire inner court.
Qianqing Palace, Jiaotai Palace, and Kunning Palace are located on the same central axis, arranged in order, followed by the Imperial Garden.
In the Qing Dynasty, it became a place for shamans to worship gods. It was only held here during the emperor's wedding.
When Li Zicheng left Beijing, he burned a fire and Kunning Palace was slightly damaged, but now it has been renovated.
After coming back from Yuquan Villa for a few days, Sun Xueniang became very busy. She took care of herself up and down before taking a rest.
Sun Damiang held her son in her arms and stayed in Kunning Palace, eating smoothies, looking relaxed and at ease.
Sun Xueniang said she was a gentle and quiet person, so she didn't say anything when she saw this and just let her go.
Suddenly, a maid came quietly and whispered something into her ear. Sun Xueniang shook her head:
"That's all, let him go and don't worry too much."
"yes!"
"What's the matter, sister?"
Only then did Sun Damiang notice her sister and asked, "Who cares about status?"
The maid on the side shook her head, but there was nothing she could do. They were sisters, and the rules were just paper.
"The eldest son of the emperor has entered school."
Sun Xueniang said calmly: "Several years have passed in the blink of an eye, time goes too fast."
"Oh!" Sun Damiang nodded, her eyes incomprehensible.
Although she is a bit naive, she is indeed straightforward and not stupid, so she naturally understands its meaning.
"Don't worry, sister, the rules of the world are here and cannot be messed with."