Chapter 190 The Land of Etiquette
After leaving Fei Hong's mansion, Ou Zanghua went to Li Dongyang's mansion.

The old Prime Minister rested for a while, and after he recovered a little, he took a walk with Ou Zanghua in his garden.

"Jingyu did a great job in Jiangxi, which is why Master Fei helped you."

Li Dongyang walked in front, and Ou Zanghua was half a body length behind. Only when he knew why Fei Hong helped him did he feel relieved.

He cupped his hands and said modestly, "Thank you for your guidance, Master. I just did my duty and I don't dare to take credit for it."

"It's rare to be able to do your job well. The work of the Honglu Temple is more than what Xia Jingxi discussed." Li Dongyang smiled and said, "He is a wonderful person."

Ou Zanghua immediately thought of Xia Sheng's tricks. He was so excited when he confronted the Minister of Rites. When he was caught by the censor, he immediately switched to the desperate mode, focusing on subjective initiative:
"There are many things about Xia Dongqing that students can learn from."

Li Dongyang looked puzzled when he heard this. He felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

After having lunch with Li Dongyang, Ou Zanghua went to the palace again. Only then did he find out that Emperor Zhengde thought it was troublesome and ordered a grand court meeting to be held on the sixth day of the first lunar month. From the first to the fifth day, everyone could have fun and no kings, princes, generals or ministers had to enter the palace to pay New Year's greetings.

Well, it is in line with Emperor Zhengde’s style.

At the same time, Ou Zanghua also realized her own shortcomings. Liu Qing was not from an official family, so she had no sense of socializing with other officials' wives. So during the days she came to the capital, she was busy with the affairs of the mansion and did not formally go out to meet the wives of the dignitaries.

It's okay in the local area. Ou Zanghua's own status is high enough that people will come to visit her.

But when he arrived in the capital, there were many bigwigs of higher rank than Ou Zanghua, and they would not come to him in person.

There are also Xiang Danian and Mu Gaoweng. Xiang Danian is gradually becoming the chief steward of the Ou Mansion, and Mu Gaoweng also shows signs of being the steward of the outer courtyard.

However, neither of them had the awareness to collect intelligence from various families in the capital, and they didn't even arrange for anyone to go to Duanmen to collect the temporary notices issued by the court, so that he made a wasted trip.

After returning to the Ou Mansion, he immediately called Li Shuyan and Li Huaiwei.

Compared to Li Shuyan, Li Huaiwei looks more well-behaved, with an oval face, eyebrows like ink painting, a face like peach petals, and eyes like autumn waves.

The two girls entered the study, looking somewhat bewildered, yet secretly delighted.

Ou Zanghua didn't notice the two girls' little thoughts and asked directly: "Shuyan, Huaiwei, have you two learned the palace etiquette?"

"Master, we have learned it." The two girls answered obediently.

"That's good!"

Ou Zanghua breathed a sigh of relief and said, "There will be a grand court meeting on the sixth day of the first lunar month. According to custom, the ladies who have been conferred titles by the court must also enter the palace to pay their respects to the Grand Empress Dowager, the Empress Dowager, and the Empress. Madam is the sixth-rank Lady Anren, and she will enter the palace. But she doesn't know much about court etiquette, so you two should teach her these days."

That’s right, Emperor Zhengde’s grandmother, Empress Xiaozhen Wang, was still alive. She was the empress dowager of Emperor Chenghua.

The Chenghua Emperor's original wife, Empress Wu, was deposed from her title of empress because she criticized Concubine Wan. This led to the fact that the deposed Empress Wu later secretly helped raise the Hongzhi Emperor.

After hearing this, Li Shuyan and Li Huaiwei naturally agreed, as this was originally their job.

Ou Zanghua thought for a while and added: "Remember, don't embarrass Madam. Also, you two should take care of the things in the backyard appropriately."

After hearing this, the two girls felt envious. Although they came from official families, they also enjoyed a good education.

But apart from their mother, no one else treats them so well without reservation.

Then, Ou Zanghua asked whether any of these slaves had ever served as a manager.

Li Shuyan recalled for a moment before speaking, "I remember that there was a servant named Hua An who used to be the outer gate manager of the mansion of Zhang Cai, the former Minister of Personnel."

"Hua'an?" Ou Zanghua was stunned. This name reminded him of an old friend. It was not until he saw the real person that he could not help but feel disappointed.

Hua An actually looks good, with a square face, big ears, thick eyebrows, big eyes, a straight nose and a square mouth, but he doesn't look like his old friend after all.

"Master, I am Hua An, paying my respects to you." Hua An knelt down, kowtowed, and greeted him with a bow.

"No need to be polite," Ou Zanghua nodded and instructed, "You used to be the outer door manager of Zhang Shangshu's residence. You can't waste this ability. From now on, you will stay with Da Nian and give him more guidance on how to do things. Do you understand?"

"Thank you for your advice, sir. I will do my best!" Hua An happily agreed immediately after hearing it.

Not long after, Xiang Danian also came back after delivering the invitations. In addition to bringing back gifts from various families, he also received a notice from Xia Sheng, asking him to report to the Honglu Temple the next morning.

Ou Zanghua was a little hesitant. Wasn’t the holiday until the fifth day of the New Year?

Why do I have to work overtime on the fourth day of the Chinese New Year?
No matter how hesitant you are, you still have to go.

When Ou Zanghua arrived at the Honglu Temple in a carriage, the left and right Shaoqings of the Honglu Temple, Cao Yu and Meng Zhao, had already arrived.

When the two saw Ou Zanghua getting off the car, they came over and saluted and said, "Your subordinate greets Mr. Ou."

"Thank you both for your hard work." Ou Zanghua bowed in return and asked, "Is Xia Dongqing here?"

Cao Yu, the Left Junior Minister of the Honglu Temple, replied, "Xia Dongqing is not feeling well and has asked for leave today, so all matters in the Honglu Temple need to be managed by Ou Keqing."

Ou Zanghua was stunned. Xia Sheng was such a dishonest guy!

"So what do we need to do?" After a moment of silence, Ou Zanghua had to accept the reality and asked.

"This is the first time that Mr. Ou has come to the Honglu Temple. Let me take him to familiarize himself with the environment first!" Meng Zhao, the Right Junior Secretary of the Honglu Temple, stepped forward and said.

"Thank you." Ou Zanghua didn't hesitate and agreed immediately.

Under the leadership of Meng Zhao, Ou Zanghua began his first inspection.

The staff of the Honglu Temple is quite complete. Under the Shaoqing, there are one left and one right temple secretary of the fifth rank, then three introduction envoys of the seventh rank, one chief clerk of the sixth rank, one assistant secretary each of the Siyi and Sibin offices of the eighth rank, four Mingzan of the ninth rank, and fifty people in the sequence of ranks.

"Mr. Ou, the grand court meeting tomorrow is the most important of all the affairs of the Honglu Temple. The work includes suburban temples, sacrifices, court meetings, banquets, foreign officials' pilgrimage, tributes from various tribes, and so on." Meng Zhao said seriously, "Every step must be carefully planned, and there must not be any mistakes."

After hearing this, Ou Zanghua felt a headache. This was much more complicated than leading troops to fight a war!
"But Ou Keqing, don't worry too much," Meng Zhao added, "The grand court meeting is held three times a year. We are already familiar with the procedures, and it's pretty much the same."

Ou Zanghua couldn't help but glance at Meng Zhao twice. Did this uncle have any problem with him, the parachuted-in boss?
At the same time, Liu Qing was studying etiquette seriously at home.

Originally, she was discussing the differences between Quanzhen swordsmanship and Hengshan swordsmanship with Shi Jingnu and Shi Jianxi in the backyard. When she saw Li Shuyan and Li Huaiwei coming back, she did not realize the seriousness of the problem.

The little girl was stunned until the two women told her that she would enter the palace the day after tomorrow and she only had two days left to learn court etiquette.

"Is it necessary to learn this etiquette?" Liu Qing asked hesitantly.

"Yes!"

Li Shuyan nodded and said seriously, "Madam, when you go out, you represent the face of the master. If Madam is disrespectful, it is the master who is disrespectful. Especially the day after tomorrow, all the wives of the imperial family will be here, Madam, you must pay more attention to etiquette."

After hearing this, Liu Qing immediately got into the state and started to study seriously with the two girls.

She had practiced martial arts since she was young, and her physical strength far exceeded that of the two young ladies waiting to be married. Coupled with the unique domineering spirit of Hunan women, she actually made Li Shuyan and Li Huaiwei cry.
(End of this chapter)