Red Mansion Rebirth: Ghost Phoenix

Fuguier waved his hands hastily: "It's different, it's different!

“You are the head of the family, so you are naturally the boss!

"But the Imperial Concubine is in charge of the food, clothing, housing and transportation of so many people in the palace. She is also called the head of the household, which means she is in charge of household affairs!

"Butler sounds terrible, being the head of the household sounds better!

"What I'm saying is, if you were to tell the Imperial Concubine about her status, whether she's the head of the household or the housekeeper, then the word 'head of the household' would definitely sound better!

"She must love to hear 'in charge'!

"You are right, Your Majesty?"

Emperor Chongzhao laughed loudly, "Yes, yes, yes! Let's use a better word, so that everyone can be happy!"

Fuguier also laughed.

While chatting and laughing, Qinghai brought out a pile of boxes and caskets. Emperor Chongzhao looked through them, thought for a while, and said:

"No need to accept it. Wait until the imperial concubine comes and let her see if this reward is appropriate."

Qinghai's eyes widened: "Ah?"

"Hey, it's a funeral, how should we reward him? The butler - or the head of the family - knows better!"

Emperor Chongzhao laughed.

Fuguier followed suit, nodding and bowing, also smiling.

Only Qinghai was puzzled.

As expected, Wang Xifeng hurried over with a look of surprise on her face. She was wearing a dark green robe embroidered with dark bamboo patterns. She had taken off all the gold and jade jewelry on her head, leaving only two pearl hairpins.

When he entered the room, he saw that Emperor Chongzhao still had a string of bright red and green purse sachets hanging around his waist, so he hurriedly called Qinghai, "Change them for His Majesty if you have a darker one."

Qinghai slapped his forehead and said that he was confused, and hurriedly took out a black purse and a green sachet from the box to replace the emperor's clothes.

Then he respectfully asked Wang Xifeng to inspect the gifts that would be awarded to the Nan'an Palace.

Wang Xifeng only glanced at it and shook her head, "No."

Emperor Chongzhao was stunned.

"Your Majesty, you got the news late at night and rushed over in a panic. How could you have thought of bringing a reward?

"Once we get there, we'll just give a verbal order and ask the Ministry of Rites to help with the funeral arrangements.

"When they are buried, you can reward them with some jade articles as burial objects, which would be a great honor for them.

"If you take these things now, they will get them for nothing, and you will not be treated well by the emperor!"

Wang Xifeng curled her lips and said, "I don't care. I'm stingy. I won't let you give this money away for nothing!"

Then, he pointed at Qinghai and said, "Move it back to Curry quickly and lock it up!"

Emperor Chongzhao wanted to laugh again, but felt it was inappropriate, so he could only smile and pat Wang Xifeng on the head:

"She is such a stingy and mean housewife!"

Wang Xifeng pursed her lips to hold back her laughter, but she was extremely proud: "If the mistress of the house was no longer stingy and extravagant, wouldn't the family be ruined?"

The two of them chatted and laughed in low voices, got on the sedan chair together, left the palace, and headed straight for the Prince of Nan'an's Palace.

When they arrived, white curtains had already been hung at the Huo Mansion in Nan'an, and the servants had all changed into plain clothes and hemp mourning belts and began to prepare for the funeral.

When everyone saw the emperor's carriage arriving from afar, they were startled. Some of them hurriedly came forward, while others ran into the palace to report the news.

All of a sudden, all the old relatives who heard the news and came to help ran out and knelt at the gate of the mansion to welcome him.

Emperor Chongzhao got off the sedan chair under the protection of General Pang, Guo Jian and others. Then he turned around and offered his hand to Wang Xifeng who also got off.

The ministers, who were quick-witted and clear-minded, saw at a glance that this was not the queen, and their expressions immediately changed.

"Prince Xiaonan is still on his way to the border. I heard that only the women are left in the palace. The queen's injury has not healed yet, so I brought the imperial concubine here.

"You lead the way, and the imperial concubine will go in to meet the Nan'an Consort, the Princess, and the Crown Prince's Consort."

Emperor Chongzhao sighed and gave orders.

Wang Xifeng knelt down respectfully and openly: "I obey your order."

"Comfort the Concubine Dowager. She is old and may not be able to bear it." Emperor Chongzhao sighed and waved his hand to let Wang Xifeng go.

Then he glanced at the crowd and found that almost all the residences of the four kings and eight dukes had people there, and Prince Beijing was even there in person, which was surprising.

In addition, Jia She came with Jia Zhen and Jia Lian from the Rong and Ning mansions, and stood together with the brothers Wang Zifu and Wang Ziteng.

Emperor Chongzhao then beckoned to Prince Fu and said, "It's just right, you have been in the Ministry of Rites for a while, you should be more familiar with it.

"Starting immediately, you will be appointed as a deputy director of the Ministry of Personnel. You will help with the affairs of the Southern Palace.

"If you need anything, just ask me."

The Ministry of Rites' Qingli Division was in charge of sacrifices, Buddhist and Taoist matters, and the funerals of officials were under the jurisdiction of this division.

This gave Wang Zifu a legitimate position to look after the Southern Mansion.

Issuing the decree immediately in front of all the ministers was a way to bring honor to the prince and the Southern Palace.

Wang Zifu bowed and agreed, then immediately pulled two colleagues from the Ministry of Rites to the side to discuss the funeral procedures, and then went inside to discuss the arrangements and decorations.

Upon seeing this, all the ministers praised him profusely.

Some of the older officials burst into tears: "Although the emperor has just ascended the throne, he is particularly considerate of us old officials and has not forgotten our old friendship. This is truly a blessing for us and the world!"

All the ministers followed hurriedly, wiping their tears and flattering the emperor.

A man from the side branch of the Huo family, Prince of Nan'an, came up trembling with fear to show his hospitality and invited Emperor Chongzhao and everyone else into the flower hall for tea.

Emperor Chongzhao asked a few gentle questions, sent the man away, and sighed, "The Nanfu's demeanor is more than that!"

Then he looked at Prince Beijing and said, "Prince Beijing was in charge of the Ministry of War. I was just about to ask you: If we let Prince Nan come back to preside over the funeral ceremony, will the army be able to make room?"

Prince Beijing hesitated for a moment and shook his head: "Prince Xiaonan has been in Beijing for nearly five months, half a year.

"If the commander doesn't go back, the barbarians over there will probably cause trouble."

Wang Ziteng frowned and interrupted: "But the prince is the only son of Prince Nan, and the father-son relationship is very deep. If Prince Nan is not allowed to come back for this matter, I'm afraid it won't be appropriate!"

When Jia She saw Wang Ziteng speak, he was a little surprised and couldn't help but look him up and down carefully.

Upon seeing this, Jia Zhen raised his head towards the crowd and saw General Feng Tang looking at him. He quickly raised his eyebrows and winked at him.

General Feng Tang stroked his white beard and spoke steadily, "Let the King of the South come back. In any case, when he gets the news, he will be flustered for a while because he is sending off a young person.

“Even if we go back to the border, I’m afraid we won’t be able to take care of things, and those barbarians will take advantage of us.

"There are still many military commanders in the capital. Your Majesty, please select one to take over temporarily for a year or two."

Emperor Chongzhao was pleased with what he said, so he nodded slightly and said, "General Feng, this makes sense.

"What does the Northern King see?"

Prince Beijing nodded reluctantly: "That's one way. But who should we choose?"

Everyone fell silent.

Emperor Chongzhao glanced at Feng Tang, hesitated for a moment, then looked at Wang Ziteng, still a little hesitant, and looked at the crowd for a while.

He sighed, shook his head and said, "There's no need to rush for an hour or two. Let's discuss it in the morning court tomorrow."