Chapter 141: Volume One, Chapter 141  Managing Dong Gong

Volume One, Chapter 141  Managing Dong Gong

In Changxin Palace, Han Xinglan was handling matters in the study, while Rong Luoge set up a table outside with people, and Rong Xin, standing nearby, briefed her on Dong Gong's palace affairs for the past few days.

Because Dong Gong has taken on a few more people, both expenses and personnel matters are busier than before; although Rong Luoge is impatient about managing it, she cannot entrust such affairs to Song Huihe and the others.

With the central authority in her hands, if they harbored malicious intent they could find opportunities to do many things, so despite the trouble, Rong Luoge still has to inquire personally.

At this moment, she inevitably feels the lack of an all‑purpose secretary by her side, and will have to look for one another day.

Que Que Cai Que Cai brings in a few palace attendants carrying food boxes, opens the boxes, Rong Luoge places the dishes on the table one by one, and then goes to the study to summon Han Xinglan for a meal.

Han Xinglan walks over, sits down, and looks at Rong Luoge, saying, "Tomorrow there will be a military drill."

Rong Luoge picks up a bowl and serves Han Xinglan a bowl of soup, then asks upon hearing this, "Will His Majesty go to watch?"

"He will."

Rong Luoge smiles wryly; the emperor's body cannot endure strain, watching a drill for as little as half a day or as much as a full day, and His Majesty's health may not last that long.

Therefore at such times, there will certainly be people accompanying His Majesty.

Thinking of this, she looks at Han Xinglan and asks, "Will Concubine Liu Gui Pin accompany the carriage?"

Han Xinglan raises an eyebrow at Rong Luoge, then smiles lightly, "That's hard to say."

"Consort Ming?" Rong Luoge asks.

Han Xinglan nods gently, "His Majesty has agreed to let Prince Qi take over the authority held by Ming Zan, so Consort Ming will certainly follow immediately; matters like the drill are either ordered by the Empress Dowager or she accompanies the carriage, and she definitely will not give Liu Gui Pin that opportunity."

Rong Luoge hears this, furrows her brow slightly, lifts the bowl of soup and takes a small sip, then immediately spits it into the nearby spittoon.

"What's wrong?" Han Xinglan, seeing this, immediately puts down the soup and asks concernedly, "Are you feeling unwell somewhere?"

Rong Luoge stares at the soup on the table and says, "This soup tastes off."

"Hm?" Han Xinglan's expression darkens, and she immediately calls, "Shi An An!"

"I am here, servant." Shi An An rushes in, bowing and responding.

"Summon the Imperial Physician!" Han Xinglan says in a low voice.

"Wait a moment."

Shi An An looks up at the prince, sees the prince wave his hand, and he stands aside waiting.

Shi An An ponders internally that Good Lady Rong's weight before the prince is truly extraordinary; ordinary people would not dare speak to the prince in that manner.

Han Xinglan looks at Rong Luoge, silently saying nothing.

Rong Luoge lets out a light laugh, looks at him and says, "Imperial Physician Xuan inevitably has a grand entourage, and news will spread quickly. If the prince has a reliable and trustworthy physician to call in, that's also fine. This soup is made regularly in the kitchen; I'm accustomed to its flavor, and today I detect an extremely faint astringent taste in the broth—my tongue is keen enough to notice it at once."

This habit was cultivated by Rong Luoge in a previous life, and it is the result of training; they remember the taste of every kind of food, especially recipes they have eaten, the flavors are etched in their mind.

Han Xinglan looks at Shi An An, who stiffens, his complexion turning very grim, and immediately says, "I will investigate at once."

"Do not stir up the grass and scare the snake." Han Xinglan grips Rong Luoge's hand, applying slight pressure, "Follow the vine to the melon."

"Understood." Shi An An promptly gets to work.

The kitchen of Dong Gong is neither huge nor tiny; there are dozens of head chefs alone, not counting the assorted staff handling chores, and when tallied carefully there are over a hundred mouths to feed.

Inspecting each of so many people is indeed difficult, but Shi An An, accustomed to handling affairs in the inner court, naturally has his own set of procedures.

Physician Dong Liang arrives quickly, dressed in civilian clothes, with a medicine boy behind him carrying a medical box. Upon seeing the Crown Prince, he hurried forward to bow, "A humble servant greets the prince." He does not recognize Rong Luoge, so for a moment he is at a loss for how to address her, and then hears the prince say, "This is Good Lady Rong."

Dong Liang stiffens; it turns out this is the renowned Good Lady Rong, and he immediately bows, "Honored to meet Good Lady Rong."

"Physician Dong, no need for excessive courtesy, please rise quickly." Rong Luoge says with a smile, "I trouble you to check whether this bowl of soup has any issues."

Dong Liang promptly complies, then has the medicine boy place the soup bowl on a low table beside him, and he opens his medical box to examine it.

Rong Luoge watches as Dong Liang first sniffs the aroma, then scoops a bit with a small spoon to taste, and finally takes out a silver needle and places it into the soup bowl.

The silver needle does not change color; Dong Liang slowly stands, considers, and says to the Crown Prince, "Your Highness, the soup indeed has a faint astringent taste, but the amount is minuscule, hard to detect. I cannot say exactly what it is now; I must take the soup back for analysis."

Han Xinglan nods, "Go, and find out as soon as possible."

Dong Liang promptly complies, taking the soup bowl along with the remaining pot of broth away.

When they leave, Rong Luoge looks at Han Xinglan and says, "The silver needle did not change color, so it's probably not a deadly toxin; it seems to be some auxiliary medicine."

Han Xinglan thinks the same, looks at Rong Luoge and says, "It seems Dong Gong needs a thorough investigation."

The Crown Prince has to attend to the drill, so Rong Luoge says, "Leave it to me; it's a good chance to assert authority, lest idle people keep filing complaints before the Empress."

Han Xinglan is amused, "Alright, it's yours."

Food issues are no small matter, and Rong Luoge is, of course, extremely angry; previously she never intended to seize control of Dong Gong, believing that as long as everyone kept to their own affairs they could live peacefully. But now it seems that may not be possible.

"From now on, Yuan Bao will follow you," Han Xinglan says, looking at Rong Luoge, "He was raised single‑handed by Shi An An; with him, it will be convenient for you to call upon him."

Rong Luoge nods in agreement; if she is to manage Dong Gong, she definitely needs a capable person by her side—Rong Xin and Que Que Cai Que Cai could serve her, but when dealing directly with the palace staff of Dong Gong, they still lack sufficient deterrent power.

But Yuan Bao is different; Shi An An is the chief steward beside Han Xinglan, while Yuan Bao is his disciple, and that position provides the best backing.

Yuan Bao remains calm when serving Good Lady Rong, because ever since Good Lady Rong entered Dong Gong, any tasks from Changxin Palace have been delegated to him by his master; he has had a vague premonition, and now it has come true.

The first thing Rong Luoge asks Yuan Bao to do after summoning him is to reorganize Dong Gong's roster, which also includes the people that Song Huihe and several others brought into Dong Gong.

Yuan Bao does not know what Good Lady Rong intends, but managing Dong Gong's roster is a duty only the overseer can perform.

Yuan Bao becomes excited; Good Lady Rong is about to take charge of Dong Gong, which is great, and following her will give him a brighter future.