Chapter 15: Corvée Hall

After arriving at the Medical Bureau, Hua Changxi prepared to enter through the main gate, but the gatekeeper, upon learning she was reporting to the Corvée Hall, told her in a poor tone that corvée laborers could not use the main gate and must enter and exit the Medical Bureau through the side gate instead.

Hua Changxi paused for a moment, asked for the location of the side gate, walked a long detour to enter the Medical Bureau, and after walking for half an hour, finally stood outside the door of the Corvée Hall.

This time, Hua Changxi did not see Eunuch Jia; as soon as she entered the Corvée Hall, she was called over by Little Lu, the eunuch who had seen her off yesterday.

Little Lu did not pay her much attention either, simply summoning a young woman in her twenties.

"Xiangru, this is a newly recruited corvée laborer; wherever people are needed, just place her there."

Leng Xiangru sized up Hua Changxi, then told her to wait by the door.

Standing outside the door, Hua Changxi realized that due to her cultivation, her five senses had become much sharper, allowing the whispered conversations inside the room to constantly reach her ears.

"Eunuch Lu, this is not the time to recruit corvée laborers; what background does this person have?"

"Heh, what background? She just happened to do my godfather a small favor by accident and then had the audacity to beg for a position in the Corvée Hall."

"Does that mean Hua Changxi has caught Eunuch Jia's eye?"

"Hehe, what nonsense are you spouting? Is my godfather's eye so easy to catch?"

"Yes, yes, yes, Xiangru misspoke; Eunuch Jia is a figure from the palace who has seen all manner of important people; how could he take a fancy to a young lady?"

"That Hua Changxi is highly skilled at processing medicinal ingredients; in the future, when difficult ingredients need handling, assign them to her; if she were of no use, I would not have given her to you."

"I knew Eunuch Lu cared for me."

"Mm, go now; we will talk properly tonight."

"How annoying; then I will take this person away right now."

Leng Xiangru emerged from the room, a smile still lingering between her brows and eyes; seeing Hua Changxi standing obediently without looking around, she smiled and said, "You are an honest one; follow me."

Hua Changxi showed no emotion on her face, yet her heart was far from calm.

The tone of the two people speaking inside the room just now was far too cloying; one could tell at once that their relationship was extraordinary.

"Du Ruo, come here for a moment."

Leng Xiangru led Hua Changxi to a courtyard bearing a plaque for the Sixth Bureau and beckoned over a woman in her thirties.

"Steward Leng."

Du Ruo was leading several subordinates in washing a batch of medicinal ingredients; upon hearing Leng Xiangru call, she immediately put down her work and trotted over.

Pointing at Hua Changxi, Leng Xiangru said, "This is a new corvée laborer; she will follow you from now on; you are responsible for training her."

Du Ruo immediately agreed, "Rest assured, Steward Leng; I will train her well."

Leng Xiangru glanced around the courtyard at the working corvée laborers; seeing no one slacking off, she turned and left.

As soon as she departed, the corvée laborers who had been burying their heads in hard work just moments before all began to size up Hua Changxi.

Hua Changxi was also secretly observing everything in the courtyard.

The courtyard was as large as a soccer field, containing over a hundred female corvée laborers, each with at least two cartloads of medicinal ingredients waiting to be washed behind them.

"How old are you?"

Hua Changxi quickly withdrew her gaze and replied swiftly, "Thirteen."

Taking off the apron in front of her, Du Ruo asked while removing it, "Judging by your accent, you are a local from Jingcheng, correct?"

Hua Changxi nodded. "Mm."

Du Ruo asked, "Was your family unable to make ends meet?"

Hua Changxi let out a confused "Ah."

Seeing her reaction, Du Ruo looked strange and asked, "If your family was not unable to make ends meet, then why would your family let a young lady like you come out to work as a corvée laborer?"

Hua Changxi answered vaguely, "I want to learn medicine."

Du Ruo laughed, "Learn medicine? Then you have come to the wrong place; the Corvée Hall does not teach medicine; you should have gone to the Apprentice Hall or the Disciple Hall."

Hua Changxi said, "...I could not get in."

Du Ruo fell silent, having roughly figured out the situation of her new subordinate.

Her family background must be ordinary or below; otherwise, she would not have thought to come to the Corvée Hall to learn medicine.

Noticing her subordinates nearby still constantly looking over, Du Ruo scolded, "What are you looking at? Do you not want to sleep tonight? Get back to work!"

After speaking, she looked at Hua Changxi and said, "Let's go; I will take you to the Internal Affairs Office to collect your supplies."

Hua Changxi hurriedly followed.

As the two walked out of the courtyard, male corvée laborers were again pulling cart after cart of medicinal ingredients over.

Seeing this, Du Ruo's expression was not good: "Who knows how late we will be busy tonight." Then she glanced at Hua Changxi.

"Your luck is poor; you entered the Corvée Hall at the wrong time; every September and October are the busiest times for the Corvée Hall."

"According to the rules, during the first three months after a newcomer joins the Corvée Hall, washing and processing two hundred medicinal plants per day counts as completing one's duties."

"But in September and October, that does not apply; even if you are a newcomer, you must wash and process five hundred medicinal plants daily."

Hua Changxi tentatively asked, "What if we cannot finish washing them?"

Du Ruo looked at her with a smile that was not quite a smile and said, "That will not happen, because if you do not finish washing them, you are not allowed to sleep."

Afterward, regardless of Hua Changxi's reaction, she continued walking and talking.

"People outside think the Medical Bureau is a government office and believe that even working here as a corvée laborer is an honorable matter."

"But a corvée laborer is just a corvée laborer, no different from anywhere else; in fact, because the Medical Bureau uses such a large quantity of medicinal ingredients, the duties are even more burdensome than elsewhere."

"Whenever the Apprentice Hall or Disciple Hall announces recruitment, everyone in Jingcheng keeps watch; but when the Corvée Hall recruits, any family with even a little wealth would not even glance at it."

Du Ruo looked back at Hua Changxi and asked with a smile, "Do you still want to be in the Corvée Hall now?"

Hua Changxi hurriedly expressed her determination, "Of course. Steward Du, rest assured, I will work hard in the Corvée Hall."

Hearing this, Du Ruo raised her eyebrows, smiled, continued walking outward, and began to explain other matters regarding the Corvée Hall.

"The Corvée Hall is under the unified management of Eunuch Jia, Eunuch Sun, and Eunuch Zhao, all from the palace; each of the three eunuchs manages one department, and each department is divided into ten bureaus, with about a hundred people per bureau."

"We are in the Sixth Bureau of the Third Department, which falls under the jurisdiction of Eunuch Jia."

"The highest-ranking person in the Third Office is Eunuch Jia, followed by Eunuchs Fu, Lu, and Shou; they are the Chief Stewards of the Third Office."

"Of the ten bureaus in the Third Office, the First, Second, and Third Bureaus fall under Eunuch Fu; the Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Bureaus under Eunuch Lu; and the Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Bureaus under Eunuch Shou."

"Each bureau has one Second Steward; beneath each Second Steward are ten Third Stewards, with each Third Steward managing ten people."

"Steward Leng, who previously handed you over to me, is a Second Steward under Eunuch Lu. As for me, I am a Third Steward under Steward Leng."

"If you encounter any difficulties in the future, come to me first; if I cannot handle it, we will go to Steward Leng. Remember, absolutely do not seek out the wrong person."

Seeing Hua Changxi remain silent, Du Ruo smiled: "Did you understand?"

Hua Changxi nodded: "I understood. Steward Du, are the other bureaus all as large as our Sixth Bureau?"

Du Ruo replied: "Some bureaus are even larger than our Sixth Bureau."

Hua Changxi exclaimed in astonishment: "Then the Corvée Hall is truly massive."

The Corvée Hall comprised three offices, each with ten bureaus, and each bureau covered an area at least the size of a football pitch; no wonder they had walked for so long yet still had not left the Corvée Hall.

Du Ruo laughed: "The Corvée Hall's only advantage is its vast footprint; combined, the Apprentice Hall and the Disciple Hall are not as large as the Corvée Hall."

Seeing that Du Ruo was approachable, Hua Changxi dared to ask a few more questions: "Steward Du, besides cleaning medicinal herbs, will we be assigned other tasks on ordinary days?"

Du Ruo countered: "What, do you actually wish to perform other duties?"

Hua Changxi offered a shy smile: "I was just asking."

Noting her young age, Du Ruo did not elaborate further: "Cleaning and processing medicinal herbs is not the most exhausting or bitter task in the Corvée Hall; you just saw those people hauling the herbs."

"Those pulling the carts, as well as the corvée laborers sent to the Herb Estate, Herb Mountain, and Herb Valley to gather herbs, endure the hardest work; those are all tasks requiring immense physical strength."

Hua Changxi asked again: "Will we be assigned to gather herbs?"

Du Ruo glanced at her: "Only if you commit an offense and are punished. Otherwise, generally speaking, heavy physical labor is performed by male corvée workers, while female corvée workers remain within the Corvée Hall to process herbs."

As they spoke, the two finally exited the Corvée Hall; after leaving, they walked for another quarter of an hour before arriving at the Internal Affairs Courtyard.

For the new corvée registration, Hua Changxi received one corvée waist token, two sets of corvée clothing, and one set of bedding.

Du Ruo said: "At the front of the Sixth Bureau is the area for processing herbs; the row of reversed-seat rooms at the back serves for dining and sleeping, with ten people per room."

Looking at the bedding, Hua Changxi asked: "Steward Du, must I reside within the Corvée Hall?"

Du Ruo laughed: "You wouldn't still be thinking of going home to sleep, would you? You had best prepare yourself; in the future, you may well be working until midnight every day."

Hua Changxi felt numb; clutching her belongings, she followed behind Du Ruo as they walked back.

As they neared the gate of the Sixth Bureau compound, Hua Changxi spotted from afar a woman dressed in a steward's robe, identical to Du Ruo's, laughing and talking with a middle-aged man; their exchange was exceedingly intimate.

Soon, the pair noticed Hua Changxi and Du Ruo approaching and promptly ceased their chatter.

"Steward Niu."

Du Ruo took the initiative to greet the middle-aged man.

The man was the Second Steward of the Fifth Bureau; although Du Ruo was not under his command, she still had to pay respects upon encountering someone of higher rank.

Before the man could speak, the woman standing beside him opened her mouth first: "Steward Leng is truly biased; the moment a newcomer arrives, he immediately assigns her to Sister Du."

Du Ruo glanced at her: "Ling Xiao, if you desire new recruits, you are free to speak with Steward Leng yourself. It is only because I am genuinely short-staffed that Steward Leng assigned this replacement to me."

Ling Xiao chuckled, intending to hurl a few more barbs, but upon catching Steward Niu's glance, she could only turn her head away in displeasure and fell silent.

Du Ruo turned to Steward Niu: "There are still many tasks remaining for today; I must attend to them first."

Hua Changxi hurried to keep pace with Du Ruo; even after they had walked several meters, they could still hear Ling Xiao's cold snort from behind.

Du Ruo explained: "Steward Niu is the Second Steward of the Fifth Bureau; Ling Xiao, like me, is a Third Steward of the Sixth Bureau. She and I do not get along; in the future, if you encounter her, keep your distance."

Hua Changxi replied: "I will follow whatever Steward Du says."

Soon, Du Ruo led Hua Changxi to a room.

"You will reside here from now on; everyone inside falls under my supervision, so you must get along well with them in the future."

Gazing at the ten-person communal bed before her, Hua Changxi, who valued privacy highly, felt somewhat overwhelmed.

"Settle in first; once you are done, come find me. Since today is your first day on duty, cleaning and processing two hundred medicinal herbs will suffice."

After Du Ruo departed, Hua Changxi sat on the bed and exhaled deeply.

She had previously underestimated the Corvée Hall; after Steward Du explained its structural framework, she had already sensed that the interpersonal dynamics within would be far from simple.

As expected, on her very first day, she first discovered that Young Master Lu and Steward Leng shared an unusual relationship, and now she had uncovered that another Third Steward of the Sixth Bureau maintained an inseparable bond with the Second Steward of the Fifth Bureau.

It was simply a tangled mess!

She could only hope that these complex interpersonal entanglements would not affect her.