Some things were more convenient for the Empress to do than for the Emperor.
For example, ordering investigations into those who came seeking to marry palace maids, helping palace maids find their families and relatives, or opening textile workshops on the outskirts of the Capital City to settle palace maids with nowhere to go.
When Pan Yun followed the female official into Kunning Palace, Empress Wang was pulling Empress Qian along to inspect the spinning wheels and looms set out in the courtyard.
The moment she saw Pan Yun, she immediately beckoned. "State Preceptor, come and look. These are the spinning wheels and looms the Ministry of Works just delivered. They said the State Preceptor provided the designs."
Pan Little Black nimbly leaped down from the roof and darted onto the nearby rockery. He sneered inwardly, [She clearly copied them from my records.]
Pan Yun pretended not to hear him. After cupping her hands to the two Empresses, she smiled. "What do Your Majesties think after trying them?"
Empress Wang held out her hand, and a palace maid immediately presented three rolls of thread in different colors and sizes. "This is the thread the palace maids spun with the spinning wheel. Since they were not yet proficient, it took them one hour."
The palace maid beside her said, "Once we are familiar with it, this servant can spin all this thread in a quarter of an hour. This spinning wheel has three times as many spindles, and the loom's efficiency has also increased by nearly threefold."
Empress Wang had a palace maid bring up half a roll of cloth. "We just wove this with that loom. Everything else is fine, but it takes too much strength to operate. After weaving for half an hour, the palace maids slow down, making