The Weaving Bureau
Zhou Wanwan looked at Noble Consort Cui and asked, "Noble Consort Cui, why is she so afraid of you?"
Noble Consort Cui sneered, "Of course she's guilty. The current emperor is my son; she's afraid of him too."
Zhou Wanwan never expected there to be such a big juicy story.
She said speechlessly, "This cold palace is full of gossip, but your son seems to be wasting his time on frivolous pursuits!"
Noble Consort Cui snorted coldly and said:
"He was completely ruined by this old hag. She took him away when he was only one year old."
She finally had a son, and she spoiled and pampered him rotten. How can that child amount to anything?
Zhou Wanwan was surprised by this, and she was quite speechless.
Zhou Wanwan immediately put down the broom and went to the Laundry Bureau Laundry Bureau, where all the water had been turned into hot spring water.
Now everyone washes clothes with warm water, which is much more comfortable than before.
Zhou Wanwan's team is teaching everyone how to tie-dye.
The palace maids in the Laundry Bureau learned very carefully.
Zhou Wanwan asked, "Are there any people in the palace who know how to weave?"
The aunt in the Laundry Bureau nodded and said:
Actually, the palace has everything.
There were bureaus for the Weaving Bureau, Imperial Wardrobe Bureau, Embroidery Bureau, and Dyeing and Spinning Office; these institutions were all established specifically for the masters in the palace.
Zhou Wanwan asked, "Where are these institutions located? I'd like to visit them."
The Laundry Bureau lady was dumbfounded. "You'd better not run around the palace like that. It wouldn't be good if someone started watching you."
Zhou Wanwan waved her hand and said, "We still need to see the places in the palace that are worth visiting. I'm quite curious about what these institutions are like."
The aunt in the Laundry Bureau was also quite helpless, and could only take Zhou Wanwan around the palace. She first took Zhou Wanwan to the Weaving Bureau.
The person from the Weaving Bureau frowned when he saw Zhou Wanwan and asked, "Auntie, why are you running around with a child? Who is this child?"
The aunt explained, "This is Zhou Wanwan, now..."
Zhou Wanwan smiled faintly and said, "Now that I manage the Laundry Bureau and the Cold Palace, I want to see if the Weaving Bureau has any meaning left."
The head maid of the Weaving Bureau frowned and said:
"Nonsense! Who do you think you are, to presume to tell us what to do?"
We are directly under the Imperial Household Department; how dare you, a mere maid, interfere?
You must be Zhou Wanwan! The brat that even the Empress Dowager despises, forced to do laundry in the Laundry Bureau, and you dare to be so bold.
What are you doing here at our Weaving Bureau?
Zhou Wanwan looked at the machines in the Weaving Bureau and said, "I just came here out of curiosity, but the machines in your Weaving Bureau are really rubbish. Why are you still using machines like this?"
The head maid of the Weaving Bureau shouted, "You brat, who do you think you are? Guards, hold her down and give her a good beating!"
Her men rushed over, and all the ladies from the Laundry Bureau stood in front of Zhou Wanwan.
The head maid of the Weaving Bureau shouted, "You're just the head of the Laundry Bureau! Get out of my way, or I'll beat you too!"
The Laundry Bureau lady shouted, "How dare you! How dare you hit Zhou Wanwan?"
"I'll beat her today! I'll take responsibility if she dies!" the head maid of the Weaving Bureau shouted.
She had barely finished speaking when she felt her hands and feet being tied up.
She was tied directly to a pillar in the Weaving Bureau. Zhou Wanwan looked at the head matron of the Weaving Bureau and said, "You're usually quite imposing! One of the Empress Dowager's people? You're quite arrogant."
The head maid of the Weaving Bureau dropped the pretense. "Zhou Wanwan, the Empress Dowager despises you utterly. Do you think you're still alive?"
Zhou Wanwan looked at her and said, "Whether I live or not is none of your concern. What you need to care about right now is whether you live or not."
All that could be heard was the sound of whipping, the head maid was beaten until her skin was torn and bleeding, and the people from the Weaving Bureau were so frightened that they all knelt on the ground.
The head maid's face was covered in blood and gore, and she screamed in pain, "Zhou Wanwan, let me go right now, or the Empress Dowager will not forgive you!"
Zhou Wanwan sneered and said, "I don't know whether the Empress Dowager will spare me or not, but today I will seek justice for everyone. Guards, bring everyone here."
A dozen or so palace maids came out, and the head maid turned pale with fright when she saw them.
She thought all of the dozen or so palace maids were dead, but to her surprise, they were all alive!
Zhou Wanwan laughed and said, "You know all of these dozen or so aunts, right? You killed them back then for the position of manager, and now it's time for you to pay for it."
The head maid knelt down immediately and looked at the dozen or so maids, saying:
"Spare us! I didn't mean to kill you!"
But I'm also trying to climb the ladder; isn't that how it is in the palace?
The aunts sneered:
"It's good that you want to climb up, but you can't climb up by stepping on us."
"We told you all the secrets of the Weaving Bureau, and you turned around and tried to poison us with poisoned wine. Do you have no conscience at all?"
These dozen or so aunts were quite unlucky. In order to secure her position, the head matron arranged a banquet and then poisoned them.
Fortunately, these people were sent to the Cold Palace in time, Zhou Wanwan saved them.
The head maid was quickly reduced to a pile of minced meat. The Old Scholar Tree said, "Her crimes are unforgivable. This head maid killed many people, and they are all hidden under these trees."
Zhou Wanwan looked at the trees, which were indeed very lush, and even the flowers and plants next to them were particularly vigorous.
Something unusual must be going on.
Zhou Wanwan looked at the dozen or so aunts and said, "From now on, you will be in charge of this place. The Weaving Bureau is your old base, so manage it well. However, these machines are getting old, and I plan to replace them with some new ones."
The Weaving Bureau doesn't just have a dozen or twenty people!
There are 1,320 female workers in total, and Zhou Wanwan wants them to earn money for her.
Since staying in the palace was so boring, they decided to give them a proper makeover one by one.
The Old Scholar Tree sent someone to his house to bring over a spinning machine. All the spinning machines in his house had been improved, and were even faster than modern machines.
The fabric produced is of the highest quality.
The textile machines arrived quickly; all one hundred textile machines were in place.
All the female workers came over and looked at the textile machines, saying:
These are all new machines!
These machines are much bigger than our old ones; I wonder what kind of cloth they'll produce.
With expert guidance, all the textile machines were soon working properly.
The knock-off textile machines are far more advanced than the genuine ones.
In particular, several drawings that Zhou Wanwan had previously created were all improved by the craftsmen.
The female workers looked at the fabric and exclaimed, "My goodness! This woven fabric is so soft!"
"Yes, it feels very comfortable to touch."
"This is much better than the cloth we wove before. Although it's both cotton, there's a huge difference."