A position in the palace was not like an ordinary job where one could quit just because they wanted to. If an official wanted to quit, they had to get the approval of their superiors.
Chen Jiu was the 'chief steward' personally appointed by Empress Bingyun. If he quit, wouldn't he be giving others a reason to criticize him?
Therefore, under Bing Chunhan's strong request, Chen Jiu could only bite the bullet and agree!
"What's wrong with sweeping the floor? There are three hundred and sixty professions, and each profession has its own master. Even if I'm a floor sweeper, I can still make a name for myself! " Chen Jiu was never a person who was willing to admit defeat. After being depressed for a while, his fighting spirit was ignited again.
After bidding farewell to Bing Chunhan and the others, Chen Jiu took the chief steward's order and went to the remote Hall of Cleanliness. There, hundreds of cleaners were already waiting for him. "Greetings, Chief Steward Chen!"
"You know me?" Chen Jiu curiously looked over. These cleaners were half male and half female. They were all wearing special light colored clothes, which gave them an inconspicuous feeling.
"Chief Steward Chen's achievements are admirable. I really didn't expect you to take over as the new chief steward. It's the honor of our Hall of Cleanliness!" The hundreds of cleaners were full of admiration.
"Since it's such an honor, tell me briefly about the responsibilities of the Hall of Cleanliness!" Chen Jiu wanted to do a good job as a cleaner, so he had to understand it clearly.
The Hall of Cleanliness was mainly responsible for the cleanliness of the palace. It wasn't easy during normal times, but when there was a banquet or when the weather was bad, it was completely overwhelmed!
After all, there were only a hundred people. It was unrealistic to expect the 1,800 halls in the palace to be spotless.
"1,800 halls? Is it necessary to clean them all? "Chen Jiu felt a headache coming on." It has to be cleaned.
"It has to be cleaned. You don't know, Her Majesty especially likes cleanliness and can't bear to see even the slightest bit of dirt. The previous manager was opportunistic and didn't lead us to clean up those unused halls, which angered Her Majesty. That was why he was relieved of his duties. Now, he's still in prison!" The hundred cleaners' faces were full of fear and uneasiness.
"Damn, sweeping the floor is actually so risky. Who would dare to do it?" Chen Jiu was speechless when he heard this. He muttered to himself, "Does the empress have mysophobia?"
"Although there are some risks, it's not easy to work in the palace. As long as you work hard, the pay is much better than outside!" Most of the cleaners came from poor backgrounds. Although they had some complaints, they were still quite satisfied.
"Alright, I'll find some time to talk to the Empress. No matter what, we need to increase our manpower!" Chen Jiu understood everyone's sadness.
"Thank you for your understanding. Do we need to change our work schedule?" The hundred cleaners asked again.
"Come, tell me about the schedule in the past!" Chen Jiu came to a map in the middle of the hall. The location of each palace was marked on the map, as well as some major events that happened during certain periods of time.
Before and after major events such as court meetings, banquets, and sacrifices to the gods, the cleaning work had to be carried out in advance. Even if the cleaners were as tired as dogs, no one would feel sorry for them!
They worked from five to nine in the morning, woke up earlier than chickens, and slept later than dogs. The position in the palace that others envied was not as glamorous as it seemed.
"Cleaners, the State Preceptor Hall has just paid respects to the ancestors and is now covered in ashes. Quickly send people to clean it up!" A woman outside shouted while Chen Jiu was listening.
"Oh, got it!" Chen Jiu was unhappy with her attitude, but he still responded.
"Manager, it's difficult to clean the ashes. The State Preceptor Hall is too big, so we have to use a wet cloth to wipe it. We have to send at least 50 people!" The cleaners' faces turned ugly.
"Half of you? Okay, 50 of you come with me. I want to see how dirty the State Preceptor Hall is! "Chen Jiu personally led the 50 people to the State Preceptor Hall.
Tall and spacious, the State Preceptor Hall enshrined a deity. She was dressed in a blue gown and looked gentle but firm, giving people a feeling that she was neither male nor female. This was the Frozen Cloud Celestial Ancestor!
"Puff puff …" Walking on the surface of the State Preceptor Hall, a layer of ashes flew up, and the air became polluted.
Chen Jiu couldn't help but curse as he used some magic to form a tornado to clean up. "F * ck, when will this f * cking clean up the place?"
"Manager, you can't do this!" But at this moment, the cleaners' faces changed and they quickly stopped Chen Jiu.
"Why not?" Chen Jiu did not understand.
"In front of the ancestors, you can't use spells. This is the rule set by the Great Emperor. It can't be broken!" The cleaners explained in panic.
"Even spells can't be used?" While Chen Jiu was dissatisfied, the cleaners had already wet the cloth with water and began to kneel on the ground to wipe away the ashes.
By the time the ground became shiny again, it was already late into the night and no one was around!
After returning to the Hall of Cleaners, Chen Jiu only took a short nap. Under the urging of the cleaners, he came to the front of the Imperial Palace to clean up the road.
After the road was cleaned, Chen Jiu immediately sent many cleaners to the various palaces to clean up. They couldn't do it once a day, but they couldn't not do it for too long!
The work was not heavy, but it was almost impossible to stop. Day after day, Chen Jiu's heart was extremely tired. Because the palace was either dirty here or dirty there, but as the chief steward, he could not ignore it. This was simply annoying to death.
Finally, during an outdoor worship in the State Preceptor Hall, Chen Jiu could not stand it anymore. This was because the worship this time alone burned tens of thousands of pounds of paper money.
Good heavens, the ashes covered most of the palace. It was simply too difficult to clean up.
Unable to bear it, Chen Jiu also released spells to help the cleaners. But after all, they were in the palace, so he could not release spells in a large area. He could only clean up the area one by one.
"Chen Jiu, your sweeping spells are quite good!" Bing Li finally showed up again. She looked at Chen Jiu arrogantly and happily, obviously laughing at him.
"Bing Li, your State Preceptor Hall has worshiped three times in seven days. Are you done yet?" Chen Jiu felt that things were not so simple. He was deliberately being targeted.
"Chen Jiu, is it wrong for us to worship the heavens and ancestors?" Bing Li's reason was very good.
"Bing Li, what do you want?" Chen Jiu questioned.
"Chen Jiu, are you begging me?" Bing Li said proudly, "If you are begging me, I might consider interceding for you!"
"Bah, you want me to beg you? You're delusional!" Chen Jiu was not willing to lower his head.
"Chen Jiu, I really don't understand. What's so good about Bing Ying? As long as you cooperate with me obediently, I promise to treat you better than her. Why are you so stubborn? "Bing Li could not take this lying down.
"Is it still possible to cooperate? Bing Li, Bing Ying is now the last disciple. You should accept reality! "Chen Jiu advised kindly, but it could not dispel the jealousy and hatred in Bing Li's heart.
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