Palace Fighting: Naive Concubines' Ascent to Power-Chapter 413: Promotion?

Nanny Qi was both helpless and amused. She was too subtle, wasn’t she? Without being more straightforward, how could the young girl understand what she wanted to say?

With this thought, Nanny Qi reiterated, "My dear girl, the servants in our courtyard are all of roughly the same grade. Without someone to lead them, this situation won’t do. Don’t you think so?"

Fearing that her words were still not clear enough, she added earnestly and enticingly, "Shouldn’t we promote someone?"

Lian Hua was struggling with what title to give to Xiao Jizi. That little eunuch was so slippery and annoying; it wasn’t easy to pick a suitable title for him.

She blinked in surprise upon hearing Nanny Qi’s words, "Ah? Nanny, are you suggesting we promote them?"

Nanny Qi nodded. That was indeed what she meant. Now that the young girl understood, things would be easier; she could follow Nanny Qi’s guidance.

Lian Hua poked the needle into the embroidery cloth, her eyes wide with astonishment, "Nanny, can I really do that?"

Could she actually promote them? Was that within the rules? Weren’t all the court servitors supposed to be promoted through the hands of the Noble Consort?

Nanny Qi replied with a smile, "Certainly, you are the mistress of Canglan Court. Just report the list of servitors who lack a supervisor to your superiors."

The rest was not for the young girl to worry about.

Lian Hua instantly became excited and said directly, "That’s great! Let’s promote all three of them."

Nanny Qi: "..."

She had been talking about promoting one, but the young girl wanted to promote all three?

Seeing Nanny Qi’s expression, Lian Hua calmed down a bit and tentatively asked, "Nanny, can we not promote all three of them?"

Nanny Qi explained helplessly, "We can only promote one to start with."

Promoting three all at once was not a good thing; it was too conspicuous.

Each concubine has a specific number and grade of servitors close to them; moreover, it involves who oversees whom. Like Ming Jing of Huaying Hall, who oversees all concubines and eunuchs under Consort Xu De, delineating roles and duties clearly—that way, there’s no chaos and things are better managed.

If everyone were promoted, there would still need to be a hierarchy, and there would have to be a leader; otherwise, in the face of divergences among subordinates, internal strife could lead to chaos, which is not the original intention of promotion.

Moreover, promoting someone too high too quickly is not good either; it can easily be disorienting. Lacking adequate experience can also undermine authority. Moreover, gains that come too easily can make people unappreciative and ungrateful, which is not the way to manage subordinates.

It would be better to promote one person first; there is no hurry to gradually promote the others in the future.

Lian Hua became troubled, "I see, so... so..."

She found it difficult to make a choice. Each of the three had their own strengths, which made the decision of whom to promote and whom not to all the more difficult.

After thinking it through, she confirmed, "Nanny, are you suggesting I promote someone to be in charge?"

Nanny Qi nodded, "Canglan Court is missing a servant in charge. It might not seem problematic in the short run, but it’s not a good thing in the long run."

"Oh..." Lian Hua understood that she could only promote one person. In that case, "Then let’s promote Xiao Jizi."

Lian Hua looked full of pity and regret, regretting that she couldn’t promote all three. She wished she could have promoted all three.

Nanny Qi ignored the expression on her face and asked directly, "Why is that?"

She wanted to see what the young girl thought, whether she chose based on whim or after careful deliberation.

Lian Hua touched the small embroidered Lian Hua corner feeling that it was well done and said without hesitation, "The first one, well, he’s the eldest, and it’s only proper to respect the order of seniority. It’s best to promote him."

"What?" Nanny Qi never expected such a frivolous reason; she hadn’t thought that the order of seniority could be applied in such a way, and that the reason for promoting the first one was simply because he was the oldest, and not for some other reason?

She suddenly felt a headache coming on. What to do with the young girl? As the servants under her increased, how would she cope? Acting solely on preferences was not the way to succeed.

She might as well take more care. Once those mischievous spirits in the palace were mostly dealt with, there would naturally be less trouble. Then, the young girl could do as she pleased, as long as it did not cause harm. "What harm?" she thought, meaning as long as it did not impede others, it would be fine.

While Nanny Qi was secretly fretting, she had already given up hope on the response below.

On her side, Lian Hua, not quite understanding Nanny Qi’s words and thinking she might have oversimplified her explanation, elaborated on her thoughts, "Nanny, Xiao Jizi is a bit older and knows more. It would be good to promote him, and moreover, Xiao Qing and Xiao Linzi listen to Xiao Jizi. When it comes to managing affairs, of course it’s most important to be able to take charge and to be able to make others listen."

Nanny Qi suddenly realized that the young girl did understand; she just hadn’t explained herself clearly before.

She couldn’t help but show a loving smile, and hope blossomed in her heart. She knew the young girl was intelligent; people aren’t inherently foolish. Usually, she just didn’t think much and was simply pure-hearted, not that she was incapable of understanding.

She had thought wrongly before.

She nodded at Lian Hua, her eyes filled with approving laughter, and asked, "And the second one?"

This time, Nanny Qi’s approving look was clearly different from before and made Lian Hua feel somewhat embarrassed. She felt her face heating up as she continued, "The, the second one, well, that one is just suitable."

She simply said what she thought, and it seemed that Nanny Qi quite admired it as if to say, "Ah, well."

"How is he ’just suitable’?" Nanny Qi looked at Lian Hua with even more approval in her eyes.

Indeed, in her view, among the three, it was Feng Ji who was the most suitable. But she still wanted to hear how Lian Hua would explain it.

Lian Hua’s face grew even hotter, and she couldn’t help but become shy, putting down her needlework and getting up to move away, "Ah, Nanny, please don’t look at me like that. I’m afraid I won’t express myself well."

The gaze from Nanny Qi made her feel embarrassed as if she had said something incredible.

Usually, she and His Majesty were quite thick-skinned, eagerly accepting any praise that came her way. But this time, the meaningful look in Nanny Qi’s eyes was serious, different from the usual playful moments, and it really made her very embarrassed.

With a loving smile, Nanny Qi went along, "Alright, alright, I won’t look; you just go ahead and speak."

She turned away, her face alight with smiles.

She was indeed a young girl, with such thin skin that she couldn’t handle genuine praise. It was just too endearing, and even this old Nanny couldn’t help but be filled with affection.

Lian Hua sneaked a peek and saw that Nanny Qi indeed wasn’t looking at her anymore, so she stuck out her tongue a little, touched her face, and felt it cool somewhat.

She cleared her throat, mimicking His Majesty by coughing with her fist to her mouth and said solemnly, "Nanny, as I said before, they each have their abilities and excel in different things. There is no distinction of good or bad. But if one were to be picked to manage affairs, then surely it must be someone well-balanced, especially smart and comprehensive in handling matters. And Xiao Jizi is that kind of person, so choosing him is the most suitable."