Hustle Queen in the Harem: My Consort Won't Stop Grinding

Chapter 73: Chapter 60: Second Day of Work

Jiang Xian said, "Replying to Your Majesty, that’s not quite it."

’That’s what I thought. How could anyone possibly train like that every day.’

’She must be trying to show off in front of our Empress!’

Jiang Xian continued, "Usually, I also lead the Palace Attendants in running ten laps around Yizhu Pavilion."

The palace maids and nannies of Jianzhang Palace imperceptibly took half a step back.

’Being on duty at Yizhu Pavilion would be such a terrible ordeal!’

After her exercise, Jiang Xian had a palace maid bring her paper, a brush, ink, and an inkstone. She sat at a low table and continued to work on the inventory ledger for the Emperor’s private treasury. Just then, the Empress noticed the loose-leaf notebook in her hands, her curiosity piqued.

Before the Empress could ask, Jiang Xian, as if reading her mind, offered it up. "While I was organizing the Luanqi Library’s account book, I found it was arranged by the year the tribute was received. I wanted to re-categorize it by item type, to make it easier for the Emperor to browse and select gifts. But that raised the question of how to insert new tribute items. So, I thought of punching holes in the side of the pages and stringing them together with a thin cord. Thus, the loose-leaf notebook."

The Empress said nothing, her fingertips caressing the notebook for a moment.

As an ancient senior executive who was grinding away at palace affairs to the point of collapse, the Empress quickly grasped the genius of the loose-leaf notebook—it was a very simple, yet brilliant invention. In the past, if she wanted to add something to a register, she could only tack it on at the end. With a loose-leaf notebook, she could simply "add a new page" right where it was needed. "Noble Lady Gu, to think you have such ingenious ideas. No wonder the Emperor favors you. Have you presented this to the Emperor yet?"

"I have not presented this item to the Emperor."

In just a second, Jiang Xian made the decision to pledge her allegiance.

’If the Empress intended to take credit for this invention, she would rather be proactive than have it grudgingly snatched from her. She would use it as a token of allegiance to get into the Empress’s camp.’

Jiang Xian had more than one great invention from the modern world up her sleeve. It would be better to bring them out in the future, once she had earned more of the Emperor’s trust.

"This thing is good, but the craftsmanship is crude. It must be something you tinkered with yourself, Noble Lady Gu. I will have the Manufacturing Office perfect it and then present it to the Emperor." The Empress paused and patted her hand. "You need not worry, Noble Lady Gu. I will not steal your credit."

"I answered truthfully precisely because I never had such a concern."

Jiang Xian replied with a smile.

’A boss’s words can’t be taken seriously.’

’Doesn’t matter if it’s a male boss or a female boss—it’s all hot air.’

"You will understand tomorrow. I might as well be honest with you. I don’t wish to stand out too much in the harem; it’s best to stick to my station. If this item weren’t so helpful for managing palace affairs, and if I didn’t think it could genuinely help the Emperor, I wouldn’t want to bring it up with him at all."

Seeing the confused look on Jiang Xian’s face, the Empress confessed, "If I’m too capable, the Emperor will want to rely on me even more."

The reward for good work is more work.

The Empress had already reached the top of "Harem, Inc." She wasn’t after dividends or bonuses; with no further promotions possible, taking on more work would only shorten her "career." "Do you understand what I’m saying, Noble Lady Gu?"

"I understand,"

Jiang Xian paused. "Since the notebook has been taken to the Manufacturing Office, I have nothing else to do. Why don’t I come and help Your Majesty relieve some of your burdens!"

The Empress thought she was only making this offer to deliberately curry favor with her.

After all, palace affairs were tedious and complex, and everything had to follow precedent. Even if Mrs. Jiang had learned household management in her maiden chambers, this was on a completely different scale. But since she had the heart to try, the Empress accepted her kind offer. She also wanted to see just how long it would take for her to get tired.

Very quickly, the Empress realized her mistake.

’Noble Lady Gu... she was actually so good at paperwork!’

Jiang Xian had clawed her way up from the bottom, so naturally, she’d worked as an assistant before. When she was an assistant, she spoiled her boss to the point that he never wanted to let her go, and she was used to handling everything meticulously. Jiang Xian didn’t overstep her authority to make decisions for the Empress; she simply organized all the minor details and left the final decision to the Empress.

The work Jiang Xian was doing now was no different from the tasks of the literate palace maids in Jianzhang Palace.

But they had no experience with modern, efficient work methods; their only advantage was literacy. Thus, all the work fell on the Empress’s shoulders alone. It was a wonder she wasn’t worked to death.

Handling palace affairs for the first time, Jiang Xian discovered...

...she had joined a company that was incredibly tedious, extremely fussy, and full of illiterates.

Halfway through, Jiang Xian couldn’t help but ask a soul-crushing question: "Your Majesty, do you normally handle all these affairs by yourself?"

"Usually, Fu Jin and the others help me. They’re all literate. To ease my burden, I’ve only promoted literate palace maids ever since the Emperor ascended the throne," the Empress said.

This was also why she never complained.

The Empress felt that she already had many helpers. The reason she still felt overwhelmed must be her own lack of ability, and the fact that she slept too much.

"Your Majesty, just being able to read doesn’t mean one knows how to work!" Jiang Xian said earnestly. "It must have been so difficult for you all this time."

The work capabilities of these palace maids reminded Jiang Xian of her teammates from group projects.

Back then, she had told them the same thing:

’Classmate, just because it has words and pictures doesn’t make it a PowerPoint.’

The palace maid Fu Jin said, embarrassed, "I never learned... any of this at home..."

Nannies didn’t teach one how to be a secretary, either.

Their skills in attending to the Empress were first-rate.

It was perfectly normal that a housekeeper couldn’t do a secretary’s job.

"No matter. I am here to relieve the Empress of her worries."

Jiang Xian took a deep breath.

With Jiang Xian by her side, the Empress discovered that handling tedious palace affairs could be so effortless.

All she had to do was make the decisions.

The two of them worked late into the night before finally resting.

Lying on her couch, the Empress recalled that she and Noble Lady Gu had, in just half a day, completed what would normally have taken three or four days.

Fu Jin murmured, "Noble Lady Gu really makes herself at home! But it’s a good thing. With her help, Your Majesty can finally get a couple of good nights’ sleep. If you kept on like that, even face powder wouldn’t have hidden the dark circles under your eyes. It truly breaks my heart." Then, she added self-reproachfully, "If only I had a fraction of Noble Lady Gu’s ability, I wouldn’t have let Your Majesty toil so hard!"

"How could this be your fault? Even I don’t find it effortless."

The Empress chuckled.

Fu Jin blew out the lamp. The Empress slowly closed her eyes, asking one last question before drifting off, "Has Noble Lady Gu retired to the side hall to rest?"

"Replying to Your Majesty, Noble Lady Gu heard that Jianzhang Palace has an extensive book collection, so she is in the study reading."

"..."

The Empress felt tired just hearing about it.

She closed her eyes and had a good night’s sleep.

The next day, the Empress opened her eyes, and the first thing she asked was, "Is Noble Lady Gu awake yet?"

"Replying to Your Majesty, Noble Lady Gu woke up an hour ago. She read for a while in Your Majesty’s study and then went for her morning run. She worked up a full-body sweat and asked a palace maid to draw water for a bath. Figuring the time, she should be about..."

Just then, Jiang Xian’s cheerful, energetic voice came from outside the door: "I request an audience with the Empress! It’s still a little while before morning greetings are due, and we didn’t finish checking some of the ledgers yesterday. Why don’t we finish them this morning?"

"..."

The Empress pulled the blanket over her head, not wanting to face the day.