I have to say that the palace is the palace, it is really generous.

At the stop before arriving at the destination, we were taken to a place like a garment shop with a lot of clothes inside. I am an officer, and I would be fine when I see the emperor wearing military uniforms, but Ji Xiong couldn't do it. She is a royal family, and she is still a princess with a title. She cannot wear Western-style maids to see the emperor. This is disrespect for the emperor.

Ji Leqian seemed to have chosen a few sets of clothes casually, went to the fitting room to change it, and asked me to evaluate it. I don’t understand women’s clothing, I just think she looks good in everything she wears, so I always say it looks good.

"Hmph, smooth tongue."

Even though she said so, she was still quite happy - her mouth was raised and her eyebrows were bent. What wasn't this happiness?

She asked the female official to dress up all the clothes she tried on and send them to Prince Rui's Mansion with her Western-style servants. I was stunned by this. It turned out that this was really a garment shop or a clothing store?

Because I was afraid of embarrassing, I had no nerve to ask. Ji Leqian saw through my thoughts and whispered to me when he left that the clothes here were just middle and inferior to the royal family, used in emergency situations and were not worth the money. The clothes here were taken casually, but no one usually took them. At most, they thought they looked good. They took a few sets to look like, and then they were basically rewarded to the servants.

"And there are tricks here."

She gave me a wink and made me look at the female official who was smiling and sending us out, and was still waving at us. I nodded after seeing it, and then she continued.

"Do you know why she is so enthusiastic? Because I took the clothes here, I have to make them again if there are fewer clothes. I have to order materials when I make clothes, and it costs handicrafts. This is all the money. The more clothes I take, the happier she is, so she is so enthusiastic."

"If you emptied the place, she wouldn't call you a mother?"

"Let her call her ancestors, but I can't afford to lose this person."

"Puff, too."

After this stop, we couldn't take the bus. When we went out, the driver and the Imperial City Guards who had sent us were no longer there, and they replaced them with several Imperial City Guards who seemed to be higher and several female officials who seemed to be higher. After we came out, they took the initiative to greet them. The Imperial City Guards just stood at attention, and the female officials just bowed slightly.

It was not that they were rude or arrogant. Before entering the palace, the Imperial City Guards in the same car had already explained. The Imperial City Guards were the emperor's personal guards, and the emperor's personal guards could not salute others. The female officials had their own masters and could not salute casually, especially those outside the palace, so as not to lose their master's face.

After we explained our identities, the female officials bowed to Ji Cheng and still bowed slightly to me. After that, the guards and the female officials divided into two teams, one in front and the other behind, sandwiching Ji Cheng and me in the middle, and separated us a long distance from us.

This matter was explained by the Imperial City Guards in the same car before.

People who work in the palace must always pay attention to their position. The guards and female officials at the gate should not say too much to outsiders at any time, and should have as little physical contact as possible, and must never give or accept things from the other party. To put it bluntly, avoid suspicion, so as not to be suspected of colluding with outsiders.

Outsiders of the palace cannot talk to the guards or female officials, or make physical contact, because they must avoid suspicion. However, it is not enough to do this. When the guards and female officials lead the way, they will always keep a distance from each other in order to keep a distance from outsiders in terms of external appearance. As long as the other party is protected and there is no accident, they are taken to where they should go, their mission will be completed.

When you see this, someone may ask, what should the person escorting the car is the Imperial City Guard who was in the same car as you before?

I asked him, but he didn't answer, it was Ji Le's answer for him. After this mission, he would be transferred from the palace to work in the outer city and never be able to enter the palace again. This seems not a bad thing, because the guard of the imperial city looked indifferent and was even a little happy.

Maybe it’s not a good thing to be a servant in the palace?

This kind of thing is not easy to guess. On the way to the destination, I asked Ji Chengqian a question. Ji Chengqian replied that this is true. Although the guards who work in the palace have higher salaries and better treatment, there are too many things in the palace, and if you are not careful, you will make mistakes. Maybe you will lose your head.

The guards who work in the outer city have a lower salary, but they are only relatively speaking. The salary level of the guards in the Imperial City is much higher than that of the regular legion. Even if they work in the outer city and have the lowest position, the income of the guards in the former guards can be the same as that of the first-class soldiers in the former guards, and the treatment is much better than that of them.

Most of the families of the Imperial City Guards live in the outer city, and there are dedicated people to supervise and monitor. The families of the Imperial City Guards who do not live in the outer city are all people with noble or official identities. However, even if they do not come, they have to send the mother or sister of the Imperial City Guards to live in the outer city - to put it bluntly, they are hostages.

The families of the guards who work in the palace and the families of the guards who work in the outer city are not together, and the treatment on both sides is also different. The treatment of the former is better. During festivals, the former will receive royal rewards, usually whole pork, whole hanging mutton, and whole chickens and ducks - each family has it.

The latter does not have these rewards. However, the guards working in the outer city can go home after get off work and reunite with their families, which is much more precious than pork, mutton, chickens and ducks. The guards working in the palace cannot go home at will, and they must take leave if they want to go home. Moreover, their families will be subject to stricter supervision and surveillance, and even the scope of movement will be restricted.

Female officials are more restricted. Female officials in the palace are usually the daughters of nobles or officials. They cannot leave the palace at all, and they cannot even write letters outside, and they cannot see their relatives. After the work is over, all female officials must return to their residence and cannot run around. If they need something that is not available in the palace, they can only submit an application to the Palace Interior Department. After approval, the Palace Interior Department will send a special person to purchase - they have to pay the purchase fee themselves.

As for servants and palace maids, they are true servants. Don’t even think about the word “treatment”. Everyone should serve the royal family unconditionally. However, in order to win people’s hearts, the royal family or their masters will occasionally give them some small favors. Only when they “fulfil their achievements”—the day they retire, these small favors will come in handy.

Before leaving the palace, they can go to the Interior Office, exchange things that are not cash for cash, receive a pension, and find a place to enjoy their old age. However, under ideal circumstances, a considerable number of servants will be executed for various reasons before retirement, and their property will be confiscated.

Retired servants may not have received small favors. If they only have pensions and no means to make a living, they can only find a remote place with low prices and barely live for three or five years. If they are not old and die in three or five years, they can only seek more blessings.

Ji Lexiong focused on the matter of eunuchs. The profession of eunuchs is quite special. They can be servants, confidants of the royal family, accountants of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, or guards of the imperial city. Their status can run through and connect the entire palace from high to low, from civil to military.

Since the founding of the Daxian Kingdom, the royal family has attached great importance to the control of eunuchs. In fact, it is not only the Daxian royal family, but also other royal families in the Central Plains. As long as they are good enough to them, they can maintain absolute loyalty and even die for someone or a certain sect without hesitation. If this power is controlled by outsiders, the royal family will easily be undermined or even overthrown.

Therefore, even when the imperial power declined, the royal family still tried their best to maintain control over the eunuchs, and even misappropriated the money for upgrading equipment to regular legions to reward them. If this matter spreads, let alone other legions, the Third Legion's loyalty to the royal family will definitely be completely cleared.
Chapter completed!