The rites and music of the Yuan Dynasty collapsed, and the palace management was in chaos. There were frequent scandals of the emperor's wives being dragged onto the dragon bed when they entered the palace to pay homage to the empress. In order to gain power, the concubines in the palace would do whatever it takes to win favor, attempting to gain status through their sons. Palace maids and eunuchs were involved in this, and those who held power would quickly remove the ladder and strictly enforce "family planning" in the palace, and abortions were common.
Empress Ki at the end of the Yuan Dynasty was born a Goryeo slave. She teamed up with eunuch Pu Buhua, who was also a Goryeo slave, and fought her way out of the palace. She was favored and gave birth to a son, who was made empress. Her son was made crown prince. In order to consolidate her power, she chose a Goryeo woman with no background as the crown princess.
To Empress Ki, the Korean woman was an easy-to-control consort. But to the crown prince, it meant the loss of his father-in-law's powerful influence, and the instability of his position as crown prince. The harem's infighting became more intense, and the fighting in the palace became more and more intense, and they were completely unaware that the Ming Dynasty's Northern Expedition Army was about to arrive at the city.
When Xu Da led the Northern Expedition Army to attack the capital of the Yuan Dynasty, the Yuan emperor simply abandoned the city and surrendered, fleeing with his ministers and concubines. Only the Crown Prince of the Eastern Palace, Mai Diliba, fell into the trap of the harem, was captured by the Ming Dynasty on his escape, and was taken to the capital as a hostage.
Even if the country is destroyed, the palace fighting will not stop. They are used to killing each other in the harem. They only have the emperor's favor and the throne. They have no reaction to the country and the people. They have no sense of right and wrong and the overall situation. When the country is about to perish, the first reaction is not to work together, but to push the prince of the East Palace out when the building is about to collapse, and kill the crown prince with the help of the Ming Dynasty, so that their sons have the opportunity to take the throne.
Emperor Hongwu would certainly not be used as a gun by others. He carefully trained the hostage Mai Dilibaqi and even sent him to the Daben Hall to study with his sons. When Emperor Yuan died, Emperor Hongwu sent people to escort Mai Dilibaqi back to Northern Yuan on the pretext of funeral arrangements to compete with his uncles for the throne. Northern Yuan had frequent coups and civil strife. A chaotic Northern Yuan was a good Northern Yuan. Let them commit suicide and the country would be destroyed faster.
Palace fighting is detrimental to the country. As a lesson from the past, Emperor Hongwu was very strict in managing the harem, and gave the power of the harem to Empress Xiaoci and six bureaus and one department. The rest of the concubines only needed to enjoy wealth and have children, and were not allowed to get involved in power. Hu Mei, a former important official, was just spying on the palace and planting spies around Concubine Hu. Emperor Hongwu used the name of "Hu Mei's Palace Chaos Case" to implicate three clans. If it happened in the Yuan Dynasty, this would not be a big deal.
However, Emperor Hongwu planned everything to create a prosperous, civilized and harmonious harem, but he never expected that Empress Xiaoci would pass away at the age of 51...
The harem was leaderless and in constant turmoil, especially when Concubine Guo Ning used the trick of "releasing people out of the palace" to eliminate dissidents right from the start, which made Emperor Hongwu doubt her ability and character. He simply asked Concubine Guo Hui and Concubine Da Ding, who were usually obedient and didn't care about anything except giving birth to children, to "assist" Concubine Guo Ning in managing the affairs.
With the three powers standing in a balance of power and balancing each other, and with the assistance of six bureaus and one department, the harem must be more stable.
As for the past that Concubine Guo Hui and Concubine Da Ding did not want to look back on... So many years have passed, and they have given birth to a lot of children, so there should be nothing wrong.
In the evening, Emperor Hongwu returned to the Forbidden City with his large harem, and people discovered that there was one more person in his entourage—Hu Shanwei.
Concubine Guo Ning deliberately pulled Hu Shan around her and spoke affectionately. Cao Shanggong, who was waiting at the door to welcome everyone back to the palace, was very happy in her heart, but her face was cold.
Cui Shangyi smiled as beautifully as a flower and bowed her head with a smile.
Fan Gongzheng looked normal, as if Hu Shanwei had never left the palace, but had just gone on a long business trip. She was not wrong about him, people like Hu Shanwei were born to belong in the palace.
For Hu Shanwei, after a year of absence, the palace was still the same except for the absence of the queen. Even Hu Shanwei's residence remained the same, with no new people moving in. Haitang was eager to get started, "The dust in the house must be piled three feet high. Why don't you go sit with Instructor Shen and come back after I finish cleaning?"
Hu Shanwei rolled up his sleeves and said, "Come together, you are used to doing this in Xiaoling, why do you become so pampered when you return to the palace?"
But when the two arrived at the gate of the yard, they found that the gate was not locked, and the red door seemed to have been repainted and was dazzling.
The door creaked open, and it was Huang Weide, with a piece of cloth wrapped around his head to cover his face and an apron on. "I heard from Jiang Quan that Concubine Guo Ning went to Xiaoling Mausoleum to invite Hu Siyan back to the palace, so I got the key from the key lady and came here to tidy up. I have already cleaned it, and replaced the bedding with new ones. However, the swing frame in the yard is a bit rotten and unsafe, so I have ordered the eunuchs to dismantle it and carry it away, and prepare to replace it with a new one."
Huang Wei De spoke calmly, and his expression was almost identical to Fan Gongzheng's, as if Hu Shanwei had never actually left the palace but was just on a business trip.
Huang Weide had a premonition that Hu Shanwei would come back, and this man who once shone like a star would not remain buried in the Xiaoling Mausoleum forever.
Even Hu Shanwei had the same feeling. From the first step into the palace, an inexplicable sense of belonging rose in her heart. Every inch of her skin and her brain awakened. She became more and more excited and couldn't wait to get Si Yan's job.
"Thank you for your hard work." Hu Shanwei walked into the gate and looked at the indentation of the swing frame in the yard. The year before last, she was nearly gouged out of the eyes by Emperor Hongwu because of the specifications of Concubine Cheng Mu's funeral. She was able to escape unscathed after she cleverly proposed the suggestion of "equal respect for both parents". After returning, she was very scared and sat on the swing holding Mu Chun's waist. She didn't know how long she held him until she recovered her strength.
Now that Empress Xiaoci has passed away and Mu Chun has returned to Beijing, as an outsider, he cannot step into the harem. The palace walls are blocking them. If she knew that Mu Chun's nonsense about the peacock's mating period was the last time they met in private, she would not have been so cold to Mu Chun that day.
"No need for the swing." Hu Shanwei said, "It's better to leave it empty. It will look more spacious."
Since Mu Chun cannot enter the palace and build a new swing, she will definitely think of him often, which will only add to her regrets.
The gap between her status and Mu Chun's was too great. Mu Chun was about to be canonized as the heir of Marquis Xiping. With his status, he would definitely marry a noble lady from a prominent family. If she wanted to be with him, she could only be a concubine.
Hu Shanwei likes Mu Chun, but she will not compromise herself to be a concubine in Xiping Marquis's Mansion just to be with him. She doesn't like anyone in Xiping Marquis's Mansion except Mu Chun. She will not move to the forest just for a tree, or she will be bitten to death by wild beasts.
It turns out that some things can only be realized in dreams, and it is just a luxury in reality.
The next day, Emperor Hongwu issued an edict to confer the title of Heir apparent to Marquis Xiping on Muchun.
When the imperial edict reached the residence of Marquis Xiping, his wife Geng was stunned: her son Mu Sheng had followed her husband in the southern expeditions, and had made many contributions, which made her husband love her very much. Her husband often said, "This child is most like me."
Mu Ying likes his second son, and he likes him unabashedly.
The Southern Expedition Army also had a very good reputation for Mu Sheng. Geng and her natal family, the Marquis of Changxing, all had fantasies about the position of the crown prince.
But after Emperor Hongwu issued an imperial edict, the Geng family no longer had any thought of this.
As soon as the news came out, the relatives of the Mu family sent gifts, especially Mu Chun's uncle, the Duke of Ying, his maternal uncle, the Duke of Song, and the Duke of Wei, who became in-laws the year before. Since the Feng and Mu families were both very fertile, after more than a decade of marriage, most of the noble families in the capital were more or less related, and gifts continued to arrive every day.
Geng forced herself to smile and prepared a feast to celebrate. Her mother, the wife of the Marquis of Changxing, came in person to give her a gift and comfort her daughter, "It's only a matter of time. Don't be sad. Sheng'er is a capable person. He will earn a title of marquis in the future."
Geng sighed, "My daughter has let it go. Now there is another troublesome matter in front of us: Mu Chun is already 20 years old. The national mourning period is over. He has returned to the capital and has been named the crown prince. Many official media have come to me to ask about Mu Chun's marriage. It is not easy to be a stepmother. The eldest son in the family is still single at the age of 20. People secretly gossip that I have delayed my stepson's marriage. In fact, I also want to find him a wife as soon as possible so that she can help me take care of the trivial matters of the Marquis' Mansion, but can I make the decision? I tried to ask him today, but he glared and said, 'Don't bother me, Madam', and then he left the house and I don't know where he went."
The wife of the Marquis of Changxing said, "You should write a letter to your son-in-law and ask him about Mu Chun's marriage. You can tell the official media that the eldest son's marriage is decided by his father, and then the matter will be settled."
Geng was so obsessed with saving face that she suffered in vain. "I am his mother. Since ancient times, marriage is a matter of parents' decision and matchmaker's words. If I directly say that I can't arrange a marriage for Mu Chun, where will my face be?"
The wife of the Marquis of Changxing advised: "If you don't speak directly, won't others know?"
In front of her mother, Geng didn't need to pretend to be virtuous and generous. She twisted her body and said, "Mother, who are you on the side of? Why do you keep hitting on my sore spot?"
The wife of Marquis Changxin had no choice but to comfort her daughter and not mention it.
At this moment, Mu Chun was squatting on the roadside with a bowl of turbid rice wine, drinking with passers-by. There was no good wine in the roadside tavern, and even the stools were very few. Mu Chun was born with the temperament of a gangster. He could shake his left leg freely while squatting. He didn't look out of place when mixing with a group of laborers and idlers.
Whenever Muchun was in a bad mood, he would hang out on the streets to relieve his sorrow. Sister Shanwei suddenly returned to the palace without even saying hello, and now that Empress Xiaoci had passed away, he had no legitimate excuse to enter the palace, so he cut off contact all of a sudden.
His drinking buddy comforted him: "Your family has fallen on hard times, right? It's okay, just get used to being poor. My ancestors were once rich."
No, he was not happy about the promotion and title, which were the joys of life. The prince was a hostage, and he knew it very well. His father kept him in the capital to show his loyalty to Emperor Hongwu so that his father and his second brother could guard Yunnan with peace of mind.
Ever since he met Hu Shanwei, Mu Chun no longer wanted to inherit his family's title. He wanted to earn his own future with his own abilities and get rid of the constraints of his family. He dared to run naked in front of his father and became more and more outrageous, in order to force his father to give up and let his second brother become the crown prince.
But the more he didn't want it, the more his father forced it on him. As the prince, he was the heir of the Mu family. He was bound by family and responsibilities, and it became more difficult for him to realize his countless dreams.
Mu Chun was feeling depressed, so Ji Gang brought a group of Jinyiwei in plain clothes to search for him along the way, and finally "pulled" Mu Chun out from a roadside tavern.
"You are still hiding here drinking? The emperor summoned you to the palace to deliver his instructions to the Marquis of Xiping's residence. He has been looking for you for most of the day."
After all, they were colleagues before, and Ji Gang knew Muchun's habits, so he took people to various small restaurants along the street to look for him.
When Mu Chun entered the palace, he saw a soldier as tall as an iron tower standing in the imperial study. He was none other than Gongchang Marquis Guo Xing, the eldest brother of Concubine Guo Ning, and the commander of the Twelve Guards of the Imperial Army, commonly known as the Imperial Guards.
The Twelve Guards of the Imperial Army guard the forbidden areas of the imperial palace, so they are commonly known as the Imperial Guards. Mu Chun used to be the commander of one of the Twelve Guards, the Yulin Right Guard, and was once a subordinate of Guo Xing, so they are old acquaintances.
Emperor Hongwu said, "You came back from the southern expedition and have been idle all day, with nothing to do. I want to find you, and I have to send the Jinyiwei to search the streets for you. From today on, you will follow Gongchang Hou as a deputy general. Gongchang Hou, Mu Chun has been naughty since he was a child, I know that. If he doesn't listen, you just have to punish him with a military stick, don't ask me."
Only when they are close will they say something like "you can beat me as you like". Now Concubine Guo Ning is in charge of the harem, and the eldest brother is in charge of the imperial guards. Although Emperor Hongwu believes in the Guo family, who have made great contributions to the emperor, he is not soft-hearted when it comes to checks and balances. Mu Chunming is the deputy general, but in fact he is the spy of Emperor Hongwu.
Guo Xing, the Marquis of Gongchang, of course understood what the Hongwu Emperor meant, and said, "Mu Chun is a talented general of the young generation of the Ming Dynasty. I have heard Duke Wei praise him. He was also very outstanding when he served as the commander of the Yulin Right Guard under my command. However, it is really condescending for the son of the Marquis of Xiping to serve as my deputy general."
Mu Chun was ecstatic: As the deputy general of the imperial guards, wouldn't I be able to go in and out of the palace and see Sister Shanwei
Mu Chun hurriedly said, "I will never yield, not at all. I hope that Gong Changhou will give me more guidance in the future!"
The author has something to say: Mai Dilibaci, referred to as Xiaoba, is the second male lead in my work “The Biography of Empress Xu of the Ming Dynasty”.
The question about the 100-point red envelope tonight is difficult, and I guess everyone is just guessing based on luck:
Emperor Hongwu carefully trained Mai Dibashi, and in the seventh year of Hongwu's reign, he let him go back to compete with his uncles for the throne. After several battles, he won and became the Tianyuan Emperor of the Northern Yuan Dynasty. However, the Northern Yuan Dynasty later fell apart. In the seventeenth year of Hongwu's reign, he and his son were killed by their own clansmen. His other son was captured by the Ming Dynasty and exiled by Emperor Hongwu
Ryukyu
Eight Hundred Daughters-in-law Country (Thailand)
Goryeo
Pyu (Myanmar)