Hu Shanwei looked at the sudden increase in the number of beautiful women in the palace, and his mood, which had made him feel disgusted by the Crown Princess, suddenly improved.
The beauties who were chosen to go to the capital for the re-election were all above average in appearance. It was already April, and the beauty-loving girls had taken off their jackets and only wore thin dresses. They lined up and learned court etiquette from the female officials of the Shangyi Bureau. The beauties were between thirteen and sixteen years old, half young and half mature. They wore lilac-colored jackets and skirts, had cute double buns, and their eyes were clear, which was really pleasing to the eye.
Groups of beautiful ladies from all over the country brought a sense of freshness to the palace servants who were busy with palace affairs day after day. They would go to watch whenever they had time. Hu Shanwei did not restrict the palace servants from watching the beautiful ladies learn etiquette:
"You can just go and watch, but you can't make any noise that affects their learning of the rules, you can't accept money from the concubines, and you can't claim any goddaughters or sworn sisters. Of course, if you really have relatives present, you are not bound by the above three rules. You can visit your relatives with the company of palace servants. Apart from greeting yourself and your family, you cannot disclose the secrets of the palace. The rules are stated in advance. If anyone violates them, they will be dealt with by the Palace Administration Department according to the palace rules."
Hu Shanwei was more humane than the previous Shang Gong Cao when she became a Shang Gong. She followed the example of Empress Xiaoci and first established rules and three articles of law, making it clear what could and could not be done. If someone knowingly broke the rules, he would be punished.
Except for those who were selected through palace maid examinations, all the female officials in the palace came from families with a scholarly background. These people's families overlapped with those of some of the concubines, and some of them were relatives.
So several female officials took their nieces or nephews out of Chuxiu Palace, talked about family affairs and took them around the scenery in the palace. The fourteen or fifteen-year-old girls, who had just entered the palace, were like a timid but curious little white rabbit, walking through the flowers and willows in the garden, the dew was thick and the flowers were thin, and her thin clothes were soaked with sweat.
On the way, they met Emperor Hongwu. The girls saluted him with the unfamiliar etiquette. Emperor Hongwu just nodded slightly and said, "No need for formalities, just stand up." The girls withdrew and walked away shyly, but they still sniffed the green plums.
In this situation, Emperor Hongwu's old heart, which had experienced many vicissitudes of life, was shaken as if it had come back to life.
Half an hour later, when the beauties finished touring the garden and returned to Chuxiu Palace, the eunuchs beside Emperor Hongwu brought colorful silks, gold and silver and other items to give to the beauties they met in the garden. Three of the beauties were given a full set of head jewelry inlaid with gold and gemstones. The jewelry was glittering and the gems were huge and crystal clear. They were made by the most skilled craftsmen in the palace, and had a royal style that was not seen outside.
The concubines were dazzled at the sight and couldn't help showing envious expressions.
Seeing this, the three ladies who received the extra gifts were still confused, but the female officials who taught the court etiquette were clear in their minds:
The emperor would not give jewelry for no reason, especially hairpins and rings. Moreover, the Hongwu Emperor was a frugal (stingy) emperor. He usually only gave gifts to the concubines before and after sleeping with them, and the gifts were recorded by the female officials of Tongshi. If the concubines got pregnant in the future, these hairpins and rings would be evidence to ensure the purity of the royal bloodline, and also prevent the emperor from sleeping with someone but not admitting it, thus ensuring the rights of the heirs.
The female official conducted emergency "special training" for the three beauties, and then ordered them to wash and dress well. At night, the Qianqing Palace really sent three sedan chairs to the Chuxiu Palace to carry people.
That night, the old Emperor Hongwu showed his youthful wildness and had sex with the three young girls, and gave them the title of beauties.
What is a pear blossom over a crabapple? The old pear blossom of Emperor Hongwu is like three crabapples...
The next day, the three beauties shyly went to pay their respects to Concubine Cui Shufei in the Yanx Palace where she was staying. Concubine Cui Shufei was in charge of the harem and was the vice-empress. Every day, the concubines from all palaces had to come to the Yanx Palace to pay their respects to her, and it was also her who the ladies of various royal titles came to the palace to pay their respects to.
After the concubines had served the emperor, Concubine Cui would also give them gifts to express her gratitude for "the hard work of the sisters". The female official Tongshi would record it in a book and go to the Yanx Palace to show it to Concubine Cui. It would also be stamped with Concubine Cui's seal and "signed and sealed", just like a notary office, to indicate that the official recognized that the serving of the emperor was legal and valid. Only then was the entire serving of the emperor process completed.
Concubine Cui Shu placed the three beauties in Jingren Palace, Changchun Palace, and Yikun Palace respectively, and asked them to give birth to children for the royal family. She said: "Concubine Zhang just gave birth to a little princess. The emperor is very happy. You must work hard."
Emperor Hongwu is 68 years old this year. He is very happy to have a little princess. The seeds that have been cultivated for 68 years can still take root and sprout, which proves that he is in good health. The older people get, the more they fear illness and death, and the more they like a young body.
The three beauties were suddenly full of longing for the future.
Concubine Cui Shu looked at the three beauties' unrestrained ambitions and sighed in her heart. The wealth and splendor in front of her were dazzling, but if she lost a better future, she would be lonely in the future.
Concubine Cui Shu said: "You guys go down and learn the palace rules from the maids in the palace. The first thing in this palace is to abide by the rules. If you violate the rules,
If you break the palace rules, no matter who you are or how favored you are, you will be punished according to the palace rules."
When Hu Shanwei learned that Emperor Hongwu had taken away the three little lambs from Chuxiu Palace, he was immediately furious: "No matter how hard you try, you can't guard against a thief in your own home. He is already a grandfather, but he is grabbing porridge from the same pot with his grandchildren. This selection is not prepared for the emperor!"
What a annoying old goblin!
Hu Shanwei decided to make the fence stronger and the wall higher, and ordered that all the concubines were not allowed to step out of Chuxiu Palace. If anyone came to visit their family, they had to go to Chuxiu Palace and were not allowed to bring the concubines out.
Otherwise, Emperor Hongwu would see it and have evil thoughts.
After the three disciplines and eight points of attention, the harem was finally quiet. Emperor Hongwu knew that Hu Shanwei was just trying to guard against him, so he didn't say anything. He just smiled, drank the tonic soup sent by the Shangshi Bureau, and summoned the newly appointed beauty to sleep with him.
This is the mind of the emperor. As long as it does not involve bottom lines and principles, he can basically tolerate it and will not be petty. But for someone like the Crown Princess, he will hold a grudge even for the smallest matter and call for her to be killed.
The ladies of Chuxiu Palace had almost learned the etiquette. The selection was about to begin. Hu Shanwei set up a banquet. The ladies who went to the prince's palace sat down to drink and said with a smile, "Thank you all. At first glance, I was dazzled by the ladies. I thought they were all good, but the selection is to distinguish the good from the bad, just like the imperial examination, where the best is chosen from the good. They were selected by you. Tell me about a few ladies who caught your eye, so that I can have a rough idea in my mind when choosing."
As a disciple trained by Hu Shanwei himself, Huang Wei De, now a sixth-rank female official in the Shangbao Bureau, spoke first to support her master. This time, she went to the Zhou Palace in Kaifeng, Henan, and was responsible for the Henan selection with Zhou's wife and others. More than 60 people were brought to the capital.
Huang Wei De said, "I personally selected the concubines, and I think they are all good, otherwise I would not dare to bring them to the capital to show off. But there was an interesting story on the way to the capital. In the spring, when everything is revived, a snake was found in the post house where we stayed at night. All the concubines were shocked and ran downstairs. Only one concubine remained calm and took a fire stick to kill the snake as thick as a bowl."
After that, everyone laughed and said, "This young lady is full of courage. She is a bit like the elegance of Hu Shanggong in her youth."
Hu Shanwei used a bolt to guard the Tibetan temple to prevent those who were guarding Concubine Hu from causing trouble. If one woman is guarding the gate, no one can open it.
Hu Shanwei laughed and said, "Could this young lady be from a military family?"
Huang Wei De said: "Her father was only a small flag, an eighth-rank military officer. If the emperor had not ordered the selection of concubines from the common people and the marriage of farmers, she would only be able to be a palace maid based on her family background. There would be no chance for her to rise to the top overnight."
Hu Shanwei immediately became interested, "What's the name of this concubine?"
Huang Weide said: "Zhang Xiuchun, a beautiful girl selected from Yongcheng County, Henan Province."
Because of his love for his sweetheart Mu Chun, Hu Shanwei was particularly sensitive to names containing the word "Chun" and remembered this name at once.
The court lady Jiang Quan went to the Prince of Jin's mansion in Taiyuan, Shanxi. Jiang Quan said, "I don't have any girls here who dare to hit snakes with a fire stick, but there is a girl with a special family background. Her father was a scholar who failed the imperial examinations many times and made a living as a legal advisor. She has an average appearance, but a great literary talent - of course, she can't be compared with a genius like Shen Shangyi. Her surname is Ma, and she is a distant relative of Empress Xiaoci within five degrees of mourning."
Hu Shanwei's heart moved. What a coincidence! The Hongwu Emperor and the Crown Prince both wanted to find a virtuous person like Empress Xiaoci. So he asked Jiang Quan: "Is he really a distant relative of Empress Xiaoci? Do you have any evidence?"
Jiang Quan said: "I checked the household registration and family tree of the Ma family. They are related to the clan of Empress Xiaoci. They are a branch of the Ma family in Shanxi."
The other female officials each had their recommendations, and Hu Shanwei took note of them all, so he had a rough idea.
Finally, Huang Weide asked, "I noticed that there are some famous ladies from the capital in Chuxiu Palace. One of them looks kind and has some qualities of Concubine Duanjing. After asking around, I found out that she is Concubine Duanjing's niece, Princess Yongjia's sister-in-law, and the daughter of Wuding Marquis Guo Ying. If she is chosen... she will probably be extremely noble."
After the capital city experienced the great purge of Emperor Hongwu, only three old families survived. The most prominent of course was the Geng family headed by Geng Bingwen, Marquis of Changxing. The eldest daughter of Prince Yiwen, Princess Jiangdu, married the eldest son of the Geng family. They were a staunch member of the Crown Prince's party, and the Geng family was a family trusted by both the Crown Prince and Emperor Hongwu.
Secondly, it is the Wuding Marquis Guo family, the maiden family of Consort Duan Jing. In addition to the support of their daughter-in-law, Princess Yongjia, the Guo family also has the Princess of Liaoying. The Guo who is now selected as a concubine is the second daughter, the younger sister of the Princess of Liaoying. In the royal marriage, regardless of seniority, it is normal for the two sisters to marry their uncle and nephew respectively. It should be noted that in terms of seniority, the Prince of Yan is still the cousin of the Princess of Yan.
Mentioning his former master, Imperial Concubine Duan Jing, Hu Shanwei couldn't help but feel a little sad, "Nephews look like their uncles, nieces look like their aunts, this Miss Guo Er looks 50% similar to Imperial Concubine Duan Jing when she was young."
All the ladies knew that Hu Shanwei and Consort Duanjing Guo had a deep friendship, no less than that with Empress Xiaoci. Empress Xiaoci personally trained Consort Hu, who devoted herself to the cause and trained Consort Guo Ning, who was almost dead, to become the next Empress. Unfortunately, Guo was not so lucky. When she was about to be crowned Empress, she became depressed and sick because of the sudden death of her only son, Prince Luhuang, and died soon after.
Although Concubine Duanjing Guo was not ultimately crowned as the empress, she was still loved and respected by everyone in the harem because of her ability to correct her mistakes, her kindness, generosity, and her straightforward character.
After all, someone as gifted as Empress Xiaoci, who is almost the model of a virtuous empress and mother of the nation, is extremely rare and people stay away from her.
Concubine Duan Jing, who seems to be rough, reckless, selfish, and has many human weaknesses, is the most down-to-earth, just like an ordinary woman. People can project themselves on her, so they have some empathy for Concubine Duan Jing. People in the harem often miss her and feel sorry for her.
Huang Weide also sighed: "If this second Miss Guo has half the personality of Imperial Concubine Duan Jing, her character will be enough for her to be the Crown Prince's Concubine."
Stupid people have their advantages. Little do they know that in the harem, the one who dies first and dies the most miserably is often the smartest one.
Hu Shanwei thought: This is unlikely. Prince Yiwen poisoned Prince Luhuang, and Concubine Duanjing poisoned Prince Yiwen. It's a double revenge. These two families are going to get married... Either they will be a pair of resentful couples, or they will have a tragic love relationship. In any case, there will be no peace.
However, this royal secret is only known to people like Hu Shanwei who know the core secrets.
Jiang Quan said: "It's too early to say this now. The election will begin tomorrow. After a few rounds of elimination, how to pair up will ultimately depend on the emperor's wishes."
According to Emperor Hongwu's thinking, the most urgent task at present is to have a large number of grandchildren in the royal family, that is, to have great-grandchildren. Therefore, whether it is the crown prince or the prince of a vassal state, the expected ratio is one principal wife and one concubine. If the concubine is really outstanding, two concubines can be matched at once.
Emperor Hongwu was conflicted about how many women he should give his grandsons. He rarely showed his concern for his grandsons as a grandfather: "A man should get married and have his own children to be a real man. I hope they have more children. I can afford to raise them anyway. Logically, it is best for them to have one wife and one concubine, a virtuous wife and beautiful concubine. But if you want to have a grandson soon, you should have one more woman, one more guarantee. If the east is not bright, the west will be bright."
The annoying old demon stroked his beard in annoyance. "But they are still young, and I usually control them strictly. I don't allow them to mess around before marriage and give birth to a concubine's eldest son without any rules, so as to avoid trouble in choosing an heir in the future. If they have three women at once, once they indulge in women, the consequences will be disastrous. What should I do? Hu Shanggong, what do you think?"
Emperor Hongwu attached great importance to his offspring. He never had the idea of aborting a baby to save his reputation, and he had no idea of family planning. As long as a baby was pregnant, no matter what the mother's status was, the baby had to be born. Every drop of royal blood was precious.
Hu Shanwei replied in a neutral tone, "I don't know. Although I am 35 years old this year, I am still unmarried. I don't know how to arrange the marriage of my grandchildren, and I don't know anything about having children."
After hearing this, even though Emperor Hongwu had a thick face like a city wall, he couldn't help feeling a little embarrassed. She had originally resigned from the palace and married Muchun three years ago, but Emperor Hongwu forced her to stay because he needed to stabilize the harem during the purge.
Ahem, Emperor Hongwu coughed lightly, "Your Majesty is not kidding. I promised to let you leave the palace after the selection, and I will definitely do it. I am in a dilemma now. Two or three, as the saying goes, a bystander sees more clearly, which one do you think is better?"
It is not difficult to make decisions for Emperor Hongwu, but Hu Shanwei cannot bear any consequences. Living with the emperor is like living with a tiger, so Hu Shanwei is always on guard against the old emperor turning against him.
But since the Hongwu Emperor asked her, she had to answer. So Hu Shanwei took out a copper coin that had just been minted by the Ministry of Revenue this year. The front side had "Hongwu Tongbao" and the back had a shepherd boy riding a cow. He said, "I'll throw the coin. The front side will choose two and the back side will choose three. It's up to fate. What do you think, Your Majesty?"
Anyway, it’s God’s decision, it has nothing to do with me.
Emperor Hongwu thought for a moment, then bowed his head and said, "Give me the coins and I will toss them."
After all, he was the emperor, holding the power at all times. Hu Shanwei was eager to do so, and quickly presented the copper coins.
Emperor Hongwu spun the copper plate on the imperial desk, and finally the shepherd boy riding a cow facing upwards chose three.
Hu Shanwei pretended to be delighted and said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty! This is a good sign that the royal family will soon have many children."
Emperor Hongwu therefore set a target of one to three for his grandchildren.
There are currently nine grandchildren in the capital who have reached marriageable age and need to choose a crown prince's wife and two concubines from among the concubines. They are:
The Crown Prince Zhu Yunwen, the Second Grandson Zhu Yunhuan, the Prince of Qin Zhu Shangbing, the Prince of Jin Zhu Jihui, the Prince of Yan Zhu Gaochi, the Second Son of Yan Zhu Gaoxu, the Prince of Zhou Zhu Youdun, as well as the Princes of Chu and Shu.
According to the ratio of one to three, twenty-seven beauties will be shortlisted in the final round of selection.
The beauties from all over the country have gone through several rounds of preliminary selections in the prince's palace. First there was an open audition, in which all eligible girls of appropriate age were sent to the prince's palace by their parents and lined up according to their age, in groups of 100. The eunuchs of the prince's palace first took a quick look and eliminated all those who were tall, short, fat or thin, leaving only the girls with well-proportioned bodies and healthy physical development. Those who were unqualified were given silver as travel expenses, and were taken home by their parents to be engaged freely.
The next day, they were divided into groups of 100 according to age and began to examine the ears, eyes, mouth, teeth, nose, hair, skin, waist, shoulders and back. The facial features should be straight, the teeth should be neat, there should be no defects such as strabismus, the hair should be moist, the skin should be smooth, and there should be no fat or hunchbacks. Those who failed the examination were given travel expenses to return home.
In the third round, the girls had to introduce themselves, including their names, work units, ages, family members, etc. as recorded in their household registration books. Those who were nervous, stuttered, spoke too loudly or too softly, or had muddy voices were eliminated and given travel expenses to return home.
In the fourth round, an old maid would use a ruler to measure the hands, feet and other parts of the beauties, and then observe their walking postures. Those who walked with their hands and feet together, or those who were so nervous that they had no place to put their hands and feet, would be eliminated and given travel expenses to send them home.
In the fifth round, the female officials sent by the harem set questions to test the girls' literacy and literary accomplishment, using the Four Books for Women, Biographies of Women, and other Confucian classics, as well as poetry as the test questions. The candidates were eliminated based on their scores, and fifty to one hundred qualified girls were led to the capital for selection.
Before officially entering the palace, all the beauties had to be body searched in the wet/wet house in the inner palace, which was also the place where Hu Shanwei had examined the female officials in the past - Hu Shanwei also stripped naked for a physical examination that year.
The female officials only checked whether the women were healthy, had any hidden diseases, or had brought any prohibited items into the palace. The concubines had to be very careful. All their parts had to be looked at, smelled, and touched by the old palace servants to see if there was anything wrong. The female doctors in charge of medicine also had to check their private parts to see if they were virgins.
After this round of elimination, there were actually only about three hundred beauties who perfectly met all the requirements. They were arranged to receive court etiquette training in Chuxiu Palace in preparation for the re-selection.
Of the three hundred beauties, only twenty-seven were chosen, equivalent to one in ten. Moreover, Emperor Hongwu was trying to poach the girls from his grandchildren, so he took away three beauties with outstanding looks and made them beauties!
Thinking of this, Hu Shanwei couldn't help but have a headache. The grandchildren didn't have enough to share, and the grandfather was trying to snatch it. Tsk tsk...
The three hundred beauties lived a collective life in Chuxiu Palace. No matter what their previous status was, whether they were rich ladies like Miss Guo Er, or poor distant relative of Empress Xiaoci like Miss Ma Da, or Miss Zhang Da, the daughter of a small military household who killed a big snake with a fire stick, their hometowns would be disrupted and their bedrooms would be randomly assigned by the Shangyi Bureau by drawing lots.
There were five people in each room. They had to dress themselves, fold their quilts, wash and dress themselves. They had to practice etiquette during the day and study by lamplight at night, memorizing the palace rules. The "Instructions/Admonitions for the Virtuous Concubines of the Zhao and Song Dynasties" written by Empress Xiaoci actually required them to recite and write out the entire book from memory!
A month later, those concubines who could not endure the tremendous pressure physically and mentally were eliminated, and only 250 concubines were left in Chuxiu Palace.
Although the elimination is cruel, those who remain are elites who are particularly capable of fighting, both physically and mentally, and this is what meets the job requirements of the royal daughter-in-law. If you want to be a royal daughter-in-law, you have to have some skills. It is better to eliminate now than to lose your head in the future.
The author has something to say: Today's chapter title, Zhou Zai is really an annoying old goblin, A branch of pear blossoms overshadows a crabapple, and I am an old man stirring up the youth's passion, so I chose the most down-to-earth one.
I will continue to send out 100 red packets tonight. Have a nice weekend everyone~ Be happy~