What is the shortest distance between two points
straight line.
Muchun was like a running pastoral dog, with his mouth wide open, tail wagging, and a single-minded mind. He didn't even notice that he had knocked over the screen, and his speed was so fast that Hu Shanwei could see double.
Ji Gang, the guard outside the door, thought there was an assassin and ran to protect the emperor, but he saw Mu Chun using the ground to gain leverage and flew up, hugging Hu Shanwei tightly and spinning around.
Hu Shanwei's skirt spun and jumped, and because of her excitement and joy, the instep of her feet in her sheepskin boots unconsciously straightened.
The combined age of the two is sixty-seven, already elderly, but their love is still at its peak.
Ji Gang didn't look at them, but since he was already here, he had to find something to do so as not to appear awkward, so he went over to prop up the fallen screen.
Emperor Hongwu gave him a look: "Get out! How can you be so tactless? Over the years, you have only grown older but not smarter."
The brainless, fair-skinned, beautiful lady with long legs, Ji, stepped down.
Emperor Hongwu watched Mu Chun holding Hu Shanwei and spinning in circles without interrupting them. He quietly watched the couple reuniting and remembered Empress Xiaoci's instructions on her sickbed:
"… Mu Ying and Feng are not getting along because we arranged their marriage on our own initiative. Mu Chun has been neglected by his father and uncle since he was a child. Although we love him, it is not as good as his blood parents, so this child has a bit of a perverse personality. Now Mu Chun and Hu Shanwei… Please, Your Majesty, find a way to help them get married, as compensation for our past mistakes…"
Before her death, Empress Xiaoci refused to accept treatment from anyone in order to protect the imperial physician and the female physician. She also urged him to "seek wise men and accept advice" and be a good emperor. She also asked him to help a pair of lovers get together... She didn't ask for anything for herself.
For various considerations, Emperor Hongwu intended to fulfill his promise. In fact, as early as when Hu Shanwei started the re-selection in the capital, Emperor Hongwu secretly ordered Mu Chun to return to the capital. The distance from Yunnan to the capital is long, and Mu Chun should arrive just when the selection is over.
When Hu Shanwei resigned, Mu Chun had just arrived at the Qianqing Palace. Emperor Hongwu asked him to hide behind a screen and give Hu Shanwei an ultimate test.
When Hu Shanwei felt dizzy, Mu Chun finally stopped. He held Hu Shanwei's hand and bowed to Emperor Hongwu, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for your help."
Hu Shanwei suddenly stopped, feeling a little dizzy, and he was unsteady on his feet, falling into Mu Chun's arms. Seeing this, the widower Emperor Hongwu (without a wife, even if he had a hundred concubines, he was still a bachelor) felt jealous and said:
"I can grant your wish, but there are three rules. First, the two of you have special identities. If you openly marry as husband and wife, it will definitely cause countless troubles. Therefore, I will write a marriage certificate and witness your marriage. You will be a legal secret couple, but your marriage relationship cannot be known to anyone other than me. Do you agree to this?"
Mu Chun's mind was still floating over the capital at this time, and he said sleepwalkingly: "As long as I can marry Sister Shanwei, I don't care whether there is a formal status or not. Sister Shanwei is my confidant. As the saying goes, a confidant knows me and I know her. It has nothing to do with other people."
Hu Shanwei said: "Since I have decided to leave the palace, I originally planned to give up everything. I have long seen through fame and fortune. I don't need a noble husband or a glorious wife, or a title of imperial lady. I am proud to have been a fifth-rank palace lady."
In fact, there are pros and cons to secret marriage. The disadvantage is that one cannot publicly get the blessings of relatives and friends. The advantage is that Mu Chun is the Duke of Qian who guards Yunnan, and his wife and children must stay in the capital - then Hu Shanwei and Mu Chun will have to continue living apart like the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl as before - the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl can only meet once a year, and they are not even as good as this couple.
It's almost the same as being married or not, just like Mu Sheng's wife Cheng, who was still a virgin two years after their marriage and had two illegitimate sons. Later, Mu Sheng returned to the capital once and sent his two sons born to concubines to the capital to receive orthodox aristocratic education. He finally consummated his marriage with Cheng, but she came and went in a hurry. After a short reunion with her husband, Cheng did not get pregnant, and then she had to stay alone in the empty room for a long time.
Moreover, if Hu Shanwei was conferred the title of Lady of the Duke of Qian, she would have to deal with her mother-in-law, sisters-in-law, uncles, sisters-in-law, etc. Of course, for Hu Shanwei, dealing with all these in the capital was no problem at all, but the trivialities and intrigues of a large family were simply not worth considering in Hu Shanwei's eyes. This was not the married life that Hu Shanwei and Mu Chun wanted.
Although a secret marriage has no official status, they can still be together.
The first one was fine. Emperor Hongwu started with the second one, "Secondly, Hu Shanwei knows too many secrets of the palace. If any of them are leaked, it will cause a great disturbance in the court. So after you leave the palace, you must leave cleanly. Without my order, you are not allowed to set foot in the capital for the rest of your life. You are not allowed to interfere in state affairs. To the outside world, even to your father, you can only tell that you are traveling around the world. You must not disclose your whereabouts, and you must not let people who intend to spy on the secrets of the palace find you."
Hu Shanwei said: "Father... has long stopped asking about my marriage. I will write letters to report my safety during festivals as I did before, and give half of my salary to you every year for your retirement."
Emperor Hongwu nodded and said to Mu Chun, "This last one is for you. If you want to give up the title to Mu Sheng and retire to the mountains with Hu Shanwei, I can agree, but now is not the time to give up the title. You have inherited the title for three years and have a very high prestige among the people of Yunnan, especially the new immigrants. If you suddenly give up the title, the people below will inevitably talk about it, questioning whether Mu Sheng's title was taken from his brother, which will cause criticism from the local chieftains in Yunnan and cause unrest in Yunnan."
"So I need you to lead Mu Sheng to slowly transfer power, help Mu Sheng build up his prestige, and when the time is right, you fake your death and escape, and pass the title to Mu Sheng. Power must be unique, and there can only be one person in power. Just like Hu Shanwei, if you want to step down, you must step down cleanly, otherwise the people will be uneasy and the successor will have endless troubles. You and Mu Ying, father and son, have worked hard in Yunnan for many years to achieve what you have today, but you cannot destroy the stability of Yunnan for your own selfish reasons. A man cannot only have women in his heart. I have taught you since you were young that as a man, you cannot only care about yourself, but you must care about the world."
Mu Chun scratched his head in confusion, "Your Majesty, of course I hope Yunnan will be stable, but when will the power transition end? I can't always be Mu Sheng's wet nurse."
Emperor Hongwu thought for a moment and said, "The transition of power in Yunnan must be completed within my lifetime. I want to help the Crown Prince solve all the problems before he takes power, so that he can ascend the throne easily without worrying about the southwestern border. Therefore, I will arrange for you to fake your death and hand over power before the deadline. I am old and will not live for many more years."
After that, Emperor Hongwu handed a marriage certificate to the two of them, "I sign and seal this marriage certificate. From today on, you are husband and wife. You must cherish each other. When Empress Xiaoci was alive, I always felt that I had plenty of time to spend with her. I was busy with state affairs all day and ignored the empress. As a result, Empress Xiaoci left me at the age of 51. This is my lifelong regret. You..."
When mentioning Empress Xiaoci, Emperor Hongwu choked up a little: "You... don't be like me, who regretted it only after losing her."
For a moment, Hu Shanwei and Mu Chun were both moved by Emperor Hongwu. They always thought that this old man was very bad and cruel before, but now they felt that he was so pitiful. As an emperor, the more he held on to power, the more he lost his family affection. He gradually expelled his emotions from his body, and his heart became as hard as iron, as if he had merged with the cold dragon throne.
No matter what, Emperor Hongwu still helped them achieve their goal.
Hu Shanwei bowed deeply, "After I leave, Fan Gongzheng can take the position of Shang Gong. Fan Gongzheng has the most experience and has already decided to serve the court for her whole life. She is also highly respected. She and Concubine Cui Shufei will definitely be able to stabilize the harem if they work together."
Emperor Hongwu said, "I approve."
Hu Shanwei took over from Fan Gongzheng on the same day. Fan Gongzheng was well maintained and still looked the same as before. "It's only been fifteen years, and you're tired of it?"
Hu Shanwei nodded and said, "Although it's only fifteen years, not half of what it took for Palace Master Fan, I feel like I've lived through fifteen lifetimes. So many people, so many things, fighting again and again, purges again and again, I feel tired. I wanted to leave when Consort Duan Jing passed away, but I was ordered to leave at a critical moment and couldn't get away. It has been delayed until now. Now that the selection is over, I feel like I have accomplished something big and can retire. It's been fifteen years, I want to go out and see the world."
Emperor Hongwu made three rules, the first of which was that the marriage must be kept secret and Hu Shanwei could not tell the truth.
Fan Gongzheng disagreed, "You will find out when you go out that the outside world is actually no different from the harem, or even uglier. You are still young. At the age of 35, you are already an old woman outside the palace and can only wait for death. But in the harem, you are in your prime. You want to go out, and the emperor agrees. I have nothing to say. However, if you go out for a walk and feel that it is nothing special, I will return your position to you at any time. Just like ministers who have to resign during mourning, they still have to come back after a few years and continue to serve as officials."
Hu Shanwei smiled and shook his head, "I want to be like Concubine Cao, if I have to quit, I have to quit cleanly."
Fan Gongzheng smiled, "She is the most transparent person in this palace. Her personality will not suffer any harm outside. She lives a fairy-like life in Yangzhou and often writes to me to entice me to go out of the palace to keep her company. I will be a Shang Gong for a few years first, and when the new emperor ascends the throne in the future... A new emperor appoints new ministers. Who will be the Shang Gong will be decided by the new emperor and the new queen. When the time comes, I will not stay in the palace and make people dislike me. All of us old people in the palace will go to find Shang Gong Cao, eat and drink for free, and play cards to bet on who will live longer."
After the handover, Hu Shanwei bowed deeply to Fan Gongzheng and said, "Thank you Fan Gongzheng for your kindness."
Shen Qionglian, Jiang Quan, Haitang, Huang Wei De and Chen Ermei held a farewell banquet. Only Haitang guessed that Hu Shanwei was about to get married. She tried her best to hide her excitement and showed the same regretful expression as everyone else.
Shen Qionglian took out a seal and said, "This is my private seal. Take this and you can use all my money at home. Don't refuse. It's not like the palace. Money is another form of power. Anyway, I don't plan to leave the palace for the rest of my life. Money is useless to me. You can take it. Just like last time, if you don't need it, return it to me."
The Shen family was also involved in the Lan Yu case and should have been implicated. Shen Qionglian's branch was spared from the disaster because she worked as a court lady. If Hu Shanwei needed money, the Shen family would definitely help him.
Hu Shanwei thought, I am forbidden to enter the capital, I will ask someone to return it to you later. It was not good to push it back and forth, so she accepted it.
Chen Ermei was very melancholy. "Even after you left, I began to feel a little tired and wanted to go home to accompany my parents. Now that Fan Gongzheng has just taken over, it is inconvenient for me to leave. I will wait for the change of dynasty. When the time comes, new people will come in and old people will leave. I will take the opportunity to leave the palace and return to my hometown in Guangzhou."
Huang Weide encouraged Hu Shanwei to leave the palace, saying: "When I was Hu Shanggong's age, I was still cooking and reading books secretly. How could I have thought that I would be like this today? Life should not be limited by age. If you want to do something, just do it. Since Hu Shanggong wants to leave the palace and see the outside world, then go and take a good look. People like Hu Shanggong can also have a bright future outside the palace. Come, I pay my tribute to Hu Shanggong."
Later, Jiang Quan also raised his glass and said, "Princess Nankang has already decided on her husband, Hu Guan. The Emperor and Concubine Cui Shu chose me to go to the Princess's Mansion to take charge of the overall situation. Princess Nankang will take care of me in my old age. So the day Princess Nankang gets married is the day I leave the palace. Although I am just working in a different place, I will not be able to visit you all at will without a reason. All good things must come to an end. There is no need to be sad about separations and reunions. We should live in the present and live every day well, so as not to waste our visit to this most prosperous place in the world."
When Hu Shanwei heard that Princess Nankang had already decided on Hu Guan as her consort, her political sensitivity as a court lady for fifteen years suddenly became alert. An idea came to her mind, but it was like a flash of lightning in the dark night. She could only see the front clearly for a moment, and in the blink of an eye, everything returned to darkness. The memory of the moment had become blurred, and she could not remember it no matter how hard she tried.
Forget it. What happens in the Ming Dynasty court has nothing to do with me from now on.
Hu Shanwei didn't think too much about it, and congratulated Jiang Quan with everyone else. Being able to retire in the princess's mansion was a very good destination.
Everyone drank happily until late at night. After seeing off the guests, Haitang brought Hu Shanwei some hangover soup. Hu Shanwei asked Haitang, "I have arranged for your family to move to Yunnan. They have changed their household registration and are no longer slaves. Your brother is studying hard to take the imperial examination. If you want to go to Yunnan to reunite with your family, I can take you out of the palace. But once you leave, you can't come back."
Haitang just shook her head. "I want to stay in the palace. I have signed up for the examination for selecting palace maids to be female historians. I want to walk the path that Concubine Hu has walked."
Everyone has their own aspirations. Haitang took Hu Shanwei as her role model. Her life had just begun. Hu Shanwei gave her all the books he had collected in the palace over the years, saying, "Read them carefully. If you don't understand something, ask Huang Weide. I brought her up, and I will spare no effort to teach you."
After quickly completing the instructions in two days, Hu Shanwei left the palace as the sun set before the palace gates closed.
Compared to the scene when Cao Shang Gong was left by only Hu Shanwei, Hu Shanwei's departure was quite grand, as the female officials from the six bureaus and one department of the harem, other palace ladies, concubines headed by Cui Shufei, and even the crown prince were all there!
Everyone quickly made way for the Crown Prince to walk in front.
People are in high spirits when they are happy. The Crown Prince is about to marry the woman who suits his heart best. His face is bright and he said, "I will definitely fulfill the promise I made in the Imperial Garden that day, so as not to disappoint Concubine Hu who has done her best to select the best for me and my brothers. Concubine Hu is still so young. When Concubine Hu travels all over the mountains and rivers and wants to come back, the door of the harem will always be open to Concubine Hu."
Hu Shanwei thought to himself, I appreciate your kindness, but I won’t come back, so you’d better close the door.
Although he thought so in his heart, he said, "I appreciate your kindness, Crown Prince. We will meet again if we are destined to. Once again, I wish you and your wife a happy marriage."
Hu Shanwei, wearing the sheepskin boots given by Muchun, stepped out of the palace gate and waved goodbye to everyone. The vermilion gate slowly closed, but Hu Shanwei kept waving until he heard the sound of the door being locked. Then he stopped waving and turned to leave.
The afterglow of the setting sun stretched her back into an extremely slender figure, casting it on the vermilion gate. White snow and willow catkins flew, red rain and cherry blossoms fell. Spring returned with the sound of cuckoos. Hu Shanwei entered the palace as a female official in such a spring scene, and fifteen years later, she left the palace in the same spring scene. Fate is like an invisible hand, drawing an extremely huge circle, and the last stroke is to return to the starting point.
But last time, Muchun delivered shoes in the harem. This time, Muchun disguised himself as a coachman outside the palace and asked his newlywed wife to get in the car.
Mu Chun drove the carriage to the Mu family's ancestral tomb at Guanyin Mountain in Jiangning County, Beicheng. He took a box from the carriage, which contained the newly purchased red wedding clothes for the bride and groom. "Come, let's put them on and get married in front of my parents' tomb. Even though it's a secret marriage, there still has to be a ceremony."
Hu Shanwei was changing into her wedding dress in the carriage, and Mu Chun was urging her outside anxiously, "Hurry up, hurry up, you don't have to dress up too much, you'll look good even with your hair down, I've already dressed you, hurry up, after the ceremony we'll be husband and wife, and the bridal chamber will be on the boat back to Yunnan tonight, I've arranged everything for the next two days, I'll make sure to surprise you..."
Hu Shanwei walked out of the carriage wearing a bright red phoenix wedding gown embroidered with gold thread. He saw that Mu Chun was so anxious that he even wore the groom's hat crookedly. The bright red wedding gown was worn by him, but it looked like a monkey wearing a crown.
Mu Chun carried the bride down from the carriage. Hu Shanwei said, "You can't turn around this time. The phoenix crown on your head will fall off."
"The one who knows me best is Sister Shanwei." Mu Chun smiled awkwardly and was willing to let go. Hu Shanwei helped him straighten his hat and straightened his wrinkled collar. Mu Chun felt as if countless ants were crawling over the places where her delicate hands touched him. He felt numb and numb. The 32-year-old virgin couldn't help but feel distracted. "From now on, Sister Shanwei will help me put on my clothes every day."
Hu Shanwei felt very excited when he heard this, but thinking that he was now in front of his parents-in-law's grave, he shouldn't act recklessly, so he glared at his young husband, signaling him to restrain himself.
Mu Chun was a reckless person. On their wedding night, he was going to be reckless. How could he hold back? The more Hu Shanwei glared at him, the more he became upset. He grabbed his wife's hand and said, "I was wrong. From now on, I will help Sister Shanwei get dressed every day."
The author has something to say: I’m going to write about the wedding scene on the boat tomorrow. I’m so excited. I’m rubbing my hands together.
I will continue to give out 100 red envelopes tonight, please leave your comments.
Having written this, I have completed 50% of the progress of this article. Originally, I was going to finish half of it by the end of March or the beginning of April. However, because I have been very diligent recently and have been writing a lot of words, I was able to complete the plan a week ahead of schedule. I applaud myself for my diligence.
Among the five dynasties, the Hongwu dynasty had the longest number of concubines, and the other four dynasties combined were just the same, so the Hongwu Emperor was so good at fighting that half of the novels were about the Hongwu dynasty.