Hu Shanwei was a member of the Palace Administration Department. From the perspective of the Palace Administration Department, the task of bestowing the book was completed quite beautifully, and Hu Shanwei had made great contributions.
Fan Gong was about to retort, but Hu Shanwei stopped her, shook his head, and said softly, "I'll do it myself."
"Does Lady Cao dare to spare me a moment to talk?" Hu Shanwei asked, pointing at an old plum tree on the side of the road weighed down by heavy snow.
Cao Shang Gong said: "Why not? I am a fifth-rank Shang Gong, how can I be afraid of you, a mere seventh-rank Dian Zheng?"
After saying this, Lady Cao ordered the palace maids not to follow with umbrellas, and followed Hu Shan to the plum tree in the wind and snow.
Cao Shang Gong said: "Do you still remember what I said before you went to Xi'an?"
"I remember." Hu Shanwei said, "You said I must bring Liu Siyan back. If anything happens to her, I won't have a good life in the palace."
Concubine Cao sneered, "You remember it very clearly."
Hu Shanwei said, "Mrs. Cao is the head of the palace ladies. How dare I forget what you said? Although Mistress Fan will protect me, even tigers have their naps, not to mention Mistress Fan is just an ordinary person. You have at least a hundred ways to drive me out of the palace - but what's the point of driving me out? Liu Siyan is already dead, his bones are crushed and his ashes are scattered. I can't even bring back his ashes."
Cao Shang Gong was as cold as ice, "Liu Siyan died for you. She can't come back, so you don't have to go back to the palace."
Hu Shanwei asked, "Why don't you want to see me in the palace? Because whenever you see me, you will think of Liu Siyan's tragic death. You can't do anything about Liu Siyan's death, and you can't punish the culprit and make him pay with his life, so you just find a soft persimmon to squeeze and vent your anger."
Having her thoughts exposed, Lady Cao raised her hand and slapped him, "How dare you!"
It wasn’t in vain that Hu Shanwei learned the military boxing every day to strengthen her body. She grabbed Cao Shanggong’s wrist, let her palm pause in the air for a while, and whispered:
"Do you know the details of Liu Siyan's death? She was dragged into the ice cellar and her tongue was cut off. Blood gushed out of her mouth. The King of Qin also disliked her screams, so he grabbed a few handfuls of ice to block her mouth, and then sealed it with a cloth. In the end, Liu Siyan was choked to death by the ice water and blood!"
Lady Cao's eyes widened, and her amber eyeballs seemed to be trying to break out of her bloodshot eye sockets. The Imperial Guards had not explained it in such detail, but she did not expect the truth to be so cruel.
Hu Shanwei said: "You had red eyes, hit me, scolded me, drove me away, and acted sad and angry. Was it just to mourn Liu Siyan? No, you did it for others to see. You knew who the real murderer was, but you had already accepted in your heart that the real murderer was born noble and could be spared from death. But we are different. I, Hu Shanwei, will never accept this result!"
"I shamelessly returned to the palace so that one day the King of Qin would be punished and killed for his crimes! The King of Qin was brave and good at fighting, but he was exiled to the border. The Emperor clearly intended to give him another chance to redeem himself. Concubine Deng's suicide note has already put all the blame on her. Others would only say that beauty is a disaster, and the King of Qin was just deceived by his evil concubine. The King of Qin has made great military achievements, and he will definitely make a comeback in the future and still be a respected vassal king entrenched in the northwest! And I will never let the King of Qin have a good end - who has given Liu Siyan a chance to start over?"
Hu Shanwei raised his right hand: "I swear today that when the opportunity comes, I will sacrifice the blood of the King of Qin to Liu Siyan's spirit in heaven. I swear that in the future I will make known the numerous crimes committed by the King of Qin to the world and write them into history, nailing him to the pillar of shame forever, for thousands of years, to be cursed by people! He can't use Deng Shuren as a shield to escape punishment!"
"If I break my oath..." Hu Shanwei raised his head to the sky and swore, "Let me be struck by five thunderbolts and die a miserable death!"
Palace Lady Cao was shocked by Hu Shanwei's oath.
Hu Shanwei dared to swear, but Cao Shang Gong did not. She did not even dare to think about it. She was just the most handy tool used by Empress Ma.
As a good tool, first of all, she cannot have too much ego, too many thoughts. Within the scope allowed by the master, she can show off her power, win the favor of the concubine, and get the best rewards, but she cannot question or even resist the master's decision.
Last year, Shang Gong Cao was promoted to the fifth rank Shang Gong at the age of 33. All the previous Shang Gongs were over 40 years old. How could Empress Ma favor a young girl like her
Because Lady Cao thinks the least and does the most, she is really useful.
Palace Lady Cao also knew why Empress Ma took a fancy to her, so she acted arrogantly in the palace, trying to be the best in everything and bullying other female officials of the Shang generation. She understood that her performance must meet Empress Ma's "expectations".
Everyone secretly says that she is shallow, but little do they know that the word "shallow" is her protective color and her shield.
For the first time, Lady Cao looked at this new female official who was famous for her stubbornness, intelligence, and amazing good luck. She had a beautiful appearance, but her eyes were filled with the potential of wind, rain, and thunder.
For a moment, Lady Cho felt that the revenge she had described would actually succeed.
Concubine Cao asked: "Every word you said just now could have killed you once, aren't you afraid?"
Hu Shanwei pondered the look in Cao Shanggong's eyes and felt that she had made the right bet. If Cao Shanggong did not agree with her idea, she would have shouted it out loudly and ordered people to arrest her for disobeying her orders.
Hu Shanwei said: "Of course I am afraid of death. But I am more afraid that I will encounter the same tragedy as Liu Siyan in the future, and no one will protect her, avenge her, and punish the real murderer."
Cao Shang Gong was also a female official. As the power center of the Ming Empire, it was common for her to be swept up in the political vortex and die in unclear circumstances. This was true both inside and outside the palace. For example, in the case of Prime Minister Hu Weiyong's treason this spring, how many officials were imprisoned, and how many people could not bear the punishment and made random accusations
Hu Shanwei has been in the palace for less than a year, and she has such awareness and courage. Maybe she can really avenge Liu Siyan. Maybe her future is far more than just being a tool for the queen like me...
Cao Shang Gong said: "You must remember every word I said today. If you just say it, I will not let you go even if I become a ghost."
Hu Shanwei has become accustomed to Cao Shanggong's various harsh words, and believes that although Cao Shanggong appears to be tough and sharp-tongued, she is actually not as scheming as Fan Gongzheng.
Liu Siyan was a member of her Shang Gong Bureau. If she could still treat Liu Siyan calmly and fairly after learning of his tragic death and said it was not her fault, then Shang Gong Cao would be too terrible. She might stab her in the back at any time in the future, and it would be hard to guard against.
It is more lovable to see Cao Shanggong, who is used to fighting with real weapons herself, without using any insidious means or pushing her subordinates to kill people with borrowed knives.
In the past, when Hu Shuren of the Yanx Palace wanted to deal with Hu Shanwei and rebel against Empress Ma, she would first push the eunuchs and palace maids out and sacrifice others.
Fan Gongzheng knew very well that bestowing the letter would offend people, yet he pushed her, a newcomer who was not afraid of tigers, to take on the task.
But Lady Cao did everything herself, pulled all the hatred on her own, and dealt with all the insults on her own, all in the open. She would never let the middlemen "earn the difference". She was unique in the palace, and no wonder Empress Ma felt so confident in using her.
Hu Shanwei is a twenty-year-old "old woman" who has experienced all kinds of vicissitudes of life and can see right from wrong.
Hu Shanwei said, "If Mu Chun's supply army had not appeared in Zhuoying County in time, I would have died under the butcher knife of the King of Qin. The grudge has already been made. If I let the King of Qin go, will he let me go in the future because of his brutality? For both public and private reasons, I will work hard to fulfill my promise."
Cao Shang Gong said sarcastically: "After all this talk, you are still doing it for yourself."
Hu Shanwei asked back: "For my sake, Lady Cao will feel more at ease, right?"
Hu Shanwei was so straightforward that Lady Cao was choked and had nothing to say.
This was the place where Palace Master Fan and the palace maids from the Shang Gong Bureau, who were standing on the road in the distance, had been looking over here. Shang Gong Cao shouted, "Remember this! You owe us a life this time, and you will have to pay us back double in the future!"
The sound was so loud that it shook off the floating snow on the plum trees. Fan Gongzheng, who was far away, could hear it clearly, and it attracted the attention of passers-by.
After saying that, Concubine Cao left angrily, and the two palace maids hurriedly chased after her with umbrellas.
Fan Gongzheng walked under the plum tree and asked Hu Shanwei: "What did you just say?"
Hu Shanwei brushed the falling snow off his eyelashes. "They just called me a disaster star and wanted to drive me away. I said I would leave immediately when the Shanggong Bureau could intervene in the affairs of the Gongzheng Bureau."
Fan Gongzheng said: "You really dare to say that."
Hu Shanwei smiled bitterly and said, "What else can I do? Kneel down and beg for mercy? Concubine Cao won't fall for that. Besides, our office is responsible for setting rules for the people in the palace. Knees are worth a thousand gold. How can you kneel down so easily? After I return to the palace, the Empress will definitely give me a reward to calm me down. Concubine Cao won't dare to do anything to me for the time being."
Fan Gongzheng asked: "What about the future?"
Hu Shanwei said, "We'll talk about the future later. Don't you, Fan Gongzheng, support me?"
When a man is away for three days, he should be looked at with new eyes. Hu Shanwei had been gone for two months, and even Fan Gongzheng dared not underestimate his temperament and style.
Fan Gong was looking Hu Shanwei up and down, and said, "You should go back and wash yourself first. The Queen will definitely summon you today."
Hu Shanwei agreed, and Fan Gongzheng continued, "The results of this year's winter palace female examination have just come out. Meixiang passed the examination and became a female scholar. Today's welcoming banquet is also a thank-you banquet for teachers, and it was all arranged by Meixiang alone."
Hu Shanwei raised his eyebrows: This can be said to be the only good thing that happened recently.
The palace maids' examination was conducted by the female instructor Shen Qionglian, who set the questions and marked the papers. Therefore, when the results were announced on the day of the exam, no one questioned the results. Meixiang was ranked fifth from the bottom, but she was the oldest, a kitchen maid at the "advanced age" of 38, and still caused a sensation in the palace.
Empress Ma always encouraged women to read, believing that reading can make people wise, cultivate their character, and stay away from ignorance. She herself was always reading, and she also set up a promotion path from female scholars to female officials in the palace. As long as you are willing to learn and have talent, you will have the opportunity to succeed.
Meixiang's success is an inspirational example of "live and learn". In order to encourage the learning atmosphere in the palace, Empress Ma summoned the master and apprentice together today after learning that Hu Shanwei was Meixiang's "master".
Empress Ma asked the two what kind of reward they wanted. Hu Shanwei was the teacher and spoke first. She said, "Mei Xiang studied by the stove and went from being illiterate to a female scholar. I am inferior to her. Mei Xiang was the name people casually called her when she was a slave. Now that she is a female scholar, I dare to ask the Empress for a proper name for her."
Empress Ma asked Meixiang, "What's your family name? Where are you from?"
The queen gave me a name, which was a great favor. Meixiang was overjoyed and said, "My surname is Huang, and I'm originally from Guangdong. When I was young, I was separated from my family due to war and sold as a slave."
Empress Ma thought for a moment, and because of the recent turmoil in the Prince of Qin's mansion, she said, "Talent and virtue both require lifelong pursuit and persistence. Neither is dispensable. You have worked hard to study, walked out of the kitchen, and embarked on an official career. It is not easy. I will give you the name 'Weide', Huang Weide."
Huang Weide bowed in thanks: "Thank you, Queen."
The author has something to say: Huang Weide, a female official who has a longer standby time than Hu Shanwei, has clocked in for work~Ding~
I will give out 100 red envelopes tonight, and there is also a very healing question. Zhou was in a heavy mood today, so he went to the cinema to watch the digitally restored version of "My Neighbor Totoro". It turned out that the fairy tale was still heartwarming. So now the question is:
In the movie "My Neighbor Totoro", how many legs does the Totoro Bus have? (Please read the question carefully. It's the Totoro Bus, not Totoro. It's the number of legs, not the number of pairs of legs.)
The first reader who answered correctly, I invite you to watch "My Neighbor Totoro". You can specify any show in China for which you can buy tickets on a certain ticket app.
Have a great weekend everyone.