I got out of my warm bed on a very cold night and walked through the long east-west street of the harem, from the West Six Palaces to the Changchun Palace of the West and East Six Palaces. It was snowing and windy, and my feet were slippery. Even a living Bodhisattva would be in a bad mood.
Hu Shanwei "accidentally" met the female official Jiang Quan on Dongchang Street.
The lights of the street lamps on the East-West Street swayed in the wind and snow, and were blown out by the strong wind from time to time. The eunuchs on duty lit the lamps and added oil all night to keep the street bright.
Jiang Quan already has some connections in the palace, and she will know if there is any movement in Changchun Palace.
Jiang Quan said, "I woke up in the early morning and couldn't sleep. I'll go with you."
This reason was really far-fetched. Hu Shanwei knew who she missed. On winter nights, the one thing that was dearer to her than a warm bed was her granddaughter. He sighed in his heart, took her hand and said, "Let's go."
Changchun Palace.
The wet nurse and the comb-maker each held their own opinions, and both cried and begged Hu Dianzheng to make the decision.
After going through several major events, Hu Shanwei's eyes also had a look similar to Fan Gongzheng's, and he started to show off his official power, which seemed to be the case.
Hu Shanwei took a sip of hot tea, gently put down the teacup, and placed his hands on the warm hand warmer. The strawberry-like chilblains on his hands did not recur this winter, all thanks to the luxurious living in the palace.
"Are you done?" Hu Shanwei asked.
The wet nurse and the people in the combing room nodded.
Hu Shanwei raised his right hand and said, "It's cold, don't kneel on the ground. Be careful not to hurt your knees with the cold. You've had cold legs all your life. Get up, sit down, and serve them some hot tea and snacks. They've been making a fuss for most of the night, they must be hungry."
The people in the wet nurse and the combing room were unbelievable. The working style of the Palace Administration and the Imperial Guards was the same - basically relying on beatings and scolding. The torture instruments in the torture room were said to be more comprehensive than those in the Imperial Guards. Some simple cases that could be solved with solid evidence and at a glance were fine. After being detained, they were sentenced according to palace rules.
Once something troublesome happened, the plaintiff and the defendant each insisted on their own opinion. The basic routine was to give each of them fifty lashes to see who could not bear the torture first and then sign and seal the dispute, which was similar to the routine used by the imperial court to handle cases.
The wet nurse and the people in the combing room were ready to be beaten with a stick, but Hu Shanwei treated them to tea and snacks with a friendly face!
I've taken off my pants and prepared to be beaten, and now you give us this
But they were really cold and hungry. Everyone had food and drink, and Hu Shanwei even chatted with them gently, "Who gave you the food, drinks, clothes and other things you use now?"
Everyone said that it was given by the emperor and the empress.
Hu Shanwei smiled and said, "Since you all know clearly in your hearts, you are not stupid. You know who is supporting you. But you also need to know why the emperor and empress support you."
"The wet nurse is there to feed the little princesses, and the comb room is there to give the little princesses their hair. It was the little princess who gave you the opportunity to serve the palace. Now the little princess is sick. According to Ru Siyao, she is probably frightened. Can you help me find out what caused her illness?"
No one dared to make a sound, not even to touch the tea.
Hu Shanwei sighed softly, "This little baby is only half a year old. She can't speak, she can only eat, drink, defecate and urinate. She relies on your care and protection. However, no matter how young she is, her surname is Zhu. She is the little master you must be loyal to. Now that the little master has been bullied, you would rather slander each other and throw dirty water than dare to say the name of that person?"
Changchun Palace was Concubine Li's territory. Without Concubine Li's instruction, who would dare to shave the other half of the little princess's hair
Everyone knew the answer, but they didn't dare to say it. They were all hoping for luck and put the blame on others, not daring to offend Concubine Li. Anyway, the little princess was just a little frightened, and after Ru Si's medicine came, her fever subsided and she fell asleep, so she was fine.
Everyone knelt on the ground again and cried out that they were wronged.
Hu Shanwei winked at the female scholar Huang Wei De.
Huang Wei De understood, stood up and said, "I used to be just a servant in the kitchen, my status was not as good as yours. I know why you would rather go to the torture room of the Palace Administration Office than tell the truth. The boss just opens his mouth, and the subordinates run around and sometimes even lose their lives to take the responsibility for the boss."
Everyone looked at Huang Wei De with envy in their eyes. Huang Xiucai came from the lower class and knew their secrets.
Huang Wei De said, "That's why I studied so hard to pass the female scholar exam and escape the fate of being manipulated by others. I know all your worries. The little princess is still young, she doesn't remember anything, and she can't even speak. She doesn't know that you are loyal to her. Her biological mother is gone, and her brother, the King of Chu, has married and moved out of the palace. She is not allowed to enter the palace without being summoned. So, no matter how good you are to her, no one will repay you."
Everyone hurriedly said they didn't dare.
Huang Weide said, "Don't play dumb in front of me. I've seen a lot of flattery and bullying in the palace. You think it's just a small matter that the little princess was frightened. At most, you will be beaten and punished, and your silver and rice will be deducted for a few months. But if you offend someone, you will have a hard time in the palace in the future. Weighing the pros and cons, you will naturally keep your mouth shut about the truth, but-"
Before he could finish his words, the female official Jiang Quan suddenly pushed the door open, covered in snow, walked quickly to Hu Shanwei and whispered a few words. Hu Shanwei was drinking tea at the time, and his hands shook with fear when he heard her. With a snap, the teacup fell to the ground, and broken porcelain pieces and hot tea splashed all over the floor.
Hu Shanwei's face turned pale: "Really? Hasn't the fever gone away?"
Jiang Quan said, "She has had another attack. She cried so hard that she fainted. Ru Siyao is helpless. She wants to take the little princess to the Qianqing Palace and ask the doctors from the Imperial Hospital to come for a consultation."
When everyone heard this, they all thought that something had happened to the little princess and felt that it was not good.
The nanny said hurriedly, "This is impossible... I was just holding her head down and shaving her hair, how could it be... I didn't do it! It was Concubine Li who thought the little princess was crying and upset, and the yin-yang hair was ugly, so she ordered her trusted palace maid to hold her head down and shave her hair... It was done in a blink of an eye, and the little princess was not hurt. She just cried for a while and then stopped to play with the rattle. I thought it was okay..."
The people in the hair combing room also said, "Li Xianfei disliked the ugly yin-yang hair style and ordered us to shave it quickly. We didn't dare to do that and said we could come to ask for the haircut after the little princess fell asleep at night. When we arrived at Changchun Palace, the nanny handed us the hair and said we could shave it while the little princess was asleep, so we didn't think much about it..."
The little princess had to be taken to the Qianqing Palace to ask the Imperial Medical Bureau for a consultation. Only then did the plaintiff and defendant realize that the matter had become a big deal. They could not bear the responsibility even at the cost of their lives, so they had to confess the truth.
Hu Shanwei asked the nanny: "Which palace maid did it? Where is the razor?"
The grandmother said, "It was Madam Wang who combed Concubine Li's hair. She used the same knife that she usually used to trim Concubine Li's eyebrows."
Hu Shanwei said, "Please invite Madam Wang to the Gongzheng Division, and also put away the boxes of hairdressing and grooming tools."
Then he said to the wet nurse and the people in the combing room, "You should also go to the Palace Administration Office first and confront Mother Wang on the spot."
After taking everyone away, Huang Weide smiled and said, "The two ladies put on a good show. I was fooled."
Hu Shanwei and Jiang Quan looked at each other and smiled.
It was just daybreak at this time. Ru Siyao stayed by the little princess' side, never leaving her side. The little princess was occasionally frightened in her dream, whining and waving her fists, as if she was fighting with a monster in her dream.
Ru Siyao gently stroked her violently heaving belly. Her little hand seemed to have grabbed a life-saving straw. She held Ru Siyao's fingers tightly and subconsciously put her fingers in her mouth and bit them slowly.
The little princess had not yet grown any teeth, so her bare gums did not hurt when she bit her fingers. It was as if a big carp was sucking her fingers with its mouth wide open.
Ru Siyao is 23 years old this year, which is the childbearing age. Looking at the little ball of flesh on the bed, she sucked out the maternal glow and her eyes became gentle.
The little princess obviously lacked a sense of security. People say that babies are ignorant, but that is not the case. Babies are extraordinarily sensitive to the atmosphere and people's emotions. Even though there were a dozen people serving her day and night and she was surrounded by jewels, the little princess was still often restless. She could not speak, and the only way she could vent her emotions was to cry.
Therefore, everyone in Changchun Palace said that the little princess was difficult to raise.
On the day of the little princess's hundred-day hair-cutting and naming ceremony, Concubine Li Xian specially invited Cao Shanggong from the Shanggong Bureau to cut her hair. She took care of everything and was more thoughtful than her own mother. Everyone in the palace called her Concubine Xian, and she lived up to the name.
However, after gaining praise and the emperor's favor, Concubine Li, who had gained both fame and fortune, was like White Snake who had drunk realgar wine. Her true colors were immediately revealed. Taking care of a child requires patience and love, and some people are not suitable to take care of other people's children.
Someone from the Palace Administration Office came. Based on her past experience, Concubine Li thought that the wet nurse and the comb room would not dare to bite her out, and besides, the little princess was not seriously injured.
Children love to cry and make trouble. When they were young, all the princes and princesses in the palace had high fevers at night. The fever came out for no apparent reason and then got better for no apparent reason.
So when Hu Shanwei came to interrogate her, Concubine Li Xian did not get up to greet him because she was pregnant. She continued to sleep. It was not until dawn that someone suddenly screamed, "Concubine Xian, help—"
The rest of the words stopped abruptly. Concubine Li was half asleep and half awake, thinking she was dreaming. She was always sleepy and tired during her pregnancy, so she lay down again and continued to sleep, not knowing that her trusted maid had been gagged and dragged away by the people from the Palace Administration Department.
When she woke up at dawn, Concubine Li Xian learned about the incident in the palace that night. She was so angry that she overturned the copper basin on the washstand and asked, "Why didn't you wake me up when such a big thing happened?"
The palace maid knelt down and cried, "Ru Siyao said that the queen is pregnant at an advanced age, so she should rest well and not be disturbed. If the queen hurts the fetus, we will die without a burial place."
Concubine Li was not pregnant, and everyone in the palace knew about it. They were all afraid that something might happen. Ru Siyao was an excellent doctor, and the palace people dared not disobey her.
Concubine Li washed up in a hurry and went to the west side hall to visit the little princess, but the door was closed and there were strange palace servants guarding the door, so she couldn't go in.
Concubine Li was furious: "Why can't my daughter go to see her?"
The palace maid said, "Ru Siyao said that the little princess was frightened and needs to rest. Concubine Li, please go back."
In the morning, Fan Gongzheng went to the Gongzheng Division, and Hu Shanwei informed Fan Gongzheng of the whole story. "… According to the palace rules, the hairdresser was punished to ring the bell at night for half a month and do hard labor in the laundry department. The wet nurse was fired from her job and was beaten with 20 boards together with the people in the hair combing room before being expelled from the palace. As for Concubine Li Xianfei, the Gongzheng Division can only manage the palace maids. Changchun Palace belongs to the East Six Palaces, and the East Palace Queen is Concubine Sun. Huang Weide has already informed Concubine Sun of this matter."
In this weather, if you ring the bell at night for half a month, you will lose at least half your life, which is enough to warn the palace people.
"Yes." Fan Gongzheng nodded slightly. If her subordinates were scheming and capable, she could relax and just wait to hear the result. After thinking for a while, she asked, "How many people are guarding the little princess now?"
Hu Shanwei said, "Ru Siyao said that the little princess was frightened, and the people who used to serve her were not allowed to get close. Currently, Ru Siyao brought six female doctors and three female doctors from the pharmacy, and our Palace Administration Department also sent ten people, a total of twenty people to guard the little princess. Because the wet nurses were expelled from the palace, the Etiquette Department also selected two new wet nurses and sent them over for selection."
This is how turmoil in the palace was. It started out as a storm, but the next day the white snow covered everything and everything returned to calm.
Concubine Sun was the Empress of the Eastern Palace, and Concubine Li was under her charge. It was not yet Empress Ma's turn to take care of a concubine.
Concubine Sun first gave her warm sedan chair to Ru Siyao, asking her to hold the little princess in her arms and ride in the sedan chair to her own palace and move out of Changchun Palace. Concubine Li cried and wanted to take off her hairpin to wait for punishment, and asked Concubine Sun to give her another chance.
Concubine Sun gave birth to two princesses. The eldest princess, Princess Lin'an, was the eldest daughter of the royal family. She had already married and built a princess's mansion outside. The youngest princess, Princess Six, had come of age and would be officially canonized in the twelfth lunar month. The clan office would also begin to select a consort for the princess, so Concubine Sun was very busy recently. Concubine Li Xian had caused trouble for no reason and frightened the little princess to illness, so Concubine Sun was of course unhappy.
But the child in Concubine Li’s belly... The emperor cares most about his offspring.
Concubine Sun patiently helped Concubine Li up, "You are pregnant, you must protect the baby in your belly. The world is big, but the heir to the throne is the most important. You just need to take good care of your body and give birth to the baby smoothly, and don't worry about other things."
Concubine Sun couldn't stand Concubine Li's behavior of treating her as a trouble after taking advantage of the little princess, but for now she had to coax Concubine Li first and not hurt the fetus. If Concubine Li's fetus was lost, she, the Queen of the Eastern Palace, would also be responsible.
Seeing that Concubine Sun had no intention of blaming or questioning her, Concubine Li was relieved. She thought that having her own child was different. The child was her umbrella, shield, and amulet. Her own child was more important. But she cried:
"But what about the little princess? She has already started eating rice porridge and is used to me feeding her by hand. If someone else takes care of her, she won't be used to it."
Concubine Sun was already used to Concubine Li's hypocrisy. She took out a handkerchief, wiped Concubine Li's tears, and coaxed her, "I know you have done your best, but it was not easy for you to have this baby. At your age, you have to be careful about everything when you are raising children for the royal family. The little princess is raised in my palace, in the East Six Palaces. If you want to see her, isn't it cheap? Don't lose the big picture for the small."
Concubine Li cried a few more times before she managed to stop crying.
Hu Shanwei went to Jiang Quan and told her that the little princess was taken to Yikun Palace to be raised. "… Concubine Sun has a noble status, second only to the Empress. Moreover, Concubine Sun has given birth to two princesses and raised them very well. In terms of moral character and parenting experience, she is far superior to Concubine Li. You can rest assured."
Jiang Quan nodded, "Concubine Sun is the most reliable person. But can Concubine Li's harassment of the little princess be let off so easily?"
Whoever's blood is related to her will feel sorry for her. Jiang Quan couldn't bear to hear her little granddaughter crying, but she was currently only an eighth-rank female official with limited abilities and could not protect the little princess.
Seeing Jiang Quan's unwillingness, Hu Shanwei remembered the oath she made under the old plum tree. She sighed, as if to comfort Jiang Quan and herself, "There is a long way to go. Some things, like raising a child, require patience."
Hu Shanwei kept reminding himself to be patient. Thousands of miles away at the northern border, Mu Chun also told himself again and again to be patient, to be patient, to be patient, and to repeat the above ten thousand times!
When Mu Chun was guarding the border with supplies, he truly understood what kind of fierce and cunning enemy the Ming Dynasty was facing!
Just as his father Mu Ying had instructed before leaving, the Northern Yuan army kept harassing the border as soon as winter came, because they knew that the Ming army did not dare to go out to pursue them, for fear of getting lost in the wind and snow, so they unscrupulously broke into the small border towns and burned, killed and looted.
Large cities are heavily guarded and difficult to attack, so they are generally safer. However, small towns have weak defenses and low walls. The Northern Yuan army focused on attacking one city gate, swarming in, looting and leaving without waiting for the large border defense forces to arrive.
One day, Mu Chun, who was patrolling the border, discovered smoke rising from the town ahead, and hurriedly led his troops to rescue. However, he was still a step too late. Most of the town had been robbed, and the ground was in a mess. A young father was crying desperately in the street with his baby in his arms:
"My wife was kidnapped! She had just finished her confinement. What a bunch of bastards! How can my son survive without his mother?"
At the border, a young woman is worth two cows and is easier to control than two cows, so women are the main targets of robbery.
Mu Chun looked at the crying baby and became so excited that he grabbed the longbow that his grandfather had given him.
Bai Hu Shi hurriedly advised: "Master Mu, be patient! Don't forget the instructions of Marquis Xiping!"
Mu Chun let go of the longbow.
But even after walking a long way, the baby's crying was still lingering in his mind. Mu Chun himself lost his mother when he was an infant, and he knew too well what this meant to a baby.
This child lost the person who treated him with the most patience and love when he was at his most vulnerable and helpless, and needed endless care and warmth. His life was destined to be bumpy. It's a long story for a child without a mother.
Patience, patience, damn patience!
Mu Chun was full of youthful vigor. He grabbed the longbow and shouted, "They are carrying the loot and people. They haven't gotten far yet. Let's chase them. We don't want to fight or property. We just want to take the people back. If you are brothers, follow me to rob people!"
The author has something to say: Spring is coming~
100 red envelopes will be given out tonight. There is also a 100-point red envelope, and a prize-winning quiz to test everyone's memory ability.
Please listen to the question:
In "Hu Shan Wei", what is the name of the palace where the Eastern Palace Queen Sun Guifei lives? It has appeared many times before.