There is a wonderful story called "Xi Men Bao Governs Ye" in "Records of the Grand Historian: Biographies of Humorists". It tells that Xi Men Bao, in order to put an end to the evil custom of throwing beautiful women into the river and drowning them to sacrifice to the river god, used the excuse that the sacrificial woman was not beautiful and informed the river god that the woman today was not beautiful, and asked him to find a beautiful girl for him.
The chief witch, the three elders and other key members who organized the sacrifice were thrown into the river one by one and told to the river god. Of course, all of them drowned. From then on, no one dared to mention the matter of sacrificing women.
Hu Shanwei liked reading history books and learning how to do things from them. For example, Ximen Bao's governance of Ye told her that if you want to solve a problem, the fastest way is to get rid of the person who caused the trouble, and the problem will soon be solved.
So when the wife of Marquis Changxing refused to listen to her advice and insisted that the unwell wife of Marquis Xiping "could still hold on a little longer", Hu Shanwei cut the Gordian knot and dealt with the person who created the problem, decisively excluding the wife of Marquis Changxing from the team of the grand court meeting.
The wife of Marquis Changxin was a little bit unconvinced. The palace servant beside her naturally listened to the female official's instructions and enthusiastically made an invitation gesture, "The two marquis ladies, please come this way. The female doctor will come over to examine the wife of Marquis Xiping in a moment."
Even if the patient is not sick, the female doctor will come over to take the patient's pulse to prevent people outside from saying that the palace is making a big deal out of a small matter.
There are three major festivals and three major court meetings in a year. The standard is that there must be no mistakes in every link. Small things are treated as big things just to prevent irreparable mistakes.
In public, the procession of noble ladies was nowhere to be seen, and for the sake of face, the wife of Marquis Changxing and the wife of Marquis Xiping, Mrs. Geng, could not possibly start a scene on the spot.
Geng even had an idea and pretended to faint, giving her mother an excuse that she missed the audience because she was worried about her daughter. The palace servants hurriedly ordered four strong female sedan bearers to carry Geng to a side hall to rest.
The palace servants passed the news to Cui Shangyi from the Shangyi Bureau. Cui Shangyi's heart was in her throat at first, but when she heard that Hu Shanwei had "sent" the two marquis' wives and their daughter to a side hall to rest, and had asked for leave for the mother and daughter, she was immediately relieved and secretly thanked herself for arranging for the external aid Hu Shanwei to guide this group of difficult noble ladies from the capital.
Only a female official like Hu Shanwei, who is not afraid of the powerful, has a quick mind, is decisive, steady and accurate, and can also grasp the word "reason", can suppress this group of arrogant noble ladies.
Sure enough, it was right to choose her.
Cui Shangyi said, "I understand. Tell Hu Dianzheng to do his job without worry. I will report to the Queen."
On the day of the grand court meeting, six bureaus, one department and seven female officials all gathered around Empress Ma. Empress Ma was dressing up. The Nine-Phoenix Crown on her head plus various gold and silver jewelry weighed more than twenty pounds and was very heavy.
After hearing Cui Shangyi's report, Empress Ma nodded and said, "I have already issued an imperial decree that all women who are weak, old, or pregnant are exempted from court. The mistresses are busy during the New Year, and the wife of Marquis Xiping is sick from exhaustion, so I will exempt her from court on the 15th day of the first lunar month and the Lantern Festival. In addition, Xu Shangshi, you should arrange for the female officials in charge of medicine to take care of the wife of Marquis Xiping."
There are actually two meanings in what Empress Ma said. The first is the literal meaning, and the second is the implication, which is the real meaning. The mistresses of the house are all busy. Almost all the people who come to the palace for court meetings are mistresses of the house. You are the only one who is busy? How can others be fine? If you know that you are not in good health, you should not come to make trouble. The Empress has issued an imperial decree that you can take leave and not go, but you insist on "persisting despite being sick". The palace is not a place to perform sad dramas, and you must abide by the rules.
Mu Ying was Empress Ma's godson. In the past, he would bring his wife and children into the palace on the Lantern Festival to kowtow to Empress Ma and congratulate her. But now Geng was not allowed to enter the palace on the Lantern Festival. This was a disguised "reward" - in fact, it was a reward in the open but a punishment in disguise.
Xu Shangshi said hurriedly, "Yes, I will arrange for Ru Siyao to go over and take a look."
Ru Siyao was a skilled doctor, and the sixth-rank female official treated Geng out of consideration for her godson Mu Ying.
Hu Shanwei sent the two troublesome wives of marquises to the side hall to rest with just a few words, and the process continued. The wives of the marquises knew that this young and beautiful female official was not easy to mess with, so they cooperated more in the following procedures.
In the main hall of Kunning Palace, the ladies of the inner court stood at the front, followed by a team of ladies of the outer court led by Hu Shanwei and headed by Lady Lan, the wife of Duke Zheng.
At that time, there were not many members of the Ming royal family. The wives of earls, marquises, and dukes still had standing places inside the hall, but when it came to the ladies of the third rank, they had to stand outside the hall and be blown by the cold wind.
The auspicious time has arrived. Civil and military officials of the fourth rank and above in the Qianqing Palace of the front dynasty and ladies of the third rank and above in the Kunning Palace of the harem pay homage to the emperor and empress at the same time.
Officials performed five bows and three kowtows, while women only performed four bows and did not kowtow, so there were no cushions on the ground.
This was also taken into consideration the actual situation of the ladies. They were all delicate, and wore a 翟冠 weighing more than 20 kilograms on their heads. Their necks were almost broken, and the weather was cold. If they kowtowed again, I'm afraid they wouldn't be able to straighten their necks.
After the four bows, Empress Ma announced a banquet. The ladies were led to their seats by female officials. Female musicians played various court music to control the rhythm of the banquet.
A palace banquet is not just a group of people eating, drinking and toasting each other. There are female officials guiding when to raise a glass, when to drink, and when to toast.
Hu Shanwei led the ladies of honor including the Lan family to their seats. After all the ladies of honor had sat down one after another, Empress Ma took her seat surrounded by the seven female officials of the Shang generation.
When Empress Ma entered the palace, the female musicians began to play the song "The Dragon Leads the Way". Hu Shanwei whispered, "Stand up and bow."
The ladies stood up and greeted Empress Ma with greetings.
Empress Ma walked very slowly, not because she was deliberately showing off and asking the ladies of honor to salute her, but because Cui Shangyi, who was conducting the etiquette, had to time it so that Empress Ma would reach the phoenix chair just at the end of "The Song of the Flying Dragon".
It’s just like the flag-raising ceremony in later generations. The flag has ended but the music hasn’t ended yet. How embarrassing.
Empress Ma was sitting behind the Phoenix Table when the music just ended.
The female musicians began to sing "Dance to Peace the World", and Empress Ma raised her glass. When Hu Shanwei heard the singing, he quickly signaled to the ladies, "Raise your glass."
All the ladies raised their glasses and drank the first cup of wine together. Two musicians and thirty-three dancers performed the "Dance of Peace in the World" to liven up the atmosphere.
When the song "Yan Tian En" sounded, Hu Shanwei said again: "Raise your glass."
The ladies raised their glasses and drank the second glass of wine together. During the performance, the dance music changed to "Dance to Appease the Four Barbarians", which included the Korean Dance, Ryukyu Dance, Huihui Dance and Northern Barbarian Dance. Each dance was performed by four dancers, seventeen musicians and two singers.
When the song "Song of Gratitude to the Emperor" was played, Hu Shanwei signaled for everyone to drink the third glass of wine. The song and dance they appreciated was the "Dance of the Cheshu Huitong", in which thirty-four dancers performed.
The song "Middle School Music" was played, and it was time for the fourth glass of wine. The song and dance "Dance of the Ten Thousand Nations" was performed, and sixty-four dancers danced together to liven up the atmosphere.
The song "Grateful for the Emperor's Grace" was played, and after the fifth and final glass of wine, the dance of the victorious Barbarians with the Whip was played. A total of 104 musicians and dancers participated in the banquet, which brought it to a climax.
During the singing and dancing, the ladies at each table were led by the female officials to the Fengan to meet Empress Ma, and had the opportunity to see the Empress up close.
There were more than 200 ladies, and Empress Ma could accurately name each one without the need for the female officials to remind her. She greeted the young ones with their children and the old ones with their health, and was very kind. Therefore, Empress Ma was known for her virtue.
The queen is not a bodhisattva in the temple who can just wait for others to worship her. To be a qualified queen, she needs to understand the families of these ministers. Just memorizing the list of names takes a lot of effort.
Because she had to receive all the ladies attending the banquet, Empress Ma had no time to eat except drinking during each song. The dishes on the phoenix table were just decoration.
When all the ladies had finished their audience with the emperor and the dance and music had come to an end, Cui Shangyi winked at the musicians, who agreed and switched to playing "Wannianchun".
"Wannianchun" is equivalent to "Unforgettable Tonight" in the Spring Festival Gala more than 500 years later. When the music started, all the female officials knew it was about to end.
Hu Shanwei whispered, "Raise your glass and give a speech, 'May all the people be happy and the world be at peace.'"
Accompanied by the music of "Wannianchun", the ladies, under the guidance of the female officials, raised their glasses and said in unison: "May all the people be happy and the world be peaceful!"
The ladies drank from the cup together and performed the ceremony of bowing four times to thank Empress Ma for the banquet. The cumbersome banquet officially ended.
Everyone stood up and respectfully saw Queen Ma off.
As soon as Empress Ma left, the female officials led their respective teams and walked out of Kunning Palace in the order in which they came. Only Lan was still sitting in the phoenix sedan chair given by Empress Ma.
According to the rules, the female officials only needed to send the ladies to the inner palace, and their mission was completed.
Lady Lan, the wife of Duke Zheng, was the first to express her gratitude to Hu Shanwei, "Thank you for your hard work today, Hu Dianzheng."
Lan was the wife of Chang Yuchun, the massacred leader of Suzhou. Because of her mother's death, it was difficult for Hu Shanwei to have a good impression of Lan. She tried to suppress the old pain in her heart and said in a routine manner: "I was entrusted by Cui Shangyi to guide you all to the grand court meeting. Thank you for your cooperation. I have finally fulfilled my mission."
The ladies looked at each other in bewilderment: Is she the Hu Shanwei in the rumors? The Hu Shanwei who had defeated the imperial concubine and even the prince
Hu Shanwei was a female official of the Palace Administration Department. As everyone knew, guiding the ladies of honor into the palace for an audience with the emperor was the responsibility of the Shangyi Bureau. The ladies of honor did not expect that Hu Shanwei from the Palace Administration Department would come out to guide them.
No wonder this female official arranged the marriages of Marquis Changxing and Marquis Xiping with just a few words. It turned out that she was the legendary Hu Shanwei!
This mother and daughter were blind and had run into Hu Shanwei, which was bad luck for them. Lan was the relative of Empress Ma and the mother-in-law of the Crown Prince, so it was natural that she could reveal Hu Shanwei's name and official position...
All the ladies looked at Hu Shanwei and remembered his face. Previously, Hu Shanwei was only famous among the ladies of the inner court because of his editing and bestowing of books, but now he was also known among the ladies of the outer court.
Countless eyes were focused on Hu Shanwei's face, but he did not flinch. He welcomed everyone's "attention" and said, "A young eunuch will lead you out of the palace later. I have something else to do, so I'll take my leave first."
Hu Shanwei was still thinking about the bolt on the roof of his house.
The ladies said goodbye one after another and made way for Hu Shanwei to pass.
After completing the task, Hu Shanwei walked towards home. As soon as she entered the courtyard, she was stunned by the scene in front of her: most of the roof of her house had collapsed, and pieces of yellow glazed tiles had fallen into the house or slid into the yard, making the ground a mess.
"What's going on?" Hu Shanwei asked Huang Wei De, who was full of apology.
Before Huang Wei De could speak, a man with a face covered in dust and smoke limped out of the house, stepping on broken glazed tiles.
The person scooped up a ball of snow and wiped his face clean. It was the beautiful Ji Gang.
It turned out that after Hu Shanwei left, Huang Wei De ordered the eunuchs to hide the ladder and climb to the roof to pick up the door bolt.
It just so happened that Ji Gang was on duty today. He and Hu Shanwei had experienced life and death together in Zhuoying County. The two of them put aside their hostility and became friends.
Ji Gang then took the responsibility and volunteered to help. Huang Wei De felt that Ji Gang was an expert in martial arts and a trained martial artist, so he would definitely be more adept at doing this kind of thing than the eunuchs, so he agreed.
At first, everything went smoothly. Ji Gang climbed up the ladder, got on the roof, picked up the bolt and threw it into the yard. But he found that several glazed tiles on the roof were broken by the bolt, which would leak rain, so he ordered his men to move a few glazed tiles to replace them.
Ji Gang thought that changing the tiles was simple, but after replacing them, he could not put them together neatly. There was always a missing gap or half an extra tile.
Ji Gang simply removed the surrounding tiles and reassembled them - Ji Gang was a man with unlimited creativity but limited wisdom.
As a result, more and more glazed tiles were peeled off, the hole in the roof became bigger and bigger, and it was completely impossible to put it back together.
Not only that, Ji Gang felt ashamed and anxious. The ice and snow on the roof froze, and he slipped and fell on the roof. He and the tiles fell down and landed on Hu Shanwei's bed.
The thick bedding saved Ji Gang's life, but his left leg was hit by the beam and he was a little lame.
“… That’s how it is.” Ji Gang forced a smile, “Everything is fine, this is a good sign.”
If you don't beat him for three days, he will tear off the tiles. Hu Shanwei laughed angrily and said, "Thank you, Lord Ji. I can fall asleep looking at the moon tonight. It's great."
The author has something to say: China is a country of etiquette, and this is not just talk. This is the unique etiquette style of the Ming Dynasty court, and every aspect is done to the extreme.
Merry Christmas ~ 100 red envelopes will be given out tonight. Congratulations to the reader "Advise You to Shut Up" for receiving a big red envelope of 100 points.
[-Collapse] №16 Netizen: I advise you to shut up Comment: "Hu Shanwei" Rating: 2 Published: 2018-12-24 20:51:26 Reviewed chapter: 63
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[1st floor] Netizen: I advise you to shut up. Score: 0. Posted on: 2018-12-24 20:54:06
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