Hu Shanwei entered the palace barefoot, wearing only a worthless jade hairpin on her head and an iron military badge of her fiancé.
The roof was in danger of collapsing at any time, so there was no need to risk moving things just for personal belongings. Apart from the fragile narcissus hairpin that he had rescued himself, Hu Shanwei took nothing with him and was almost "left home with nothing".
In the harem, there is a strict division of who lives where.
The Emperor and Empress' Qianqing Palace and Kunning Palace are located on the central axis of the Forbidden City, representing the majesty of the Emperor and Empress.
The East Six Palaces and the West Six Palaces were home to the concubines and unmarried princesses.
When the prince started to understand things at the age of seven or eight, he would move out of his mother's palace and live alone in the East Five Residences and West Five Residences in the north.
When all princes come of age, they must move out of the East and West Palaces, establish residences outside the palace, and marry princesses.
Only the crown prince Zhu Biao continued to live in the Forbidden City after he came of age. He lived in the Chunhe Hall to the west of the Western Six Palaces, commonly known as the "Eastern Palace". There was no such palace in the imperial palace. Wherever the crown prince lived was the Eastern Palace. However, although the crown prince lived in the Forbidden City, the Western Six Palaces were also his "forbidden areas" because the emperor's women lived there.
The female officials of the Ming Dynasty court all lived to the east of the East Six Palaces and to the west of Cangzhen Gate. The offices of the six bureaus and one department were also located here, making it convenient for these seven departments to cooperate with each other and manage the entire harem.
Hu Shanwei's new residence and Liu Sixian's former residence are located in the northeast corner of here. It is a quiet courtyard with a row of high walls behind it. To the north of the high wall is a long road that runs through the Forbidden City from east to west. To the north of the long road is also a high wall. Behind the high wall is the East Five Residence where the underage princes live.
Huang Wei De went to the Shang Gong Bureau to get the key. The big copper lock at the door had not been opened for a long time and was rusty. Huang Wei De poked at it with the key for a long time before it opened the door lock with a click.
The young palace maid who served Hu Shanwei was only in her early teens. She was originally a daughter of an official. Her family was involved in Hu Weiyong's rebellion and was exterminated. All adult men and women were beheaded, boys under the age of sixteen were exiled to the border, and girls were confiscated and became official slaves.
Official slaves were not entitled to names; they could be called whatever their masters wanted. Hu Shanwei saw that she was as delicate and pretty as a crabapple blossom, so he just called her Haitang.
Haitang pushed the door hard, and with a creak, the courtyard door opened. Haitang took out a string of firecrackers and said, "Don't go in yet. I heard that you should light a string of firecrackers in a haunted house first. First, it will scare away the ghosts, and second, the smoke from the firecrackers will dispel the negative energy."
Hu Shanwei didn't believe in ghosts, but Haitang was obviously afraid of living in this haunted house. He took pity on her young age and nodded, "Let her go."
Haitang lit the fuse and threw the firecrackers in. There was a series of crackling sounds and a strong smell of gunpowder came from the open door. Perhaps it was for psychological reasons, but the smell of fireworks really gave people a sense of security.
The courtyard is neat and tidy, and in the middle there is a wisteria trellis that is at least a hundred years old, with a swing hanging under the trellis.
"Ah, there's a swing!" Haitang was childish in nature. When she saw the swing, she threw away her worries about the haunted house and ran over to play on it.
In winter, only dead branches are left of the wisteria, and the girl's red skirt fluttering in the air and her clear laughter bring a breath of life to the yard.
Huang Weide comforted Haitang and said, "If you clean up this house, it can be a safe place to live. Don't take those rumors to heart. In fact, people have died in the palace, not just here."
Haitang looked at Huang Wei De in confusion, "What do you mean?"
Huang Weide pointed to the ground and said, "When I was a slave in the Wu Palace, it was still a vast lake called Yanque Lake. But the emperor liked the Feng Shui here and insisted on choosing this place to build the palace. Earth and rocks were dug to fill the lake and to stabilize the foundation, countless huge wooden piles were driven into the mud. Those wooden piles were cut from the primeval forest in the south thousands of miles away. It is said that there were savages there. Each of them was as thick as two buckets. The wood was dropped from the Yangtze River and drifted along the river all the way to Nanjing, and then pulled up one by one. There are still many huge trees at the shipyard today."
"I had never seen such thick wood before, and I thought it was just a legend in mythology. Only then did I know what it meant to be a man conquering nature and to turn the vast sea into mulberry fields. Many people paid the price for such a huge project. Dead bodies were carried out every day from the construction sites in the forests, the Yangtze River, and the lake reclamation sites."
Huang Wei De's description is very infectious. Haitang, who was sitting on the swing, and Hu Shanwei, who was sitting on the corridor, could vaguely hear the sound of axes being cut down in the forest, the calls of trackers releasing logs into the Yangtze River, and the muffled sound of wooden stakes being driven into the mud.
It is hard to imagine that more than a decade ago, there was a quiet lake beneath their feet.
Huang Wei De said: "Later, when I was reading under the stove and writing with charcoal, I understood the meaning of the poem 'Don't talk about becoming a marquis, a general's success is the result of the death of thousands of people'. A general's success is the result of the death of thousands of people's bones. Then what about a brand new palace? It's more than thousands of people's bones. Every piece of land here is paved with lives. If there are ghosts, there should be more ghosts here than in the mass grave."
Haitang was no longer afraid and jumped off the swing. "What Mr. Huang said makes sense. I won't be bothered by those rumors anymore. I'll go clean up the house now."
Liu Siyan's things had been moved out, and her old belongings, such as clothes, books, and music, had been burned during the ritual to help her soul rest in peace, for her to enjoy in the underworld. The money and precious gifts from the emperor were packed into boxes and given to her family.
The only things left in the room were furniture, copper basins, wooden barrels, and other clumsy things. Haitang asked the eunuchs to bring water to clean and rinse.
Soon, Chen Ermei, Shen Qionglian and other close colleagues came to deliver housewarming gifts. The Clothing Bureau sent brand new official robes and clothes, the Treasure Bureau sent jewelry, the Bedroom Bureau sent bedding and curtains, lights and candles, and the Merit Bureau brought charcoal and charcoal basins for heating, each doing their own job.
Everyone helped to put various objects in place and placed braziers in each room to dispel moisture. After a busy afternoon, the originally "bare walls" house immediately became popular and lively. At night, everyone gathered together to eat and set off fireworks in the yard.
Fireworks exploded in the night sky. Everyone tacitly agreed not to mention the haunted thing. They carried all the fireworks to the new house and set them off. In fact, it was also meant to drive away ghosts. They were set off from nightfall until the second watch.
Perhaps they were tired, Hu Shanwei in the main room and Haitang, the little palace maid resting in the west wing, both slept soundly and did not speak a word all night.
The next day, the first ray of sunlight in the morning first fell on the glazed Chiwen mythical beasts at the two ends of the ridge of the glazed tile roof of the imperial palace. According to legend, Chiwen is the ninth son of the dragon and is good at swallowing fire. Therefore, the two corners of the roof in the palace are suppressed by Chiwen to block the fire.
The sunlight spread from the Chiwen to the yellow glazed tiles, forming a golden patch, then shone onto the red wall, and then through the window into Hu Shanwei's bedroom.
Hu Shanwei woke up in the daylight. Haitang in the west wing had already gotten up. She was humming a little tune and cleaning the yard that was full of firecracker paper scraps with a broom.
It's a new day again.
On this day, Empress Ma issued an imperial decree to release a group of palace maids. Palace maids aged 24 or 25 or female officials who had served in the palace for five years could apply to leave the palace and reunite with their families on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month.
The palace would release a batch of palace maids every four or five years to show the royal grace. For this reason, last year Emperor Hongwu issued an edict with great fanfare to recruit talented women from all over the country to fill the upcoming vacancies.
Therefore, whether to leave or stay, the old female officials had already started to make the decision in their minds last year when Emperor Hongwu issued an order to select new female officials.
The treatment of female officials in the Ming Dynasty was lifelong. After retirement, they retained their salary and official title, and they could maintain their dignity even after leaving the palace. Therefore, today, the Queen issued an imperial decree, and more than 30 female officials applied to leave the palace that day.
Most of them were widows who had children before entering the palace. They entered the palace for various reasons, and were separated from their children. They used their resettlement allowances and salaries to support their children. Now that their children have grown up, started their own families, and have taken their mothers home to spend their remaining years in peace.
There are also some whose parents are old and sick, and they want to go home to fulfill their filial piety and provide for their parents in their old age.
Those female officials whose parents had passed away, who were unmarried and had no ties, basically planned to stay in the palace for the rest of their lives.
Every day, female officials signed up to leave. Last year, forty-four new female officials came in. Seeing that the number of people leaving would exceed this number, Cui Shangyi ordered the female tutor Shen Qionglian to set questions and select female officials from the female scholars in the palace.
Female officials are not only recruited from outside the palace. There are also promotion channels for palace maids, female scholars, and female officials within the palace. If there are not enough people, they will be selected through examinations, which is fair and just.
This is very similar to the selection of officials in the imperial court. If you want to become an official, studying hard and taking the imperial examination is the only way, and it is also a relatively fair way. It gives hope to people at the bottom of society and allows them to change their destiny with knowledge.
Examinations are also an excellent tool for rulers to maintain stability, because if the upward channel is completely closed, the people at the bottom will see no hope and will rise up in rebellion, overthrow the rulers, take their place, and open up the channel themselves.
Zhu Yuanzhang, the Hongwu Emperor, who came from a peasant family in Fengyang, was a typical example of someone who opened up the path to upward mobility and became his own ruler. He understood this principle too well. After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, he not only immediately restored the long-abandoned imperial examination system of the Yuan Dynasty, but also replicated the imperial examination model for the Ming Dynasty court female official system formulated with the Ministry of Rites.
With formal competition standards, the Ming court had fewer unhealthy tendencies such as flattery, vying for favor, and currying favor than in other dynasties. Most of the time, the atmosphere was more like "don't disturb me while I study."
In the Ming Dynasty court, being able to cook, do needlework, sing and dance, have beautiful looks, and flatter people were all useless. Only with knowledge could one have a chance to succeed.
Female scholar Huang Wei De also signed up for the election and studied until three o'clock in the morning every day. Hu Shanwei would go to guide her whenever he was free.
On the eighth day of the first lunar month, the palace female official examination began. Huang Wei De took the examination basket to take the exam. Hu Shan Wei sent her to the outside of the examination room. "Given Shen Qiong Lian's usual temper, the questions she asks may be difficult. You should do your best. If you don't know the answer, just pass it. Go and write the questions. Don't get upset."
It wasn't that Shen Qionglian was deliberately making things difficult for the female scholars, but the questions that she thought were very simple were generally difficult for others.
On this day, the weather was fine. Hu Shanwei watched his disciples take the exam. Jiang Quan carried the little princess, who had gained weight, to the Qianqing Palace. An imperial physician who was good at pediatrics took the little princess's pulse and examined her.
Not every child in the palace can grow up, so it is important to prevent problems before they happen. The young doctor who examined the little princess today was Dr. Tan.
Doctor Tan's name was Tan Fu, a native of Wuxi, where the Tan family was a prominent family. His father was Tan Zhao, a censor of the Ming Dynasty and a famous doctor among the people, who loved to do good and give charity.
Doctor Tan pinched the little princess' chin and said, "Well, I haven't seen you for half a month, and you have two teeth."
Jiang Quan laughed and said, "That's right. She has grown so fast recently that her nurse even cried because of her biting."
Doctor Tan said, "The little princess doesn't mean to bite anyone. She's just grinding her teeth because her gums itch. Look at the two white spots on top. They're about to break out."
Doctor Tan examined her while Ru Siyao recorded the medical records. The two worked in perfect harmony and finally put the little princess on the scale to weigh her. "Oh, she's 23 pounds. She's a little too fat. She needs her nanny to make her crawl more often."
Jiang Quan said, "Ru Siyao also gave the same instructions."
After the examination was completed, Jiang Quan carried the little princess back to Yikun Palace. Ru Siyao handed the medical records to Doctor Tan, "Please review them and see if there are any mistakes or omissions."
Doctor Tan took it with both hands, without looking at the medical records, and only looked at Ru Siyao: "I will definitely trust you to do your job."
Ru Siyao said, "You'd better take a look at it. It will be sent to the Imperial Hospital for filing."
Doctor Tan hesitated for a moment and said, "I heard that the Empress has issued an imperial decree to release people from the palace. Female officials who have been in the palace for more than five years can leave the palace."
Ru Siyao nodded and went to wash her hands in the copper basin on the shelf.
Doctor Tan placed the medical records on the desk and followed her. "You have been a court lady for ten years. You are now qualified to leave the palace."
Ru Siyao washed her hands, and Doctor Tan handed her a towel and asked, "Are you... leaving the palace?"
Ru Siyao took the cloth and wiped her hands. "Why should I leave the palace? Many female officials have been in the palace for fifteen years and still have no plans to leave."
Doctor Tan was anxious. "I have admired Ru Siyao for a long time. I don't believe that you have no feelings for me over the years. If you leave the palace, I will definitely send an official matchmaker to the Ru family to propose marriage."
Ru Siyao lowered her head and said nothing for a long time, then said, "In the palace, I am Ru Siyao, practicing medicine and treating illnesses, and I am respected. When I leave the palace, I can only be Mrs. Tan, but I still want to make a difference in medicine, and I hope that I can write books and leave my name in the medical field. Your Tan family is a big family in Wuxi, and your father is a censor. Will you allow your daughter-in-law to practice medicine in public? Forget it, I will not leave the palace."
The author has something to say: The heyday of female officials is about to come, and these outstanding women will not only serve the court in the future.
100 red envelopes will be given out tonight. Congratulations to the reader "Among Readers" for receiving a big red envelope of 100 points.
№8 Netizen: Readers' Comment: "Hu Shanwei" Rating: 2 Published: 2018-12-26 20:18:37 Chapters Reviewed: 65
Matsumoto Toshiaki