After entering the territory of Nanchu, the carriage did not slow down. Chen Wei was also not idle. She took medicine on time every day to keep healthy. In her spare time, she lifted the car curtain and observed the people's lives in Nanchu.
There had been constant civil war in Southern Chu in the past few years, and the people had a hard life. After Li Yuanli consolidated the throne with thundering and iron-blooded means, he promulgated a series of reform strategies and killed most of the corrupt officials and local bullies. Southern Chu gradually recovered and the people lived a decent life.
Perhaps influenced by the founding empress of Southern Chu, the people of Southern Chu are open-minded, like adventure and exploration, and are strong-willed. There are many Nanchu businessmen doing business abroad, and they do business everywhere, which can be said to be flourishing all over the continent.
The carriage set off along the official road towards Lijing, the imperial capital of Southern Chu. Chen Wei sat in the carriage, tasting the unique dregs of Nanchu dumplings while asking the palace maid walking outside the carriage: "I heard that there is a huge statue of Guanyin on the southern coast. Is this true? How big is the statue?"
The maid was sent by Li Yuanli to take care of Shen Wei, her name was Caizhu.
Along the way, Chen Wei pulled Caizhu aside and asked her all kinds of questions, like a traveler who had just entered a foreign country, curious about everything.
I am tired of being asked these questions even when I am collecting pearls.
Caizhu replied expressionlessly, "To answer your question, young lady - there is indeed an ancient statue of Guanyin in the South China Sea. A hundred years ago, the empress was seriously ill, and the emperor sent people to cast a statue of Guanyin to pray for the empress. The statue of Guanyin is six feet tall and has been renovated several times over the past hundred years. It still stands by the sea today."
Shen Wei clicked her tongue: "This emperor is quite infatuated."
Chen Wei asked again: "Is there anything fun and delicious in Lijing? What kind of storybooks are popular in Lijing recently? Are there any shops in Qingguo in Lijing?"
Pearl Diving:...
Chen Wei asked so many questions along the way that Caizhu's saliva almost dried up and her throat became hoarse.
Caizhu really couldn't understand why the emperor, who was so decisive and brave, would travel thousands of miles to personally pick up a fisherman's daughter from Donglin.
There is no shortage of beauties in the palace.
Caizhu's eyes fell on Chen Wei's dark face, and she couldn't help but be secretly shocked. This fisherman's daughter has an ordinary appearance, even worse than the palace maids. Could it be that the emperor's taste has changed and he likes such ugly women?
Caizhu sighed inwardly and continued to answer: "To answer the young lady's question, Lijing is the most prosperous city in Southern Chu, not inferior to Yanjing in Qing. Now the most popular thing in the city is..."
Caizhu answered patiently.
Shen Wei listened attentively and nodded frequently.
Caizhu looked at Shen Wei's ordinary face. This fisherman's girl looked to be only fifteen or sixteen years old, young and tender, and it was obvious that she had no scheming at all. Once I enter the palace, I don’t know how many concubines will target me.
Out of kindness, Caizhu reminded Chen Wei: "Miss, when you enter the harem, you should be named a concubine, and if you are lucky, you can be named a noble lady. You must remember that in the palace, besides the emperor, you must not offend two people."
Shen Wei took a sip of Nanchu's special tea, raised her eyebrows slightly, and asked with a smile: "Which two people?"
Caizhu looked solemn and looked at Chen Wei with pity: "One is Qin Fei Tuoba, and the other is the Ninth Prince."
After Li Yuanli ascended the throne by iron-blooded means many years ago, there were quite a few concubines in the harem. But I didn't see him favoring anyone in particular. Women were nothing more than playthings to him.
It was not until more than ten years ago that there was a civil strife in the royal family of Southern Chu, and the prime minister's daughter Tuoba risked her life to block a knife for Li Yuanli. After Li Yuanli put down the rebellion in the royal family, he conferred the title of Qin Consort on Tuoba. Tuoba gradually secured the first chair in the harem and took charge of it.
Li Yuanli personally went out of the capital to bring Shen Wei back, and the news had already spread throughout the imperial city. If Shen Wei enters the harem of Nanchu, she will definitely be tortured by Concubine Qin.
Chen Wei held her chin up: "What about the Ninth Prince?"
When the Ninth Prince was mentioned, a strange fear flashed across Caizhu's face. She was about to answer when she heard the sound of guards kneeling in unison in front of her.
Caizhu knelt on the ground quickly.
Li Yuanli is here.
He opened the carriage curtain and walked into Shen Wei's carriage. Li Yuanli smiled and said, "I will accompany you to the palace."
Shen Wei asked back: "I don't want to enter the palace, can you lock me up in Lijing City?"
Li Yuanli smiled faintly: "No."
Shen Wei was speechless.
The carriage drove along the royal official road and slowly entered the majestic and vast Nanchu Palace. Shen Wei lowered her head to drink tea. Li Yuanli studied her face and said, "You have been eating and drinking quite comfortably along the way."
Shen Wei didn't look like a prisoner, she seemed to be traveling to Nanchu.
We tasted a lot of southern Chu delicacies along the way.
Chen Wei stroked the teacup between her fingers and said calmly: "It's a day to cry, and it's a day to laugh. How I spend my days is entirely up to me."
Anyway, I won’t die for the time being, so just treat it as a trip.
Li Yuanli chuckled. As expected, she is Shen Wei, still the Shen Wei in his memory.
The carriage drove into the Nanchu Palace. It had rained for several days in a row in Lijing, but today the sun was shining brightly and the imperial city was shrouded in dazzling light. The imperial city, which was originally full of solemnity and depression, now had a bit more warmth.
After Shen Wei appeared, even the foggy sky turned into a clear sky.
Li Yuanli thought, even if Chen Wei was not the flower of this era, he would force her to stay and let her take root deeply in this soil.
...
...
The residence that Li Yuanli arranged for Shen Wei was the Changle Palace in the harem, the residence of successive empresses of Southern Chu.
The palace walls were majestic, there were twenty palace maids and eunuchs, it was magnificent and the courtyard was planted with bright roses.
Shen Wei's eyes fell on the roses all over the yard, and the corners of her mouth twitched silently.
She hates roses!
Li Yuanli took Shen Wei for a tour around Changle Palace. After settling Shen Wei down, Li Yuanli went to handle state affairs. Chen Wei sat alone on the luxurious main throne, looking at the palace maids kneeling on the ground. She had the illusion that she was locked in a golden cage.
"Prepare water and new clothes. I want to take a bath." Shen Wei put her fingertips on her brow.
Her tone was calm, but it contained the authority of a superior.
The palace servants were secretly shocked and hurriedly lowered their heads to do their work.
Caizhu brings tea to Shen Wei and is surprised. Along the way, Caizhu didn't take Chen Wei seriously, and just thought she was a girl that the emperor had temporarily taken a fancy to.
Who would have thought that the emperor would actually place her in Changle Palace!
Changle Palace was the residence of the Queen of Southern Chu and her husband a hundred years ago, and later became the palace of successive empresses.
Caizhu couldn't help but start to imagine, could it be that the emperor was planning to make a fisherman's daughter the queen?
Chen Wei took a sip of tea to moisten her throat and told Caizhu, "Find someone to cut down the roses in the yard and replace them with other flowers and plants."
Caizhu reminded quietly: "Miss, the roses in Changle Palace were planted by the emperor and cannot be cut down."
Shen Wei glanced at Caizhu calmly.
The look was light, but like a sharp sword, piercing into Caizhu's heart, making Caizhu think of Concubine Qin in the palace.
She was clearly just a fisherman's daughter, but how come her temperament suddenly changed like a different person after she entered the palace?
In the end, Caizhu had no choice but to bite the bullet and ask to see Li Yuanli to tell him about Shen Wei's request. Unexpectedly, the emperor, who was always serious, just smiled and said, "Just listen to her."
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