After the story was over, the guests left. The lady picked up the half-hot tea and took a few sips to moisten her throat. She looked up and saw that the female guest who had paid money to tell her the story had not left yet.
"Sir." Jiuzhu brought a stool and sat in front of the female teacher.
"Miss, do you have any other stories you want to hear?" The female teacher quickly took a few more sips of herbal tea. She was just an ordinary person struggling in the world, all for the sake of the small change to support her family.
"I don't want to hear the story." Jiuzhu noticed that although the lady's cuffs were clean, they were patched with the same color. The stitches were fine and it was obvious that she had been very careful in mending them.
She endured the pain and took out another piece of silver: "I want to know where did the story about the beautiful prince you just told me come from?"
"So the lady wants to know about this, it's all trivial." She said it was a trivial matter, but she took the money quickly. She put the money away and said, "A few days ago, a lady gave me a storybook, saying that she wrote it when she was bored in her spare time. If I take it out and tell it, she will give me twenty taels of silver."
"Twenty taels?" Jiuzhu was surprised: "Spend so much money just to let you tell a story?"
"Girl, this is the capital city, there are all kinds of weird people there?" The female teacher glanced at Jiuzhu and said, "Aren't you also the one who paid money to have the story changed?"
"For us storytellers, what matters is the satisfaction of our customers and a good start."
Zhou Xiao stood behind Jiuzhu, looking at the female storyteller with pity, wondering who had come up with such a vicious plan to involve an innocent female storyteller.
If the story spreads further and further, and the palace becomes aware of it and conducts a thorough investigation, the first person to suffer will be this female teacher.
"Mom." A little girl in a flowered jacket ran out from the side door. She raised her head, glanced timidly at Jiuzhu and Zhou Xiao, and hid behind the female teacher.
"I'm sorry, the child is young and doesn't know the rules. Please don't mind, ladies." The lady took out a few copper coins and stuffed them into the girl's hand: "Go buy some snacks from the shopkeeper. Mother will be here soon."
The little girl kicked and stomped the copper coins away. Jiuzhu fumbled in her purse and took out the last piece of silver. "If you believe me, don't tell the story of the beautiful prince and the evil prince together in the future. Stories should be just stories, but people are suspicious and will inevitably make up stories and cause trouble."
The lady's expression changed slightly. She looked at the silver on the table and said, "Thank you for reminding me, young lady. I cannot accept this money."
"Sir, please don't misunderstand me." Jiuzhu smiled: "Sir, your story is good. I like the story of the evil prince very much. I will come again next time."
"Please rest assured, young lady. I will tell you the story of the prince with a disgusting face but a kind heart tomorrow. You are welcome to come and listen." The female teacher readily accepted the silver.
"Thank you." Jiuzhu covered her empty purse and sighed softly after walking out of the teahouse. No wonder people say that talent is priceless. It is also very expensive to ask the female storyteller to change the story. The money I saved for a month and was reluctant to spend was spent all today.
"Sister Ming." Zhou Xiao has lived in the capital for a long time and has heard of all kinds of secret schemes. She looked serious and said, "It seems that today is not a good day to listen to books. Why don't we go to the rouge shop?"
Jiuzhu pinched her purse, frowned, and shook her head to reject Zhou Xiao's suggestion to visit the rouge shop: "I have already spent all the money."
Zhou Xiao burst out laughing. She had thought that the Ming family loved their daughter so much that she was so generous in paying the money. She didn't expect that it was all the money she had.
"It's okay. It doesn't cost anything to take a look." Zhou Xiao took Jiuzhu's arm and said, "Let's go. Just think of it as keeping me company."
The young lady's body was soft and fragrant, and Jiuzhu nodded without knowing it, and finally the young lady gave her a box of rouge without knowing it.
When she got home, she held the rouge in her hand and murmured thoughtfully, "No wonder Master always said that beauty seduces people. It turns out it's true."
However, who can resist a beautiful, gentle and caring young lady?
At Minister Zhou's residence, Zhou Xiao walked into the main courtyard where her parents lived.
"Father, mother." Zhou Xiao served tea to the two elders: "My daughter went to the teahouse to listen to a story with Ming's sister today, and encountered some problems."
"What's the matter?" Zhou Rui and Mrs. Zhou smiled knowingly. The elders of both families had already discussed their daughter's marriage with Ming Jia Liulang. When Ming Jinghai returned to Beijing, they would arrange for someone to propose marriage.
My daughter has a good relationship with the girl from the Ming family, so it will be easier for her to get along with her in-laws when she gets married.
Zhou Xiao recounted what happened in the teahouse from beginning to end.
How could a mere storyteller know what happened between Prince Qi and Prince Chen? If Ming's sister hadn't discovered something was wrong today, the storyteller might have lost his life because of this story.
Thinking of the timid little girl behind the female teacher, Zhou Xiao couldn't help but speak up: "Many people say that the King of Qi is both virtuous and talented, a jade in the rough. After what happened today, my daughter began to doubt whether there is really such a perfect person in the world?"
Zhou Rui remained silent, but Mrs. Zhou, who was sitting next to him, smiled and said, "This girl from the Ming family is quite interesting."
Although he is naive in character, he has a natural and keen reaction to many unknown crises.
"At the beginning, even you didn't realize that there was anything wrong with the story. She only listened to a few sentences and then interrupted it. She didn't reveal her identity or bully others. Instead, she paid the other party to change the content of the story willingly." Madam Zhou sighed: "She is worthy of being a member of the Ming family. Even though she is fostered outside, she still has the courage and decisiveness of the Ming family."
No wonder Concubine Su, who has never had a good relationship with civil officials, likes this future daughter-in-law.
"Really?" Zhou Xiao suspected that her mother might have some misunderstanding about Ming Jiuzhu. Ming's sister was decisive?
Thinking of the other person's pitiful look as he held his empty purse and felt sorry for the money, Zhou Xiao fell silent.
Let it be a misunderstanding. If it is exposed on the spot, my mother will be very embarrassed.
As long as she is happy.
In Mingyue Palace, Concubine Su was looking at herself in the mirror. Xiang Juan hurriedly walked up to her with a strange look on her face: "Your Majesty, there are some rumors outside the palace about Your Highness."
"Are you saying that my son is arrogant and domineering, or that he loves to enjoy luxury?" Concubine Su calmly picked up the eyebrow pencil and began to fill in the edges of her eyebrows.
“Neither.”
"Oppressing the poor and bullying others by taking advantage of your power?"
"Not really." Xiang Juan coughed dryly, "There are rumors out there that His Highness is only fierce on the outside, but in reality he is a kind person who feels sorry for animals getting hurt and cries when he sees others suffering."
"What?!" Concubine Su's hands trembled, and her eyebrow pencil almost poked her nose: "Are you sure you are talking about my son, and not the King of Qi?"
"It is indeed our Highness." Xiang Juan said, "Rumor has it that there are many cooks in the Prince Chen's Mansion. In fact, they are some seriously injured soldiers. His Highness couldn't bear to see them lose their ability to live, so he let them work in the mansion."
"Your Highness bought the old man's carrots in a vicious way because he saw that his family was in financial difficulty and was looking for an excuse to give him money."
Although she didn't understand why a prince would buy radishes himself, but as for folk rumors, sometimes it is inevitable that there will be misunderstandings such as "the emperor uses a golden shoulder pole" and "the queen puts a lot of oil in making pancakes".
After listening to Xiangjuan's bizarre stories such as "sending the old man home", "the evil spirit giving money to beggars", and "the beauty seducing him but remaining calm", Concubine Su was silent for a long time. Is this talking about her son? That is clearly the Bodhisattva.
Rubbing the goose bumps on her arms, Concubine Su interrupted Xiang Juan's story: "Stop talking, stop talking, it's really awkward to listen to."
Concubine Su was puzzled: "Where did such an outrageous rumor come from?"
Xiang Juan: "I don't know where this came from, it has spread inexplicably in the past few days."
"Could it be... there is another conspiracy against my son?" Concubine Su thought about it, but couldn't figure it out. "But spreading this rumor is good for my son, no matter how you look at it, what is the mastermind behind this?"
They, mother and son, have always attracted a lot of attention in the palace. Others are jealous and gnashing their teeth behind their backs, burning incense every day to pray for bad luck for them. It is impossible for them to go to such great lengths to embellish their son's reputation.
Is this repaying evil with kindness, or spending money on charity?
The reputation is good, but it is too exaggerated. As a mother, she feels embarrassed.
"This is what you told me, is it done?!" After listening to the servant's report, Concubine Ning summoned the maid who was doing the work: "You took my money, are you working for me or for the prince?!"
Five hundred taels, a full five hundred taels, and this is the result? !
"I don't know what happened. It was fine a few days ago, but the female guests in the teahouse liked the prince who looked domineering but was gentle inside..." The maid's voice became weaker and weaker: "The female teacher said that storytellers should tell stories that the guests like. She didn't want to continue telling the content of the script we gave her."
"If she doesn't want to, just keep paying more." Concubine Ning suppressed her anger and said, "If she still doesn't want to pay more, you can find someone else. Do you still need me to teach you this?"
"Your Highness..." The maid was very embarrassed: "Nowadays, female guests in the capital don't like stories about humble gentlemen. They all like to listen to stories about overbearing princes or arrogant marquises."
Ever since the story of the domineering evil king with a gentle heart became popular, countless storytellers have followed suit and made up stories of this type. No one likes to listen to other old-fashioned stories like those about scholars and ladies or fox fairy generals.
"Are these people mentally ill?" Concubine Ning couldn't help but ask back: "What is there to like about a prince like Yun Duqing?"
Seeing that Concubine Ning was very angry, the maid quickly tried to comfort her, "Your Majesty, they don't like Prince Chen, but the fabricated character."
I don’t know why, but many women have equated Prince Chen with the overbearing prince in the story.
She didn't dare tell Concubine Ning about this, for fear of being punished by her in anger.
"Get out!" Concubine Ning kicked her in the stomach: "Useless thing!"
The maid held her belly and said, "Please calm down, Madam. I will take my leave now."
She staggered out of the inner room, and the little palace maid reached out to support her: "Aunt Bai Shao, are you okay?"
"I'm fine." The maid endured the severe pain in her lower abdomen and pushed away the maid's hand. Cold sweat fell along her forehead: "The queen is not in a good mood today. You should serve her carefully."
The little palace maid's face suddenly changed. She looked at Bai Shao worriedly. Bai Shao just covered her lower abdomen and walked to the door step by step. When she stepped through the door, she fell to the ground.
"Auntie." The little girl didn't dare to shout. She ran to Bai Shao and said, "I'll help you go back."
"Stop it." Bai Shao said weakly, "Do you want to die?"
"The queen is in a bad mood, how can she allow you to leave without permission." Bai Shao stood up with the help of the door frame: "I'm fine, you go back quickly."
Everyone in the Lanxu Palace knew that Concubine Ning hated the servants in the palace being disrespectful to her the most. It is said that before she entered His Majesty's palace, because her mother was of low status, she, as a concubine's daughter, was often treated coldly and bullied by servants. Therefore, after His Majesty ascended the throne, he did not like disobedient servants.
However, this was just a rumor secretly exchanged among the servants in Lanxu Palace, and no one dared to verify its authenticity. What's more, the relationship between the Empress and the Pingyuan Marquis' Mansion has been very close over the years, and it doesn't seem like she has been treated coldly.
"Aunt Bai Shao." A young eunuch chased out and said, "The Queen asked you to ask the Palace Department when the new tea will be delivered. His Highness is getting married soon, and the Queen said that all the items in the palace should be replaced."
"I understand." Bai Shao released her hand that was covering her stomach: "I'll go to the Palace Province right now."
The young eunuch looked at Bai Shao, whose face was pale, and wanted to say something but did not dare to speak. Finally, he whispered, "Aunt, please take care of yourself."
"Miss Ming, that's the Neifu set up by the Palace Department. It's responsible for all the expenses of the concubines in the harem." Xiang Juan pointed to a small house not far away and said, "This is the Neifu specially set up after His Majesty ascended the throne because he was worried that the eunuchs would withhold the expenses of the concubines."
When the previous emperor was in power, unfavored concubines often ate leftovers, drank cold water and stale tea, and lived a life worse than that of servants.
Xiangjuan glanced at Jiuzhu and found that Miss Ming was curious about everything, as if there was nothing in the world that she could not find interesting. These days, the Empress summoned Miss Ming to the palace every now and then. The two of them got together to appreciate paintings and chat. From time to time, she would give some small suggestions on the scriptures copied by the concubines. They got along very happily.
The only ones who were not very happy were probably those concubines who were sincere and "insisted" on copying the scriptures.
The queen called the little girl into the palace, but was worried that she would be bored, so she asked her to take Miss Ming for a walk. Now the entire palace, except for the bedrooms of His Majesty and the ladies, has almost been trampled by them.
The next time Miss Ming comes to the palace, she doesn’t know where to take her.
"Aunt Xiangjuan." Jiuzhu pulled Xiangjuan's sleeve and said, "I'll go to the front and take a look."
"What's wrong?" Xiangjuan looked at Jiuzhu in confusion and saw her walking towards a plum tree.
Bai Shao curled up her body, leaning against the tree trunk, cold sweat seeping down her back. She half-opened her eyes weakly and looked up at the gray sky. The pain in her lower abdomen, like a knife cutting, reminded her that she was still alive.
The pain in my abdomen seemed to spread throughout my body, and even my brain seemed to be clamoring to explode because of the endless pain.
"How are you?"
She tried to open her eyes wide and looked at the girl who appeared in front of her.
The girl was wearing a red cloak, and the hairpins on her hair were shining brightly, illuminating even the gray sky.
"Aunt Xiangjuan, she seems to be about to faint."
Before Bai Shao fainted, she saw the girl take off her cloak and cover her with it.
…
"Your Majesty." Liu Zhongbao handed a secret letter to Emperor Longfeng: "The mastermind behind the Imperial Concubine's Qianqiu Banquet who intended to send the embroidered painting to Her Majesty has been found out."
Emperor Longfeng opened the secret letter, read the name on it, and gently placed it on the table: "Liu Zhongbao, how many years have I been on the throne?"
"Your Majesty, this year is the thirteenth year of Longfeng."
"I remember that Du Qing was imprisoned in a dark room with me when he was less than eight years old." He sighed, "So many years have passed in the blink of an eye."
"Go to Qingfeng Pavilion."
An unpleasant smell of medicine filled the Qingfeng Pavilion. The woman lying on the bed wrapped herself tightly in a brocade quilt and coughed heart-wrenchingly.
She heard footsteps outside the gauze curtain and opened it with great effort. She was happy at first, but then she became extremely panicked.
She tried to struggle to get up, but finally lay back on the bed weakly.
"Just lie down and rest." Emperor Longfeng did not go near the bed. He looked at the haggard woman with no joy or anger in his eyes.
"Your Majesty, are you here today to see me, or to seek justice for that woman Su Meidai?" She coughed violently a few times, "Your Majesty and I have known each other since we were young, but in the end I am no match for a merchant girl. How ridiculous."
"Your Majesty!" She looked at Emperor Longfeng unwillingly: "Are all the women and children in the harem not human except for Su Meidai and Yun Duqing?"
"Since the founding of the dynasty, no emperor has been more lenient to his concubines than I am." Emperor Longfeng sighed, "Yang, you shouldn't have used your methods on my beloved concubine."
"My beloved? Hahahaha, my beloved?" Yang asked bitterly, "Only Su Meidai can be considered your woman?"
Seeing the hatred in Yang's eyes towards Concubine Su, Emperor Longfeng said, "I already knew about what happened in the 30th year of Xiande."
Yang was stunned. After a long moment, she seemed to be crying and laughing: "So that's how it is, so that's how it is..."
The room fell silent for a long time before she struggled to sit up. She looked at the empty room, laughed until tears came out, and murmured to herself, "Your Majesty is right. You are indeed a generous emperor."
That year, His Majesty was imprisoned in the palace, and the women in the harem chose to betray their husbands for the future and glory of the family.
Later, the plan failed and the prince ascended the throne. She thought that this matter had become a secret that His Majesty would never know.
She was wrong. How could there be a secret in this imperial city that would never be known to anyone?
"Ha ha ha ha……"
Yang laughed until she cried. The other women in the harem usually laughed at her in a condescending manner, not knowing that their past actions had already been seen by His Majesty.
How ridiculous, how ridiculous they all are.
When Jiuzhu woke up in the morning, she found that all the red lanterns in the corridor of her house had been taken down.
"Sister Chunfen, why have all the lanterns been changed?" Jiuzhu looked up at the blue lanterns and felt a little awkward.
"The concubine Yang in the palace has passed away. The master is a third-rank official in the Ministry of Rites. It is not appropriate to hang red lanterns within nine days." Chunfen put a plain cloak on Jiuzhu and said, "The lady may take you to the palace to pay your respects later. You just stay with the lady."
Jiuzhu suddenly realized that it was no wonder that Sister Chunfen had specially picked out a plain-colored dress for her today, and even her hairpin was made of plain silver.
"Who is Concubine Yang?"
Chunfen lowered his voice and said, "She is the daughter of a criminal. Her father and brother conspired with the rebel king to force the emperor to abdicate more than ten years ago. After His Majesty ascended the throne, he felt sorry for her and did not vent his anger on her..."
"Jiuzhu." Shen walked into the yard and waved to Jiuzhu.
Jiuzhu trotted to Shen and said, "Mother, are we going to the palace now?"
"Did the Spring Equinox tell you?"
Jiuzhu nodded.
Shen looked her daughter over, confirmed that there was nothing wrong, and took her out.
Prince Chen was wearing plain clothes and walking on the palace road when he noticed that some palace maids looked at him with something strange in their eyes.
Seeing a palace maid almost falling into his arms, he dodged and asked Fugui in confusion: "What's wrong with this palace maid? She can't even walk steadily. How can she work in the palace?"
Fugui looked at the palace maid who was knocked unconscious and thought, maybe this palace maid had also heard the bizarre story of "The Domineering Prince and the Pretty Palace Maid"?
The Prince of Chen did not even look at the young palace maid lying on the ground with tears about to fall. He impatiently said to the two eunuchs, "Hurry up and help her back. If someone doesn't know, they would think that I pushed her down."
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard Jiuzhu's voice calling him from behind.
“Your Highness!”
Jiuzhu trotted to the front of Prince Chen. She looked at the palace maid kneeling on the ground, then looked at Prince Chen, her face full of confusion: "Your Highness?"
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