Chapter 24: Pleasure
The news that Concubine Wang Liang was promoted to Noble Concubine quickly spread throughout the capital.
Concubine Wang Liang's father was Wang Zhengxin, a fifth-rank imperial doctor. He was not a high-ranking official in the court, but who would have known that he had a good daughter who became the fourth prince's concubine? Later, when the fourth prince came to power, she also rose to prominence and became a phoenix.
At one time, people came to congratulate Wang Zhengxin and the door of his house was blocked. Many wives of officials also came to visit Mrs. Wang. However, what they didn't know was that Concubine Wang Liang seldom communicated with her family. She had almost cut off contact with her family since her stepmother passed away.
Yan Xuanyu discovered that the three concubines in the palace were actually illegitimate daughters of their families and their family backgrounds were not prominent. This also showed how powerless the original owner was as a prince.
Yes, who could have thought that a prince who had never received any imperial instruction, was not favored by anyone, and had no helpers and was surrounded by a motley crowd could actually become the heir to the throne?
Things in this world are unpredictable.
...
Yan Xuanyu suddenly decided to promote Consort Wang Liang to the rank of Imperial Consort. However, the promotion to Imperial Consort came first, so he only needed to issue an edict and send the Imperial Consort's formal dress to Feiluan Palace. The matter of the noble lady entering the palace required some preparations, so it was put after the promotion to Imperial Consort.
It's hard not to think too much about this. Although the matter of the ladies entering the palace was still handled by Concubine Zhang Shufei, the outside world speculated that it was because the emperor doted on Concubine Wang that he allowed the ladies to enter the palace to celebrate her coronation. It was said that knowing that Concubine Wang was idle in the palace, Cai invited a troupe from outside the palace to win the beauty's smile.
The protagonist of the banquet suddenly changed from Concubine Zhang to Concubine Wang, and Concubine Wang became the most popular person at the moment.
Yan Xuanyu was drinking tea in Chengtian Hall and listening to Li Zhongxian telling him the recent rumors in the capital.
Who is more favored in the harem: Concubine Zhang Shu, the former Concubine Wang Liang, or the current Concubine Wang Guifei? Some say it's Concubine Wang Guifei, who the emperor even summoned a troupe from outside the palace to entertain her. Others say it's Concubine Zhang Shu, who is gentle and polite, treating Concubine Wang Guifei like a younger sister and often speaking well of her in front of His Majesty.
It turns out that people of all ages like to listen to gossip, especially royal gossip, and they also love to argue about gossip.
Yan Xuanyu smiled but said nothing. Many of the rumors in the capital were spread by him.
As Li Zhongxian spoke, he saw the faint smile on the corner of His Majesty's mouth. He wondered if His Majesty would be angry when hearing such rumors. This was unjustified criticism of the royal family.
But His Majesty was not angry, he even ordered people to spread the rumor more and more.
This was a smokescreen thrown by Yan Xuanyu. Didn't those people watching secretly want to see what he did? Then he would let them see what they wanted to see.
Yan Xuanyu also took advantage of this time to have a good rest and recharge his energy. After the autumn harvest in September, it would be time for him to make big moves.
After the autumn harvest comes the imperial examination, as well as a series of issues such as the military system of the Great Zhou Dynasty, but he hasn't even started yet.
...
Taking advantage of the fact that he had nothing to do, Yan Xuanyu brought out the bread for Su.
In the spring, he still had a small cough every half a minute and a big cough every quarter of an hour when he sat down. Nothing he ate had much taste. Sometimes, he couldn't even eat a few bites of a meal.
From then on, Yan Xuanyu thought of bread. If he really didn't want to eat, he could just eat some bread, and it would save him the time of sitting at the dinner table.
At this time, there is no butter and no oven, which is not a problem. Butter can be replaced with other oils, and the oven can be replaced by building a small bread kiln.
There was no shortage of capable people in the imperial kitchen. Yan Xuanyu simply described the taste of the bread and talked about the general steps, such as mixing flour, egg liquid and fresh milk to knead the dough, letting it ferment to let the yeast in the air ferment the dough until it was twice as large as the exhaust, and baking it in the bread oven for an hour and a half. He told everything he remembered, and the rest was up to the people in the imperial kitchen to figure out on their own.
Less than an afternoon later, Li Zhongxian came over to say that the people in the imperial kitchen had baked the bread that Yan Xuanyu mentioned and had sent someone to deliver it.
The person who came was Liu Yangping, the chef from the imperial kitchen, who baked honey buns according to the steps Yan Xuanyu had said.
The first thing Yan Xuanyu asked them to try was a kind of honey bread, which was the kind that was spread with honey and the bottom crust was baked until crispy. The sweetness of the honey and the softness of the bread were balanced, and there were white sesame seeds on it.
The bread was still piping hot when it was delivered from the imperial kitchen. After the lid was opened, the aroma of the bread immediately spread in the air, making people's mouths water.
Yan Xuanyu took one and tasted it. He couldn't really taste the flavor at the moment, but he could feel that the bread was quite soft. It was already very good to be able to achieve this level. The timing was just right, and the honey crust underneath was crispy.
"Reward." Yan Xuanyu said after eating one.
Liu Yangping said calmly, "Thank you, Your Majesty."
Yan Xuanyu mentioned several types of bread, including those with jam. Now that bread is already made, we can also try making meat floss, and then make meat floss bread, and also multi-grain bread...
After he finished speaking, he saw that Liu Yangping's eyes lit up. He thought that he would try to make the ones Yan Xuanyu mentioned when he got back.
After Liu Yangping left, Yan Xuanyu thought of something.
"Send this to all three palaces." Yan Xuanyu pointed to the still hot honey bread on the table.
...
After the imperial concubine's dress was delivered to Feiluan Palace today, Imperial Concubine Wang received the order and asked her personal maid to put it away without even looking at it.
"What is the emperor going to do?" Concubine Li frowned and thought.
Concubine Wang was quite open-minded. She said without taking it seriously, "I was just thinking of becoming the head of the harem. This is exactly what I want."
She said this, but in her heart she was thinking, what does it matter if she knows what the emperor is going to do? They just need to live their own lives, and what is coming will come anyway.
As they were talking, food boxes were delivered from Chengtian Palace.
Concubine Wang asked someone to come in and saw that it was the familiar face Xiao Xiaozi.
Xiao Xiaozi knelt and said with a smile, "Your Highness, this is the 'bread' that His Majesty had the Imperial Kitchen make today. His Majesty specially sent it here for you two ladies to try."
Su Ping, the personal maidservant beside Concubine Wang, took it and placed it on the small table in front of Concubine Wang and opened it. A strange fragrance rushed out.
Concubine Wang didn't care much at first, but after smelling the smell, she turned her eyes and asked, "Bread?"
There were six brown, pastry-like things neatly placed on the plate, but they didn't smell like pastries.
Concubine Wang picked up one and took a bite. The soft and sweet taste made her eyes widen. "This bread tastes really fresh."
In fact, they just ate it for the novelty. There were so many delicious cakes in the palace. The advantage of bread was that it was softer than the current palace cakes and had a stronger milky flavor. Moreover, Concubine Wang and others were so surprised because it was their first time to eat it.
The honey pastry underneath is crispy and burnt, and even the bread on top is permeated with the sweetness of honey.
Concubine Li Xian also tried one and said after tasting it carefully: "It is indeed delicious."
Seeing that the two ladies were enjoying their meal, Xiao Xiaozi bowed and said, "I will take my leave now. The imperial kitchen should be making more cakes like this in the near future."
After sending the palace maids away, Concubine Wang ate her honey bread and asked, "What's wrong with the emperor these days?"
However, the things delivered were indeed quite to Concubine Wang's taste.
...
Soon the day for the ladies to enter the palace arrived. The East Street of the capital was very lively for a while, and the ladies who had received imperial decrees got on carriages and headed to the palace.
Madam Han's husband Feng Guangwei was a fifth-rank Fengyi doctor. According to the official system of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Madam Han was given a fifth-rank imperial edict - imperial edicts were divided into ranks one to five. Madam Han was also among those entering the palace this time.
Her husband specifically told her to just treat it as a visit to the palace to watch a play and to be respectful to the imperial concubine, and to ignore everything else.
Mrs. Han was smart since childhood. After she got married, she managed the affairs of the mansion in an orderly manner. She was a good wife to Feng Guangwei. Because she could often say a few words, her husband would occasionally talk to her about the affairs of the court.
After hearing her husband's advice, Mrs. Han wondered if her husband knew something or guessed something...
Feng Guangwei, as a doctor, is now getting busier for some reason. She remembers that her husband used to mention the names of several officials to her, but now she hasn't heard him mention them for a long time.
When Madam Han arrived outside the palace in a carriage, she happened to meet the Prime Minister's wife, Qin.
Madam Qin was a first-rank lady with a distinguished family background. Many people in the capital were eager to curry favor with her. At this moment, a group of people were surrounding her, talking and laughing.
It can be said that Mrs. Qin had a very smooth life. Her mother's family was the Qin family, one of the four major families in the capital. Later, she chose a son-in-law from the Qin family and married Jiang Yuanhua, the top scholar of the dynasty. With the help of the Qin family, Jiang Yuanhua rose to the position of prime minister step by step, and she went from being a legitimate daughter of a noble family to the prime minister's wife.
Mrs. Han saw two familiar people in the group, so she went over to join them.
With their rank, they couldn't stand next to Madam Qin. They only heard Madam Qin chuckle from afar and said, "I wonder which outside troupe they've invited to perform this time? It's really getting worse and worse. A few days ago, the Qin Mansion invited the opera troupe to perform a few pieces. This madam thought they were quite good."
Everyone around laughed, but no one dared to respond.
Madam Qin has always been like this when she is outside. The Qin family is powerful, so she really doesn't need to care about anything, because the emperor cannot touch the aristocratic families. These families have vested interests, and even if the emperor wants to touch the aristocratic families, he will be powerless.
But saying this clearly hit the imperial concubine's face...
Mrs. Han thought of what her husband said before he left, and deliberately slowed down a few steps.
When the group entered the water pavilion that had been arranged in advance in the palace, Mrs. Qin's voice of dissatisfaction became even louder.
The wives of officials sat down according to their ranks, and Mrs. Han happened to sit behind Mrs. Qin.
She looked around for a moment with a hint of curiosity, then said to the lady next to her, "This is the first time I've seen a sitting position like this. Perhaps it's your Majesty's ingenuity."
Before she finished speaking, Madam Qin in front of her seemed to have heard her. She turned her head and looked at her, then chuckled a few times: "You are good at speaking, and you have some ingenuity. I think you are new to palace affairs and are not familiar with them."
Mrs. Han smiled politely and said nothing more.
Although she was a fifth-rank official and Madam Qin was a first-rank official, weren't they the same in the end? It was just an honorary title given to the wives of officials.
If Madam Qin behaves like this outside, anything that happens will eventually fall on Prime Minister Jiang's head. However, with the Qin family protecting him, what can happen?
Mrs. Han sighed, some people have really good lives.
After a while, the ladies from the palace arrived and the officials' wives stood up and saluted.
When Madam Han saw Concubine Wang walking in front with a huge procession of honor, she thought that this one was the luckiest one.
Concubine Wang is dressed very brightly today, and this outfit makes her look even more outstanding.
The three main palace ladies passed in front of the ladies who were paying their respects, followed by a group of palace maids. The three of them were seated at a distance from the ladies, so when they sat down, their conversations could not be heard by those below them.
Everyone saw Concubine Wang sitting in the main seat, looking down disdainfully, and glancing back and forth for a while, looking quite imposing.
In fact, Concubine Wang said to Concubine Zhang Shu with a look of disappointment: "Why don't I see the new cakes made in the imperial kitchen?"
Concubine Zhang Shu said, "I'll have them bring it up shortly, along with some melon seeds. However, everyone present today is a court lady, so as a concubine, you should be mindful of your status."
Concubine Wang nodded curtly.
...
Madam Han and two ladies on good terms sat at the same small table. Palace servants outside the pavilion came in one after another with boxes in their hands and placed the contents on the small table in front of the ladies.
These pastries were very small and exquisite, but Mrs. Han had never seen them before. There was also a plate of seed-like things with black shells, and no one knew what they were.
"Legend has it that in some unknown dynasty, on Mount Emei, a white snake that had cultivated for a thousand years transformed into a human..."
"This white snake transformed into a human form not to covet the prosperity of the human world, but only to repay the kindness of a previous life..."
"My benefactor has now been reincarnated as a clerk in a pharmacy. His last name is Xu Xian."
A clear voice reciting from somewhere immediately attracted everyone present.
The first scene had already been set up on the stage. The place with deep mountains and flowing water was made of paper into the shape of a huge rock and then painted. It looked quite realistic from a distance. Suddenly, a cloud of smoke rose. After the smoke dissipated, a green figure emerged from behind the huge rock, and then a slim woman with a white veil on her head slowly walked out.
Mrs. Han was originally thinking about other things, but when the recitation sounded, she was immersed in it unconsciously.
Both the story and the setting were something the people sitting in the pavilion had never seen before.
The scene flips and soon it is the second act.
Yan Xuanyu made some changes when he wrote this play, deleting some plots to make the story a little shorter.
The second scene is the carefully designed first meeting between White Snake and Xu Xian. White Snake deliberately drops her golden hairpin, and Xu Xian picks it up and chases after her to return it.
White Snake's glance back is carefully designed and will definitely leave a deep impression on the audience.
Xu Xian stood on the bow of the boat holding an umbrella, and the two of them met on the Broken Bridge.
That faint voice sounded——
"It takes a hundred years to cross the river together, and a thousand lifetimes to sleep on the same pillow—"
It’s so beautiful.
This was the first thought that came to Mrs. Han's mind.
The two were brought together by fate, and after they got married, White Snake's superb medical skills saved many people.
Yan Xuanyu added two short stories about his medical treatment, which can make people laugh out loud.
The ladies paid more attention to their manners. They were fascinated by the performance and giggled softly while holding their handkerchiefs in front of their mouths.
It was only then that Mrs. Han noticed Mrs. Qin in front of her. She was even more fascinated by what she saw than Mrs. Han.
Mrs. Han reached out and picked up a piece of pastry from the table. As soon as she touched it, she found something different. The pastry was surprisingly soft. She put the pastry in her mouth, and her lips and teeth were instantly filled with the aroma of milk and sweetness.
Coupled with the soft texture of the bread, Mrs. Han was instantly conquered.
The pastries made in the imperial kitchen today are all made into delicate and small shapes for easy eating, just enough to eat one in one bite.
Mrs. Han ate several of them in a row. There were fillings in them, which were different from the fillings of the pastries she usually ate.
If Liu Yangping from the Imperial Kitchen were here, he would surely introduce various flavors of jam bread...
Mrs. Han was soon attracted by the play on the stage again. After a short and relaxing plot, Fahai suddenly appeared and told Xu Xian that White Snake was a thousand-year-old snake demon.
"Xu Xian and White Snake are so in love, Xu Xian will definitely not separate from her..."
Madam Han looked over and was surprised to find that it was Madam Qin who said these words!
She felt like laughing for a moment.
The play was still going on on the stage, and no one expected that Xu Xian would be frightened to death by Bai Niangzi's true form!
...
The play was performed lively for a long time, and it ended at the end of the Yin hour.
At the end, all the characters in the play sang the song "Bai Suzhen under the Qingcheng Mountain" that White Snake sang at the beginning on the stage. The Legend of the White Snake ended its first performance in the palace.
This play left everyone stunned for a long time.
Even Concubine Zhang Shu was watching with great interest, and she only woke up suddenly when the show ended.
Many ladies were quietly trying to find out which opera troupe from outside the palace this was.
At palace banquets, many people would leave halfway through using the excuse of feeling unwell. However, today's play lasted for more than two hours, and not a single lady left. Instead, everyone was reluctant to leave after it ended.
After the play was over, everyone began to congratulate the Imperial Concubine and praise her for such an honor.
Some people even asked Concubine Zhang Shu where the opera troupe was from.
Concubine Zhang Shu smiled and said, "Your Majesty brought her from outside the palace to entertain the Imperial Concubine. I believe she will stay in the palace from now on."
For a moment, all the ladies were envious.
Mrs. Qin had no choice but to give up.
...
Not to mention what the ladies said about what they saw and heard today after returning home, the officials had not yet extracted any information from the ladies' words when they heard the imperial edict from the palace the next day.
All the officials who could enter the Golden Palace came to listen to another performance of "The Legend of the White Snake".
It is said that Concubine Wang told His Majesty about it after listening to the opera that day, and His Majesty became curious about "The Legend of White Snake" and called officials to listen to the opera together.
This behavior left the officials confused. If you want to listen to the opera, just go and listen to it in the palace by yourself. Why do you have to bring these court officials with you?
But this is the order of His Majesty. Even Duke Han went, so how could they not go?
So with this mentality, the officials accompanied the emperor to listen to "The Legend of White Snake" for three whole days.
The officials originally thought that His Majesty was using this play to tell them something, but when they heard it on the third day, they looked at His Majesty sitting in the main seat, enjoying the performance with great relish, and for a moment they felt extremely sad...
I heard that Your Majesty has recently become obsessed with listening to operas. After listening to "The Legend of White Snake" enough, the opera troupe has rehearsed a new play, which will be performed on stage in a few days.
Even Duke Hanguo, who had not been involved in state affairs for a long time, had written a letter to advise Your Majesty not to indulge in pleasure and neglect state affairs.
Some officials sighed privately, saying that they had thought that His Majesty had the potential to become a wise ruler, but after only a few months, he was already showing some of his former dandy tendencies.
...
[Achieve the "Pleasure Seeking" (Basic) achievement, and receive 20 points.]
That night, Yan Xuanyu smiled when he heard the system prompt sound after many days.
These days' work has finally paid off.
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