Chapter 1: Concubine Nara Time Travels
On the second day of the second month of the sixteenth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, which was supposed to be an auspicious day for the dragon to raise its head, several days of heavy snow caused snow disasters in many parts of the capital, and some of the remote palaces in the Forbidden City that had been in disrepair for many years collapsed.
Currently, the inner palace is under the management of Consort Niohuru. These past few days, she has been extremely busy, arranging for the Imperial Household Department to allocate manpower and resources to repair the palace while also reviewing the list of candidates for the imperial concubine selection to check for any omissions. When she heard from a palace maid that Consort Nara's condition had improved, she simply sent the maid with some nourishing medicine before plunging back into countless palace affairs.
Yunyun thought the arrangement was quite good.
She has no desire to see other people or engage in insincere social interactions right now.
Feeling somewhat recovered and with her persistent headaches subsiding, Yunyun quietly stared at the blue silk vine canopy above her and began to contemplate life.
When she first woke up, she thought the hospital had developed some high-tech solution that could save patients with late-stage stomach cancer.
Later, when she saw the antique-style curtains, the old man with a white beard taking her pulse, and the girl in a light blue cotton robe standing to the side with red eyes, she had only one thought in her mind.
I've traveled through time.
Moreover, it involved traveling back to ancient times.
Her feelings were a mix of emotions, a bittersweet blend of sadness and joy.
She was naturally happy to be able to live again. In her previous life, she was emaciated and suffering greatly from late-stage stomach cancer, but she did not give up chemotherapy.
The tragedy is also clear: having transmigrated to ancient times, her life will likely remain the same. At best, she'll marry and become a wife or concubine, taking care of her husband and children's daily needs, living a peaceful and uneventful life without natural disasters or man-made calamities. At worst, it'll be even simpler; in ancient times, human life isn't valued, and if her family commits a crime, the entire family will meet their end at the execution ground.
However, the latter seems unlikely.
After lying down for three days, intermittently receiving the memories and learning about the dynasty and the original owner's identity, Yun Jun felt that God was still looking out for her.
The original owner was named Ulanara Yunyun, one of Emperor Kangxi's consorts, the birth mother of the eldest prince in the struggle for succession among the nine princes in history, Consort Hui, one of the four great kings of the Kangxi harem in the later period, and now Consort Nara.
Oh, it's a time-travel story set in the Qing Dynasty.
That's alright then.
The Qing Dynasty has long been riddled with holes.
Thanks to the countless Qing Dynasty dramas she watched in her previous life, Yun Jun even felt a strange sense of security.
She will never have to roll up her hair again in this lifetime.
If nothing unexpected happens, she can live off her son for decades to come.
For the sake of the eldest prince, he is at least guaranteed the position of the first palace master.
In any case, all she wants to do in this life is lie down and enjoy herself; every extra day she lives is a bonus for her.
A house within Beijing's first ring road, with all necessities included. Working no more than two hours a day, the rest of the time spent relaxing at home. No more business trips, no more staying up all night brainstorming proposals, no more dealing with difficult and unpredictable clients.
You should know that her stomach cancer in her previous life was caused by long-term irregular eating habits, excessive stress from working overtime and staying up late, and eating takeout with various additives before bed every day.
Now, though.
Oh my god.
Finally, it was her turn to be happy.
Imagining her future carefree life, Yunyun laughed out loud, but unfortunately, her body had not yet fully recovered, and her laughter turned into a cough.
"Your Highness is awake."
A voice came from afar, and a blue silk and wisteria curtain was hung up, revealing a round, rosy face full of joy, speaking with a sweet tone.
"Sister Fuling is decocting medicine in the side room. The imperial physician said that Your Majesty's condition is critical this time and you need to rest well. I have also made some rock sugar stewed pears, which are good for the throat. Would Your Majesty like some now?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Yunyun remembered the palace maid's name: Lingzhi.
There are now a dozen or twenty concubines of all ranks in the palace, but only a few of them truly hold any status.
The ranks in the imperial harem followed those of the Shunzhi Emperor, roughly divided into Fujin, Da Gege, Xiao Fujin, and Gege. Currently, there is strict control over the promotion and demotion of ranks. The position of Empress is vacant. Apart from the two Consorts of the Niohuru and Tong clans, who hold the Fujin rank, there are only four Consorts of the Xiao Fujin rank in the harem: Consort Dongjia, who has given birth to one daughter; Consort Majia, who has given birth to four sons and one daughter and is currently pregnant; and the original Empress, who has given birth to two sons. Except for Consort Borjigit residing in Xianfu Palace, the other three were promoted due to having sons.
As a concubine of the minor rank, Yunyun was entitled to have four palace maids serving her.
Fuling was a palace maid assigned by the Imperial Household Department after the original owner became a princess by serving the emperor. She was steady and composed, acted appropriately, and was well-versed in palace rules. Through her abilities, she rose from an ordinary third-class palace maid to her current position as a personal maid.
Lingzhi was sent by the original owner's family through connections after she became a concubine. She was a bit carefree, but she never made any mistakes in important matters and was extremely loyal to the original owner. The two of them could be considered the original owner's right and left hands in the palace.
After lying in bed for so many days, Yun Jun felt very tired. She raised her hand and lifted the brocade quilt, saying, "Help me up and walk around."
Lingzhi quickly arranged the soft-soled silk shoes, then took a lake-colored satin cloak embroidered with chrysanthemums and a hand warmer and foot warmer. She carefully helped Yunyun up while wrapping her up tightly, trying her best not to let her mistress feel the slightest bit cold.
The charcoal brazier inside the house was burning brightly.
According to the original owner's allowance, the charcoal brazier would not be enough to keep burning, so it is estimated that Fuling used silver to buy some from the Imperial Household Department.
This illness also terrified them.
Ancient medical technology was not very good to begin with, and a common cold could easily take a person's life. The best way to live was to not get sick.
The original owner's illness came on very suddenly, with a high fever that lasted for several days. The usually conservative imperial physician almost declared that she would not survive. Although a miracle occurred in the end, the original owner was truly gone. The one who survived was her, a modern person with the same name as the original owner.
But in the eyes of Lingzhi and Fuling, their little master had just survived a brush with death and must be well cared for; living is the most important thing.
With Lingzhi's help, Yunyun walked around the room a few times, and felt a slight sweat on her body.
Ultimately, it's all too illusory.
Sitting on the warm kang (heated brick bed), the stewed pear with rock sugar was placed at a perfect drinking temperature, and Yunyun took a sip with a spoon.
Just right, not too sweet.
As Yunyun ate, she listened to Lingzhi rambling on about what had happened in the past few days.
"Consort Niohuru sent some fine bird's nest and ginseng. Your Highness was asleep at the time, so I thanked her for the gift and registered the herbs in the storeroom for your convenience."
"The little garment that Your Highness embroidered for the Fifth Prince has been scented and carefully put away. Parrot has gained quite a bit of weight these days, so he needs to be fed less after spring arrives. The offerings in the small Buddhist shrine are changed daily..."
The original owner's two children, the third prince Chengqing died young, and the fifth prince Baoqing is now being raised outside the palace. Although he is nominally the fifth prince, he is actually the eldest prince since his four older brothers died young.
This illness is also due to this matter.
The Fifth Prince Baoqing was raised outside the palace. Although there were reports that he was in good health, the original owner of the body had never seen him since his full moon celebration. In addition, the Fifth Prince was almost six years old, which was the age to enter the Imperial Study. However, the Emperor was busy with the Three Feudatories and had not entered the inner palace for many days, so he had no definite answer on the matter.
Although we know that the emperor would not completely forget his child outside the palace, how much fatherly affection could the emperor have for a child raised outside the palace whom he had never seen?
She wouldn't say she regretted it; she had agreed to send the Fifth Prince out of the palace in the first place.
Concern can cloud judgment; once it starts, thoughts can uncontrollably spiral into the worst possible scenario, leading to increasing worry and eventually illness.
As for the small Buddhist shrines, some of them are a result of the superiors influencing the subordinates.
Nowadays, both the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager love to worship Buddha, and the Cining Palace and Shou Kang Palace are filled with Buddha statues that have been specially consecrated by a master.
The two powerful figures in the harem were fond of Buddhism, and the concubines in the harem naturally followed suit. Those who had the means would set aside a side room as a small Buddhist shrine, while those who didn't would still enshrine a Buddha statue in their rooms and occasionally copy Buddhist scriptures to show their piety.
After all, who knows, one day you might catch the eye of the Empress Dowager and the Grand Empress Dowager because of your good Buddhist worship.
A large part of the original owner's Buddhist shrine was set up for Chengqing, who died young.
Thinking of the child in her memory who had just learned to call her "Mother," Yunyun felt her heart clench, and a wave of sadness washed over her.
She said softly, "Let's offer a copy of the Rebirth Sutra to the small Buddhist shrine."
Lingzhi knew that her mistress was thinking of Prince Chengqing, and at this moment she wished she could slap herself twice.
My lady is already recovering from a serious illness and is not in good health. I have only made her sad for no reason. Isn't this just hurting her feelings?
She had heard from Sister Fuling that she should take good care of the young master these days and not let the young master worry or exert himself.
Lingzhi racked her brains and finally came up with a topic, "Your Highness has been drinking plain porridge for several days, so your mouth must be quite bland. I asked the imperial physician, and he said you can eat some light food. Is there anything Your Highness would like to eat?"
The Qing Dynasty was somewhat inhumane in this regard, believing that sick people should eat less, go hungry for a few meals, or only eat plain porridge.
Fortunately, there is no principal seat in Yanxi Palace now, and Consort Niohuru does not have the time to deal with such trivial matters. Otherwise, if she had fallen ill and the only food sent to her was plain porridge, she would probably have starved to death even if she had not died from the illness.
During the Qing Dynasty, there were only two meals a day. Breakfast was usually from 6:00 to 8:00 in the morning, and dinner was from 12:00 to 2:00 in the afternoon. These two meals were the main meals. At other times, snacks and fruits were also available. Of course, people usually ordered the rations.
According to Yunyun's current allowance as a concubine, she receives six catties of pork, one liter and two measures of aged rice, six catties of fresh vegetables, two catties of wheat flour, two ounces of white sugar, three and a half ounces of sesame oil, one catty and eight ounces of tofu, eight ounces of leftover rice flour, six ounces of sweet sauce, two ounces of vinegar, six eggplants, six cucumbers, and fifteen plates of mutton and eight chickens and ducks per month.
And this included the people who served her as well.
If you want to eat something special, you either need to be favored and have a high status so that the kitchen will be willing to give you a treat; otherwise, you'll have to obediently spend money.
Thinking of the diverse array of food from the kitchen in her memory, Yunyun perked up and was filled with anticipation for the future.
She picked out a few dishes she often ate from her memory: "Since the imperial physician said to eat light food, I'll have yam, pumpkin and millet porridge, steamed perch, blanched bok choy, shredded pigeon eggs and stir-fried duck with bird's nest."
A note from the author:
----------------------
*From Baidu Encyclopedia: The System of Imperial Concubines in the Qing Dynasty
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
