Before the time for paying respects had arrived, the Cining Palace was already full of people. There were three large chairs in the hall, one in the middle and the other two side by side.
At the bottom of the three large chairs sat the four main wives, Chen, Xi, Mei and Qi, and behind them were the concubines below the rank of concubine.
Sun Shurong's eyelids were drooping, and she seemed not to have slept well. Guo Zhaoyi stared at the pearl curtain without looking away.
The four concubines had solemn expressions. The others sensed something unusual in their expressions and thought that something big might happen today, so they became more reserved.
The bead curtain swayed, making a crisp sound. The Cining Palace used Lantian jade as beads and golden silk as threads. The entire emerald green bead curtain made a sound at the same time, and everyone present became nervous at the same time.
Empress Dowager Hengle sat on the throne first, while the two concubines Dowager Xianzhen stood with their heads bowed. In private, the three of them were equal in rank, but in public they followed strict rules.
After the Queen Mother sat down, the two concubines slowly took their seats.
The concubines had low tables at their sides, and tea and cakes were placed on the tables. The aroma of tea filled the air, and the smell of it made people feel refreshed.
"We are gathered here today to discuss an important matter."
"Concubine Zhen proposed to establish an academy for girls, offering courses such as horsemanship, swordsmanship, arithmetic, embroidery, gardening, music, chess, calligraphy and painting."
Concubine Chen hesitated to speak. Gu Yinwei noticed her uneasy expression and immediately asked, "Concubine Chen, do you have anything to say?"
"The Empress Dowager is kind-hearted. Opening a school to educate girls is a great thing. However, from ancient times to the present, there has been no precedent for girls attending school in Xuanhua State. If the Empress Dowager sets a precedent, I'm afraid the censors in the court will criticize her."
"I never care about gains and losses when doing things, and I don't care about other people's criticism. If the ministers insist on refuting me, I can argue with them openly."
Concubine Chen was silent. She felt that the Queen Mother's intention was good, but it would be very difficult to implement.
Mei Qingqing asked, "Empress Dowager, has the name of the academy been decided?"
Gu Yingxia quickly answered: "It's decided, it's called Sanfei College."
As soon as Concubine Xian said this, Concubine Mei noticed it keenly. Concubine Zhen looked at the Queen Mother and then showed a helpless expression. This shows that Concubine Xian was not good at naming.
The Queen Mother raised her hand slightly, and Shuangxi stepped forward to distribute documents to the concubines. The documents stated the amount of funds raised, the date of repayment, and the calculation of interest.
Qi Yuer immediately understood the Queen Mother's intention. The Queen Mother had no money to run an academy, so she called on everyone to raise funds to open a school.
Qi Yuer wrote down six hundred taels of silver, thinking that it was like throwing meat buns at a dog, which would never come back.
Her monthly salary was two hundred taels, and her fixed monthly expenses were one hundred taels, so six hundred taels were enough for her expenses for half a year.
Qi Yu'er thought she had written enough, and secretly glanced at Xi Jiaorong's document. Concubine Xi actually wrote two thousand taels.
There is also a note below that I am happy to provide three shops. The shop provided by Concubine Xi is located in Tianshui Lane in Kyoto. The land price in Tianshui Lane is extremely high.
Qi Yuer thought to herself, I was careless. No, she had to write more, but the amount of seven hundred cars could not be changed. She gritted her teeth and added the word "gold" after the amount of seven hundred taels.
When Concubine Chen saw that Concubine Qi had written six hundred taels of gold, and Concubine Xi was offering both money and land, each one more lavish than the other.
She wrote down five thousand taels with a flourish of her hand, and then noted that she was willing to provide ten good horses.
Mei Qingqing wrote down the amount of eight hundred taels, and noted that she was willing to personally serve as the academy's swordsmanship instructor.
Concubine Chen was full of questions. The Empress Dowager asked us to pay, but you not only paid but also took part in the battle yourself. Who are you looking down on?
Concubine Chen said, "Empress Dowager, my father is the Minister of Revenue in the court. I have been proficient in arithmetic since I was young, so the accounts of the academy can be handed over to me.
"Since everyone is so enthusiastic and eager to participate, I have decided to draw up a list of appointments. If you have no objections after reviewing it, we will arrange the corresponding tasks according to the positions on the list."
"Everyone, do you think my proposal is good?"
Everyone agrees that Concubine Zhen's words make sense.
Concubine Xi was pregnant, so Concubine Zhen did not arrange any work for her, and the establishment of the Three Concubines Academy was in full swing.
Gu Yinwei didn't expect things to go so smoothly. Now everyone has something to do, only she is idle.
Having stolen a half-day of leisure, Gu Yinwei finally had time to look at the picture book that Fugui had collected for her with great fanfare.
Picture books about tomb raiding have become popular in Kyoto recently. Gu Yinwei opened the picture book and read quietly.
Almond brought a basin of water, and the goldfinch jumped on the water. "Chu Chu, look, the goldfinch has turned into a duck."
Chuchu pointed at the goldfinch and laughed, "Xiaojin, you love playing in the water so much."
The goldfinch nodded and wagged its tail.
The goldfinch is very cute. Chuchu feeds it millet and the goldfinch jumps around happily.
The land for building the Sanfeiyuan was provided by Concubine Xi. Gu Yingxia went out of the palace to take a look and found it not very satisfactory.
There is a river behind the shop. Every summer, a group of frogs come ashore to cool off. The frogs' croaking is really annoying and gives Gu Yingxia a headache.
"Third sister, you can draw Yin-inviting talismans. Please quickly draw one and invite the former shopkeeper to come up. How can we ask him face to face how to drive away frogs?
A talisman to summon Yin will consume five years of your lifespan.
Gu Yinwei's luck is growing very slowly now. She is reluctant to burn her life to draw the Yin Summoning Talisman. It's just to deal with a few frogs, so she doesn't need to make a trip in person.
Then he pointed to the goldfinch pecking at rice on the ground and said, "Take Xiao Jin with you. I'll make sure those frogs don't dare to show up."
Gu Yingxia carried Xiao Jin in her arms and got on the carriage to leave the palace. She kept chirping along the way, "Xiao Jin, you have to do your best. When we get to the scene, you have to drive away those little frogs and give them no chance to come back.
The golden sparrow was confused. It didn't understand the first half, but it understood the second half. Gu Yingxia said she saw a little frog. This was easy to deal with. It could just eat the frog directly.
Gu Yingxia stroked the goldfinch's head. Suddenly, the goldfinch sensed a murderous aura and looked towards the position three feet to the right outside the car window.
Gu Yingxia also followed the goldfinch's gaze and looked over there. There stood a flower girl with a silk flower on her head, one of her collars deliberately unbuttoned, and a rose-red handkerchief in her hand.
Standing next to her were two other women of similar age, who were trying to haggle with passing merchants.
Gu Yingxia felt that the woman leaning against the tree trunk and staring at her looked very familiar, as if she had seen her somewhere before. So she tried to recall her carefully for a while, but could not remember anything.
"Ah Qing, has the woman at the alley entrance seen me?"
Ah Qing said, "I am sure that the woman just now has never seen the master, but the face of that prostitute reminds me of someone."
"who?"
"Mrs. Jin."
Gu Yingxia's eyes trembled. Madam Jin, when Jin Susu was exiled, her third sister wrote to her, hoping that she would help the women of the Jin family. Obviously, the women of the Jin family had been sent to the embroidery building by her, but they still could not escape the fate of being prostitutes.
As fate would have it, the person who had rescued prostitutes fell into prostitution again.
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