Without the regulation of the marine climate, the capital was unusually cold in November. Mother Fang turned on the floor heating after lunch. At night, Minglan and her grandmother slept together in the warm room. It was warm enough, but very dry. Minglan was not used to it. She got up one night and drank several sips of tea, but her mouth was still dry. When she woke up the next day, she listened to Mother Fang's words in a daze.
The capital city is the best place to live, close to the young emperor, and the censors are sharp-eyed and sharp-eared. Sheng Hong was very alert and gave the best row of houses in the mansion to Old Madam Sheng to live in, and named it Shou'an Hall. Then there was the main house where he and Wang lived. Aunt Lin's Linqi Pavilion was still on the west, next to Changfeng's small courtyard, and Changbai had a courtyard of his own, which was prepared to be a new house.
The Sheng Mansion in the capital wasn't as spacious as the one in Dengzhou, so the three Lans couldn't fit in. So, they created a spacious courtyard, separating the three rows of side rooms with fences and screen walls. They then built upper rooms and side porches in front and back for the maids and servants, creating a nice semi-detached courtyard. The original Wei Rui Xuan implied Hua Lan's name, but Mo Lan and Ru Lan had long since disliked it, so they quickly gave their own courtyards new names: Mo Lan's was Shan Yue Ju, Ru Lan's was Tao Ran Guan, and Ming Lan's remained the same.
Minglan was confused by what she heard, but Cuiwei and Danju remembered everything. One of them was busy moving the luggage from Shou'an Hall into Mucangzhai, and the other was directing the maids and servants to move, lift, wash and scour. It took them a whole morning to finish the work. Old Lady Sheng was worried, so she took Minglan to see it in person. Wang was accompanying them, feeling a little nervous, and only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the old lady nod.
The Beijing version of Mu Cang Zhai only has three large rooms, the main room in the middle and two side rooms on the left and right. Minglan likes to have private space, so she specially partitioned the bedroom, and then used the treasure cabinet and curtains to separate the right side into a study. Danju and Xiaotao personally opened the boxes one by one, wiped clean the books and furnishings inside, and arranged them according to Minglan's wishes.
Before Minglan had even finished cleaning the house, Rulan arrived. New to the capital, Rulan's personality made it impossible for her to make friends so quickly. She was tired of the constant bickering with Molan, and she had a lot to say to Minglan. As soon as Danju brewed a bowl of steaming Maojian tea, Rulan couldn't wait to pull Minglan into the inner room.
"Sixth sister, do you think Fourth Sister is quite unhappy this time?" Before even exchanging a few pleasantries, Rulan couldn't wait to point out the main idea.
Minglan calmed herself down, thought for a moment, and said hesitantly, "It's okay. I think Fourth Sister is just a little worried. At noon, she came to my room and took a look around. She left without saying a few words." This is very strange. Molan is a face-conscious person. No matter what she thinks in her heart, she always looks friendly and will say a few words even if there is nothing to do.
Rulan had an expression that said, "Just as I expected," and lowered her voice mysteriously, "While you were away, Fourth Sister ran into some bad luck with Princess Pingning."
Theoretically, except for the crown prince and the young princes, all other princes must be granted fiefdoms. The favored ones will go to richer places, and the less favored ones will go to remote border areas. But now the situation is strange. The crown prince has not been decided yet. The third and fourth princes stayed with the tacit consent of the emperor, while the position of the sixth prince is neither high nor low. He was granted the title of a county prince, and his fiefdom is in Daliang.
Last year, when the emperor celebrated his 60th birthday, the Sixth Prince came to congratulate him and brought a row of three cubs with him. The Third Prince, who was unable to have a son, was almost envied, especially the little one, who was only four or five years old, plump, white, and cute. The Third Prince liked him more and more the more he looked at him. The Sixth Prince had a deep brotherly love, and the Sixth Princess was understanding, so she would often bring the cubs to show her third brother.
"Oh, I see. When I was in Nanjing, I heard that the Third Prince wanted to adopt a nephew. Could it be this one from the Sixth Prince's family?!" Minglan suddenly realized, but then became confused again. "Huh? But what does this have to do with Fourth Sister? This is a royal family matter. Who have we to say?"
Rulan shook her head proudly. "The Sixth Prince's family has a princess who is in her prime. His Majesty's birthday is coming soon, and the Sixth Prince's wife has come to the capital with her son and daughter."
Minglan pondered for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Could it be that they have a close relationship with Princess Pingning?"
Rulan patted Minglan's shoulder and said with a smile, "Sixth sister is so clever. ... That day, Princess Pingning hosted a banquet, and Mother took us both with her. Fourth sister was so attentive to the Princess, trying to please her and act cute, her flattery was too blatant. But the Princess ignored her and paid little attention, only talking incessantly to the Sixth Princess and her daughter. When she came back, the mistress told the Master, and she had him give her a good scolding and even ground her for half a month, haha..."
"This, this is too embarrassing." Minglan could imagine the scene and felt embarrassed. No wonder Sheng Hong seemed to be quite harsh to Molan when he came back this time.
Now that the old emperor is getting older, the third prince only needs a son to be legitimate. The sixth prince's branch immediately becomes popular. Princess Pingning wants to stir up trouble and has set her eyes on Princess Jiacheng as her daughter-in-law. But if you think about it carefully, there is really no comparison between Molan's family background and that of the princess.
Rulan was very happy and wanted to find someone to share her joy, but Minglan didn't agree with her and looked worried. Rulan couldn't help but frown and said, "What's wrong with you? Don't say you're sad for Fourth Sister!"
Minglan smiled bitterly and said, "Fifth sister, I'm sorry for us. Although it's Fourth sister who's embarrassed right now, we sisters can't escape it either. People outside always say that the Sheng family's daughters are poorly brought up."
Rulan was shocked. She thought twice and thought to herself that she was right. No wonder those young ladies from the government ignored her during the tea and poetry gatherings these days. There was even a hint of sarcasm in their words. She thought they were targeting Molan alone, but she didn't expect... She was implicated! Rulan was immediately furious: "This, this little——!"
Rulan couldn't curse even though she wanted to. Her face turned red from holding it in. Minglan hurried to persuade her: "Keep your voice down and don't say anything nonsense. We live so close now, be careful not to be heard!"
Rulan slammed the table and said, "It's okay. She just went to Linqi Pavilion. Humph! If she keeps interacting with them, I'm afraid she'll do something unsightly again!"
Minglan looked at it with heartache, knocking over the broken covered bowl that fell to the ground. It was a complete set.
…
In Linqi Pavilion, a gilded incense burner with cloud and bat patterns was burning on the kang table. Aunt Lin looked at her sullen daughter, gathered her squirrel-skin handcuffs, and frowned, saying, "You just got scolded by the master, why are you putting on such a face?!"
Molan fiddled with a brocade-patterned sachet of fortune, wealth, and longevity, glancing at Aunt Lin. "This is the first time I've been punished like this. It's so embarrassing! If the old lady and the others hadn't come back this time, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to get out yet."
Aunt Lin sighed and said, "You useless thing! You have no ability, you only know how to cry and have no idea how to plan. Forget it, everyone has their own destiny. You don't have this ability, so I'll just find you an ordinary family!"
Mo Lan's face flushed red as she said with discontent, "The county lady is only average in character and appearance. Poor Brother Yuan Ruo."
Aunt Lin was also depressed for a long time before she said, "She was born with a better fate than you, which is better than anything else! You should stop worrying about Qi Heng. I asked your third brother to go out and ask around. Princess Pingning is also a snobbish person. Seeing that the Sixth Prince's family has gained power, she is rushing to curry favor with them! Forget it, I won't say anymore... Hey, I asked you to go see that girl Minglan, did you see her?"
Molan raised her head gloomily. "The furnishings are quite plain and the arrangements are quite exquisite. As for the valuables, there are only a few of them. There are so many boxes and crates being carried in and out, I can't make out what they are. Mother, the old lady loves Minglan, so it's useless for us to argue. Why bother?"
Aunt Lin slammed her palm on the kang table, glared and scolded: "I say you are useless, and you really are useless! You insist on showing off when you shouldn't, and you ignore what you should fight for! This time when Minglan came back to her hometown in Youyang, I don't know how you tried to please her. Your uncle's family all likes her, and you too. At the beginning, they asked you to coax Pinlan, but you thought she was vulgar and uncultured! Now look, seeing Minglan coming back with so many bags, aren't you angry? You and she have the same background. After all, her mother is just a village girl, and your mother is from an official family. You also have your brother to support you. You should be ten times better than her, but now you are worse than her!"
Molan turned her head sharply and snorted angrily, "The old lady is stubborn. She doesn't like me, so what can I do?"
After calming down, Aunt Lin spoke slowly into the curling smoke of cigarette smoke, "Looking at the old lady's expression, I'm afraid even Minglan's marriage has been settled. Madam Rulan has already made plans. When Uncle Wang returns to Beijing from his post outside the capital, I'm afraid she'll talk about it. My son, you're the only one who's still hanging on."
Molan couldn't help but feel worried when she heard this. She looked at her mother anxiously. Aunt Lin turned around and smiled at her, saying, "If we just find an ordinary Jinshi or official's son, both the master and your brother know a lot of them. But they need to have both good character and talent, and they also need to be wealthy and noble. That's very difficult! ... I wonder what kind of family the old lady is looking for for Minglan?"
…
Minglan looked at the old woman crying bitterly in front of her, her face bewildered as she went to look at Fang Mama blankly. The old woman was dressed like a servant, wearing a black velvet bodice over a dark red fine-striped silk jacket. She held Minglan's hand and sobbed, "...Miss, Aunt Wei passed away early. The old woman was useless. She suddenly fell ill and couldn't take care of you!..."
Minglan couldn't keep up with the situation and could only stare blankly.
Madam Fang coughed and said, "Mother Cui is old, and her son and daughter-in-law want to take her home to live with her in her old age. It's not good for the girl to be without a mother by her side, so the madam found Madam You from the farm. She was the girl's wet nurse, so she thought she could take care of her better."
Minglan nodded. She had no memory of this Madam You. She only remembered overhearing the maids' whispers while pretending to be dumb. She vaguely remembered them saying that Concubine Wei was cowardly and honest, that only one of her companions, Die'er, was relatively loyal, and that the rest were greedy and deceitful, disappearing without a trace when trouble arose. So, this Madam You...?
After everyone had left, Fang Mama spoke frankly, "Originally, the old lady was planning to pick a trustworthy one herself, but since the mistress had already sent it, it would be difficult to offend her."
Minglan thought for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Since she's already in the manor, how did she get into the inner quarters?"
Being the young lady's wet nurse is a good job. Not only does she get a generous monthly salary, but she can also be on equal footing with the housekeeper and order the maids around. She probably left the job because she was afraid of being implicated in Aunt Wei's death, but now she's back.
Seeing Minglan ask this question, Fang Mama felt relieved and whispered, "The young lady is very thoughtful. I heard that she wanted to come up a few years ago, but she was already with Cui Mama at that time. This time, I heard that she used money to make money with the lady and her relatives."
Minglan asked again, "Is there no one following?"
Madam Fang shook her head. "If there is, the old lady will definitely not allow it. After all, she was the young lady's wet nurse, so it's only natural for her to take over now. I've done some careful investigation, and it seems the woman who recommended her received some benefits. I'm afraid that because she's the young lady's wet nurse's mother, if she's lazy and causes trouble, the young lady won't be able to suppress her."
Minglan raised the corner of her mouth slightly and said with a smile, "Don't worry, Mom. I'm already this old, it's not good for me to rely on the old lady to protect me for the rest of my life." She smiled again and said helplessly, "If you really can't hold on, then come and ask for help."
After Fang Mama left, Minglan sat alone on the Xiangfei couch in the main room, lowered her head in thought for a moment, and suddenly said, "Please come in, You Mama."
Xiaotao left as soon as she was told. When Mother You came in, she burst into tears again and kept talking about how helpless she was to leave and how much she missed Minglan at Zhuangzi. Minglan listened with a smile and motioned Xiaotao to bring her a stool.
Mother You was not very old, only a middle-aged woman with a diamond-shaped face and a wide mouth. She looked smart and sharp. Minglan was only five when she left, but now Minglan was almost thirteen. She kept talking about Minglan's childhood fun and the hard work she put into raising her. Minglan listened quietly, and when she finished, she said slowly, "I'm afraid I don't remember much."
Mother You was shocked. The memory card was the only big card she had. She quickly wiped away her tears and said hurriedly, "Although the girl was young at that time, she was very smart and could learn anything once taught. How come she has forgotten it all?"
Minglan took the tea bowl Danju handed her, gently moved the lid, and whispered, "After Aunt Wei passed away, I fell seriously ill and was in a coma for many days. When I woke up, I was confused about many things. It's a pity that Mom was not here at the time, otherwise I would have recovered faster."
Mother You had a slightly embarrassed look on her face and laughed dryly, "It was all because of me, the old woman, that I fell ill at that time." She really wanted to say a few words about Concubine Wei, but the housekeeper had already reminded her, so she didn't dare to say anything.
Minglan sighed softly, a hint of sadness in her eyes. "Those days were truly difficult. I took medicine every day, stayed bedridden, and had no one to look after me. Only this silly Xiaotao was by my side. Several times the doctor said I was in serious trouble. Fortunately, thanks to the Madam's meticulous care and the old lady's pity, I was able to save my life."
Mother You's face turned pale and red. She clenched the handkerchief in her hand and said a few polite words in a coy manner. Even she felt pale and powerless.
Minglan closed the covered bowl and smiled sweetly, "Everything is fine now. The maids in my house were all trained by the old lady and the mistress. They are very sensible and capable. Now with mother, my little courtyard is in good hands."
Mother You was startled and could not help but look up, looking at Minglan's long and soft eyeliner and the gentle and reserved curve of her jaw, which were very similar to the young concubine who died young many years ago. However, her expression was completely different. No matter what she said or heard, her long, slightly curled eyelashes did not move at all, like the quiet and motionless wings of a butterfly, and her beautiful face was smiling as peacefully as water.
The simple and elegant girl in front of her exuded a calmness and the leisurely air of someone in a high position. Youyou's mother was a little dazed, feeling that the girl did not match her memory of the timid girl who followed behind her. A nameless awe slowly crept up her spine.
Minglan looked at Mother You steadily: If she was smart enough, she would not cause trouble for herself, but would receive a salary, a full set of benefits, be less greedy, fulfill her duties, and then everyone would part ways in peace.
【Author has something to say】
The royal title system in the Ming and Qing dynasties was slightly different.
Comrade Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, loved his family very much, so he stipulated that all the emperor's sons would start as princes, and then in turn as dukes, and so on. However, basically all legitimate sons would have a princely title, and very high-level enjoyments were stipulated, such as how much silver and silk and cloth would be allocated each year, how many servants and guards would be in the palace, and all expenses would be paid for by the court. This set a bad precedent from the beginning.
Zhu Yuanzhang had 26 children, many of whom died in the family war between Jianwen and Yongle. However, in the following two hundred years, the Ming royal family continued to multiply and formed a huge locust group. By the Jiajing period, the country was still extremely poor, and one-third of the annual income was used to support the royal family. Many historians say that if Zhang Juzheng could successfully reduce the power of the princes, or at least reduce the consumption of the royal family, the Ming Dynasty might not have perished.
The following is a quote from Hai Rui in the TV series "The Ming Dynasty 1566". I personally think this TV series is quite reliable.
"Since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, princes, dukes, and royal relatives have been spread all over the country. According to regulations, a prince must provide 50,000 dan of rice, 25,000 strings of banknotes, 40 pieces of brocade, 300 pieces of ramie, 500 pieces of silk, 1,000 pieces of gauze, 1,000 pieces of winter cloth, and another 1,000 pieces of summer cloth every year. Other expenses are too numerous to list. Have you ever calculated that if a prince consumes such a huge amount of national funds, how much more national funds would be consumed by so many royal relatives! These royal relatives, eunuchs in the palace, officials at all levels... Officials have annexed half of the country's farmland, yet they pay no taxes. Common people, with less than half the land they can cultivate, are still required to pay all the taxes. This is common knowledge, yet no one speaks of it! Take Zhejiang, for example. They have an annual grain reserve of 629,000 dan, but only 1.23 million dan are needed to provide the imperial family and government with their salaries. Two years' worth of grain isn't enough to cover the annual salary of the imperial family. The Anda invade the north year after year, and Japanese pirates wreak havoc in the southeast, endangering the entire country. Yet, the soldiers' salaries and rations are being scraped from here and there!
…
The Qing Dynasty learned from this lesson, so not all princes of the Aisin Gioro family were made kings. They were first ranked according to the nobility of their mother's family, and then each prince earned the title based on his own performance. The Nine Dragon Battle for the Crown Prince was a typical example. It seemed like Beizi - Beile - Junwang - Prince, and most of them inherited the title by demotion.
This greatly reduced the cost of supporting the royal family and freed up a large amount of money for the national treasury.
However, recently, the author checked some information and found that some historians seem to disagree with this view. Although the Qing royal family saved money, the male members of the Eight Banners did not. According to the regulations stipulated when Dorgon entered the Pass, the male members of the Eight Banners of Manchuria could receive a share of money and food from the time they reached adulthood. Although it was not much, it could ensure that they would not starve to death if they were unemployed. With this guarantee of food and clothing, many Eight Banners children who carried bird cages and fought crickets appeared in the late Qing Dynasty.
I saw some information in a time-travel novel about hegemony, I think it was "The Madman of the Far East 1908". It said that after 200 years of reproduction in the Qing Dynasty, the number of males in the Eight Banners was also very considerable. So if this is taken into account, then the cost of supporting the royal family or bannermen in the Ming and Qing dynasties was actually about the same?
I can't find exact data, so I can't say.
In fact, the Han Dynasty also treated the royal family very well, but too well, so that these vassal states had the power to challenge the central government, so they were besieged several times, and their power was greatly reduced, and the expenses were reduced instead.
I once saw a post on Tianya Zhujiu, which was written by a history expert. He/she believed that a better royal family system should be the one in the Tang and Song dynasties, where the title was inherited in sequence, even to the common people, allowing the royal children to be free to do what they like, such as reading, doing business, or traveling around the world with a sword.
It seems to be like this, I don’t understand it either.
PS: I am not a history major, I just like it.
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