Chapter 59 Chapter 59 I even feel like vomiting...
Time flies, and soon it is the end of the year.
The entire Forbidden City was hung with brightly colored red lanterns, and all the palace servants who came and went had smiles on their faces, and no one dared to ruin this rare good atmosphere.
In the past few months, the situation in the palace has changed again.
At the end of August, the Queen took over the imperial palace for the first time. After taking over the power of the palace from the Empress Dowager, she began to carry out drastic reorganization and reform.
Her momentum was so fierce that even Concubine Tong, who had always been against her, did not dare to rashly step forward and cause trouble at this time.
However, within three months, the queen worked herself to the point of falling ill.
During those days, Kunning Palace was always filled with the smell of medicine. Almost all the doctors in the Imperial Medical Bureau were stationed there, but the queen's health did not improve at all.
A few days later, the Niohuru family outside the palace sent a letter to the palace to pay a visit. It is unknown what they talked about with the queen. The next day, after the Niohuru family left the palace, the queen, who was still ill, took the initiative to send palace people to the Cining Palace to apologize to the Empress Dowager, and at the same time said that she was afraid that she could not continue to manage the harem in her current condition.
However, she did not ask the Empress Dowager to temporarily take back the power of the palace, but instead proposed that the imperial concubines and several concubines under her help manage all matters in the harem.
In short, it is decentralization.
It was the Queen who took the initiative to propose the transfer of power.
The whole palace was in shock, wondering if the queen was really dying.
…
In fact, it really is going to fail.
But no one knows it at this time.
Including the queen at that time, she probably mistakenly thought that she had just caught a cold with more serious symptoms and would be fine after resting for a while.
Only Li Shuyao, who had read the original novel, knew that the queen actually had cancer.
Or the kind that can't be cured.
The Queen probably won't live past next spring.
In December of the sixteenth year of the Kangxi reign, only ten days after the empress fell ill, several concubines headed by Concubine Tong gradually took over the palace power.
This naturally includes Concubine Yi Guo Luoluo.
Upon hearing the news, Li Shuyao felt a little disappointed, worried that once her little friend Qingyao became busy, she would not be able to go to Yiku Palace to play with her.
Unexpectedly, the situation took a turn for the worse. Qingyao only went to Chengqian Palace more frequently in the first few days, but later she acted as if she had never taken over the power of the palace. She still invited Li Shuyao to her Yiku Palace to eat, drink and have fun every few days.
This is how she explained it:
"With the Imperial Concubine here, who among us would dare to overstep our bounds?" Qingyao finished speaking, then seemed to realize something and quickly added, "Perhaps only Concubine Hui would dare to step forward at this time."
"But I can understand that. She is the biological mother of the eldest prince. Now that the eldest prince has gradually grown up, it is time to make more plans for him."
After she finished speaking, she saw Li Shuyao still buried her head in the bowl, eating very happily. She stretched out a finger and poked her bulging cheek in a somewhat unpleasant manner, "Still eating, still eating, aren't you afraid of breaking your stomach?"
Li Shuyao held the bowl, glanced at her with a smile, shook her head and said seriously, "It won't get bad, don't worry."
Qingyao didn't believe it, so she reached out and pinched her belly twice, then said thoughtfully, "Have you gained weight recently?"
Li Shuyao was so shocked when she heard this that she almost couldn't hold the hot and sour noodles in her hand.
Who's fat?
Isn't it just that she's been eating a lot lately...
And the main reason is that the chef from Sichuan in Qingyao Palace has such great cooking skills.
...She couldn't help it.
Li Shuyao put the bowl back on the table with an angry expression, and wiped her mouth with a piece of clean cotton cloth. Only then did she have the energy to pull Qingyao's hand away, and then she covered her belly angrily, refusing to let Qingyao touch her even a little bit!
Rubbing her belly and calling her fat.
How can such a good thing happen in this world?
If Qingyao doesn't apologize to her, then she will...never save the first grilled beef skewer for Qingyao next time we have a barbecue!
Qingyao must have sensed her displeasure at this point, and she immediately knelt down to apologize, pulling her sleeves and shaking them gently twice, saying coquettishly, "Okay, I'm wrong. I shouldn't have called you fat. You're actually not fat at all, you're actually slim."
"They are all just bones, skinny as a stick, too weak to wear clothes, dove-like, dove-like and swan-like..."
No, she really couldn't go on.
Just these few idioms seemed to have exhausted the little conscience she had in her life.
Qingyao sighed deeply inwardly, took the bowl of hot and sour noodles that had made her cough after just one sniff, and handed it to Li Shuyao. She whispered to her, "If you can forgive my blunt words just now, I will ask my palace chef to make you a bowl of hot and sour noodles every day for the next two months."
"How about it?"
Li Shuyao was actually a little tempted.
But if she thought about eating hot and sour noodles every day, she would definitely get tired of it.
After thinking for a moment, he turned to Qingyao and said, "No need for the hot and sour noodles, but you have to promise that for the next two months, the chef in your palace will obey me and do whatever I tell him to do. Also, I can eat as much as I want. And you are not allowed to say I'm fat... You are not allowed to say it, Lingluo is not allowed to say it, and Jiarou and Yueshu are not allowed to control me."
In order to come to Qingyao to accompany her, she reluctantly gave up her previous "hibernation" plan!
Every morning she would get up from her warm bed and never stay in bed. She would dress up and then wrap herself in a thick cloak before walking towards Qingyao.
Shoes and socks were often soaked by the accumulated snow on the road. Often, before people reached the Yiku Palace, their heads and bodies were covered with snow, their noses were frozen red, and their fingers were as hard as carrots.
This is not the end. At night, she had to return to the back room of the Qianqing Palace in the howling cold wind.
The only days when you have your period and when you are sleeping with your husband do you not have to go out.
And Qingyao...
Forget it, let’s not compare.
She was afraid that the sourness in her heart was heavier than this bowl of hot and sour noodles.
After hearing her request, Qingyao quickly looked embarrassed.
Li Shuyao held her stomach and turned her head away angrily.
Qingyao had no choice but to surrender now. "Okay, I promise not to tell you. As for Lingluo, I will also explain everything to her in advance. As for Jiarou and Yueshu, they are your palace maids. Shouldn't you tell them yourself?"
After she said this, Li Shuyao stopped being upset and turned back, holding her belly. She also took the initiative to let go of her hands, allowing Qingyao to touch her belly.
She took a bite of the hot and sour noodles before saying, "But they didn't listen to me."
"Because they are doing this for your health..."
"Starving me is for the good of my body?" Li Shuyao raised her eyebrows, and her expression looked unhappy no matter how you looked at it.
Qingyao thought for a moment, "How about this, let's find a doctor to take your pulse. If your pulse is normal, it means there's nothing wrong with your body and your appetite is normal. Then they won't say anything to you anymore."
Li Shuyao remained silent and didn't dare to speak.
I lowered my head and took a sip of the sour, spicy and choking soup. I felt a warm current rising from the bottom of my stomach and slowly flowing through my limbs, making me feel much more comfortable.
Then he bit the edge of the bowl and mumbled, "No doctor."
What if, what if the imperial physician diagnoses her and says it’s because she eats too much?
Wouldn't that give Jiarou and Yueshu even more reason to keep an eye on her?
Li Shuyao was naturally extremely unhappy about this.
Qingyao couldn't do anything to her.
I had no choice but to let her do whatever she wanted.
*
After eating the hot and sour noodles, Li Shuyao went to the side hall to take a shower and change clothes.
When she came back, she saw palace servants sweeping snow in the courtyard. The bright sun overhead brought a rare bit of warmth. She turned her head and asked Tian Jiarou curiously, "The snow has stopped. It feels warmer than this time yesterday. Will it stop snowing in the next few days?"
Tian Jiarou nodded hesitantly, then shook her head and said she didn't know either.
Yue Shu said, "If you want to know the weather for the next few days, why not ask Eunuch Liang?"
After all, the Imperial Observatory would report the weather observations to the Palace of Heavenly Purity on time every day, so if the temperature were to warm up in the next few days, Liang Jiugong would be the first person to know.
Li Shuyao looked at the backs of the palace maids sweeping the snow in the courtyard, and felt a little moved and wanted to play.
I want to make a snowman, one of Qingyao, another of her, Lingluo Jiarou and Yueshu... A total of five snowmen will be placed in the yard. It should look good, right?
Li Shuyao thought as she walked a few steps into the yard.
After handing the hand warmer to Tian Jiarou, she quickly took off the gloves on both hands and stretched them out to the air. After a while, a piercing chill spread from her fingertips...
She quickly withdrew her hand, put on gloves, held the hand warmer in her arms, tightened her cloak around her body, and returned to the main hall of Yiku Palace where Qingyao was without looking back.
It’s so cold, why bother making snowmen? No!
Qingyao still didn't know what she had done outside.
She was reading a book and lying on the couch waiting for Li Shuyao to come back to her.
——Let’s continue chatting about the gossip in the harem.
As mentioned earlier, after the queen's power was transferred, most of the palace power fell into the hands of Concubine Tong.
But for some reason, Concubine Tong did not seem very enthusiastic this time, and even seemed to have a hint of disgust.
After calling them to Chengqian Palace, he lazily lay down on the chair and told them to just tell him which part they wanted to be responsible for.
As the head of the seven concubines, no one dared to speak until Concubine An expressed her opinion, so everyone silently turned their eyes to her again.
Concubine An thought for a moment and said, "I heard that the Emperor intended to transform Jingyang Palace into a library and move all the books in the palace there. Although I am not talented, I am willing to help Your Majesty with the task of compiling the books."
This task is very simple and can be supervised by any maid or steward in the palace.
It was obvious that she didn't want to steal Concubine Tong's limelight.
Upon hearing this, Concubine Tong's eyes flickered, and she sat up slightly straighter. Without saying yes or no, she simply turned her gaze towards the others and asked in a cold voice, "What about you? Do you share the same idea as Concubine An?"
Several people looked at each other, and then nodded one by one.
Rongpin smiled and said, "It's mainly because we concubines have never managed palace affairs before. We are worried that we lack experience. If something goes wrong again, wouldn't the Imperial Concubine be forced to clean up the mess for us concubines?"
She spoke as politely as possible.
However, Huipin had a different opinion. She frowned and shook her head, "Sister Rongpin, you are being too modest."
As soon as she said "sister", Rongpin's face froze.
"...Why?" Li Shuyao was puzzled when she heard this.
Qingyao stopped and patiently explained to her, "Huipin and Rongpin entered the palace on the same day. It is said that Rongpin is a few months older than Huipin. Rongpin served the emperor earlier than Huipin, became pregnant earlier than Huipin, and even gave birth to the emperor's first child. In addition, when the imperial edict was issued to confer titles on concubines, Rongpin was listed first."
"So if we must rank them by seniority, it's never Huipin's turn to call her 'sister'."
When she said this, Li Shuyao also remembered something, so she moved closer to Qingyao and asked her in a low voice: "What about you? When you were made a concubine, what was your rank?"
In history, Qingyao was ranked sixth, before Concubine Xi; while in the novel, Qingyao was ranked fourth, after Concubine An, Concubine Rong, Concubine Hui, and then Concubine Yi.
She was very curious. After the plot was disrupted, would Qingyao's position follow real history or remain the same as in the novel?
Qingyao glanced at her. Although she didn't understand why she asked that, she still answered honestly, "I'm the sixth one, just ahead of Concubine Xi."
After all, when she was made a concubine, it had been less than half a year since she entered the palace, and she started out as an official girl. She had no qualifications, and being able to hold the position of a concubine was already an exception. If she was ranked higher, I am afraid that the previous dynasty would have been discussing it.
Wow!
Li Shuyao was slightly shocked, then asked another question with bright eyes, "Doesn't that mean you are qualified to call Concubine Xi your sister?"
Qingyao quickly corrected her with a serious face, "That's not allowed. After all, everything in the palace is based on seniority. Concubine Xi has been in the palace for so many years, even though she has no children and her rank is low. But if I really call her that in front of everyone, I'm afraid others will think I'm arrogant and domineering."
This goes against her policy of "keeping a low profile".
"Then what are you going to do?" Li Shuyao blinked.
Qingyao said, "We just call each other by our titles. I call her Concubine Xi, and she calls me Concubine Yi. And when we refer to ourselves, we both call ourselves 'sister'. It's just a matter between the two of us, and we can get away with it. No one else can say anything."
"Then you are quite smart." Li Shuyao praised Qingyao with a smile.
Qingyao immediately raised her delicate little chin, her expression very proud, "Of course."
After saying that, he seemed to remember something and glared at Li Shuyao unhappily, "Why are you talking about this? Aren't you going to continue listening?"
Li Shuyao shook her head. "I don't want to hear it anymore. I can roughly guess what the outcome will be."
She said, "Has Concubine Xi taken on the task of arranging for the palace maids to visit the family at Shunzhen Gate every month?"
Qingyao: "She did propose it, but the job was quickly snatched away by Concubine Hui."
Li Shuyao:?
Concubine Hui is really...
Forget it, it’s not nice to complain about others behind their backs.
Li Shuyao recalled the plot and continued to speculate: "Did Concubine Rong take over the prince's place..."
Qingyao shook her head again, "It was also snatched away by Huipin. The reason is that only the eldest prince is living in the prince residence now, and Rongpin's son, Changsheng, is not old enough to move in. She hopes Rongpin will give her this job for the sake of her motherly heart."
After listening to this, Li Shuyao was speechless for a moment.
He continued to speculate softly, "Then... Concubine Duan picked up a job at the Xinzheku, right?"
Qingyao didn't deny it this time, and said with a doubtful tone, "Yes, did you also hear the palace people talking about it? Speaking of which, this job is difficult and there are no benefits. I wonder what Concubine Duan thinks."
Li Shuyao smiled secretly in her heart and did not tell Qingyao about Concubine Duan's purpose.
After all, she couldn't explain her foresight.
So he pretended to be confused and continued to speculate: "So, in the Imperial Garden, is it Concubine Rong or Concubine Jing who took over?"
Qingyao said, "It's Concubine Jing."
"How are the palace maids' shares being distributed?" Li Shuyao asked.
Qingyao said: "It was still snatched away by Huipin."
Huipin seems to be very purposeful...
Li Shuyao was thinking, and suddenly realized something. She sat up straight and asked in surprise, "Then, how are the rations for the concubines in the harem distributed?"
"Could it be that Concubine Hui also snatched it away?"
Please don't, this concerns her and Qingyao's salary payment...
"That's not the case. Concubine Tong wouldn't allow her to go this far."
Li Shuyao finally breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good. I knew it, Imperial Concubine Tong is very wise. So, has she taken this job into her own hands?"
Qingyao suddenly laughed, and said to her mysteriously, "Guess?"
Li Shuyao didn't guess.
As soon as Qingyao smiled, she knew what Qingyao meant. She immediately widened her eyes in surprise, "It can't be you?"
Qingyao nodded repeatedly with a smile on her face, "It's me, it's me, Shuyao, you've really become smarter."
After hearing this, Li Shuyao suddenly became angry: "..."
I can’t keep this best friend anymore.
Let’s break up!
*
After more than half an hour, the two of them finished chatting about the gossip in the harem during this period.
In general, the most important palace power was still in the hands of Concubine Tong and was not easily transferred to others.
After all, among the seven concubines, except for Concubine Hui, the other six acted as if they were avoiding her. How could she dare to let go easily?
I had no choice but to hold my nose and do it myself.
Kunning Palace.
The queen originally thought that after she transferred power to lower levels, Concubine Tong would fight with the seven concubines.
However, she didn't expect that the situation in the harem would not go as she expected.
Except for one Huipin...
Concubine Hui!
The queen leaned against the head of the bed with a gloomy expression, her eyes dark as she thought about something.
After a while, she drank the bowl of slightly cool medicine in her hand, threw the bowl on the small table beside the bed, and instructed the palace maid who was kneeling on the ground with her head bowed in front of the bed: "Tomorrow, ask Imperial Physician Zhang to come and check my pulse."
The maid immediately agreed and carefully left the room.
…
A few days later, something big suddenly happened in the harem.
It was heard that a palace maid in the Yanx Palace climbed onto the bed, which made the emperor very angry, and he directly punished the palace maid to do hard labor in the Xinzhekuli.
Huipin was also deprived of her right to assist in managing the six palaces by the emperor because of her fault of not governing her subordinates strictly. Except for the fact that she could continue to look after the princes, she had to reflect on her mistakes in her own palace, copy the palace rules, and reflect on herself.
When Li Shuyao heard the news, she was shocked at first, and then speechless.
In the end, I was still a little angry. Why was "Li Shuyao" in the original novel sentenced to death for climbing into bed, but the palace maids in the Yanx Palace were just forced to do labor for climbing into bed?
Is the emperor treating me differently?
She stood up angrily and walked back and forth in her room several times. Her footsteps were very loud, and every step seemed as if she wanted to stomp on someone...
Tian Jiarou and Yue Shu were watching from the side, both of them were a little confused. Why was she angry again?
Is he angry that a palace maid climbed into his bed?
Or are you worried that the emperor will be seduced away by someone?
But...didn't the emperor already send that palace maid who climbed onto the bed to the Xinzheku?
Tian Jiarou approached carefully, holding Li Shuyao's arms with both hands, and walked back and forth with her in the room. As they walked, she asked her softly, "When did you become so angry, young lady?"
Li Shuyao puffed out her cheeks angrily, pursed her lips, and said nothing.
A pair of clear almond-shaped eyes on her face sparkled with anger, looking as shimmering as a pool of spring water. Although extremely beautiful, it also made people afraid to approach her, fearing she would be scratched by this angry cat.
Li Shuyao stopped circling until her feet were tired.
After walking to the table and sitting down, he raised his hand to pour himself a glass of warm water and drank several gulps in a row.
Then he put down the cup and complained to Tian Jiarou and Yue Shu: "I am angry. The emperor's punishment for that palace maid was too light."
Although the labor in Xinzheku is hard, at least you can still save your life, right?
Compared with being beaten to death, it is really too light a punishment.
How could she not be angry?
Tian Jiarou and Yue Shu looked at each other.
Yue Shu hesitated for a moment, then walked over and squatted at Li Shuyao's feet. She asked her cautiously, "Have you ever been to Xinzheku?"
Li Shuyao shook her head. She had only heard of Xinzheku in movies, TV shows and novels.
It seems like a very hard place. As for how hard it is, it's just doing some hard and dirty work... How can it be compared to being beaten to death?
Yueshu looked at Tian Jiarou again.
Tian Jiarou understood instantly. She considered her words carefully before saying to Li Shuyao, "I've heard that few palace maids serving in the Xinzheku survive more than two years."
"Even a strong eunuch would die within five years if he arrived there."
"Moreover, the way they die is usually extremely tragic. A bloody mess is easy to do. Most people don't even have a normal human form when they die."
"The palace ladies often discuss privately that the Xinzheku is a place even harsher than the Shenxingsi. My lady, do you feel better now that you think about it?"
Li Shuyao looked pale when she heard this: "..."
She glanced at Jiarou.
I want to say thank you, not only do I feel better, I even... feel a little nauseous.
Thinking of this, she turned around, covered her mouth and began to retch.
This scared Yueshu and Tian Jiarou!
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