Chapter 7 Harem Structure
Li Yueyao sighed and said, "Aunt Qin, I just returned to the palace and need someone around me. Go and pack up first, and then follow me.
There are many things in the palace that still require your assistance."
Nanny Qin stood up and bowed to Li Yueyao: "Yes, I obey your command."
"Aunt, where is Qianlou?" Li Yueyao asked again.
"I'm sweeping the Yeyou Courtyard." Nanny Qin answered respectfully.
Li Yueyao was so angry that she laughed:
“Where you two are going is truly eye-opening.
A nanny who was with the former queen, working in the laundry department;
Another capable eunuch left for Your Majesty by the late emperor is in Yeyouting.
Good, really good, this palace is really good."
Li Yueyao turned around and asked, "Why was Qian Lou exiled to Yeyouting?"
"Your Highness, His Majesty is kindhearted and cannot tolerate Qian Lou's tactics, so he has demoted him to sweep the Imperial Gardens.
Later, because he offended Princess Zhaoqing, Princess Zhaoqing ordered His Majesty to banish him to the Yeyou Court to do the sweeping and cleaning.
Li Yueyao's forehead veins jumped when she heard this: "It's Zhao Qing again, a jerk who can't do anything good but always makes things worse."
Then he turned to Nanny Qin and said, "Go to the palace and see if Qian Lou is dead. If he is not dead, tell him to come here immediately."
"Yes."
Nanny Qin took the order and left the hall, heading towards the Ye Ting.
In the Yunting, a eunuch in his thirties or forties was holding a piece of cloth in his hand and wiping the ground in front of him bit by bit, very seriously.
It was as if the ground was his lover, worthy of his serious treatment.
Nanny Qin stood at the end of the corridor, watching the eunuch wiping the floor bit by bit, without saying a word or disturbing him.
The eunuch wiped Qin Ma's feet and moved to another place without even raising his head.
Nanny Qin sighed softly and said, "It seems you are quite comfortable staying here."
The eunuch threw the linen in his hand into the basin of water beside him without saying a word.
"Pack up and go, the Grand Princess of Jinyang has summoned you."
After saying this, Nanny Qin walked away.
The eunuch stood up, walked aside, put on his shoes, followed behind Qin Ma Ma, and walked forward with his head down.
Half an hour later, Li Yueyao finished reading the emperor's meal list and the records of the harem's sleeping arrangements, and found no problems in the meal records.
As expected, the records of sleeping with the emperor showed that most of the time was spent with the imperial concubine, and the other half was spent with Xiangpin, Rongpin, Guo Zhaoyi, and Qi Meiren.
He would only go to the Queen's Palace for a short visit on the fifteenth day of every month, but he would not stay overnight.
Li Yueyao still discovered the problem. Among the four concubines, except for the imperial concubine, none of the other three concubines were favored by the emperor.
The queen was chosen by the silly nephew himself, but the remaining three concubines were chosen by the late emperor and the empress dowager.
After the silly nephew ascended the throne, these old ladies in the Eastern Palace were promoted to concubines.
There was no imperial concubine at that time, only three concubines: Shu, De and Xian.
In recent years, Concubine Shu has been ill and has been recuperating in Changchun Palace. The Second Prince often comes to visit her.
Defei gave birth to the eldest prince and the third prince, and occasionally she could meet the emperor to talk and chat about family matters.
However, Concubine Xian imprisoned herself in Yong'an Palace and has not left the palace for five years. Even the Fourth Prince is not allowed to see her on a daily basis.
Li Yueyao was furious when she saw this and said, "The emperor has eight sons, and the four who reached adulthood were all born to these three concubines. Yet none of them are favored by the emperor. They are such good-for-nothings."
Just as he was saying this, Wu Le came in and announced, "Your Highness, we've arrived at Qianlou."
"Let him in."
After Qian Lou followed Aunt Qin in, he knelt on the ground and buried his head deeply in the ground.
"Meet the Grand Princess of Jinyang."
"Your face hadn't been painted too, had it? Look up." Li Yueyao said when she saw this.
Qian Lou raised his head and looked at Li Yueyao with a calm expression and peaceful eyes.
Li Yueyao observed for a long time and nodded, "Well, that's right, in these few years in Yeyou Court, I think that sharp edge of yours has been worn away.
This is good too. How can someone who follows the emperor be filled with evil spirits? This peaceful and quiet one is good."
"Your Highness, thank you for your compliment. I have been reflecting day and night in the palace for these years. I have not committed any serious mistakes, so why did I end up in this situation?
It must be that I was too aggressive before and didn't know how to hide my shortcomings.
Furthermore, His Majesty is a kind and benevolent person, and he does not like the way I do things."
Li Yueyao smiled and said, "You've figured this out, so you have some brains. From now on, be a gentle yet tough person."
"Thank you for your guidance, Your Highness."
Qian Lou kowtowed twice on the ground.
"Get up. Get up and tell me about the four concubines and the queen in the palace."
"Yes."
Qian Lou stood up and stood aside, lowering his head and quietly answering: "Your Majesty has been on the throne for seven years. In the past two years, the imperial concubine has not entered the palace yet, and the palace has been peaceful and harmonious.
However, since the imperial concubine entered the palace, Shufei's health gradually weakened, and she had to stay in Changchun Palace for a long time to recuperate.
Later, for unknown reasons, the virtuous concubine had a big quarrel with His Majesty, and then she imprisoned herself in Yong'an Palace and did not go out for five years.
Defei's family background is shallow, and for the sake of her family and the two princes, she occasionally meets His Majesty, but His Majesty never stays overnight in Xianfu Palace.
The Queen's harem was relatively harmonious during the first two years, just as it was when she was in the Eastern Palace.
However, one year after the imperial concubine entered the palace, the three concubines gradually withdrew, and the queen began to confront the imperial concubine. The two of them have been fighting back and forth for many years.
But the basic results were one-sided, and the Imperial Concubine made rapid progress, and now she is the number one person in the harem."
Li Yueyao was very puzzled after listening for a long time.
The virtuous concubine was chosen by both myself and my royal brother. She has the means and the character, but how could she do such a thing as imprisoning herself in the palace?
And there is Concubine Shu, whose intelligence is unmatched by ordinary people, yet she has fallen to such a state.
This is a bit too weird.
Li Yueyao asked, "Have you checked the Imperial Concubine's background?"
"Your Highness, I have checked it." Nanny Qin replied.
“Over the years, the imperial concubine has repeatedly sent people to kill me, and I have already sent people to investigate her.
She was the concubine daughter of the Earl of Anping. Because of her frail health, she was raised in a country villa and was not brought back until she was fourteen years old.
Her elder sister was as beautiful as a flower and famous in the capital. She was originally wanted to enter the palace.
But for some unknown reason, her eldest sister suddenly got acne, leaving her face full of acne scars, ruining her appearance.
Finally, as a last resort, the Anping Earl family allowed the imperial concubine to enter the palace in place of the eldest sister."
Cuiwei sneered, "Mammy, could it be that the imperial concubine gave her eldest sister that pox?"
“Yes, her eldest sister’s appearance was disfigured, and she ended up hastily marrying a newly-minted scholar from a poor family.
I sent someone to approach her eldest sister, and heard from her maid that her sister cursed the imperial concubine at home every day.
Qian Lou thought for a moment, then turned to look at Nanny Qin and said, "The imperial concubine was raised on the farm until she was fourteen, and not many people saw her.
After returning to the capital, he was still unknown, but once he entered the palace, he became proficient in poetry, literature and etiquette. There is something wrong between them, isn't it? "
Li Yueyao smiled after hearing this. This was why the late emperor sent Qian Lou to assist His Majesty. He always hit the nail on the head when looking at problems.
"Who knows, she might have a master teaching her in the countryside," Cuiwei said.
Qian Lou shook his head after hearing this: "Miss, what you said is wrong. A master can teach the imperial concubine poetry and songs, but the etiquette in the palace is not necessarily the same.
But after entering the palace, the imperial concubine was very good at etiquette and did not seem to have just learned it."
Li Yueyao nodded after hearing this and said, "Mammy, you said that night you heard the Imperial Concubine and the man in black saying that the child must be aborted, otherwise it would be discovered after birth.
What kind of child would be seen as having something special from the moment they are born?"
Qian Lou thought for a moment, took a deep breath and said, "A foreign race, a Hu people. Blond hair and blue eyes, it can't be concealed."
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