Chapter 348 Extra: Daily Life in Prince Wei’s Mansion
Shen Biqiong had just sent the servants to the sewing room in the backyard. Seeing that the New Year was approaching, sewing was needed everywhere.
The mansion is better now than before, so naturally there is more that can be done.
She didn't have to worry about her own affairs or Qi Chuan's. The princess also had her own rules. She only had to take care of the other concubines and wives in the backyard.
All the money that the palace spends every year comes from here.
Prince Wei originally had four concubines. Apart from Sun who died of illness after she entered the palace, there are still two left, both of whom are quite old.
The love was gone long ago, and even though they had a daughter, they couldn't keep her.
Speaking of which, the situation in the Prince's Mansion was also tragic. The wife and concubines did not have any children. However, the concubines managed to have several daughters.
But now, the future of her daughters is in her hands.
Therefore, those concubines obeyed her wholeheartedly. Moreover, she never stopped them from serving the King. Not only did she not stop them, she also helped them.
So those concubines could only be grateful.
There were some who were disobedient, but over the past few years, they have been mostly dealt with.
After all, Prince Wei is old now, and although he is still fickle and lustful, he is no longer the same as he used to be.
When Prince Wei came in the evening, he saw Shen Biqiong looking worried.
Shen Biqiong cheered up and served him meal.
Prince Wei believed that he was very kind to this concubine, so he observed her expression and said, "What's wrong with Qiong'er? Who is the blind person who made you angry?"
"How could that be possible? Your Highness is worrying too much. Are you tired today? It is better to rest early." Shen Biqiong smiled and shook her head.
King Wei hates you hiding something from him, so he thinks he has figured it out. He wants to know it no matter what.
"You say!" Then he frowned and pointed at Shen Biqiong's maid.
"Yes, Your Majesty, it was Concubine Kang. Our master is in charge of distributing fabrics and clothes in the backyard today. There are rules in place, and no one else has objections. Only Concubine Kang is not convinced and says that our master... our master is not shy, so how can he argue? He just feels wronged."
"It's not that serious. It's not a big deal. It's just that there is only so much fabric this year. In the summer, didn't the prince get two beautiful concubines? It's the first year for the new couple to enter the mansion. It's the New Year, so they have to wear nice clothes. The prince will be happy to see them, right? That's why I was asked to give him more..." Shen Biqiong sighed, "I was not considerate enough."
"What are you talking about? Qiong'er is the most thoughtful! Although they have just arrived at the mansion, they cannot bypass you." Having said that, the thing that King Wei was most satisfied with in his heart was that Shen Biqiong was considerate.
He was now new to the two beautiful concubines, so naturally he liked this.
"Tell Concubine Kang that all her things will be reduced by half this year! Others can do it, but she can't?" Prince Wei said.
"Your Highness, there is no need to do this. I have an idea. What do you think?" Shen Biqiong smiled and served him tea: "No hurry, drink your tea first."
The King was satisfied: "Mm, good tea, Qiong'er, tell me what you think."
"This is what I think. Your Highness, look at the South Courtyard. There are so many people there, and it's hard to manage them. They're all old and ugly. It's better to send them out for marriage." Shen Biqiong saw that Prince Wei was unhappy and said hurriedly, "Aren't the two who came in this year good? Your Highness, I'm afraid you haven't been to the South Courtyard for a few years. Wouldn't it be better to take in a few more beautiful concubines next year?"
King Wei nodded and began to think about it.
Indeed, he has been in the South Courtyard for many years. Now that he is older, his energy is not as good as before, so naturally he goes there less often.
Moreover, there were four or five girls that Shen Biqiong gave to him later, all of whom were extremely beautiful and very charming. Together, they occupied the king, and the others could not get anything.
Shen Biqing naturally would not fight for this. Of course, she gave the person to King Wei, so naturally he would listen to her the most. No matter what King Wei did, he could not ask them to leave any offspring. It went without saying who had the final say in this palace in the future.
There were also some stupid ones who had already asked Shen Chuliu to deal with them.
Prince Wei had several young and beautiful concubines, so he didn't care much about the ones in the South Courtyard.
"There are also a few people in the South Courtyard that I care about very much." Thinking about it, King Wei still said, although he is very romantic, people always have preferences.
"Of course, there are many people in the South Courtyard, and we have to get the prince's instructions. How can we just call them all out?" Shen Biqiong said with a smile: "But I thought it would be a good thing to do it before the New Year. If it gets out, people will say that our family cares about the people below. Isn't it also a grace from the prince?"
This was pleasing to the ears of the Prince, and it was a good deed. It was also good for the Emperor to hear it when it was spread to the palace. Although the Prince was lustful, he was not a fool and knew that his reputation was not good. However, the reason why he was willing to listen to Shen Biqiong was because Shen Biqiong still satisfied him.
Although many people were sent away, there were also many new beautiful young concubines.
King Wei was cheered up again: "Well, you are right. How about this, tomorrow I will ask someone to give you a list. Follow the list."
"Yes, then I will definitely make sure they are settled well and will never treat them unfairly." Shen Biqiong smiled kindly, feeling very disgusted in her heart.
The King was satisfied, and naturally stayed overnight after having enough food and drink. Shen Biqiong also acted well, and naturally served the King very well.
The list arrived the next morning.
There are more than sixty beauties living in the South Courtyard, but unfortunately most of them are already quite old. They basically belong to two categories: one is the daughters of poor people, and the other is the girls in brothels.
They were all poor people. At its peak, the South Court had nearly a hundred people.
Some of the women that King Wei left behind had been pregnant and given birth, but they didn't keep their babies. Some were relatively young and pretty, or were special, and King Wei had liked them.
In Prince Hui's palace, those who live in the South Courtyard are all playthings. They have no status at all and are even worse than slaves. They can be sold or killed at will.
Only those who have their own residence can be considered to have a decent life. But they still don't have status. Nowadays, there are quite a few who are legitimate concubines, more than a dozen. Half of them are Shen Biqiong's people.
Even that half had already submitted to her.
The princess had already retreated thousands of miles away, and there were still two concubines who were still at the bottom. Unfortunately, they had no support from the prince at all. If the concubines wanted to live a good life, they naturally had to follow Concubine Shen.
King Wei thought seriously about the group of people in the South Courtyard and wrote down fifty-four names in one breath.
Shen Biqiong took the list directly to the South Courtyard. When her maid said this, all the beauties in the South Courtyard were willing to leave.
Who wouldn't want to? Living a life worse than death here, it would be nice even if I could get out and become a peddler.
Although some of them are almost forty years old, they can still get married.
I'll just see who has enjoyed it during this time period. Is it worth a tip?
(End of this chapter)
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