Chapter 1 Chapter 1 Night Run
In April of the second year of Shenwu, spring was about to end, but it suddenly rained for more than half a month, and the end of spring was suddenly stretched out.
When the evening breeze blows over, it feels like a fluff of down brushing across your face, warm and refreshing, making you crane your neck to enjoy it a little more.
The Queen had the lattice windows on both sides of the main hall of Fengzao Palace opened, and sat on a crescent-shaped bench by the window to enjoy the breeze and relax, with Concubine Wu by her side.
"Please sit down." The Queen was wearing her latest evening makeup and a rather elaborate hairpin. In her hand, she held a scroll of poems on her knees, as if about to read. She looked a little strange as she spoke to Concubine Wu: "Why are you here at this hour?"
Concubine Wu was flattered to sit down across from her. When the Empress asked about this, she immediately started complaining, "It's that Concubine Ying... Of all the new concubines who arrived last month, she lives closest to me. She said she was going to perform music at the Empress Dowager's birthday banquet, and she's been playing and singing all day, making my ears hurt. That's why I thought of coming to hide here, Your Majesty. Your Fengzao Palace is so solemn and dignified, no one dares to disturb it."
Although the Queen was somewhat fed up with Concubine Wu's playful and cunning ways, she didn't turn a cold face towards a smiling person. She just sighed in a gloomy tone, "These new concubines are all thoughtful. They've made the harem more lively with all the fat and thin concubines there."
"In your opinion, which of these new concubines are outstanding?"
The new concubine had only been in the palace for half a month, and her life was still very new. The empress never liked women dressed in eerie clothes, so she didn't remember many of their faces.
But she didn't dare take it lightly. She had married His Majesty later, and although she had only entered the palace two months earlier than the new concubines, she was much older than them. How could she not be wary of their youth and beauty?
Wupin could tell the Queen was not happy with the new concubines, so she certainly didn't say anything good about them. She just waved her hands and said, "How could any of them be outstanding? I've looked carefully, and they're all just mediocre. In terms of looks and figures, they can't even compare to the maidens in your palace!"
She was not even as good as a palace maid, let alone this maid's master. Wupin's original intention was to praise the Queen by putting down the new concubine, but she didn't expect that a real face would appear before the Queen's eyes.
She suddenly looked at Concubine Wu: "Which palace maid?"
Wu was so engrossed in her flattery that she didn't notice the Queen's tone had grown colder. She took a sip of tea and said hurriedly, "It's that... I can't even remember her name. I bumped into her by chance when I was last in your palace. She looked so unfamiliar that I almost gasped. She puts Concubine Yang and Concubine Ying in a daze."
As she was speaking, Jin Yu, the Queen's personal maid, secretly tugged at Concubine Wu's sleeve.
After several tugs, Wupin continued to chatter with a beaming face. Jinyu cursed Wupin in her heart for many times. It was okay for her to offend the queen with her careless words, but she must not let them suffer because of the queen's bad mood.
When Concubine Wu belatedly realized what was going on and met Jin Yu's warning gaze, she turned around and was shocked to see the Queen's furrowed brows. She then stopped talking in panic.
However, it seems too late.
The Queen, as if she had brought up some old grudge, looked at him with resentment, "Where's Qingzan? It's rare for Concubine Wu to show such respect to her. Why don't you ask her to come over and express her gratitude?"
Jin Yu whispered tremblingly, "Your Majesty, you forgot that you sent her to the Ministry of Internal Affairs this afternoon to collect the jade materials that Khotan had sent as tribute."
Unable to call him over to vent her anger, the Queen became increasingly frustrated: "He hasn't come back yet? Who knows where he's been lazing around!"
Don’t wait until you come back and “just happen” to run into the Holy Chariot with ulterior motives!
Concubine Wu was confused and nervous, so she pretended to be mute for a while. She really didn't understand why the queen would be so angry with a palace maid. If she really didn't like it, she could just send her somewhere else.
After pondering for a moment, Concubine Wu tried to make amends, saying, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It might not be this palace maid. Perhaps I just think she's pretty, but in the eyes of others, she's just mediocre!"
But the Queen obviously didn't buy her tricks and just sipped her tea and ate her cakes. There was a bit of gnashing of teeth in the way her lips opened and closed, and Concubine Wu didn't dare to say anything else.
After a long pause, she timidly spoke again, "Shouldn't I be leaving now? Today is the fifteenth day of the lunar month, and His Majesty is thinking of you. He will surely come early this morning after reading the memorials. Please don't let me disturb you and His Majesty while they're dining, or I'll be at fault."
The Queen's expression improved slightly. "I almost forgot. It's almost time. It's hard for you to remember it for Miyamoto."
Ever since Concubine Wu came into the palace, this is the most pleasant thing she has said.
The queen pretended not to care: "If there is nothing else, you can leave first."
As expected, Concubine Wu stood up in response.
Seeing that the person didn't hesitate, the Empress's doubts were somewhat dispelled. She had previously suspected that Concubine Wu had deliberately chosen this hour to come, seeking an opportunity to meet His Majesty and remind him of her. After all, Concubine Wu had been with the Emperor since his time in the Eastern Palace, but she had always been poorly favored by the Emperor, and only saw him a few times a year.
Now it seems that she is barely sensible. She also heard that this Wupin was originally a commoner who was bought into the Eastern Palace for the Crown Prince to be a shrewd person. The Queen did not expect her to be very smart. The reason she was willing to accept her recently was simply because of her seniority and wanted to use her to understand the other concubines in the palace.
Beside her, Jin Yu couldn't help but sigh. Fortunately, today was the fifteenth day of the lunar month, and the Empress was already feeling relieved. Otherwise, just based on the two sentences that Concubine Wu had praised Qing Zan so much before, and the efforts that Concubine Wu had put into the Empress for the past few months would have been wasted.
fifteen--
According to the old rules set by our ancestors, on the fifteenth day of every month, as long as the throne of the Empress was not vacant, the Emperor and the Empress would sleep and eat together.
The reason why the Empress specifically sat by the window was probably not because she really wanted to enjoy the breeze, but because she wanted to see the Holy Emperor as soon as possible...
Three months had passed since the Emperor and Empress's wedding in January, and the Lantern Festival night seemed like only yesterday. Yet, during these three months, His Majesty had only set foot in Fengzao Palace a handful of times, almost exclusively on days designated by the ancestors. On February 15th, the eldest prince's birthday, His Majesty went to Guanju Palace to celebrate with him, thus eliminating another day.
By this calculation, Your Majesty and His Majesty have only met three or four times so far.
Furthermore, last month, following urgent remonstration from the Ministry of Rites, the selection of concubines, which had been delayed from the first year to this year, was finally put on the agenda. Suddenly, many newcomers flooded into the palace, and it seemed they would soon completely divide up His Majesty's favor.
Even the most noble woman in the world cannot escape the deep palace resentment that is like a ulcer attached to her bones.
Jin Yu was feeling extremely worried about her mistress, and before Concubine Wu could even leave, as if to confirm her words, a eunuch with sharp eyes and a shrill voice shouted out from outside the main gate of Fengzao Palace, "Here they come! The emperor's guests are here!"
Whenever the emperor's chariot arrived at a place, there would always be a young eunuch who would go ahead to report the news.
Wu Concubine was no longer in a hurry to leave. She turned back and congratulated with a smile, "The Imperial Court has arrived at this hour. His Majesty truly cares about you and must be anxious to see you!"
"How dare you, a chatterbox, make up stories about me and His Majesty!"
In fact, there was no need for Concubine Wu to say anything. The Queen seemed to have taken a magic medicine. All the gloom in her eyes disappeared and she was radiant.
The empress sat up straight, shoulders and back erect, unfolding the long-unused copy of poetry. With a cheerful expression, she instructed the maid beside her, "Go and see if the food is ready. Are the ones you prepared earlier still hot?"
The young maid was also proud of this. She had been preparing until now, just waiting for the Queen to ask, "We are keeping a close eye on it. There are three soups that need to be stewed in advance, and they are all warming on the stove. As for the remaining fifteen dishes, should we start cooking them now?"
"No hurry, wait a little longer, we can open fire after His Majesty arrives." The Queen tried her best to relax. Her father had taught her more than once that the palace was different from home, and she couldn't be impatient.
She held her temper and pretended to turn the pages twice.
The current emperor, deeply fond of the refined arts, had previously expressed disdain for her lack of knowledge of poetry and literature. However, she had been pampered at home and had always been too lazy to tackle her studies. After all, being able to read and write was enough to make her highly sought after among the noble ladies. For as long as she could remember, she knew she would one day become the Crown Princess.
But she never expected that His Majesty, not only a man of both civil and military talents, also valued the talents of his concubines. The women in the palace were all shrewd people who knew how to please the emperor, and each one was as skilled as the other in reciting poetry. Although the Empress was very uncomfortable with this, she had no choice but to follow suit.
After a while, the eunuch who delivered the message from the emperor entered Fengzao Palace as expected.
For some unknown reason, the eunuch kept his brows lowered and his steps hurried, as if he was hiding from something and didn't dare to face it. As soon as he entered, he hurriedly performed the formal audience ceremony: "Greetings to the Empress."
The Queen was in an exceptionally good mood today, feigning compassion and kindness. She smiled faintly and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Eunuch. Where is His Majesty now?"
It was just a commonplace question, but the young eunuch suddenly became as if he was facing a great enemy. His pupils dilated in fear for a moment, and he stuttered, "Here, here..."
"Hmm?" the Queen asked softly.
The more the Empress treated him with such kindness, the more fearful and intimidated the young eunuch became. He had no choice but to relay the message, "Your Majesty, the eldest prince has been coughing for some reason today. Your Majesty has already gone to Guanju Palace, so I've sent this servant to inform Your Majesty that you don't have to wait for him for dinner."
Under her precious silk sleeves, the queen's index finger nail, which had been pinching the envelope, suddenly broke.
It was dyed in the afternoon. The crushed flower juice was mixed with gold powder to dye the fingertips so bright and beautiful. But now it does not receive any love from its owner.
Although the Queen did not completely explode in front of the people in front of her, her eyes were filled with unconcealable hatred, which made her entire face slightly distorted.
She tried to remain calm, maintaining the last bit of dignity she had as the Queen Mother. "As he should be, is the Crown Prince alright? Please, Eunuch, return home and offer my condolences to him. After all, I am his mother."
The last few words were written with gritted teeth.
"Yes." The young eunuch shuddered and left in a hurry.
As soon as the people left, Wupin saw that the situation was not good and said awkwardly, "Then I will withdraw first."
He followed the young eunuch and quickly escaped from Fengzao Palace.
Inside Fengzao Palace, the atmosphere suddenly became extremely cold and stiff.
Jin Yu saw that the part of the queen's nail connected to the flesh was broken, and blood was oozing out one by one. She knelt tremblingly at the queen's feet and wanted to hold her hand to bandage it.
The queen's hands seemed to be glued to her legs, unable to move at all.
Jin Yu was so frightened that she couldn't even speak or breathe: "My Lady...?"
The dark clouds in the sky and the night pressed down together, and the sky outside the window was terrifyingly gloomy.
The queen seemed frozen in thought, like a wooden sculpture or a stone statue. Her beautiful face was lifeless, and even the pain in her fingertips and heart couldn't bring her back to her senses. After a long moment, she asked in a daze, "Is having an heir really that important?"
Jin Yu didn't dare to respond casually. After a lot of effort, the Queen's fingers loosened a little. On the cover of the book with the three beautiful regular characters of "Dream Pillow Collection" printed on it, there was a small spot that was soaked with blood, which was shockingly presented in front of her eyes.
Jin Yu couldn't bear to look at her any longer, and took the book away with trembling hands. Just as she took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood off the empress, the queen suddenly stood up.
The servants in the palace were like frightened birds. The slightest movement from the Queen was enough to make them tremble in fear as if their necks were on the guillotine, facing the danger of being beheaded at any time.
Everyone wished they were deaf so they wouldn't have to hear the Queen's nearly collapsed voice.
"She did it on purpose! She chose this day to embarrass me and demonstrate to me! Besides the Crown Prince, who else does she have?"
No one dared to answer.
The graceful grace and elegance that she had embellished with talent had long since been shattered into dust. The Queen looked down at Jin Yu, who was closest to her, and repeatedly asked, "Tell me, if I had a child, would His Majesty respect and love me even more? Wouldn't no one be able to laugh at me or bully me anymore? If I had a child..."
"Your Majesty..." Jin Yu has always known that although Your Majesty is tall and noble, Your Majesty's fanatical love for Him is more of a desire for power and status than an ordinary woman's superficial admiration for an ordinary man.
In this palace, whoever is with the Sacred Heart will have a better life.
So since Your Majesty is fond of elegance, Your Majesty is willing to pick up boring poetry and books; since Your Majesty values offspring, Your Majesty wants to give birth to her own son.
...But your Majesty, you are unable to bear children.
If not, how could the Marquis and his wife force the Queen to bring the green hairpin into the palace and keep such a disgusting person under their noses! Isn't it just to borrow that bitch's belly to give birth to a son for the Queen?
At the age of thirteen, the empress was urged by some young ladies to join a horse race. She accidentally fell from her horse and hit her body on a rock, which injured her severely. From then on, she suffered a stubborn illness. She had to try to postpone her marriage again and again, but no matter how she treated it for many years, it was ultimately useless.
Jin Yu's heart was filled with soreness. Why was God so unfair to her master? Even if she gave birth to a child through surrogacy, it was still different from her own flesh and blood.
She held her neck high and tried to comfort him, but weakly, "Don't be sad, Madam. You will definitely have your own child."
There wouldn't be an infertile queen in the palace, so outsiders didn't know about the queen's infertility. Now that there were so many idle people in the palace, Jin Yu could only comfort them vaguely and hastily.
But even she herself didn't believe what she said. With the foundation damaged, even a glimmer of hope was gone.
She then added, "Your Majesty, you are His Majesty's legal wife. An heir is merely the icing on the cake. Even if Consort Ming gave birth to the eldest prince, she would not be able to surpass you. His Majesty is going to Guanju Palace today, probably just to give the eldest prince a favor."
The Queen couldn't help but laugh sarcastically: "Then my dignity is no longer dignity?"
What she did as a queen was really frustrating.
The Empress Dowager was in good health and still held sway over the six court ladies. Ming Zhaoyi, having given birth to the Emperor's eldest son, held an unshakable position. Below Ming Zhaoyi was Zheng Xiuyi, who had previously managed the lower court affairs during her time in the Eastern Palace. Although she had readily relinquished power, she was still heavily relied upon. Below Zheng Xiuyi was the highly favored Zhen Jieyi, who spent half the Emperor's time in the harem...
Also, the maidservants whom she had hated since childhood had to be brought into the palace according to her parents' wishes!
The Queen swayed, gritted her teeth, and said in a trembling voice, "Close the door. Pass the order down, I will not see anyone today."
On this day, before the hour of Xu, Fengzao Palace was locked.
Originally, the palace stipulated that curfew would begin at the second watch every night. But with the Queen's order, who dared to disobey?
The palace maid in charge of the key inserted one end of the bolt into the groove, and suddenly remembered that there was a palace servant who had gone out on business and had not returned yet. She hesitated for a moment, but in the end she did not dare to disobey the order and locked the door.
*
Outside the Ministry of Internal Affairs, under the gray-green sky that was about to rain, a woman with a palace lady's bun suddenly appeared. She had thin shoulders, a slim waist, and fair skin.
She looked up at the sky.
When the young eunuch from the Ministry of Internal Affairs came out with an umbrella, the woman had already shrunk to a thin silhouette in the distance.
Seeing that it was almost dusk and the weather was not good, Qingzan hugged the big box of jade materials even tighter.
In his arms was a special tribute from Khotan to bless the wedding of the emperor and empress. It was the finest white jade seed material with a smooth texture and high value. Two taels of jade were more precious than an ordinary human life, and it must not be exposed to rain.
Fengzao Palace was allocated a total of seven pieces of material of various sizes. Six of them were put together in a box by the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and given to her to take back. As for the other piece, which was half an arm's height, she had to ask a strong eunuch to carry it next time.
The Queen wanted it urgently. According to the regulations, these seeds should be peeled before being distributed to the palaces of the concubines.
Today, Qing Zan suddenly came to take it, and the people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs were caught off guard.
Qingzan didn't want to embarrass the craftsmen at first, but was also afraid that he wouldn't be able to return in time to report. So, he thought of a compromise: "Since I came here without any prior notice, why don't I take two pieces back for Her Majesty to look at, so that I can report back. You can come back tomorrow to get the rest."
But the eunuchs didn't dare neglect the Empress. They gritted their teeth and said, "We know the young lady is considerate of us and wants to give us an extra day of work. We're just afraid that if the Empress blames us, it will implicate the young lady. We just need to work harder."
We are all servants, and satisfying the master is the most important thing, so Qingzan naturally did not say anything.
The masters put down their current work and worked in full force, spending half a day to finally finish the task ahead of schedule.
Qingzan has been waiting until now.
Carrying a box of jade that was more precious than her life, she wanted to hurry back before the rain started, but she didn't dare to move too fast. Disrespecting etiquette was a minor issue, but bumping into the treasure in her hands was a major concern. By the time she reached Fengzao Palace, she couldn't help but break into a cold sweat.
Qing Zan breathed a sigh of relief and placed the box securely on the ground. Seeing the palace gate was closed, he grasped the copper ring on the door and knocked three times...
It couldn't be pushed open. No one answered from inside Fengzao Palace.
At this moment, heavy rain came down on our heads.
Qingzan hurriedly picked up the box and shrunk back to the eaves of the door. She looked back to confirm again and again, and found that the door was locked from the inside, and no matter how hard she knocked, it would not open. Qingzan's mind went blank for a moment.
It's clearly not curfew yet.
But there didn't seem to be many surprises.
I can’t remember how many times this has happened since I was a kid.
Noise was strictly prohibited in the palace, so she couldn't shout at the people inside. Finally, when the rain subsided for a while, Qingzan went to check the side doors on the east and west sides, but they were all closed and couldn't be opened by knocking.
By this time, the bells and drums of the first watch had already sounded, and the palace roads were almost deserted. After the second watch, if a wandering palace maid was spotted by the patrolling imperial guards, she would inevitably be interrogated. Physical pain was the least of her punishment; without the master's pardon, she would receive eighty lashes of the cane, and there was no guarantee she would survive.
And the place separated by a door.
A young eunuch who had received Qingzan's favor wanted to secretly help Qingzan. As soon as he touched the door lock, his companion who came to watch the night slapped him down and said, "Have you forgotten what Aunt Jinyu said? After the keys are locked today, no one is allowed to open the main door or the side door... You want to kill me!"
When Qingzan heard Jinyu's name, she frowned slightly. Before the argument could intensify, she knocked on the door twice and called out to the young eunuch through the door, and the voices inside paused.
"Don't drive away. I have somewhere to go."
There was no more movement inside.
The author has something to say:
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Open article.
The premise is that women usually get married at 17 or 18, as it is too dangerous to have children too early. The heroine is now 18, and the queen has been waiting for two years and is now 20.
Attached is the ranking table. Because I felt that the title of Defei didn’t sound very nice, I changed it to Huifei.
[The Queen]
[First Rank] Four Concubines (Noble, Virtuous, Benevolent, and Virtuous; with the Noble Concubine as the most respected)
Second rank: Nine concubines (Zhaoyi, Zhaorong, Zhaoyuan, Xiuyi, Xiurong, Xiuyuan, Chongyi, Chongrong, Chongyuan; Zhaoyi is the most respected)
[Third Rank] Guiji, Guipin
[Fourth Rank] Concubine
[Fourth Rank] Ronghua
Fifth rank concubine
[Fifth Rank] Noble
[Sixth Rank] Beauty
[Sixth Rank] Talented Person
[Seventh Rank] Baolin
[Seventh Rank] Selected Concubine
[Eighth Rank] Imperial Concubine
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