Chapter 28 Chapter 28 Palace Maid on the 28th Day
The selection of concubines when the emperor first ascended the throne could only be considered small-scale, so only seven people entered the harem.
The scale of this draft was unprecedentedly large, and all states and counties had been notified in advance of when to prepare for the draft. After this order was issued, the relevant personnel stopped getting married.
Of course, this decree did not affect the common people. Even in the case of national mourning, marriages only affected families with official titles.
The next step was to draw up a list of women of marriageable age, and those with unsuitable family backgrounds (those whose ancestors or relatives had committed crimes, those who were not of suitable age, and those who were seriously ill) would be removed. The rest of the people on the list would be sent to the capital at the expense of the court.
When all the beauties gather in the capital, the selection will enter the next stage.
The concubines were specially allowed to enter the palace, and their appearance was checked by the most experienced and strict maids in the palace. If they had any of these, such as sparse hair, small eyes, sunken nose, too big lips, crooked teeth, irregular facial features, flawed breasts, too thick waist, short height, dark skin, etc., they would be eliminated.
Of course, there were also people who wanted to enter the palace and would give the nanny money or introduce their connections in the palace, and the nanny would then slightly relax their requirements.
If the daughter of a real minor official can pass this test, it means there is nothing wrong with her.
Most of the concubines failed here and were sent back home. Only about 200 of them were allowed to stay in the palace, where they were taught palace rules and etiquette by the aunts in the palace.
The concubines were placed in the still empty Chuxiu Palace, and the list of concubines would be presented to the queen at this time.
As the number of people in Chuxiu Palace increased, conflicts were inevitable, because there was an official behind each concubine. Once trouble arose, the queen would send someone to resolve it. On weekdays, people would also be sent to Chuxiu Palace to comfort the concubines, in order to demonstrate the queen's motherly role in the country.
This is what Qingyu and Shen Qing did.
Qingyu handed the list of concubines to Shen Qing and said, "There is a concubine named Wang Lingyi who needs special attention. The Wang family had many queens before the late emperor. At the most powerful time, they monopolized the position of queen for three generations of emperors. Now they have been weak for decades, but they still have a strong foundation. When the court asked the emperor to establish a queen, Wang Lingyi was a popular candidate..."
When Shen Qing saw the words "Wang Lingyi is seventeen years old", he nodded in agreement.
After looking through the list, the two set off for Chuxiu Palace.
The teacher of Chuxiu Palace saw the two of them and came over to greet them with a smile, "Aunt Qingyu, Miss Shen Qing, does the Queen want you two to come here for any instructions?"
Qingyu said, "The Queen is kind and compassionate. It is inconvenient for the concubines to leave their homes and enter the palace, so she sent the two of us to check if there is anything that the concubines are not used to. If there is, it is better to solve it as soon as possible, and we can't let the concubines make concessions."
The tutor smiled and said, "Before the concubines moved into Chuxiu Palace, the Queen had already sent people to renovate the palace inside and out, and there was nothing wrong with it. This year's concubines are more virtuous and beautiful than before, and there are no conflicts among them."
The concubines did not cause trouble for the teaching aunt, and she was also happy to speak for the concubines.
They walked all the way to Chuxiu Palace and met several beautiful girls who were looking at them curiously. They were in a casual posture and had a self-indulgent look. When the teacher glared at them, they all remembered the palace etiquette and left with their heads down.
This is a concubine who has only been taught for a few days.
Shen Qing listened to the teaching aunt introducing outstanding beauties to Qingyu. Obviously, the more outstanding the beauties were, the more rewards the teaching aunt would get.
She matched the image of a woman who was graceful, elegant, calm and dignified as described by her aunt as a teacher with Wang Lingyi, matched the image of a woman who was charming but not coquettish and not vulgar with Lu Yunmei, matched the image of a woman who was otherworldly and elegant with Chen Jiao, and matched the image of a woman who was beautiful and had a face like a flower with Chu Qiuniang.
In addition, there are the beautiful girl type, the well-read type, the cute and lovely type, the sick beauty type and so on.
The sick beauty was not really sick, but the concubine was frail and caught a cough in Chuxiu Palace. When she coughed, she sounded like the sick Xi Shi.
In short, the quality of the beauties selected this time was really high. The teaching aunt could hardly suppress the smile on her face, and it was obvious that she was extremely satisfied.
When Qingyu and Shen Qing heard that a concubine was sick, they asked their teacher to take them to see a doctor.
The teaching aunt had to change direction and led them to the "Sick Xishi".
The name of this concubine was Li Wanyi. What was more eye-catching than herself was her identity as the cousin of Concubine De.
It is said that Li Wanyi and Concubine De have a very good relationship, even closer than biological sisters. In the past few years, when Concubine De had not yet entered the Prince's Mansion, Li Wanyi often followed Concubine De like a little tail.
Qingyu was obviously very clear about Li Wanyi's identity. Seeing her lying on the bed and trying to get up, she stepped forward and held her wrist: "Miss Li, there is no need to get up. Just rest."
Shen Qing also saw Li Wanyi's appearance clearly at this time, which was very different from Concubine De.
Concubine De was also a bright and beautiful woman, but her beauty was too sharp and compelling, like a pearl, or even more like a raging fire.
Li Wanyi is a beauty as gentle as water. When she frowns, you can see her sadness, but it doesn't make people feel upset, probably because her eyes are full of autumn water.
Qingyu asked about Li Wanyi's cough and what the doctor said. After getting the reply that it was fine and would soon be healed, she said, "Miss Li, don't neglect your health, otherwise Concubine De will be worried."
"Cousin..." Li Wanyi smiled bitterly, "I'm afraid the queen is still angry with me."
She insisted on entering the palace, against the wishes of her family and her cousin. Now her cousin didn't even want anyone to bring her a message, which showed how unhappy she was. But she didn't regret it. Her cousin had been ambitious to become the queen and took the initiative to become the prince's concubine, but now she failed to achieve her wish. If she didn't enter the palace, her cousin wouldn't even have anyone to talk to.
The general election is held every three years and she only has one chance. If she fails this time, she will be too old to qualify for the next election.
Qingyu found out the relationship between the Li sisters, so she did not continue talking in line with Concubine De's words.
However, Li Wanyi was thinking about her cousin all the time, so she took the initiative to ask how Concubine De was doing in the palace.
Defei was the most important person under the Empress, and no other concubine in the palace lived as happily as her. Li Wanyi was worrying for no reason. Qingyu picked out and told Li Wanyi some things that concerned Defei but were known to everyone.
Here, Shen Qing checked whether there were any signs of embezzlement in Li Xiunu's residence, and then met another girl outside Li Xiunu's house. She was holding a peach branch, and one or two peach petals fell on her hair. When she saw Shen Qing next to the teacher, she looked confused and dazed, as if she had not woken up yet. She was a very iconic harmless beauty.
The teacher aunt took the initiative to say: "This concubine is named Zheng Zhuying, and she has a good relationship with Li Xiunu."
Shen Qing smiled and nodded at her.
Zheng Zhuying said, "I came to see Sister Li. She is ill and can't leave the house, so I had to find some flowers to send her off and bring the spring scenery to Sister Li to make her feel better. ... Are you a palace maid beside the Queen?"
Shen Qing glanced at the flower branch. He wasn't sure whether Li Wanyi was allergic to pollen or not. But thinking that if Li Wanyi was really allergic to pollen, she would not accept the gift, he didn't say anything.
The teacher's aunt looked serious and said, "Zheng Xiunu, don't ask too much."
Before Zheng Zhuying was about to feel disappointed, Shen Qing said, "It's okay. We are indeed acting on behalf of the Queen. The concubines know that the Queen cares about them, and they can wait for the palace selection with peace of mind."
Zheng Zhuying pursed her lips and smiled: "I have heard of the queen's reputation for being wise and virtuous among the people, and I admire her very much. If possible, I would like to ask my sister to introduce her to the queen later."
Shen Qing was stunned.
Zheng Xiuniu's words were easy to understand, so she naturally understood them. However, she did not expect that she was planning to show goodwill and stand on the side of the queen before she actually became a concubine.
But didn't she know that Li Wanyi was the cousin of Concubine De? Wasn't her getting close to Li Wanyi a way of expressing her feelings to Concubine De?
No matter how complicated the relationship between Concubine De and her cousin is now, in the eyes of outsiders, Li Wanyi has always been known as Concubine De's cousin. They are inseparable members of the Li family, and their honor and disgrace are together.
Shen Qing's gaze fell on the peach branch in Zheng Zhuying's arms and he smiled, but did not directly agree or refuse.
But just meeting two unknown beauties gave Shen Qing such a big surprise. One can imagine how lively the harem was after the election.
Shen Qing knew what the queen was thinking. The queen hoped that the newcomer would be more outstanding so that less attention would be paid to the royal heir in her womb.
Soon, Qingyu came out of Li Xiunu's room, and then he and Shen Qing observed the other concubines.
Li Xiu Nu and Zheng Xiu Nu were just appetizers. Only when you really saw the other concubines did you understand what it meant to let a hundred flowers bloom. I'm afraid that 90% of the beauties in the world were brought into the imperial palace.
On the way back to Kunning Palace, Qingyu said, "Your Highness will be relieved this time, but the concubines in the harem will be restless when they see this."
Shen Qing nodded in agreement.
The queen loves the emperor, but her love is not so sincere. Some lovers will be jealous of any woman around the man, but the queen was trained as a clan wife by aristocratic family. No matter which family she marries, she will live a good life. She seems to be born graceful, generous and sophisticated.
She rarely expressed sadness towards the emperor, and his love was more like the icing on the cake for her to sit firmly on the throne of queen.
Therefore, in order to ensure the smooth birth of the royal heir and add another layer of security to the throne of the Queen, the Queen was not stingy in taking in more beauties for the Emperor.
Anyway, the concubines will not threaten her position, and they have to pay their respects to her respectfully every day, so why not do it?
Because of the Queen's attitude, the Queen's palace servants will not criticize the favorite concubine in the palace. There is no need to discredit the favorite concubine in order to make the Queen happy.
For example, the concubine Yu, who is now in favor and has surpassed Concubine Lan, is in the limelight, and the palace servants of Kunning Palace did not say that they would make things difficult for her when she came to pay her respects. Such means are too low-level.
The queen's pregnancy was uneventful, but there was still one thing that made her angry.
Shen Qing silently understood the whole process. After all, the Queen didn't intend to hide something from her, or she revealed it inadvertently with her voice.
Concubine Hui indeed did not know that the token had been lost, but when the Queen extended an olive branch to her and asked them to investigate the culprit behind the loss, she tied up Cui Huan and sent her to the place where palace maids were punished, and took the initiative to find the Emperor and the Queen to explain that she really did not know about it.
After alerting the enemy, Cuihuan hanged herself. It was a while before others found her. Shuangcha knew nothing and was certain that the more she knew, the faster she would die. She only remembered that the person who assigned her was an ordinary-looking eunuch.
At this point, all clues are gone.
After the emperor learned about this, the way he looked at the queen made the queen uncomfortable. The queen felt that she was sensitive because of her pregnancy, but also felt that the emperor was dissatisfied with her for hiding this matter, so she could only explain: "I just want to protect the heir."
Ji Chen had no idea what was going on when he saw this, so he held the Queen's hand and said, "I am not blaming you, but I have a share of the throne. Not only does his mother care about him, but his father cares even more. If it happens next time, I hope Shangyue can let me know."
The attitude can be described as somewhat humble.
But he still had this attitude towards the queen who gave birth to his children.
The Queen said yes, but still a little unhappy: "So, is this matter over?"
"I will ask Qian Quanzhong to continue investigating and give the Queen an explanation."
After the Queen left the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Ji Chen was alone for a while. He asked someone to call Qian Quanzhong over and said without raising his eyes:
"The Queen was almost murdered by someone who wanted to kill the heir to the throne. Do you have anything to say?"
Qian Quanzhong replied respectfully: "The reason why Concubine Hui was so decisive is not only because she didn't want to form an alliance with the Queen, but I think that Concubine Hui might know who is behind this, so she made such a move to conceal it."
Ji Chen said nothing, picked up the letter and started to look at it.
Qian Quanzhong continued, "She was able to obtain the Jingyang Palace's master token, plant people in Kunning Palace, and let Concubine Hui escort her. I dare to guess that it was Concubine Yan."
The Queen entered the palace earlier than Concubine Yan, but the person who had Concubine Yan by her side could only be a chess piece planted by the Queen Mother in advance. This also shows that the Queen Mother has handed over some of her manpower to her niece.
As the previous winner of the palace fight and having sat firmly on the throne of queen for such a long time, it was normal for her to have some connections in various places in the palace.
Ji Chen sighed. How could he not have thought of this?
As I said, the emperor does not need evidence to suspect someone, as evidence can be slowly corroborated. Now that Qian Quanzhong has given the same answer, it is almost certain.
However, Concubine Yan was the Empress Dowager's niece and his cousin. Since Ji Chen did not make it clear when the Empress was present, it meant that he wanted to keep the matter secret and act later.
"Take out the albums from my storeroom and pick out the ones the women like and send them to the Queen's Kunning Palace."
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