Chapter 6 Chapter 6 Six Days of the Palace Maid
It was now curfew time in the palace and no one was allowed to walk around the palace without permission. Shanhu had no choice but to ask the eunuchs Xiao Jiuer and Xiao Dingzi who served in the outer palace to look after Xia Chan and Wen Xin and send them away at dawn the next day.
When the emperor visited Zhiyun Palace, only second-class palace maids were needed to serve the empress. As for third-class palace maids like Shen Qingqing, the emperor brought too many people with him and there was no room for her.
Shen Qingqing was happy to have some free time and prepared to return to the palace maid's quarters to tell Dong'er about the situation so that she would not be confused.
Before leaving, Shen Qingqing glanced at Qian Quanzhong, the eunuch consul of the Palace of Heavenly Purity, who was waiting in the outer hall. He was whispering to his subordinates to prepare things that the emperor might need.
Qian Quanzhong was not hunchbacked and thin, but rather sturdy. It was rumored that he had immense strength and had once broken an assassin's neck with one hand. He was also brave and resourceful and had become the most trusted eunuch of the late emperor. He had carried the knife for the late emperor and tested poison. After the late emperor's death, he followed the current emperor and became the most useful eunuch beside him.
As for the second most useful person, it should be a eunuch named Wang Jigui, who has been by your side since your Majesty was still the crown prince, but his status is slightly lower than Qian Quanzhong.
Wang Jigui didn't often follow the emperor to the harem, so Shen Qingqing didn't know what he looked like.
The next day, Shen Qingqing got up early to work, but even though she got up earlier than the chickens, she could not catch up with the emperor who had to go to court in the dark. She and Dong'er had just swept the floor outside the Zhiyun Palace for a quarter of an hour when Chaolu came to summon them on the orders of the concubine.
Shen Qingqing and Dong'er entered the Zhiyun Palace with trepidation.
Du Jieyu got up particularly early today. Normally, after gaining the emperor's favor, she would get up and see him off. Since the empress dowager had left the palace and the empress had not yet been appointed, there was no need to pay respects, so she would go to sleep for a while and would not get up until she was fully asleep.
However, after she left the emperor today, she did not fall asleep again. The reason was very simple:
[Last night, the emperor only asked for it once, and it was obvious that he was not in a good mood. Normally, he would have asked for it twice.]
Du Jieyu was confused and worried.
Shen Qingqing, who was caught off guard and had her face filled with her inner thoughts, pinched her hand hard.
Ahhh, I don’t have a habit of listening to sex!!
Please don't think about it anymore!
[The chance of getting pregnant once is too small, two times is just right. Although I don't want to get pregnant and ruin my figure, because the emperor won't like me, but I can't disobey my father. ]
[I don't know if the fertility remedy my mother sent me is effective. If a prince is born successfully, he should be as wise and talented as his father.]
【From this point of view, there is nothing wrong with pregnancy. 】
[If I had known earlier, I would not have used contraception after entering the palace. However, in order for the emperor to stay in my palace for a long time, this is also necessary. ]
[The Emperor has always doted on me. It must have been my illusion that I was not diligent in that matter yesterday. Perhaps something happened in the court that made the Emperor worried.]
[Give Wang Jigui some more money and ask him to find out what the emperor likes to eat recently. Wanxia can't be released so early. A few days later, the emperor must come to Zhiyun Palace at least three more times.]
[Just say that I can't bear to part with Wanxia, and keep her for a few more days, and no one can find fault with it. ]
Shen Qingqing, whose screen was filled with Du Jieyu's voice, felt her mood fluctuate, as if she was composing music.
I never expected that Du Jieyu was actually on contraception! The idea of getting pregnant was only prompted by the Du family...
I'm afraid that none of the concubines in the palace can match the train of thought of Concubine Du. Which concubine in the palace doesn't want to conceive an heir to the emperor as soon as possible to provide long-term security for herself? But Concubine Du, who has been favored the most times, doesn't care at all and only thinks about being favored.
How can a moment of favor compare to a lifetime of peace?
However, there has been no good news from any concubine in the harem yet. Du Jieyu may not be in a hurry because the environment is so good that she has no sense of urgency at all.
When the emperor ascended the throne, the two concubines at that time were named Defei and Xianfei respectively. Defei Li Shuyi lived in the main hall of Yongshou Palace, and Xianfei Xiao Shangyue was the head of Jingren Palace. As the two concubines with the highest ranks, Xianfei and Defei were ordered to jointly manage the harem.
In addition, other concubines in the palace also came from the Prince's Mansion, including Concubine Hui and Concubine Wei.
Because there were too few people in the Prince's Mansion at that time, the first election after the Emperor ascended the throne was hosted by the Empress Dowager, and seven beauties were selected in one go to fill the harem. Du Jieyu and Gao Meiren were from this batch. In addition, there was a little-known Yan Xiuyi, Yan Yinghua. The Yan family was the Empress Dowager's mother's family. Even if the Empress Dowager was not in the palace, Yan Yinghua was always on the list every time the harem was appointed. However, because the Empress Dowager went out of the palace to worship Buddha, Yan Xiuyi rarely left her Changchun Palace, so her presence was not high.
Concubine Hui was good friends with Yan Xiuyi and often went to Changchun Palace to talk with her.
As for the remaining four, two are Baolin and two are Cairen, which is nothing surprising.
Shen Qingqing and Dong'er paid their respects to Concubine Du, but Concubine Du was thinking about what happened last night and ignored them. They could only kneel there and wait for Concubine Du's instructions.
Du Jieyu snorted and stopped talking. She glanced at Shen Qingqing and Dong'er and said, "I am usually too tolerant. I have allowed you to be so arrogant that you dare to challenge me. If I don't kill your arrogance today, you will think I am a good-tempered person. In the future, everyone in the palace will ride on my head!"
Du Jieyu was so angry that she threw the walnuts in her hand in front of the two men.
Shen Qingqing and Dong'er were terrified: "Master, please calm down. We dare not."
Most of the anger caused by Xia Chan and Wen Xin had to be borne by them. When Du Jieyu was angry, she would not listen to any reason.
"Don't dare?" Du Jieyu curled her lips sarcastically, stood up and walked around them, feeling full of oppression.
Shen Qingqing was lying on the ground, and could only see Du Jieyu's pair of green pearl embroidered shoes.
This time, Concubine Du had two goals. One was to make these young palace maids know how powerful she was and to establish her as an example, and the other was to strengthen management.
When they finally retreated from Zhiyun Hall, Dong'er's back was soaked with sweat. Shen Qingqing had no expression on her face. In Dong'er's eyes, Shen Qingqing was becoming more and more calm. He couldn't help but want to learn from Shen Qingqing.
The reason why Shen Qingqing was so calm was that her ability to hear Du Jieyu's inner voice was really a cheating tool. Knowing what Du Jieyu was thinking, the pressure she brought was naturally halved. All Shen Qingqing had to do was manage her expression.
Good and bad are interdependent. This trip was not without gain. In order to strengthen management, Concubine Du implemented the strategy of old leading new. For example, just as Wanxia followed Shanhu, Shen Qingqing was assigned to Wanxia, and Dong'er followed Chaolu. In this way, there were second-class palace maids available, and there was no need to worry about the third-class palace maids being left unsupervised.
They still had to sweep the courtyard, wash things, and burn coal and boil water. Normally, the third-class palace maids needed to keep watch at night, but Du Jieyu was used to having her confidants keep watch at night, so Coral and Daimao would have to bear the brunt of the burden. Even if Coral and Daimao could not be on duty, it would be the sunset glow and morning dew that would come, and there would be nothing for them to do.
But the senior palace maids were responsible for keeping watch at night, so the work in their hands had to be delegated down, one level at a time. The third-class palace maids in Zhiyun Palace did not have much less work than those in other palaces.
Shen Qingqing and Dong'er had a lot of work to do today. Two people left - Shanhu packed up and sent Xia Chan and Wen Xin away almost the moment the gate of Jingyang Palace opened. They did not dare to delay for a moment, for fear that if they were late, the master would be angry again if they saw them.
-
Inside the Zhiyun Palace.
Concubine Du was sitting on the armchair. There was a chess game on the eight-immortals table. There was an endgame on the board. She frowned and placed a few chess pieces, then trapped herself again. She didn't understand why His Majesty asked her to solve the endgame. It was obvious that she only knew a little about chess, and dancing was what she was good at. It was a pity that she didn't need to rely on dancing to win favor after entering the palace for two years.
She became more and more annoyed as the game went on, so she grabbed a few chess pieces and swung them out.
The emperor came yesterday, so she should be happy now.
Du Jieyu thought about it and attributed the problem to the two maids last night, so she ordered Daimao, "Bring Liu Shun here."
Liu Shun was a eunuch serving in the inner hall of Zhiyun Palace. He had followed Concubine Du since she was assigned to a new palace. Because Concubine Du didn't like him at first sight, he had always been the lowest-ranking eunuch. Later, for some reason, he hooked up with Daimao, who often liked to order him around and mentioned Liu Shun in front of Concubine Du from time to time. Concubine Du was curious, so she met Liu Shun again. That time, Liu Shun lowered his head and didn't even let Concubine Du see his eyes.
Du Jieyu thought that this man was sensible, so after she was promoted to a higher position, she promoted Liu Shun to the position of eunuch in the inner palace.
Liu Shun knew that Concubine Du hated his eyes, so even if he was promoted to the inner palace, he would not easily show up when Concubine Du did not need him.
This time, Concubine Du went to find Liu Shun, because looking around the entire Zhiyun Palace, she was afraid that only Liu Shun could accomplish that task.
Liu Shun walked quickly into the inner hall: "Greetings, Concubine."
Du Jieyu knew that this matter should not be handled so openly, so she asked Shanhu to leave, leaving only Liu Shun and Daimao. "If you can do one thing for me, the consul of Zhiyun Palace will be yours."
There is a chief eunuch in Zhiyun Palace, Master Liu Shun, who eats a lot and is very fat. Concubine Du thinks he is lucky and keeps using him. But if she wants Liu Shun to work for her, she has to give him some inducement.
Liu Shun said without hesitation: "Please let the concubine give her instructions."
People die for money and birds die for food. When the father dies, the son takes over and steps on others to become himself.
-
The red sun sets in the west, the sunset melts into gold, and gray magpies fly across the palace walls.
In the Qianqing Palace, Ji Chen drank a cup of strong tea and asked casually, "Where are the two palace maids from Zhiyun Palace going?"
Qian Quanzhong said: "At dawn, Shanhu, who was by Concubine Du's side, sent them back to the Shanggong Bureau, but they fell into the water and died in the afternoon..."
Even though he had served two emperors, Qian Quanzhong had to admit that this was the first time he had seen a concubine kill someone so blatantly and without delay.
Ji Chen paused, a little shocked: "...Can you find out who did it?"
"Liu Shun from Zhiyun Palace went to the Shanggong Bureau today. Judging from the time when the two palace maids fell into the water, it is consistent. In addition, Concubine Du promoted Liu Shun to the chief eunuch this afternoon. The rest of the details are still to be verified."
Ji Chen's face was cold and cold. "No need to investigate. Liu Shun was sentenced to death. Concubine Du was demoted to Baolin and moved to Wensi Zhai. Wensi Zhai was renamed Siguo Zhai. A nanny was sent to reprimand her. Anyone who knew about this and did not advise her was punished with thirty strokes of the cane and banished from Du Baolin."
Qian Quanzhong reminded: "Master Xu's sister Wanxia is still with Du Baolin."
Ji Chen slapped the beads in his hand on the imperial desk and said, "You have been granted a grace, but why haven't you left the palace in a few days?"
How could Qian Quanzhong not know that the emperor was venting his anger on others? They all knew that Lord Xu's sister had not left the palace. Otherwise, why would the emperor frequently give face to Zhiyun Palace in the past few days? Even if he was not prepared for the situation last night, he did not lose his temper on the spot. So Qian Quanzhong blamed the emperor for the incident and said, "Du Baolin wanted to keep the maid for a few more days."
Ji Chen pointed at Qian Quanzhong and said, "You go and do this. You must reward him appropriately and not let Xu Qing down. You must get it done today."
He also appointed Qian Quanzhong as his apprentice to convey his orders.
Qian Quanzhong and his apprentice came out of the Palace of Heavenly Purity one after another. Inside the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Wang Jigui stepped forward to change tea for Ji Chen. He was thin and elegant, more like a scholar than a eunuch. Even though the emperor gave the matter to Qian Quanzhong, he did not have the slightest intention of competing, and everything seemed indifferent.
After changing the tea, he bowed and retreated, revealing his pale, thin lips and handsome face.
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