Chapter 171 Chapter 171 Composing a Song
Song Yuetao has been thinking about the past from time to time recently.
When she was young, she was the second daughter with the least sense of presence in the family. She was too young to marry out and make money like her elder sister. She was also slow at work because she was always hungry. Her parents had long disliked her.
When her younger brother fell ill and needed money to see a doctor, her mother and father decided to sell her.
"I've inquired about it. Er Niang is very good-looking, and human traffickers are willing to pay her a lot of money."
"Giving so much? More than what my aunt gave me when she got married."
Just a few words decided Song Yuetao's fate.
By the way, the name Song Yuetao was given to her by the person who bought her later. She originally didn't have a name, but was just called Er Niang by her family.
She was originally a maid, but later the rich businessman offended someone and dismissed all the slaves.
She was sold again.
Song Yuetao was born with a special mark and was picked first.
This time, Song Yuetao didn't know what kind of place she was bought to. Later she found out that this was the legendary prosperous Liangzhe Road.
She was required to learn to play the piano, read and write poetry.
How could Song Yuetao, the daughter of a farmer, learn anything?
If you play a wrong note, you will not only be whipped, but also be deprived of your food.
Perhaps these people were afraid of leaving scars on the little girl's body, so they used a whip that was made in an unknown way. Although it was very painful, it only left shallow red marks that disappeared after a few days.
Song Yuetao was beaten many times. Playing the piano was too difficult for her, even more difficult than learning to read. But in order to avoid being beaten, she had no choice but to study hard.
The women who were in charge of teaching them often scolded them, saying that if they did not study hard, they would suffer endless hardships in the future.
Who made their lives worthless?
Song Yuetao never expected that she would enter the Eastern Palace as the prince's concubine.
She did not come to the Eastern Palace to enjoy the good life for nothing. Her role was to persuade the prince, although she had only met the prince twice in total.
But she knew that this group of people raised so many little girls for this very purpose. Even if most of the girls sent there would not be able to see the prince and the emperor many times, it would be enough for them to say a word at the critical moment.
Song Yuetao thought that such days would continue until a series of natural disasters, civil unrest, and finally the rebel army attacked Anjing.
Song Yuetao and the prince's concubines held the palace door tightly. No matter how many screams came from outside, they dared not make a sound.
These rebels are inhumane. If they are discovered, their fate will be worse than death.
Fortunately, the Princess of Anping arrived in time and Song Yuetao and the others were rescued.
But soon even worse news came. The emperor and the prince were both dead. According to the laws of Dachen, they had to be buried alive with them.
Song Yuetao suddenly remembered that sentence.
Who made your life worthless?
"Yue Tao, why are you daydreaming? His Majesty is coming to listen to our performance tomorrow, so don't we have to rehearse first?"
Song Yuetao finally came back to her senses. "Sorry, I was distracted for a moment."
The girl beside him was still talking excitedly. "If Your Majesty is satisfied, then this piece of music can be written in gongche notation."
"Yes, yes, His Majesty said that the music we composed will be passed down for hundreds of years and people in the future will play it."
"I hope it's true."
"What nonsense are you talking about? How could what His Majesty said be false?"
"Sometimes I think my life now is like a dream."
"Me too...Your Majesty actually abolished the system of burying people alive with their dead."
"We should play beautiful music to repay His Majesty."
Song Yuetao also thought so. Her life was now extremely smooth. She first heard about the purge of officials in Liangzhe Road, and the name of the official who had hoped that she could say a few words was also on the list.
At that time, she only felt complicated emotions in her heart, and a few sighs.
Later, a eunuch came to say that His Majesty asked them to study music and play beautiful music.
Song Yuetao initially thought that it was used for performances at court banquets, but later found out that it was not.
His Majesty asked them to compose music for the continuation of culture.
Song Yuetao didn't quite understand the meaning of the words "continuation of culture." Later, she learned that it meant to pass down the current music for future generations to study.
Song Yuetao and others felt a little embarrassed for a moment.
The music they composed was for future generations to study... but were their compositions really that good?
However, they all decided that no matter how good the music was, they should strive to compose a nice piece of music.
After the rehearsal, Song Yuetao returned to her palace.
Most of the concubines left behind by the prince were helpless women like them, and now they still live in the same palace and take care of each other.
After washing up at night, everyone often gathers in the main hall to chat.
After everyone finishes washing up, they will go to the main hall to chat.
Song Yuetao remembered what she heard the eunuchs chatting about yesterday, and spoke.
"I heard a few young eunuchs chatting yesterday, saying that from now on... the palace will no longer recruit eunuchs."
"You're not recruiting eunuchs anymore? Doesn't that mean there won't be any eunuchs in the future except for those in the palace now?"
Song Yuetao didn't know why, but she wanted to say, "Now that I have His Majesty, no one's life will be worthless anymore."
A young eunuch happened to come and relay the time for tomorrow's rehearsal. The young eunuch seemed to be in a good mood, after all, after relaying this, his shift for the day was over.
The young concubines living in Quyang Palace are very easy to talk to and reasonable.
But he didn't expect that the little concubines would call him today.
"Li Sheng, I heard there will be no more eunuchs in the future. Is this true?"
Li Sheng scratched his head. "It's true. Although the document was only issued this month, Your Majesty hasn't recruited any eunuchs since he ascended the throne."
Li Sheng replied, and the young concubines stopped asking questions and let him go.
In fact, Li Sheng couldn't explain clearly what he thought about this matter. If he hadn't entered the palace to become a eunuch, he would definitely not have survived.
But if you ask Li Sheng whether being a eunuch was hard, he couldn't say. He had a hard time at home too, unable to pay taxes, and his family didn't have enough to eat. The porridge they ate every day was so clear that you could see your face in it.
At that time, he only remembered that he was very hungry. In the end, he had no choice but to dig up wild vegetable roots to eat.
But the world is different now. With potatoes and sweet potatoes, even the poorest people will not starve to death by eating potatoes and sweet potatoes.
There shouldn’t be so many people who can’t survive.
The senior eunuch who brought Li Sheng along always talked to the younger eunuchs.
"Now that you are able to serve His Majesty after he ascends the throne, your life is already very good."
Li Sheng also felt so, so he felt that he was still lucky.
*
After Uncle Dina returned from Daan, he made a fortune by selling Daan's products to neighboring countries.
So this time, Dina's uncle plans to go to Da'an for the second time. The difference from the last time is that he will bring more ships and more gold coins than last time.
He would not return until every boat was fully loaded, and he would also buy a lot of loose goods, especially canvas bags.
I don’t know if the person selling canvas bags is still there. If I had known, I should have talked to her last time. Maybe she would have understood what placing an order meant.
Dina's uncle also sent a lot of goods this time. Dina's favorite is the small canvas bag.
Although I don’t know what material this bag is made of, it is very stiff to carry and the pattern on it seems to be embroidered and looks very nice.
Dina was curious about what Daan was like, so she invited her brother to tell her about it.
The boy with blond curly hair described Daan as magical.
"The streets of Anguo are very clean! There is absolutely no feces. We are strictly prohibited from using the toilet on the street. There are special public toilets."
Dina exclaimed. "Public restroom? So Anguo people don't wear high heels anymore?"
Dinah's brother nodded. "They wear a magical kind of shoes called rubber shoes. Even on rainy days, the soles won't get wet. But all of them have been bought by the royal family. Father was going to leave a few pairs for you."
Dina shook her head to indicate that it was all right. "My uncle gave me so many things, it's more than enough."
Dina's brother continued. "The food in Anguo is indeed as delicious as Stephen Hall said. My father and I had barbecue... The barbecue there was amazing, not even a fishy smell. Wrapped in a vegetable called lettuce, it was incredibly delicious. They also have hot pot, but I'm not used to it; it's a bit spicy."
Dina was so excited that she kept asking questions. "So the food in Anguo is really that delicious! At the banquet earlier, I thought Miss Rosalind was bragging about someone she knew who had been to Anguo."
"Anguo is truly different from Washi and the surrounding countries. Father wants to buy a few pieces of Anguo clothing this time to try on and see if any young lady would like to buy them."
Dina immediately replied, "Anguo's clothes! I want them... Can you please buy me an extra one, uncle?"
Dina's brother smiled. "Of course, that's no problem. A piece of clothing takes up so much space. I'm going to Anguo this time and I'm going to talk to the people there more often. Although I can easily compare prices by learning their simplified numbers, I still hope to learn some simpler words and phrases to make it easier for us to purchase."
Dina sighed softly. "I really envy you for being able to go to Anguo with your uncle... I want to see what Anguo is like with my own eyes, to see those gray, flat roads you mentioned, streets so clean they're completely free of feces. I want to eat delicious Anguo food, too, and I want to see for myself how these amazing products are produced."
"Sister, it's too dangerous to go out to sea. Of course you can't go," Dinah's brother said. He then added, "How Anguo's products are made is a secret. We have no right to see them, we can only place orders. But occasionally, when you wander the streets, you can come across some unexpected goods. I bought this canvas bag while strolling around. I'll bring you some more when I get home."
Dinah nodded, thinking to herself.
It would be great if she could go to Anguo in person.
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