Don't be a salted fish, the daily life of the concubine in the palace

...

The moon is above the willows, and the Kunning Palace is brightly lit.

The Queen had always been frugal and set an example herself. She did not spend lavishly on this birthday banquet. It was a simple banquet, with only some court ladies, princes and princesses, and concubines invited to drink and have fun together.

The scene was filled with joy, singing and dancing.

Concubine Qian sat on the right side of the Queen. She was dressed in a simple way, but she never stopped drinking. She had already finished two large pots of fine grape wine.

Seeing this, the Queen gently reprimanded: "Noble Concubine Qian, please don't drink too much."

Concubine Qian smiled, her beautiful face still full of charm blushing brightly. She said drunkenly, "Queen, please let me have another drink. If I am drunk, I will sleep with you tonight."

The queen held her forehead helplessly. Ever since the emperor became seriously ill, Concubine Qian had become more reckless, loving to drink and gamble.

The Queen finally realized that Concubine Qian's gentleness, courtesy, frugality, dignity and virtue that she had shown in the palace for decades were all an act.

It was late at night, and the Queen's birthday banquet was about to end when the old nanny rushed in joyfully, fell to her knees, and shouted, "Queen, great joy!"

There was such a loud noise that the guests who were drinking put down their glasses one after another.

The Queen asked, "What's the matter?"

The old nanny said, "Concubine Shen of Prince Yan's Mansion gave birth to twins, two boys."

At the table, the wine glass in Prince Yan's hand fell to the ground with a thud.

Twins are a symbol of good luck.

In an era with backward medical conditions, it was difficult to have a child, so giving birth to two children safely was a great blessing.

The queen stood up in a hurry, her voice trembling, "May our ancestors bless me! May our ancestors bless me! May our ancestors bless me! Come on, someone, prepare the sedan chair! I want to go to the Prince of Yan's mansion!"

Madam Qian, who was serving the Queen, hurriedly advised: "Your Majesty, it may be inconvenient to travel at night. It is better to go to Prince Yan's Mansion tomorrow."

The queen calmed down, thought for a moment and ordered: "Send four old maids to the Prince of Yan's mansion to take care of Shen and the child. Giving birth is harmful to the body, go to the storehouse to get the best health medicine and send it to Shen."

The palace maids went to do the work according to the order.

Prince Yan could no longer sit still, so he hurriedly bowed and said goodbye to the Queen. Before leaving, he asked Li Yao to stay in Kunning Palace that night, while he and the Tiger Guards rushed to the palace without stopping.

The moon was at its zenith, the sky was as dark as ink, and the guests at the birthday banquet had different thoughts. Concubine Shen's children were born at a very clever time, on the same day as the Queen's birthday, and they were two boys.

From then on, whenever the queen celebrated her birthday, she would remember her two grandchildren. The two children received the queen's unique favor and attention as soon as they were born, and they were destined to have a bright future.

Imperial Concubine Qian sat at the table and drank a large glass of wine happily. She lowered her mouth, and there was a flash of murderous intent and unwillingness in her eyes.

The queen was in a very good mood. After the banquet ended, the guests bowed and left. Concubine Qian supported the hand of the maid, leaned on the sedan chair, and was carried all the way back to her palace.

After entering the palace, Concubine Qian had just drunk a cup of sobering soup when Prince Heng came over after hearing the news.

"Mother, why did you send assassins to Prince Yan's Mansion?" Prince Heng asked.

Concubine Qian put down the soup bowl and raised her head lazily: "Of course, I killed Shen and the child in her belly. Unfortunately, I failed."

King Heng said: "Just kill Li Yuanjing."

There was silence in the bedroom. Concubine Qian slowly sat up straight and looked Prince Heng up and down with her shrewd eyes.

Concubine Qian felt strange and whispered, "When did you become soft-hearted? Prince Yan is your biggest enemy, and we have made his sons useless. The Queen wants to support Shen's child, and if we kill Shen and her son, it will just cut off the Queen's retreat."

This is the best option right now.

Prince Heng clutched the white jade fan in his hand, his eyes dim and unclear: "Mother, the situation we are facing is a life-or-death situation. Otherwise, I will send you back to Nanchu first."

The wind started to blow outside, making the window frames creak. Spring is coming to an end.

Concubine Qian held her chin up and smiled with relief: "The Queen of Southern Chu left a wise saying - [It's OK if you're not dead, otherwise you'll die]. Yuan Li, if my mother dies, bring my ashes back to Southern Chu."

Life is short, so you should live your life to the fullest.

Even if you fail, it doesn't mean you have no way out. There is still a dead end.

...

It was dark at night, and the shops on the streets of Yanjing were closed. The King of Yan led a team of black cavalrymen and galloped at full speed, the horses' hooves making loud noises on the bluestone slabs.

The night wind blew, and the cloak fluttered and rustled. When I turned the corner, I heard a sound of breaking air from the corner of the alley.

call out--

The cold arrow stabbed at the horse.

The King of Yan drew his sword and swung away the cold arrow, then pulled the reins. A team of assassins in black walked out of the darkness, their blades reflecting cold light in the moonlight.

The tiger guards were guarding the King of Yan. The King of Yan sat upright on his horse, holding the reins with his strong arms, and murderous intent flashed across his phoenix eyes.

He said coldly: "Kill them all."

The atmosphere was filled with murderous intent. Soon the alley was filled with the sound of cold weapons colliding and a strong smell of blood.

The moon, like a willow leaf, hung in the sky, and the Prince of Yan returned to the Prince of Yan's Mansion with the Tiger Guards. He strode towards the direction of the Glazed Pavilion, and when he reached the gate of the courtyard, the Prince of Yan suddenly stopped.

He took off the blood-stained black cloak and threw it to the tiger guard behind him.

"Your Highness, there was an assassin who attacked the palace tonight and was caught by the palace guards." The Tiger Guard came to report.

Prince Yan's heart tightened.

No need to guess, you know who sent the killer.

"Master, the wound on your arm has not been treated yet." The Tiger Guard held the blood-stained cloak and looked at King Yan worriedly.

King Yan: "No problem."

He walked into the house quickly, not noticing Liu Ruyan and Zhang Miaoyu at the door. When Liu Qiaoer learned that Prince Yan had returned, she left immediately. She couldn't meet Prince Yan, fearing that he would rekindle his old feelings for her.

Seeing Prince Yan coming into the room, Zhang Miaoyu stretched and yawned, "Your Highness is back, I'll go back to sleep first. Sister Liu, are you going all the way back?"

Turning around, Zhang Miaoyu found Liu Ruyan crying.

The pear blossoms are wet with rain, shedding tears silently.

Zhang Miaoyu was full of questions: "Why are you crying?"

Liu Ruyan closed her eyes and tears fell: "The prince passed by me as if he was blind."

The two were once in love and inseparable. Time flies, and when they met again today, the King of Yan was unwilling to even give her a glance.

Liu Ruyan felt heartbroken and tears fell.

Zhang Miaoyu wanted to bang her head against the wall, but she spread her palms and explained, "Sister Shen just came back from the brink of death. It's normal for the prince to be concerned about her and ignore us. Oh, don't cry."

Shen Wei was giving birth to a child, and you were crying in her yard. It would be so bad if it got out.

Zhang Miaoyu dragged the crying Liu Ruyan away.

...

In the main room, there was still a lingering smell of blood in the air. Two maids were serving by the bed, and the imperial physician was checking the medicine outside the screen.

When the two old maids saw Prince Yan, they hurriedly brought the children to him and said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty. The two young masters were born safely."

King Yan's eyes fell on the cradles: there were two children, one fatter, the other thinner, and their faces were wrinkled and looked ugly.

He and Shen Wei had another child, but Prince Yan was not as happy as he had imagined. Instead, he was very scared.

"Take him away and take good care of him." King Yan gave the order.

Madam Rong placed the two newborn babies in the nursery next door, and the wet nurse and maids took care of them all night without any problems.

Prince Yan summoned the imperial physician: "Is Concubine Shen okay?"

The old doctor said, "Your Highness, Concubine Shen's delivery went smoothly, but she lost too much blood and her body is seriously damaged. She needs to be well taken care of. It will take at least two or three years to make up for the loss."

Prince Yan felt mixed emotions, but also a little relieved that Shen Wei was still alive.

He dragged his tired steps back to the bedroom. Shen Wei was lying quietly on the bed, unconscious, her face was white. Her lips were already broken and scabbed, probably because of the pain of childbirth.

Shen Wei had her eyes closed, a light velvet headband on her forehead to keep her warm, and her breathing was steady.

She looked so fragile, as if a gust of wind could take her away.

King Yan sat tiredly on the bedside and slowly held Shen Wei's slightly cold hand. There was blood on Shen Wei's palm, and blood marks left by her nails digging into the flesh. King Yan took out the plaster and applied it to her palm little by little, his movements meticulously.

When the maid entered the room to deliver the medicine, she was surprised to find blood flowing from the right arm of the Prince of Yan. She was terrified: "Your Majesty, your arm is bleeding! I will go and get the imperial physician right away!"

The imperial physician came forward with a medicine box and cut open the sleeve of the prince of Yan with shaking hands. There was a deep knife wound on the right arm, and the bones were almost visible, and the blood was flowing non-stop.

The imperial physician hurriedly tried to stop the bleeding, apply medicine, and bandage the wound. It took him nearly half an hour to finish bandaging the wound.

...

Shen Wei slept for a whole day before she opened her eyes in the dim morning light. Her first feeling was that her eyelids were heavy, and her whole body felt heavy, like a weight pressing down on her.

Then I felt pain all over my body, especially in my lower abdomen. It was like a meat grinder was spinning inside my stomach. Besides the pain, I also felt a hunger that was hard to ignore. It was like hunger that was sticking to my back.

Her vision was blurry, but she could vaguely hear Cai Ping shouting, "The master is awake! Quick, bring the medicine!"

Her vision gradually became clearer, and Shen Wei saw the King of Yan sitting beside the bed. The King of Yan was tall, like a small mountain blocking her light. On the light-colored bed curtains, there were two small green purses hanging.

When Shen Wei saw the two green purses, she knew that she had given birth to two boys.

"Weiwei."

Shen Wei heard the voice of King Yan.

The corners of her mouth opened, her eyes were red, and she seemed to be acting like a spoiled child or complaining: "My lord, is there anything to eat? I am almost starving..."