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

...

Fangfei Garden.

The old nanny arranged two maids for Shen Wei according to the standards for a concubine, and then turned and left.

Zhang Yue secretly followed and pulled Shen Wei to a corner.

Zhang Yue warned in a low voice: "Shen Wei, you are jumping into the fire pit! Last year, there was a beautiful maid in the palace. She took the initiative to serve the prince for a few days, but was forgotten by the prince. The maid went crazy a few days ago and jumped into the water to commit suicide."

In Zhang Yue's opinion, Shen Wei was simply asking for trouble.

Wouldn't it be nice to be a maid?

"I have my own plans." Shen Wei smiled faintly.

Zhang Yue sighed, sympathetic and disdainful: "I still have to go back to the flower room to work, you take care of yourself."

Zhang Yue was already waiting to see Shen Wei make a fool of herself.

Shen Wei entered Fangfei Garden. The yard was not very big, with only four small houses. It had been uninhabited for a long time, and weeds were growing wildly.

"Greetings to Master Shen." Two little maids came forward to greet him.

Shen Wei sat in the main seat and looked at the two girls in front of her. The two maids were about fifteen or sixteen years old, one was called Cai Ping and the other was called Cai Lian.

If "Fangfeiyuan" is a newly established company, then Caiping and Cailian would be its initial employees.

Shen Wei asked the maid to bring paper and brush. She spread out the rice paper and held the brush in her hand. "I just came to the palace and I am not familiar with it yet. I want to ask you, when will the prince come back?"

In Shen Wei's mind, she regarded the King of Yan, whom she had never met, as her target customer. If she wanted to successfully sign a project with a customer, she had to understand the customer's preferences.

Know yourself and the enemy, a hundred battles will never end.

Caiping and Cailian looked at each other, with sympathy and a hint of contempt in their eyes.

Although these two maids are young, they have been serving in the palace since childhood and have seen countless women who try to curry favor with the rich and powerful.

These women were born beautiful and were favored by the prince, but they soon disappeared like fallen flowers.

"My Lord." Cai Lian was a little older and more composed. "The prince went on a tour to the south on behalf of the crown prince a month ago. He should be back in two days."

Shen Wei was thoughtful, writing down on the rice paper with a brush: "How old is the prince? What are his family relationships? What are his hobbies? What does he like to eat? What are his daily hobbies?"

Cai Lian was stunned.

Suddenly I felt that the master in front of me was a little different from those masters who were only beautiful before.

Cai Lian answered politely: "The prince is the second son of the current emperor, and he is twenty-eight this year. He has a principal wife, three concubines, several concubines, maids, and maids in the back house. The prince likes riding horses, archery, and reading..."

The sun slanted from the center of the sky to a corner, and dusk fell.

Cailian and Caiping talked until their mouths were dry and told Shen Wei all the information they knew.

Shen Wei asked so many questions. In addition to asking for information about the prince, she also wanted to know the origins of other concubines in the harem and the information about the famous families in the capital.

"Very good, thank you for accepting the interview." Shen Wei sorted out the thick rice paper. She now had a general understanding of the palace.

As it gradually darkened, the kitchen brought in Fangfeiyuan's dinner.

Two dishes and one soup, not bad.

Shen Wei had a nice meal and walked around Fangfei Garden in the evening. In the dim moonlight, she looked at the weeds in the yard and the dilapidated walls, and her brows knitted.

Fangfei Garden is located in the southwest corner of the palace, in a remote place. There are many courtyards here, where more than a dozen concubines who have fallen out of favor live.

Other concubines lost favor and gave up on themselves. They basically did not clean their own courtyards, but only sighed at their fate in front of the dilapidated courtyard walls. Under the moonlight, the courtyards looked like haunted houses.

"No, we must renovate the facade!" Shen Wei made up her mind that Fangfeiyuan must be given a complete makeover.

Clothes make the man, and saddles make the horse. To attract customers, a shop must have a well-decorated facade.

No customer would want to go to a shabby store.

Shen Wei had planned to wake up the two maids tonight to help them pull weeds and clean the yard. But today was their first day at work, and asking employees to stay up late and work overtime on the first day would leave a bad impression on them.

Let’s start work again tomorrow.

Shen Wei returned to her bedroom and took off her hairpin in front of the mirror. The silver mirror was made of good quality and reflected Shen Wei's face clearly.

The original owner not only had the same name as her, but also looked almost the same, with a round face, beautiful peach blossom eyes, and eyes that looked like crescent moons when she smiled.

"My skin is not hydrated, I'm too thin, and I'm malnourished." Shen Wei pinched her face, knowing that she needed to slowly get herself back into good health.

To gain the favor of King Yan, one must have outstanding appearance and a healthy body.

Today I heard Cai Lian mention that Prince Yan is very good in bed, and the delicate concubines in the harem are often unable to bear his grace and faint from exhaustion.

Shen Wei needs to work harder and keep fit!

After washing up, Shen Wei went back to bed to sleep. She lay on the bed and began to look at her bed again - it was a mahogany carved canopy bed, a bit old, with paint peeling off the edges.

"I also want to redecorate the bedroom and create a new style."

Shen Wei sighed inwardly, clutching the fifty taels of silver given by Princess Yan, various transformation plans emerged in her mind, she slowly closed her eyes and fell into a deep sleep.

...

The next morning, Caiping and Cailian got up yawning and prepared to help Shen Wei wash up.

But they saw their master Shen Wei, in the early morning light, running around the yard in shorts. Her hair was tied up high, her pretty face was flushed, and she was running out of breath.

Cai Lian was surprised: "Master, what are you doing?"

Shen Wei finished her jog and took the handkerchief handed to her by Cai Lian to wipe her sweat: "Exercise."

The body is the capital for competing for favor.

Study hard and exercise every day.

After jogging, Shen Wei started doing squats again. After doing thirty squats, she wiped the sweat off her face and went to eat breakfast.

In Kunyu Courtyard, the old maid came in with tea to serve. Princess Yan had just gotten up. She asked with her hand on her temple, "Are you used to living with Shen in Fangfei Courtyard?"

The old nanny said, "It's strange to say, Shen sent a maid to the flower room this morning to ask for a lot of flower and vegetable seeds. She also asked a few young eunuchs to bring tools to repair the courtyard wall."

"Repair the courtyard wall?" Princess Yan paused while drinking her tea.

If it were other concubines, they would either live obediently in the courtyard and wait for the prince to summon them, or buy rouge and powder and try hard to dress themselves up.

This Shen Wei is quite unique.

The old nanny didn't take it seriously: "The Fangfei Garden has been uninhabited for a long time, and the wall is damaged. Maybe Shen was worried that the heavy rain would wash away the wall, so she repaired it in advance - she was born in a peasant family, so her vision is limited."

Princess Yan smiled sarcastically.

Yes, only a woman from a farming family would pay attention to the damaged courtyard wall and ask for vegetable seeds.

Let her go, she won't cause much trouble anyway.

Princess Yan didn't take Shen Wei seriously. She was still thinking about her children. She told the old nanny, "Send someone to the school to watch over the two children. Don't let them mess around in class. This year, on the Queen Mother's birthday, the two children must behave well in front of her."

The old maid asked, "The prince will be returning from his southern tour the day after tomorrow. How about letting the two young masters rest for a day and welcome the prince?"

Princess Yan frowned and shook her head, saying, "It's not worth it to delay your studies."

The old lady sighed inwardly.

Over the past few years, the princess has become less and less concerned about the prince, and her heart and eyes are full of raising children. The concubines in the harem are also well-behaved.

The backyard of the palace was calm and peaceful, like a stagnant pool of water.

I'm afraid there will no longer be a woman who can cause trouble in the royal palace.

...

Fangfei Garden.

After two days of busy work, Fangfeiyuan was transformed from a plain house to a fully decorated one.

Shen Wei used the fifty taels of silver given to her by the princess, and gave a small portion to the young eunuch who worked hard carrying bricks, and gave three taels of silver each to Caiping and Cailian.

The eunuchs were overjoyed and kowtowed in gratitude.

Caiping and Cailian were also overjoyed. Three taels of silver was equivalent to three months' salary for them.

Shen Wei curled her lips. She was not a stingy boss. If employees worked hard, she would give them bonuses. It was mutually beneficial, and the employees would be more diligent next time.

"Master Shen, our yard is so beautiful." Caiping held the reward money in her hand and admired from the bottom of her heart.

The weeds and dead trees were cleared, and many beautiful flowers were brought in from the greenhouse, and many peach trees were transplanted. The dilapidated courtyard wall was repaired, and Shen Wei personally painted a vivid pattern on the outer wall.

Although not as gorgeous as the princess's courtyard, Fangfei Garden is also unique.

Shen Wei also plans to change the flowers and plants in the yard every season, planting peach trees in the spring, lotus flowers in the water in the summer, osmanthus flowers in the autumn, and plum blossoms in the winter.

However, Cai Ping pointed curiously at the vegetable plot that had been cleared and remained bare until now: "Master, do you want to grow vegetables?"

Shen Wei took a sip of tea to moisten her throat, stared at the vegetable patch, and the corners of her lips slowly curved up: "Leave it for its own use, waiting for someone with a heart to plant it."

Caiping was puzzled.

Shen Wei put down the teacup and told the two maids: "The prince is coming back today, I want to take a sneak peek."

She is now the prince's concubine, and her status is only slightly higher than that of a maidservant. She is not qualified to welcome the prince back to the palace.

But Shen Wei wanted to get to know Prince Yan in advance and observe his appearance and conversation.

"This..." Cailian and Caiping looked embarrassed.

Shen Wei said in a friendly manner: "It's just a peek, it won't offend him. Let's keep a low profile and don't let anyone find out."

Shen Wei insisted on doing so, and the two maids could only nod in agreement. Near noon, the sound of ritual music came from the gate of the palace.

King Yan is back.

Shen Wei slipped out of Fangfei Garden and hid in the corner of the courtyard of the main hall, observing secretly. Information about King Yan emerged in her mind.

The Emperor of Qing had only three sons. The Queen gave birth to the Crown Prince and the Prince of Yan, and the youngest Prince of Heng was born to the Imperial Concubine.

The Crown Prince and the Prince of Yan are brothers, they have lived and eaten together since childhood, and their brotherly love is strong. If nothing unexpected happens, when the Crown Prince ascends the throne in the future, the Prince of Yan will become the new emperor's right-hand man.

In other words, Shen Wei has a bright future if she follows Prince Yan.

"Shen Wei, what are you doing here?" A puzzled voice suddenly came from behind.

Shen Wei turned around and saw her former colleague Zhang Yue holding a pot of flowers behind her.

Of course Zhang Yue knew that Shen Wei was here to look for King Yan.

Like the newly promoted concubines in the past, she deliberately showed up in public and threw herself into the arms of the King of Yan, hoping to leave a good impression on him.

Zhang Yue felt pity and contempt in her heart, and her tone became more and more impolite: "I advise you to save your money. Even if you seduce the prince, you can't keep him——"

Before she finished speaking, Cai Ping beside Shen Wei frowned and scolded: "You didn't even greet the master when you saw him, but you are still speaking so shamelessly. Where do you get the courage from!"