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

...

Donghua Mountain, the royal villa where the Empress Dowager cultivated herself.

In the hot summer, the lotus flowers in the courtyard pond are in full bloom, and the green lotus leaves sway slightly in the wind. Shen Wei is enjoying the cool in the pavilion beside the lotus pond, applying a special whitening and nourishing facial mask on her face, squinting her eyes comfortably.

"Master." Cai Lian hurried into the pavilion.

Shen Wei raised her eyelids: "What's the matter?"

Cai Lian lowered her voice and said, "Duke Lu's daughter Lu Xuan was diagnosed pregnant two days ago and was named Concubine Xuan. Concubine Lan had a miscarriage and her body was seriously damaged. The imperial physician said it would be difficult for her to get pregnant again."

Shen Wei raised her eyebrows slightly.

As soon as Lu Xuan, the daughter of Duke Lu, entered the palace, she was given the title of noble lady. She was born beautiful and well-read, and soon won the emperor's favor, gradually overshadowing Xie Fanglan of the Xie family.

Lu Xuan was diagnosed as pregnant and was made a concubine. The emperor doted on her, no less than Concubine Lan.

Cai Lian continued to report: "That Lu Xuan is simply another Mei Fei. Her appearance is comparable to Mei Fei's, her talent is comparable to hers, and her temperament is not as cold as Mei Fei's. The emperor likes her very much."

Concubine Mei is Liu Ruyan.

When she was in the Qiandi Palace, Liu Ruyan was already a concubine and gave birth to a daughter, Li Nanzhi. Later, when the new emperor ascended the throne, Liu Ruyan was named Mei Fei.

Liu Ruyan did not receive many favors, and her personality was cold and she did not like to compete for favors, so she had no enemies in the palace. Or rather, the newcomers did not regard Liu Ruyan as an enemy.

Cai Lian was very worried: "Master, how about we find a way to return to the palace? The Lu family's daughter is the most favored in the six palaces. What if the emperor forgets his old relationship with you..."

All men are fickle. How can he remain calm when such a stunningly beautiful woman is right before his eyes every day?

Cai Lian was worried that if time went on too long, the emperor would forget Shen Wei and the children in Taihua Mountain.

Shen Wei shook her head slightly and looked towards the lush green lotus pond in the distance: "No hurry, wait a little longer."

Lu Xuan is beautiful and talented, and is indeed a strong rival, but she is just a copy of "Liu Ruyan".

Shen Wei knows Li Yuanjing well. This man loves "newness" the most. No matter how beautiful a woman is, he will get tired of her after spending too much time with her.

Lu Xuan is perfect, proficient in everything from music, chess, calligraphy and painting, but it is precisely because she is too perfect that people lose interest in her.

Li Yuanjing likes the development system, and he enjoys the process of cultivating a woman from a blank slate to an all-rounder.

...

Time flies, and another year has passed. Shen Wei has been in Donghua Mountain for two years. Leyou has started climbing trees to look for bird eggs, and the two sons have also learned to run around.

The Queen Mother was the happiest.

Her three lovely grandsons surrounded her every day, calling her "Imperial Grandmother" all the time, which made the empress dowager very happy. She wanted to give the best things in the world to her three lovely grandsons.

In the villa, Shen Wei finished her exercise, wiped the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief, and looked through the account books sent by the Yanjing shop.

Cai Lian brought news from the palace again: "Master, something big happened in the palace!"

Shen Wei paused while flipping through the account book and said calmly, "What's the matter? Could it be that the daughter of the Lu family was made a concubine?"

Lu Xuan's family was a century-old family, but it was declining. Duke Lu had no sons, only two daughters. Lu Xuan gave birth to a son a few months ago, and the emperor named her a concubine, so the Lu family was also full of glory.

The emperor was very busy and didn't summon his concubines very often each month, but he was quite fond of Lu Xuan. He would stay in Lu Xuan's palace five or six days a month.

Staying for five or six days was considered a great favor in the harem.

"Shufei has not been promoted." Cailian's expression was very solemn. "The eldest prince passed away. The emperor was furious and punished the queen to kneel in the royal ancestral hall. Shufei will temporarily manage the affairs of the harem."

Shen Wei was stunned for a moment: "The eldest prince passed away?"

The current emperor has many children, including the son who died young, there are a total of ten princes.

The queen gave birth to the eldest prince Chengke and the second prince Chengzhen. The concubine in the palace gave birth to four boys. Liu Qiaoer gave birth to the seventh prince, Shen Wei gave birth to the eighth and ninth princes, and concubine Lu Xuan gave birth to the tenth prince.

Who would have thought that the eldest prince Li Chengke would die.

Cai Lian said, "It is said that the eldest prince stayed up late to study for several days and fainted on his desk in the middle of the night. When the old maid came, his face was black and blue and he was already dead. The emperor was furious and punished the queen."

The queen has always been strict with her two sons and forces them to study every day. Everyone in the harem knows this.

After diagnosis, the imperial doctors said that the eldest prince had intracranial hemorrhage caused by "excessive fatigue."

In other words, it is sudden death.

Shen Wei narrowed her eyes and fell into deep thought: "A child in his teens died suddenly... This is too bizarre."

Was it an accident? Or was it intentional?

After the eldest prince died suddenly, the queen was punished and lost the power to manage the six palaces. No matter from which perspective, the person who benefited the most was Concubine Lu Xuan.

This Lu Xuan is really extraordinary.

Shen Wei had a hunch that when she returned to the palace in the future, Lu Xuan would be a strong opponent.

...

Flowers bloom and fade, and another year has passed.

Flowers are blooming all over the mountains, and spring has come again to Taihua Mountain. Shen Wei has been staying in the Taihua Mountain Villa for three years.

The peach blossoms on the branches are blooming bright red, and butterflies are flying among the flowers.

"Chengtai, Chengyou, let's go catch butterflies together." Leyou was wearing a pink palace dress and holding a glass jar in her hands, with two struggling butterflies in the jar.

Leyou ran into the house to find his two younger brothers.

The study was spacious and bright. Leyou ran into the study and saw his two younger brothers, Li Chengtai and Li Chengyou.

Although the two brothers are twins, they look different. The elder brother Lee Seung-tae looks more like his father, the emperor, while the younger brother Lee Seung-woo looks more like his mother.

"Brother, what are you doing?" Leyou came over curiously.

Li Chengyou held a brush in his hand, and there were black ink marks on his fair face. He answered in a baby voice: "Brother is teaching me how to write."

Li Chengtai said dissatisfiedly: "You can't even write your own name, stupid."

Li Chengyou threw away the brush and jumped off the desk like a monkey: "I won't write anymore. I want to catch butterflies with my sister."

Li Chengyou held Leyou's chubby hand and ran out of the study room with his legs running fast. The brother and sister chased butterflies in the garden, and their cheerful laughter sounded like silver bells.

In the study, Li Chengtai, who was only three years old, bit the corner of his lips lightly, and a solemn expression flashed across his chubby face.

He looked at his sister and brother running around in the yard and sighed like a little adult: "They are all so stupid."

The father had not appeared in public for three years, and he might have forgotten the mother and their three children. But the sister and brother were unaware and still had expectations for the father.

Li Chengtai looked up again and stared at the portrait of his father on the wall of the study.

In the scroll, Emperor Qing Li Yuanjing has sharp eyebrows and majestic features, like a majestic tiger.

Li Chengtai raised his little head and looked at his father in the portrait, like a little wolf with incomplete claws and fangs in the wolf pack, looking at the legendary old wolf king.

"Chengtai, eat some cloud cake first. You are still young, don't stay in the study all day, go out for a walk more often." Shen Wei's gentle voice came.

Li Chengtai turned around and saw his mother who was still as charming as ever.

Shen Wei put the cloud cake on the table and looked at the rice paper on the desk. The rice paper was full of words, and the handwriting was crooked and not neat at all.

They were all written by her eldest son.

Leyou and Li Chengyou, who were playing in the yard, heard the noise and ran into the house in a hurry. They first greeted Shen Wei, then picked up the cloud cake with their fat paws and ran to the garden to chase butterflies.

Seeing that her eldest son didn't take the cloud cake, Shen Wei couldn't help but poke his chubby face: "Why don't you eat it? Don't you like it?"

Li Chengtai pursed his lips slightly, and asked Shen Wei in a muffled voice: "Mother...Won't father take us home?"

Shen Wei pretended to be confused: "Your father is very busy."

Li Chengtai was even more worried: "Has the father forgotten us..."

Shen Wei denied: "No, don't think too much."

Every two months, Shen Wei wrote to Li Yuanjing in the palace. Li Yuanjing almost always replied, the content of the letter was not much, but the necessary emotions were all there.

Even in the past year, Li Yuanjing has replied more frequently.

Li Chengtai pulled Shen Wei's sleeve, worriedly: "Mother, maybe the emperor doesn't want us anymore."

Shen Wei touched Li Chengtai's little head and comforted him, "Don't guess, your father is just very busy, and he will take us back to the palace when he is done."

Li Chengtai lowered his little head and nodded sullenly.

Shen Wei had to go to the gym to practice yoga. She patted her son's shoulder and left slowly.

Before leaving, Shen Wei took advantage of her eldest son's inattention, took out a illustrated book "The Case of the Chopping of the Beauty" from her sleeve, and quickly stuffed it into the bookshelf.

The Story of Chen Shimei tells the story of a man named Chen Shimei who abandoned his wife and children for fame and wealth. Chen Shimei is a typical heartless man.

Li Chengtai doesn't know many words, and he particularly likes reading illustrated storybooks.

Before leaving the study, Shen Wei glanced back at her son sitting at the desk and slowly raised the corners of her lips.

Children of the royal family cannot be too naive. A sense of crisis must be instilled in them from an early age.