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

He was no longer the tireless wolf in the Prince of Yan's mansion. He was busy with government affairs and lacked exercise, so he had problems in that area.

No wonder only two or three concubines in the harem became pregnant in the three years after the emperor ascended the throne. It was not because the concubines did not work hard, but because there was something wrong with the oxen plowing the fields.

Shen Wei was worried. She began to think of a solution in her mind - should she secretly tell the Imperial Hospital to give the emperor some supplements?

In fact, it is better not to treat it. The emperor cannot be inhumane, and no concubine in the harem will get pregnant. In the competition for the throne, Shen Wei's son also has a few fewer potential opponents.

Shen Wei fell into deep thought and slowly fell asleep.

...

The next day was dawn.

Shen Wei endured her sleepiness and got up to help Li Yuanjing change his clothes. She went to bed late and was very sleepy. Li Yuanjing bent down slightly, pinched Shen Wei's fair and round chin, and looked at her sleepy little face.

Very beautiful.

The other concubines in the palace dared not take a nap when serving the emperor to change his clothes. After being in a high position for a long time, everyone around him wore a fake face and was false. But his Weiwei always showed her truest side.

The more Li Yuanjing looked at her, the more he liked her. He couldn't help but press her against the pillar and kiss her for a long time, kissing away Shen Wei's sleepiness.

Shen Wei: ...

He could still eat even though he hadn't rinsed his mouth so early in the morning.

"I'm going to court first and will come to see you in the afternoon." Li Yuanjing's eyes were gentle.

Shen Wei smiled and nodded.

In the front yard of Yongning Palace, Jixiang was plucking roses with a few young eunuchs. The roses were in full bloom, and Li Yuanjing was quite surprised: "Weiwei, why are you plucking the roses?"

Li Yuanjing has a great liking for roses.

During the three years since Shen Wei left the palace, he had people plant a lot of roses inside and outside the palace walls to remind people of her. Gradually, everyone in and outside the palace knew that the emperor loved roses, and roses were planted in the courtyards of all the concubines, and even in the homes of many ministers.

Shen Wei said, "When I was in Donghua Mountain, a rose pricked my hand. The thorn pierced my palm for a long time before I could get it out. Le You also scratched his hand when he went to pick roses, so I don't like flowers with thorns."

These are all excuses she made up.

Shen Wei hated roses because when she wanted to abandon her husband and children, her skirt got caught by a rose and she lost her freedom for the rest of her life.

Li Yuanjing nodded, thinking: "Roses have many thorns, which is indeed not good."

There is no need to miss him when seeing things in the future, because his rose is back.

Li Yuanjing went to court, and Shen Wei returned to the palace for breakfast. As soon as breakfast was over, Caiping walked into the room and reported: "Master, the Queen Mother asked you to go to the Cining Palace. The Emperor's imperial edict for canonization has come down."

Shen Wei did not delay. After dressing up, she took the palace servants to the Cining Palace.

Along the way, Shen Wei was thinking about what account Li Yuanjing would give her.

Concubine Xian? Concubine De? Concubine Hui? Or did you think of a separate word?

The Cining Palace is magnificent, solemn and dignified.

Shen Wei held Caiping's hand and walked into the main hall, where she found the empress, concubine Shu, Zhang Miaoyu and other concubines were all there.

As soon as Shen Wei showed up, pairs of inquiring eyes looked at her.

Concubine Lu Xuan half-closed her beautiful eyes and observed Shen Wei without any expression. Shen Wei was in good spirits, with fair skin and normal walking posture. Lu Xuan was slightly relieved. Judging from Shen Wei's condition, she should not have slept with him last night.

After a long separation, there was no joy at night. The emperor's feelings for Shen Wei were just like that.

Shen Wei knelt down and said in a neither humble nor arrogant manner: "I pay my respects to the Queen Mother and the Queen."

Then he turned his gaze and said, "How are you, sisters?"

The Queen Mother said lovingly, "Stand up. Don't sit down yet. Madam Qian, have the people from the Ministry of Rites come in and announce the Emperor's decree."

Nanny Qian immediately went to ask for help.

After a while, the Minister of Works and the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet walked into the Cining Palace holding the imperial edict, and the chief eunuch Zhou Gonggong held the imperial edict. The three of them first paid their respects to the Queen Mother and the Empress, and then Eunuch Zhou read out the imperial edict.

"The Emperor, in compliance with the Will of Heaven, proclaims: Shen of Yongning Palace is of a noble family, graceful and virtuous... In compliance with the Empress Dowager's benevolent order, she is conferred the title of Chen Fei by imperial decree. I decree this."

Shen Wei kowtowed and accepted the order.

Cai Lian and Cai Ping who were standing by put away the book of treasures and the gold seal.

Eunuch Zhou glanced at Shen Wei with a smile, said a few words of congratulations, and then left respectfully.

Shen Wei returned to the Cining Palace and thanked the Queen Mother politely. The Queen Mother gave her a seat and the palace maids served her hot tea.

The queen frowned secretly. She thought that the emperor would confer the title of "De Fei" or "Hui Fei" on Shen Wei.

But unexpectedly, the emperor actually chose the character "Chen" himself.

The word "Chen" has a broad meaning and special significance. It is another name for Ziwei Star and North Star.

There is an old saying: "The destiny of heaven is infinite, but the pole star does not move", "It is like the North Star, which stays in its place and all the stars revolve around it". The emperor named Shen Wei "Chen Fei", which was enough to show her importance in the emperor's heart.

Sitting on the main throne, the Queen Mother calmly ordered: "Queen, Concubine Shu, you two are in charge of the harem. Prepare well for tonight's family dinner and make no mistakes."

The Queen and Lu Xuan stood up together: "Please rest assured, Queen Mother."

"It's getting late, everyone should go." The Queen Mother rubbed her brows, "Concubine Chen, you stay."

The concubines bowed and left one after another. Everyone looked at Shen Wei with different eyes, some happy, some calm, some jealous, and some fearful.

Lu Xuan was calm. Flowers don't last forever, and temporary favor is nothing. Lu Xuan will not take action against Shen Wei for the time being. The harem is large, and there are many concubines who want to drag Shen Wei down.

For example, Concubine Lan Xie Fanglan.

Xie Fanglan was born in the Xie family, and the Queen Mother was her aunt. With the Queen Mother back in the palace, Xie Fanglan's turnaround should be here.

...

The concubines left the Cining Palace.

Shen Wei was drinking tea when Le You and Li Chengyou ran over from the backyard and both threw themselves into Shen Wei's arms.

Le You said in a soft voice: "Mother, Le You wants to sleep with you tonight."

Li Chengyou immediately retorted: "Father must be sleeping at Mother's place. If Father is not here, we can sneak over there."

Leyou pouted: "Okay then..."

She ran to the Queen Mother with her chubby little legs and sat in her arms. Le You hugged her arm and said, "Mother has Father to accompany her, so Le You will accompany Grandmother and make her happy every day."

The wrinkles at the corners of the Queen Mother's eyes were all widened with smile.

Shen Wei hugged her youngest son and asked curiously, "Where's Chengtai?"

Li Chengyou answered obediently: "Brother is reading. There are many books in the study of the Royal Grandmother. Brother wishes he could live in the study."

Shen Wei was a little worried because her eldest son was working too hard and was engaging in involution at such a young age.

"Mother, you have to send someone to supervise him at all times. The child is still young. Don't let reading damage his eyes." Shen Wei reminded the Queen Mother.

The Queen Mother smiled and nodded, saying in a friendly manner, "I have asked two maids to supervise him, and only allow him to read for one hour a day. The small kitchen has cooked fruits and soup that can improve eyesight, and Chengtai is allowed to drink them every day."

The empress dowager was very pleased that her grandson loved reading so much at such a young age without the need for supervision or encouragement from outsiders.

Shen Wei thought for a moment: "Mother, Chengtai is still young and cannot enter the Imperial College and Anguo Temple for the time being. Since he loves reading, why not hire a learned teacher to give him lessons every day."

The Queen Mother also had this idea.

Who can be chosen as Chengtai’s teacher?

Shen Wei had already thought about it. She told the Queen Mother: "Mr. Yang Xuanji is knowledgeable, upright, and has many students all over the world. He is also the teacher of my younger brother. Mother, do you think it is appropriate to invite him?"

The Queen Mother glanced at Shen Wei dimly: "You think too far ahead. When did you set your sights on Yang Xuanji?"

Shen Wei smiled awkwardly and confessed the truth: "To be honest, mother. When Chengtai and Chengyou were just born, I planned to ask Yang Xuanji to be the children's teacher."

The Queen Mother's eyes showed admiration. Parents who love their children will plan for them in the long run.

But Shen Wei was too smart. As soon as the child was born, she had already decided on the teacher to be hired in the future.

The Queen Mother thought for a moment and said, "Yang Xuanji has a strange temper. I will issue an imperial decree in a few days to let him teach Chengtai. If the teaching does not go well, I will choose another teacher."

The atmosphere in the Cining Palace was peaceful and harmonious. Shen Wei and the Queen Mother got along well and felt relaxed.

The Queen Mother looked at Shen Wei who was leisurely sipping tea and asked again, "Do you feel wronged to be only given the title of Consort?"

Given Shen Wei's status, it wouldn't be a bad idea to make her a noble concubine.

Shen Wei put down the teacup and looked at it in a positive light: "It is easy to fall hard from a high place. As long as the emperor has me in his heart, the status and position are just passing clouds."

The future is long, don’t rush for the moment.

Besides, Shen Wei was still afraid of the emperor and did not dare to be too aggressive. Now the emperor favored her, but only because of the old relationship in the palace. There was still a long life left, and crises were everywhere. Shen Wei must not let down her guard.

The Queen Mother nodded with satisfaction. Shen Wei was a patient and calm person. She always considered things carefully and had a long-term vision. This quality was truly rare.

If it weren't for the Queen's powerful family background, the Queen Mother would have wanted to help Shen Wei become the Queen.

After staying in the Cining Palace for a while, Shen Wei reluctantly said goodbye. Before leaving, the Queen Mother asked Madam Qian to go to the kitchen and get a fresh big pumpkin for Shen Wei.

"Pumpkin?" Shen Wei was stunned, thinking she had seen it wrong.

The Queen Mother said, "This is the golden pumpkin that Donglin Kingdom sent as tribute. It was sent to Qing Kingdom with the vines and soil. Take it back to the palace and have the chef steam it and pour honey on it. It will taste very good."

Shen Wei silently took the big pumpkin.

Sometimes, Shen Wei really felt that the Queen Mother was raising her like a half-daughter.

This is what Shen Wei deserves. During the three years in Donghua Mountain, she and the Queen Mother lived together day and night. She treated her sincerely, and in return, the Queen Mother treated her sincerely.

...

Shen Wei left the Cining Palace quietly with the big pumpkin. Lanpin Xie Fanglan came out from behind the stone lions, staring at Shen Wei and her group with her beautiful eyes.

"It seems that the rumors are false. The Empress Dowager Aunt doesn't necessarily treat Concubine Chen very well." Xie Fanglan gloated.

The maid was puzzled and asked, "Why did the master say that?"

Xie Fanglan mocked: "Giving a pumpkin as a reward is ridiculous."

If the Queen Mother really valued Concubine Chen, she would have rewarded her with gold, silver and jewelry instead of giving her a worthless pumpkin.

Xie Fanglan put on her expensive dress and walked into the Cining Palace with a haughty look on her face. She was the niece of the empress dowager, from the same clan, and the empress dowager would definitely make the decision for her and help her return to the position of concubine.

Walking into the front yard of Cining Palace, the nanny asked Xie Fanglan to stop and went in to report. Xie Fanglan was waiting boredly in the yard, thinking about how to complain to the empress dowager, when a soft call came from the east of the yard.

"Brother, put down the red date cake. You can't eat it anymore." Le You chased after his brother breathlessly.

Li Chengyou ran faster than a rabbit with red date cake in his hand.

Leyou stretched out his chubby little legs to chase after him.

Without paying attention, he bumped into Xie Fanglan in the yard. Le You covered his forehead in a daze and apologized obediently: "My lady, it was all my carelessness--"

In order to meet the Queen Mother today, Xie Fanglan specially wore an expensive embroidered shirt with thin silk and a wine-red skirt with water patterns. Le You accidentally bumped into her and the shirt was almost damaged.

Xie Fanglan pushed Le You in anger and said, "How uneducated you are! You ruined my clothes."

Leyou was only four years old and very small. He was caught off guard by Xie Fanglan's push and fell to the ground with a thud.