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

The eunuchs hurriedly put down the sedan chair.

Li Yuanjing looked at the dilapidated palace wall. It was the Xiangyun Palace. Liu Qiaoer had angered him and was demoted to Qiaopin. She lived in this palace with her two children.

After all, Concubine Qiao was the head of a palace, but the outer wall was so old. If the Yue Kingdom delegation saw it, they would gossip about the poor treatment of concubines in Qing Kingdom.

When the emperor arrived, the palace maids fell to their knees.

The two children in the yard were so frightened when they saw Li Yuanjing that they stammered, "Father...Father, I pay my respects to you."

Li Yuanjing waved at them: "Come here."

Two children came over slowly.

Li Yuanjing's eyes fell on the two children. Their clothes were not new, they were thin, and they were as timid as quails. When they saw Li Yuanjing, the two children trembled and dared not raise their eyes.

She is too cautious and timid, and does not behave like a royal child at all.

Li Yuanjing frowned.

The salary of a concubine is not small, enough to provide the children with food and clothing. But why are these two children still wearing old clothes?

"Your Majesty, your Majesty pays your respects." In the room, Liu Qiaoer, who was embroidering, heard the noise and hurried out.

She had not expected the emperor to visit her suddenly. She was wearing old clothes, her face was bare, and the fine lines at the corners of her eyes were clearly visible.

Some even look pale and thin.

At first glance, Li Yuanjing almost didn't recognize that this was the once beautiful Liu Qiao'er. Liu Qiao'er now had an old face and rough skin. She didn't look like a concubine at all, but like an old maid washing clothes in the laundry department.

Li Yuanjing wondered: "Did the Queen withhold the salary of Xiangyun Palace?"

Liu Qiaoer was terrified and shook her head to deny, "No. It's just that I don't like luxury and I don't like to wear makeup."

She had always kept a low profile and never caused trouble. The queen didn't take her seriously, and the people in the palace followed suit and looked down on Xiangyun Palace. Most of Qiaopin's monthly salary was deducted.

But she didn't dare to make it public. If she rebelled, she might be targeted by the queen.

Simple food and drink are enough to fill your stomach, as long as you can survive.

Li Yuanjing was silent for a while.

Even if they don't like to put on makeup, at least they should take care of themselves. The concubines in their twenties dressed like old ladies in their forties.

It brought shame to the royal family.

Li Yuanjing ordered Deshun: "Send someone to renovate the outer wall of Xiangyun Hall. Ask the clothing bureau to make five new clothes that fit you."

After a pause, Li Yuanjing looked at Liu Qiaoer's sallow face and said, "Send me some more rouge."

De Shun respectfully accepted the order.

Li Yuanjing asked about the schoolwork of Qiaopin's son Li Chengxun, who was also his son and had received his elementary education at Anguo Temple.

But when Li Yuanjing asked, the child was so scared that he stumbled and couldn't say a complete sentence. When Li Yuanjing asked again, the child was actually scared and cried.

Li Yuanjing immediately lost interest. This child was so timid and cowardly. He turned away.

Liu Qiaoer stood at the palace gate and respectfully saw Li Yuanjing off, staring at the emperor's sedan chair for a long time.

"The emperor still has me in his heart." Liu Qiaoer smiled faintly with a sad look in her eyes.

During this period, Concubine Shen Wei was in great favor and stole the spotlight. The emperor stayed in Yongning Palace every night and did not set foot in the palaces of other concubines.

But today, the emperor came to her place and asked her about her well-being. Deep in his heart, the emperor still had not forgotten the affection they had for each other in childhood.

"Your Majesty, I dare not ask for your favor." Liu Qiaoer sighed. She didn't want the tragedy of her previous life to happen again.

The scenes of her family falling apart and her children dying were vivid in her mind, becoming her nightmare in past and present lives.

The only way to survive in the harem is to avoid being favored.

The concubines of Chen, Shu, Lan, and the queen... let them continue to fight. Maybe in the end, they will be left with nothing.

Maybe in the end, Liu Qiaoer could be lucky enough to live safely to the end.

...

On the other side, Concubine Lu Xuan received news that the emperor would come to her place tonight.

Lu Xuan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems that the Emperor is tired of Concubine Chen.

In this harem, no woman could be favored by the emperor for long. Whether it was the concubine or the concubine, they could only watch the emperor's favor disappear little by little.

Only by giving birth to a child can you barely keep the emperor's heart.

"Xiaoqin, set up the chessboard. I want to play chess with the emperor tonight." Lu Xuan is proficient in music, chess, calligraphy and painting. When she was the most favored in the harem, Li Yuanjing loved playing chess with her the most.

Lu Xuan dressed up in front of the mirror and dressed herself up carefully.

She was born with a beautiful face. In the entire harem, only Concubine Mei could be compared with her. With a little makeup to cover the fine lines at the corners of her eyes, she looked radiant.

She put on a precious double butterfly cloud pattern Qianshui skirt, a jade hairpin in her hair, a red dot between her eyebrows, and rouge on the corners of her lips. While doing her makeup, Lu Xuan asked, "Which other palace did the emperor go to today?"

The maidservant who was helping Lu Xuan with her makeup answered, "After the emperor finished handling state affairs, he went to Concubine Qiao first and rewarded her with clothes and silver. Then, the sedan chair came to our Changxin Palace."

Lu Xuan paused while applying rouge, thinking: "Qiaopin..."

Concubine Qiao has always been very low-key, but she is an old member of the Prince of Yan's Mansion after all, and she gave birth to a pair of children.

It's a potential hidden danger.

In the future, it must be eliminated.

In this huge harem, no one can stay out of trouble.

From outside the house came the voice of Eunuch Deshun: "The Emperor has arrived."

Lu Xuan stood up happily and looked at herself in the bronze mirror again to make sure that her makeup and clothes were correct before she walked out to greet him.

At dusk, the walls of Changxin Palace were covered with roses, like falling clouds. Lu Xuan and her palace maids came forward to greet them. She knelt and saluted: "I pay my respects to the emperor."

The etiquette was perfect and there was not a single mistake to be made.

Raising her beautiful eyes, Lu Xuan looked at the tall black figure, her heart filled with warmth.

Li Yuanjing entered the room.

The imperial kitchen sent over dinner, which was exquisite and all of which were Li Yuanjing's favorite foods. Lu Xuan accompanied Li Yuanjing to eat, chewing slowly throughout the meal, observing the rule of not talking while eating or sleeping.

After dinner, Li Yuanjing went to the next room and looked at his one-year-old son. Lu Xuan took good care of the child, who was white and plump, and was sleeping soundly in his crib.

Li Yuanjing looked at the sleeping face of the child and said, "You work hard with the queen to manage the harem during the day and take care of the young child."

Lu Xuan's cheeks flushed, and she said softly, "It's not hard for me to share the emperor's worries. The chessboard in the study is ready. Is the emperor willing to play chess with me?"

Li Yuanjing was somewhat interested and nodded happily.

In the elegantly decorated study, the chessboard was ready, and the incense slowly diffused from the gilded copper stove. Li Yuanjing played the black chess pieces, and Lu Xuan played the white chess pieces, and the two began to play chess.

Among the concubines in the harem, Lu Xuan is the best at chess.

But Li Yuanjing discovered that every time the two of them played chess, Lu Xuan would always deliberately give up the game.

This takes away the joy of playing chess.

Li Yuanjing thought of Shen Wei. When he was in Prince Yan's Mansion, he spent several days teaching Shen Wei how to play chess. Gradually, Shen Wei also learned some simple chess techniques.

Shen Wei's chess skills were poor, but she would never give in to him. Whenever she was about to lose, Shen Wei would regret her move and steal chess pieces blatantly, which was a very cute scene.

Later, Shen Wei got bored of playing chess, and Li Yuanjing wanted her to play with him. He had to coax her for a while before Shen Wei reluctantly agreed to play a game with him.

Playing chess with Shen Wei is always fun and joyful.

Playing chess with Lu Xuan was really boring. Lu Xuan would not steal moves, would not regret moves, and would always try to figure out his thoughts and carefully give up moves.

"Your Majesty is a great chess player. I lost again." Lu Xuan gently put down the chess piece and looked over with her beautiful eyes. "Your Majesty, do you want to play another game?"

Li Yuanjing lost interest: "No need."

Lu Xuan was disappointed.

She could clearly feel that Li Yuanjing's feelings for her were waning. She tried her best to please him, but could only watch him leave. This feeling was really tormenting.

It was dark, the bright moonlight fell on the courtyard, and the roses in the courtyard were covered with a thin layer of white gauze. Li Yuanjing went for a walk in the courtyard, and Lu Xuan followed him obediently.

Everyone knows that the emperor loves roses the most.

Lu Xuan's yard is full of roses, and she asks the gardener to take good care of them, so the roses in Lu Xuan's yard bloom in the best and most beautiful way.

Lu Xuan said in a gentle voice: "Your Majesty, the roses have bloomed beautifully these days. If you come to see them during the day, you will definitely like them."

But since Shen Wei came back, Li Yuanjing has lost his love for Qiangwei.

He had just taken two steps when his robe was caught on the thorns of the rose.