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

Concubine Lan was still feeling complacent.

The gift she sent was a Taihu stone, which was special and expensive, fully demonstrating the respect of a younger generation for an elder. Lanpin felt that the Queen Mother would definitely look at her with new eyes.

With the help of Taihu stone, she won the favor of the empress dowager. In the future, Lanpin will have the support of the empress dowager in the harem, and she will not worry about not getting the favor of the emperor.

At the female seat, Lu Yun's lips slowly shrunk, and a hint of gloating flashed across her eyes.

"What an idiot. There are concubines in the palace who are so brainless." Lu Yun shook her head secretly.

As the flood in the south was still unresolved, the empress dowager took the lead in promoting frugality and sent the saved money to the disaster-stricken areas to help the suffering people, demonstrating the compassion of the Daqing royal family.

The likes of Concubine Shu and Concubine Chen all gave affordable and practical birthday gifts.

Only Concubine Lan from the Xie family, in order to please the empress dowager, actually sent the expensive and labor-intensive Taihu stones, and she sent a hundred pieces at a time.

What a stupid woman.

Lu Yun shook the embroidered round fan in her hand and thought secretly, no wonder Lu Xuan was so successful in the palace, it turned out that many concubines were as brainless as Concubine Lan.

At the banquet, Concubine Lan looked at the Queen Mother eagerly, hoping to get her praise.

Behind the gorgeous pearl curtain, the Queen Mother said in a cold voice: "Taihu stone is expensive, I can't afford it. I'd better send it back to the Xie family so that your father can enjoy it."

Lanpin stood there in a daze.

It was like a basin of cold water poured over my head, making my whole body feel cool.

The Queen Mother took a sip of the warm spring tea and glanced at the emperor sitting on the throne. Li Yuanjing's dark eyes were deep, as if he was in deep thought.

The Queen Mother shook her head silently.

The Xie family is simply courting their own destruction. Li Yuanjing has just dealt a heavy blow to the Tantai family, and now the Xie family is foolishly falling into their own trap.

The Xie family’s inside information was correct; the Queen Mother really liked Taihu stones.

When the late emperor first ascended the throne, a minister came up with a unique idea and presented two pieces of Taihu stones to the emperor and empress. The Taihu stones were of peculiar shape and had great ornamental value. The emperor and empress loved them so much that they placed them in the imperial garden as a rockery and went to appreciate the stones in their spare time.

The emperor and empress loved Taihu stones, and their followers, including high-ranking officials and literati, followed suit. For a time, Daqing was swept by a trend of "stone appreciation".

The value of Taihu stone continued to rise, and gradually, the emperor and empress discovered the huge negative impact brought by Taihu stone.

First, the people living near Taihu Lake stopped growing rice and farming and instead went out to quarry stones for a living, which resulted in abandoned fields and a shortage of food supply in Taihu Lake.

Secondly, a good piece of Taihu stone weighs several tons. In order to transport the Taihu stone, doors and bridges were broken along the way, and the journey was thousands of miles. Some counties even broke their city gates just to transport the Taihu stone intact to Yanjing. It was extremely labor-intensive and costly.

The late emperor was keenly aware of the harm caused by Taihu stones.

When the old empress dowager passed away, the late emperor said that the "Taihu stone" was ominous and killed the old empress dowager. The late emperor sent people to smash the Taihu stone and throw it out of the city gate. From then on, the emperor and empress no longer appreciated the stone, and the trend of "appreciating stones" in the court gradually disappeared.

Now, thirty years have passed and Taihu stone has disappeared from Yanjing.

Unexpectedly, today, Concubine Lan actually sent another hundred Taihu stones to the emperor! This also indirectly shows that the Xie family is now very wealthy and has connections with officials in various states and counties along the water transport route, so they can successfully transport the Taihu stones to Yanjing.

If the Empress Dowager collected 100 pieces of Taihu stones, Yanjing would probably be swept by a new round of "stone appreciation" craze, which would cost the people a lot of money and time.

As an emperor, how could Li Yuanjing not be vigilant?

Lanpin was still young, and had no idea of ​​the royal family's foresight. She was still in shock, and said blankly: "Queen Mother, I am sincere..."

The Queen Mother put down her teacup with a snap and said in a cold tone: "It's really disheartening to send a pile of broken stones to celebrate my birthday."

Directly express the disgust for Taihu stone.

Lanpin felt very aggrieved and could only sit back in her original position silently. It seemed that the news from the family was wrong. The Queen Mother no longer liked Taihu stones. It was a mistake.

After Concubine Lan calmed down, other concubines and ladies of state also came one after another to present birthday gifts.

When it was Lu Yun's turn, she bowed respectfully to the Queen Mother and said in a clear voice: "Greetings, Queen Mother. I did not bring any valuable gifts today. My cousin opened a grain store in the flood-stricken area. I wrote to him, appealing to his feelings and reasoning. He then opened a porridge store in the disaster area and provided free porridge to the hungry victims for a month."

"It is the Queen Mother's birthday. I am doing this kind act to accumulate virtue for her. I wish her continued blessings and a long life."

After saying that, Lu Yun saluted the Queen Mother again.

The Queen Mother was indeed delighted, clapping her hands and praising her: "As expected of the daughter of Duke Lu, she is so smart and thoughtful at such a young age, which is really rare."

Lu Yun raised the corners of her lips and lowered her head slightly, hiding the pride in her eyes.

Even Concubine Lu Xuan, who was sitting high up, couldn't hide her surprise. The innocent and silly little sister before was actually so smart.

Did he get advice from Duke Lu?

The Queen Mother was very pleased with the birthday gift from Lu Yun and gave her a precious plum blossom hairpin inlaid with emeralds. This hairpin was the Queen Mother's dowry when she got married.

Lu Yun held the hairpin in her hands with joy. Although the hairpin looked a little old, it was of extraordinary value.

Lu Yun suppressed her excitement, observed etiquette, and once again respectfully thanked the Queen Mother.

She thought to herself that she had caught the empress dowager's eye today, and when she entered the palace as a concubine in the future, the empress dowager would be able to provide her with support.

Shen Wei, who was drinking tea, glanced at the old hairpin and marveled in her heart, thinking that Taiguo was really an old fox.

The Queen Mother came from a noble family, and her dowry included as many as 500 hairpins, but many of them had been damaged over time and were worthless.

The ladies of honor presented their gifts one after another. Among them, Madam Tan Tai gave the empress dowager a cold jade pillow to help her sleep and maintain her health. The empress dowager praised her a few more words.

Finally, it was Ye Qiushuang's turn to appear in the corner. In the birthday banquet with so many beauties, Ye Qiushuang, who was dressed in simple and elegant clothes, was not very noticeable, and her family background was also the lowest.

No one knew why the Queen Mother allowed a merchant girl to attend the banquet in the palace.

The lights were on and the aroma of wine filled the air in the Qinghua Palace. Ye Qiushuang lowered her head, walked to the center, and respectfully paid her respects to the Emperor and the Empress Dowager.

The Queen Mother's eyes showed kindness, and she said kindly, "Don't kneel, the ground is cold."

His attitude was humble and kind, and all the noble ladies present frowned secretly.

Lanpin clenched the embroidered handkerchief in her hand and looked at Ye Qiushuang warily. This merchant girl was pretty and of humble origins, yet she was valued by the empress dowager.

Could it be - Concubine Lan widened her eyes nervously, could it be that the Queen Mother wanted to bring Ye Qiushuang into the palace as a concubine?

Concubine Lan gritted her teeth secretly.

With two towering concubines, Concubine Shu and Concubine Chen, in the harem, her life as Concubine Lan was already very difficult. Now there was a new beauty, and the emperor's remaining favor was not enough to share.

It was Ye Qiushuang's first time entering the palace. The most distinguished emperor and queen mother of Daqing were sitting in high places, but she was not at all nervous and spoke respectfully, "Queen Mother's birthday. I, Ye Qiushuang, wish you a thousand years of happiness and blessings. I was born in the south and am deeply worried about the flood in the south. I am willing to donate 20,000 taels of silver, 1,000 pieces of cotton cloth, and 10 boxes of medicinal materials to the flood-stricken areas."

"At the same time, women will open inns and shops in the counties of southern states, and set up large cotton-picking and cloth-spinning workshops to provide a way of life for the homeless victims."

Ye Qiu Shuang entered the palace this time to "do charity."