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

In the Confucian Temple outside Yanjing, there lived a dozen poor students. At dawn, Shen's mother sat under the eaves weaving cloth, and the old loom creaked.

Shen's mother was old and could only weave four feet of cloth every day, and she saved the money from selling the cloth.

Shen's mother had already made plans. If Shen Wei died in the palace in the future, she would kowtow to the princess and ask for Shen Wei's body back. Shen's mother would use the money she had saved to buy a good cemetery and bury Shen Wei.

This is the only thing a mother can do for Shen Wei.

"Mom, I'm going out for a while and will be back at noon." Shen Xiuming walked out of the house and stretched.

Shen's mother paused in her weaving, and she helplessly discovered that her son was not a man of strong will. When he was humiliated in the back alley of the inn, Shen Xiuming decided to study hard and become stronger.

But after more than ten days of hard work, there was a tendency of "the first effort was strong, the second was weak, and the third was exhausted".

He no longer gets up early to study these past two days, and always wants to go out to gamble.

Mother Shen was quite disappointed.

I have beaten him and scolded him, but it is really difficult to change a person's temper in a short period of time.

"Auntie, I'm here to collect the cloth." Outside the house, a hearty voice came from afar. It turned out that the female merchant who collected the cloth had arrived.

Seeing this, Shen's mother hurriedly asked Shen Xiuming to bring out the cloth she had woven in the past few days. While counting the number of cloths, the female merchant chatted with Shen's mother: "Aunt, I went to the Prince of Yan's mansion yesterday to deliver cloth. I heard from the maids in the mansion that the Prince of Yan has recently favored a new concubine."

Mother Shen's expression froze and she clenched her sleeves.

Shen Xiuming's steps, as he was about to sneak out of the Confucian Temple, suddenly stopped.

The female merchant was still gossiping: "The women in the backyard of the Prince of Yan's mansion, ah, their lives are so miserable. The concubines and maids who have fallen out of favor live worse than the servants, and they still wear the worst fabrics. A few months ago, a concubine couldn't bear the pain and jumped into the water to commit suicide."

Mother Shen was heartbroken. Her third daughter was also one of the miserable concubines in the royal palace.

Shen Wei is able to survive now, relying on her last breath, hoping that Shen Xiuming can become successful and save her from the dire situation.

Shen Xiuming also knew his third sister's expectations, and thinking about his recent slackness, he couldn't help but feel guilty.

"Here's two hundred dollars." After checking the cloth, the female merchant praised Shen's mother's weaving skills.

Shen's mother collected the two hundred yuan and politely escorted the merchant out. Not long after she left, an ordinary carriage stopped at the entrance of the Confucian Temple.

The curtain was opened, and Rong Mama swaggered into the Confucian Temple. She saw Shen's mother weaving under the eaves, and she snorted long from her nostrils.

Mother Shen was shocked: "You...why are you here? Where is my third daughter? Did something happen to her?"

Shen Xiuming, who was reading in the room, was also alarmed. He ran out vigilantly and stood in front of Shen's mother.

Rong Mama sighed and said in a veiled tone, "I passed by the Confucian Temple and was asked by Shen to give you some money."

Rong Mama opened her purse and casually threw a bunch of coins over. The coins slammed onto the stone steps, and the copper coins scattered all over the floor.

"This is Shen's monthly salary, keep it well." Aunt Rong said sarcastically, "Shen is really naive. She has a useless mother and a useless brother, but she still dreams of her brother becoming a useful person. It's just wishful thinking."

Madam Rong’s portrayal of a domineering nanny in the royal palace was deeply rooted in people’s hearts.

Shen Xiuming's teeth were grinding.

Madam Rong let out a sharp and piercing laugh and walked away slowly.

In the courtyard of the Confucian Temple, tears fell from Shen's mother's eyes. She knelt on the ground and collected the scattered copper coins.

Both mother and son knew that Rong Mama must have withheld Shen Wei's monthly salary. But how could Shen Wei, a concubine who had fallen out of favor, dare to resist?

Even though she was living in dire straits, Shen Wei was still thinking about her mother and brother.

Shen Xiuming wiped away his tears, determination welled up in his eyes, and he turned around and went back to the room to read!

...

After leaving the Confucian Temple, Rong Mama returned to the carriage. She wiped the sweat from her forehead. It was not easy to play a tricky villain.

I hope that when Mr. Shen becomes successful in the future, he will never come to settle accounts with her.

Just as Madam Rong was trembling with fear, the voice of Fugui, the palace steward, suddenly came from outside the carriage.

"Madame Rong, where are we going today?" Fugui asked with a smile.

Rong Mama got off the carriage and saw Fugui, the butler, who was wearing a brocade robe. Fugui and Rong Mama were of similar age, worked in the palace, and were from the same hometown, so they had a good relationship in private.

Aunt Rong looked at Fugui and remembered Shen Wei's instructions.

Shen Wei once told Rong Mama: [When necessary, you can mention Shen Xiuming in front of Fugui and the prince.]

Rong Mama smiled and said, "I am doing this for Master Shen. Master Shen's younger brother is studying in the Confucian Temple, and the master asked me to send some money to him every month to help him."

Fugui only knew that Shen Wei was born a peasant girl, and did not know that she had a brother who was a scholar.

Rong Mama mentioned casually, "Master Shen's younger brother passed the imperial examination at a young age. He is now staying at the Confucian Temple to prepare for the next spring imperial examination."

When Fugui heard this, he was shocked.

I didn't expect that Master Shen's younger brother is a juren! If he passes the imperial examination in the future, wouldn't Master Shen's status rise?

Fugui knew that Shen Wei would not fall out of favor in the short term. She was completely different from the other women in the palace's backyard, and Prince Yan had already fallen in love with her.

With the favor of Prince Yan, when Master Shen gives birth to a child in the future, and with the protection of her younger brother's official position, the position of concubine will be within her grasp.

Fugui was very smart, and he immediately said with a smile: "In that case, we will go to visit the Confucian Temple later."

Rong Mama hurriedly stopped him and said sternly, "The candidates like to study in peace and quiet, so please don't disturb them. If you delay Master Shen's brother's studies, we can't afford the consequences."

Fugui thought about it for a moment and gave up the idea of ​​disturbing the Confucian Temple.

Fugui and Madam Rong chatted for a while and then parted politely.

Fugui came to the suburbs today to check the income and expenditure of the royal palace's land. When he passed by the Confucian Temple, he couldn't help but secretly glanced into the temple.

I just happened to see Shen Xiuming reading a book by the window.

Shen Xiuming and Shen Wei are siblings, so they look similar. Fugui couldn't help but marvel at Shen Xiuming's upright figure and hardworkingness.

The King of Yan was looking for people, so he would naturally use officials who were related to him by marriage. Shen Xiuming was hardworking and diligent, and he would become a great man in the future if he boarded the King of Yan's ship.

I’m afraid that there will be chaos in Prince Yan’s Mansion.

...

At this time, the King of Yan was discussing the border war with the Crown Prince in the East Palace. When the Qing Kingdom and the Yue Kingdom went to war, the only generals that the Qing Kingdom could use were Shangguan Xuan and Shen Xiuxing.

The new emperor of Yue State ascended the throne, and he had a brave and skilled general under his command who was very good at fighting.

Now, the battle between the Qing and Vietnamese armies has reached a stalemate.

The prince handed a secret letter to King Yan: "Yuan Jing, there is news from the Nanhou in the town. He has found a way to break the impasse."

King Yan opened the letter and read ten lines at a glance.

Shangguan Xuan mentioned in the letter that during the war with Yue, both armies suffered heavy losses and neither side gained any advantage. However, Shangguan Xuan had recently recruited a handsome military advisor who had devised a weapon called "musket" that was extremely lethal.

Shangguan Xuan hopes to mass-produce this weapon to improve the combat capability of the Qing army.

"Musketeer..." Prince Yan frowned slightly, having never heard of this kind of weapon.

The prince smiled and said, "I have someone secretly forged a musket. Yuan Jing, follow me to the courtyard to see the power of the musket."

Prince Yan and the Crown Prince came into the yard.

A scarecrow in armor was placed in the middle of the yard, and the tiger guards used muskets to attack the scarecrow. With a "bang", the ammunition fired from the musket actually pierced through the armor on the scarecrow.

The scarecrow caught fire, and the bright red flames reflected in King Yan's black eyes.

The eyes of King Yan darkened and he fell into deep thought. This musket is a very lethal weapon. If a musket battalion can be prepared, it will be invincible on the battlefield.

"The drawings of the musket are top secret and must not be leaked." Prince Yan and the Crown Prince looked at each other and decided to set up a musket battalion.

In the summer, the yard was cool, the trees were lush, and the mosquitoes were buzzing. There were already several red spots on the back of the prince's hand where mosquitoes had bitten him.

Mosquitoes are fair creatures. They bite common people and princes.

The prince waved away the mosquito helplessly and supported the King of Yan's arm: "Go into the house to discuss matters, don't let the mosquitoes bite you."

King Yan smiled and said, "Brother, I was not bitten by a mosquito."

The prince was shocked to see that the back of Prince Yan's hands and neck were intact and there were actually no mosquito bites.

so amazing!

King Yan took off the sachet from his waist and said with a bit of boasting: "I have a mosquito repellent sachet, so I am not afraid of mosquitoes."

The mosquito repellent sachet that Shen Wei made for King Yan was exquisitely designed and filled with mint, perilla, mugwort, clove, calamus and angelica.

These are all mosquito repellent herbs with their own fragrance.

"Mosquito repellent sachet?" The prince was surprised.

The King of Yan said in a boastful tone: "This was made by one of my concubines. Brother, didn't the Crown Princess make a sachet for you?"

The King of Yan envied the deep affection between the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess. The Crown Princess would cook soup, make clothes, massage his shoulders, and add fragrance to his sleeves. The couple loved each other very much.

With his brother as a role model, the Prince of Yan naturally hoped that his future wife would be a woman as virtuous and devoted to her husband as the Crown Princess.

Later, the Prince of Yan and the Princess got married, and after marriage, they were considered to be equals. But gradually, the Princess became more and more old-fashioned and mean, and paid less and less attention to the Prince of Yan, and the two of them had no words to say.

Liu Ruyan, Liu Qiaoer, Zhang Miaoyu...these concubines and concubines have also become obedient and dull.

King Yan was very distressed.

He just wanted a woman who could love him wholeheartedly, what was wrong with that? Fortunately, Shen Wei appeared later and filled the void in his heart.

The prince seemed to be thinking: "Could it be that Shen again?"

The King of Yan answered proudly, "It's her."

The prince nodded slightly and took the King of Yan back to the house, saying as they walked: "I heard Zhaoyang mention it a few days ago. At the Spring Banquet, your concubine helped Zhaoyang and helped her avoid the assassination. Zhaoyang plans to invite Shen to the banquet for his birthday next month."

Although Shen Wei is a concubine, she is also the princess's savior, so no one would criticize her for attending the princess' birthday party.

As the prince spoke, his throat started to itch and he began to cough violently again.

The King of Yan was horrified, and hurriedly helped the prince to sit down, and handed him a cup of hot tea: "Brother, I have sent people to the rivers and lakes to find Dr. Mo. He will definitely be able to cure your illness."

The prince drank two sips of tea and slowly swallowed the blood in his throat: "It's nothing, just a minor illness."

The prince pretended nothing had happened and continued to discuss the matter of muskets with the King of Yan.

In a blink of an eye, five days passed.

During these five days, the Crown Prince, the Prince of Yan and their advisers discussed the secret production of muskets and the establishment of a musket battalion.

After finishing his official duties, Prince Yan left the East Palace and returned to the palace at dusk on the fifth day.

During the five days, King Yan was concerned about Shen Wei and wanted to have sex with her. He also wanted to check whether Shen Wei's calligraphy had improved and how the vegetables in the yard were growing...

He was also worried that Shen Wei would steal his eggplants. That little girl had been coveting his eggplants for a long time.

Prince Yan could hardly wait to return home, and secretly planned that if he was away for a long time next time, he would bring Shen Wei along to keep him company.

After returning to the palace, Prince Yan went to the backyard first.

It was getting dark, and the guards were holding lanterns to lead the way.

When passing by the Rose Garden, Zhang Yue, who had been waiting for a long time, hurriedly came to greet her and bowed gently: "I pay my respects to the prince."