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

When Li Yuanjing arrived at Yuxiu Palace, the fire had been completely extinguished.

Zhang Miaoyu was there, and she was raising her voice to order the eunuchs to move the water jar away. The palace where Zhang Miaoyu lived was next to Liu Ruyan's Yuxiu Palace.

The Yuxiu Palace caught fire and Zhang Miaoyu, who lived next door, soon noticed it. She reluctantly put down the half-eaten cake in her hand and asked the palace maid to find someone to put out the fire.

The fire was put out in time. The eaves and walls of the main hall of Yuxiu Palace were blackened, and there were many dead leaves and broken branches in the yard. Dead leaves and branches are very easy to burn. When the flames started, they spread all over the field in an instant, and the flowers and plants in the whole yard were not spared.

Seeing Li Yuanjing arriving late, Zhang Miaoyu hurried over to pay her respects.

Li Yuanjing asked: "Why did the fire start?"

Zhang Miaoyu answered truthfully: "Your Majesty, the fire started in the yard. The weather was dry and there were many dead leaves and branches in Concubine Mei's yard, so the fire started immediately."

Li Yuanjing was confused: "Why are there dead branches and leaves in the yard? Didn't the palace maids clean it up?"

Zhang Miaoyu spread out her palms, her tone revealing helplessness: "Concubine Mei doesn't allow people to sweep the dead branches and fallen leaves, saying that it ruins the autumn scenery."

In the cool autumn, leaves turn yellow and fall. Every day, palace servants would diligently sweep up fallen leaves and cut off dead branches. But Liu Ruyan was sad about the passing of spring and autumn, and had a special liking for the withered yellow leaves, so she would not allow anyone to sweep them.

Li Yuanjing was silent for a long time before he managed to say, "Is Concubine Mei injured?"

Zhang Miaoyu scratched her head, with a complicated expression on her chubby face: "She shouldn't be injured...but she has been crying in the yard, and no matter how I try to persuade her, it's useless. How about you, Your Majesty, go and try to persuade her?"

Li Yuanjing frowned slightly and walked into the gate of Yuxiu Palace.

The yard was scorched black, dozens of plum trees were burned to charcoal, and water was poured on the ground, mixed with black mud, making it dirty and ugly.

Liu Ruyan stood in the scorched earth, her back looking thin and frail.

Li Nanzhi stood beside her, pulling Liu Ruyan's sleeve, her eyes full of worry. Hearing the movement behind her, Li Nanzhi turned around and saw Li Yuanjing in black clothes. She choked up and said, "Father..."

She ran towards Li Yuanjing with a feeling of grievance.

Li Yuanjing saw his daughter's face blackened by smoke.

Li Nanzhi's hair was burnt a little, and her fair face was dirty, as if she had come out of a chimney. Li Yuanjing asked with concern, "Are you hurt?"

Li Nanzhi shook her head, her voice unusually hoarse: "My daughter is not injured. My mother is very sad and ignored me."

Li Yuanjing touched his daughter's blackened face and told Deshun, "Ask Concubine Yu to look after Nanzhi and ask the imperial physician to check the princess' pulse."

Deshun obeyed the order.

Li Nanzhi wanted to say a few more words to her father, but she was timid and in awe of him. Not long after Li Nanzhi was born, she was sent to the prince's mansion, so she didn't have a close relationship with her father.

Even if she had a million words to say, she didn't dare to say more to her father, and could only keep it in her stomach. Li Nanzhi looked back at her mother not far away, and left the palace gate in a depressed mood.

At the palace gate, Zhang Miaoyu took out a handkerchief with a smile and wiped the black stains on Li Nanzhi's face: "Nanzhi, are you scared? Don't be afraid, I will take you to eat Yunpian cake later, and then drink a bowl of sweet soup to calm your nerves, and have a good sleep."

Li Nanzhi pursed her lips slightly.

Zhang Miaoyu noticed something was wrong with the little girl, so she asked, "Did the smoke irritate your eyes?"

Li Nanzhi raised her little head, her eyes red, and asked blankly: "Empress Yu... Mother doesn't seem to like me."

Zhang Miaoyu was puzzled: "Why do you think so?"

Li Nanzhi sniffed, and finally couldn't control her tears of grievance, and fell down, choking with sobs as she spoke of her inner distress. It turned out that Li Nanzhi didn't go to bed early tonight, but stayed in the study room to paint with Liu Ruyan.

A fire started in the yard and thick smoke filled the study.

Li Nanzhi was choking and coughing, and her eyes were stinging from the smoke. She knew there was a fire, so she ran to the table and tried to rescue her mother.

His hand didn't touch Liu Ruyan.

When Liu Ruyan noticed that the yard was on fire, she ran to the yard immediately to see her beloved plum tree and called the palace servants to put out the fire and save the tree.

Li Nanzhi was forgotten in the smoky study.

Li Nanzhi was only eleven years old. She was surrounded by thick smoke and could not see the objects around her clearly. She thought her mother was trapped in the study, so she fumbled around anxiously and cried for her mother.

Finally, it was Xuemei who rushed into the study and carried the helpless Li Nanzhi out. Li Nanzhi's face was blackened by the smoke and her eyes were stinging. She struggled to open her eyes, but she saw her mother worrying about the plum tree by the yard.

At that moment, Li Nanzhi couldn't control her tears and they fell down.

She was a little sad and a little confused.

It turns out that in the mother's heart, her own daughter is not as important as dozens of plum trees.

After listening to the child's story, Zhang Miaoyu was furious. She hurriedly hugged Li Nanzhi and comforted her softly, "Don't cry, don't cry. Your mother is just like that. Concubine Mei doesn't love you, but Empress Yu loves you. My dear child, I'll take you back to wash your face."

Li Nanzhi hugged Zhang Miaoyu's neck and sobbed.

Zhang Miaoyu sighed secretly and took the poor little girl back to the palace to take care of her.

...

...

Yuxiu Palace.

In the scorched yard, Liu Ruyan slowly turned around. Her long black hair was scattered on her shoulders, and she was wearing a light silver dress. Her face was as white as snow, and there was a little sour red in the corners of her eyes.

Like white plum blossoms blooming in the scorched earth.

Liu Ruyan said softly: "Your Majesty, you are here."

The moonlight was like water, and the autumn wind was chilly, blowing the white skirt of Liu Ruyan's clothes. The voice was sad, and the scene was weird, and Li Yuanjing's eyelids twitched.

Thinking that Liu Ruyan was frightened, Li Yuanju tried to speak gently: "The imperial physician will be here soon, go into the room and have a cup of tea and wait. I will accompany you tonight."

Liu Ruyan laughed at herself and said, "If it weren't for this fire, I'm afraid the emperor would have forgotten about me."

Li Yuanjing held his forehead with his hand.

Liu Ruyan's tears fell, and she whispered, "Three years ago, Your Majesty ascended the throne and conferred upon me the title of Plum Consort. You ordered people to transplant the thirty-three plum trees in the palace to Yuxiu Palace... Over the past three years, the flowers have bloomed and withered, and tonight they will all be burned."

The plum blossom is the symbol of her love.

But it was completely burned down by a wildfire.

Liu Ruyan covered her heart with her hands, feeling a tingling pain in her heart.

Li Yuanjing rubbed his brows in annoyance. He had spent the whole day reviewing memorials, dealing with the grain problem in the south, discussing dam funding with court officials, inspecting the grain production in various prefectures this year, and drafting an imperial edict on maritime trade. He was already exhausted.

Seeing the fire in Yuxiu Palace tonight, he rushed to visit. As soon as he came in, he saw Concubine Mei there, feeling sad and crying.

Li Yuanjing was very annoyed.

He was busy all day worrying about the country and the people, and was exhausted both physically and mentally. He just wanted to have a good sleep after dark. Liu Ruyan spent the whole day reciting poems and painting in Yuxiu Palace, and she was not tired. When he asked her a few questions, her eyes turned red with grievance.

The little bit of pity and sympathy Li Yuanjing had for Liu Ruyan was almost completely worn out.

Can he be more relaxed about these concubines in the palace?