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

The letter from Southern Chu was submitted.

Li Yuanjing looked unhappy. He opened the letter from the Kingdom of Southern Chu and read it at a glance. The fragrance of red plum blossoms floated in the air in the room, and Li Yuanjing pursed his thin lips into a straight line.

After reading the letter from the State of Southern Chu, he put it aside.

Li Chengtai beside him stretched out his chubby little hand and opened the letter from the Southern Chu Kingdom. Li Chengtai's voice was soft: "Southern Chu wants to discuss border trade with our Daqing. In the spring of next year, a delegation will be sent over to discuss the details. In addition, we will go to Qiuliang Palace to worship the ancestral ruins."

Qiuliang Palace, the former residence of the founding empress of Southern Chu.

It has not been demolished yet.

Li Chengtai: "Father, is Nanchu asking for peace?"

Li Yuanjing nodded: "I think so."

Li Yuanli, the Prince of Heng, failed in his bid for the throne and fled from Qing to Southern Chu. He was half of the royal blood of Southern Chu, and he became the emperor of Southern Chu by means of iron-blooded tactics.

Nanchu originally wanted to unite with Donglin to fight back against Qing. However, Donglin was strangled by a dam, and the alliance between the two countries collapsed.

Now, Li Yuanli of Southern Chu took the initiative to present a letter, apparently seeking peace.

Li Yuanjing had a gloomy look on his face. He had always been wary of his half-brother.

Li Yuanjing fetched paper and pen and quickly issued two imperial edicts.

The south continued to train troops and strengthen border defenses to prevent Southern Chu from crossing the border.

...

...

Half a month later, in the Nanchu Palace.

Nanchu is located in the south, and only the northern territory close to Qing Kingdom has snow. In most other territories, the weather has only cooled down since the beginning of winter, but there has been no heavy snow.

In the luxurious imperial study, a faint fragrance floated in the air, and clusters of roses bloomed in the corners. An extremely soft wool cushion was placed at the corner of the emperor's desk, and a fat white fox was sleeping soundly on the cushion.

Several white-haired ministers knelt on the ground and kowtowed, begging: "Your Majesty, the harem is without a master, and the world is in turmoil. Please appoint a concubine as the queen to stabilize the situation."

The old ministers begged bitterly.

After the new emperor of Southern Chu ascended the throne, he was decisive in killing and created his kingdom from a pile of blood. After Li Yuanli ascended the throne, he was neither too kind nor too stupid. His character was slightly violent and casual, and no one could figure out his thoughts.

There were more than ten concubines in the Southern Chu harem, but none of them was favored by Li Yuanli. He still hadn't appointed a queen, and the ministers had advised him for several years, but Li Yuanli still ignored them.

Li Yuanli threw the memorial away and it landed on the head of an old minister. He raised his eyebrows and said, "Without a master in the harem, the world is in turmoil... I want to see how it will be in turmoil."

Several old ministers remained silent.

Li Yuanli raised his hand and said, "If you keep making noise, you will lose your life today."

The old ministers were sweating profusely.

The Southern Chu Kingdom had been in chaos for many years. In the past twenty years, the emperor had changed more than a dozen times. There were constant open and covert struggles, the royal family was fighting to the death, and the people were suffering. The emperor in front of him was a king who had walked out of the killing pile. He used force to suppress the chaos and firmly sat on the throne of the emperor.

It doesn't work to reason with him.

There was a group of old ministers and unwilling royal family members who tried to rebel repeatedly. However, Li Yuanli held the power of the army and a group of murderous secret guards.

Li Yuanli was a man who never observed etiquette and laws. He killed people back and forth more than ten times. Most of the royal family members who could seize the throne of Southern Chu were killed by him, and there were only a few left.

Most of the royal family members and ministers he killed were corrupt and embezzlers. As a result of this killing, Li Yuanli gained a very good reputation among the people.

Southern Chu has been in chaos for decades. It does not need a benevolent monarch, but a "tyrant" to stabilize the government.

Li Yuanli said casually: "Get lost."

The old ministers trembled and left with their heads down.

Li Yuanli leaned back on the dragon chair, his handsome eyebrows and charming eyes slightly lowered, hiding the disgust and violence in his eyes. The room was quiet, and the scent of roses lingered at the tip of his nose.

He closed his eyes and took a nap.

The white fox lay quietly on the cushion, breathing rising and falling.

After a moment, a eunuch walked in with his head lowered: "Your Majesty, the letter from Qing Kingdom has arrived."

Li Yuanli slowly opened his eyes.

The eunuch held the Qing Kingdom's letter and reported, "Your Majesty, rest assured. The paper has been carefully checked inside and out and there is no toxic residue. You can read it without worry."

The relationship between the two emperors was not good, and they were both worried that there might be poison in the letter. After careful investigation, the letter would be sent to the emperor.

Li Yuanli flipped through the imperial letter, read ten lines at a glance, and glanced with disdain.

...

Qingguo.

At dusk, the imperial city was covered with white snow. After finishing his official duties, Li Yuanjing walked on the snow back to Yongning Palace.

The weather was cold, and Shen Wei stayed in the warm room all day busy.

Li Yuanjing walked into the warm room and saw Shen Wei leaning on the gold-embroidered couch reading a book. The room was warm and cozy. Shen Wei was only wearing a thin scarlet dress with plum blossom embroidery. She was slender. The sunlight seeped in through the window lattice behind her, casting a thin halo on Shen Wei.

In the white jade vase beside the desk, red plum blossoms bloomed. Shen Wei was absorbed in reading a book, her green fingers turning a page with a slight rustling sound.

It's like an exquisite fine brush painting.

Li Yuanjing stopped to admire it for a moment before walking in.

"Your Majesty, you're back." Shen Wei seemed to have just heard the footsteps and put down the book in her hand.

Li Yuanjing sat down next to him and asked, "What book are you reading that makes you so obsessed?"

Shen Wei smiled and said, "It's a popular book in Yanjing City. My mother brought it here yesterday."

Shen Wei's mother, Shen, would occasionally come to the palace to accompany Shen Wei for a day or two. Shen was afraid that Shen Wei would be bored in the palace, so she brought a lot of interesting storybooks.

Whenever Shen Wei had some free time, she would flip through the storybooks, most of which were published by her bookstore.

It mainly tells the story of the lingering love between men and women, and incorporates some elements of modern melodramatic idol dramas. It is very popular in Yanjing, especially among the young ladies in the boudoir.

The storybook became popular and was adapted into a play, which was performed in the opera theater opened by Shen Wei. The theater was always packed.

Relying on these scripts and dramas, Shen Wei's newly opened bookstore and opera theater made a lot of money.

"Is this storybook really that interesting?" Li Yuanjing became interested. "I'll take a look too."

It was freezing cold, and the two of them were snuggling in the warm room, flipping through a illustrated book together. Suddenly, the window frame was hit by the cold wind, and the tiger guard came outside the warm room, seeming to have something urgent to report.

Li Yuanjing lifted the door curtain: "What's the matter?"

Tiger Guard said, "Your Majesty, the people of the five counties east of Yunzhou have rebelled! They have set fire to the county government and rushed into the granary to steal grain and cotton!"

Li Yuanjing's expression turned cold: "Call Sun Zheng and Ye Qiu from the military department to the palace!"

Li Yuanjing was about to leave, but after taking two steps, he told Shen Wei, "You don't have to wait for me for dinner today. Go to bed early."

Shen Wei nodded slightly and saw Li Yuanjing out.

Shen Wei did not return to the warm room until Li Yuanjing's back disappeared in the snow.

This winter is exceptionally cold, with small-scale snow disasters occurring in many places in the north. The imperial court promptly distributed relief grain, purchased large quantities of cotton, and lowered the price of cotton to ensure that the people could survive the cold winter as much as possible.

All the prefectures were peaceful and the people were barely able to survive the cold winter. Why did the people of Yunzhou start to riot?