Chapter 23 Chapter 23 Silent Winter

The time of this year seems to pass very fast, the autumn light comes and goes like flying, and winter immediately descends on the world; as soon as winter comes, many people get busy with it. At the beginning of October, Yang Yinglong's team set out in a mighty way after he was ordered to conquest Bozhou Xuanpiao; while Xiao Xifei, who was sent by Japan to negotiate peace, arrived in the capital to discuss the armistice of the Three Kingdoms. The army also withdrew in batches, leaving only more than 10,000 people to continue to assist North Korea's defense, and were stationed in several key throats, just in case.

Such a large number of people and horses come and go, coming and going, making the major traffic arteries under the Ming Dynasty full of people, horses and vehicles every day, which creates an illusion of prosperity on the surface, and the actual reality is due to excessive taxes and bureaucracy. The fact that corruption has caused people's livelihood to suffer and the economy has declined has become a sharp contrast. And the prosperity in the Ming Palace is another kind of atmosphere—because the mood of the actual hostess, Concubine Zheng Gui, got better after receiving the affidavit from Emperor Wanli, she took the lead in becoming active, and the palace became lively from the beginning of October. I started to make preparations and gathered everything to welcome the auspicious day of New Year's Day; the first thing, just to make new clothes for Emperor Wanli, Concubine Zheng and their three children has already spent a lot of money; The clothes and jewelry of the two Empress Dowagers, Rensheng and Cisheng, were also bought in the same way-the second piece, the already magnificent palace was repainted according to the meaning of Emperor Wanli. The plants, trees, stones, rare animals, What should be changed should be added, and what should be added should be added; the household department will be responsible for a lot of money.

Secondly, the mausoleum pre-built by Emperor Wanli has completed the detailed decoration, and it is necessary to select a batch of high-quality antiques and treasures to be displayed-although it is not necessary to collect the money in person, it is just for "imagination" All of this has already overwhelmed Emperor Wanli and Concubine Zheng. Therefore, Emperor Wanli became more and more inattentive about dealing with the affairs of state. He always discussed these matters with Concubine Zheng while enjoying the medicines every day, and at the same time directed the eunuchs to handle them; Often, it was originally discussed, which kind of flowers and birds to grow in which place, and sent someone to do it; but after a while, the idea changed, so another person was sent to convey it. Changing the order - in this way, the eunuchs in service were exhausted, running back and forth every day, which also created a lively and extraordinary atmosphere in the palace.

Of course, since the imperial palace of the Ming Dynasty is as big as the ocean, no matter how lively it is, there will always be deserted places—even though the residence of Concubine Wang Gong is in name Qixiang Palace, one of the "Six West Palaces" where concubines live , is not a "cold palace", but, in essence, this is an out-and-out cold palace. The building of Qixiang Palace itself is of the same scale as other buildings like Changchun Palace and Xianfu Palace, but because of this, it looks particularly deserted-the building is large, with few people and furnishings inside, and the old utensils are very old. Naturally, a gloomy and declining atmosphere will be formed, not to mention human factors.

Emperor Wanli's attitude had been made clear a long time ago. There was no such thing as "Concubine Gong" in his heart. The spring breeze was once just a vent of desire, and giving birth to Chang Luolai was even more of an unnecessary hot potato—— In reality, the snobbish eunuchs and maids of course do not have the existence of "Concubine Gong" in their hearts. They have the status of "concubine" in name, but in fact, her status and treatment in the palace are not even as good as that of an old court lady. All the supplies in Qixiang Palace are poor. If it weren't for the mercy of the benevolent empress dowager and queen, who often send things over, she and Chang Luo, who is the eldest son of the emperor in terms of status, would inevitably have to live. What a day of hunger and cold!

However, she has accepted this desertedness. Over the years, she has already resigned to her fate. She doesn't expect anything, doesn't want anything——she was born in a poor family and grew up in the process of being resold by human traffickers. Due to her poor appearance, she couldn't be sold to a brothel. She was only planning to sell her to a rich family as a maid when she was seven or eight years old, but unexpectedly, when the human traffickers brought her to Wuhua's capital for sale, By chance, I met an old eunuch who came out to buy rough envoys, fell in love with her appearance and character that could "endure hardships and stand hard work", bought her, and was responsible for doing rough work in the Palace of Compassion and Ning.

Since she was just sensible, she saw herself in the mirror as a vulgar and mediocre appearance, coupled with her clumsy mind, she never had the idea of ​​"flying on a branch and becoming a phoenix" at all; The maid of honor, she does the same job every day in exchange for food and clothing, and she is at ease in her heart. "Ordinary is a blessing" is not a lie; but, because of such an occasional desire of Emperor Wanli, everything in her is completely messed up. up. Ordinary people encountering extraordinary encounters are not only "not necessarily a blessing", but may even be a great disaster - from that moment on, she can no longer have the peace and serenity of the past; a heart In addition to always being in fear, fear, and bewilderment, he also has to face the relentless blows that come one after another from his surroundings alone.

First, some mature nuns came to advise her with good intentions: "Since Long Live Lord doesn't want to show off, you should keep your mouth shut and don't tell others about it—" Everyone told her that according to the ancestral system of this dynasty, if the emperor is lucky enough to have any court lady, she will be rewarded, and she will be "carried forward" very quickly; now, Emperor Wanli not only has no rewards for her, but also obviously wants to cover up this matter. things; this is abnormal and represents a bad omen. "Maybe the Lord Long Live is upset and thinks you are not serving you well—then you have to be more careful. Since the Lord Long Live doesn't want people to know about this, maybe he will simply send someone to quietly kill you to silence you." !"

She was so frightened by these words that she covered her face with a "wow" and burst into tears. She cried for a long time without stopping; however, things changed again; She was finally called to the Empress Dowager Cisheng, and asked the Empress Dowager to question her in person. With the protection of the Empress Dowager Cisheng, the crisis of being murdered and silenced disappeared, and she was able to give birth to the fetus in her womb safely. However, for an ordinary woman to give birth to the emperor's "Dragon Son", it is "not necessarily a blessing"—from the moment Chang Luo was born, turmoil also followed, and for more than ten years , clinging to Chang Luo everywhere——she never imagined that the son born to such a mediocre and clumsy woman under such circumstances would become the focus of fierce conflicts between the emperors and ministers of the Ming Dynasty, the palace, and even the public opinion of the whole country. ...

Often, with tears in her eyes, she would murmur to herself, "My God, what did I do wrong?" I always know that I was born stupid, I can't figure out the big truth, and I don't know what fate is; stepping into the palace is something I can't help myself, and I'm following other people's orders all the way, how could it be wrong? ? No matter how humble and trampled on the grass, there will always be a moment to raise its head and sway in the wind, but why can't I wait for such a moment? Should this moment come when Chang Luo grows up? Chang Luo was stunted and sickly since she was a child. Her biggest wish was that he grow up safely. She never dared to hope that he would be established as the crown prince. Most of the time, she didn't know about the emperor's quarrel, and only occasionally heard a word or two from the Empress Dowager Cisheng; : "Poor child—I hope your father will change his mind soon!"

On the one hand, he would comfort her with a look of pity: "Be patient at this juncture, better days are to come, and they will always come!" When she said this, the Empress Dowager Cisheng had very complicated feelings in her heart; she herself was born as a humble court lady, she gave birth to a prince by chance, and then climbed to the position of "noble concubine" step by step, and she was lucky God descended on her, because the first and second princes died young, her son came to the throne and became the "Emperor Wanli", and she became the empress dowager with the most precious son - from Wang Gongfei, she couldn't help it Recalling the past when I was young, an insignificant court lady, a concubine who was not favored or valued, for several years, I tasted the taste of calmness-the sadness of the past, only the person involved can experience it Very profound! Therefore, she especially sympathizes with Concubine Wang Gong. Apart from comforting her, she often even said to her clearly: "There are many examples in the world where hardships come with rewards—as long as you have a son, there is hope!" These words are not useless to Concubine Wang Gongfei—even though she is clumsy and clumsy with words, when facing the Empress Dowager, she always doesn't know what to say, low She bowed her head and listened silently, but a warm current flowed through her heart, which made her not completely despair even in a difficult and harsh environment. Although she didn't know half of the ministers of the Manchu Dynasty, she was ignorant of the process of their fight against Emperor Wanli, and of course she didn't even dare to think about the result; but, since Chang Luo is a real existence, in her heart There was light and hope -- and that gave her a lot of spiritual strength. She also secretly inquired that the princes who have not been established as crown princes will usually be named "vassal kings" when they grow up, have their own manors, land, and palaces, at least they can live well in life... Therefore, she wholeheartedly pinned her hopes on the future, on Chang Luo growing up. Unexpectedly, this year, Emperor Wanli suddenly bestowed such a "special favor" to let Chang Luo "leave the pavilion to give lectures"; when she received the edict on the first day of junior high school, she stayed there for a long time in a daze and excitement—there were so many people in the palace. At this time, many people took the initiative to walk with her, and whispered to her in a mysterious manner: "The name of 'Lectures from the Pavilion' is a standard in the 'Eastern Palace'—— What you gave birth to is the 'Emperor's eldest son'!" Of course she was delighted when she heard it—but she didn't expect that it was only a few days later. After seeing all the subtle intentions of Emperor Wanli and Concubine Zheng, these people who were stalking others were vigilant and stopped. She stopped; moreover, when Chang Luo started to give lectures, she went out early in the morning and came back in the afternoon. The life style of mother and child being dependent on each other has changed for more than ten years; without Chang Luo by her side, her life is even more deserted. There were fewer eunuchs and maids in the Qixiang Palace, and a few more eunuchs were assigned to accompany Chang Luo, and the Qixiang Palace became less deserted; often, after a whole day, she didn't even have anyone to talk to. In Chang Luo's absence, she didn't even bother to eat lunch, and she didn't even have to open her mouth from morning till night. The only thing she can do is to bury her head in needlework. The Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager Wang treat her well, and she is grateful in her heart. Even if she is unable to repay her, she often embroiders some purses and silk bags to show her heart; Due to the poor supply of Luo's clothes, shoes and hats, Chang Luo rarely had new clothes to wear, but he was a growing child. She took the trouble to take it apart, add it, and sew it up again... This is how the days are spent—living in a beautiful palace, such days are simply a great irony; but she has already resigned to her fate, and endured all this silently, and does not often Weeping at her own deformed fate; even, being illiterate, she never thought of going to the Ming Dynasty, which treated her unfairly and unreasonably, to get back a share of human dignity for herself. It's almost the end of the year, however, the celebration of the New Year's Eve can't happen to her——in the Daming Palace, she is a freak.