Holding the Piano in the Red Chamber

The small election started on March [-]th and officially ended on June [-]th.

Starting from June 21, it's time for the palace lords to choose their maids, starting from the Queen Mother's palace. Of course, the Queen Mother won't watch it all over 700 people, she doesn't have that leisure time.

The one who served her as the number one leader was Baoqin. According to the comments of her aunt in charge, plus Baoqin's thoughts about the queen mother, she led twenty people to the queen mother's palace.

There are four missing children in the Empress Dowager's palace. These [-] people are all among the best performers, and they are selected according to the Empress Dowager's preferences, such as round faces and slow speech.

Overall, the Queen Mother was quite satisfied, and she breathed a sigh of relief holding Qin.

After choosing the Empress Dowager's palace, it is to make up for the gaps in the Qing Palace and the Hall of Mental Cultivation. This is mainly the Empress Dowager's decision, and the rest of the people can just follow along.

Queen Mother: How about this?

Shulan: It looks okay.

Baoqin: The Empress Dowager has a good eye.

But after picking two or three people, Shulan couldn't hold back and left first, and Baoqin continued to accompany her, mostly following the Queen Mother's wishes, and sometimes adding a few comments to avoid being suspected of being a respondent.

For example: My aunt said that this person likes to eat meat.

This one is fine for the family, but it is not so good to work in the emperor's palace. People who like to eat meat have a smell on their bodies, and they are afraid of fuming the emperor. The queen mother shook her head.

Or: When I brought them here just now, it was such a short distance, this person was sweating, and his physical strength was not good.

This one didn't matter when she was a young lady. The weak Liu Fufeng couldn't stand the frost, and was sought after by others. But when he was a servant in the palace, he often stood for two or three hours. The emperor had a bad reputation, and the queen mother shook her head again.

It took only a quarter of an hour for the Empress Dowager to choose someone for herself to fill the vacancies in the Emperor's Palace. Although there were a little more people, there were more than a dozen, and it took three days to finish the calculation.

The next one is Shulan. There are five vacancies in her palace, and she brought twenty people there like holding a piano. It's the turn of the people below.

For example, the concubine, and the two concubines Yuanchun and Qingmei.The options for the remaining people are not so wide. For example, Qingmei Palace lacks two people, but there are only five people selected, and Yuanchun Palace is almost the same.

After the master is selected, it belongs to the six bureaus of the inner court, such as Shangyi, Shangshi and so on, and many people have made up for it.

After busying for almost ten days, I finally got this mess done, and now there is only one thing left, those children who have been inspected and trained by my aunts, who have no talents, no skills, and are so honest that they are outrageously honest. Sent to the side door of the palace to clean.

Cleaning is also a job of distinction, just like in the empress dowager's palace, the cleaners have to be smart, and they may be spotted at any time, so they are considered popular.Like the cold palace, or the uninhabited palace to the east of the palace, this is the unpopular among the unpopular.

After entering, basically sweep the floor until you leave the palace, or sweep the floor until you die.

This time I sent the palace lady there, until Baoqin saw an acquaintance, first Aunt Cuizhu in the Queen's Palace.

Aunt Cuizhu has changed a lot. The last time I saw her carrying the piano into the palace, she was only a little old. Now that I saw her, I couldn't recognize the look of the high-spirited aunt in charge at that time.

The two faced each other for a moment, they were all taken aback, except that things are right and people are wrong, there is no other emotion.

Baoqin turned his head and said softly to the eunuch who was following him: "Please trouble father-in-law to handle the delivery first, and I will come as soon as I say a few words."

He said this politely, and he was facing the favored aunt in charge of the palace. The eunuch also said kindly: "Come back after my aunt has finished speaking. Anyway, these things are all done well."

Baoqin nodded, and waited until the two teams behind him had left completely, before saying: "Aunt Cuizhu, you... didn't go out of the palace."

Cuizhu's face darkened, remembering what the empress told her to watch the prince carefully, she shook her head and said, "I've been in the palace for 42 years, and all my family members have died long ago, so I can't get out. I don't want to go out either."

42 years, so she is at least 55.

Baoqin was in a daze for a while, she thought of a group of court ladies released last Dragon Boat Festival, among them was Aunt Zhang from Jingyang Palace.

Aunt Zhang went out happily. She saved a lot of money in the palace. Although it took two years for various reasons, her original master was also promoted to concubine, and she was not involved in any political rebellion. The man did not go back on his marriage, in short, everyone was very happy, and before leaving the palace, he was rewarded by the original master, giving her two palace forgings, saying it was a dowry.

Baoqin read her suggestion, and even went to give it off.Thinking that it would not be good to give money, I brought her the palace flowers freshly rewarded by the Queen Mother, "You can bring these flowers yourself or give them to others. One glance."

Aunt Zhang was very happy when she heard this, and said: "It was only two sentences at the beginning, but I let you remember it now."

After saying something else, Aunt Zhang was picked up by her family.

On the other hand, a maid who was traveling with her said that she was lucky, and found a middle-aged sixth-rank official. The first wife in the family died, leaving behind two children under the age of ten...

When Baoqin heard this sentence, he felt a little nervous, which is called good luck, but at that time he was busy with the election, and he was too busy looking at Yuanchun, so it was over after hearing it.

"Ahem." Aunt Cuizhu coughed twice, interrupting Baoqin's thoughts, Baoqin didn't know what to say for a while.

Cuizhu belonged to the first empress, and from the maid in charge to the nanny in charge, everyone in the palace was deeply impressed by her, and it was just like this, after she arrived in this almost cold palace, The day was even more miserable.

Everyone wanted to give her a shot, but at that time there was no chance, but now that she was in trouble, the chance finally came.

Cuizhu still remembered the exhortations of the former queen, and also remembered that he was a kind-hearted child holding the piano, hesitated for a moment, and asked: "...Prince Yizhong...how are you doing now."

Holding the qin and looking around, he saw no one whispered: "Go to guard the imperial tomb."

Cuizhu sighed, it's still come to this point.

She looked Baoqin up and down, and asked: "I remember, you may be twenty this year, right?"

Baoqin nodded, not understanding why she asked this.

"You must be favored for being able to take on this errand. Make plans for yourself earlier." Cui Zhu sighed.

Baoqin was taken aback, Aunt Cuizhu had stayed in the palace for more than 40 years... her eyes lit up, and Baoqin said: "I think it will be great if I can leave the palace at the age of 25."

Cuizhu couldn't hold back a sneer, "25 years old? Why are you leaving the palace?"

Baoqin thought for a while, and repeated what Aunt Zhang had said, such as getting married, or working in a state agency.

The expression on Cui Zhu's face was sarcasm. "A man who gets engaged after the age of 20 is either a servant or a hidden disease. When you leave the palace at the age of 25, the people you can marry are all older than you. What else is left, except for a dead wife, or a dead wife! When you enter the house, you will be someone's stepmother, serving the whole family..."

Baoqin hastily interrupted her, "What if I go to Jiaosifang or a women's prison as an errand?"

"Then you're not married anymore?" Aunt Cuizhu asked back, "It's the court's rule that if a woman doesn't marry, she has to accept the unified arrangement of the government. Even if you come out of the palace, there is only one year's grace period at most. Have you Think about what kind of person you want to marry, so that he can allow you to work as an errand after getting married and continue to show your face."

Like a bolt from the blue, Baoqin was split from head to toe.The road she had planned earlier was full of flaws after Aunt Cui Zhu said a few words.

Baoqin was stunned, not even noticing when Aunt Cuizhu had left.

Suffering such a blow, Baoqin was in a trance for several days.

It was too late to leave the palace at the age of 25, but how could she leave the palace if she was less than 25 years old, and moreover, how could she leave the palace with peace of mind if the Jia family did not collapse.

Zhenli is pregnant, Yuanchun and Qingmei are the ones who are mainly concerned about this matter, but soon they will have even more worrying things, and the draft will be held soon.

In the first year of the emperor's ascension to the throne, there were two major events across the country that must be done, one was to open Enke, and the other was the draft.

Kaienke has nothing to do with the harem, and the draft is different.

First of all, the girls selected in the draft are all charming and beautiful girls, and then there is the problem of the number of people in the emperor's harem. Originally, he was a prince, with one concubine in the backyard and two concubines in the backyard. A noble person who can't stand on the stage does not pose any threat at all.

What is really worthy of vigilance is those who come in through the draft and rank above concubines. For the two concubines Yuanchun and Qingmei, the emperor's designation is greedy for novelty. The two of them neither gave birth to children nor received much favor. A newcomer enters the palace, is there still a way to survive?

But there is no good way. It turns out that there is a customary rule in the palace to take care of the emperor in shifts, that is, if the emperor does not turn over the card, every night a concubine above the rank of concubine will serve the emperor's tea and snacks, but this rule was changed by the queen mother , the official reason is that there are only two of them now, and they are afraid that they will be tired.

Yuan Chun's slander belongs to his slander, but he can't say that he is not afraid of being tired.

However, serving the emperor's tea is assigned to the court lady. Is this really good?

Especially Baoqin, Yuan Chun hated her so much that such a good job was assigned to her, she couldn't bear it at all.

Baoqin is still named under the Empress Dowager's name, but it is the head of a new department, the tea department of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, a total of three big maids, plus nine small palace ladies, serving the emperor's tea and snacks in two shifts.

This is a big vacancy, just look at how popular the imperial guards of Qianqing Palace are.

Baoqin is serving tea and snacks in the study in the side hall of the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

That is to say, after the suspected pushing of Jia's family last time, there is no extra movement in holding the piano, and he can't be obedient anymore. The words have already been said, and we are waiting for the emperor's reaction.

However, the frequency of watching the emperor go to Jia Yuanchun Palace seems to have decreased a bit, and she knew that the emperor listened.

The emperor listened to it. It was one thing. It might take a long time until he actually took action. He Baoqin thought about the people on the emperor's list. The first one should be Prince Yizhong. As for the Jia family, referring to the original ending, it was delayed. Almost ten years.

But now that the Supreme Emperor is gone, the emperor can probably act faster.

But what should she do?Waiting for the Jia family to go out of the palace after the demise, or...

Baoqin clenched his fist and poured another cup of hot tea for the emperor.

What Ruicheng was thinking, his worries were the same as those of the women in the harem, they were drafts.

When he first came to the Great Treasure, many people were watching the jokes, even Prince Yizhong's invitation to An Zhezi laughed at him both inside and outside: Can you handle it?

It's impossible to be subdued like this. Of course, the rights must be held in one's own hands. Ruicheng looked through the roster of officials, thinking about the few times his father taught him, and felt that some people could take advantage of this. Those who enter the palace for the first draft, for example, a family with the same surname as the Jia family, who was also one of the eight founders of the country, and an official surnamed Xu, can be regarded as his direct descendants, and a young sister is going to participate in the draft this time...

Ruicheng competed with each other, and suddenly felt very tired. In the dead of night, he couldn't even choose a woman he liked.He pushed the pen and said, "Serve and groom."

The emperor was about to go to bed, so he saluted with the piano in his arms, and left the Hall of Mental Cultivation with her two little followers.

The next morning, although it was not a regular day, Shulan brought the only two concubines in the harem to the Empress Dowager's Palace of Compassion and Ning.

The prince is given the name when he draws lots at his first birthday. The eldest prince doesn’t even have a name now, and everyone in the palace calls him that. I always feel that this name will cause some trouble for the child in the future. I just got used to the eldest prince. This name, just a little bit of response, changed to a new one in a blink of an eye, and the child would not be used to it.

The eldest prince hadn't been given a name yet, and he just fell ill again. Shulan was in charge of the palace affairs again, and was so tired that her eyes were black and blue. After finally getting started with the palace affairs, there was another draft. I'm too busy.

The Empress Dowager had just finished her breakfast, chatting with Baoqin every sentence, seeing Shulan's tired face, she hurriedly said: "Quickly stop saluting, and help the Empress up."

Liangxue and Liangqian hurried forward, helped Shulan to a chair and sat down.

Why do you have to earn money when you enter the harem? The problem can be seen just from saluting.The empress only had to salute the emperor and the empress dowager, while the nobles would bow their heads when they saw the infant princess.

Moreover, the queen mother only called to help Shulan, and the other two only called out after she actually saluted.

Shulan has been in a bad mood since she gave birth to a child, and she has not taken out the whip that was said to be given to Baoqin, and even her box of whips has not been opened since she moved into the palace.

"Mother, the eldest prince is not in good health. I really..." Wiping her eyes, Shulan said again: "I'm afraid that drafting can't take care of me. I wonder if this mother can help me again?" At the age of one year, if there is really something, I can't even keep the name.

Queen mother, this title is also exclusive to the emperor and empress.Up and down in the palace, status and rank are emphasized all the time.

In fact, the queen mother deliberately avoided palace affairs, so as not to conflict with her daughter-in-law and make it difficult for her emperor's son.I used to earn when I was a concubine, but now that my son is the emperor, what else can I earn, just live her life comfortably.

Looking at Shulan's haggard face, the Queen Mother hesitated for a moment but nodded in agreement.

"If the queen mother feels tired, you can also ask the two of them to help." Shulan pointed to Yuan Chun and Qingmei, "I have taken care of the house at home, and the queen mother should give more instructions."

"Hey, take good care of yourself. I also held the first emperor's audition in the early years, so don't worry about it. After you take care of yourself, add a big fat boy." After all, after becoming the queen mother, you are also optimistic about the son Yes, no matter how many concubines are born in the harem, they are not as good as the queen.

Hearing that the queen recommended them to do errands, both Yuanchun and Qingmei's eyes lighted up. The errands were done, not only benefiting themselves, but even their natal family's face.

The Empress Dowager looked at the two of them, then suddenly turned her head and said to Baoqin: "You also have a look? Last time the election was done well, this time I will also palm the eye."

This is a bit against the rules, Qingmei dared to say it in her heart, but the Queen Mother said the same word, then the two of them are indispensable for their errands, that is Yuan Chun, Qingmei looked at her sideways, really a little unhappy.

However, since Concubine Chen became the empress dowager, the willful side of her temperament has been fully discovered. She tolerated too much in the early years, and now she has become the master of the harem, so she can't let her temper go.

In her heart, Baoqin's positioning is a bit like a mascot. If there is any important event in the palace, she can't wait to take her out and shake it.Is the draft also a big deal, maybe two good children can be selected.

With all the festivities in the palace, the queen's next child will definitely be a son.