Flowers on the other side [Comprehensive Red House]

The concubine's flower party is unique. The foreign wives who hold the invitation card bring all the girls of their own age. After entering the palace, they first go to pay their respects to the queen mother.Everyone is here, the queen mother said to go to the imperial garden to enjoy the flowers.

At the beginning of August, the weather was less hot than summer, and the sweet-scented osmanthus was already fragrant.And some other seasonal flowers, such as rose, zinnia, hosta, morning glory, amaryllis, onion orchid, etc., are in full bloom.

The empress dowager led the way, and the concubine and concubines, one on the left and the other on the right, supported the empress. Behind was the long line of concubines and wives who joined in the fun.Afterwards, those girls who followed their mother into the palace were divided into two teams by the maids of the Compassionate Ning Palace and the Eastern Palace who held the lottery.One team is from Xungui, and the other is from Qingliu.Then according to the age difference of two years old, it is divided into several levels.Finally, according to the stature and age, make up two groups, first go to the garden of the Compassion Palace.The two work together to pick a flower that they both think is the most beautiful and most suitable for hairpins for the Queen Mother and others; then they work together to compose a poem about the flower and send it to the Imperial Garden together.The empress dowager and all the wives will appreciate and judge together, and the outstanding ones will be rewarded.

Although none of the girls who stayed in the line in the Ning Palace of Compassionate Ning Palace dared to blow their wings, the maids of the Palace of Compassionate Ning and the East Palace worked hard.Noble ones and clean ones don't need to be distinguished, the natural ones are clearly separated, they are two piles.

But according to age difference and grades, I have been busy for a long time.The little girl tugged at her sister's sleeve, unwilling to leave her.And those who are older sisters probably told their mothers to take good care of their younger sisters.It was the aunt in charge of the Empress Dowager's Compassionate Palace who came forward to successfully separate the sisters who were holding hands.

In the end, when Xungui and Qingliu's girls teamed up, they almost got into a fight on the spot.Xungui looked down on some girls with bound feet in Qingliu and didn't want to be with them.And those girls in Qingliu who did not have their feet bound were not only squeezed out by the same kind of Qingliu, but also considered upstarts by girls from honorable families.

There was a lot of hustle and bustle for quite a while, until Mother Xiao in the East Palace asked someone to take a pen to write down, those girls who disobeyed the arrangement belonged to someone's family, and the identities and positions of father and brother made those girls of honorable background Calm down, and awkwardly go with the disdainful girl from Qingliu to choose flowers in the garden of Compassionate Ning Palace.

The wives who followed the empress dowager did not realize until they arrived at the imperial garden that although the entire imperial garden was large, there were very few seats available for them to sit on.Only those who are about the same age as the queen mother will receive the gift of the queen mother and can have a seat.Well, the crown prince and concubine Cheng are a bit special, and everyone else, stand and enjoy the flowers - wait for the little girls to come back.

The queen mother smiled and chatted with the old ladies who sat with her and brought their granddaughters into the palace.Nothing more than seeing so many beautiful little girls today, I am really happy and happy.

The crown princess told the imperial wives present about the grouping today.

"The princess's accompanying reading is to choose a girl from a civil and military official background, that is, a girl from a noble family, and a girl from a father and brother who came from an imperial examination. Whichever group cooperates best, whichever group is the best. best hope."

For all girls, being a companion to the princess is the most beautiful job that can enhance their value in their natal family, their status in their husband's family, and gain the attention of their father and grandparents.It is even more popular than boys to be the prince's companion.As the prince's companion, there is also an errand for the prince to be beaten.A girl who can be a princess's companion, when talking about marriage, will become a popular choice for a big family to choose a wife because of her education in the palace.

In the past, the companionship of the princess was chosen in the clan, but this time the princess concubine gave all the girls from official families a chance to fight for the companionship.And the selection criteria still depends on how well you get along with the girl who is your partner and who is from an honorable background.Those girls who get along well with everyone on weekdays, their grandmothers and mothers, are full of confidence.As for those girls in their own family, who are usually spoiled and used to fighting for strength, their elders are starting to worry, and they must not fight.

But no matter what the women in the Imperial Garden thought, the Queen Mother was watching the excitement, not dislike adding fuel to the flames on the platform.

"It is said that from the way they behaved at the age of five, one can see that they will grow old all their lives. Today, half of the little girls in Beijing have come. After a few years, the third, fourth, and fifth children will be old. You can choose the princess from among these little girls. The crown princess must help, take good care of your eyes."

After the queen mother finished the previous sentence, no matter how surprised the people around her were.She continued to speak according to her own thoughts, and told the princess to remember the name of the person so that she would not miss the good girl.

Those who thought about marrying their daughter to the royal family in the future looked at the crown princess with enthusiasm.There is no queen in the palace, and the reason why Concubine Virtuous and Concubine Xian were grounded, everyone should have known.No matter how the third prince and the fifth prince bullied the fourth prince, can a ten-year-old child fail to be taught? !As for those who have a favorite aunt in the family, who are the mistresses, don't they just look at the bastard born to the favorite aunt and bully other bastards?As long as it's not too much and doesn't bully the aunt, the mistress can take care of it.

That is to say, the saint is serious.

After waiting for half an hour, little girls began to come back.The couples of little girls who came back first were basically those whose fathers and grandparents had low honors or official positions.Most noble ladies don't care much about girls of such background.

Only the princess concubine called these couples to the front, not only asked her background, but also asked about her usual preferences, and then asked a few people, whether there was any bickering, quarrels, etc. when the two were paired together.

Asked a few little girls, they all blushed, and they all answered with a smile and said no.The princess smiled and asked Qiuju to give each group of girls a pair of newly made pearl flowers to wear.I also asked the people around me to remember their names and the origins of their fathers and grandparents in the order they came back, and then let them go to the side to write poems.

The number of little girls who came back gradually increased, and the princess no longer called to ask questions one by one.Seeing the Crown Princess acting like this, those noble ladies, who were worried about marrying their daughters into the royal family, but their own daughters hadn't come back, couldn't help becoming anxious.

After waiting for almost an hour, the one who came back first had already written the poem, and the Queen Mother and several concubines and old concubines who were judging had basically decided on the top few of the submitted poems. report.

"Your Majesty, those who can come over have come back. For the remaining girls, they can come over after taking a break with someone to accompany them."

The Crown Princess nodded, and the Queen Mother asked Mother Xiao when she heard that she was still unable to come back.

"Is the child too young to walk?"

Mother Xiao bowed to the queen mother, and then replied: "These little girls are all bound feet. There are two other girls whose feet are too small to walk so far."

The Queen Mother let out an "Aiya" and said distressedly: "This is pitiful, quickly find a few people to carry it back. Ask whose children they are, or put your feet down."

Mammy Xiao agreed and took someone to pick up those girls.

Mrs. Rong Guogong's wife Shi Shi also took her daughter Jia Min to participate in this flower viewing party.If she had gotten a husband earlier, instead of planning for her daughter to marry into the royal family, it would be better to plan for the position of grandson concubine for the eldest granddaughter.Therefore, she was not in a hurry when her daughter kept company with others, came back without delay, and did not get questions from the crown princess.

Now, after hearing what the queen mother said, she smiled and said: "What the queen mother said is, what is the beauty of a good pair of feet wrapped up like that. It is a small thing for the child to suffer now, and when he has a body later, I can't even walk anymore. If this person doesn't move for a few months, he will lose his strength when he is born. There is a [-]% chance that he will have a dystocia. My eldest daughter-in-law is like this. Queen Mother, it's okay Let you know, my biological mother, Mrs. Zhang Taifu, is exactly what you think. A few days ago, she went to Rongguo Mansion on purpose and put her daughter's feet on her own. She told me that she shouldn't bind her daughter's feet , nothing is important."

The Empress Dowager recited the Buddha, most of the people sitting beside the Empress Dowager were duchesses of honorable backgrounds, and none of them had their feet bound.Seeing this, they all said that footbinding should not be done.

Many of the ladies who stood aside for a long time had their feet bound.There was a smarter one, who walked up and down from the morning to the imperial garden, and didn't even have a seat, so he was forced to stand for half the morning.Looking at the first few couples of girls who came back with their companions, they were all natural feet, so they talked with the wives who were chatting around.

"It's not about punishing us today, those of us who bind our feet?"

The princess has practiced internal strength for more than a year, and has made some achievements. After hearing this, she sent Chun Xing to invite him over.When I asked, it turned out to be the wife of Fan, the head of the Ministry of Rites.About 30 years old, petite and exquisite.Because of standing for a long time, it is unavoidable to wobble.

"Mrs. Fan, why do you think that people who bind their feet are punished today?"

Mrs. Fan clicked her mouth, unable to speak.She complained in her heart, how can she answer this question, say no?Let people walk so far, and then don't even give them a seat.Saying no would be a little bit against my will.

Fortunately, the princess didn't want to embarrass her, so she didn't chase after her to ask.Instead, he asked her another question, "Mrs. Fan, why don't you tell everyone about the benefits of footbinding?"

Mrs. Fan's tears were about to fall, but with so many people watching, the Crown Princess didn't even answer two questions, saying that it would be a good thing if she met the royal family; if the Crown Princess thinks If I didn't want to answer her, I would be burying my husband in trouble.

She bent down and blessed the Empress Dowager and the Crown Princess, but she really shed tears without saying a word.

Mrs. Fan took out her handkerchief, wiped the corners of her eyes, and said with a sob, "I am rude, please forgive me for my sins, the Empress Dowager and the Princess Concubine. There is no good in footbinding. When I was five or six years old, my grandmother My mother and I wanted to bind my concubine’s feet, weeping and begging, but I still had to bind them. In the past 30 years, I have suffered enough to bind my concubine’s feet. I really fulfilled the words: a pair of small feet, a vat of tears.”

The princess said: "It's no good, why don't you let it go?"

Mrs. Fan blushed, "It's not something that a concubine can decide!"

The concubine asked Chun Xing to be beside her, set up a stool for Mrs. Fan, and asked Mrs. Fan to sit down and have a good rest.

Then she said to the queen mother: "Grandmother, there is no benefit to binding feet, why don't you issue a decree to abolish footbinding."

These honorable wives, because they did not have their feet bound, were ridiculed many times by women from the Qingliu family, overtly and secretly.Seeing such a proposal from the Crown Princess, they all said to the Queen Mother—an order to abolish foot-binding.

The queen mother knew the plan of the prince and his wife long ago, she smiled and acted according to the script given by the princess.

"We don't have feet bound, and we all say it's better not to bind them. There are quite a few Madam Gao Ming who have their feet bound. Who will tell you what are the benefits of foot binding?"