Chapter 214 [The Harem is also reformed]

When the meeting began, "Chongzhen" asked Ao Bai, Li Yan, and Liang Bin to stay and discuss some secret matters.

"Chongzhen" said embarrassedly: "Three, I can only discuss this matter with you, it is about the harem." ”

Ao Bai smiled: "Do you want to choose a concubine again?" ”

"Chongzhen" shook his head and said: "It's not that I want to choose a concubine, but the former concubines in the palace, I don't know what to do." They're pathetic. ”

It turned out that a palace maid pleaded with "Chongzhen", which made him feel compassion for the concubines in the harem. Those people are all the wives of Ming Xizong, and once Ming Xizong dies, he will never be able to turn over. Don't talk about them, even Queen Zhou was put aside.

In the Ming Dynasty, it was very difficult to enter the palace. Like Queen Zhou and Yao Xinyan, who entered the palace without passing the exam, it can be said that they are unique. The other emperors chose their concubines through a strict regulatory system. According to the "Biography of the Concubines in the History of the Ming Dynasty", Zhu Yuanzhang learned the lessons of the chaotic government of the harem of the previous dynasties, and revised the "Female Training" in the first year of Hongwu as the family law for managing the concubines. In the selection of concubines, in order to prevent collusion between the court's powerful ministers and the harem, it is stipulated that "all the sons of heaven, princes, concubines, and palace concubines should carefully select the daughters of good families for them. And he focused on choosing women from poor families, trying to assist the emperor in frugality and diligence.

Choosing a concubine is very troublesome, and it is divided into eight levels during the Ming Xizong period.

The first level is the audition. When the emperor reached the age of marriage, he sent eunuchs to all parts of the country to select beautiful women between the ages of thirteen and sixteen, and selected 5,000 from the sea. These 5,000 people are equivalent to getting a beauty pageant qualification certificate. The royal family paid a certain amount as a dowry and travel expenses, and ordered the parents of the selected girls to send their daughters to the capital within the prescribed time limit.

The second level is called the primary election. In this primary election, a large field was chosen, and the eunuchs lined up the girls in a row of 100 people, sorted them by age, and after inspecting them one by one, they eliminated those who were either slightly taller, or slightly shorter, or slightly fatter, or slightly thinner. This primary election will eliminate 1,000 people. The people selected in this way are basically the same kind of figure, if Zhang Ziyi is the standard, then Lin Chiling will definitely not be visible. In fact, this way is very stupid, the women in the harem are about the same size, if the emperor wants to change his taste, he has to go to the palace, so Zhu Zhengde will take the four talents to "play the dragon and the phoenix".

The third pole is called double selection. Generally on the second day of the primary election, these girls who passed the primary election continue to line up, and the eunuchs use very critical standards to carefully inspect each person's facial features, hair, skin, and of course, the three measurements, as long as there is a non-compliance, they have to stand aside. Then let everyone report their family background, name, age, etc., in order to inspect the timbre and demeanor, eliminate those with rough voices, slurred speech, and unelegant manners, and screen out 2,000 people.

The fourth level is Select. The eunuchs used rulers to carefully measure the hands and feet of the girls, and then let them take a few steps to see the gait and charm. So those who had bigger feet, thicker wrists, and bad manners were eliminated again. In the end, a thousand beauties were left to advance. And the mission of the eunuchs came to an end.

The fifth level is the Lingering Palace. Arrange the old palace ladies in the palace separately, lead the beauties to the secret room one by one, probe their breasts, sniff their armpits, and touch their textures. The strictness of its physical examination is no less than that of the selected pilot. Through the physical examination, it was determined that 300 people became the palace maids selected to stay in the palace.

The sixth level is the Jin Concubine. These 300 beauties who stayed in the palace were carefully observed by the emperor's special commissioner for a month, and according to their temperament and words, they judged whether they were gentle and generous, wise and virtuous. According to this, another 250 people were screened out, and the remaining 50 people were automatically promoted to concubines.

The seventh level is for the empress dowager or concubine to choose three out of fifty for the emperor's appoint. In that year, fifty people were personally summoned by the concubine Liu, and three people were finally selected based on talents such as calligraphy, poetry, and painting, and the later queen Zhang Yan, and the concubine Wang and Duan.

The eighth level is the King James Decree. Concubine Liu first conveyed the beauty of Zhang Yan and the other three to the emperor, and Xizong personally summoned the three of them for an interview. What kind of wife is this? Xizong saw the three beautiful beauties, and he was a little in a dilemma, and he was undecided, so he asked Zhao Xuanzhi to decide. Zhao suggested that Zhang Yan be designated, so Zhang Yan was appointed as the queen of the Middle Palace, the Wang family was named a good concubine, and the Duan family was named a pure concubine. It was the year, and Zhang Yan was fifteen years old.

Generally, after the final election, the two beauties who accompany the election will be named concubines, but some are given gold and silver coins to return home. For example, when Mingguangzong was the crown prince, he chose the crown princess, and a girl named Aunt Liu and the Guo sisters entered the final round of competition, and the Guo eldest was elected as the crown princess, and his sister and Aunt Liu were defeated. Because the name Aunt Liu was too cheap, the royal family did not like it, so she returned home after giving gold and silver. According to reports, this Aunt Liu felt that she was worth a hundred times, and after returning to her hometown, she was unwilling to marry an ordinary man and a layman, and she was an old virgin for a lifetime.

The woman who was selected to enter the palace after such a troublesome step, once she fell out of favor, she had to wait for death in the forbidden room in the palace, which was very tragic. Generally, for the sake of the dignity of the royal family, the chances of the concubine dying even if they commit a crime are not great, and the emperor needs a place to place them as soon as he goes, so there is a cold palace.

During the reign of Ming Xizong, Concubine Li offended Wei Zhongxian, and was driven from Changchun Palace to the Qianxi Palace in the west of the Imperial Garden, where she lived for four years. Breaking into the cold palace is actually being abolished, which is similar to squatting in prison, and the house where you live is not big, and you can't move around casually, which is the cruelty of the palace struggle.

Now "Chongzhen" has not touched other women except Yao Xinyan, if it means that Xizong's concubine was beaten into the cold palace, and the emperor ignored it, everyone can understand, but he has not let the queen sleep, it is a little too much.

"What should I do? There are already many people in the palace talking about this, and they are all chewing their tongues behind their backs, and I also have a headache. Xinyan asked me why I didn't care about the queen, I could only go to see the children on a regular basis. ”

is not his own child, but he has to fulfill his father's obligations, and "Chongzhen" has no feelings for that child.

Ao Bai asked: "Those concubines of the Emperor of the Apocalypse, you can ask for their opinions, if they are willing to continue to live in the palace, then here, if they are unwilling, they will send a part of the money, let them go out of the palace as ordinary people, and remarry in the future." ”

"What? Concubine remarriage? Liang Bin opened his mouth wide and said with a wry smile: "Brother Huang, this is a matter of royal majesty." You actually said that you should let the woman of the first emperor leave the palace and remarry? ”

Li Yan laughed. "Interesting, you really don't take the royal family seriously."

Women are very strong, how can a woman who was once the emperor be involved by other men. The men in the palace are all eunuchs, and they are afraid of this. But the eunuch system is very inhumane. In foreign countries, there are no eunuchs, and there is a group of eunuchs in the palace, only the Ming Dynasty and North Korea. Of course, many people who have not been emasculated have acted submissively, and their minds have been emasculated.

Ao Bai said indifferently: "I said you all think about it, the wives of the Emperor of the Apocalypse, all of them are not more than thirty years old, and they still have a good youth, and now they are all locked up in the palace, they can't go out, and no one talks, what are you doing living like this?" There are idlers in the palace, and they are also very miserable, who is good for people? Royal majesty? When the Emperor of the Apocalypse was alive, no one could touch his women, and now that he has been dead for several years, these women still have to be loyal to him, just because he used to be an emperor? This person doesn't go to court, he plays every day, and the work is handed over to Lao Wei. It's not that I said him, if he had been born in an ordinary family, he would have starved to death. Let his concubines take advantage of their youth and send them out of the palace quickly. Give them a sum of money so that they can find a good family or live on their own. Go to the drizzle building and there is still a group of people to play. ”

Li Yan said: "I see it's okay." ”

"Chongzhen" also smiled: "Then let's go and discuss it with them?" Will you come with me? I don't know how to say it. ”

Liang Bin stepped aside, holding the pillar and slamming into the column. not only wanted to let the women of the first emperor out of the palace, but also said that they would go to live in the drizzle building, and the two of them actually said yes.

Li Yan twisted the short beard on his chin and said to himself: "If you look average, send it to the people, if you are particularly beautiful, you can go back to Hefu to live with us." ”

"Don't go too far." The three of them looked at him together.

"Huh? Did I say it? Excuse me. ”

The three of them went to Qianxi Palace together and met several concubines who had actually been placed under house arrest. The oldest of them is only twenty-four years old, and they do have a good year to go.

"Chongzhen" and Ao Bai gave them their thoughts and asked for their opinions. The concubines all chose to leave the palace. There are also some palace maids who are also willing to leave with their masters. Life in the palace is too lonely, who wants to live here for the rest of their lives? Those who are palace maids will not be able to marry for the rest of their lives if they don't leave.

Come out of the Qianxi Palace. Ao Bai went to see Queen Zhou with "Chongzhen" again. Although Queen Zhou eats and drinks well every day, no one cares for her, and there are rumors in the palace about the queen's fall from grace. She is different from others, she can't leave the palace.

When Empress Zhou saw Ao Bai and the others coming in, she smiled and said, "You guys are here." ”

"Well, everyone else, stand down." "Chongzhen" ordered. The servants withdrew.

"How are you doing?" Bow lightly.

Queen Zhou smiled and said, "It's good, it's just that I've been in the room all day and I'm a little bored." ”

To be able to live and watch her daughter grow up day by day, she is satisfied.

Li Yan pointed at Chongzhen and said with a smile: "He takes people to play poker and mahjong all day long, you can also go together, right?" ”

"Chongzhen" said embarrassedly: "Yes, queen, the child can let those palace maids watch, Xinyan also said this." ”

Yao Xinyan originally thought that the emperor had a lot of women, but now "Chongzhen" only cares about herself, and she feels that the queen is quite pitiful. Women are easy to be soft-hearted, and she is the back, so she wants to share the emperor with the queen.

Queen Zhou said: "I am now nominally the queen, if I also play those, will it be ......?"

When she first entered the palace, Queen Zhou also passed the guidance of Queen Zhang, and she couldn't make a sound when she usually ate, and she didn't speak loudly, and she was very particular about her smile and smile.

Ao Bai said with a smile: "In the past, the emperor went to court every day, and the country was in chaos, you see that now he is playing all day long, what is wrong with the country?" As long as you've made the right decisions, there's nothing wrong with relaxing at other times. The mother of the world does not mean that she is much more noble than others. If you really treat the people as children, it is the most important thing to be closer to their lives. In the final of the football match, we went to watch the ball together, the emperor was responsible for the half-time kick-off, and the queen was responsible for handing out the trophies. What do you think? ”

Empress Zhou stayed for .......

More to, address