"How can the daughter of a merchant's family smell like copper?"
Opening the window and feeling the cool breeze, Zhu Yixi said calmly: "Nowadays, the imperial court promotes both agriculture and business, and the household registration does not distinguish between businessmen and farmers. They are all civilian households."
Although the queen nodded, her eyes remained stubborn and she was obviously not convinced.
Seeing this, the emperor continued directly: "What is a businessman? Which gentry in the world does not do business?"
"Even if you have few assets, it is normal to own one or two shops. Are all gentry families also merchants?"
"Besides, none of those merchant families have land or their children don't study. Aren't they also civilian households?"
"The four peoples are essentially one, so what's the difference between you and me?"
As soon as he ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, Zhu Yixi abolished the lowly status and unified various household registrations into civilian households, which made many people happy.
Political equality is something that many people have longed for.
Therefore, at this time, there are no merchants, and the boundaries can be large or small, which are all determined subjectively.
Besides, the daughter of a rich family knows better the rules and is more beautiful.
After all, rich people optimize their genes, but they continue to marry beautiful women.
The queen couldn't defeat the emperor, so she could only puff up her face angrily and turn her head away.
Seeing this, Zhu Yixi turned her head around and said with a smile: "Although people are divided into noble and inferior, in the eyes of the royal family, how noble can you be? It's just a hundred steps to laugh at fifty steps."
In front of the imperial power, all families are like dust and not worth mentioning.
The queen muttered, unable to make out the words.
However, at this point she could not resist the emperor and had no choice but to surrender.
Among the three nobles, scholars and wealthy businessmen, in theory, the family of wealthy merchants is the most humble, but in fact, the family of intellectuals and talented people is the most powerful and weak.
But compared to the small civilian households of the past two hundred years, the threshold seems to be higher.
There is no way, although virtue is more important for concubines in the harem, but they must be knowledgeable, otherwise they will be easily fooled by the outside court.
During the Song, Ming and Qing dynasties, the imperial examination was popular, and the literati ate up all the power cake, and their power completely overwhelmed everything else. The harm of relatives was limited to harming the people, and thus they became the emperor's help.
It is precisely with this form in mind that Zhu Yixi is no longer afraid of the influence of foreign relatives as the threshold for the harem increases.
Moreover, considering the enfeoffment of the princes in the later period, it is also appropriate to give them a relatively strong natal family.
If the Queen surrenders, then it will be easy to discuss.
The couple worked on the bed until midnight before taking a rest.
The next day, a new selection system was born.
First of all, Xuan Shu no longer sends envoys to visit everywhere, nor is it limited to the three places in the south of the Yangtze River. Instead, it requires the families of nobles, families, and wealthy businessmen to register independently and be uniformly selected by the palace. .
The age range is girls between thirteen and sixteen years old, not limited to concubines.
Among them, the noble families, from the Duke of the country to the hundreds of families who have been favored, are also included.
Not to mention the whole family.
As for wealthy businessmen's families, they are required to have a clean net worth, and any property worth more than 10,000 yuan will be included in the calculation.
A rough calculation shows that there are more than 100,000 families that can enter the scope, and 70% of them belong to Juren families.
There is an election every three years, and with the women of the right age, there can be three to five thousand in one period, which is considered acceptable.
Then the best among the best were selected, and five hundred people were selected and asked to be adopted by the emperor as concubines.
In addition, select some for the princes and grandchildren as princesses and concubines.
The remaining few hundred people were selected by the concubines and female officials in the Sixth Bureau.
The clever ones are female officials, and the rest are palace maids.
Adding three to four hundred people to the palace at one time can be regarded as replacing those old people.
Due to the three-year election, in addition to becoming concubines, the rest will be given a dowry by the inner court, either released back home, or married to an officer, which can be regarded as finding a home.
Like the Qing Dynasty, they were eager to trap people in the palace from young to old. This not only harmed the family, but also harmed the emperor.
.
"Marry those officers? Qiu Ba?" The queen was quite hesitant about this matter:
"Your Majesty, this group of people learned secrets in the palace and are used to being dispatched by others. I'm afraid it would be inappropriate to release them hastily."
"What's wrong?" Zhu Yixi said coldly: "Those who can survive are those who have a strict mouth, otherwise they would have died a long time ago."
"Ask the canal where you can find such a clear source of living water. It is replaced every three years to remove the grievances and wash away the evil spirits of the palace."
"In terms of employment, those female officials are in their thirties and forties, and they happen to be raised in the palace, and they do things smoothly. Isn't it convenient?"
"If I give it to the officers, I'm afraid they won't..."
Sun Xueniang sighed: "I know them. After entering the palace, one by one, their horizons are high, and they naturally look down on others..."
"Didn't you say you could let them go home?"
Zhu Yixi patted her lips, causing the latter to squeak and become as loose as meat.
"Just go home. If you are getting married, there will definitely be a dowry there. Let's see what they choose!"
Marrying at the age of nineteen must be inconvenient nowadays. It is better to choose an officer to marry. The emperor and empress grant marriage, which is considered decent.
"I've done my best..."
Zhu Yixi sighed.
Both palace maids and eunuchs are pitiful people, but they are much better than hungry peasants.
This damn feudal society.
After sighing, the emperor turned around and forgot about it, and started his morning exercises.
Any system is gradual, and the same is true for the Selection System.
In the harem, the first step is to dismiss the maids.
"aunt--"
"Good morning, aunt——"
Wearing a blue and white plain robe and a simple copper hairpin on his head, Gu Chanyi walked all the way with an expressionless face, but he carried a sense of dignity, and it was difficult to count the number of people who nodded and bowed.
As one of the "six bureaus and one division" of female harem officials, Shanggong Bureau Shanggong, a fifth-rank official, is the top existence among female officials.
She assumes the responsibility of guiding the middle palace, is mainly responsible for managing documents, conveying the queen or queen mother's wishes, and is responsible for various celebrations in the harem.
To the queen, she was her right-hand man.
Although she is famous, she is only twenty-three years old. She was promoted from among the maids by the queen.
"What's wrong with the Queen?" When they arrived at Kunning Palace, Gu Chanyi frowned and asked about another palace minister, Sun Yuru.
It was brought by the queen from her natal family, and she was in charge of Kunning Palace and served the queen, which was very different from her responsibility for foreign affairs.
"Just go in."
Sun Yuru smiled and said, "It's a good thing to be with you."
Gu Chanyi felt doubtful and then slowly walked into the palace.
"Chanyi, come and sit down."
The queen's legs were a little weak. She was sitting on a chair with a peach blossom face. She used to be white with red inside, but now she is red with white inside.
Gu Chanyi knew this very well. This was the result of the emperor's nourishment last night, and it had already spread throughout the palace.
"Mother-in-law——"
Gu Chanyi didn't dare to be presumptuous, she bowed politely, and then stood there respectfully, not daring to go beyond the rules.
The queen asked again and again, but she could only sit down slowly.
"Closer, closer—"
He had no choice but to sit next to the queen.
A pair of hands groped around her face, occasionally attacking her breasts, waist, and buttocks.
Then, the queen asked softly: "How old are you?"
"Go back to your Majesty, you are twenty-four slaves."
Gu Chanyi didn't know what to say, but still answered respectfully.
"Not too young."
Sun Xueniang sighed: "When I was the same age as you, King Wu could already run away and call Aniang."
Gu Chanyi's face was full of embarrassment, and her butt was particularly awkward.
"Have you ever wanted to marry someone in the palace?"
Sun Xueniang looked at it carefully
She then asked seriously again.
Marry?
Gu Chanyi asked herself, how long ago had she thought this way.
What girl doesn't have a child?
But a few months after being elected to the palace, she gave up.
In terms of appearance, she is also top-notch among the people, but compared with the concubines in the palace, she looks eclipsed.
However, because of her outstanding ability, she chose to be a female officer.
The emperor always respected these female officials and would not be prone to misfortunes. In other words, there had never been such an incident in the past few years.
Therefore, she could only give up this shortcut.
As for being released from the palace to marry, she thought about it, but finally chose to give up.
Without it, in the palace, she is the fifth-rank Shang Palace. Among the female officials, she can be said to be inferior to one person and superior to ten thousand people.
Thousands of maids and officials in the palace must obey her orders. This kind of power is addictive.
It is absolutely impossible for her to give up easily and become an ordinary woman and obey men.
Moreover, staying in the palace for a long time has raised her horizons very high.
Shang Gong, who is in the fifth rank, although his clothes are relatively plain, they are also made of silk and satin. He can enjoy shark fins and bird's nests as much as he can, and he is no less generous than those officials.
Unless she marries those princes and nobles, she will never adapt.
What's more important is that she became a palace minister. Although she was only a fifth-rank official and was in charge of female officials, her parents and brothers all benefited from her.
For example, those married women who entered the palace wanted to please the queen and concubines and do their best for their husband's family, but first they had to please her, the royal palace.
Relying on the care of these dignitaries, the family is living a prosperous life.
Once out of the palace, she could see clearly that when the power would disappear, who would want to marry an older woman?
She wouldn't want to be a concubine either.
At this time, without powerful care, the family's wealth will disappear, and the family's blame and complaints will overwhelm her. How can she have a pension?
Suddenly, she said decisively: "Report to the queen, I don't want to leave the palace."
"Oh?" Sun Xueniang was confused at first, then remembered her identity and sighed: "Why do you have to take into account the discussions of those family members?"
"You are still young and can still have children. You have also accumulated a lot of money over the years, and as a reward from me, a generous dowry of twelve taels, no one can say anything."
"I've found a good husband for you again. Can't you live a good life?"
"My Lady, those men only wanted to have a relationship with you by marrying me. When the time comes, they will definitely force this slave to beg you to do something -"
Gu Chanyi gritted her teeth, knelt down and said firmly, "I never want to implicate my empress."
"You are not such a person..."
"When you marry a woman, you will definitely have no choice but to be a slave..."
"That's all."
Sun Xueniang sighed and helped her up: "Since you don't want to, I don't want to force you."
"How many people are there in the palace now?"
"There are more than 2,300 people in the Sixth Bureau and One Division. There are 1,500 people in the Shu Palace and Qiandi. There are only about 800 people in Nanjing and Beijing."
"There are quite a few people." The queen frowned and said softly: "Yesterday, the emperor discussed with me, thinking of dismissing some of the palace ladies and letting them marry officers or go home."
"Those who are old or in poor health can go to a nursing home to recuperate to avoid delays..."
"Of course, it's best to marry an officer, get the best of both worlds."
Empress, you are forcing them to die!
Gu Chanyi felt helpless, and suddenly an idea came to her. Could it be that it was emptied before anyone could enter again?
"Of course, if you don't want to, you can go to Nanjing, where you can retire and live a casual life."
Hearing this, Gu Chanyi could only bite the bullet and said, "Look, Yi Nu, let's go to Nanjing!"
"No, you have to marry someone."
Sun Xueniang said softly but firmly: "And
Relax, I will definitely choose some kind people. The inner court will give dowries again. Who dares to bully them? "
"Empress Shengming."
When caught, the queen hesitated and said, "Just lay off three to five hundred people!"
After Gu Chanyi received the order, he immediately went down to take action.
There are about 800 maids serving in the summer resort, so this is a suitable place for them in the small and spacious mountain resort.
"Everyone over the age of twenty-two will be dismissed."
From top to bottom, Gu Chanyi's heart was extremely hard.
For a time, the maids talked a lot and cried uncontrollably.
For them, in troubled times, their families are ruined, and only the palace is their last place to live. If they are driven out, it will be a real death blow.
"Aunt, we are not wrong." An elderly palace maid gritted her teeth, clutched her handkerchief, and suppressed her fear.
"Even if we have done something wrong, we will be punished. Why do we need to leave the palace?"
"This is custom-made."
Gu Chanyi said with a cold face: "But don't worry, those who have families can return home. If you are homeless, the inner court will naturally arrange a marriage for you."
Hearing the words "officer" and "dowry", all the maids cried again.
Although the palace is cold and dangerous, I have no worries about food and clothing, and now I have lost my luster. How can it be so good to leave the palace and marry someone?
However, for those palace ladies who are weak and have no pursuits, it is not bad to go to a nursing home to live.
Stepping on the cold floor tiles, Gu Chanyi returned to her own courtyard.
The three or two serving maids looked pale, and they didn't dare to ask anything they wanted to ask.
"elder sister--"
At this time, the seventeen-year-old sister Gu Qiuyue asked cautiously:
"Should I leave the palace too?"
"Do you want to leave the palace?"
Gu Chanyi forced a smile.
"No, I just want to be with my sister."
"No, you have to leave the palace." Gu Chanyi said firmly: "You have to get married and give birth to a pair of sons, and then you can wait for me to leave the palace and provide for me in my old age."
"Sister..." Gu Qiuyue burst into tears.
"You don't know, I asked those old people."
"The palace is too hard. I have to serve those ladies all night long. I have to tense up and hold in my pee and stool. It's okay for three to five years. But after ten years, people will be useless and can only live like a cold corpse." .”
"Only half of those who live past thirty, and only 10% of those who live to forty, end up becoming those mean and cannibalistic nuns..."
