Therefore, after the sound of the chime sounded near noon, Madam Zheng stayed for a while in the large dining room specially provided for lunch; She sent a message from afar. This was also the second time she took the initiative to contact the other party.
Therefore, after delaying for a while, Madam Zheng carried the prepared food box and followed the crowd that had become sparse and returned to the exclusive area called Yeting Palace. Of course, although Yeting Palace is called a palace, its predecessor actually originated from Yongxiang in the Western Han Dynasty.
It originated from a long and narrow lane in Changle Palace; it was originally a place where the maids and concubines stayed in the palace. Later, due to the need for continuous expansion and construction, it became a centralized residence and training place for new maids who were not assigned to the duties of each palace. It was also a place for concubines who fell out of power or fell out of favor.
As a result, the Ye Ting Order was set up specifically to manage the prisons for female prisoners, which allowed them to interrogate and imprison illegal officials, imprisoned female officials, palace servants, and even concubines in the palace. The earliest and most famous prisoner among them was Mrs. Qi of Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty. Later, the function of managing the criminal family members who were employed as laborers in the palace was added.
Therefore, to this day, the Yeting Palace no longer has any rituals belonging to the palace, but is a comprehensive functional building area; it is divided into five directions: east, west, south, north, and middle, but it is still collectively called Yongxiang. The Yeting Bureau of the Fifth Bureau and the Twenty-fourth Square, under the control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, carries out daily management.
As long as they have no official position, they will first be sent to Sinong Temple/Shaofu Temple to register; then Sinong Temple will sort them to Yeting according to their skills and expertise; others who can sing and dance or are young and beautiful If they are, they will be assigned to the Taiyue Department and the Neijiaofang as direct subordinates to the promotion of outstanding music.
Among them, the eunuchs responsible for managing famous records and female workers, such as Ye Ting Ling, Ye Ting Cheng, Palace Education Doctor, Supervisor, Ling Shi, and Shu Shi, were all eunuchs. However, as an important labor resource in the palace, they are assigned and dispatched by the Six Shang and Twenty-two Divisions from the female official system in the assignment of daily affairs.
Therefore, under this dualistic system, the Beixiang (Fang District) located in the Yeting Palace was mainly a courtyard for the elderly concubines and ministers who had fallen out of favor or had passed away, and were old and beautiful; usually they were also It is known as the place of the cold palace, and it has long been lacking in popularity and is a deserted and deserted place.
East Alley, because it is close to the inner and back courtyards of the imperial city, is home to a large number of low-level miscellaneous envoys and female servants, and is known to be the most popular. The West Alley is mainly a small courtyard where many people live together. It is where the low-ranking female officials in the palace and the new candidates after each draft stay temporarily.
But some people stay here for 20, 30 years or even a lifetime. However, after they have missed the best years of their youth, they may receive an amnesty in the palace and the opportunity to be released from the palace. Therefore, except for some people who have family worries and Except for the women who are leaving, most people would rather stay.
Just like Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty in history, he was known as having three thousand beauties in his harem, but that was just a description and metaphor, referring to women who were qualified for him to attract luck. However, except for a few concubines who were favored and given the title of imperial concubine, the vast majority of them lived in Yeting for a long time and never heard of the king in their life.
Occasionally, one can interact with the world outside the palace through poems written on red leaves in the ditch and hidden in winter clothes; even after being discovered, it is regarded as the king's benevolence and favor and assigned to a lucky person who has never met his face. More: "Qing Luo fan blows the firefly, and the white-haired palace maid talks about the past."
As for the middle alley, that is where most people avoid. Because here, in addition to the various official offices, warehouses and residences in Yeting, there are also patrols composed of solemn officers and stalwart servants who specialize in punishment and discipline. During this period, the methods of punishing offenders are shocking. .
Therefore, South Alley is the place where most of the criminals are detained. It is also the place with the strictest access control and the most control among the five lanes of Yongxiang. But as the saying goes, the reason why rules become rules is that they need to be implemented and maintained by people, otherwise they will soon become lax and obsolete.
Therefore, the same principle applies in Nanxiang (Fang District). As one of the two major areas with a population comparable to that of East Alley, in South Alley, in addition to the prison guards and deputy prison guards in charge of the streets, there are also large and small autonomous and mutual-help groups among criminal relatives to help maintain the situation.
In addition, there are places for daily work such as sericulture, mulberry picking, sweeping, sewing, weaving and dyeing, rice pounding and grinding workshops, nurseries, vegetable plots and orchards that supply seasonal flowers, vegetables and fruits. There are part-time shops run by palace residents and small street markets for bartering; it can be called a small society.
As an old man who has been in the palace for ten years, Madam Zheng, as an orphan and widowed mother who was not favored by others, not only stood firm and raised her daughter, but also spared no effort to teach her to read; of course, she did not rely solely on kindness and tolerance. Rather, he has frequently dealt with those who bully the weak and fear the strong.
Later, through the help from outside the palace, he also established a little reputation among the new and old criminals, and even got a house to live alone. Although it looked old and shabby, the conditions were not very good; But when I was away from the crowd for a while, the neighbors were noisy and noisy.
At the same time, she is also willing to help others with her little effort; after all, in this environment where a large number of women gather together, lack the restraint of moral conscience, and have powerful people in the middle to exercise power at will; sometimes just a meal and a few feet of coarse cloth can help Try to drive people into despair.
Therefore, every winter and spring in the Yeting Palace, there are always a varying number of sinners and palace residents who freeze to death or become sick from overwork due to lack of daily supplies; or they spontaneously end this life because they are really unbearable. ; Then, the reports were that without exception, they were infected with the epidemic and died of sudden illness.
Therefore, the wife really does not dare to get sick on weekdays, and she is most fortunate to have raised her daughter without any serious illness. Otherwise, just relying on the prescriptions of the Imperial Physicians (medical students) from the alleys who came regularly to deal with the problem would not be enough to cure the disease.
On the contrary, her brother Zheng Xiuyuan, who was Taichang Shaoqing, was able to bring her some of the most commonly used pills and pills in the outside world to prepare for emergencies. This also allowed Madam Zheng to help and make some friends, who were also in the court. Poor guy. This also offended one of the Nanxiang jailers in disguise.
Because, as one of the other parties' private ways of making money, they colluded with the staff of the Imperial Medical Bureau to sell some anti-epidemic pills and dissipating qi that were basically useless and only had psychological comfort effects. However, he used this to squeeze out some of the family members who had just entered the palace, and even forced them to die.
Therefore, the lady carrying the food box had just walked outside the gate of Nanxiang and showed the wooden sign to the guard. I saw a woman guarding the archway. She came forward anxiously and whispered: "Mother Zheng, not long ago, Xia's evil heart brought someone to your residence."
"This old maid has spared no effort!" After hearing these words, Madam Zheng couldn't help but feel a fierce thump in her heart, but she sighed calmly on her face: "Thank you Aqiu for coming to deliver the message, but please be patient. No, I want to see what she can do to me this time."
Although she said this with her mouth, she also confirmed in her heart that she had told her daughter how to deal with it; but the indescribable worry still made Madam Zheng speed up her pace. Therefore, she soon saw the noisy crowd gathering and blocking the street ahead.
His heart sank again, but he noticed that this street was at least a little far away from the dilapidated courtyard where he lived. Among them was a woman who was acquainted with her. She turned around and shouted to her with a look of gloating, "Ms. Zheng is finally here."
Then, several women gathered around her, and they all started talking in a hurry: "Mother Zheng, you are so good for coming!" "Look at that Lady Xia Hua who has been unforgiving all day long, and she finally got her retribution!" She finally has such a day!" "It's so satisfying!"
Then, Madam Zheng also saw several figures on the street surrounded by crowds, lying on the ground and not daring to get up. They were all the capable men who followed Lady Xia Hua on a daily basis, but each of them had disheveled hair, tattered clothes, and were covered with mud and dust. , crying endlessly with scars but no one to help her.
And it is said that where Xia Huaniang was originally, there was only a shocking pool of blood. Then, through the comments of others, Mrs. Zheng knew the outline of what happened during the period. It was probably Xia Hua Niang who couldn't pick it up at night, but returned during the day and wanted to take advantage of it.
As a result, her daughter pushed her hard and refused to enter the house. She even started crying and yelling, which alerted many people from outside and came to question her. Xia Huaniang was still very stubborn and planned to break the window and door, but she was suddenly notified by her subordinates that her shop was on fire, and Lian Man and others went to put out the fire.
Then, in the shop she ran, she heard loud and obvious meows, as well as constant chasing and smashing. In the end, the fire that burned was not extinguished. Instead, in front of everyone who put out the fire, it was revealed that she secretly kept forbidden things and tried to silence them.
Then, when Xia Hua Niang, who was burnt to ashes, was frantically chasing a raccoon slave in the street, who was insignificant in everyone's eyes; she was covered by a canopy that she had knocked down; and then unintentionally tore off an overnight raccoon slave. The earthenware jar was smashed on his head and he was bleeding profusely on the spot.
Therefore, after Xia Hua Niang was carried away, people all over the street became silent and startled, all speculating that she had secretly raised a raccoon slave, intending to use it to frame the poor man; however, she was stopped by this A raccoon slave escaped and not only burned down the shop, but also drove her crazy.
However, after hearing this, Madam Zheng felt a faint chill in her heart, and she thought of the heavy desk that was easily broken into pieces last night. Suddenly, he was worried about his daughter who was alone in private. He just hoped that what the other party said was true and that he would not become wild and harm his daughter.
When Mrs. Zheng, who was full of anxiety, called and knocked on the door again, she saw her daughter who was safe and sound. She immediately breathed a sigh of relief. However, she saw the cat lying lazily on the desk; beside her was a pile of copied manuscript paper, as if nothing had happened. (End of chapter)
