Tang Qi Tan

Therefore, after the sound of the cloud chime sounded at noon, Madam Zheng stayed for a while longer in the big dining room that provided lunch; Yuandi sent a message, and this was the second time she took the initiative to contact the other party.

Therefore, after such a delay, Madam Zheng carried the food box she had prepared, followed the end of the already sparse crowd, and turned back to the exclusive area called Ye Ting Palace.Of course, although Yeting Palace is called a palace, its predecessor actually originated from Yongxiang in the Western Han Dynasty.

Originated from a long and narrow alleyway in Changle Palace; it was originally the place where maids and concubines stayed in the palace.Later, due to the need for continuous expansion and additions, it became a concentrated residence and training place for newly recruited ladies who were not assigned to serve in various palaces, and it was also a place where concubines who fell out of power or out of favor were confinement.

From this, the Ye Ting Order was set up specifically to manage female prisons, and it was considered to interrogate and imprison female officials, palace people, and even concubines who violated the rules and regulations in the palace. Among them, the earliest and most famous prisoner was Mrs. Qi of Han Gaozu.Later, the function of managing the relatives of the criminals who were forced into the palace was added.

Therefore, up to now, there is no ritual system belonging to the palace in Yeting Palace, but a comprehensive functional building area; it is divided into five directions, east, west, south, north, and middle, but it is still collectively called Yongxiang.Under the management of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Yeting Bureau of the Fifth Bureau and 24 workshops conducts daily management.

However, all criminal family members without officials will be sent to Sinong Temple/Shaofu Temple for registration; then according to whether they have skills and background expertise, Sinong Temple will shunt them to Yeting; others who can sing and dance or are young and beautiful Those who are not, are assigned to the Taiyue Department and Neijiaofang, which are directly under the advocacy of excellent jiyue.

Among them, eunuchs responsible for managing famous books and women workers, Ye Ting Ling, Ye Tingcheng, Gongjiao doctor, supervisor, order history, and book history.However, as an important labor resource in the palace, in the assignment of daily affairs, they are also assigned and dispatched by the six officials and 22 divisions from the female official system.

Therefore, under the rule of this dual system, the North Lane (Fang District) located in the Yeting Palace is mainly a courtyard for old concubines and ministers who have fallen out of favor or have passed away; Known as the place of the cold palace, it has long been lacking in popularity, and it is a cold and desolate place.

The east alley, because it is close to the inner courtyard of the imperial city and the backyard, is home to a large number of low-level miscellaneous envoys and female servants, and is known as the most popular.The west alley is mainly a small courtyard where many people live together. It is the place where the low-grade female officials in the palace and the newcomers who are waiting for election after each draft temporarily stop.

But some people stay here for [-], [-] years or even a lifetime; however, it is possible to usher in an amnesty in the palace and release the opportunity outside the palace when they miss the best youth years; therefore, except for some with family concerns and Except for women who go somewhere, most would rather stay.

Just like Tang Xuanzong in history, he claimed to have three thousand beauties in the harem, but that was just a description and metaphor, referring to women who were qualified to make him lucky.But except for a very few concubines who were favored and granted imperial titles, the vast majority of them lived in Yeting for a long time and never heard of the emperor all their lives.

Occasionally, through the red leaf poems in the imperial ditch and the winter clothes, the intersection with the world outside the palace can occur; even after being discovered, as the benevolence and grace of the king, it is assigned to a lucky person who has never been masked.More is: "Qing Luo's small fan flutters Liu Ying, and the white-haired court lady talks about the past."

As for the middle alley, that is where most people avoid.Because here, in addition to the official offices, warehouses and residences in Yeting Court, there are also the Suzhengfang and the patrol team composed of strong servants who specialize in punishment and discipline. .

Therefore, South Lane is the place where the vast majority of criminals belong to, and 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 people need to implement and maintain them, otherwise they will soon be lax and abandoned.

Therefore, in Nanxiang (Fang District), the same principle applies.As one of the two areas with a population comparable to that of East Lane, in South Lane, apart from the prisoner and deputy prisoner in charge of the street, there are also large and small groups of self-government and mutual assistance among the relatives of criminals to help maintain the situation.

In addition, there are places for daily labor such as silkworm rearing, mulberry picking, sweeping, sewing, weaving and dyeing, as well as workshops for pounding and milling rice, nurseries, vegetable beds and orchards for supplying seasonal flowers and fruits.There are part-time shops run by palace people and small street markets for barter; it can be called a small society.

As an old man who has been in the palace for ten years, Mrs. Zheng, as an orphan and widow who is not favored by others, not only has a firm foothold to raise her daughter, but also spares no effort to teach her to study; It's against those who are bullying and fearing hard, and have been targeted many times.

Later, through the help from outside the palace, by the way, he built up a little reputation among the old and new relatives; he even won a house for himself to live in alone; although it looked old and dilapidated, the conditions were not very good; However, when staying away from the group for a while, the neighbors are disturbed and noisy.

At the same time, she is not stingy with helping others with her little effort; after all, in this environment where a large number of women gather together, lack the constraints of moral conscience, and have the superiors in the middle to exercise power arbitrarily; sometimes only a meal and a few feet of coarse cloth can be enough Trying to force people into corners.

Therefore, every year in the winter and spring of the Ye court palace, there are always varying numbers of sinners and palace people, who either freeze to death or become sick from overwork because of insufficient daily supplies; ; Then, it was reported that without exception, they all contracted the epidemic and died of sudden illness.

Therefore, Zheng Niangzi really dare not get sick on weekdays, and the most fortunate thing is that she raised her daughter and never suffered from any serious illness.Otherwise, just relying on the prescriptions of the bureaucrats (medical students) of the Imperial Medical Bureau who come regularly to deal with the matter in Zhongxiangfang, although it can't kill people or cure diseases.

On the contrary, it was Zheng Xiuyuan, the elder brother of Taichang Shaoqing, who was able to bring her some of the most commonly used pills and pills; Poor tuck.One of the Nanxiang Ajians who was also offended by this in disguise.

Because, as one of the other side's private business of earning money, it is to collude with the bureaucrats of the Imperial Medical Bureau; to sell some basically useless products that only have psychological comforting effects such as preventing epidemics and dispelling qi.However, they used this to squeeze out some of the family members who had just entered the palace, and even drove them to a dead end.

Therefore, when the lady who was carrying the food box just walked outside the gate of the south alley, she showed the wooden sign for entry and exit to Fanghe.He saw a woman guarding the archway anxiously approaching her and said in a low voice, "Zheng Niang, not long ago that black heart of the Xia family brought someone to your residence."

"This old maid has spared no effort!" Hearing these words, Mrs. Zheng couldn't help but thumped fiercely in her heart, but she sighed nonchalantly on her face: "Thank you, Ah Qiu, for coming to pass on the message, but please be safe. Cao, I want to see what she can do to me this time?"

Although he said so on the lips, he confirmed in his heart again and again that he had already explained to his daughter how to deal with it; but the indescribable worry still made Mrs. Zheng quicken her pace.Therefore, she quickly saw the noisy crowd gathered in the street ahead, chattering.

I couldn't help but my heart sank again, but I noticed that this street was at least a little away from the dilapidated courtyard where I lived.Among them was a woman who knew her, turned her head overworked with gloating face, and couldn't wait to shout to her: "Miss Zheng is here."

Then, a few women gathered around her, and they all rushed to confide: "Ms. Zheng, you are here!" "Look at that Xia Huaniang who has been unforgiving all day long, and finally got her retribution!" " Finally, she will have such a day!" "It's so satisfying!"

Then, Madam Zheng also saw several figures on the street surrounded by crowds, who were lying on the ground and did not dare to get up; they were all able-bodied men who followed Xia Huaniang every day, but their hair was disheveled, their clothes were torn, and they were covered with mud and dust. , bruised and howling endlessly but no one to help.

And it is said that where Xia Huaniang was originally, there is only a shocking pool of blood left.Then, through other people's comments like you and him, Mrs. Zheng knew the outline of what happened during the period.Probably because Xia Huaniang couldn't pick it up at night, and she went back and forth during the day and wanted to take advantage of it.

In the end, she was turned away by her daughter, and she cried and yelled, which disturbed many people from the outside to question her.Xia Huaniang was determined to break the window and smash the door, but suddenly she was notified by her subordinates that her shop was on fire, and she led people to fight it.

Then in the shop she was running, I heard the obvious loud meowing, as well as the continuous chasing and smashing.In the end, the burning fire was not able to be extinguished. Instead, in front of everyone fighting the fire, she sat down in a disguised form and tried to silence her by secretly feeding taboo things.

Then, when Xia Huaniang, who was burnt to ashes, was chasing and beating a raccoon slave in the street, who was nothing in everyone's eyes, she was covered by a canopy that was knocked down by herself; The earthen pot, hit on the forehead, and the blood collapsed on the spot.

Therefore, when Xia Huaniang was carried away, the people all over the street were disturbed by the commotion, and they all speculated that she had secretly raised a raccoon slave, intending to use it to frame that poor man; The raccoon slave escaped, not only smashed and burned the shop, but also drove her crazy.

However, upon hearing this, Mrs. Zheng felt faint chills in her heart, and she recalled the cumbersome table case that was easily scratched and broken into pieces last night.Immediately, he was worried that his daughter, who was alone in private, would come, and he only hoped that what the other party said was true, and that he would not become wild and hurt his own daughter.

When Mrs. Zheng, full of apprehension, knocked on the door again and saw her daughter safe and sound, she immediately breathed a sigh of relief.However, she saw the cat lazily lying on the table; beside her was a stack of copied manuscript paper, as if nothing had happened. (end of this chapter)