Harem: Biography of Concubine Qin

Chapter 137
Just after the Duanyang Festival on the fifth day of May, the foreign envoys came to Beijing.Chen Wenxin asked Xiaozhuo to find out which country it was from, but Xiaozhuo couldn't learn it no matter what.

That's right, to the people in the palace, foreign devils are all the same, no matter what small country they are.

It is different for Chen Wenxin, if she is from an English-speaking country, she can understand other people's mother tongue.

It's a pity that the last news from the emperor said that the envoys were from Spain.

In the past, when envoys came to see them, they were all received by the Ministry of Rites, and the emperor did not personally meet them.

This is the arrogance of the celestial kingdom. Not all envoys from all countries will be received by the emperor in person, it just depends on the emperor's mood.

This time the emperor announced that he would let the Spanish envoys enter the palace to have an audience, which made the envoys and his party very happy.

The envoys sent by Spain over the years have never had the honor of meeting the Qing emperor in person!
However, the emperor was not in a good mood, on the contrary, he was in a bad mood.

Because I don't know where I heard the rumors that the calculations of the Qing Dynasty were not as good as those of the West.

The emperor was still young, so he had to compete with others, so that people would know that Qing was so powerful that his small western country couldn't match it.

This kind of thinking made Chen Wenxin feel funny.

In fact, her arithmetic is not as good as the emperor's. The emperor is well versed in the way of river control. He calculates the water flow, wind speed and depth. He is like a professional river control minister.

But it is impossible for the emperor to go out and tell the Western envoys in person, I will compare my calculations with you!

It would appear that the emperor is too petty.

So the ministers didn't need it, when he summoned the envoys, he just pretended to let Chen Wenxin compare with them casually.

Chen Wenxin was a little nervous when the emperor said this. The emperor wanted to use her as the face of the Qing Dynasty to compete with Westerners in arithmetic?
She is not fully sure, what if she loses?
She was just a liberal arts student in her previous life, and she was not proficient in advanced mathematics.

If the competitions were all elementary school math Olympiad questions that the emperor used to test his friends, she would be fine.

The emperor comforted her and said: "It's okay, it's fine if you win, but if you lose, I will reluctantly let the great scholars take the top."

That's good, she is a woman in the palace, even if she loses, she will only lose face, not the Qing Dynasty.

If possible, she still hopes to deter those Spanish envoys by herself.

From a historical point of view, the attitudes of Western countries in the late Qing Dynasty became more and more condescending until they sent troops to attack.

The more deterrent they can be, the more stable the country will be.

So these days, she has been staying in Qianqing Palace, reading all the basic arithmetic books that the emperor often reads, and discussing with the emperor when encountering difficult ones.

This not only improved her arithmetic, but the emperor also felt that it was of great benefit.

"When I discuss this with you, I will discuss the benefits with the Grand Scholars."

The emperor simply brought several elder brothers to Qianqing Palace, and asked Chen Wenxin to use her more popular terms to explain the topic to the elder brothers.

I don't know why, some problems have the same solution, but my brothers still prefer to listen to what Chen Wenxin said.

She is a woman, she speaks in a gentle tone and explains carefully.

Brothers also dare to ask questions in front of her, and speak out what they don't understand.In front of the emperor, they didn't dare to ask more questions.
-
They were afraid that Huang Ama would think she was stupid.

In front of Chen Wenxin, there was no such worry. The fourth elder brother was like a bird out of the cage, screaming like Chen Erniang Chen Erniang.

Driven by him, the other elder brothers also gradually became acquainted with Chen Wenxin.

The emperor was very happy to see that the arithmetic of the brothers had improved a lot in just a few days.

"I think, in the future, the math class at my elder brother's office can be removed."

What does the emperor mean by this, that she will be asked to teach the brothers in arithmetic in the future?

She quickly waved her hands, "How can the emperor make such a joke, the concubine is a concubine, can he still be a master?"

She didn't dare to mislead her children, besides, these children were elder brothers.

The second elder brother yelled first, "Mother Qin'er can teach us, the master my elder brother taught is not as good as what Mother Qin'er said."

What he hates the most is that the masters of elder brother's office always praise elder brother and say that he is playful and lazy.

Just for this, his haha ​​beads have been beaten by the master many times.

Qin'er Niang doesn't play hands-on, so it must be more fun to learn from her.

The fourth elder brother didn't know what his master was like, but he was naturally happy to spend more time with Chen Wenxin.

He, who was always cautious in his words and deeds in front of the emperor, also mustered up his courage and said: "Chen Erniang teach us?"

The way the fourth elder brother clenched his small fist was really unbearable to see.

Chen Wenxin thought for a while and said, "Does the emperor ask me to teach the four elder brothers alone, or go to elder brother's office to teach them?"

If you want to find a place in the harem to start another class, the elder brother and the second elder brother who live in the elder brother's place have to go back and forth, which is troublesome.

"It's better than this. Brothers' mathematics class was originally one class every three days. Now I invite the former master to teach one class, and my concubine to teach the other class."

"The concubine goes to elder brother's house once every six days, so that everyone is convenient. What does the emperor think?"

The emperor said: "Since my brothers prefer you to teach mathematics, that's fine. Let my brothers have a comparison between the masters, instead of being static."

"correct."

The emperor said again: "Tomorrow, I will meet the envoy Xi in the side hall of Qianqing Palace. Then you can bring your second elder brother with you."

Chen Wenxin was slightly taken aback.

Take the second elder brother, why only bring the second elder brother?
She squatted down to salute, and from the corner of her eyes, she saw the joy of the second elder brother and the loneliness of the other three elder brothers.

If things are not fair, there will be a cry, and in their hearts, that sense of injustice always exists.

The envoys from the west were received by the Ministry of Rites. Seven or eight days later, the emperor summoned them to the Qianqing Palace.

Since it was the first time that the emperor summoned the Western envoy to meet him, the Ministry of Rites and the envoy Gonzalez and his party repeatedly discussed the etiquette of the audience, so as to ensure that there was no mistake.

Even if the Ministry of Rites did not request this, Gangsaray and the others would not allow themselves to make mistakes.

Meeting the Qing emperor for the first time, if they can make Long Yan happy, their future trade with the Qing will definitely be more convenient.

In the side hall of the Qianqing Palace, eunuchs and officials from the Ministry of Rites led Gang Sare and his party into the hall.

There is a watch case in the middle of the lower steps of the hall, and the emperor rises to the throne in the middle of the hall.

Under the guidance of the Minister of Honglu Temple, Gonzalez put the Spanish emperor's letter on the watch case, and then bowed three times and kowtowed nine times.

"kneel--"

Li Dequan's voice was high-pitched and clear, with a drawn-out ending, as if he was afraid that the messenger might not be able to hear clearly.

"One kowtow—"

Every time he knelt, raised or kowtowed, Na Gangsaray executed it very clearly.

In the high hall, the emperor saw the Spanish envoy Gonzalez with blond hair and blue eyes, and a fairer complexion, which was not the same as Nan Huairen.

He was only about 30 years old, and the envoys sent by the West were always very young.

Only young people can withstand the rough seas, and only young people have the enthusiasm for learning Chinese.

On the side of the emperor's throne are Chen Wenxin and the second elder brother, and on the left and right sides of the lower head are the university scholars, Chen Wenyi and Nan Huairen are also present.

Seeing that Gangsaray was polite, they all nodded slightly.

After three kneeling and nine knocking ceremony, Gonzalez picked up the inscription on the case.

Then he kneeled to the throne and presented the watch to the emperor with his own hands.

Then there was a set of three kneeling and nine knocking rituals.

It was the first time for Chen Wenxin to see such a grand ceremony of kneeling three times and knocking nine times, repeating it twice.

It can be seen that the Qing Dynasty had very strict etiquette requirements for foreign envoys, and they must be allowed to recognize the glory of the heavenly kingdom with a humble status.

The second time he knelt down three times and kowtowed nine times, he was not sloppy at all, and finished the salute earnestly with a respectful expression.

This is the time to greet you.

"Spanish envoy Gonzalez, please welcome His Majesty the Qing Emperor, Holy Ann."

He can speak Chinese, but it seems a bit clumsy.

When he said his name, it sounded like "what are you doing" in the Northeast dialect.

Chen Wenxin wanted to laugh a little, but saw that Gangsalei knelt down to him again after hearing the emperor's "exemption".

"Please concubine Jin An."

She showed a dignified and decent smile, hiding her snicker, "Excuse me."

Gonzalez got up, lowered his head and showed a strange expression.

"The emperor gave the Spanish envoy Gonzalez the seat, and the Dragon Well before the rain."

The emperor offered a seat and tea, and the ceremony was over. Gangsaray sat down on the low stool cautiously.

He was wearing a black coat that looked like a missionary's robe and a suit. The clothes were a bit too wide, and he was careful not to let the clothes sweep the tea on the table.

"My lord envoy has come from a long way, you have worked hard, please have some tea."

The little eunuch who was serving at his case made a gesture of invitation, and Gonzalez first stood up to thank the emperor, "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the tea."

The emperor nodded slightly, he sat down again, and picked up the teacup from Longjing before Yu.

The fragrance of the tea is mild and bitter, and the aftertaste is slightly sweet, Gonzalez's two golden eyebrows are about to fly.

A minister in the seat laughed and asked him, "Does the envoy think that the Longjing before the rain is very fragrant?"

Gonzalez was stunned for a moment, and after confirming that Xiangchun was a good word, he nodded repeatedly.

"The tea given by the emperor is really delicious. I have never drunk such good tea outside the palace."

Even the emperor couldn't help but smile when he looked like a country bumpkin entering the city.

"Gonzalez, what did you learn in Spain?"

When the emperor asked the question himself, Gonzalez quickly put down the teacup and listened.

He stood up and bowed his hands, "Return to the emperor, I study Spanish literature and history, Chinese and Qing customs. There are also languages ​​​​of other Western countries, such as English."

It seems that this Gonzalez is a special envoy, and what he learns is the language and folk customs of his own country and other countries.

The emperor glanced behind him, "Among the people you brought, are there any people who can do math?"

(End of this chapter)