When the Jinzhou Army marched eastward to Dengzhou alone, thousands of miles away in the Chengqian Palace in the imperial city of the capital, Tian Guifei, the young emperor's most beloved concubine, was watching the confidant maid Yu Cui'er unwrap a baggage wrapped in white satin and print it into the palace. What I saw before my eyes was a brocade box engraved with patterns of flowers and birds.
"What's in the box?"
Concubine Tian gently removed the lid of the box in confusion. She suddenly looked surprised and let out a sigh. It turned out that there was a pair of embroidered shoes in the box. The embroidered shoes were not only exquisitely made and hard to put down, but what was even more rare was the upper and lower parts of the shoe. It actually exudes a strong fragrance. After taking a sip, I feel my mind is filled with excitement.
"Your Majesty, these shoes smell so good! I have never seen these shoes before in my life." Yu Cuier had never seen embroidered shoes that emit fragrance, and her face was full of surprise.
Concubine Tian sniffed it, shook her head slightly, smiled and waved her hand towards Yu Cui'er: "I thought it was some kind of rare item! It turned out that a pair of embroidered shoes were sent to the palace, but I am missing some shoes? Look at it. If it suits you, I will give it to you!" The person sent him to the palace, but it turned out to be a pair of shoes. Although the fragrance was fragrant, Concubine Tian was really not interested in it.[
"How dare I slave? Such fine embroidered shoes will shorten my life! Madam, look at the fine style, the fine craftsmanship, the material, the embroidery work, the stitching... tsk tsk tsk, this slave has never seen them before. "Yu Cuier held the box, walked to Concubine Tian's bed, and pointed them out one by one. She didn't dare to accept the shoes.
"Oh, I'd love to see it."
After being pointed out by Yu Cui'er, Concubine Tian became slightly more interested. She reached out and took out an embroidered shoe. On the jade satin shoe, a colorful phoenix was embroidered with gold thread, holding a huge beaded flower in her mouth. Lifelike. The sandalwood sole is three inches high, with an orchid carved from red sandalwood hidden inside. A small hole is opened under the sole, which just leaks out. Agarwood powder is placed in the wooden sole at the heel, and a small lotus-shaped flower is also carved. Well, if a person walks around with his skirt half-covered, the ground will smell fragrant, and the incense leaking out from under his feet will turn into flowers. These shoes are unique.
Concubine Tian seemed to have thought of something and couldn't help but smile: "When I was young, I heard my mother say that these embroidered shoes are called Bu Bu Jiao. They are a famous product from ancient times. I think they were imitated by famous craftsmen in Suzhou."
"It is natural that it is a treasure in the world if it can enter the eyes of the empress and phoenix." Yu Cui'er praised: "The empress slightly modified the old system of the palace uniforms, and they looked exquisite and cute. Wu Wanrong, the housekeeper of Kunning Palace, asked her slaves to describe them over and over again. The clothes look like. There are also lights in Chengqian Palace. They were in niches covered with gold. The style is quaint, but the lights are so dim. I feel depressed when I look at them. Following the instructions of the empress, I put the lights A peach-shaped hole was dug around each side, and a thin palace gauze was stretched. The light was bright and the whole room was bright. It is much more convenient for us slaves to work at night."
Concubine Tian nodded slightly, and suddenly remembered to ask: "Does the emperor still like the beaded crown I changed?"
"You really deserve a beating! Why did you forget to report this to your empress!" Yu Cui'er raised her hand and slapped her ear, and said, "Long Live Lord is so happy! The slave sent it there that day, and Long Live Lord said that the pearl crown was originally It is made of pearls and bluestone. The empress changed the pearls, put on the beads, and then embedded the bluestone. They were arranged in this order, and the eyebrows were clear. When you put it on your head, you will feel the brilliance and majesty. Long live it. I tried it on at that time and rewarded my slave five taels of silver."
"Well, then, we set up a bamboo frame and planted wisteria on the royal road from Huangji Palace to the palace gate. The emperor didn't say anything?" Concubine Tian asked worriedly.
"That's it! Long live the Lord also praised it a lot. He said that the empress Minhui had an ingenious idea. In the hot summer sun, the wisteria flowers are luxuriant and the leaves are luxuriant. There is no need to put up an umbrella. When the weather gets cold, a layer of straw thatch or something can be spread on it. , I am no longer afraid of severe winter wind and snow. The flowers and plants on both sides of the path are protected by low railings made of poplar trees that are about a foot high. No matter how lush the vegetation is, they will not cover the path. Please try to see if the shoes fit. "Yu Cuier knelt at Concubine Tian's feet, took off the palace shoes for her, and put on Bu Bu Jiao, "Hey! It's as if they were made based on the measurements of your empress's feet. They're all perfect. The empress got up and walked a few steps to see. look."
"Bah!" Tian Guifei spat at her with a smile: "You little hoof are talking nonsense again! Who dares to compare my feet with their own lives? You must have revealed the size to others."
Yu Cui'er was full of grievances: "How dare I chew my tongue! That day I saw a little palace maid measuring my empress's footprints with her hands."
After putting on these shoes, Concubine Tian's little feet were covered by ten pairs of pale white Hunan skirts with pink edges. When she walked, her toes were slightly exposed. The soles were slightly higher. With each step, she swayed and curled up. She was so beautiful. beautiful.
Yu Cuier couldn't help but clapped her hands and said: "Chang'e in the moon has come down to earth, Chang'e in the moon has come down to earth!"
Her call immediately caused the palace maids inside and outside to come to watch. On a whim, Concubine Tian posed and danced. In an instant, her skirts fluttered, her clothes were blown by the wind, and her every move was graceful and graceful. radiant.
At this time, a cheer suddenly came from outside the palace, "What a fairy of the Moon Palace!" When I turned around, I saw that it was Chongzhen who had arrived.
"Your Majesty, you know how to coax your concubines." Concubine Tian squeaked, stopped dancing, and stepped forward to greet the Holy Emperor. All the maids knelt down, and there was a burst of tender calls in Chengqian Palace.
Chongzhen pulled up Concubine Tian, and Yu Cui'er winked, and exited the palace with everyone. Chongzhen looked at Concubine Tian's face reddened, slightly panting, and pretended to ask: "Why don't you wait for me to come before jumping? But no. Would you like me to see it?"
Seeing the smile on Chongzhen's face, Concubine Tian pulled Chongzhen to sit down and said angrily: "The emperor always sneaks in like this, which scares people's hearts!"
"See how powerful I am?" Chongzhen held Tian Guifei in his arms and reached out to touch her chest, "But you missed me?" [
Concubine Tian snuggled tightly into his arms, lowered her head and said with blushing face: "It's broad daylight, the emperor is dishonest."
Chongzhen picked up her pink face, kissed her on the neck, and said with a smile: "It's you who provoked me to be dishonest."
"Why did I offend the Emperor? I just took a few steps to try on the shoes, but the Emperor saw me." Concubine Tian pursed her lips, which made Chongzhen's heart flutter.
"What kind of new shoes? Let me see." Chongzhen lifted up Concubine Tian's skirt, and saw that her exquisite little feet were wearing a pair of brand new shoes, plain shoes, plain socks, and the skin above the ankles was smooth and crystal clear. As white as snow, he squeezed it gently and said: "My feet are as frosty as my clogs, and I don't have crow's head socks..." He put the leg on his knee, grabbed her condyle with one hand, and took off her embroidered shoes with the other hand. He held her little feet, stroked them gently a few times, and sighed: "Hold up a colorful phoenix with a hook of incense, and the delicate dye is three inches long, and a full cup of green ants. It is pretty, with a small wine bag, and the lotus petals are dripping. The wine, the crescent teeth are curled around the cheeks, the awl is stuck in the palm of the hand, the bamboo shoot tip breaks the bridge of the nose..." Tian Guifei retracted her slender feet, blushed and said: "Where did the emperor hear the obscene words from? Evil song, drinking from a lotus cup, although it lasts for a long time, it will eventually reveal frivolity."
"I heard it from the teahouse outside the front door. It's interesting. You don't know that footbinding started with Empress Li of the Five Dynasties, and was followed by other descendants. It spread so widely that someone actually wrote a book called "Xianglianpinpin"
"Algae", subdivided into five styles, nine grades and eighteen categories..."
"That sour scribe and crooked scholar is so cruel, how can he be so carefree! He only knows that a woman should be wrapped in a three-inch golden lotus, which looks like a crescent moon and grows lotus flowers. But does she know that a pair of small feet will bring tears to her eyes? What about foot binding?
When the cloth tightens, it hurts like a heartache... I want to teach the maids with bound feet in the palace to avoid such physical pain. Will the emperor agree?" Concubine Tian said with tears in her eyes.
Seeing tears in her eyes, Chongzhen comforted her heartily: "Okay, I agree with your request. Not only can you avoid binding your feet, but you can let go even if your feet are bound. From now on, foot binding is not allowed in the palace. How about that?"
After saying that, he picked up the embroidered shoes on the ground and asked, "Where did these shoes come from?"
"I think it's made in Suzhou, right?" Concubine Tian's voice was a little weak.
"Su embroidery is indeed exquisite."
Chongzhen had no doubts. The top and bottom of the embroidered shoes were silver white and spotless, like jade and ice sculptures. He held them in the palm of his hand and played with them a few times. However, he saw a few words embroidered with thin silver thread on the white satin shoes: "Your Majesty Zhou Yanru"
"Gongxian", these six words are extremely small and embroidered on the upper of the shoe of almost the same color. If you don't look at it so closely, you will never be able to distinguish it.
Hum! Chongzhen snorted slightly in his heart, glanced at Concubine Tian, put it on for her calmly, and said, "It's still early, let me listen to the last song."
"It's rare that the emperor has such leisure time." Concubine Tian Guifei felt guilty and did not dare to say anything to the emperor on these shoes. She hurriedly called out: "Get the piano!"
"When people have happy events, if they don't play music, recite poems and have fun, how can they spend this eternity?" Chongzhen's face suddenly showed joy, as if there was a great happy event in his heart.
Concubine Tian glanced at him and asked wisely: "What happy event does the emperor have?"
Chongzhen laughed: "Good news has come from Shaanxi. Hong Chengchou worked hard and lived up to my expectations. He killed the bandit leader Wang Jiayin and put an end to 17 bandit rebellions. Shaanxi is safe. This is not a great happy event. What is a great event?
happy event?"
Concubine Tian hurriedly bent down and saluted, and said with a smile: "Your Majesty Hongfu, I have such a happy event in the Ming Dynasty, so I want to celebrate it happily."
Chongzhen said "hmm" and nodded, "I have issued an order to announce that Hong Chengchou will come to Beijing to see your majesty. Last year, I had the intention of blaming him. This time I have to put some thought into it so as not to make him feel guilty. Well, I will do it."
I will give him the courtesy of a laborer in the suburbs to welcome him on his triumphant return. I will also perform a puppet show in the palace for a few days to make everyone in the capital happy."
"Then my concubine will just sing "Le Taiping"."
Concubine Tian sat down in front of the great sage's music harp, raised her fingers, and began to play the music. In an instant, pearls and jade danced, and springs splashed. What she saw was a flourishing scene of flowers blooming in bloom.
Chongzhen closed his eyes and listened quietly, tapping the knots with his hands, his face full of relief. In a trance, he felt that the world was already at peace, and that he, the emperor, could listen to this beautiful music beside the beautiful woman every day.