After Xiaoying and Queen Tumen Baoyin settled in Moling Town, they lived in seclusion and rarely interacted with the villagers.【】
The three of them, Tumen Baoyin and her daughter rarely go out, but Xiaoying often leaves because the emperor gave them this house and a hundred acres of good paddy fields. They are landowners and they can't even touch their own tenants.
I don't know either. Sakura needs to go out from time to time and take her steward with her to visit each tenant's door one by one to recognize the threshold of their tenants. When tenants come to visit their employer, it is usually this eldest lady who comes forward.
Although there are people in Tatar who are engaged in farming, the Tatar people still mainly make a living by nomadic herding. Sakura is also familiar with nomadic industry, and now she needs to learn more about farming. This morning, Sakura was about to go again
After going to the fields, I learned some knowledge and matters about four-season farming from the crop handlers. As soon as I led the horses to the front door, Yang Lijie led two village servants to the door.
As soon as he entered the door, Yang Lijie held up his hands with a smile on his face: "Oh, Miss Xie is going out? Congratulations, congratulations, hahahaha..."
When Xiaoying took a look, she really recognized him. Because Arita had to pay taxes, she was not very familiar with other people in this village, but she had dealt with the village chief several times. Xiaoying said hurriedly: "It turns out to be Uncle Yang.
,Congratulations on what?"
Yang Lijie smiled brightly and said: "That's it. There is a talent show for girls in the palace. It is not easy to select 800 people from 100,000 people! If you are selected, you will most likely be appointed as a concubine by the emperor. Once you become a concubine,
That's a lot of wealth. With Miss Xie's appearance and character, she will definitely be chosen. To others, she is a draft girl, but to Miss Xie, you are obviously a concubine, so I congratulate you first."
Sakura was stunned and said in surprise: "The emperor's draft girl?"
A village servant next to him interjected: "That's right! Jufan was still unmarried between the ages of thirteen and sixteen..."
Before he could finish speaking, Yang Lizhang kicked him aside and cursed: "You are so talkative!"
Unexpectedly, these words were heard by Xiaoying. Xiaoying pursed her lips and smiled and said: "Uncle Yang, to tell you the truth, I am already eighteen years old this year, which is against the rules..."
"It works together, it works together, why not!"
Yang Lijie glared at the talkative village servant, and said with a smile on his face: "The reason why the court chose the age range between thirteen and sixteen is because of the court's law, if a woman does not marry at the age of sixteen, she will be fined a sum.
Money, so there are very few women who are still unmarried after sixteen. Oh, your family is from Daning, far outside the Great Wall, or do you not know about this? "
Yang Lijie swallowed and said: "So, age is not a necessary condition. What is important is that you are not married yet. Miss Xie is not married yet, right?"
As he spoke, he drooled, opened the household registration book, and pointed: "Here, it is written clearly in black and white on the paper, not married yet!"
Sakura said: "I..."
Yang Lijie waved his hand and said solemnly: "Okay, Miss Xie, don't say any more! I've already informed you that you can't find your husband's family and marry immediately, otherwise you will be evading the draft and you will be ruined. That's it.
Come on, the day after tomorrow, I will take you and other girls to the county for the primary election. The day after tomorrow, you go to the east end of the village and wait under the old locust tree. Don't let the uncle come to your door to press you. Let's go, let's see you the day after tomorrow.
."
"Hey, Uncle Yang..."
Xiaoying said hello, and Yang Lijie was already roaring out of the door. Xiaoying led the horse out for no reason. When she turned around, she saw Yang Lijie beating the door of a house not far away: "Lao Liu, Lao Liu, open the door.
Ah, I am the fourth brother! Congratulations, congratulations, hahahaha..."
Xiao Ying'e frowned slightly, biting her bright red lower lip with her fine white teeth, and thought in wonder: "Uncle Yang is so weird. The emperor chooses a concubine, which is something that many daughters dream of, right? Why are you afraid that she will get married soon?
Already? Your Majesty..."
Sakura couldn't help but feel slightly embarrassed when she thought of the young man with big ears, thick eyebrows and a heavy beard that she had seen in the palace. The bearded emperor was about the same age as her father, and even his square face and chest-length beard were very distinctive.
She looks very much like her. Being his concubine? Sakura felt very uncomfortable.
Turning around and looking again, Yang Lijie knocked on the neighbor's door and went in. Xiaoying thought to herself: "No, I'm obviously over my age. I have to make it clear to Uncle Yang later that I am the absolute winner in this draft."
Not going."
Xiaoying thought, then led the horse and walked out of the village. She didn't recognize most of the people in this village, but along the way, she saw several houses with happy words posted on their doors. When she walked to the door of Yang Lijie's house
, but Xiaoying recognized it, and when she saw it, not only was there a happy message on the door, but there were also firecrackers set off on the ground, and a large group of people were busy inside and outside. After listening to someone answer a few questions, it turned out to be Yang Lichang.
Marry your daughter.
Xiaoying was filled with admiration after hearing this: "No wonder the Ming Dynasty is much more powerful than the Tatars and Oaras. The officials of the Ming Dynasty are really focused on official matters. Uncle Yang is getting married today and has to work all over the village."
Xiaoying rushed to her field and saw that the tenants were already at work.
As soon as they saw their young master arriving, the tenants all greeted her one after another. Xiaoying didn't mind getting dirty, so she took off her boots and socks, rolled up her trouser legs, and went out into the paddy field with her bare feet.
In this era, it is said that big girls cannot go out and do nothing, but that only applies to wealthy families. The daughter of a wealthy family cannot go out and do nothing. It is only a relative term. There are always girls from the same family who are well-matched and become sisters.
Tao'er, let's travel to the mountains together, worship Buddha, hold a poetry meeting, and have their social activities. Girls from ordinary families embroider purses, mend, sell on the streets, or work in the fields. Those are necessary things. How can they not show up in public?
.
It's just that Xiaoying is now considered a small landowner with status, so it's a bit unexpected that she is willing to go to the fields. However, the tenants were surprised at first, but now they are used to it. Xiaoying followed the crop handlers all the way and listened to them.
Introducing all kinds of farming knowledge, there were inevitably all kinds of petty discussions among the parents. Sakura was an outspoken person. When she heard them talking about the talent show girl, she interrupted: "Ah! I heard about it too, just now
When I was leaving, the district chief came to my house and informed me to meet at the entrance of the village early the day after tomorrow to be screened in the county."
Xiaoying was approachable and cheerful, and was very popular among these farmers. She was the young boss's wife, but many older farmers loved her as if they were their own daughter. They couldn't help but be shocked when they heard this.
A farmer hurriedly said: "Oh, Mr. Young Master, why are you involved in this matter? Don't stay in the field anymore. Hurry up, go home and prepare a generous gift, and send it to the head of the village immediately, begging him."
Think of a way, but you must not be chosen, otherwise with your appearance and character, my boss, there is no reason why you can't be chosen. This choice will ruin your life!"
Sakura was very surprised after hearing this: "I would rather be a hero's concubine than a mediocre wife. Why is it that the emperor is following her to hell?"
Seeing her confused look, the farmer couldn't help but said anxiously: "Oh, young master, why don't you understand? A draft girl, a draft girl, once selected, she becomes a palace maid. This palace maid is selected from thousands of miles away.
, who is not smart? What a beautiful girl has entered the palace, and she can’t even stand out in this crowd of people. How many of them are lucky enough to be emperor? If they are assigned to work in a palace that does not deal with the emperor,
I won’t be able to see the emperor’s face until I die.”
The common people under the imperial city knew far more than the people in other places. The peasant explained in detail: "Once this girl enters the palace, she will not have anything to do with outside the palace. You
It would be better if you curry favor with the eunuch who is in charge of the palace, otherwise, your family will not be able to tell you whether you will grow old, sick or die there. If you violate the ban, you will be beheaded, and there will be no other explanation."
Another farmer said: "Just tell me, you have been alone in the palace for half your life, and you can leave the palace when you get old, right? Not necessarily. If you have never served the emperor, you can be a concubine. Otherwise, in order to prevent the palace people from
If you leak the forbidden matter, you can't even leave the palace. You can only be imprisoned in the "Huanyi Bureau". Tsk, tsk, tsk, that's miserable. The imperial doctor will naturally not treat you if you are sick. You want to be outside by yourself?
I couldn't find a doctor, so I could only take some medicine based on the symptoms."
The third person who spoke was not a man, but a sturdy peasant woman. She was startled and said: "There are strict laws in the palace. Once the rules are violated, 'lift the bell', 'lock the lock', and 'keep it straight'."
There are many ways to punish you. If you are really lucky enough to be made a concubine by the emperor, you should be lucky, right? What a beautiful thought! How old is the emperor this year? He must be in his fifties! To be disrespectful, the emperor also
How many years can you live?"
Several men nearby said quickly: "Silence, silence, don't talk nonsense!"
The peasant woman quickly changed her tone and said: "Looking back in time, we don't know. We know that from the Yuan Dynasty, once the emperor died, he would be buried as a human being."
Sakura said softly, "Ah". She knew this rule. The system of human sacrifice had been gradually abolished since the Han Dynasty, and it had been restored since the time of Genghis Khan. Now in Mongolia, after the death of the leader of the Jurchen tribe, the system still remains
It requires people to die.
The peasant woman said: "When Lord Hong Wu passed away, all thirty-eight concubines were buried, and all the maids who served in the palace were also buried! Tell me, if you enter the palace, it will be difficult for the emperor to enjoy it.
A few years of blessings, but the young will have to..."
A few farmers were afraid that she would cause trouble by talking too much, so they repeatedly shouted: "Silence, silence!"
An old farmer interjected: "Poor lady, you are so pitiful! There is no news about my family, and no one in the palace wants to ask for help. I can't even find a man. Why don't we find a eunuch to deal with so many palace people as a rule?"
How about eating and becoming a novice? If possible, who would find a good daughter who has no eggs... to find an eunuch to be her man? That means no one will love her, no one will love her, so there is nothing you can do!"
The peasant woman sighed and said, "It's a good thing I don't have a daughter, so I don't suffer this punishment!"
Another old man with a wrinkled face said: "Fortunately, my daughter got married last year!"
The third farmer in his prime said with a happy face: "Don't tell me, alas! It's a pity that my little girl died young!"
Sakura was dumbfounded.
An old farmer next to him said anxiously: "My young boss, what are you still doing? It will be too late when the list is officially reported! Why don't you go back and do some activities to smoothen the relationship!"
"Oh, okay, okay, I...I'll go right away!"
Xiaoying woke up from a dream, hurriedly went ashore, walked to a nearby stream, washed her feet in the clear spring water, put on her shoes and socks, got on her horse, and rushed to Yang Li's house.
Yang Lijie ran around the village. When he got home, he threw himself heavily on the bed and sighed, "Oh, my bones are all falling apart after walking away."
He looked at his mother-in-law and asked, "Has the girl been picked up by my uncle?"
The mother-in-law quickly agreed, and Yang Lijie took a deep breath: "That's good, that's good, I finally settled my worries."
The mother-in-law said: "The head of the family, our niece..."
Yang Lijie frowned, sat up and said: "As the leader of this clan, I am in charge of this three-acre land and maintain it up and down. Do you think it is easy? I have to take care of several big households in the town.
Don't hold me back. Now that several families have been taken care of, the number of people is not enough. I counted the two families of girls who have not yet married after 16, and I barely made up the number. If you let me
My niece has found her husband's family, how can I report to the government?"
His mother-in-law burst into tears when she heard this, and said with sobs, "You only know how to fawn over others, but you don't care about your own relatives. My brother's family has always been very kind to us. When our family suffered a disaster,
At that time, without saying a word, my brother gave half of his own bag of grain over to me, and now you..."
Yang Lijie couldn't stand it any longer and said angrily: "Okay, okay, stop talking. I sent you back even though you and two families gave you generous gifts. Do you think I'm coveting other people's money?"
He patted the edge of the kang and said: "I originally left room for ten people. I originally thought of your brother's daughter, but who knows..., I can't help it, you...why are you crying?"
I'm crying, your niece is dark and skinny, I can't bear it, can she be chosen?"
His mother-in-law said with tears in her eyes: "What if I get selected?"
"you……"
As soon as Yang Lijie stared, he heard someone in the courtyard shout: "Is Uncle Yang at home?"
Yang Lijie cleverly jumped off the kang and said to his mother-in-law: "Shut up! Stop crying. Go and stay in the right room. If you cry again! If you cry again, I will slap you with the sole of my shoe!"
Yang Lijie drank his mother-in-law away and hurriedly picked up his shoes to welcome her out of the house. When he saw Xiaoying, he said with a smile on his face: "Oh, thank you, girl, what's going on?"
As expected, Xiaoying encountered a soft spot at Yang Lijie's place. She returned home in frustration and told Tumen Baoyin what had happened. Tumen Baoyin panicked upon hearing this. The two of them were relatively at a loss for a long time.
Tumen Baoyin hesitated and said, "How about explaining our identity to them?"
Xiaoying smiled bitterly and said: "We said it, do they believe it? If we don't go to the court, who will prove it to us? But who do we know in the court? Then can we enter the palace if we say so? Besides, if this is the case
No matter what, we can no longer stay in this place, we have to change our names and find another place to go."
Both of them have regarded this place as their home and have deep feelings for it. How could they be willing to leave again?
The two looked at each other for a while, and Tumen Baoyin's eyes lit up and he asked tentatively: "Why don't you... go and ask Duke Fu for a favor?"
"Well……"
"Um?"
Xiaoying rubbed her nose and said reluctantly: "Okay, then I... will go for a walk!"