Chapter Fifty: The New Residents of Chengqian Palace Catch Insects
In October of the 20th year of Kangxi's reign, Emperor Luan Yu set out to return to Beijing.
The days in Mulan are getting colder and colder. After having enough fun, I naturally miss the warmth of Beijing. In the spacious and comfortable Luan Yu, a charcoal pot has begun to burn. It is the bamboo charcoal sent as a tribute from Zhuzhi County. It is used nearby.
Bamboo charcoal is made from alpine moso bamboo that is more than five years old and fired at high temperatures. Bamboo charcoal is not only hard in texture and not easily damaged, but also very resistant to burning. After burning, there is a fresh and elegant bamboo smell that fills the room with fragrance.
Xiao Quanzi is using a big tong to add pieces of cylindrical black bamboo charcoal to the charcoal basin. The bamboo charcoals are thicker than an adult's arm, about a foot long, and have an empty center. When added to the charcoal basin, they cannot be lifted.
There is a trace of smoke, so it is used by the concubines in the palace.
After Kangxi finished approving the notes, he suddenly asked: "Are you still feeling cold?"
Wen Xi said with a smile: "The emperor ordered so many charcoal basins, and I feel hot now."
Kangxi held Wen Xi's hand and said, "Sure enough, my palms are sweaty." Then he ordered, "Xiao Quanzi, remove the two charcoal basins." Wen Sheng said to Wen Xi, "It's not too hot.
Okay, it will make you feel stuffy inside, and if you accidentally blow the cold wind outside, you will freeze yourself."
Then a minister came to report something, so Wen Xi resigned and left Luanyu. As soon as he went out, he was warm enough and was blown away by the cold wind. At this time, Xiao Quanzi chased him out and presented him with a gold-plated copper octagonal stove and said:
: "The red charcoal has been put in here for a long time. It was ordered by the emperor early in the morning so that your master can use it to warm his hands."
There is a cover made of fox fur on the hand stove, which is insulated and warm without burning your hands. As expected, it is warm to the touch. Red charcoal is in short supply in the palace. It is valuable for long-term heat preservation. After using it for most of the day, it will still be warm. According to the instructions
For example, the imperial concubine’s daily charcoal, ten kilograms of red basket charcoal in summer and fifteen kilograms in winter, is mainly used to fill the hand stove and foot stove in winter. Bamboo charcoal is often used to warm the house, so there is a saying that "holding a red basket in the hand, the indoor fragrance
"Bamboo charcoal" theory. This copper hand stove is slightly larger than ordinary hand stoves. The hollow stove cover used for heat dissipation slowly emits heat. The snow falling from the sky is smoked by the heat before it has time to touch. The stove cover has a complex pattern.
, is the most exquisite part of the whole hand stove. This one in Wen Xi’s hand is engraved with the pattern of magpies circling plum blossoms. It is made with exquisite craftsmanship. A pair of magpies are looking at it lively, which is very gratifying.
On the way back, it snowed for several days, so it took a few more days to get back to the Forbidden City. Concubine Shen Hesheli often walked around in the carriage of the gentle concubine, and said with a warm breath: "It's cold this year.
It's so fast, I don't know if the servants in the concubine's palace have heated up the palace early."
Wen Xi held the stove and said, "Are you afraid that the servant from the Ministry of Internal Affairs will kill you?"
Concubine Shen raised her eyebrows and said, "They may not dare! Xu Xinyi, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, is always a manipulative person. He sees that the palace is not favored and often deducts his share. The best charcoal in the palace is always in short supply.
Your Majesty, of course the two palaces should keep in touch first. It would be great if the concubines who are not favored can have bamboo charcoal to use. Sometimes the pine charcoal used by the palace maids is used!"
Concubine Shen had a lot of complaints, and she must have been cheated on herself. Wen Xi ate preserved fruit in her mouth and said, "I know there is a shortage of red basket charcoal, but there is a rule that if one pound of red basket charcoal is missing, two pounds of red basket charcoal must be used."
The best alpine moso bamboo charcoal makes up for it, doesn’t it?”
Shen Bin sighed and said: "It would be great if you can use one to make up for the other! In fact, the best bamboo charcoal is also very resistant to burning, but sometimes I just choose to make up bamboo charcoal that is not more than five years old, but only two or three years old!"
Wen Xi couldn't help but frowned, "I know that the longer the moso bamboo is used to make bamboo charcoal, the more durable the charcoal will be. The charcoal that is less than three years old will not be as thick as a baby's arm, so it will not burn warmly."
First Palace? This Xu Xinyi is quite courageous, who does he belong to?"
Concubine Shen sneered: "Who else could it be besides the one from Jingren Palace? The slave Yangzi who came out of the Han Army Banner usually pretends to be a good person, but at heart he is still a petty person! Let this palace be reduced, and that palace be used less.
, I have saved a lot of expenses in a year, and I can use it to show off to the Queen Mother how much expenses she has saved for the palace, so that she can highlight her ability to manage the household!"
For a little fame, she offended half of the people in the country. I really don’t know if she is smart or stupid! The concubines complained a lot about Concubine Tong. They may not just be jealous of her low birth but high position. Among the women,
Especially when taking care of the palace affairs, you don't need to ask for praise from many people, at least you can't offend so many people. Wen Xi just sighed silently, no one dared to deduct the things in her palace anyway!
When I returned to Chengqian Palace, I realized that there were two more residents in my palace. They were Zhaojia, a nobleman from Bugui who came from Jingren Palace, and Zhangjia, a concubine who was expelled from Yonghe Palace. Buguiren was born in the 13th year of Kangxi's reign.
The fifth daughter of the lower emperor and the third princess of Zixu were named nobles, but now they have fallen out of favor, so they were invited out of their palace by Concubine Tong. However, the Zhangjia family has not been favored for three years since they entered the palace. Xu Shide
The concubine kicked her out because she thought she was useless, and they have been living here for more than half a month.
After returning to Beijing, the snow stopped, and the afternoon sun was so warm that it made people extinguish half of the charcoal pots in the hall. Wearing a new winter coat with a fur collar, I didn't feel cold at all, and the blue gauze cabinet no longer
It’s time to move in. The Dongnuan Pavilion is already burning warmly. It’s time to move in. Wu Lu is counting the charcoal items for this month outside the hall. There are 450 kilograms of red basket charcoal and 1,200 kilograms of bamboo charcoal. Then one by one
It was transported to the warehouse in the back hall. Wu Lu said: "This year seems to be much colder than previous years. The emperor personally ordered the Ministry of Internal Affairs to say that this is the first year that the master has spent the winter in the palace, and a full three hundred kilograms of bamboo charcoal have been added."
Wen Xi was lying on the warm couch in Dong Nuan Pavilion, and the warmth of the room made her drowsy. Wu Lu continued to report back: "The skins have been sent to the Ministry of Internal Affairs for tanning, and they will be delivered in a few days.
"
Outside, Song'er suddenly came to report: "Noble Bu and Concubine Zhang Jia have come to pay their respects to the master."
Wen Xi hesitated and said, "Please go to the main hall."
Bu Gui is already twenty-four or five years old. She wears an autumn-colored magnolia-trimmed flag suit and a maroon green fur collar embroidered with floral Ruyi patterns. She is a slightly rounded woman with fair skin and a high red nose.
Lip, looks good. But she is tall, more than seven feet tall, and even taller if she wears two-inch flowerpot-soled shoes. If she can’t cling to others, she is destined to be unlovable. Zhang Jiashu
The concubine is a delicate-looking beauty with a slender figure, but because Song promised to have a beautiful face, she is a little inferior.
They both knelt down, saluted, and bowed respectfully: "Greetings to the noble concubine, may you be blessed!"
Wen Xi sat on the rosewood chair, drank a sip of warm tea, and asked the two of them to get up. Bu Guiren said cautiously: "My maids and concubines moved in without your permission, and I asked your concubine to punish me."