Appreciating the moon during the Mid-Autumn Festival is a festive day in the harem.
As for the palace maids and eunuchs, a shift system was adopted, with shifts every six hours. They could get a half-day holiday at this time, as long as they returned before the palace was locked.
This is no less than a benevolent government.
At the same time, the Guard Department also adopts a shift system, divided into four shifts, so that they change every three hours, so that they can all feel the joy of the festival.
The meaning of reunion is very clear.
Emerald green glazed tiles, bright gems and gold and silver complement each other.
It is a festival at this time, the palace is decorated with colorful brocades, and the warm atmosphere of the Mid-Autumn Festival blows in your face.
Before it gets dark, a big red lantern is placed in front of the palace gate, with a diameter of five feet, which can be said to be huge.
The fragrant rose pulp and the ripple-like bayberry vinegar create a wonderful color and aroma.
The singing and dancing in the palace are graceful and colorful, and the beautiful tunes played make people immersed in it involuntarily.
The most lively part is the stage.
Although there were often theater troupes performing in the harem, the repertoire was mostly selected by the queen and the nine concubines.
Now the stage was directly set up with two groups, one for the emperor and the concubines, and one for the maids and eunuchs, so they could enjoy themselves with the people.
Of course, the right to choose is still in the hands of the Director of Ceremonies.
But they don't have to watch the show with the girls, they can play with Cai Cai. This is the most relaxing day for them.
The colorful satin floats and the colors are colorful, which makes people feel relaxed.
Five feet away from the stage, in the best position, there were only eleven chairs.
They are the ten eunuchs of the inner court: the Si Li Jian, the Du Zhi Jian, the Zhidian Jian, the Shang Shan Jian, the Internal Official Jian, the Li Jian, the Construction Jian, the Accounting Supervisor, the Imperial Jian, and the Shen Xing Jian.
These ten eunuchs have the same rank, but their powers are completely different.
But at this moment, even the eunuch Bingbi, the chief ceremonial officer, had to sit in the second row and take the lead, and did not dare to be offside in the slightest.
Because the eunuch printed on the palm represents the ceremonial eunuch.
The ten eunuchs do not represent themselves, but represent dozens or hundreds of eunuchs under their command.
Moreover, even though the Chief of Ceremony is very prestigious, it is only for the outer court. In the inner court, the highest status is the Governor.
Because he was in charge of the emperor's travels, he was always by his side.
In the inner court, what competes is not ability, but favor.
In addition to this, the Internal Official Supervisor is no less inferior to the Si Li Supervisor. It is in charge of the promotion of middle and lower eunuchs. It is the Minister of the Ministry of Personnel in the inner court and is honored as the Little Heavenly Official.
The Department of Punishment is even more unscrupulous. They are in charge of punishment and monitoring of the inner court, and can report directly to the emperor at any time.
Each of the other eunuchs has their own methods. If the ceremonial eunuch goes too far, he will naturally run into obstacles everywhere in the inner court.
"winter--"
When the huge self-ringing clock rang, the time reached seven o'clock.
At this time, a large number of fireworks soared into the sky, bursting into a large number of colors, colorful and eye-catching.
The emperor sat, looking at the fireworks in the sky, and nodded: "The color is quite good."
The young princes clapped their hands happily, and the concubines also covered their mouths and exclaimed, obviously very satisfied.
Liu Afu bowed and said: "The Ministry of Internal Affairs specially found him from all over the country. He is from Hunan."
"reward!"
In less than a quarter of an hour, the fireworks were finished blooming. Although the princes and princesses were reluctant to leave, they had no choice but to make the decision.
The emperor felt sorry for them and said with a smile: "There is a small stage specially arranged for you to perform shadow puppet shows. Go and have a look!"
The little guys immediately cheered and ran over eagerly.
For them, shadow puppetry is today's animation, and it is more enjoyable to watch.
On time and on time, the stage begins.
Or else say opera is an art for the elderly. At nearly forty years old, Zhu Yixi no longer has the previous rejection of opera, and she keeps dancing to the rhythm.
The charm in it is self-evident.
When your mind and body slow down, you will naturally like the art of slowness.
Among the several princes, King Qin is still in Qin, taking care of the mess after the war.
The second prince, King Qi, was in control of the Sulu Kingdom in Nanyang, plundering wealth and population to strengthen his own Qi Kingdom.
As for the third child, Prince Zhu Cunqu is still in the officialdom of Liaodong, serving as his junior official and is not allowed to come back when he is free.
The fourth king of Liao, the old king of Wuyue, the old king of Liuwei, etc. all huddled behind the emperor. Although they were very impatient, they could only pretend to listen seriously.
The King of Liao glanced at the stage, then turned to the King of Yue and said, "My father is still listening to the drama. This is already old."
"Fourth brother, you are well-informed. Do you want to give your opinion to the emperor?" the King of Yue said with a smile.
"Go away." King Liao immediately shrank his neck, cast his eyes at the emperor who was half lying in front of him, and then said: "Go and listen to your play!"
The princes immediately burst into laughter, and everyone was very happy that the jumping fourth brother was defeated.
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty has asked you to come over!"
Soon, a eunuch passed by and frightened the King of Liao.
"Um!"
The King of Liao patted his sleeves, then hurried away and sat on the emperor's side.
"Father."
"You came?"
Zhu Yixi looked at the stage, without turning her head, and said directly: "I heard that you are very accomplished in opera, and you have also written a play, right?"
"My son is just playing around." King Liao rolled his eyes and said hurriedly: "This is not because I admire the deeds of Emperor Taizu and you, so I just want to write a play -"
"You do have a good heart."
Zhu Yixi didn't believe his casual excuse. This was not his purpose.
"In addition to breeding horses, you can also integrate scholars to compile the types of opera, opera twists, and the past. It can be regarded as a history book of opera."
"Although opera is a minor thing, it is still a good thing for you. It can add some fame and leave a name in history!"
As the saying goes, as soon as a thought comes up, it comes out, and what I'm talking about is the emperor.
Zhu Yixi came from a later generation, so naturally he would not underestimate opera like people of that time. Opera is also an important part of culture.
Opera is essentially the response of the people at this time.
For example, Romance of the West Chamber conveys people's yearning for free love; The Injustice of Dou E reflects the corruption of the Yuan Dynasty government.
These things are the crystallization of today's thoughts and culture. They were nothing to people at the time, but later generations liked to study them.
Culture is a thing, no matter how compiled it is, it is a good thing, it is conducive to preservation and continuation.
Furthermore, when the time comes, it will be distributed directly to various vassal states, and they can be sung directly by copying it.
It is very conducive to the spread of Ming culture.
"I understand." King Liao was overjoyed and suppressed the smile on his face.
"Remember, you have to compile books, but you also have to do horse breeding. This is a test of your ability."
After finishing speaking, the emperor waved his hand, and the latter left impatiently.
A group of princes eagerly watched the fourth brother return and started asking questions about him.
In response to this, the King of Liao said loudly: "My father asked me to compile books. Although it is just about opera, he knows me well and knows that I am a talented person!"
"Of course, this is something everyone knows."
As soon as this was said, everyone laughed.
Because a few days ago, the King of Liao went to Taipu Temple to do breeding work. For a while, the nickname "Horse King" became popular, and some even called him Stallion King.
The King of Liao became angry because of this, but he could not control what others said.
Now he is writing books, although it is only about opera, but it is extremely beneficial to his reputation.
After all, editing books is an elegant thing no matter what.
No matter how ugly the drama king is, he is still better than the horse king.
And another drama also began to take place.
Among the ten eunuchs, Liu Afu, the eunuch who was known to serve the emperor, did not come. However, his chair was reserved, and no one dared to sit there.
After a while, the queen's close friend, Shang Gong, who was the leader of the six rounds, sat on the eleventh chair.
"I see everyone is here, let's start a show. These monkeys are eager to scratch their heads and ears!"
Tian Ren, as a minister of the emperor's dormitory, the eunuch in charge of rituals, and naturally the head of the internal officials, chuckled and spread out the playbook.
"How about just ordering a copy of Dickinson's Eucalyptus?"
Tian Ren said softly: "Gong Di has a broad mind and a broken eucalyptus, which is worth seeing!"
"What Mr. Tian said is true, Di Gonggu is Di Gonggu!"
The royal eunuch agreed.
Hearing this, the internal officer frowned and said, "The orphans of the Zhao family are good. This play rewards trust and loyalty and is suitable for people like us to watch every day."
"That's right!" Several eunuchs also nodded slightly.
"Then the first fold is Di Gonggu, and the second fold is Zhao's orphan."
Tian Ren didn't take it seriously and looked at the only female official: "Zhao Shanggong, what do you think?"
Feeling everyone's gaze, Zhao Shanggong nodded slightly: "Let's do it this way, it suits me just right!"
The two-fold opera is a complete set, and if one set is sung, it will not be finished in three to five days. Therefore, the best parts of the play are sung for one hour each.
Bang bang bang, when——
The gongs and drums sounded, and several actors came on stage.
For a time, the eunuchs and maids all watched the general attentively.
When the song reached its climax, many people began to reward the song with copper coins and silver coins, making it very lively.
On the other hand, the Tenth Prison seemed to be trying to keep up with the competition, and the rewards were constantly increased, and finally were reduced to avoid causing trouble.
Only Zhao Shanggong was sitting watching the show, eating melon seeds, and had no idea of participating in these people's struggle for power.
The Sixth Bureau was led by the Queen and was responsible for managing the maids, as well as the monthly payment and treatment of the concubines. It can be said that they are independent of the eunuchs and parallel to each other.
Of course, eunuchs have great power and can interfere with foreign affairs to some extent. Who doesn't have a few relatives and friends abroad?
Having a good relationship is the most important thing.
After the play ended, Tian Ren looked for Zhao Shanggong during the break:
"I wonder when the election of Chu will begin?"
"It should be at the end of September."
Zhao Shanggong said softly: "Based on the booklet you submitted, the Sixth Bureau has selected two thousand maidens..."
"I have a candidate here. His family is scholarly and his father is a civil servant. He is a good candidate..."
Tian Ren whispered, with a bit of impatience in his eyes.
Choosing Chu is also a process of selecting palace maidens.
Among the two thousand people, after preliminary selection, two hundred people were selected to enter the palace for etiquette training.
At this time, the emperor would choose some women to enter the palace, maybe three or five, sometimes seven or eight, as concubines in the harem.
The remaining women will enter the palace as maids and leave the palace to marry after four years.
This year is different. I heard that the emperor is planning to select some women with both ability and political integrity to go to the harems of various vassal kings.
Commonly known as choosing a daughter-in-law.
There are even rumors that a princess will be selected.
This is an opportunity for nobles, not to mention ordinary people.
Among Tian Ren's tribe, there happened to be a suitable candidate with an iconic appearance.
Seeing his expression, Zhao Shanggong smiled: "Why, do you also have someone to choose?"
Tian Ren resisted the urge to scold her and took out a stack of banknotes from his sleeve: "Please take the trouble."
Zhao Shanggong took a rough look and saw a piece of paper with his name, place of origin, age and birth date written on it.
And these bank notes amount to no less than a thousand silver dollars.
She was overjoyed in her heart, but remained calm on the outside: "I can make her pass the primary election."
"Thank you for your hard work." Tian Ren endured the pain and took out another stack.
Feeling the money, she smiled and said: "Don't worry, as long as she has a little bit of beauty, she is guaranteed to be selected."
"It's just that you know that the choice of concubine depends entirely on the wishes of the Queen and His Majesty."
"Take more care of me." Tian Ren's expression changed slightly and he took out the money again.
Zhao Shanggong then patted his chest and said, "How could your Eunuch Tian's face mean that my niece is also a noble person?"
At this time, Tian Ren breathed a sigh of relief.
In the harem of the Ming Dynasty, concubines had a strict hierarchy.
Queen, imperial concubine, concubine, concubine.
These four classes, collectively called concubines, were the official wives and concubines of the emperor.
The fifth class is the group of concubines, namely Zhaoyi, Jieyu, beauties, talented people, selected attendants, ladies, etc.
The lowest level is to change clothes from the eighth level.
A noble person is from the sixth rank, which is not too low for a newcomer.
"Your Majesty can choose the best. If you can become the vassal king, it would be good to be a concubine..."
In fact, this is what Tian Ren thinks.
It doesn't matter to be a nobleman with low status. No matter how favored the emperor is, it will be difficult to rise to the level of a concubine.
It would be better to find a vassal king.
After all, she is the concubine designated by the emperor, what a prestigious position she has?
"Hey, Mr. Tian, you have a beautiful idea."
Zhao Shanggong shook his head: "This is something we cannot talk about lightly. There is no place for us to interrupt."
"But for the sake of these banknotes, I can only promise you to do my best."
Tian Ren was very generous: "You can just take it, no matter whether the matter is done or not, I will thank you."
Zhao Shanggong shook his head and left briskly.
No fool would believe this.
It seems that we really need to find a way.
It was a big show that lasted until midnight.
The emperor ordered a concubine and they went away together.
At this time, Liu Afu was finally free and took a rest.
"Why, how was the performance today?"
The eunuch serving on the side beat his legs and pressed his shoulders: "Grandpa Tian was showing off his authority, but he left for a while in the middle. It seemed that he went to see Zhao Shanggong."
Hearing this, Liu Afu chuckled and said: "Tian Ren is getting older. He has been in charge of the Supervisor of Ceremonies for so many years, so he should retire and take care of himself in old age."
"At this time, it's easy to find something to do."
"As it should be."
"You mean that choice?"
"Not bad, quite clever." Liu Afu praised.
"Godfather, if I want to name the ceremonial director, you must be the most suitable one."
"Nonsense, how many people are watching eagerly!" Liu Afu sneered.