The Qin Palace is very large. There are dozens of them all over Guanzhong, Xianyang, Zhangtai, Liuguo, and Afang. Together with the supporting gardens, acres, and ponds, the living rooms inside are like a maze. Even if the emperor lives there every day,
A house is never repeated and cannot be lived in for ten years.
But the Qin Palace is also very small. For the palace residents living in it, the range of their activities is only within a few hundred steps. Once they step outside, they will face severe punishment!
Gongsun Li is such an ordinary palace maid who grew up in the Qin Palace. She was originally from Chu. With the demise of the Chu people, all the palace ladies of the Chu State were also accepted by the King of Qin.
Gongsun Li was the daughter of a certain Chu official who died in battle. As a trophy, she was put into a large number of captives and came to Qin in a chariot with the concubines, concubines, princes, and grandsons of Chu.
Qin Shihuang definitely had a collecting habit. Not only did he paint the palaces of the Six Kingdoms and rebuild them on the northern plateau of Xianyang, he also filled them with all the bells and drums he obtained from the beauties and bells of the princes. From this, he built Zheng Palace, Handan Palace, Daliang Palace, and Shouchun Palace.
, Linzi Palace, Ji Palace six.
Gongsun Li lived in the Shouchun Palace. Emperor Qin Shihuang had complex feelings for the Chu people. When he was bored, he always liked to come outside the palace and ask the Chu girls in the palace to sing Qin songs in Chu accent to enjoy the pleasure of conquest, but he never
Do not stay inside for the night.
The number of women living in the Qin Palace is unknown, and they are roughly divided into three categories: First, the emperor's relatives, such as the queen mother, empress, princess, etc. But the Empress Dowager Zhao has died, Qin Shihuang has not established a queen, and the princesses are getting married one after another after they reach adulthood.
So this first type of people basically does not exist.
The second is the concubine with a high status, which is under the jurisdiction of Yeting. There are beauties, beloved ones, eight sons, seven sons, long envoys, and young envoys. They are called Yan. In the Handan Palace, the highest status is only one seventh son, and the other concubines are dozens.
.
The third category of people are palace maids like Gongsun Li, who are servants in the palace and are under the jurisdiction of the "Yongxiang Order" under the Shaofu. Most of them are the female relatives of those who were defeated when Qin destroyed Chu.
Those who are over eight years old and under twenty, strong, bright, clean, and have a Dharma appearance may be selected as weaver girls or cooks because they are in the harem and are responsible for taking care of the daily lives of the concubines and taking care of the affairs of the palace.
freedom and reward.
But no matter what, everyone is a potential fertility tool for the emperor, and anyone who likes him can be lucky at any time.
Of course, when something happened, the female official would secretly observe it and record it carefully: "At a certain time on a certain day of a certain month of a certain year, the emperor visited a certain palace maid in a certain place, and how much time he spent..." and recorded in the record.
Even if the emperor forgets afterwards, Ye Ting will come and take her away as the lowest-ranking envoy to ensure that the emperor's possible heirs can live a life of fine clothing and fine food, but she will also face intrigues among the concubines.
But very few people have such luck. Although the First Emperor collected beauties from the six countries, he was not lustful. Especially thirty years later, the number of concubines he visited became less and less. Instead, he was obsessed with the illusory Queen Mother of the West.
Can't help myself...
Life in the palace is indeed comfortable with food and clothing, but it is also extremely boring. Even if you are as noble as a concubine, your life is like a prisoner, imprisoned in this small world. For them, the most uncomfortable punishment is to ignore it.
Let your appearance age day by day
They were like sparrows in a cage, chirping desperately, trying to get a glance from the emperor. Every muscle and face, all beautiful, unobtrusive and far-sighted, looked lucky. However, every time the Emperor's wheel passed by the Six Kingdoms,
Palace, stayed briefly, and then left without mercy.
So Gongsun Li had been in Shouchun Palace for more than ten years, and she didn't even know what Qin Shihuang looked like, and she had never been able to step out of this cage!
Thankfully, this is not a permanent prison sentence, but a time limit:
Palace ladies were allowed to leave the palace to marry at the age of thirty-five. Those who did not want to marry could also stay in the palace permanently, serving as female officials and managing the new batch of young maids who entered the palace.
The person you marry is not something you can choose by yourself. They are nothing more than hidden officials under the Shaofu. After a forcible union, they give birth to children who will serve the royal court for generations. Some may even be re-elected into the palace as wet nurses for young masters and princesses.
, become famous in another way...
Gongsun Li worked as a handyman in the palace all day long, and many turmoils occurred during this period. A young envoy from Shouchun Palace whom Gongsun Li served could not bear the loneliness for many years, and committed suicide. Her body was covered with a thick white cloth.
, was carried out of the palace and buried hastily.
The palace people seemed to have lost their master's dog, and they were confused. Now even the handymen had no turn to do. A certain palace eunuch with a small power [.] saw Gongsun Li's pretty appearance and wanted to compete with her.
"Ignorant of good and evil!"
Gongsun Li sternly refused, and the eunuch was furious and sent her to do heavier chores, including dumping buckets with the lowly eunuchs in the palace.
Sometimes after washing the stinking toilet, Gongsun Li would lose consciousness for a moment when she would look at her face in the water, which was slowly turning yellow even though it was still pretty, and gently touch it with her calloused hands.
She is 25 years old this year. It has been more than ten years since she entered the Qin Palace, and she will have to wait another ten years before she can leave here. Life in the palace may seem decent and glorious, but in fact it is a hidden murderous intention, covering up how much filth and cruelty she knows.
It wasn't until Hu Hai came to the throne and killed Qin Shihuang's concubines that she suddenly woke up from her childhood resentment!
The death of Qin Shi Huang made the entire court immersed in grief. Of course, Gongsun Li and others were also secretly snickering, happy that the great enemy of their motherland had died.
But before the concubines could wipe away their tears, the official of the CRRC led the people into the Handan Palace in a menacing manner.
Those concubines who had been granted titles by Qin Shi Huang but had never given birth were taken away one by one and never came back.
"Where have they gone?" Whispers spread throughout the palace.
"It is said that he was taken to Lishan Mausoleum by the new emperor and martyred!"
It was really creepy. Everyone in the Shouchun Palace was very happy. Fortunately, the First Emperor had not been here for more than ten years, and no one from the palace came to grant them status, so they could survive.
Gongsun Li shuddered: "It turns out that just living in this world is not easy!"
Things turned out well for her. The eunuch who had previously made things difficult for her was considered to be a gangster because he had spoken to a rebel leader in the south, Hei, in the palace, and was punished.
Gongsun Li relied on the little money she had saved over the past ten years to bribe the Yongxiang officials so that she no longer had to empty toilet buckets.
There was also an episode in the middle, that is, the new emperor sent people to the Shouchun Palace for a beauty contest to see if there was anyone here that caught his eye.
After the funeral, the mentality of the palace people changed drastically. They lost their enthusiasm and all lowered their heads. Gongsun Li even deliberately connected her eyebrows with black charcoal, and one of her friends put a band on her lips.
The hair is black and skinny, and looks extremely ugly.
So Hu Hai's cronies patrolled around, but no one liked her, so they cursed: "All Chu women are ugly" and walked away.
Another year passed, and the moment of earth-shaking came...
…
In early July, after a series of rumors and uneasiness, the Shouchun Palace, which had been closed for a long time, was suddenly opened. A group of wolf-like soldiers rushed in, staring at the figures of the palace residents with wide eyes.
Just when the palace residents thought they were about to be brutally raped, the beasts were able to be harnessed again, and the soldiers withdrew under the restraint of the military judge, only standing guard at each gate.
However, the danger still shrouded the Handan Palace, and palace residents who passed through the palace gates were constantly being teased by the soldiers, and even tampered with.
On one side are the graceful palace servants with young faces, and on the other side are the soldiers who have been fighting hard in the army for a long time and have not seen women for a long time. If this continues, sooner or later something will happen.
The newly appointed Shaofu quickly took measures. On the one hand, he allowed several official female concubines in Xianyang City to serve the soldiers, and on the other hand, he announced that all palace residents who were originally from Qin would be released and sent back to their hometowns!
A large number of women regained their freedom and left happily.
It's a pity that there are many Chu girls in Shouchun Palace, so they can only look at Qin girls' backs with envy. They look at me and I look at you. I wonder what is waiting for me next?
It was the powerful Marquis Wu Zhong who single-handedly took over everything, and everyone was sleeping with him.
Or was it taken over by that lustful, fat young man named Zhang Cang?
Or should they be dismissed at will and make a living on their own?
The final result was surprising. Marquis Wu Zhong did not enter any palace except Xianyang Palace, nor did he occupy any of the palace ladies. Instead, he announced that he would release the palace ladies from the Six Kingdoms and let them marry meritorious officers of the Northern Expeditionary Army!
There was an uproar in the palace, and the ladies were mixed with joy and sorrow. Some were full of expectations, while others were disappointed. They muttered: "I am a noble daughter of a county official in the state of Chu. How can I marry a military man in the head of Guizhou?"
This was a palace servant who once washed toilets with Gongsun Li. Later, she was spared the dirty work because she agreed to eat with the eunuch, but her work was assigned to Gongsun Li.
Gongsun Li stood up without saying a word, raised her companion's hand to her nose.
"Smell it." Her words were a bit vicious.
"Is there any noble lady from the county whose hands smell like shit and urine?"
As expected, the other party was angered. He cursed her with vicious words, pinched her to the ground, and put his sharp nails on her cheek:
"I will tear your little maid's face to pieces today!"
Gongsun Li's hair was messy, and he struggled with her. He laughed a little crazy and said: "Since the fall of the Jing Kingdom, our chariots came to Qin Qi, and they were the humble maids in the palace, and they were objects pushed around.
No matter who is in power outside, no one can escape this fate! No one has a choice!"
The palace people were stunned. In the midst of this chaos, the female officer under the Yongxiang Order came. She asked all the palace people to gather and scanned everyone majestically:
"Everyone in the Shouchun Palace is listening. There is an order from the Young Mansion. Anyone who is sixteen years or older and is willing to marry a hero or soldier of the Northern Expedition should go to the left. The Young Mansion will give you a dowry of 100 coins, and Marquis Wu Zhong will personally perform the marriage. Those who do not want to marry,
Go to the right and continue to wash the maidservants in the palace, and keep them until they are thirty-five years old and release them!"
"How you choose is up to you!"
After saying that, he stood aside with his sleeves rolled up.
The women looked at each other, and the conservative ones whispered:
"There is nothing wrong with having enough food and clothing in the palace. I heard that there is a lot of war outside, and people are just trying to eat people. Even if we can live in peace, the people we marry are rough soldiers, who can't understand the language, and are always beating and scolding.
I'm afraid life won't be much better..."
There were many people who agreed with this statement, mostly older people, and they decided to endure it a little longer.
But the women in their twenties fell into hesitation. These days, it is not easy to live to the age of forty or fifty. They are not young. If they stay in the palace any longer, their life will come to an end.
They have hands and feet, and although they are from a high background, they have done all the hard work in the palace over the years. When they go outside, the life of common people's women is not necessarily worse.
The only thing worth worrying about is what kind of people it will be distributed to? Good or bad, good or evil.
This determines the rest of their lives.
Do you want to take a gamble?
Gongsun Li was the first to stand up. She walked to the left, looked back and glanced at the palace man who had just been fighting with her on the right, and whispered:
"I would rather be the wife of the head of Guizhou than stay in this palace for any longer!"