Imperial City

Two days later was the day when Wei Qi and the others were sent to the ceremonial supervisor to study the palace rules.

Si Li Jian is located in a palace to the east of Shenwu Gate and north of Jingyang Palace at the back of the Forbidden City.

That day, just after dawn, a servant standing in the yard knocked on a board and yelled. Wei Qi and the others got up from the bed in a daze.It can be seen that the life in the palace these few days has caused the children to taste a lot of hardships.

After the children were fully dressed, they were almost awake, and everyone squatted in a circle next to the only wooden bucket in the house to brush their teeth.

The most inferior slaves in the palace brush their teeth with rough cloth dipped in green salt. Green salt is an expensive item for ordinary people, and ordinary people are reluctant to eat it at home, let alone brush their teeth with it.

Wu Jiacai and others were born in poverty, so they have never seen anyone brushing their teeth with green salt. At first, they only took a few small grains of fine salt to brush their teeth every day, and kept the rest like treasures.

However, after a few days passed, they found that there was something in the Qingyan Palace, which was the most worthless thing, so they opened their hands.

However, Wei Qi is different from them, he grew up in rich clothes and rich food, and he is not very used to the brushing method in the palace as far as the trivial matter of brushing his teeth is concerned.

He has never used a cloth or brushed his teeth with his fingers. In the past, there was a special toothbrush at home, which was made of pig bristles inserted into a bone brush. Still very uncomfortable, but now I can squat with other people next to this little wooden bucket and clean myself.

Even though the room was small, everyone quickly tidied it up, walked out of the house cleanly and stood in the courtyard.

After a while, the father-in-law in charge led several small yellow gates towards this side.

"Today is a good day for you. When you get out of this cleansing room, you have to learn the rules carefully when you enter the ceremonial supervisor. If you are lucky, you can point to which master to serve by your side, and you don't know if you will be prosperous in the future."

The eunuch in charge walked slowly in front of the boys with his fly whisk on: "If one day you get rich, don't forget about our clean room and where you came from, and take care of your father-in-law anyway." I'm one or two."

The father-in-law admonished him arrogantly for half an hour before he called his subordinates to lead a courtyard of thirty or so boys to the supervisor of ceremonies.

Wei Qi and the others stood in two lines, sixteen or seven people in each line, ten servants stood guard on both sides of the line, and the two leading eunuchs walked at the head of the line, heading all the way to the chief inspector.

The path paved with gray slate bricks is spotlessly clean, and the trees along both sides of the road are lush and block out the sun.

It was a rare sunny day today, and the boys were all wearing newly issued blue-gray quilted robes, hats inlaid with buckskin in the same color, and black plush winter boots, the sun shone on the immature faces with expressionless faces. Although the face is occasionally cold, it is not very cold.

The cleansing room is on the east side of Shenwu Gate, but the Lijian is located on the west side of Shenwu Gate, close to Yeyou Court and Lenggong.

The group walked for about a cup of tea, and when they passed the avenue between Shunzhen Gate and Qin'an Palace opposite Shenwu Gate, they met two honor guards of concubines head-on.

"Kneel down quickly." The eunuchs on both sides of the row reminded softly, and a group of new ignorant boys hurriedly knelt down on the spot, with their arms stretched forward and pressed against the ground, and their foreheads resting on the backs of their hands, not daring to move rashly.

In fact, this meeting is still about ten feet away from the honor guard of the two concubines, just because of curiosity, I want to look up to see the emperor's concubine room, I'm afraid I can't see anything.

Wei Qi and the others knelt on the side of the palace wall respectfully, and after about half a cup of tea, a burst of fragrance blew past, and the two concubines finally walked seven or eight feet away, and disappeared.

When the leading eunuch called out, the boys breathed a sigh of relief and got up obediently, but they didn't dare to beat their legs blatantly, and just walked silently.

Wei Qi had read books on royal etiquette at home, and knew that what he just met was not a big man, but just two people who were always there.

According to the palace rules and etiquette, the empress dowager, the empress dowager and the empress go out with honor guards: four for me, four for standing melons, four for lying melons, ten for five-color dragon and phoenix flags, four for each of red, yellow dragon, and phoenix fans, eight for pheasant tail fans, and two for the second time. Four red and plain square umbrellas, four four season flower umbrellas embroidered with yellow satin, and ten five-color nine-phoenix umbrellas.

Two golden festivals, two brushes, two golden incense burners, two golden incense boxes, one golden washbasin, one golden bowl, two golden vases, one golden chair, one golden square table, one yellow cover with nine phoenix cranks, one phoenix yu, and two yi yu take.

Imperial concubines and imperial concubines also have their own phoenix and yi yu. Although the concubine has yi yu but no phoenix, the concubines only have dragon and phoenix flags, flower umbrellas, and phoenix umbrellas.

Although the two concubines who have just passed by have a few maidservants to accompany them, they don't have dragon and phoenix flags. They only have four four-season flower umbrellas embroidered in yellow satin. It can be seen that they are under the rank of concubines.

But it's just a constant presence. The Chen family has had daughters of concubines and concubines for generations. I don't know how many people have been concubines and concubines. Even Wei Qi's little aunt was once the concubine Ning of Emperor Ming in the Yongjia Nian Dynasty.It's a pity that Emperor Ming was captured and imprisoned in the Tianshan Mountain of the Imperial Temple. He died after three months, and Concubine Ning was buried with her.

Alas, hearing my father say that my little aunt once hugged me, Wei Qi pouted, holding back the tears that were about to come out.

It's a pity that I have never seen her before, the emperor's concubine should be extremely beautiful and dignified.

Wei Qi lowered his head and was sad while walking numbly behind the little eunuch in front. The group walked around Qianqiu Pavilion, passed Chuxiu Palace, Xianfu Palace, and finally arrived at the southwest corner of the Forbidden City after half an hour. the supervisor of ceremonies.

After entering the Supervisor of Ceremonies and passing through the Chuihua Gate, the eunuch who sent the message came out to negotiate with the people on Wei Qi's side. After a while, two more servants of the Supervisor of Ceremonies led a group of people to continue walking inside.

The layout of the Prison Prison is roughly the same as that of the cleansing room, but it is much larger than the latter, about four or five times the size, and the inside is not as cold and scary as the cleansing room. Walking, there are rows of side rooms on the west side. If you look in through the opening of the flower wall, you can see beds and other things through the windows of the house.

On the east side of the veranda is a spacious courtyard, which is surrounded by wing rooms and ear rooms. It is a large four-in-one courtyard with three entrances.At the end of the corridor is the main hall.

At this moment, the little eunuch at the entrance of the main hall saw the visitor and informed the inside, and soon he came out to lift the two thick black cloth and cotton windshield curtains for everyone.

The leading eunuch led Wei Qi and others into the hall. Eunuch Zhang, who had appeared in the cleansing room a few days ago, sat upright at the top of the main hall, drinking tea on the grand master's chair to the left of the Eight Immortals table.

Wei Qi and the others entered in a file, and the five of them honestly stood in the hall.

"Master Zhang is auspicious, the younger one is Xiaoxuezi, the eunuch in charge of the eunuch in charge of the cleansing room, eunuch Zhou Gonggong. According to the order of the eunuch Zhou, the first batch of 35 cleansing boys will be sent here this month." Xiaoxuezi please return to the errand. .

"Well, I got it, people have to stay, let's go." Eunuch Zhang sipped his tea, flicked his sleeves, and said lightly.

"Hey, I'll take my leave now, little one." Xiaoxuezi left behind Wei Qi and the others, and led the dozen or so eunuchs in the cleansing room to bow and leave.

"Ding..." The sound of the collision of the teacup and the pear wood table echoed in the silent hall. Eunuch Zhang put down the teacup in his hand and looked at the new group of boys.

He waved to the little servant standing behind him, and someone took out the roster and began to roll the name. The kid whose name was called took a step forward obediently, and stood back consciously when the next person was called.

"Wei Qi." Wei Qi was standing in the third row, second from the right, and it took him a while to realize that he was calling himself.

Wei Qi took a step forward, and Eunuch Zhang's eyes moved, staring at him firmly.It turned out that this boy was the one ordered by the superior to look after him, he was indeed special, unlike ordinary poor people who came from the family.

After singing a round of names, the little waiter said, "Go back to Master Zhang, Qi Luo."

Seeing that these newcomers knew some rules, Eunuch Zhang was somewhat satisfied.

"Well," he said slowly, "from today onwards, when you enter this supervisor of ceremonies, you will be my supervisor of ceremonies. The superiors have specially ordered our family to teach newcomers, and when they have learned the palace rules, they will leave this office at any time." If you still can't learn the gate of the Prison Supervisor, you don't need to learn any more, and you can just send it to the nearby Yeyou Court."

"If you learn it well, if you have the opportunity to be assigned to a noble person to serve you in the future, it will be a great blessing for you, do you understand?"

"Cover." The boys in the hall responded respectfully in unison.