[Red House] Lixian

500 years ago, when our queen Mary III promoted the feminist movement, there was also a woman in the far east who started the era of feminist revival.Orientals call her the woman of the plum blossom (translation error).

According to the ancient oriental tradition, this woman established the kingdom of women.During her long court career in the future, she used this small kingdom to become the uncrowned queen in the court.

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Situ Yun had something to discuss with Empress Dowager Chen today, but he was stopped by a group of court ladies and eunuchs before entering the door.It is said that Empress Dowager Chen wants to take a nap today, and she will not see outsiders.

"It's been a long time, why did the queen mother sleep?" Situ Yun asked in surprise, "The queen mother has never been in the habit of sleeping too much."

Empress Dowager Chen was the empress dowager for a year, and she had nothing to do every day.Those old enemies from back then are now bowing down one by one, without any sense of accomplishment.Not to mention sleeping, I often suffer from insomnia these days.

Situ Yun asked with concern: "Could it be that the queen mother is ill? Has the imperial physician been summoned?"

Several female officers at the door smiled wryly.Except for greetings in the morning, no one came to Ningshou Palace.The most important point is that the Supreme Emperor is still there.

If the Supreme Emperor is gone, and Situ Yun abides by filial piety, the Empress Dowager Chen will be No. 1 in the harem, and even the Queen Mother will act according to her face.But now that the Supreme Emperor is still there, the Empress Dowager Chen dare not argue with the Queen.Fearing that the Supreme Emperor would be upset, he would call her to the Taiji Pavilion to reprimand her, saying that she was arbitrarily powerful.Of course, as long as the Empress Dowager Chen does nothing, the Supreme Emperor is also willing to save face for this "mother is more valuable than a child".

The emperor's harem was handed over to the queen, and the emperor's harem was unwilling to interfere with the empress dowager Chen.There is something in the palace to find the queen, and there is also the emperor above, among the nobles, only the empress dowager Chen is the most leisurely.

No one came all day, so Wei Qian had nothing to do, and used the name of filial piety to fiddle with things by himself.

Today, Empress Dowager Chen and Wei Qian celebrated the Shangsi Festival, so they simply closed the palace gates and fiddled with themselves.

Who would have thought that Situ Yun would run over at this time?

Calculating the time, he should be working in Zichen Palace at this time!

Situ Yun came in regardless of the obstruction, Wei Qian's eyes and ears were sharp, and she instantly noticed someone outside the curtain.He and Queen Mother Chen were furious and wanted to arrest Situ Yun.

Situ Yun quickly appeared: "Wait—it's me!"

Opening the curtain, I immediately saw a young girl standing barefoot on the lawn in the distance.

With bright eyes and bright eyes, red lips and bright teeth, the girl who had just exercised was standing in the greenery, Situ Yun was stunned.

But this scene didn't last long, Wei Qian exclaimed, quickly put on her embroidered shoes, wrapped herself and Empress Dowager Chen with a curtain, and said: "Your Majesty, Fengliang, let's talk about it when we enter the house."

Wei Qian and Empress Dowager Chen can indulge themselves. Now that there are men present, how can Situ Yun take advantage of it?

Empress Dowager Chen nodded, glared at Situ Yun, and the two hurried in.Situ Yun rubbed his chin and looked at the sky.With his hands behind his back, he followed into the main hall of Ningshou Palace.

"It's a pity, but it's this one." Wei Qian's image remained in his mind, but it's a pity that Wei Qian has a natural disability and can only look at it but not touch it. This is undoubtedly the biggest regret of this flower cherisher.

In Ningshou Palace, Wei Qian and Empress Dowager Chen changed their clothes in the back, and Wei Qian handed the ginger soup prepared in advance to Empress Dowager Chen: "The weather hasn't completely warmed up yet, we just sweated, in order to avoid catching cold, Madam should drink some Ginger soup drives away the cold."

After being inspected by the palace servants next to Empress Dowager Chen, Empress Dowager Chen drank it all in one gulp.

Seeing that Wei Qian still didn't drink, Empress Dowager Chen asked, "What about you?"

"I just ate some fruit dew, and now my stomach is cold, so it's not suitable to drink ginger soup."

Empress Dowager Chen nodded, thought for a while, and told the palace servants: "Go and put on Concubine Ning's coat."

Wei Qian frowned: "Ma'am, is this concubine still going out to see His Majesty?" Wei Qian's plan was to keep warm in Empress Dowager Chen's room and avoid Situ Yun.

"Silly girl!" The Empress Dowager Chen glared at Wei Qian, knowing her son Mo Ruomu, the Empress Dowager Chen understood Situ Yun's temperament.Looking at Wei Qian's shawl-like appearance, she has the graceful demeanor of a bathing beauty.My son likes this the most.

Then he brought his white bear coat, dressed Wei Qian up briefly, and dragged Wei Qian out to meet Situ Yun.

Situ Yun was sitting on the seat, and when he saw the long-haired beauty wrapped in a coat, his eyes lit up.

Wei Qian subconsciously covered it tightly with a coat, listening to Situ Yun and Queen Mother Chen talking.

"This is Queen Mother and Concubine Ning?"

"Flying a kite, I don't want your father to talk too much, so I closed the palace door."

"What's the big deal?" Situ Yun said with a smile: "The queen mother wants to release paper kites, so she just stays in the imperial garden, why bother to hide and close the palace gate. I thought my mother was sick, so I barged in."

"I'm too lazy to be gossiped by those concubines." The Empress Dowager Chen thought of those concubines, although she bowed her head and professed allegiance, but a group of people headed by Concubine Zhen Gui stood by the Supreme Emperor, and it was hard to guarantee that they would turn around and not be angry with her.

And Wei Qian was also there, maybe what the Queen would say about her later.

"Okay, I know what's going on here. Come on, at this time, you suddenly came here, you must not be paying my respects, right?"

Situ Yun nodded, and was rude in front of his biological mother: "My son is going to reduce the harem."

"Abolish the harem?" The queen mother frowned slightly: "Why does the emperor have such intentions?"

"I thought about it, I inherited my concubine status from Li Tang, but the number of people in the harem at most over the years was only five or sixty. The number of hundreds of people is really useless. Why not reduce one or two for other purposes?"

"Since it can't be used, why simplify it?" The queen mother thought that the emperor favored Taoist priests and wanted to imitate the emperor. Is it dependent on the lords of the palaces, and how much money can I spend?"

So, the positions are quite different.If the empress listened to it, she would definitely raise her hands to agree with the emperor's proposal, and would keep praising him.Abolishing the harem, how many competitors will be reduced for her!Even the following four concubines and nine concubines agreed to second the proposal one by one, which is the greatest guarantee for their status.

If it was when the queen mother was struggling in the harem, and the emperor said so, she would agree.But now...

As the empress dowager, what she wants is a full house of children and grandchildren, and she plans to continue adding people to the emperor in the general election tomorrow!

Live!Many children and grandchildren are blessings!Now that the emperor is getting old, and thinking about practicing health preservation every day, he rarely let others sleep beside Zhen Gui.Empress Dowager Chen can't have a son, so the emperor can only have a grandson!

No matter how Emperor Ren persuaded her, the Empress Dowager would not let go.In desperation, the emperor's eyes fell on Wei Qian.

After the first period of time, Wei Qian took off her coat without sweating.But Situ Yun looked at it, Wei Qian nodded and shook his head, Situ Yun immediately understood, lingered in the palace for a while, took his leave and left.

After he left, Wei Qian smiled and said, "Empress Dowager, do you know who is the greatest in the world?"

"Is there any king in the world, naturally the emperor is the biggest." After thinking for a while, the Empress Dowager Chen added: "The emperor's filial piety is the first, so naturally the emperor is the biggest at present."

"The Supreme Emperor is also the emperor, but the emperor is also afraid of one thing." Wei Qian said quietly.

"What?" The queen mother seemed a little displeased, and looked at Wei Qian.Wei Qian's face was calm: "Empress Dowager, you forgot that the great virtuous Xunzi once said, 'The king is the boat; It’s just people’s hearts. I heard that the south is not peaceful now, maybe His Majesty intends to use this to show that he has no desire for women, hardworking and caring for the people.”

"South? What's there?"

"I don't know who I am, but I just listened to the rumors. It seems that the people are complaining, saying that the emperor's position is not right. Empress, don't forget, the south is the territory of the Zhen family."

Zhen family!Empress Dowager Chen's expression darkened. At present, she is an honest person, isn't she afraid of causing trouble for her son?

"The most difficult time for the new emperor to ascend the throne is the first few years." Wei Qian sighed: "As long as your majesty sits firmly on the dragon chair, the people under him will grow up, there will be heirs under him to strengthen the country, and outside will be loved by all people." .Then, there is nothing to be afraid of."

The Queen Mother thought deeply after hearing this: "People's hearts are indeed important, but must the harem be cut?"

"There are so many people in the harem, how many people can His Majesty summon in a month? I'm afraid there will not be even ten days left if you exclude the favorite concubines and empresses. It is rare to see twenty concubines in a month. Furthermore , although His Majesty is young, it is impossible to indulge excessively so as not to injure the dragon's body. After doing this calculation, the harem really doesn't need those masters."

"But the harem corresponds to the former dynasty. Another meaning of the draft is to connect the harem with the former dynasty and stabilize the Dragon Court."

Marrying the daughters of various families also has the meaning of proton in it.We will be prosperous with all the powerful and powerful, and stabilize the imperial power.

Empress Dowager Chen thought well, marrying women from various families, even if it is not lucky, as long as you fill in a name in the harem, you can win people's hearts.If the harem is cut, although it will win the hearts of the people, I am afraid that there will be fewer targets for the rich and powerful.

Wei Qian laughed loudly when she heard this, "I have never seen a family of dignitaries use women to preserve their prosperity for a hundred years. In the family inheritance, males are still offering incense. It is an example of the daughter in the harem and the mother's family voted for someone else. They are no longer in the minority. You cannot be favored by the king, and it is difficult to control his family after entering the palace. It is better to let His Majesty get a benefit, so as to win the hearts of the people."

"Furthermore, there are fewer people in the harem and fewer fights. Maybe His Majesty will be able to get the dragon son sooner."

Empress Dowager Chen was startled, and suddenly remembered the death of Situ Yun's first concubine Deng.Not only Deng side concubine, but also the unborn baby boy in her womb.

Empress Dowager Chen's complexion fluctuated, and she finally said: "So, I am wrong."

"Don't dare." Wei Qian said softly: "The empress is also doing it for His Majesty's good, and the royal family spreads its branches and leaves. This is the work of the empress dowager."

Speaking of offspring, the Empress Dowager sighed: "Yes, the emperor has no children, you need to work hard!" Looking at Wei Qian expectantly, Wei Qian hurriedly changed the topic: "The empress said that the harem is in contact with the former court, and the harem is in contact with the former court. It is indeed a good way to win over the previous dynasty with favor. I have a plan, even if I cut the harem, it will allow Your Majesty to take advantage of the power of each family, and perhaps be able to further control each family."

"Oh?" Empress Dowager Chen said: "If your idea is right, I can help you speak well in front of His Majesty."

Wei Qian shook her head: "As long as the people in the harem don't dislike concubines, it's fine."

"From the beginning of the Zhou Dynasty, many women under the ninth concubine, in addition to being the emperor's women, are also the female officials who take care of the harem. They have the responsibility of educating the harem and managing the maids. This is the beginning of the female official system. After the Qin and Han Dynasties, it was inherited from the Sui and Tang Dynasties. There is a law of eunuchs, which is like the inner court. It’s just that the previous dynasty used eunuchs more and abolished the system of eunuchs. Although our dynasty has female officials, its power and scale are far inferior to those of previous dynasties.”

"You want to re-establish the inner court?"

"Do you still remember the name of the Fengzao Palace Shangshu of Xiande Concubine?" Wei Qian said: "This dynasty has long had a system of female officials, but it is not systematic and formal. Why don't you take advantage of the opportunity of reducing the harem to reorganize the inner court? Eunuchs prefer women to serve them."

"Also, after streamlining the harem, the noble daughters of each family have no chance to enter the palace, but they can take advantage of the opportunity of female officials to join the inner court. Later, when they are older, they will be released from the palace and given marriages. This is the way to win over the various families."

"Use female officials to give the noble daughters of each family a higher status?" The Queen Mother Chen pondered, and Wei Qian did this to give these noble daughters of each family some rank and status.They won't be bullied in their husband's house, which will definitely make them better treated.In the future, if a trend is formed, the rich and powerful will take the initiative to send their daughters to the palace for gilding.And don't worry about being selected by the harem and being trapped in the harem.Some families who cherish their daughters may not think of ways to make their daughters deliberately lose the election.

"Cut the harem, less people, less struggle. Carefully tidy up the harem, re-establish the system of the inner court, with the queen in charge of the six palaces, noble daughters of each family enter the palace as officials, and those who reach the age of 20 leave the palace to give marriages. If in the palace If you do well in the middle school, you can also give the titles of township lord and county lord. After leaving the palace, you can keep the post of female official, and receive the imperial salary every month, which is the same as the edict. Moreover, the title of female official earned by yourself is higher than the gold content of the imperial edict. .”

"In other words, it is to transfer the regular money of the cut-off concubines into the regular money of female officials?" Empress Dowager Chen heard Wei Qian's intention.This conversion can not only show that Situ Yun is a virtuous monarch who does not touch women, works diligently and loves the people.You can also take the opportunity to win over noble girls from various families, and use another method to replace the draft with the selection of female officials, and also control the marriage of nobles in the hands of the royal family, increasing the control of Daming Palace.

What Wei Qian didn't say is that the female officer system means the revival of women's rights.

The female official system prevailed in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and the status of women was far higher than that of Ming and Qing Dynasties.The Ming Dynasty replaced female officials with eunuchs, and the Qing Dynasty had the Ministry of Internal Affairs to manage court ladies.The status of women is declining.

In this era, women are not allowed to be ministers of worship, and female officials are their pinnacle.Then it is better to repair the female officer system and leave the seeds of feminist revival.

"A woman with the title of female official married into her husband's family, because the relationship in the palace will save her from suffering a lot in her husband's family. This is the limit that us concubines can do." Wei Qian sighed quietly: " The empress is also a woman, so she should know what happened to the daughters who married into powerful families, right?"

Empress Dowager Chen herself wanted a few court ladies to go out of the palace to marry, and that would definitely not be a good experience.Later, when she died of illness, she could only get someone to send a piece of money in the palace, and she didn't know if it was used by someone.That was her personal maid who had been with her in the palace for decades.

"The concubine should always consider the people around her. My family Chun'er and Ling'er have been with me for many years, and I can't let them stay with my concubine in the palace for the rest of their lives."

"That's the reason." Empress Dowager Chen nodded, and also looked at the maids beside her: "If I'm not here in the future, these girls may be bullied."

The faces of the ladies in the palace changed drastically, and they quickly knelt down.Wei Qian also leaned over to plead guilty: "Your Majesty must not say such ominous words."

"Thousands of years, who can live to it?" The Empress Dowager Chen disapproved, and asked everyone to stand up: "You have re-established the inner court system. But the emperor has the Zichen inner court. If you really want to talk about it, you can only be a woman." court. The court of our daughter's house."

Empress Dowager Chen's eyes flickered and she had some thoughts.Maybe he can take the opportunity to deploy his own people and find a way to regain some power?However, it is not easy to make arrangements with the Supreme Emperor, so he needs to discuss it with Yun'er.