Volume 4: Gathering of Sages Chapter 509: Not Avoiding Suspicion
When Zhang Shou was in Yuehua Tower, he had seen Concubine Yu, the emperor's favorite concubine who seemed to be full of sorrow. At that time, he felt that she was as beautiful as a lotus flower emerging from clear water, naturally without any decoration, and a beauty that made him feel pity. Of course, what impressed him more was that Concubine Yu told him very frankly about her bizarre life story that she, Zhu Ying and Princess Yongping were born on the same day of the same month of the same year.
However, meeting someone in Yuehua Tower, with Chu Kuan accompanying him and Ge Yong also nearby, was completely different from going directly to Yu Fei's Yonghe Palace. You know, let alone the fact that he had no blood relationship with Yu Fei, even if he was Yu Fei's own son or nephew, it was impossible for him to walk around the harem so openly, right?
But there was the jubilant... or rather, overjoyed Zhu Ying, who was accompanying him. Another round-faced and amiable female official who chased after him also reiterated the empress dowager's instructions, so Zhang Shou had no choice but to believe it - what else could he do? Go and ask for an audience with the emperor for instructions?
Although he had visited the six palaces in his previous life, the situation now was completely different. Back then, there were only tourists, but now there were a lot of palace servants.
Besides, except for a few palace maids over 23 years old who would stay in the palace, the rest would be released when they reached the age, and the Six Palace Bureau would be responsible for marriage and dowry. This also meant that there were almost no old faces in the palace, and most of them were young and energetic. Even if not everyone was a beauty, they were certainly pleasing to the eye .
But there were too many people to please the eyes, which created a kind of burden. Because after Zhang Shou came out of Qingning Palace and entered the East Six Palaces, he saw three or four or even five or six palace servants at each palace gate, curiously looking at him, and looking at him openly! Zhu Ying, who was standing by, not only didn't care, but also said proudly: "Ah Shou, they are all looking at us!"
I know they are looking at us... The problem is, did the elderly round-faced female official from Qingning Palace who escorted us here just do nothing? Did she just let these palace maids watch openly?
Zhang Shou complained in his heart, and then he heard a laugh from behind: "These girls rarely see a handsome man like Dr. Zhang, and they are paired with the eldest lady, a talented man and a beautiful woman, so they are a little presumptuous. But Dr. Zhang must be a person that all the concubines in the palace are very curious about. They can't come out to see him themselves, so they sent palace servants to check him out, which is understandable."
Zhang Shou almost turned around to see if the round-faced female official had a mischievous look on her face when she said this, but for such a small matter, he was too lazy to pursue it. As a result, the next moment, he only heard the other party laughing again.
"Originally, the Queen Mother was planning to order all the concubines to stay in the palace to avoid the situation where the palace people gathered around to watch Zhang Lang. But on second thought, she felt that it would be okay for people to have a look. It would be a good opportunity for people to see clearly whether the rumors that Dr. Zhang and Miss are a perfect match are exaggerated."
Zhu Ying also chuckled immediately: "Ah Shou, did you hear that? They all praised me for my good taste, saying that they had never seen a man as handsome as you!"
Zhang Shou was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. He didn't expect you to be such a young lady who cares so much about what others say!
Seeing Chang Ning, the manager of Yonghe Palace whom he had met once in Yuehua Tower, coming towards him, he threw all the chattering out of his mind.
Chang Ning first greeted with a smile the older, round-faced female official who had brought Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying over, said a few polite words, then smiled and gave the empress dowager's instructions. Then he took the palace maids who had brought them over and left quietly. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief, wiped his forehead which was free of sweat, and hurried back to Zhang Shou and Zhu Ying.
"Her Majesty was extremely happy to hear that you two were here. Please come in."
Instinctively, he felt that it would be better to refer to them directly as "you two" instead of "Dr. Zhang" and "Miss", so Chang Ning gave such a title with a smile on his face. Seeing that Zhu Ying was indeed smiling like a flower and Zhang Shou did not seem to be disgusted, he immediately led the way in front. When they entered the gate of Yonghe Palace, he saw Zhang Shou who came in last and glanced at the surrounding environment, and he coughed.
"The Yonghe Palace is not as big as outsiders think. There are only a dozen rooms in front and back. It is actually very cramped. Concubine Yu can't even perform sword dance. When the emperor came here a while ago..." He stopped talking and laughed, "Well, Dr. Zhang, this is not your first time to enter the palace. You should have known what to do when you saw the Qianqing Palace."
Zhang Shou smiled without comment, but he was thinking in his heart that when he visited the Forbidden City in later life, he felt that this kind of square building, although its layout was worthy of any adjective such as majestic, solemn, magnificent, etc., but in terms of livability, it was really a joke.
These palaces are fine, but the small imperial garden is so small that it is hard to believe that this is where the old emperor relaxes. If there really is a group of concubines and palace maids who want to have fun here, this small place will be filled up! As for the West Garden, although the legendary garden is gone in later generations, he knows that it is not a place where concubines and palace maids can go casually.
Therefore, although the concubines seemed noble, they were actually no different from the women in the mansions of the rich families. Compared with the cramped imperial palace, walking in the folk gardens could really make people feel refreshed and broad-minded.
Therefore, facing the small Yonghe Palace of Concubine Yu, Zhang Shou could only refrain from commenting. Even Zhu Ying, who was always straightforward, just sighed and did not comment on it, which was unusual.
During the time they were talking, Princess Yongping came out in a hurry. She was wearing a green dress, which looked simple and elegant, and matched her natural and unadorned appearance. However, her expression at this moment was not as calm as before.
"Zhu Ying, why did you bring Zhang Shou to Yonghe Palace!" She blurted out this sentence, and when she saw that no one from Qingning Palace came to escort him, she frowned and said, "Even if the Queen Mother asked, you could have declined together with Zhang Shou. Aren't you giving people an opportunity to talk behind your back?"
"Why are you afraid of gossip? The Empress Dowager said it herself, why do you care about them?" Zhu Ying raised her eyebrows, and then stepped forward and grabbed Princess Yongping without saying anything, "You are just too worried and timid all the time! I have something to tell you... Well, Changning, take Shou to see Concubine Yu, and Yongping and I will go to discuss something!"
Seeing Zhu Ying dragging Princess Yongping away forcefully while she was talking, Chang Ning, who knew Zhu Ying's temper, could only laugh dryly and said, "The eldest lady comes here all the time. Not to mention what's going on right now, she has argued with the princess until her face turned red... Well, why am I saying this? Doctor Zhang, come with me to see Concubine Yu, okay?"
Zhang Shou had already experienced the attentiveness and chatter of Chang Ning, the steward of Yonghe Palace, when he was in Yuehua Tower last time, so he just smiled at it. When he entered the main hall of Yonghe Palace, he saw that there was no one on the throne in the middle, and only a pleasant voice came from the east side room.
"Chang Ning, bring Zhang Shou in."
When Zhang Shou and Chang Ning entered the east room, they found that there was no partition between the two large rooms. Three of the walls were full of huge bookshelves, with countless books stacked one on top of the other, giving the impression of a vast sea of books. In the two corners were huge scrolls, with about a dozen scrolls inserted diagonally inside.
In the center is a large rosewood desk, with more than a dozen pens of various sizes hanging on the pen holder above it. In an inkstone, more than half of the ink is soaking a pen. As the tip of the pen is dipped in thick ink and leaves the inkstone, a snow-white hand holds the light pen and writes with great speed, splashing ink on the long scroll in its hand.
The owner of the jade hand was concentrating on writing, as if she was unaware that someone had come in.
But Zhang Shou knew that this was just his illusion. Because Concubine Yu had just told Chang Ning to bring her in. He took two steps forward and realized that Chang Ning had not followed him. He turned around and saw that she had already walked out of the door with her head down and her hands hanging down, as if she was not afraid of what people would say. So he simply turned around and walked straight to the big desk.
After a careful look, he saw that Concubine Yu was not writing as he had imagined, but was painting a landscape painting with both light and dark colors. With his limited appreciation, he could not tell the quality of the painting, but based on the painting, it seemed like Liu Zongyuan's "An old man in a straw hat and raincoat fishing alone in a cold river in a boat"
At this moment, he saw Yu Fei's beautiful hand finally put down the brush in her hand, and then raised her head to look at him. Just when he thought Yu Fei would ask him how his painting was going, he didn't expect that the face that he remembered was always full of sorrow last time actually revealed a faint smile.
"You and Yingying are getting married soon, and I can't leave the palace to congratulate you at that time. I will give you two paintings when the time comes." Seeing Zhang Shou's surprised face, Concubine Yu said with a smile, "Of course, they are not my shallow and cheap works. The emperor has given me many paintings and calligraphy, including paintings by Zhan Ziqian and Song Huizong, as well as calligraphy by Zhang Xu, Liu Zongyuan, Huang Tingjian and Mi Fu. If I ask you to choose, which one would you choose?"
Zhang Shou was stunned for a moment, then he asked thoughtfully, "Are these six the only people whose calligraphy and paintings are in Concubine Yu's collection?"
"Oh, six people are not enough? Who else do you want?" Concubine Yu asked with interest, "If there is any in the palace, I can help you get it."
"I like Wang Xizhi's "Lanting Preface", Yan Zhenqing's "Yan's Announcement", Zhan Ziqian's "Spring Outing", and Song Huizong's "Auspicious Cranes"... In fact, I like those masterpieces that make people feel happy and amazed at the first sight. But instead of keeping such masterpieces in my house, it is better to leave them to people like you, Concubine Yu, who truly understands appreciation."
Concubine Yu didn't expect Zhang Shou to use such words to politely reject her kindness. She was stunned at first, then she smiled with relief and said, "In that case, then just tell me directly, what do you want me, your elder, to give you and Yingying as a wedding gift?"
"Well..."
Considering that Concubine Yu looked like an icy beauty with sad eyes, but was actually a strong-willed woman, it would be hypocritical to beat around the bush with others. Zhang Shou simply said directly, "Although I would prefer that you, as an old acquaintance of my late mother and an elder whom Yingying respected like a mother, could come in person. But if this is a bit unreasonable..."
He paused again, then said with a smile: "Madam, can you make a pair of red silk threads for us? Yingying said that you and my future mother-in-law were close friends in the past. Not only are you good at swordsmanship, but you are also good at weaving these small things. When Yingying and I have a big day, if you can give us a pair of bright red festive silk threads, it will be more valuable than any rare treasure."
Chang Ning, who was standing outside the door, almost popped his eyes out of his head when he heard this. Others might not know how rich Concubine Yu's family was, but he knew it best.
This favorite concubine of the emperor was treated mediocrely at first, but later she became extremely favored. The emperor knew that Concubine Yu did not like pearls and jade jewelry, so the things he rewarded Concubine Yu in the past were often very general, such as an ancient book, an ancient painting, a piece of calligraphy... and so on.
However, the so-called ancient books were books from the Song Dynasty and even the Tang and Sui Dynasties that had long been out of print, and some even had precious handwritten copies by famous people. The so-called ancient paintings were authentic works by masters from the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties and the Sui, Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasties. As for calligraphy, it goes without saying that many famous calligraphy works that ordinary people paid a lot of money to see but could not be obtained were collected in the palace.
Most of them were collected by Emperor Taizu. In the end, these things were not buried with him in the mausoleum , but were placed in the royal treasury. In the words of Emperor Taizu, it was better to leave these things to future generations than to keep them in the dark mausoleum. As for whether they were rewarded or lost, that was fate.
But no matter what, these paintings and calligraphy in Concubine Yu's family are treasures in the palace treasury. Two paintings may be worth a fortune!
As a doctor of the Imperial College, Zhang Shou could not have been unaware of this, but he actually refused. He only wanted two brocades made by Concubine Yu herself. That would certainly be a great honor to show off, but how much were they worth?
However, after hearing this, Concubine Yu looked at Zhang Shou with more relief and satisfaction than at first. She nodded happily and then asked with a smile: "Well, why did the Queen Mother ask you and Yingying to come here? You might as well tell me."
Zhang Shou did not hesitate and directly told the story of how the Queen Mother received Hong today. Concubine Yu inside listened indifferently, but Chang Ning outside wanted to rush in several times and told Zhang Shou not to trust a woman like Hong who pretended to be a talented woman.
As for how he knew, haha, when his own Concubine Yu was young, she was known for her talent in both civil and military affairs, and Princess Yongping was even more famous as the most talented woman in the capital, but they were both very scheming women. And the mother and daughter were at least beautiful women with outstanding looks. Since Mrs. Hong did not have this most important point, her scheming might be ten times better!
At this time, Chang Ning only heard Concubine Yu in the inner room smile faintly and say: "If you really want to open a girls' school like reopening Jiuzhang Hall, it will be a blessing for all women in the world. Mingyue may not be good at other things, but she is top-notch in knowledge and ability, and she will definitely be able to do it!"
