I studied in modern times

Chapter 1027 Hunters usually appear as prey.
Liang Congzheng looked at the girl who had been brought before him, who had already washed up and changed into a new set of clothes.

Even though he was a courtier, and even though he had seen the girl's face before.

But she still exclaimed in surprise, "Truly a beauty!"

The idiom "I feel pity for you" flashed through Liang Congzheng's mind, giving him a sense that history was reflecting reality.

The girl in front of me is simply too stunning!
Despite the bruises on her face, and despite her young age, looking no more than fourteen years old and somewhat thin, she was still quite young.

but……

Liang Congzheng carefully examined the girl in front of him.

She has a small face that, while youthful, is exquisitely beautiful to the point of being alluring.

Her skin was delicate and fair, like mutton fat, making people admire it.

Her eyes, clear and bright, held a look of fragility and unease that evoked pity in people.

Her thin lips trembled slightly, and her small nostrils quivered with anxiety.

She seemed to be meeting a high-ranking eunuch like Liang Congzheng for the first time. Her voice trembled slightly as she softly said, "This servant, Liu, greets the Commander. May the Commander enjoy his blessings!"

Liang Congzheng chuckled: "Mrs. Liu, there's no need to be nervous!"

His eyes glanced at the dignified Lady Wang kneeling trembling at the door, and the two old palace maids.

"Fool!" he cursed inwardly. "How dare you be so mean and domineering towards such a beauty..."

"They really don't know the meaning of the word 'death'!"

Normally, if the female officials and maids in the palace encountered a beauty like Liu, they would protect her and fawn over her in every way.

Because, in theory, all the female officials in the imperial palace could gain favor and rise to the rank of imperial concubine.

If this happens, it's like one person attaining enlightenment and even their chickens and dogs ascending to heaven!
However, Liang Congzheng also understood.

There are hardly any normal people in this palace.

Rationality simply doesn't exist.

Having served in the palace for over thirty years, climbing from a lowly eunuch to his current position, Liang Congzheng has encountered far too many mentally unstable and crazy women.

In this palace, 90% of the deaths and disabilities of female officials were caused by other female officials and palace maids.

The younger and prettier a person is, the more likely they are to attract trouble.

Yes!

Liang Congzheng has already found out the reason why Liu was bullied by those two old palace maids—naturally, it was out of jealousy and hatred!
Wang, the head of the household, was jealous of Liu's youth and beauty, and also took advantage of her young age and lack of family background—she was just the daughter of a mere clerk (military officer).

Therefore, ever since Liu was transferred to work in this department last year, Wang has frequently instructed people to beat and scold her.

This was perfectly normal in the palace.

Liu is not the first, nor will she be the last, to be ostracized, bullied, and beaten because of her appearance.

Furthermore, Liang Congzheng knew that Liu's mistreatment and bullying did not begin after she came to the Sizhi Si (a government agency).

It is very likely that shortly after entering the palace, she was subjected to suppression and bullying from all sides.

Otherwise, how did she get into the Imperial Household Department?
However, since Liu didn't say anything, Liang Congzheng naturally didn't care about these matters.

He simply addressed the Wang family member outside the door, saying, "Wang Dianzhi..."

"At Yongyu Mausoleum, we still need a female official to serve the spirit of the late emperor..."

"Dianzhi is a diligent and meticulous person; he's perfect for our family!"

"Let's pack our things and go to Yongyu Mausoleum to serve the late Emperor today!"

Wang trembled all over as she listened, and wanted to say something to beg for mercy.

Liang Congzheng waved his hand: "Establish the rules, and save yourself some face! Don't make things difficult for your subordinates!"

Upon hearing this, Wang's face turned ashen, and she could only bow her head and thank her, saying, "I understand..."

As a lady-in-waiting, she knew very well that if she was not dignified, someone else would come to give her dignity.

In that case, the outcome will be even worse!
"Guards! Take the official in charge away!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Immediately, two eunuchs stepped forward and helped the already limp Lady Wang out.

"As for you..." Liang Congzheng glanced at the two old palace maids: "You may both leave!"

The two elderly palace maids immediately bowed in gratitude with a sigh of relief: "Thank you so much, Supervisor! May Your Majesty's favor be everlasting!"

"Go take a break! Go take a break!" Liang Congzheng waved his hand impatiently.

After the two old palace maids left, thanking them profusely.

Liang Congzheng turned his gaze back to the girl in front of him and said, "Liu Shi!"

"I specifically reserved these three for you!"

The girl raised her head, a strange light flashing in her eyes, and said weakly, "I will never forget the great kindness of the guard!"

Liang Congzheng smiled, but did not decline, simply saying, "Pack your things and come with me!"

"Where is the guard taking this slave?"

Liang Congzheng chuckled and said, "Of course it's the Dowager Consort's Palace!"

Although the official did not tell him what to do after finding Liu.
But Liang Congzheng's desire for progress was extremely positive.

Therefore, after seeing Liu's beauty, he already had a plan—Qingshou Palace and Baoci Palace were obviously not to be sent there.

If we send it over, let alone what the three county magistrates will think about this matter?

The mere fact that the two empresses already had three county princesses and more than ten daughters of noble families who had entered the palace made Liang Congzheng give up the idea.

But the Empress Dowager was different.

The birth mother of this official never had any beauties by her side.

At this time, he sent Liu to the Empress Dowager for instruction.

In the future, when Lady Liu gains favor, both Lady Liu and the Empress Dowager will remember his kindness.

And so, Liang Congzheng led the girl, whose nickname was Yingying, to the palace of the Empress Dowager Zhu.

The fact that Liang Congzheng offered Liu to Zhu was, of course, something Liang did not mention, but that the woman had been specifically chosen by the Emperor.

He only mentioned that Liu was bullied in the Sizhi Si (司制司).

As for him?
Naturally, it was because of his kind heart that he couldn't bear to see the good people being bullied, so he took it upon himself to save them.

Then, he remembered that the Empress Dowager was known for her kindness, so he boldly brought Liu to beg the Empress Dowager to take them in.

Having spent over a decade in the palace, how could Zhu not understand Liang Congzheng's rhetoric?

It was nothing more than this eunuch seeing Liu's beauty and trying to curry favor with her.

This is normal!

During the reign of the late emperor, the imperial attendants, including her, were all discovered to be beautiful by the court officials and then sent to the side of Empress Dowager Cixi or the current Empress Dowager.

After the empresses have trained her, a suitable opportunity will be found to let the beauty appear before the late emperor.

If the late emperor liked it, he would naturally grant it a title.

This is the daily life of an emperor.

Therefore, Zhu was immediately delighted after hearing Liang Congzheng's words.

She was also constantly worried about how to find a few beauties to prepare for the emperor, so as to maintain the bond between mother and son!
He then said to Liang Congzheng, "If what the clerk said is true, she is indeed a pitiful woman!"

"So be it! So be it!"

"Some time ago, when I was worshipping Buddha, I made a vow to Buddha to do good deeds and accumulate merit in exchange for Your Majesty's good health and happiness!"

Liang Congzheng smiled and said, "Your Majesty's benevolence will surely move the gods and Buddhas!"

Madam Zhu smiled and looked at the girl who was kneeling before her with her head bowed, and said softly, "Madam Liu, raise your head and let me see you..."

"Yes!" The girl bowed gracefully and carefully raised her head slowly.

A delicate, almost unfairly pretty face came into Zhu's view.

When Zhu saw it, she was stunned.

Such a beauty!

"I should be raised by the government!" she murmured.

In this palace, even biological mothers and children need other bonds to maintain their relationship.

Why did the late emperor treat Ci Shengguang as if she were his own grandmother?
It's because Cisheng Guangxian not only consistently supported and encouraged the late emperor.

They were even selecting beauties for the late emperor, training them, and then sending them to him?!
She, along with Consort Chen, Consort Xing, Consort Li, and other concubines of the late emperor, all came from the side of Empress Dowager Cixi.

Then, mimicking what Empress Dowager Cixi had said to her years before, he spoke gently to Lady Liu, "Good child, come before me and let me take a good look at you..."

"This servant will obey Your Majesty's command!" The young girl gave a graceful curtsy, then timidly walked with her lotus-like steps and bowed her body to Zhu Shi.

Just like that afternoon nearly twenty years ago, when she was led to the presence of Cisheng Guangxian at Qingshou Palace.

Recalling the past, Madam Zhu took the little girl's hand and said softly, "Good child!"

"From now on, you shall follow me!"

"This servant thanks Your Majesty for your great kindness!"

……

"Everyone..." Tong Guan quietly approached Zhao Xu's side, lowered his voice, and reported, "I heard that yesterday, the Empress Dowager led a person who had not yet been granted an official position to Baoci Palace, requesting the Empress Dowager's benevolent decree..." "Oh!" Zhao Xu put down the book in his hand, turned to look at Tong Guan, and asked, "Tell me, what happened?"

Tong Guan reported the whole story to Zhao Xu.

Of course, the content was that Liang Congzheng told the Empress Dowager Zhu, who then reported it to Empress Dowager Xiang, and then the information was passed through multiple channels from Empress Dowager Xiang's palace.

In many cases, the facts have become distorted.

The only credible account might be that Liang Congzheng presented a beautiful young woman to the Empress Dowager, who adored her and went to Baoci Palace to request an imperial decree from the Empress Dowager to give the woman a shawl.

Wearing a brocade cape signifies a noblewoman.

The noblewomen in the palace were naturally the future imperial concubines.

After listening, Zhao Xu thought to himself, "This Liang Congzheng is quite quick to act!"

"that is……"

He looked in the direction of the Empress Dowager's palace: "Sister, can you subdue Liu Shi?"

He felt very uncertain.

Because, in his previous life, Zhu had never been able to subdue Liu.

Of course, this is also related to Liu's background!
Zhao Xu pursed his lips, and the memory of his first encounter with Liu Shi surfaced in his mind.

That happened in the sixth year of the Yuan You era.

Zhao Xu had grown up by then.

Both psychologically and physiologically, they have reached adulthood.

But he kept himself well hidden, remaining silent and quietly observing everything around him.

No matter who it is or what it is, he neither interferes, comments, nor expresses his opinion.

When they arrive at the imperial court, they pretend to be mute; when they attend lectures on the classics, they pretend to be deaf.

However, the old matriarch of Qingshou Palace still refused to let him go and continued to test him.

Thus, the selection of the empress in the sixth year of the Yuan You era came into being.

Meng Qingqing was practically forced upon him by Qingshou Palace, who made him accept her.

He had no choice but to accept it, even if he had to grit his teeth and bear it.

It was at this time, one afternoon, that Zhao Xu was walking on the imperial road outside the Funing Palace, as usual.

A girl dressed in a light blue dress came into his view.

At first glance, Zhao Xu was captivated by her beauty.

For the emperor, if he took a fancy to a woman, it was perfectly reasonable to bring her back to the palace and favor her immediately.

Even though this emperor was merely a puppet without real power.

This is what emperors in feudal society were like.

To do whatever one pleases, without being restricted by any etiquette, laws, or systems.

He can trample on all systems, rules, and regulations if he wants to!

So, after that day, the young emperor had one more imperial attendant by his side, and one less female official in the palace.

Recalling this incident, Zhao Xu smiled and said, "Yingying, you're such a clever little devil!"

Having experienced the modern world, Zhao Xu now knows perfectly well that Liu Yingying deliberately appeared before him from the very beginning. She knew from the start when and where Zhao Xu would appear!
As the saying goes, the best hunters are usually the ones who are the prey.

In his previous life, Zhao Xu was too young to understand this principle.

Therefore, he always believed that he had captured a beautiful woman.

Little did he know, he might very well have been Liu Yingying's prey from the very beginning!

but……

Zhao Xu thought about it and realized that he hadn't really lost out!
So I stopped thinking about those things.

These are all minor matters!
Let my older sister discipline them for now!
……

Guiyou in March of the third year of Yuanyou (26)
The seat of Dengzhou was Penglai.

The city of Penglai today is vastly different from what it once was.

Not only in the city, but also in the area, shops lined the streets, merchants gathered, and people came and went frequently.

Even the villages and farmlands that once existed outside the city have now disappeared.

Instead, rolling hills and settlements of houses stretched for three miles beyond the city walls.

Among these houses and settlements, merchants speaking various accents haggled with customers from all over the country.

Walking through it, you can clearly smell a strong fishy odor.

Almost every house has strings of dried fish hanging under its eaves.

The dried fish was covered in coarse salt.

In each courtyard, steam rose and charcoal burned.

One large pot after another was being boiled to a rolling boil.

A shirtless man was stirring the brine in a pot with a large stirring stick.

The cooked soy milk was slowly dripped into the pot.

It separates impurities and toxic substances from sea salt.

After several attempts, the snow-white sea salt crystallized and precipitated out.

Outside these courtyards, salt smugglers from all over the country, especially those originally from Hebei, Jingdong, and Huainan, were waving their paper money.

You can buy sea salt or dried fish.

Now, the imperial court has relaxed the salt laws, and local governments no longer control private salt production.

So everyone was busy taking a bite out of this piece of fat.

Moreover, this business is no longer just being done by merchants from the Song Dynasty.

The Liao and Goryeo people across the sea were also crossing the sea to come.

Cheap salt and dried fish are equally irresistible to them!

In particular, the Liao army is currently waging war against Japan.

The salt and dried fish from Dengzhou became part of the Liao army's supplies.

Each time Liaoning merchants entered the country, they made large-scale purchases.

Paper money flowed into Dengzhou like a river.

All of this has made Dengzhou the number one in terms of economy, population, and tax revenue in the Jingdong region.

Thus, a port comparable in size to Quanzhou Port is under construction.

As usual, Su Shi sat in the city tower of Penglai County, watching the bustling human life and lively sounds before him.

This great writer felt an unprecedented sense of satisfaction and excitement.

This is a habit he has developed now—whenever he has nothing to do, he will climb the city wall and look down on the prosperity inside and outside Penglai.

Occasionally, when inspiration strikes, he will pick up his brush and ink, leaving behind a classic poem that will be passed down through the ages.

At this moment, Su Shi's literary talent was brewing in his heart.

An idea flashed into his mind.

He had already decided on the poetic form he wanted to write in – Linjiangxian.

He also wrote this poem when he was demoted to Huangzhou.

The line, "From this small boat I will depart, and spend the rest of my life on the rivers and seas," is still sung throughout the world today.

However, it was written during the period when the legitimate heir was being demoted.

So depressing!
That's so unambitious!
How can you be so颓废 (颓废 is a difficult word to translate directly, but it implies a state of being listless, dispirited, or demoralized)?

A true man in this world will earn his own fame and achieve his own success!
So Su Shi picked up his brush and wrote the title on the paper: Linjiangxian - In Praise of the Prosperous Yuanyou Era and Reminiscence of Ziyou.

Yes!

Such lofty ambitions, in Su Shi's view, must be shared with his younger brother, and he must not leave his brother behind!

Su Shi wrote down the title, and was gathering his emotions.

Downstairs, however, came the sound of hurried footsteps.

"My lord... my lord..." Su Mai's urgent calls reached my ears.

Su Shi put down his pen, frowned, and looked at his son Su Mai, who was panting as he approached him.

"What is it?" Su Shi asked irritably.

"Urgent report from Bianjing..."

"The Emperor is furious about Uncle Kong's death and wants to punish his entire clan!"

Su Shi opened his mouth wide, speechless with surprise.

The lofty ambitions in his heart vanished completely in an instant.

(End of this chapter)