I am Emperor Wanli

Chapter 733 The Peony Pavilion is good because it is vulgar

Pan Yinglong followed Qi Yan into the West Garden and walked along the road on the west bank of Nanhai Lake towards the Ziguang Pavilion.

"Pan Fuyin, I'll ask you to wait for a while when we get to Ziguang Pavilion."

"Eunuch Qi, is there something wrong with the Emperor?"

"The Emperor is currently in Qionghua Palace, accompanying the ladies to listen to opera. But you know the Emperor's temper, he will definitely come when the time comes."

"Your Majesty is always very punctual. I was anxious and came early."

"What Prefect Pan said is that only subjects wait for the king, not the king waits for the subjects."

"Eunuch Qi is right."

The wind blew gently, and a faint scent of osmanthus drifted into Pan Yinglong's nose.

"It's the sweet-scented osmanthus season again in August."

"There are many osmanthus trees planted in the West Garden. From August to September, the whole garden is filled with the fragrance of osmanthus."

"I still remember the first time I entered the Western Garden. The one who led the way was Eunuch Huang. He happened to be back from an errand in the Western Garden and took me to see the Emperor.

At that time, the emperor was still the crown prince.

Eunuch Huang was walking slowly in front of me, and I also smelled the sweet osmanthus fragrance at that time. Eunuch Huang said that there were only a few sweet osmanthus trees in the West Garden before, and the prince liked the smell, so Emperor Shizong ordered people to search all over the capital and transplant hundreds of sweet osmanthus trees to the West Garden.

Qi Yan said faintly in the front, "It is not a human plant, but a plant from the moon. A little fragrance from Guanghan Mountain blows the whole mountain into bloom."

Pan Yinglong blinked his eyes and said to Yan: "I don't mind scattering in the world, I am afraid that the flowers will dislike me being ordinary. In the late autumn, I call back the spring, how often I have been lonely."

Qi Yan turned around, looked at Pan Yinglong and smiled, then said leisurely: "The emperor told us servants that when he smelled the sweet-scented osmanthus, his favorite poem was still 'Osmanthus floating on jade, the streets are full of the first month, and the night is as cool as a wash.'"

"This is a poem by Hengshan Gong (Wen Zhengming)."

"Yes, in the autumn of a certain year, the emperor summoned Mr. Wenchang. When he smelled the sweet-scented osmanthus, Mr. Wenchang was inspired and recited this poem. The emperor liked this line the most and asked Mr. Wenchang to write down this poem with his brush."

Xu Wei and Pan Yinglong were both Hu Zongxian's aides, and they worked together to assist Hu Zongxian in suppressing the Japanese invaders.

Xu Wei was both a teacher and a friend to Pan Yinglong, and the two had a very good personal relationship.

After Pan Yinglong's father entered officialdom, he studied painting and calligraphy under Wen Zhengming, and they had quite a connection.

Qi Yan suddenly mentioned Xu Wei and Wen Zhengming, seeming to express some goodwill.

"Time really flies. Eunuch Qi, I heard that Eunuch Huang Jin passed away?"

"Five days ago, Duke Dingguo, Eunuch Yang, and Eunuch Feng brought the emperor's bestowed offerings and imperial edict to Yongling to preside over Eunuch Huang's funeral and bury him in Yongling. It is truly a great gift from heaven!"

The two exchanged a few words, expressing what needed to be said, and then suddenly fell silent again, continuing to walk along the boulevard.

In the distance, birds were calling in the trees. Their chirping sounds were so pleasant to the ears, just like the breeze blowing across the lake, which made people feel so comfortable.

Qi Yan brought Pan Yinglong to the ear room in the front hall of Ziguang Pavilion.

When the eunuch brought the teacup, Qi Yan said politely, "Please sit down for a moment, Prefect Pan."

"Eunuch Qi, please make yourself at your own convenience."

In Qionghua Palace, "The Peony Pavilion" was being sung on the stage in the main hall.

The female lead flicked her long sleeves and sang in a graceful voice, "It turns out that all the beautiful flowers are in full bloom, but now they are all left to the broken wells and dilapidated walls. What can we do about the beautiful scenery? Whose yard can we enjoy the pleasure?"

Opposite the stage was an empty hall. Zhu Yijun sat in the middle, and Empress Xue sat on the left with a slightly arched belly. Concubine Song sat a little lower on the right, with a round belly that was much bigger than Empress Xue's.

On the left, Concubine Shun Wang sat in the first place, followed by Concubine Kang Dong and Concubine Ning Ge. Ge's belly was bigger than Empress Xue's, but smaller than Concubine Song's.

Sitting below Imperial Concubine Song were Concubine Xu and Concubine Zeng. Both were pregnant, and their bellies were almost as big as Concubine Ge's.

Zhu Yijun glanced at their faces and muttered to himself.

Either don’t get pregnant, or get pregnant together.

There are seven concubines, and five of them got pregnant at the same time. I don't know who will take turns. Now there are only Concubine Shun and Concubine Kang. There is not much room for choice, and there is nothing new.
Concubine Kang has lost her appetite these past few days and seems a little abnormal. She asked the female doctor in the Imperial Medical Office to take her pulse. It seems that she is pregnant but not yet. It may be only one or two months. The condition is not obvious yet, but the chance of pregnancy is very high.

Well, if you guys get pregnant together, I will really be left alone.

As a person who had experienced this, the Queen Mother hinted that she should "recruit troops" for the harem.

We will definitely not expand enrollment!
I am only eighteen years old, in the prime of my youth. With so many concubines in the harem, I can easily fall into it. Now that the Wanli New Deal is just starting, various reforms are in full swing, and I can't relax at this time.

The key is to not let out the anger in your heart. Once you let out the anger, everything will be ruined.

It is human nature to love leisure and hate work.

"You sing really well." Xu praised, "I heard that the script of this play was written by the Jiangxi talent Tang Xianzu. I didn't expect there is such a talented person in the world.

Your Majesty, did Tang Xianzu pass the imperial examination and become the top scholar? "

"I didn't pass the exam." Zhu Yijun knew this man, he had literary talent, Wang Shizhen praised him to the sky. When he passed through Nanjing and Yangzhou on his way to Beijing for the imperial examination, even Master Hai couldn't help but summon him, but he mentioned in a private letter to himself that this man had great literary talent but was ignorant of worldly affairs.
The general meaning is that this person is a top writer of scripts and novels, but if he enters the officialdom, he will be a little sheep.
Later, when the imperial examination came, the Cabinet and the Ministry of Rites presented him with the list of successful candidates, but his name was not on it.

After failing the imperial examination, he went to Suzhou, where he hung out with Wang Shizhen and Tu Long. He wrote scripts, met friends everywhere, and made sharp comments in the Literary Gazette sponsored by Wang Shizhen, becoming a trendsetter in the Wanli Dynasty.

Good.

"what a shame."

Wang said, "Sister, it is useless to have literary talent to pass the imperial examination. You must also have the ability to govern the country and benefit the people."

Everyone couldn't help but look at her.

Since giving birth to the eldest princess, Wang was depressed for a while, but now she is rising again.

Xu wanted to argue a little more, but Zeng pulled her clothes and she quickly changed her words.

"Sister Shunfei is right."

On the stage, unaware of what was happening on the other side, two actors were still singing. One was a female actor, playing the role of Du Liniang, while the other was a woman dressed as a man, playing the role of Liu Mengmei.

You come and I, and our eyes convey affection.

"How can I be so beautiful as you, and so fleeting as time? I have been searching for you everywhere, and feel sorry for myself in my secluded room."

Several concubines were mesmerized by the performance. Mrs. Dong propped her chin up and said in a daze, "You sing really well. You can almost rival the Imperial Concubine Sister."

Mrs. Ge pulled at her clothes and said, "Nonsense! How can you compare the Imperial Concubine with a female opera singer?"

Mrs. Dong stuck out her tongue and said, "Sister Imperial Concubine, Linglong knows she was wrong, please don't be angry. I think no one in the world can sing as beautifully as you, and I can never learn to sing like you."

Concubine Song gently held her belly with both hands and replied with a smile: "Concubine Kang and Concubine Ning sang the songs on the grassland very well, which was outstanding."

Xue Baoqin listened quietly, picked up a cup of warm tea and took two sips, then said softly, "People outside say that this Peony Pavilion is a piece of erotic music, especially many old scholars, who denounced this play as filthy and vile, violating etiquette."

Wang immediately said, "The Empress is right. This piece of writing is lewd and obscene, and it is a scandal among the people. It should be banned by educators. How can the Emperor ask the opera troupe in the Pear Garden to rehearse this play? If it gets out, the dignity and elegance of the royal family will be lost."

Zhu Yijun glanced at her, and Wang's face changed slightly. She swallowed her saliva and said with all her might, "I just think this play is absurd and incompatible with women's virtues."

At the end of her speech, Wang's voice was almost as soft as a mosquito, and finally fell silent. The hall became silent, and the seven concubines, as well as the palace eunuchs standing beside them, all held their breath, not daring to make a sound.

Only the sound of singing from the stage opposite could be heard faintly, echoing in the Qionghua Palace.

Zhu Yijun smiled slightly, like a ray of sunshine shining into the frozen mountains and forests, and the stream began to flow again.

"Shun Fei was not the first person to complain about this book, The Peony Pavilion. The first one to complain was Lord Shilu (Li Chunfang), then Lord Dazhou (Zhao Zhenji), and later Prime Minister Zhang also muttered a few words in front of me, saying it was not good.

Many people disliked it and asked me to issue an imperial decree to ban it. I asked someone to find the full copy and read it through. "

Everyone looked at him and hung on his every word.

"Love comes from nowhere, but it grows deeper and deeper. The living can die, and the dead can be reborn." The words in this inscription are very well written. People say it is gaudy and vulgar, but I think the beauty of "Peony Pavilion" lies in its gaudy and vulgar nature.

True love between men and women comes from human nature. Maintain the principles of heaven and eliminate human desires. The original saying of self-denial and obedience to principles was distorted by the crooked-mouthed monk for hundreds of years, and finally became a shackle that suppresses human nature.

If people lose their vivid humanity, they become sheep, cattle, and beasts. To educate people to become beasts? Is this what those Neo-Confucianists are pursuing? "

Concubine Shun Wang's face turned slightly pale, and the expressions of the other concubines were also different.

"Without desire, if we just muddle through, the Ming Dynasty will be a stagnant pool of water. My Ming Dynasty will never be like this. The people of the new Ming Dynasty are full of hope and have the courage to pursue truth, goodness and beauty, and the courage to pursue happiness. They must be positive and full of vigor and vitality!"

Xue Baoqin glanced at Wang and replied with a smile on her face, "Your Majesty is far-sighted and insightful. He can hear the principles of governing the country and educating the people from a Kunqu opera."

Concubine Song covered her mouth and said, "Who doesn't know our emperor? He is a saint with natural talent. But the emperor has your principles of governing the country, which is a blessing for us to hear such a beautiful opera."

"Yes."

The other concubines all echoed the voice, glancing at Wang from time to time.

She forced a smile, "Your Majesty is wise and has benefited me greatly."

"Each era has its own customs and morals, but the bottom line remains the same. Loyalty, filial piety, benevolence, righteousness, and trustworthiness, these basic principles of being a human being must still be followed, but they cannot be elevated infinitely.

Moral education is only to make us a person with conscience, not to make us saints.

Everyone listened quietly and felt that it was more interesting than the play being performed on the stage across the street.

"Okay, stop talking. Don't delay the opera. People are singing hard up there, and we're chattering away down below. This is disrespectful to their hard work."

"Hehe, the emperor is so considerate." Dong said with a giggle.

The other concubines looked at her, feeling angry and amused.

After one act was over, the actors on the stage raised their arms and bowed to this side.

After Zhu Yijun ascended the throne, he changed the rules. Except for grand court meetings in the Huangji Hall, sacrifices to heaven and earth, sacrifices to ancestors at the Taimiao ancestral tombs, and formal audiences with the emperor by ordinary people, the emperor could just cross his hands and bow.

"The Xichun Troupe performed well. The Emperor and the concubines were all fascinated by the performance. They deserve rewards. Du Liniang will be rewarded 60 yuan, Liu Mengmei will be rewarded 50 yuan, and the rest, including the gongs and drums, will be rewarded 10 yuan."

Xue Baoqin gave instructions to the palace lady beside her.

"Yes, it's a reward from the Queen!"

"I thank the Queen for her reward!"

After the actors left, Xue Baoqin asked, "What's the next act?"

"To answer your Majesty, it is "Longing for the Ordinary Life" from "The Sea of ​​Sin," the palace lady glanced at Zhu Yijun, "and it was chosen by the Emperor."

Xue Baoqin said with a smile: "Your Majesty wants to sing vulgar songs to his heart's content today."

Zhu Yijun raised his head and laughed: "Of course!"

After waiting for a while, the stage was about to start, and Concubine Wang stood up and said, "Your Majesty, Queen, my eldest sister needs to be breastfed. I have to go back to the Cining Palace in the Forbidden City now."

Empress Dowager Chen loved the emperor's eldest daughter, her first grandchild, very much and kept her by her side whenever she had time.

The Childcare Department of the Imperial Physician's Office advocated breastfeeding, saying it was beneficial for both adults and children. Unless the concubines really had no milk, they had to feed their babies themselves.

On the surface, these are the words of the Imperial Physician, but in reality they are the words of the Emperor, and we must listen to them.

Zhu Yijun nodded and said with a smile: "Of course you have to go. We can't let Concubine Shun just focus on the opera and let my eldest princess go hungry. Take my sedan chair and go."

Xue Baoqin glanced at him with her beautiful eyes, "How can you ride in the emperor's sedan chair? Just ride in my sedan chair. Anyway, I'm accompanying the emperor and my sisters to watch the opera, so I won't be going anywhere for a while.

Concubine Shun went to the Cining Palace to feed the baby, and will come back soon."

"Yes."

Not long after Wang left, Zhu Yijun stood up, the gongs and drums on the stage stopped immediately, and the little nun on the stage also stood there motionless.

Xue Baoqin and six other concubines all stood up.

"emperor."

"I have an appointment with Shuntian Prefecture Governor Pan Yinglong for something important. You guys continue watching, don't be affected." Zhu Yijun pointed at the women, "You are all pregnant, especially Concubine Song. The imperial physician said that the due date is approaching, so you must be careful."

"I understand. I respectfully send your Majesty off."

Zhu Yijun left the Qionghua Palace, and soon the sound of gongs and drums and the singing of a little nun were heard from behind.

"The little nun was only 28 years old, in her prime, and her master shaved her hair."

I don’t know if the play “Farewell My Concubine” has been released.

Zhu Yijun returned to Ziguang Pavilion quickly.

"Your Highness, I, Pan Yinglong, come to see you."

"No need to be polite. Mr. Pan, have you been waiting for a while?"

"In reply to the emperor, I am here too early."

"sit!"

After the eunuch served tea, Zhu Yijun continued to ask: "Mr. Pan's visit this time seems to be a result of your Wind and Thunder Operation."

"Yes, Your Majesty. I am here to report the situation to Your Majesty."

Pan Yinglong took out the sorted files and evidence and handed them to Qi Yan, who then presented them to Zhu Yijun.

Zhu Yijun took a quick look and found that it was pretty much what he expected. The investigation was very thorough and the evidence was listed in great detail.

He put the file on the table beside him.

"Just now, I was listening to operas with my concubines in Qionghua Palace. They were literary operas, The Peony Pavilion and Sifan, which were both gaudy and vulgar. I told them that the good thing about The Peony Pavilion was its gaudy and vulgar nature.

I haven't finished listening yet, Mr. Pan, you've already started beating the gongs and drums for me."

Zhu Yijun tapped his fingers on the table, "Bang, bang, one after another."

After a pause, Zhu Yijun said, "Okay, two days later, our king and his subjects will sing this play "Recruiting Jiang Wei" loudly and clearly!"

(End of this chapter)