I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 153 The Lucky Wei Family

...

Before Qiao went to serve the emperor, she had already told Wei that she would recommend Wei to Zhao Yu whenever the opportunity arose.

On the surface, Lady Wei said, "You have only just acquired a beauty and have not yet made your fortune. How can you help me? Don't be rash and displease His Majesty, ruining your own future."

Deep down, Lady Wei really hoped that Lady Qiao would recommend her to Zhao Yu.

Now 21 years old, Lady Wei is not only at the most attractive age for a woman, but also approaching the age when women in the harem are expected to leave the palace.

—According to the rules of the imperial harem, if a palace maid reaches the age of twenty-five and has not yet been taken in by the emperor, and has no special decree (that is, no powerful figure in the harem to protect her), she will be sent out of the palace to fend for herself.

Lady Wei came from a humble background and worked as a maid in Su Song's household with her older sister in her early years.

There's a saying that goes something like this: a man won't stop thinking about women unless he's hanging on the wall.

At that time, Su Song was over seventy years old and still hadn't behaved himself.

Therefore, Lady Wei was chosen to serve Su Song.

Unexpectedly, Wei's first time serving him resulted in a problem. Probably due to excessive nervousness, she urinated uncontrollably before Su Song could even touch her, much like Zhang Chun had urinated in the first place.

Su Song was not as tolerant as Zhao Yu. He did not want a woman who was "tainted." Of course, being a former prime minister, he spoke more tactfully. He said to Wei's sister, "This woman is very precious and cannot live here. We should bring her to the capital."

Su Song meant that your sister is destined for great wealth and honor, and this is not a place for her to live. You should take her to the capital.

Although it sounded nice, Su Song had actually dismissed Wei Shi.

Wei's elder sister married Li Congyue, a military officer.

Li Congyue had connections with Su Song's family, which enabled him to send Wei's sister to work at Su Song's house and "send" Wei to Su Song as a maid.

Unexpectedly, a single urination by Ms. Wei wiped out their entire family's livelihood.

Fortunately, Su Song remembered their past relationship and transferred Li Congyue to a post in the capital.

Following Su Song's directions, Li Congyue brought his family to Bianliang City, the capital of Tokyo.

And so, Lady Wei and her sister's family left Danyang and came to Bianliang City, where they stayed in a Taoist temple.

The opportunity soon came when the palace was selecting maids for menial tasks. Through Li Congyue's recommendation, Lady Wei was able to participate in the selection.

Because of her beauty and tall stature, she was well-suited for manual labor and was thus selected to enter the palace.

Ms. Wei's parents had died long ago. She had two older brothers, one younger brother, and one older sister.

Her brothers were all doing poorly, still "farming" in their hometown at the time, and couldn't take care of her at all. Her brother-in-law was also a poor minor official, too busy to take care of himself. Otherwise, how could he have let her live in the Taoist temple? And how could he have later sold her into the palace?

Therefore, Lady Wei, having nowhere else to go, truly did not want to leave the palace. She just wanted to live a peaceful and stable life in the palace, and if she could rise in status, that would be even better.

For a woman in the palace, there was certainly no faster path to advancement than sleeping with the emperor.

How could Lady Wei possibly not want to serve the emperor in bed?

But the reality is that Zheng Xiansu had already arranged for many people to serve him in bed, and he hadn't expected Wei Shi to be included.

With Zheng Xiansu's help, the Wei family would most likely have no chance.

There was no other way; the Wei family could only rely on the Qiao family.

Although Qiao was beautiful, her father was a poor minor official, and she was an illegitimate daughter; otherwise, she wouldn't have been "sold" into the palace.

The Qiao family is currently struggling to make ends meet, and if they were to force the Wei family into marriage, both of them might end up in dire straits.

Therefore, Ms. Wei hesitated, wondering whether she should wait until Ms. Qiao became pregnant. If she did, Ms. Qiao's recommendation would likely be much stronger.

But Lady Wei was also afraid. Like many palace maids, Lady Qiao had been favored by Zhao Yu once or twice, but then Zhao Yu forgot about her. Who knew when she would be favored again?

If that's the case, then "if you have the power but don't use it, it will expire," so it's better to let the Qiao family give it a try.

In short, Mr. Wei was conflicted, worried about gains and losses, and hesitant to make a decision.

Qiao, however, was very optimistic. She said confidently, "His Majesty is extremely kind and takes great care of those of us who serve him in bed. Even if there are minor flaws, he will not easily punish us. Moreover, His Majesty favors me the most. If I make a suggestion, His Majesty will most likely agree. Even if he does not agree, I do not think he will be harsh on me. You should make all the preparations and wait for good news outside the palace. If things go smoothly, I will have Qingyao summon you."

And so, ever since Lady Qiao and Yan Zhengyi went in to serve the emperor, Lady Wei lingered outside the palace.

Although Lady Wei did not know whether she would be able to serve the emperor tonight, she still took a bath and changed her clothes in advance, did her makeup, and put on her best clothes, making thorough preparations.

Just when Lady Wei thought she had no hope for the day, Qingyao ran out and said to her, "My mistress is calling you to come and serve her in bed."

Overjoyed, Madam Wei quickly lifted her skirt and followed Qingyao inside to find Madam Qiao.

Upon arriving at the door, Madam Wei immediately saw Madam Qiao, completely naked, anxiously waiting for her at the entrance.

At the same time, as she approached the door, Ms. Wei heard a voice that was both familiar and somewhat unfamiliar to her... Ms. Wei, still a young woman, was a little embarrassed to describe the voice.

After the two met, Qiao couldn't help but complain to Wei: "Why did you only arrive now?"

Mrs. Wei felt a little aggrieved; she had rushed over here immediately and almost lost her shoes in the process.

But Mrs. Wei couldn't say such a thing, especially at this crucial moment. She could only cautiously ask, "Has something changed?"

Qiao said with some annoyance, "Yan Gongzheng has suddenly realized his mistake."

At this point, Mrs. Qiao secretly pointed inside.

Mr. Wei understood and peeked inside.

Upon seeing this, Madam Wei was dumbfounded. She exclaimed in disbelief, "This is... Yan Gongzheng?!"

How to describe it?
At this moment, Yan Zhengyi was no longer the dignified, proper, and aloof person he used to be; instead, he completely let loose and became unrestrained.

Mrs. Qiao said somewhat sullenly, "She's learned all my tricks, sigh!"

In fact, Qiao's tricks were learned by secretly from others when she was serving them in bed together—some of them were even taught to them by Zhao Yu.

Lady Wei didn't care about these things; she was only worried about her future, so she hurriedly asked, "Will I still have a chance to serve you tonight?"

Even Lady Qiao wasn't sure if Zhao Yu, who was currently having a passionate affair with Yan Zhengyi, would still be interested in Lady Wei. She could only tell the truth: "His Majesty has already agreed to let you serve him in bed, but he's having Yan Zhengyi interfere..."

Hearing this, Madam Wei's heart sank. She exclaimed anxiously, "What should we do?!"

After thinking for a moment, Mrs. Qiao said, "Take off your clothes!" "?"

Mr. Wei was somewhat puzzled.

As Qiao helped Wei take off her clothes, she said, "Now that the Emperor has granted your permission, you should obey His Majesty's decree. Do you intend to disobey the imperial order?"

Wei immediately understood Qiao's meaning: send her over first, and whether Zhao Yu wants her or not is another matter.

In other words, if you try, you have at least a 50% chance of success; if you don't try, you're guaranteed to fail.

Looking again, the usually aloof beauty Yan Zhengyi has now become a silver maid, unwilling to give up the opportunity to gain favor.

"This is a golden opportunity! If I am not fortunate enough to serve the Emperor this time, once the Empress gives birth to a prince and the Emperor moves out of Kunning Palace, I fear I will never have another chance."

Thinking of this, Lady Wei disregarded her shyness and nervousness, quickly stripped herself naked, and followed Lady Qiao to serve her in bed...

……

Haishi.

Having completely relaxed, Zhao Yu went to sleep with Zheng Xiansu.

No sooner had Zhao Yu left than Qiao Shi quickly did a handstand and urged Wei Shi, "Do as I do!"

Ms. Wei was puzzled, but she immediately followed Ms. Qiao's example and did a handstand.

After she finished, Madam Wei asked Madam Qiao, "Why did you do that?"

"This is a method of conception created by Consort Zhang. It is said that this method can increase the chances of conception, and many people have conceived imperial offspring through this method," said Madam Qiao.

“Yan Gongzheng could also give it a try,” Qiao said to Yan Zhengyi.

In fact, Yan Zhengyi had a lot of grievances against Qiao and Wei. If Qiao hadn't called Wei over, she could have gotten another chance.

In other words, in Yan Zhengyi's view, it was Qiao Shi who helped Wei Shi steal her chance to conceive, and if she couldn't get pregnant this time, it would all be Qiao Shi and Wei Shi's fault.

Yan Zhengyi didn't consider herself a petty person, but there's a difference between a situation and a situation. How could she not be concerned about such a momentous life event as conceiving the emperor's child? The temptation was stronger than any gold or silver, enough to ignite greed and drive one to the brink of desperation. After all, who wouldn't want to one day rise in status and become a phoenix through their child?
Yan Zhengyi pondered inwardly, but his expression remained unchanged. He simply nodded slightly and forced a smile: "Since it was created by Consort Zhang, it must be effective. I will give it a try."

After saying this, Yan Zhengyi immediately followed the example of Qiao and Wei and stood upside down.

The night was as dark as ink, and the moonlight as clear as water. Inside the palace, three women, in a rather comical yet extremely devout manner, expressed their longing and anticipation for pregnancy.

Taking advantage of this moment, Qiao said to Wei, "I have observed that the Emperor favors you greatly. There have long been rumors that the Emperor is fond of tall and graceful women. Today, I see that this is indeed true."

Lady Wei also realized that Zhao Yu liked her very much.

In fact, stripping himself naked and climbing into bed had already exhausted all of Wei's courage.

In that situation, if Zhao Yu had given her even the slightest displeasure, Lady Wei would have been so frightened that she would have immediately rolled off the bed.

She might even become despondent and never dare to think of serving the emperor again.

Unexpectedly, after seeing her get into bed, Zhao Yu directly gestured for her to come over.

Moreover, before Yan Zhengyi had even finished dealing with her, Zhao Yu began to woo her.

Later, Zhao Yu even slept with her twice more, while Qiao Shi and Yan Zhengyi could only watch helplessly from the sidelines.

Zhao Yu's favor gave her confidence, which had always been very insecure.

Crucially, Zhao Yu whispered in her ear that she should continue to serve him in bed the following night.

How could she not see that Zhao Yu liked her, or at least liked her body?

At that moment, Mrs. Wei was incredibly excited! She felt that her hardships had finally come to an end!
Lady Wei wanted to share this good news with Lady Qiao, but after glancing at Yan Zhengyi beside her, she swallowed back the words she was about to say and instead said, "Perhaps the Emperor feels that you and Yan Zhengyi are tired, which is why he is so fond of me."

Wei carefully considered her words, wanting to share this rare joy with Qiao, yet unwilling to appear too flamboyant in front of Yan Zhengyi. Her eyes gleamed with barely concealed excitement, yet she still tried her best to maintain a calm demeanor.

Qiao didn't think much of it. This warm-hearted and kind woman was just overjoyed that her good friend could also serve in bed and successfully change her own fate.

Yan Zhengyi stood to the side, his heart churning with complex emotions. 'Qiao is one thing, she is indeed more beautiful than me, but what virtue or ability does such a burly woman like Wei possess to win the Emperor's favor?!'

Yan Zhengyi was filled with confusion.

The next morning, the newly arrived young women Yan Zhengyi and Wei, after being questioned and registered by the relevant female officials, came early to serve tea to Zheng Xiansu.

Despite the unexpected incident involving Ms. Wei, it did not affect Zheng Xiansu's response in the slightest.

Zheng Xiansu not only agreed to plead for Yan Zhengyi and Wei Shi according to custom, but also promised that whichever of Yan Zhengyi and Wei Shi gave birth to a prince, he would adopt her as his daughter.

—Previously, Zheng Xiansu had made such a promise to all the women who had slept in the Kunning Palace.

In the imperial court, infighting among concubines was common. Adopting other concubines as daughters allowed one to bring them into one's own camp, increasing one's power and influence in the court, thereby better consolidating one's position as empress. For example, when other concubines posed a threat to Zheng Xiansu's position, her adopted daughters would mostly stand by her side and help her deal with various situations.

This was not Zheng Xiansu's original idea. In fact, in the court of the Zhao Song Dynasty, there had long been a tradition or custom of empresses and concubines adopting daughters, and these adopted daughters were often presented to the emperor to cultivate their own power.

Influenced by this tradition, Zheng Xiansu continued this practice by adopting concubines in order to better survive and thrive in the palace.

From the perspective of the concubines who were adopted by Zheng Xiansu.

Being adopted by Zheng Xiansu meant that they had joined the most powerful faction in the harem. If they encountered difficulties or injustices, Zheng Xiansu would stand up for them and help them.

To put it simply, with Zheng Xiansu's adopted daughter status, no one dares to bully them or their children.

In other words, Zheng Xiansu adopted them as his daughters to provide them with protection and care.

Putting everything else aside, in this harem, there are many powerful and influential concubines who have no children. Sometimes, these women will take advantage of their power to snatch the sons of lower-ranking concubines and claim them as their own.

The most famous example is Consort Li, the mother of Emperor Renzong of Song.

Consort Li was originally a maidservant of Empress Liu. Later, she was favored by Emperor Zhenzong of Song and gave birth to Emperor Renzong. However, after Emperor Renzong was born, he was adopted by Empress Liu and raised by Empress Liu and Consort Yang. Consort Li was unable to recognize her son until her death. Emperor Renzong always believed that Empress Liu was his biological mother, and he only learned about his true parentage after Empress Liu's death.

Later, the popular folk tale "The Prince Replaced by a Civet Cat" tells this story.

Once she is adopted by Zheng Xiansu, this kind of thing will definitely not happen again.

In short, Zheng Xiansu's adoption of many daughters is a good thing for both Zheng Xiansu and his adopted daughters...

……

(End of this chapter)