I traveled with them to the Northern Song Dynasty

Chapter 18 A shortcut to leaving the harem

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"Although Zhao Ji had already married Empress Xiangong, she would die at the age of 25 and could only live for another eight years."

"But Empress Xiansu was different. She was still alive and well during the Jingkang Incident. If it hadn't happened, she might have lived to be in her seventies or eighties."

"Looking at it this way, if we turn history back and let Zhao Ji continue to be the emperor, I would have a better chance of becoming the empress."

"But Empress Xiangong would give birth to Zhao Ji's eldest son, Zhao Huan. Historically, Prince Yun Zhao Kai once won the top spot in the imperial examination, Prince Su Zhao Shu had a photographic memory, and Prince Jing Zhao Qi was extremely filial. None of them could compete with Zhao Huan, allowing him to become Emperor Qinzong of Song. Can my son compete with Zhao Huan? You know, when Zhao Huan was a prince and the crown prince, he had an excellent reputation. He was both pretentious and forbearing."

"No, no, if we let Zhao Ji become the emperor, won't we be back on track to the Jingkang Shame?"

"The main reason why the Jingkang Incident happened was that Zhao Ji, Zhao Huan, and Zhao Gou were too cowardly. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for them to reach that point. The tough Zhao Ya had to be replaced as the emperor."

"As for how I can become the empress of Zhao Ya? We'll talk about it later. How can I, a time traveler familiar with history, be defeated by a mere native like Empress Xiansu?"

"Moreover, the current status and position of the five of us is too low, leaving too little time for Zhao Ya to replace Zhao Ji. If Zhao Ya does not marry Empress Xiansu and Consort Yisu, it will be very difficult for Zhao Ya to defeat Zhao Ji and become the emperor."

"Speaking of which, why would Zhao Ya want to marry Empress Xiansu and Imperial Concubine Yisu? Was it because I said he could become emperor that he suddenly decided to do so? If that's the case, then he's not only courageous and ambitious, but also extremely politically astute."

"I really don't know how such a powerful Zhao Ya could be defeated by Zhao Ji in history? And there is no record of this at all in the history books."

While pondering these things in his mind, Zhang Chun admitted calmly: "It was me who asked Zhao Ya to marry Zheng Yaban and Wang Yaban. I had been thinking about this for a long time. Only in this way could Zhao Ya have a chance to replace Zhao Ji and become the emperor."

Yuan Qingcheng said, "Jiaojiao and I thought the same thing, so we came over to confirm with you and ask if we need to do anything."

Zhang Chun understood why Ma Xiaojiao and Yuan Qingcheng were so nervous. The five of them were trapped like prisoners in the harem, and seeing Zhao Ya was extremely difficult. With only five months left before the emperor was replaced, they naturally wanted to make the most of this rare opportunity to meet.

Zhang Chun said, "You don't understand history, and you don't really understand politics. You're prone to doing bad things with good intentions. I'll just contact Zhao Ya. Hmm... How about this? Please help me keep an eye on when Zhao Ya leaves and see if we can meet again. I was in such a hurry just now that I didn't have time to tell him some things to be aware of."

Yuan Qingcheng agreed and returned to Ma Xiaojiao.

Ma Xiaojiao asked, "Was it Sister Chun who gave Zhao Ya the idea?"

Yuan Qingcheng said: "She said yes."

Ma Xiaojiao patted her chest and said, "That's good, that's good. We've finally started to change history. Qingcheng, you know what? I was really afraid that we wouldn't be able to change anything, that the Jingkang Shame would still happen, and that all our efforts would be in vain."

Yuan Qingcheng wanted to say, "I feel like Sister Chun is weird. I doubt this idea was hers."

But firstly, Yuan Qingcheng had no evidence; secondly, Yuan Qingcheng didn't want to let Ma Xiaojiao be happy for nothing.

So Yuan Qingcheng swallowed back what she wanted to say.

At this time, Yuan Qingcheng noticed that the other four palace maids were enthusiastically playing crickets over there. She asked Ma Xiaojiao, "What are they talking about?"

"They were discussing who would be chosen as the palace maid to teach Zhao Ya in that area," said Ma Xiaojiao.

"That kind of enlightenment?" After a moment of reaction, Yuan Qingcheng suddenly realized.

After all, she has been bombarded by the information explosion. Even if she has never eaten pork, Yuan Qingcheng must have seen pigs run.

Besides, if she listened carefully for a while, Yuan Qingcheng could hear what the four palace maids were saying.

Basically:
The royal families of all dynasties in China have always attached great importance to the reproduction of offspring and regarded it as a major event for the prosperity of the country for thousands of years.

Therefore, most royal men married early, and the marriage age generally did not exceed 18 years old. The wedding ceremony was generally held between the ages of 13 and 17.

Getting married at such a young age inevitably leads to some royal men not understanding the matters between men and women, which affects the reproduction of offspring.

Moreover, Empress Dowager Xiang was an old-fashioned person and was quite strict in this regard. She would definitely not allow the kings to touch women too early and hurt their bodies.

Of course, it was hard to say whether the kings would secretly have sex with women. After all, the kings could play with the maids who served them at will.

I won’t talk about these.

It is just said that according to the formal procedures, before the kings got married, Queen Mother Xiang would usually send four palace maids to teach them about matters between men and women.

Zhao Qi and Zhao Ji, who got married not long ago, both had this step.

This has been a common practice among royal families throughout history.

For example, the Western Jin Dynasty's mentally retarded Emperor Huidi married at the age of thirteen. His father, Emperor Wu of Jin, knew that he did not understand the relationship between men and women, so he sent a concubine named Xie Jiu to the Eastern Palace to teach him about sex. When Xie Jiu left the Eastern Palace, she was already pregnant and later gave birth to a son in another palace.

In other words, the palace maid who teaches Zhao Ya about matters between men and women has the chance to become pregnant with Zhao Ya's child. If she really wins the jackpot, she will definitely be successful and become a phoenix on the tree.

To put it another way, even if they couldn't conceive Zhao Ya's child, if they were favored, they would still gain a legitimate status.

To take a step back, even if they did not have a formal status, if they were guided well, they would become Zhao Ya's personal maids, devoting themselves to Zhao Ya when he needed them, and continue to have opportunities to climb up.

At worst, Zhao Ya simply looked down on them and no longer favored them, thus giving them status. Usually, they would become female officials in Prince Shen's mansion. Compared with the palace maids who could only serve tea and water, they would have more freedom, and the rights and property they obtained would be enough to support their livelihood.

Moreover, since women of this era were influenced by the idea of ​​male superiority and female inferiority, even if they got nothing, they would consider it an honor to have served Zhao Ya.

Of course, the reason why these palace maids were so eager to teach Zhao Ya about matters between men and women was that many of them had been favored many times through this path and were promoted to talented people. Some of those who were extremely beautiful or intelligent and witty had also been successfully promoted to concubines, and the outstanding ones had even become beloved imperial concubines.

In short, as a palace maid, being able to guide Zhao Ya on matters between men and women can be said to be a great fortune. Some palace maids can even rely on this identity to bring supreme glory to the entire family.

Yuan Qingcheng listened for a while, and then Ma Xiaojiao beside her suddenly said, "Hey, Qingcheng, do you think the five of us can take this road to leave here?"

……

(End of this chapter)