Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 45: Harem Meeting
When the front court held a grand court meeting, the harem also held a palace meeting.

In fact, there was a regular meeting in the palace every month to distribute monthly salaries, jewelry, living expenses, etc. to the concubines.

The monthly salary of the nine concubines was sixteen strings of cash, and the monthly salary of the imperial concubine was twenty strings of cash.

They don't have to spend money on food and clothing in the palace, and they receive extra rewards on weekdays and festivals. This money is pocket money, and is also called cosmetics money in the harem.

The palace meeting at the beginning of the year is more important, and various tributes from various states and counties will also be distributed.

However, it was clearly a happy event, but when Xu Jin and Concubine Zheng came to Lizheng Hall for a meeting, they heard bursts of screams.

"Your Highness, please forgive me. I will never dare to do that again..."

A female official was lying on the ground, and a eunuch was beating her with a stick as thick as a bowl.

Xu Jin recognized that the person was a female official from the Shanggong Bureau. She didn't know what mistake she had made, but she was beaten in public by the Queen during the palace meeting.

She turned her eyes and soon saw Liu standing next to a chair, her face pale and trembling slightly.

Xu Jin thought to herself, "It seems this matter is related to Liu Chong'e. Is the Queen trying to establish her authority?"

Empress Wu saw them coming in and waved her hand, saying, "Drag them out and beat them. Don't disturb the sisters."

Two eunuchs pulled the female official out.

Concubine Zheng and Xu Chongrong paid their respects to Wu Meiniang.

Concubine Zheng smiled slightly and said, "What fault did this maid make to make Her Majesty the Queen so angry? I'd better not get too angry and make herself sick."

Empress Wu said calmly, "My two sisters, there's no need to be so polite. Please sit down and talk. Liu Chong'e, you can speak for yourself."

Before Liu Chong'e could say anything, a maid came out from behind her and bowed respectfully to the few people.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for taking the decision for my wife. Let me explain to you gentlemen."

This maid was Yuzhu.

Empress Wu glanced at her and said, "You are a loyal and devoted girl. Well, let you speak for yourself."

Yuzhu bowed to them again and explained the whole story.

It turned out that ever since Liu moved into Chengxiang Palace, she had been very kind to the servants around her and had no temper at all.

It’s a pity that she is of low status, and such kindness cannot win the gratitude of the servants. Some eunuchs think she is weak and can be bullied.

Furthermore, Liu was originally just a concubine of the imperial family, and her appearance was not outstanding. Suddenly she was promoted to the second rank as a concubine. The women in the palace who wanted to climb up the social ladder were extremely jealous of her.

If Liu had some temper, no one would dare to bully her because of her status as the mistress of a palace.

Unfortunately, Liu was cowardly by nature and too friendly to others, so the palace maids and eunuchs in Chengxiang Palace had long since stopped taking her seriously.

They didn't dare to go against Liu directly, but they were lazy and stole things.

Yuzhu had just arrived, and she couldn't manage the huge Chengxiang Palace by herself.

She suggested several times that Liu should punish the palace maids who stole things with a stick, but Liu refused, saying that they were also miserable people and adopted a conciliatory attitude.

Liu's behavior emboldened these servants.

A female official named Mu stole a gold bracelet with a phoenix pattern that Chen Wang Li Zhong had given to Liu as a gift.

Yuzhu found out that it was Lady Mu who did it, but she refused to admit it. Liu even pleaded with Lady Mu, but Lady Mu remained unmoved and was extremely arrogant.

Yuzhu knew that Liu was definitely not able to deal with this group of stubborn slaves, so she took the opportunity when Liu came to the palace meeting to tell Empress Wu about this.

Wu Meiniang has recently focused all her energy on harem affairs.

She is a ruthless person who cannot tolerate any grain of sand in her eyes. Now she is the master of the harem and will never allow such things that disregard the palace rules to exist.

She immediately sent someone to bring in the female official Mu and had her beaten to death in court to serve as a warning to others.

After hearing this, Concubine Zheng and Xu Jin both breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as they knew that Empress Wu was not targeting them, they had nothing to fear.

Both women knew that if they wanted to control the tens of thousands of palace maids and eunuchs in the harem, they would have to resort to drastic measures.

When Queen Wang was in charge of the harem, it was in quite a mess. There were thefts, arson, and even fights among eunuchs. Corpses were often found in wells.

So neither of the two women pleaded for the female official.

After a while, Zhang Duohai came in and reported that Female Official Mu had been beaten to death.

Wu Meiniang waved her hand and said, "Send the body out of the palace and find a place to bury it."

This was the first palace meeting in the first month of the lunar year after Wu Meiniang became the queen. In addition to Concubine Zheng, Xu Chongrong, and Liu Chong'er, all the nobles in the palace also came.

The harem had a strict hierarchy, with the Empress being the head of the palace. Below her were the Four Wives, Nine Concubines, Twenty-seven Ladies, and Eighty-one Imperial Wives.

In addition to these concubines, there were eunuchs and palace maids.

Palace servants were divided into three levels: the lowest level was the palace maids without rank, and the lowest level was the female officials with rank.

There is another level at the top, also called "Madam". Although they are not the emperor's women, their status is very high, such as Li Zhi's four wet nurses.

The four people are: Lady Ji of Zhou, Lady Lu of Yan, Lady Shi of Qi, and Lady Xue of Jun.

Three of them were first-rank state ladies, which could be described as extremely noble, and their rank was higher than Xu Chongrong and Liu Chong'er.

What Wu Shun was thinking about most was this first-rank imperial lady.

Below the Lady of the State are the Lady of the County, the Lady of the County, the Lady of the County, etc.

The ladies of low rank were very sensible and would not personally attend the palace gatherings of the concubines.

He only sent his palace servants to collect his share of the reward, and he was satisfied.

Several high-ranking ladies-in-waiting, especially Li Zhi's wet nurses, would attend in previous years.

Moreover, they were all extremely difficult to deal with. If they were not satisfied with the rewards they received, they would definitely cause trouble. The previous Queen Wang had no way to deal with them.

Originally, Xue was also the Queen Mother. However, the day after Empress Wu was crowned as the Queen, she told the Emperor that Xue and Queen Wang were in the same party.

So the emperor demoted Xue to a county lady and forced her to leave the palace.

This drastic measure made the remaining three ladies a little afraid of Empress Wu.

So none of the three attended the palace party this year.

Empress Wu was a decisive person and didn't say much. She clapped her hands and dozens of palace maids walked out of the corner gate, lined up in two rows, holding various objects in their hands.

The tribute items sent from all over the country were of various kinds. Just the cloth included precious flower silk, white woven silk, fragrant cloud gauze, floating light brocade, and moonlight brocade.

In addition to silk fabrics, the concubines valued cosmetics the most: such as conch rouge, lip balm, gypsum powder, clam powder, pearl powder, rouge, and flower ornaments.

Each type of cosmetics is divided into many subcategories. For example, flower ornaments are divided into gold ornaments, black paper ornaments, fishbone ornaments, cinnabar ornaments, emerald ornaments, etc.

Women love beauty, especially palace ladies. Upon hearing the introduction of the cosmetics, all three daughters of Concubine Zheng stood up and played with them carefully.

Concubine Zheng had the best eyesight. She spotted a box of black lipstick and asked with a smile, "Your Majesty, is this black lipstick from the Western Regions?"

Empress Wu smiled and said, "You have the most beautiful eyes and eyebrows. These are tributes sent by Kangguo. There are ten boxes in total. The Imperial Concubine has four boxes. Sister Xu and Sister Liu can each take three boxes."

Concubine Zheng was surprised and said, "If they were all given to us, wouldn't Your Highness have any?"

Empress Wu smiled and said, "I don't like black. You can take it and don't bother me." She used to love it very much, but now as the queen, she felt that she should be more dignified.

The rest included silk, tea, paper, round fans, screens, etc., which were donated from all over the country, and everyone had a share of these things.

Empress Wu distributed the gifts to everyone according to their rank and position. Even female officials above the sixth rank received two pieces of Shu brocade each.

Empress Wu issued another decree, allowing Concubine Zheng to return home to visit her family.

Concubine Zheng said calmly, "But what does Your Majesty mean?"

Empress Wu smiled and said, "Your Majesty is so busy, how could he have the time for this? I have been trying to figure out his thoughts, and I think he will agree to this."

Concubine Zheng came from a noble family and knew everything at once.

The Zheng family of Xingyang has recently taken the lead in keeping a distance from the Guanlong nobles. This is a reward from Empress Wu to her, and it is also a hope that the Zheng family of Xingyang can further break away from the aristocratic faction.

Concubine Zheng stood up, bowed, and said, "Thank you for your grace, Your Highness."

Wu Meiniang looked at Liu and said, "Liu Chong'er, although Prince Chen has established a residence outside, he is still young and needs constant guidance. Don't spoil him too much."

Liu thought of the letter and hurriedly stood up, saying in a trembling voice, "Yes, yes, my servant. Ah no, I will remember it."

Empress Wu glanced at the three of them and her expression suddenly became serious.

"The grain in Guanzhong is not growing well this year. Your Majesty is worried about this. Since last month, I have ordered people to save on food and clothing. It's a pity that some people didn't listen."

Concubine Zheng's heart tightened.

She was a nun from a noble family and had been spoiled and accustomed to luxury since childhood. She did not fully carry out Empress Wu's orders.

Empress Wu continued, "I'll say this again. If you still don't listen, don't blame me for using the palace rules to pressure you."

All the women responded in unison.

(End of this chapter)