Eldest daughter

Chapter 290 The Emperor's Draft
That night, Wang Yuan'er lived in Zhuangzi. Now that she had made a preliminary plan, she would naturally decide on the details while she had free time. She was a person who followed her word.

Turning on the lamp and rubbing the ink, the elegant lower script with hairpin flowers appeared on the paper, but after a while, it was already full of two pages.

Sujuan was helping to grind the ink and waited on her. She looked at it, a little surprised, and sincerely boasted: "Young girl's handwriting is so good."

"It can't be called good either." Wang Yuan'er said modestly, then looked away from a distance: "It's much more pleasing to the eye than before."

This is all due to a copybook that Cui Yuan sent over, saying it belonged to Mrs. Wei, so that she could learn to copy it when she had nothing to do, and she could write with both hands when she had time, but the writing became smoother and smoother.

Sujuan looked at her beautiful profile, the orange light shone on her face, very soft and peaceful.

From the initial tentative understanding to the subsequent curiosity, it seemed that Wang Yuaner, the master, always had something to surprise her.

"I won't write any more. We'll see it on the spot tomorrow and then gradually improve it." Wang Yuan'er felt her eyes a little sour, so she put down her pen.

Sujuan waited for her to wash up and rest, put away the pen and ink on the table, and then lay down too.

She turned sideways and looked at Wang Yuan'er who was on the bed. The corner of her mouth curled up slightly, as if being a girl in the Wang family was fine.

The next day, Wang Yuan'er took Tan Zhuangtou and Li Si to the fish pond and fruit forest together, discussing how to do this process.

The fish fry must be bought as soon as possible. Spring is about to start, and the tenants have to start farming, and the time is not allowed. Moreover, it is suitable to throw fish fry in March.

As for the fruit forest, a larger wooden shed was built. The chicken shed and duck shed were separated and built near the fish pond. It is also convenient to connect. The ducks can swim in the pond and return to the shed.

There is also an extra shed next to the wooden shed, so that it is convenient to watch the night here sometimes, and when there is a harvest, no one will come to steal chickens and dogs.

As soon as they slipped down, Tan Zhuangtou recruited tenants to work. The wooden sheds are easy to handle with more people, and they are simple, and they can be built in a short time.

As for the fry, chicken and duck, Uncle Cai led Li Si and the others to do it.

Everything was going on, Wang Yuan'er lived in Zhuangzi for a few days, and soon became one with the people in Zhuangzi.

She doesn't have a high air, she has an easy-going temperament, and she was born in farming and studying, so she can naturally talk to her.

Before the plowing started in March, the fish fry were released smoothly, and the chicken and duck seedlings were all over the forest. Wang Yuan'er explained everything to Tan Zhuangtou, and took Uncle Cai and Sujuan to Tongzhou City.

The town is very close to Tongzhou, and she has never been to Tongzhou City, anyway, she has come here, so it is not impossible to take a stroll in the past, and take a look at any business opportunities here.

Tongzhou City is extremely prosperous, there are many shops on both sides of the street, and rich mansions can be seen everywhere, and the streets are very lively with people coming and going.

But after seeing the capital city, this kind of prosperity is not new to Wang Yuaner. The shop basically sells common things. Along the way, she also saw two shops selling imported products. It seems that the foreign trade has penetrated. everywhere.

Coming out of a pen and ink shop, I heard the sound of gongs and cymbals. Following the sound, two people dressed as government guards came knocking on gongs and cymbals, and one of them was holding bright yellow paper in his hand.

Bright yellow, only the imperial palace can use it. Is this an imperial list?

The place where the imperial bulletin was posted was not far away. On the wall under a big sycamore tree, there was a wall dedicated to posting the imperial bulletin. Some people watched the Yawei come forward and surrounded him.

Having nothing to do, Wang Yuan'er called Uncle Sujuan, and also went up to watch the excitement.

It was easy to squeeze to the front, and someone beside me was already talking about the content of the imperial list.

"...the harem is empty, for the heirs of Yanmian...the girls of the right age who are above the sixth-rank officials enter the palace to prepare for the selection of girls..."

It turns out that the purpose of drafting girls is to fill the harem.

Wang Yuan'er saw clearly the content on the imperial list, so he withdrew, thinking about the current emperor in his heart.

Emperor Jing was enthroned the year before last, and he officially changed his country name last year. Now it is only the second year of Jingsheng, and he has started to draft girls.

That's right, when the emperor ascended the throne, he had only one concubine and one concubine, and when he ascended the throne, he accepted the daughters of several officials and adults who had meritorious deeds as concubines, which was regarded as appeasement and reward.

There are only ten or eight concubines who come and go, and they are tired of watching. I heard that last year, the Ministry of Rites asked for a general election, but Emperor Jing rejected it because of filial piety and state affairs.But it was delayed last year, but this year it can't be avoided. Look, isn't the draft starting now?

If after the draft, there are 36 courtyards in the harem, 72 concubines, and a cloud of beauties, how many faces can Emperor Jing remember?
After the draft's purpose, I'm afraid that some people will be happy and some will be sad. Those who are happy are those who want to climb high, and those who are sad are naturally heartbroken for their daughter. I'm afraid that some people will secretly marry quickly.

If she opened a dowry shop, she would definitely be able to make a lot of money at this time, Wang Yuaner thought to herself, but it's a pity that she doesn't have such a shop.

Sujuan looked at her master's annoyed look, and couldn't help but exchange a glance with her father, what is this master thinking?The expression suddenly changed to this.

It was noon, and Wang Yuaner and the others found a restaurant to sit down and have lunch. Everyone around them was talking about the draft. It seemed that this topic would be lively for a while.

"Don't say that giving birth to a daughter is a loser. If you give birth to a fairy-like person and push her out to be a concubine, it will be a wealth of cultivation in a few lifetimes, and you can enjoy it endlessly."

The two men sitting at the table next to Wang Yuaner and the others were chatting about the draft.

After the man with the thick eyebrows said this, the man with the eight-character eyebrows sitting opposite him laughed: "It's a pity, your daughters have big buck teeth, so let your mother-in-law go."

"Fuck you!" The thick-browed man swears, and then sighs: "But even if our daughter is as beautiful as a fairy, it's not our turn. It's written on the emperor's list that the big ones of the sixth rank and above Only the ladies of the official family can choose. Let's just two farmers, let's dream!"

"It's good if you know, stop yelling and drink." The man with the eight-character eyebrow poured him wine and said, "I heard that the entrance to the palace is as deep as the sea, and some families don't want their daughters to enter. This time, if you are not a high-ranking person, how can you see your parents?"

"That's right, have a drink."

Wang Yuan'er turned sideways, looked at Uncle Cai, and asked, "Uncle Cai, since ancient times, only the daughters of officials can go to the draft?"

"Where is that? There are also royal merchants with deep family backgrounds who send their daughters in with silver. A few years ago, the first emperor selected a merchant girl to be a concubine. I have been favored for a long time, but it is a pity that my fate is unlucky, and I died of illness within two years." Uncle Cai talked about the inside story of the palace draft, and said: "There are not only business girls, but also impostors, and those who are replaced by righteous girls. , but there are many."

Wang Yuaner frowned.

"The emperor's draft, in fact, anyone can choose. The key is the family background behind the woman. It is not so much a draft, but a woman's family background." Uncle Cai lowered his voice and said: "Is it the emperor's land in the world? Women are just trivial things." , but the power of the family is not just something you can get."

Wang Yuaner's heart trembled, and he said, "Uncle Cai, be careful with your words."

Uncle Cai also felt that he had said it, his face turned slightly pale, he coughed, and hurriedly picked up his teacup to drink tea.

Wang Yuan'er was thinking about what Uncle Cai said.

If an emperor wants to sit firmly on the supreme throne, he must have enough power, such as power, such as the most important military power, and money.

The same is true for those aristocratic families. They have such things, but they want to exchange for more wealth, so they exchange for women, push a person up, and exchange benefits with the emperor. To put it bluntly, it is not an exaggeration. .

Poor, it's just those women, who think they are beautiful, but they can only die in the palace wall all their lives, just looking at the square sky, counting the bricks of the palace wall, and fighting with many women for that man, fighting to the death. Broken blood, and even lost his life.

Women, in such an era, are destined to be sacrificed. In the palace, without this woman, there will be continuous fresh blood to replenish it, never stopping.

Wang Yuan'er sighed softly, suddenly rejoicing that she was just an ordinary peasant girl, and what kind of emperor's concubine was far away from her.

The topic of the palace talent show has been going on for a long time, which has also led to some economic promotion. For example, the clothes shop, such as the jewelry shop, are full of wives and ladies of the nobles.

Wang Yuan'er stayed in Tongzhou City for a day, and found that there were quite a few restaurants in Tongzhou City. In the future, her village would produce fresh fish, so there would be no worries about selling them.

In Tongzhou City, however, there were relatively few clothing and cloth shops, so Wang Yuan'er thought, maybe he could buy a shop here to do the cloth and silk business.

But she didn't have any idea about this, so she had to think carefully before making a plan.

After buying some special products, Wang Yuaner and the others set off to return to Changle Town. They had been away from home for a while, and the siblings missed her dearly, especially Xiao Baolai, wishing they could stick to her.

Wang Qing'er tugged at Wang Yuan'er's sleeve and said, "Sister, did you hear that the emperor is going to be drafted!"

Her big eyes were shining brightly, like the morning stars that day. Wang Yuaner smiled when she saw it: "What does the emperor's draft have nothing to do with you? Could it be that you also want to choose once?"

Wang Qing'er blushed, and said: "I don't have such beauty, and I'm not an official lady, how can I be qualified to participate in the concubine selection."

She spoke a little lonely and sour, and Wang Yuan'er said, "You have a big heart. Don't think that the palace is a good place. It cannibalize people and don't spit out bones. With such a sharp temper, it is enough for you to enter that place." You died a thousand times."

"Big sister!" Wang Qing'er pouted, "Is there anyone who curses a girl like you?"

"I'm not cursing you, that is to say, just like the gates of a palace are as deep as the sea, the wealth and honor that pours into the sky is not as good as you imagined. You must go through thousands of trials, you have to go through Nirvana and rebirth, and you have to go through many hardships before you can enjoy it." Come on. In the palace, every step you take, every word you say, you have to go through it a hundred times in your head before you can say it, you said, if you go through it a hundred times, when you come out again, it will still be what you wanted to say at the beginning?" Wang Yuan'er sighed softly, and pinched her face again: "Okay, it's none of our business, go to sleep, I'm tired too!"

Wang Qing'er responded, but was full of thoughts, because of what the elder sister said just now.

(End of this chapter)