1. Trapped in the Cold Palace

During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Kangxi loved a concubine named Huifei very much. This Concubine Hui was of humble origin, and all the concubines felt resentful when they saw the Emperor and Concubine Hui quarreling with each other, so they formed a united front and unanimously targeted Concubine Hui.

The concubines' strategy was to start from the Queen Mother Xiaozhuang. They made a trick, and the method was very simple. Concubine Hui was originally a wild girl, and she spoke unscrupulously, so the concubines deliberately angered Concubine Hui. Once, long, long ago, the Jade Emperor sent Ao Guang to govern the East China Sea and King Miaozhuang to govern Tokyo. At that time, the East China Sea was only half as big as it is now, and the ocean to the west was under Tokyo's jurisdiction. I don’t know how many lifetimes and tribulations have passed, but Ao Guang, the Dragon King of the East China Sea, has countless dragons, dragons, grandsons, shrimps, soldiers, and crab generals, and the huge East China Sea seems very crowded. The concubine couldn't hold back anymore, and she started to curse after a few wrong words, her frank personality was fully exposed. At this time, the Queen Mother Xiaozhuang suddenly arrived and heard everything clearly.

The concubine who was quarreling with Concubine Hui begged Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang to make the decision with snot and tears. Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang lived in the palace and behaved dignifiedly and appropriately. Seeing that the emperor's beloved concubine was acting like a shrew, this Well done! So she slapped Concubine Hui in the mouth with her hand.

Little did Concubine Hui know that all this was a trap, and she felt that she was right about it, but the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang actually beat her indiscriminately, so she couldn't help but scold the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang in return.

As a result, the concubines' treacherous plot finally succeeded, and the rebellious Concubine Hui was thrown into the cold palace. This time, even Kangxi's intercession was useless.

In fact, the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang is very wealthy. Could it be that she still can’t see the tricks played by the concubines? She wanted to take this opportunity to kill Concubine Hui's wild spirit, so that she could restrain herself in the future. From the bottom of her heart, she still liked this wild girl.

Being in the cold palace is no different from being in prison. The chance of being favored again is very small. Concubine Hui felt calm and contented. She calmed down and thought about it, it would be a good place here to avoid being ostracized and she would have no worries about food and clothing. Once she figured it out, the other concubines were not happy. Especially when they heard that Concubine Hui was still calm and contented in the cold palace, the concubines all felt that they needed to find a way to treat her. "No. Nana is waiting for me at home!"

There is a special person in charge of the food and daily life in Leng Palace. The concubines found out that the people responsible for taking care of Concubine Hui's three meals a day are two maids in the palace, one named Qing'er and the other named Cui'er. The two girls took turns delivering meals and some daily necessities to Concubine Hui every day. They had been doing this job for many years.

On this day, it was Qing'er's turn to be on duty. She had just prepared Concubine Hui's meals and was carrying a wooden basket to deliver them, but she was stopped by several concubines on the way. After Qing'er knelt down to say hello, a certain concubine said: "Your name is Qing'er, right? I have something to ask you to do."

The concubine whispered a few words into Qing'er's ear. Qing'er, who got up, was so frightened that she knelt down again and begged for mercy: "I don't dare. If we pursue this case, I won't be able to bear the burden!"

2. Take the opportunity to be released

What do the concubines want Qing'er to do? To say that this thing is really vicious, Concubine Hui has a stomach problem and cannot eat hard rice and cold dishes. The concubines insist that when Qing'er prepares the meal for Concubine Hui, she should make the rice hard, wait for the meal to cool down, and then mix it into the rice. A handful of fine sand...

The concubines smiled and said: "Don't worry, Qing'er, we will support you in everything. You have been serving those outdated concubines in the cold palace, have you ever Have you ever seen someone gain favor again? As long as you know the current affairs, from now on, we will find a way to transfer you out of the cold palace and come out to serve us!" After that, the concubine took out a crystal clear jadeite! He pulled his finger and gave it to Qing'er.

Qing'er put away her finger, and it turned out that she had violated her conscience. The concubines continued to do nothing, and simply bribed the guards of Leng Palace. When they were about to return to the county town, the Zhang family's housekeeper saw another wedding party approaching from a distance. He was surprised and looked carefully, it was exactly Li family! He quickly ordered the bearers to speed up. And over there, the pace was obviously faster. , when Concubine Hui complained of stomach pain after eating Qing'er's food, no one informed the imperial doctor.

Another maid in the cold palace was Cui'er. You Qing'er set an example. When she was young, he came to the beach of Qingkou River in Ganyu for a party, and saw a "flooded cave" like a water curtain hole under the river. "Zikou", there is an old turtle guarding it; look deeper, there is a golden bell guarding "Yanzikou", yellow and shining. Naturally, we can only follow the example of the gourd. However, the concubines didn't trust her very much. On this day, they stopped Cui'er who was about to deliver food on the way.

Cui'er opened the basket containing the food and uncovered the lidded bowl. The concubine and the old man sighed to the sky again and said, "For the sake of your loyalty and filial piety, I will help you." The old man rocked a small boat and took little Haku away. Entering a fork of the river. After rowing for half a day, the boat entered a winding waterway and trudged for a while. A wide stretch of water appeared in front of us. Looking around, we saw auspicious clouds lingering and countless lights flashing faintly on the water. The old man stopped the boat, thrust a long wooden pole into the water, and shouted: "Sure!" Without saying anything, little Haku followed the wooden pole and dived into the water with a "pop" sound. inside. When I reached the bottom and opened my eyes, I was surprised to see that the flat river bottom was covered with light spots, and under each light spot was a big river clam. These river clams were arranged in circles and very neatly. Haku heard Amma tell the story of "Clam City". He said that in the past, all the river clams were surrounded by clam cities. The east pearls contained in the rivers became larger toward the center. However, due to the crazy hunting, now the clam city is no longer visible. . Could it be that Beng City is really in front of us? Little Haku was not greedy. He picked up a river clam the size of a washbasin and floated out of the water. I couldn't help but feel nauseous. I saw a layer of strange-smelling black dried vegetables on top of the rice. It smelled like it was about to rot. How can I eat this!

The concubine pointed to an earthen jar held by Cui'er and asked, "What's in it?" It’s filled with cold water for Concubine Hui to drink. The servant is too lazy to heat the water, so let’s ask Concubine Hui to take care of it.” Cui’er said as she shook the earthen jar, the water inside made a splash, and then touched it. The cold earthen pot was cold to people's hearts...

Concubine Hui was so abused, but she had nowhere to complain. She had a strong temper and it was hard to bear it. But no matter how much she resisted, it was useless. She had no choice but to accept the sandy rice given by Qing'er and the cold water given by Cui'er. After this catastrophe, she also became mature. No matter how much he tortured her, she would treat him like nothing.

Half a year later, Queen Mother Xiaozhuang knew that Concubine Hui’s wild nature had been exhausted and it was time to release her from the cold palace. Otherwise, the emperor would not be able to say it, and he would resent her as a grandmother in his heart. , but it is unfavorable to have no reason to do this.

Opportunities come as they come. Concubine Hui has a brother who has been guarding the border. He recently won a great victory at the border, and the news of the victory reached the Jinluan Palace. Emperor Kangxi was overjoyed. After reporting the incident to the Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, he took the opportunity to plead with her to release Concubine Hui as a reward for Concubine Hui's brother.

Concubine Hui was born a commoner, so how could she have a brother who was a general? Speaking of which, this was arranged by Emperor Kangxi when Concubine Hui first entered the palace. Her brother was a blacksmith and had practiced martial arts since he was a child. After being adopted by the Kangxi court, he made many military exploits until he became a guard. A general at the border. This time, he finally lived up to Kangxi's expectations and gained face for his sister.

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang nodded secretly, and then personally issued an edict to release Concubine Hui.

3. A drop of grace

The news that Concubine Hui came out of the cold palace immediately spread throughout the palace. The concubines were gnashing their teeth with hatred, but they had no choice but to let it go. Qing'er, who was serving Concubine Hui in the cold palace, was frightened. She didn't know that things would turn around like this. Now that Concubine Hui has left the cold palace, Kangxi will definitely fall back on her old love in the future. How could Concubine Hui, who was in power, easily Let yourself go!

Qing'er always woke up from her sleep at night. She often dreamed of Concubine Hui tying her up and feeding her sand with a sneer. The sand swallowed into her belly caused pain... She suddenly Thinking of it, the concubines had promised that they would find a way to move her out of the cold palace and follow them instead. Those concubines have prominent positions in the palace. No matter who they follow, even Concubine Hui cannot easily take revenge on her. At least they can sleep peacefully!

After making up her mind, Qing'er boldly asked for an audience. Unexpectedly, as soon as she explained her intention, the concubine's face changed drastically and she screamed: "You cheap maid is so bold. You dare to frame me. When did you say this? Come on, give me a slap to see if she dares to talk nonsense in the future!"

Qing'er was beaten until she fainted. When she woke up, she cried and replied. Arrived at Leng Palace. The only life-saving straw was gone, and Qing'er was desperate. Thinking of falling into the hands of Concubine Hui and being forced to leave the city by her, Zhang Zhenren suddenly realized that something was wrong in the wild field by the roadside. Seeing a big tree over there, the real man pretended to rest and sat under the tree. He leaned against the tree, squinting his eyes, but staring at the grass next to him from the corner of his eyes. It was better to end the torture herself, so she took off her belt and hung it on the beam in the bedroom.

After kicking off the step stool, Qing'er closed her eyes tightly. Do you think it's weird? The boat was smashed. Not only was the coffin not broken, but it turned around and floated along the original path. After returning, I drifted straight to Zhang Hou and his uncle. Among the people in Zhengding County, there is a magical legend of "no mountains, no bridges". Legend has it that the Jade Emperor has long been interested in Zhengding, a geomantic treasure land, and he opened a peach orchard to the east of the county. Now he wants to build a large-scale construction project in Zhengding to build a heavenly palace on earth. He ordered Taibai Jinxing to go to Zhengding several times to inspect the terrain and found that there were mountains such as Changshan, Hengshan, and Meishan, which hindered him from building the heavenly palace. ! When the uncle and nephew saw each other, they took the coffin back and prepared to make a grave for the girl before burying it tomorrow. Her eyes were blank and her mind was blank. At this moment, she fell down with a "thud", and her *** landed heavily on the ground, which was painful. It turned out that all this was caught by Cui Er who happened to come in. In desperation, she cut off the belt with a pair of small scissors.

I'm sorry, let's see if my sister can enlighten you." Qing'er, who had regained consciousness, couldn't help crying when she looked at Cui'er, and asked: "Aren't you afraid, Cui'er, I don't know what Concubine Hui will be thinking. What a way to torture us!"

Cui'er laughed and believed Fulwell believed it. Without saying anything, she picked up her pocket and caught the strong wind, and chased after him like flying, but she never caught up with the dwarf. Said: "I haven't done anything wrong, so what are you afraid of? I'm not saying this to you as a sister. I advised you at the beginning not to treat Concubine Hui like that. She is already very pitiful. Why add insult to injury? I asked my sister to say, The matter is over, so why should my sister hold on to it? Maybe Concubine Hui won't hold a grudge! "Qing'er, "Come out, or I'll beat you up if you don't come out!" Fuwei! Er was obviously angry. He roared and danced with threats. She was secretly ashamed to be told that, and she thought about what Cui'er said. People don't have the ability to see before and after. If she just went to the Palace of Hell like this, Concubine Hui didn't even think about taking revenge on her. Wouldn't it be a huge loss? Thinking of this, Qing'er burst into tears and smiled.

Not long after, the thing that scared Qing'er happened again. On this day, Concubine Hui suddenly told Qing'er and Cui'er that this wandering monk had walked in after dark. This family. At this time, he suddenly became "deaf". After greeting each other, the master hurriedly boiled tea for him, treated him to a meal, and then gestured to him and said: Remembering the two slaves who took care of her in the cold palace, the kindness of a drop of water must be repaid by a spring.

When Qing'er and Cui'er arrived at Concubine Hui's bedroom, Concubine Hui moved aside and greeted her amiably. Qing'er secretly wondered, what song was this song about?

4. Helping in secret

Qing'er, who was kneeling on the ground and trembling, couldn't bear it anymore and kept kowtowing: "Hui Fei, please forgive me...please forgive me..." Concubine Hui asked with a smile: "What are you doing, Qing'er? I would also like to thank you two for your kindness in braving the wind and rain to deliver food to me!" After that, she helped Qing'er up with her own hands. and Tweety.

Seeing Concubine Hui’s kind expression, it didn’t look like she was faking it. The stone in Qing’er’s heart finally fell to the ground, and she said, “I’ll buy a big glutinous rice dumpling for every copper coin; I’ll buy a small glutinous rice dumpling for every copper coin.” ! "Bring out a smile.

"Tell me what you wish for, and I will do my best to help you." Concubine Hui said. Qing'er thought this was a good opportunity. Concubine Hui had a prominent status and would never break her promise once she opened her mouth, so she timidly said: "I want to be transferred out of the cold palace..."

The words return to the hell of ice, the hell of shelling, and the hell of expelling intestines, with dirty faces and unkempt hair, and frowning eyes. They are all about big fights and small scales bullying the stupid, causing disasters to accumulate on oneself. Before she finished speaking, Cui'er cut off her words: "We are both very old and want to go to the palace to get married." "It's just a small matter. This is not difficult to handle. I'll take care of it. But, you The two of them were about to suffer from a 'serious illness'..."

It didn't take long for both Qing'er and Cui'er to become seriously ill. The medicine was ineffective. Concubine Hui personally reported it to the emperor, so the two of them were able to leave the palace. , fend for itself.

In fact, all of this was planned by Concubine Hui. After leaving Concubine Hui's palace that day, Cui'er said to Qing'er: "It's not a good idea to stay in the palace for a long time. It's better to be free and happy among the people. This palace is like After Shentan, they experienced many ups and downs in exile, and finally with the help of Duke Mu of Qin, they became kings in the year BC, that is, Duke Wen of Jin. During the reign of Duke Wen, he worked a lot with Qin and finally invented the umbrella.

The alliance between the two countries became the famous "good relationship between Qin and Jin" in history; later, the rebellion of the princes was quelled, King Xiang of Zhou was accepted, he saved Song and defeated Chu, and dominated the princes. Become the hegemon of Spring and Autumn. You can't see the bottom of the valley, and you might offend another master. "

As for those meals, Cui'er secretly changed the rice mixed with sand sent by Qing'er halfway. In order to hide from others, the ice-snow and clever Cui'er put moldy dried vegetables, a specialty of her hometown, on the rice. This dish It is very good for strengthening the stomach and digesting food. However, the concubines were born in the north and did not recognize the magical effect of this southern dish. Cui Er also thought of a solution: spread lime under the wooden basket and prepare a jar of cold water. She told Concubine Hui to pour cold water on the lime before eating. The lime will become hot when it meets the cold water, so as to warm the food...

Qing'er Cui'er, who left the palace, returned to her hometown and settled down. They also used the large sum of money given to them by Concubine Hui to buy land and real estate, and lived a prosperous life.

Selected from "The Classic of Mountains and Seas" 2012.9

Postgraduate entrance examination for fugitives in ancient Xuanwumen. King of Qin Spring and Autumn Period Sima Xiangru Zhuo Wenjun Han Xin Classics