The rolling Changjiang flows east, washing away all heroes. During the chaos of the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, various powers rose up. The first was the Ming Dynasty, known as the Southern Ming Dynasty, which lasted for 18 years. However, it was unable to stop the Qing army, and Hongguang Zhengquan was the first to fall. Shunzhi 2nd year, 6th month, 27th day, Zhu Yuanzhang's ninth grandson, Tang King Zhu Yujian, became Emperor Longwu. 28th day, Lu King Zhu Yihai was in charge of Shaoxing. 8th month, 28th day, Emperor Longwu was killed by the Qing army in Tingzhou. Lu King's regime was corrupt. Shunzhi 3rd year, 6th month, collapsed without a fight and was destroyed.
11th month, 2nd day, Su Guansheng, Longwu's assistant minister He Wuqian supported Zhu Yujian's brother as Emperor Shao. 11th month, 18th day, Ming Shenzong's grandson, Gui King Zhu Youlang, became Emperor Yongli in Zhaoqing. 12th month, 15th day, Qing army Li Chengdong attacked Guangzhou, and Zhu Yujian and the others died. The various regimes fell one by one, and Southern Ming slowly collapsed. The Qing court announced, "Launching the army in one move, originally we had no intention of annexing, we only wanted to make peace with the Ming and Qing dynasties, but because of Li Zicheng's rebellion, the Ming dynasty was destroyed. The entire Qing army entered the Pass from outside the Pass, it was to wipe out the hatred on behalf of Ming."
In the chaos of war, people's lives were in danger, so who would care about the changes of the world? Time passed, and the years passed. Autumn went and spring came several times, and in the blink of an eye, it was already the 6th year, 4th month. At that time only the Yongli government was still putting up a stubborn resistance, while in the Wulin world there were two groups of thieves who were the most powerful. One was the "Sacrifice Shadow Cult" of the Central Plains, the other was the "Clear Sky Stronghold" of the Taihang Mountains. The Imperial Court sent troops many times to calm them down, but there was nothing they could do.
Based on reality, the chaos of war affected many places, causing great harm. As the saying goes, "When the people give up, their heads will be collected to pay for the military, and their wealth will be used up." It caused the people to frown. However, the Imperial Palace was still filled with singing and dancing, a scene of luxury. In the midst of a bloody battle on the battlefield, yet another general had been struck by several arrows in his chest and back. Yet, he was still brandishing his sword and spear before finally collapsing to the ground in exhaustion. He deeply regretted not being able to kill more enemy generals. At this moment, a five-year-old child was sitting in the main hall of the Snow Song Palace, well-fed and well-fed. He was the son of the Qing Emperor's favorite Noble Consort Yun, named Aisin Gioro Xuan Shuang. Because of his mother's status, he had already been conferred the title of Lord Baylor Ling at a young age. However, because he was still young, it was difficult for him to take care of himself, so he was not bestowed with a mansion. He was still living with his mother in the Snow Song Palace.
Shunzhi and the Noble Consort Yun had made a promise, therefore, although the announcement of the crown prince title had not been officially announced, he had long been recognized as the heir apparent. Most of the imperial concubines were resentful and unconvinced, but when Noble Consort Yun married into the Palace, she skipped the order of advancement and was directly conferred the title of imperial concubine. In the last six years, her methods were very swift and fierce, she eliminated dissidents, won over hundreds of officials, plus she was the Emperor's right-hand woman. After giving birth to a son, she was promoted to Gui Fei.
Her brothers in the Palace had been taught by their mothers since childhood not to have any contact or play with the Xuan Shuang. Therefore, when the Xuan Shuang grew up, others were afraid of the Noble Consort Yun's power, so they did not dare to wantonly bully and humiliate him. Instead, he was very isolated and always went around alone. The Xuan Shuang did not feel disobedience. The children of the Emperor's family were born scheming, and he was far better than them. Moreover, he was quite good at disguising himself. In front of his Father Emperor, he deliberately showed off his great talent and bold vision, and in front of the other elders, he pretended to be well-behaved and obedient, thus attracting a lot of love and favoritism.
The only one he was close to was the newly promoted palace maid Cheng Jiaxuan. She was the Prince Regent's adopted daughter. Her status was originally very honorable, but because of 'more experience to cultivate virtue', she was sent to the Snow Song Palace to be a servant. She was only a few years older than the Xuan Shuang. At first, she did not smile and served him respectfully. However, the Xuan Shuang was somewhat interested in her and repeatedly made light of her. Cheng Jiaxuan could not bear it and retorted a few times. The Xuan Shuang's words were lively, and he climbed up the social ladder. Not long after, he struck up a conversation with her, often making her giggle. Later on, the two became more familiar with each other. When no one was around, the Xuan Shuang gave her special permission to be neither superior nor subordinate, so she did not have to follow the etiquette of a master and servant.
The Xuan Shuang's calligraphy master was the new Zhuangyuan of the second year of Shunzhi University, Tang Yuancheng. He was also a scholarly and elegant young man with an easy-going and cheerful personality. He was also an old friend of the Noble Consort Yun. When the Xuan Shuang saw him for the first time, he had a good impression of him at first. He could not bear to refute him, so he listened to his lectures with an open mind.
The Xuan Shuang possessed unique wisdom, excellent aptitude, a photographic memory, and rapid progress. When Tang Yuancheng was a child, his family was poor. In order to become the Zhuangyuan, he secretly worked hard. Every day he would wake up early and sleep late, memorizing the Confucian classics. Often he would light a lamp and boil oil, copying the same book several times in a row was not unusual. He felt that if he wanted to memorize it well, the only way was to copy it over and over again. He judged others by his own standards, so the Xuan Shuang also copied the same book. The Xuan Shuang had already memorized it backward, he understood the general idea, so he had to spend more effort. Tang Yuancheng was also conferred the title of the Crown Prince's Shaoshi in advance.
The Xuan Shuang knew perfectly well that the Empress Ah Ma wanted to encourage him to study, so she used this unorthodox method to give him a hint; he only thought it was funny. In this regard, he displayed the mischievousness of a young child; he delegated all his homework to the Imperial Bodyguards. He knew that if he focused on one person, as time passed, the Imperial Bodyguards would resist. He played billiards with the Imperial Bodyguards, and the loser admitted that he was unlucky. He also thought that everybody's handwriting was different, so he did not want the Imperial Bodyguards to see through it, so he specifically looked for a copybook for copying. Over time, unexpectedly he trained the Imperial Bodyguards to be able to write well.
When he took the Imperial Bodyguards to report, Tang Yuancheng did not notice it, and even praised him for being serious. There was a saying, 'There is no wall in the world that does not have a crack'. Although the Imperial Bodyguards were trained to write the same handwriting, he himself had never practiced it. One day he was inspecting his homework in front of the Noble Consort Yun. He picked up the brush and wrote a few lines, and immediately the cat was out of the bag. Although Tang Yuancheng pleaded on his behalf, he was still severely punished. He also ordered the Imperial Bodyguards that if they disobeyed again, they would have their monthly pay deducted.
The Xuan Shuang comforted him, "Don't worry, no matter how much you are punished, I will pay you double. I am also a Lord Baylor, I can still afford this little bit of money. "The Imperial Bodyguards were tempted again; if they were punished over there, they could get double the amount. They were actually looking forward to being punished.
The Noble Consort Yun came up with another plan, she issued an order, "Since it is my nature to be happy, there is no harm in fulfilling it. If anyone disobeys again, they will pay double. " The Xuan Shuang comforted them, "Don't worry, if anyone of you is punished, I will order all the Imperial Bodyguards to help." This time everybody complained incessantly; they were all afraid that the problem would fall on their heads and offend everybody. They were also afraid that others would disobey and implicate them, hence the atmosphere of mutual supervision was formed.
The Xuan Shuang tried to be clever but made a fool of himself, the result was the opposite; he had no choice but to be honest for a while. But he was always unwilling to admit defeat. One day he saw Cheng Jiaxuan's handwriting was very similar to his own, it could be said that they were carved from the same mold. If he asked her to write for him, he was sure she would be able to deceive everybody. Thereupon he often coaxed and pestered her. Cheng Jiaxuan agreed to help, but she was also unwilling to suffer a loss, so she always put forward a condition. Fortunately, these were all trivial matters, the two of them formally reached a deal.
That day Guge Zangpu of Tibet's Kashmir region came to the capital to pay tribute, presenting several ferghana horses, also known as Akhar Jegin horses, bred in the Akhar Oasis between the Kopet Mountains and the Karakum Desert in Turkmenistan. They were one of the oldest breeds of horses in the world. Their heads were thin, their necks were tall, their limbs were slender, their fur was thin, and their steps were light and graceful. Most of them were ridden by the Emperor. However, these horses were violent and difficult to tame, several of their grooms were kicked and injured. Right now they were under the care of the Imperial Horse Supervisor.
The Xuan Shuang also had a competitive heart, after listening to the story, her heart was itching unbearably, she wished she could grow wings and fly away. However, she still had a lot of homework to do, plus she had just quarreled with Cheng Jiaxuan half a day ago, provoking her to throw a tantrum. She only said, "I have nothing to tell you," and refused to help. No matter how much the Xuan Shuang said, she remained indifferent. The Xuan Shuang pulled her sleeve and pleaded softly, "Good Jiejie, I was wrong, okay? As long as you say the word, I'll go through water and tread on fire for you. If I'm too late, I'm afraid the merit of taming these fierce horses will be snatched away by someone else. Wouldn't it be a great pity if our Snow Song Palace's prestige is ruined? "
Cheng Jiaxuan, who was sitting next to him, said with a straight face, "What good Jiejie! It's useless even if you call me Good Mama. No means no. " The Xuan Shuang saw that soft words were ineffective, so she simply acted shamelessly, saying, "You want me to call you Good Mama, but do you want to be my Empress? Ah, I understand. You're tired of being a palace maid, so you want to be a concubine to have some fun. "
Cheng Jiaxuan didn't expect that he would be able to forcefully link two completely unrelated matters together. He was a bit startled, but also felt that it was funny, so he didn't answer him. The Xuan Shuang clapped her hands, laughing and shouting, saying, "Yes, it must be so! If you have this wish, I can mention it to the Emperor on your behalf! Oh, that's not right. You're the Prince Regent's adopted daughter, so your seniority is quite high. Maybe you'll be on the same level as the Emperor. I'll say that you're conceited and arrogant. " Cheng Jiaxuan coldly snorted, "Fine. If you're not afraid that the Emperor's impression of you will be greatly reduced, then you can go."
The Xuan Shuang was just saying that, but it sounded like she was pestering endlessly. It would only show her naughty and mischievous character. Then her painstakingly created image of being astute and capable would be completely wasted. She inwardly wondered whether Cheng Jiaxuan would yield to coaxing or coercion. She probed, "You see, my mouth is wicked. Jiejie, are you really angry with me? How about this, when I'm done, I'll definitely send you a bunch of shiny black ponytail hair. " She said the first half of the sentence in a deadpan manner, but when she mentioned the ponytail hair, she couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Cheng Jiaxuan sneered, "You're not being serious. I don't deal with people without sincerity." The Xuan Shuang hastily said, "All right, all right. I'll definitely choose another horse to recognize you as its master. This kind of gift is not something that ordinary people can accept." Listening to his glib tongue, Cheng Jiaxuan also felt that it was interesting. Her anger gradually subsided. "That's more like it," she said, "Hmph. It's enough that you have this kind of heart. I can help you write, but Noble Consort Yun has ordered that you are not allowed to leave the Palace for even half a step before you finish your homework. She will come to check on you from time to time. The Imperial Bodyguards will definitely be more strict. How are you going to get out? "
The Xuan Shuang put on a pitiful look. Sighing and groaning, he said, "She's so strict. I'm her son, not a prisoner!" Looking at Cheng Jiaxuan, she had a sudden inspiration. "That's it," she said, "Let's exchange clothes. I'll dress as you and go out. I'll imitate your coy walk. When the time comes, whoever dares to touch me, I'll shout 'molestation'. Hey, hey. Wonderful! Wonderful! I've only spent a lot of time with you. If you want me to dress as someone else, it won't be easy. "Cheng Jiaxuan rolled his eyes." Sissy, "he said," Only you can think of that! How can you be so good-for-nothing that you want to dress as a girl? "
"That's right," the Xuan Shuang deliberately said, "I'm really good-for-nothing. How can I think of dressing as you? Isn't that lowering my own status? " Then she pretended to be suddenly enlightened. "Xiao Ye is so handsome and confident," she said, "Letting you dress as me is indeed not appropriate. All right, I promise you, I won't pursue your sin of dressing me up ugly. " Finished speaking, she hastily leaped several steps away. Cheng Jiaxuan did not flare up, she sat quietly in her original position. The Xuan Shuang tiptoed closer to her. He pushed her shoulder and called out, "Hey, what's wrong with you? Are you angry again? "
Cheng Jiaxuan picked up the writing brush from the table and rubbed it back and forth on the inkstone. "Lord Baylor," she sighed, "Your servant's lowly words carry little weight, how can I dare to be angry with you …" Halfway through her sentence, she suddenly turned the brush around and stabbed backward. The weasel brush was fully dipped in ink, it went straight toward the Xuan Shuang's cheek.
The Xuan Shuang was startled; he mistook the brush for a sword. Unconsciously he wanted to use his martial art skill to break the brush, but he managed to stop himself in time. "A real man doesn't fight with a woman," he muttered. Leaning his head to the side, he gently pushed her wrist. Cheng Jiaxuan turned the brush tip around and drew an ink stain on her own face. The Xuan Shuang clapped his hands and laughed heartily. "Harming others and harming yourself," he said, "Serves you right, serves you right!"
Cheng Jiaxuan followed the wet spot on her face and raised her hand to rub several times. The ink had not dried yet, so it was smeared all over her face. Half of her face had turned black. The Xuan Shuang laughed and said, "You've turned into a little kitten! Ay, you don't want to dress as me, but you want to dress as a kitten. Why bother? "
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