The people in Madam Chu's Mansion are all women and children, and the servants are mostly servants and women. The men are just guards and handymen. It is almost like a daughter's country.
Most of the women Li Sanniang took into her residence were her father's concubines.
At the time of the transition between the old and the new, Li Po did not follow the custom of each dynasty and accept all Li Yuan's women, but released them out of the palace one after another.
Even the eunuchs and maids in the previous palace have generally changed.
Some were sent to the residences of Mrs. Cheng, Mrs. Jin, and even Duke He Chou of Pi.
The selection in the third year of Yuanzhen was actually due to the lack of manpower due to too many people being released from the palace. Later, some people were recruited into the palace one after another. In the sixth year of Yuanzhen, there was something beautiful in the palace.
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Queen Li Bi mentioned the selection matter to Li Po many times, also because she wanted to make up for the lack of personnel in the harem, because even now, there are fewer people serving the concubines, and they cannot even keep up with the wives and daughters of famous families.
Even if you practice frugality, you still have to take care of the dignity of the royal family, right?
Li Po kept procrastinating, and in a very humane manner, he asked the queen to issue a palace edict, which said that the ladies in the palace who are over thirty years old will have a chance to leave the palace as they wish.
The maids who choose to stay in the palace can stay until they are fifty. At this time, you can choose whether to leave the palace or stay in the palace to retire.
As for the eunuchs, there is no such treatment. For them who are physically disabled, entering the palace is a lifelong matter. When leaving the palace, there are only a few places to go. Almost no one can return to the common people.
It is said that once you enter the palace, the gate is as deep as the sea. It is the same for everyone in the palace. Entering the palace is not easy, and leaving the palace is even more difficult.
The reason is easy to understand. People in the palace often know some royal privacy, and letting them out of the palace is a move that requires certain risks.
Li Po didn't care much about this. Things in his family were not that complicated. Maybe his children would do some messy things, but in today's harem, there were no secretive things that the palace people could publicize.
…………
In other words, the current Mrs. Chu's Mansion is like a part of Li Yuan's harem. Even if all his wives, concubines, and children do not live in it, they will still maintain a vague connection with Li Sanniang's Mansion.
The remaining ones are the wives and children of brothers Li Jiancheng and Li Shimin.
A large family with extraordinary backgrounds.
Where there are many women, there is a lot of trouble, and there are big gangs. Even if everyone is a down-and-out person who does not want to cause trouble, there is not much to fight for in the house.
But as the children in the mansion grow up day by day, there are obviously more chichijiga, otherwise the aunt in charge would not say such words easily.
Why is Changsun Wujiu a good steward?
Because she is Li Shimin's official concubine, Li Xiuning's sister-in-law, Li Yuan has not established a queen, and Li Jiancheng's concubine is not here, so who else can help Li Sanniang run the family?
The most important thing is that Changsun Wujiu has no children, so he will not be biased after becoming the head of the family, and other people in the family will not say anything.
Of course, this requires Li Xiuning's nod and Changsun Wujiu's willingness.
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As he spoke, the door was squeezed open, and a big cat walked in with cat steps.
The reason why it is called a big cat is because it is really big, round, has a big furry head, and has thick limbs. Even smaller dogs have no advantage in front of it.
This is a serious civet cat with a long body and obvious markings.
When he entered the house and looked at the two women, he called out a few times. When he came to the feet of the two women, he began to rub Changsun Wujiu's calves, meowing and meowing while rubbing them. Thanks to such a big body,
His coquettish behavior is no different from that of other cats.
The lady in charge laughed and said, "Tiger Shou is quite smart and knows who is noble and who is humble. I have been feeding him all day long, but I have never seen him so affectionate. He only comes over to play coquettishly with her when she is around."
Changsun Wujiu smiled, feeling extremely comfortable with the flattery, and Mao'er also kept up with him and knew what was good.
So when she got to Tanshang, she sat down cross-legged and asked the stewardess to comb her hair, while she started petting the cat.
The big cat Tiger stood next to her and began to lick her hair, snoring from time to time, feeling very relaxed and comfortable.
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There are many cats and dogs in Li Xiuning's house. The dogs look after the house, and the cats catch mice. They all have their duties. There is no such thing as a pet. Just like this big cat, it is kept in Changsun Wujiu's yard, and the other cats next to it are not pets.
If you dare to come over, the rats will be harassed to death by it, and they will move everywhere.
Changsun Wujiu lives a simple life and seldom goes out. Cating is his daily routine. He is very fond of this majestic-looking but smart cat.
The cat's name is Hushou, she is a maidservant of Guanyin, and she is naturally surrounded by tigers patrolling the mountains.
Petting the big cat, Changsun Wujiu felt better and better. He no longer wanted to sit in the study, so he had all the food brought to the house.
While drinking tea, eating snacks, and feeding the big cat some from time to time, Changsun Wujiu restarted the conversation.
"Why did Madam say that just now? Was it Madam's intention, or is there something going on in the house that requires me to speak out?"
The housekeeper carefully combed her hair and said with a smile: "My wife, I don't have to deal with foreign affairs. Maybe I haven't noticed that my wife goes out on official business more and more often.
Last year, I went out twice, and the time was not short. This year, I was ordered to accompany the Turkic envoys to Luoyang... My wife left the house, and there was no one in charge of the family...
I heard that Madam intends to hire someone to take charge of the affairs of the government, and she is probably in the process of selecting someone. Other houses are also interested, so Madam is unwilling to take charge of the affairs, so there is no movement.
But as I see it, it’s the lady who takes the lead, how can others convince the public? Don’t think the slaves are too talkative, madam. Those ladies are in charge of the house, so we won’t have enough to eat today, and we won’t have to give some money tomorrow.
It's a common thing.
The lady used to be in a high position, so she might not be able to see such a scheme, but she saw many slaves in the palace, so it's okay to suffer a small loss, but the lady has been in the palace for a long time, how can she be manipulated casually?
My wife is alone, so I have to guard against this. If you do something disgusting once or twice, you will definitely not be able to bear it for a long time. At that time, don’t you have to let your wife make the decision?"
Changsun Wujiu was in a daze. The big cat seemed to sense that its master was upset, so it got into his arms and kissed her snow-white neck.
The itchy Changsun Wujiu chuckled, his brows and eyes were curved, his soft and charming look was revealed, and his whole body seemed to light up.
She grabbed its fate by the back of the neck and held it to prevent it from moving.
"For such a big place, we still have to contend with others. Alas, this human heart... is really hard to fathom."
The stewardess said: "Two people will fight for firewood, three people will fight for water sources, five people will dig up people's tombs and cut off people's roots. People's hearts are evil. How can the size of the land be divided?"