Fu Tu Ta / Forbidden Love - Chapter 1 : The Frightened Wild Goose

In the spring of Long Hua's eleventh year, it rained for a long time. The capital was drenched in moisture, and the sun was not visible for about forty days.

The country is in chaos, and everything is in danger. The health of Emperor Yuan Zhen, who was lying on the high dragon bed, was getting worse and worse. At noon it was heard that he had given up eating and drinking and that perhaps the year would soon change.

Who the emperor was was not important to members of the Fifth Institute. The eyelids of the ladies were shallow, unlike the ministers at court who had the world in their hearts. They only know that they have only entered the palace for more than a month, and the lowly title has just been conferred. What greeted them next was neither the emperor's fortune nor honor but perhaps it was the ancient blue Buddha lamp in the monastery, the sunset in the imperial mausoleum or the cold and damp walls of the tomb in the underground palace...

Who knows!

“I wish that I had never entered the palace in the first place,” One of the handpicked maids stood under the eaves and groaned, “The Emperor is currently in his prime, who knows… if he were any minute he would be a lifeless man. "

"Why isn't it our turn to decide things for ourselves?" The others covered their mouths and looked around, suppressing their voices, "Keep your voice down so people can't hear you. I'm afraid we won't be able to endure to the end, but we must take the first step."

"What are you afraid of now? Just pray that God will keep your eyes open, protect the emperor with long life and let us live another two years as it is considered a blessing from accumulating virtue and doing good deeds in our previous lives."

People often say that before when there were Emperors and courtiers, the women in the harem were not like this. After entering the palace, everything depended on the Emperor. When the Emperor was in good health, they said how comfortable they were, at least their lives were safe; if the Emperor died, those with children could retire to the position of Concubine. As for those who have nothing to do with low status, it seems that there is no good way out for those who have no family to rely on."

This huge enigmatic empire, falling into the hands of anyone is an irreversible stalemate. It has been 264 years since the founding of the Great Ye Kingdom, and in the past 200 years, it has experienced brilliance and has also had an illustrious leader. Back then, the Emperor opened up the territory, moved the capital to the current capital, made the country prosperous in all directions, and no one in the past dynasties could match him. However, the fortune of a dynasty also has reincarnation. The excited young man is now getting old, dragging his bloated body, and his reaction is slow, no one knows what will happen next.

Yin Lou closed the curtained window and turned to make tea at the table. The tea was poured into a blue and white porcelain cup, and the tall, broken foam rolled up and down in the boiling water.

“Drinking tea,” He pushed forward, “The froth of the sparrow's tongue is also better than needle snails. My hometown produces tea, and when I entered the palace, I couldn't even touch the tip of the tea leaves. , now I only have the chance to drink some ingredients. What a misfortune."

He has always been like this, as if these big things had nothing to do with him. He smiled as he spoke, and even as he drew the flower tattoo on his shoulder, he smiled too. 

Li Mei Ren had no interest in being like him, and she frowned and sighed, “With the current conditions, you still want some tea?!”

Now they are almost dying. Yin Lou was also worried, but what could he do?! He sat down, picked up the lid of his cup and scraped off the foam and said slowly, "We humans are caged birds. After entering the palace, life and death are no longer in our control. But if we live one day, it counts as two and a half days. When the decree is issued, what what happens in the future depends on each of our luck!”

Li Mei Ren was silent, stared blankly at him for a long time, and said, “Blame me for troubling you. Thinking about it now, if you were kicked out by then, you wouldn't have to worry about today.”

Yin Lou heard it and said with a smile, "Will life be better after being kicked out? Maybe not as good as it is now. There are no brothers waiting to meet each other. If you marry in the future you will not be accepted. Don't expect to get a good match "Useless stupid girls like us would be better off having a matchmaker who can make us jump to the sky. Actually, you don't need to worry too much now. The doctors at Taiyuan Hospital have various ways. Maybe they can develop some kind of recipe to cure illness so that Master Longevity will be cured in a flash.”

After saying that, he felt a little relieved. Although the emperor's illness has not improved for two years, after all, he has not died. Like in the past, he had almost died a few times, but had always been rescued, this time there must be some luck. After overturning the gates of hell, Quan is now south of the Yangtze River.

As for the friendship between Yin Lou and Li Mei Ren, there is another story. They entered the palace in the same batch. Like the students in the countryside taking the exam, if they are discussed, they can also be called the same year. They entered the palace gate together. At that time their hair, skin and legs were examined in a room. While doing a body check, Yin Lou makes a mess of himself, and Li Mei Ren helps him.

In order for a good family member to participate in the election, the first thing to do is to make sure that he never makes a mistake. The eunuchs in the palace were unscrupulous, and they had tricked girls before. Later, to ensure safety, the Shang Palace Bureau somehow devised an ingenious plan – scattering flour in a dustpan and placing it on the bed, so that the candidate crouches over it and has you sipping on the pepper powder. If you choke, you will always sneeze, right? This effort is proven. 

It is said that the lower body of a virgin will not move at all, if your body is damaged… it will probably be reduced to ashes. This was a secret he had only learned after entering the palace, and Yin Lou had never heard of it before. He was stupid at the time, Shang Gong told him to go to the bed to aim at the flour, and he aimed at him, but he used his face to look down. As a result, the sneeze immediately shot into the dustpan, spraying Shang Gong all over his body and head. Look at her stupidity, her brain is not flexible enough to be a maid in the palace, even if she is reluctant to stay, she is still an ordinary woman. Thanks to Li Mei Ren's bravery and kind words for her, she was not deported to where she came from. He doesn't want to make a mistake and wants to be Cai ren [1] in the palace.

[1] cái rén (才人) : female official in an ancient palace; maiden rank

Of course, Cai ren is still Cai ren even though they were drunk when they were discouraged because they still couldn't get on stage. However, it is already a great joy in life to not have to work in a laundry, and to have time to enjoy the flowers in spring and the moon in autumn. He had never thought of the grace of the rain and dew, the bed left over from the sick emperor, and the harem that had been useless for a long time. It's just that the situation is like this, and elections are still held every three years and what kind of calculations are made in them, it's horrifying to think about it.

A gust of wind blew, and the window sill somehow opened, and heavy rain fell on the pages of the book, completely drenching the table. Li Mei Ren got up and pushed the wooden peg, and suddenly turned around and asked her, "Do you think we will pretend to be Chaotian [2] women ?"

[2] Cháotiān (朝天): originally a maid in the Emperor's harem but if the Emperor died then the Chaotian women would either be buried with the Emperor or guard the Emperor's mausoleum for the rest of her life.

Yin Lou shivered, he knew this kind of thing very well, why bother saying it!

In short, the origin of the Chaotian maiden is to sacrifice living people to be buried with the deceased emperor. In the years since Daye's founding, this bad habit has never gone away. These people are no better than ants in the eyes of those in power. 

The emperor is a ruler in this vast mainland of China and is a person chosen by heaven for all people. When the Emperor lived, these Chaotian maidens would enjoy glory and wealth but when the Emperor died, he would bring a group of people to serve him. Once the emperor is no longer on the throne, the internal official eunuchs are ready to make a list. This is a good opportunity for general revenge and personal revenge. The ministers began to act one after another. If political opponents could not be removed in court, they tried to account for the daughters of political opponents and killed one of them.

However, their deaths were not in vain. The bereaved family since then has a special title, which is called the "Chaotian maiden household". This kind of honor was hereditary, and future Emperors would grant preferential treatment to his family in recognition of their "commitment and righteousness."

Whether he will die or not, no one can say for sure. It depends on luck. Yin Lou put down the teacup and said, "If you are destined to become a monk or guard a tomb, there is still a glimmer of life."

Li Mei Ren shook her head slowly, "I'm afraid it's not up to us. When Emperor Taizu died, and there were 120 people buried. When Emperor Chengzong died there were about 40 people. Subsequent emperors ranged from 70 to 80, at least 50 or 60 , and now it has become the norm. Count, how many people are there in the Fifth Institute? Including those who are lucky but have no children, the number is enough.

Count them enough, don't try to run away. The number of Chaotian women is not fixed, and generally increases, and there is no reason to reduce it. She stared at the rain outside the roof, her nose hurt slightly, "Only us concubines are lucky not to escape, how pitiful."

"Do you still have the heart to sympathize with others? Let's bury our innocent bodies. Come to think of it, who is more pathetic?" Li Mei Ren caressed the flowers on the twigs and walked slowly to the door, "Yin Lou, the only ones who can save us now are the eunuchs of Silijian."

Talking about Silijian, it is enough to make people feel frightened. At first, Emperor Chengzong used eunuchs to coerce the ministers at court, with the consideration of checking and balancing each other. But eventually it got out of mutual control and balance. Unexpectedly, the emperors of later generations followed the example and carried it into the future. Up to now, they have established police departments, admirals and eunuchs even approved Pihong [3] on behalf of the emperor, and control the government with their hands. This kind of concubine burial is naturally within the jurisdiction of Silijian.

[3] Pī hóng (批红) : also known as "Pizhu", referring to the emperor's suggestion to Ming Dynasty cabinet ministers (i.e., "draft ticket") written in red letters.

Yin Lou stared at him blankly, "What's your plan?"

Li Mei Ren looked a little embarrassed, she turned around and said, “I remember mentioning eunuch Yan Sun Lang to you, do you still remember? Right now the Emperor is seriously ill and and those with knowledge have already made their move. We have no one to rely on in the harem, is there any other way to escape? By the time the edict comes it will be too late.”

Yin Lou was taken aback, "Are you going to negotiate terms with that eunuch? You are going to leave now and fall into his arms?"

Li Mei Ren smiled sadly, "I'm alone in the palace. So how else? I just want to be his partner and get to know him. Compared to death, whether it's light or heavy, there's no need to weigh it."

His eyes were blank, as if he had made up his mind. Yin Lou was still confused at first, but only now did he truly feel the doomsday panic. When you're really desperate, there's no giving up. The so-called 'pair meal' meant that eunuchs and palace maids lived with each other. Despite no real relationship, they look like husband and wife to each other, and following each other is a matter of a lifetime. There weren't many choices for women in the inner court. Several powerful eunuchs have bloated to a certain extent. The maids below could no longer satisfy their crippled pride so they stretched out their tentacles towards the palace concubine with the lowly title. As for the Emperor, because he relied too much on that Eunuch,

Rations for eunuchs, but who wants to be a little arrogant? The concubines really wanted to make peace with each other, but they didn't know that the higher the position of officials and nobles, the stronger they were than the ordinary men outside. In the early years, there was a case of a eunuch who tortured the eunuch's spouse and another maid and killed them. When the emperor heard about it, he only punished him with 20 strokes, and he closed the case lightly. If Li Mei Ren threw herself into the trap, wouldn't she just walk out of the wolf den and into the tiger den?

He wanted to persuade her to think twice, but why? When it comes to life and death, everyone has their own choice. Li Mei Ren stepped out, and the wind that was swirling in the hall ruffled the corners of her clothes. He walked farther and farther away, and it was hard to see through the misty rain. Yin Lou climbed up the lattice door and watched it blankly, feeling sad in his heart. Everyone went looking for a way, only he knew no one. There is no other way but to wait for death.

"Miss, what should we do?" as he circled around, his maid Tong Yun followed him step by step, "You said that Li Mei Ren coaxed Eunuch Yan. Will he help us?"

Yin Lou stared at the roof. "At this time, who is guarding who?"

Tong Yun stomped his feet in a crying voice, “This is a matter of life and death, so think about it!”

He didn't want to sit still, but he had nowhere to go. What should she do?

"Are you asking me to recommend myself to those eunuchs? It seems I can't do it." He shifted his gaze, “Besides, even if I wanted to, no one would want me! Silijian would definitely be popular these days, so I won't be joining in on the fun. Or why don't I try it with the Royal Horse Overseer? could be a sweet cake now… Are you saying that you were so lowly that you were picked on by the eunuch and your heart turned cold.”

Tong Yun felt helpless for a while. "Which is more important, living or facing it? In fact, it is useless to be busy elsewhere. At this time, there is only Silijian, who holds the power of life and death with his pen. If we can climb into the eunuch power, then our heads can be saved."

The Overseer Eunuch who oversees the silkworm trade, is the top eunuch, and has the most power in the world. When Yin Lou first entered the palace, he had seen Dong Chang*'s people from a distance. Wearing a gold cap with black gauze, a sunflower tulle collar, and a luan sash on her head, she wore a trotter, and embroidered gold pythons left and right. He walked across the white marble platform. He was so imposing and majestic that Yin Lou could never forget him.

The powerful eunuch is Admiral Dong Chang [4]. He is the top eunuch among eunuchs, with the greatest power in the world. When Yin Lou first entered the palace, he saw people from Dongc Chang from afar. Wearing a gold hat painted with black gauze, wearing a collared shirt with sunflower tassels, wearing a luan belt on his head, wearing a sash, and golden pythons embroidered on the left and right. Walking on the white marble platform, he will never forget the majestic arrogance.

[4] Dōng chǎng (东厂) : espionage agent under eunuch leadership in the Ming Dynasty

But the ** is evil and cunning, how can it be so easy to befriend them! He leaned against the vermilion lacquer treasure chest and sighed Xiao Duo, the eunuch with the palm print, flattered the Emperor, and relied on the emperor and empress' help to set up Zhao prison and frame Zhongliang. Dealing with him, I am afraid he will die even faster!

Character | Summary | Chapter 2